Practically Alice

It seems that our lives are compromised of endings; lots of little chapters with some loose ends, some rather neatly tied up. Four years ago I left compulsory education to do my GCSEs, now I'm about to sit an exam that will mark the end of my second year at university. We seem to have this incessant need to categorise times in our lives. It allows us to look back at certain times and recall memories, whether fond or bad with a sense of reflection. Fifteen year old Claire was very different from now. I was about to embark on my first relationship, I was young and naive and also very, very ignorant. Luckily, I was ignorant in the nicest way possible; I was handled with care by all those around me. I drank for the first time with the best possible people I could have, my first kiss was much the same. I am so, so  lucky to have grown up the way I have. This year has also thrown some trials at me. I started second year thinking it would follow a very  different thread that it h...

When I came home this week, my sister surprised me with the chance to see Macbeth  at Harrogate Theatre. This particular production had been touring since February by Tara Arts and Black Theatre Live. The production has to be one of the best Shakespeare productions I have ever seen. Rating: 5/5 * Three outrageous drag-queens* cook up an explosive brew of treachery, ambition and passion, setting an Asian family off on a path of bloody self-destruction. Tara Arts brings Indian movement and music to Shakespeare's text, offering a powerful contemporary take on his darkest play. [ source ]  Never before have I seen a Shakespeare play that has evoked such emotion. I was very familiar with Macbeth , as most people are. However, I did not experience the strength of emotion in any previous production or reading of Macbeth  that I did in this performance.  Mountford portrays a deeply intense and crazed Macbeth who slowly and scarily descends into madness. Along with...