"Roberto Zucco" / "Boyhood"

My most recent British Theatre Guide reviewing assignment was at Chapter - August 012’s production of Bernard-Marie Koltès’ “Roberto Zucco”. It’s a fine production, director Mathilde Lopez highly inventive as usual; although the audience is complicit in being amused by the antics of a real-life murderer, which is slightly problematic.

Yesterday I caught the latest film by Richard Linklater – “Boyhood”, the story of whose production is almost as fascinating as the move itself. Telling the story of a family’s life over twelve years, it manages to be deeply moving, despite nothing particularly out-of-the-ordinary happening. Ellar Coltrane impresses as the central protagonist, as do Patricia Arquette and especially Ethan Hawke as his divorced parents (fuller review here).  

The intervening weekend saw me taking the first steps in training to become a participatory arts facilitator with YOCA. This included a trip to the premises of Volcano Theatre in Swansea, to take part in singing and circus-skills workshops. Hopefully the beginning of an interesting journey.

Tate Modern / Video Art etc

As usual, when I pay my biennial visits to the Tate Modern, works leap out which hadn't made an impression before. This time round, on my birthday outing, I was struck by the unearthly beauty of Meredith Frampton's 1928 portrait of professional model Marguerite Kelsey:

The colorful geometric imagery of Ellsworth Kelly, and the Pop Art portraiture of Alex Katz also made an impression; as did what I caught of Omer Fast's Middle-Eastern war-themed video installation "The Casting". Always a profoundly inspiring day out.


Re my own work, I was delighted to hear last week that my submission to Outcasting's "Fourth Wall" artists' moving image festival has been successful, and that some of my poetry films will be showcased in Cardiff later in the year.

The Poetry Storehouse continues to provide stimulating material to work with, and it was nice to see the poet Kathleen Kirk reference my video of her poem "Daughter Of Midas" on her blog:


"Daughter of Midas" - a poem by Kathleen Kirk from OTHNIEL SMITH on Vimeo.

Some of my work has also been included in a piece discussing filmmakers' varying approaches to the same text in a Connotation Press article by Erica Goss.

Tiny steps...