Hello, are you ok sir/madam? What’s that sorry? Your here for a weekly fix of W.O.A.M. I’m sorry but I think your in the wrong place…
…KIDDING! Welcome welcome friends! Are you excited for this weeks W.O.A.M.? (No I’m not explaining it again) same here!
Lets not beat around the bush, are you ready?
Are you steady?
Then lets……………………GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This week, mac Birmingham have on offer a wide variety of Cinema Screenings, Theatre Performances, Exhibitions, Spoken Word Readings and Markets.
For more information on any of the shows and events detailed below, please check the relevant links below (posted next to the events/shows)
As always have a wonderful week everyone, make good choices!
Regards
Andy and Amelia
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Cinema: This week in the Cinema we have ‘8 1/2’. Guido is a film director, trying to relax after his last big hit. He can’t get a moment’s peace, however, with the people who have worked with him in the past constantly looking for more work. He wrestles with his conscience, but is unable to come up with a new idea. While thinking, he starts to recall major happenings in his life, and all the women he has loved and left. An autobiographical film of Fellini, about the trials and tribulations of film making. Written by Colin Tinto.
There is also ‘The Dark Horse’. Starring an extraordinary NZ cast; Cliff Curtis (Whale Rider and Boy), James Rolleston (Boy) and Kirk Torrance (Outrageous Fortune) The Dark Horse is an inspiring true story based on the life of a charismatic, brilliant but little-known New Zealand Hero and chess champion – Genesis Potini, aka Gen.
Mac cinema is also showing ‘Cinderella’. A live-action feature inspired by the classic fairy tale, “Cinderella” brings to life the timeless images from Disney’s 1950 animated masterpiece as fully-realized characters in a visually-dazzling spectacle for a whole new generation.
Also showing at mac cinema is ‘The Falling’. Carol Morley’s eagerly awaited follow up to her devastating Dreams of a Life is another beguiling insight into human behaviour; this time the agitated fever of teenage girlhood. It’s set in 1969. Best friends Lydia (Maisie Williams of Game of Thrones fame) and Abbie (breathtaking newcomer Florence Pugh) have cultivated a world of two in the midst of the pent-up repressions of a buttoned up English girls school. Lydia’s fixation on her friend is a welcome distraction from her frustratingly impenetrable mother (Maxine Peake) who suffers from agoraphobia and whose cool detachment leaves Lydia feeling rootless. Her fragile world, with Abbie at its centre, starts to unravel when her white magic-obsessed brother and Abbie sleep together, and a tragedy and ensuing mysterious fainting epidemic overtake the school. With cinematography from acclaimed cinematographer Agnès Godard (Beau Travail) and Everything But the Girl’s Tracey Thorn contributing angular melodies, syncopated to match the off-beat emotion; this is cinema to swoon over.
Mac are also screening ‘A Royal Night Out’. On May 8th 1945, everything changed. The Allies won the war, and VE Day (Victory in Europe) was celebrated in the streets of London. Behind the palace walls, the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret can only watch while the people of the city enjoy their victory. After some serious persuasion, their parents – the King and Queen – let them out for the night, but only under close supervision. It’s not long before the plan goes awry, and Elizabeth finds herself separated from her sister. The future Queen is alone in the city, surrounded by strangers. She encounters Jack, a handsome young man who takes a shine to the royal in disguise, and the two get to know each other as the revelry continues around them. Things are never simple though, and as celebration turns to chaos, can Elizabeth stay safe? This formerly untold story tells the tale of royals let loose in the big city on the most exciting night of their lives, and watches as they struggle with their identities and the way they are ‘supposed’ to behave. Starring Sarah Gadon (The Amazing Spider-Man 2), Bel Powley (Side by Side) and Jack Reynor (Transformers: Age of Extinction), A Royal Night Out is a moving historical drama that looks at the difference between who we are and who we wish we could be.
For a fulfilling fix of fantastic foreign cinema, look no further than ‘Phoenix’. June, 1945. Badly injured, her face destroyed, Auschwitz survivor Nelly returns to her hometown, Berlin. She’s accompanied by Lene, a Jewish Agency employee and Nelly’s friend from pre-war days.Having barely recovered from facial surgery, Nelly ignores Lene’s warnings and sets out to find her husband, Johnny – the love of her life who, by refusing to abandon their marriage, protected her from Nazi persecution for so long.
Finally a screening ‘National Theatre Live: Encore Screening The Hard Problem’. Acclaimed playwright Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love, Arcadia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead) returns to the National Theatre with his highly-anticipated new play The Hard Problem, directed by Nicholas Hytner (Othello, Hamlet, One Man, Two Guvnors). Hilary, a young psychology researcher at a brainscience institute, is nursing a private sorrow and a troubling question at work, where psychology and biology meet. If there is nothing but matter, what is consciousness? This is ‘the hard problem’ which puts Hilary at odds with her colleagues who include her first mentor Spike, her boss Leo and the billionaire founder of the institute, Jerry.
For more on the exciting cinema screenings at mac, please visit the links below!
– 8 1/2: http://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/8-1-2/
– The Dark Horse: http://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/the-dark-horse/
– Cinderella: http://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/cinderella/
– The Falling: http://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/the-falling/
– Force Majeure: http://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/force-majeure/
– Encallados: http://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/encallados/
– A Royal Night Out: http://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/a-royal-night-out/
– Phoenix: http://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/phoenix/
– National Theatre Live: Encore Screening The Hard Problem: http://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/nt-live-encore-screening-the-hard-problem/
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Theatre: This week in mac’s Theatre offerings include ‘Pitschi – The Kitten With Dreams’. Pitschi doesn’t care for the rough and tumble and mischievous fun of kitten play, but instead dreams of being something else – a chicken, perhaps, or a goat, or a rabbit… for after all, anything is better than being a cat! This original production uses a rich mix of story-telling, physical theatre, music and song to tell the story of a kitten that learns to be happy by being exactly what she is.
Also on at mac is a performance from Tutti Frutti Productions: ‘Rapunzel’. This is a story about a girl. The story happened in a once upon a time, and in a once upon a place. The girl was called Rapunzel. Placed high-up in a tower above the world and faced with the challenge of growing-up, she is found alone, dreaming….
For further information, check the links below!
– Pitschi – The Kitten With Dreams: http://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/pitschi-the-kitten-with-dreams/
– Tutti Frutti Productions: Rapunzel: http://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/tutti-frutti-productions-rapunzel/
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Exhibitions: This week, mac are hosting three brilliant exhibitions! Firstly, tmac are exhibiting Trevor Appleson’s ‘Birmingham’. Appleson’s classic portrait photographs of carefully selected demographic groups made in his makeshift portable studio are now well known. In towns and settlements from Cape Town to Mexico City to Kibbutz Hatzerim in Israel, Appleson sets up on beaches, street corners, and other public spaces, enabling a captivating representation of place.
Also showing is ‘Wish You Were Here’. Selected from Jeremy Cooper’s major artists’ postcards collection, Wish you were here? presents works by some of today’s most famous artists. Featuring over 200 artists including Carl Andre, Joseph Beuys, Ruth Claxton, Julie Cockburn, Gilbert & George, Richard Long, Yoko Ono, Ruth Proctor, Dieter Roth, amongst many others, this is a unique opportunity to see works from the collection, some for the first time, before its donation to the British Museum Prints and Drawings Department in 2018.
Finally, made at mac are exhibiting work from mac’s in house Ceramics course. To demonstrate the process of creating, and to share the experiences of those participating, our made at mac series exhibits course participants’ work. Our aim is to communicate the richness and quality of both the learning experience and the content produced on site at mac Birmingham. The work featured in made at mac this summer has been created in our ‘Introduction to Ceramics’ course. Through techniques including coiling, slab-building, throwing and press-moulding, Artist Tutor Wendy Tournay’s practical approach to teaching ceramics encourages the learner to develop and apply their skills in the Pottery Studio.
For more information on these exhibitions and more, click the links below!
– Trevor Appleson: Birmingham: http://macbirmingham.co.uk/exhibition/birmingham/
– Wish You We’re Here: http://macbirmingham.co.uk/exhibition/wish-you-were-here/
– Made at mac: Ceramics: http://macbirmingham.co.uk/exhibition/made-at-mac-ceramics-1/
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Spoken Word: The Spoken Word offering this week is presented by Alexei Sayle: ‘Listen With Alexei’. Alexei Sayle best selling author, comedian and actor will be giving a preview of the second volume of his hilarious and thought-provoking memoirs with a reading from Thatcher Stole My Trousers as well as from his first volume Stalin Ate My Homework along with some of his famous short stories.
For more on this and other Spoken Word events at mac, please click the link below!
– Alexei Sayle: Listen With Alexei: http://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/alexei-sayle/
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Markets: This Sunday mac are hosting a Food Market for more information click the link below!
– Food Market: http://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/food-market/
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And that’s it for your weekly W.O.A.M. fix, don’t forget to like and share with everyone you know, until next time folks.
Au Revoir
Andy and Amelia
#workplacement
Bsaatmac 