From the Editor: Tuesday 14th March

The calamitous train timetable that Southern Rail have been running for a while now has forced me to look at alternatives to London trips. I had one particularly disastrous journey when coming back from a gig on a Sunday: it took me three and a half hours to get back to Brighton, via a bus from Hove since the train terminated there for some indiscernible reason.

There has been one plus side however. Feeling disinclined towards staccato, patience-stretching train journeys for shows in London is one of the reasons I’ve been enjoying live cinema screenings.

It might sound overly fussy of me but one of the advantages is the hugely comfortable seating at a venue such as Duke’s At Komedia. For affordable tickets for Boris Godunov for example, I probably would have had to stand or had a restricted view bench seat. At a cinema screening however, you get various different angles to view the show and don’t need to crane your neck.

The sound is also crisp and loud, and mixed in a way that can be enjoyed throughout all cinema seats, as opposed to the wild variance of theatre seating. It can’t truly compare to the thrill of live performance of course, where you aren’t dictated to visually by a director and when you can hear stunning music performed in the flesh. But it is a useful option to consider for the arts lover.

Last week for example I saw Hedda Gabler streamed live from the convenience of the town centre. This Sunday I will be watching A Contemporary Evening of the Bolshoi Ballet (Duke’s At Komedia, 3pm) streamed from Russia featuring three masters of modern and contemporary choreography. The screenings are a great way to try new things because they’re easily approachable in both monetary and geographical terms. Try one out and let me know what you think.

Joe Fuller
editorial@thelatest.co.uk