Latest 7 magazine

We’ve been witness to an upsurge in interest in indigenous folk music over recent years, with a new crop of young men and women fusing folk with a contemporary resonance. At the more extreme end there are talents like Scotland’s Alasdair Roberts, an extraordinary performer who mixes traditional folk with new – sometimes radical – arrangements and a sprinkling of original songs. With a double bassist and violinist providing complimentary backing, Roberts somewhat rustic and eccentric demeanour belied a skilled craftsman’s approach to guitar playing (each song seemed to have its own tuning) and songsmithery. At times sublime, this was a performance of consummate beauty and heartfelt soul.
Komedia, 17 March
5/5
Jeff Hemmings

Not a western as the title implies but a very rude John Waters/Tarentinoesque romp played out to a live grunge rock soundtrack. The costumes matched the red and white polka dot set and after a few deliberate false starts we were witness to matricide, entrails and a really filthy rap within the first ten minutes. A fine performance from the ensemble combined with playfully enforced audience participation made for a really entertaining evening that included avenging lesbian angels, a pregnant man in a straitjacket and a rather disturbing talking foetus. A hoot of a show, but probably not ideal for a first date.
Hanbury Ballroom, 17 May
5/5
Steve Clements

Mark Padmore is without doubt one of the finest tenors on the international concert platform. There is little questioning his musical skill or the quality of his voice. But in this performance his true strength was clear to hear, and that is his skill as an interpreter of lieder. Padmore is a musical storyteller, his performance is intensely passionate but at the same time he gives the impression of it being utterly effortless. Never appearing to strain as a musician leaves him free to imbue each song with a sense of drama. In the case of Dichterliebe, this is of course almost constant despair as the victim of unrequited love. One cannot help feeling that someone should have told the poet Heinrich Heine to pull himself together. Then again, had that happened we may have been denied the beauty of some of Schumann’s greatest work. Padmore also introduced us to five songs by Lachner, a group of works worthy of far higher recognition. Simon Lepper at the piano was a substitute for the advertised accompanist but a finer one would be hard to imagine. His playing was as intuitive as Padmore’s singing and they made a fine team, an essential factor, playing not merely for Padmore but with him.
Corn Exchange, Brighton Dome, 17 May
5/5
Andrew Kay

Moz has committed suicide by hanging. The ensuing dialogue between his slowly rotting corpse and his chippy spirit, now residing in a decidedly underwhelming heaven, forms the heart of the piece. Clever use of sound and lighting – and a very effective noose – can’t compensate for a script that’s as dead as poor Moz himself. Moz’s observations on ‘love, death and boredom’ are as banal and insight-free as those you’ll hear down the pub any night of the week. Moz says in his blog that comedy isn’t about gags, it’s about pushing boundaries. I’m not quite sure what boundaries this short, shallow show pushes – seeing how far you can take an audience’s innate goodwill perhaps.
Temple Bar, 17 May
2/5
Gary Mepsted