Without Safe Water or a Toilet It's No Fun Being a Girl
I've just come back from a trip to Madagascar with the charity WaterAid. I was out there as part of the To be a girl campaign to see for myself the issues that girls in particular face living without...
View ArticleRussia's Ban on Swearing in the Arts - I Say Nyet!
'There are official searchers, inquisitors ... sometimes they pick up the nearest volume and leaf through it, looking for infamous words ...' - Jorge Luis Borges, The Library of Babel I haven't seen...
View ArticleITV, Please Hire Me
To whom it may concern at ITV, My name is Ross Semple, and I am writing to you about The Real Housewives of Cheshire. I would have gotten in touch sooner, but I was too overcome with emotion when I...
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Dennis Hopper: Actor, Director, Firestarter and Photographer
Dennis Hopper is probably as well-known for his reputation as a hellraiser as he is for his acting and filmmaking. But he was also a wonderfully talented photographer and it's this talent that is the...
View ArticleIntroducing: Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties
Better known as frontman of The Wonder Years, for the past year or so, Dan 'Soupy' Campbell has slowly been crafting a solo album. Wanting a challenge, Campbell created the persona of Aaron West....
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Black Sabbath Time: Ozzy in the Park
The book was a sign. On the curiously empty Tube carriage a girl next to me is reading The Exorcist. Does she realise what dark magic she is toying with? I face front, waiting for the tourist sat...
View ArticleBest Songs of 2014: Soundcloud and Bandcamp Edition
It's not that there are more bands, it's just that the distribution method has evolved. To find new music takes more patience than ever. I find that Bandcamp and Soundcloud as a never-ending treasure...
View ArticleThe Top 10 Greatest 80s Films
They were cheesy and full of bright colours, big hair and even bigger shoulder pads, but the 80s were a seminal decade for movies. I know there are some notables that haven't made the cut, but I can't...
View ArticleFive Mistakes Actors Make That Stop Them Getting Work
Getting work as an actor is hard. With long periods of unemployment and vast competition. This was the main reason I wrote my book How To Be a Successful Actor: Becoming An Actorpreneur. The odds are...
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Umbria Rock Festival: Sunshine, Good Wine and Power Chords
My first summer in England, my flatmates piled me into their car and stole me away to Glastonbury. I had no idea what was happening, only that one moment I was in London, and the next slithering Navy...
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Kozzie Releases Koz The Kid 2 EP
Kozzie the London-based MC doesn't usually smile much, but with the release of his new EP Koz The Kid 2 out now, leading him to be heralded as the prince of new wave grime, there is more than enough...
View ArticleRock of Ages
Nick Lowe has been on tour this summer - popping up at the Hop Farm Festival in Kent, England, last weekend - captivating audiences with his acoustic solo shows, doing jaw-dropping versions of old hits...
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Wireless 2014 Review
I've only ever experienced one successful Wireless festival, and that was when it still took part in Hyde Park. Having said this, I spent most of the afternoon queuing up for a chicken burger that was...
View ArticleWhat Does It Mean to Be Musical?
"Do I have to be musical to benefit from music therapy?" It's one of the most frequently asked questions about music therapy. But what does it even mean to be "musical"? Does it mean you can sing in...
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Prone: New Work by Darryl Lauster
Darryl Lauster is the sort of American you wish there were more of, those with a political memory longer than the last election cycle or even last year. He is fascinated by the construction of American...
View ArticleA Little Give and Take on the First Leg of the 'Annie Get Your Gun' Tour
The first 'leg' of our UK Tour of Annie Get Your Gun has drawn to a close at the New Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham. Six cities, 51 shows, 255 knife throws, 459 stage kisses, 561 balloons popped and a...
View ArticleLife in the Arts Lane - Week 82 - Build to Bang
Arriving on site in high viz with my steel-toe-capped boots, there is a frenetic energy crackling in the atmosphere. The exhibitors' own contractors arrive on Wednesday to join the already numerous...
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Where the 'Neighbours' Theme Met Joe McElderry and Petula Clark: An Evening...
In 1968 when I was a schoolboy, I used to listen to Jonathan King reviewing new record releases on Radio 2. Being a fan of Petula Clark, I had discovered that Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent had written...
View ArticleA Look Back at Glastonbury 2014
You think you know all there is to know about mud but you don't, not until you go to a UK music festival do you really learn about mud. For instance, when the mud is like chocolate mousse and 12 inches...
View ArticleAny Similarities Are Entirely Deliberate - Depicting Real Political Figures...
Only a day or so after the verdicts in the phone hacking trial are delivered, the National Theatre has announced a new play, GREAT BRITAIN, written by accomplished playwright Richard Bean and described...
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