#st. ann's warehouse

[honeybeelullaby]

[dasboligrafo]

TheatrePass Diaries: Wuthering Heights at St Ann's Warehouse

Oh my god this was so bad 😱😱😱 I couldn't even hold in the spoiler.

Right off the bat: they don't have a bar inside and they were suuuper snotty about making you wear a mask (which, like, is fine, just don't be snotty.) My theatre bud had gotten the tickets as unassigned rush seats and when we got there the usher threw a fit about us trying to sit in accessible seats (which, again, were assigned to us by the house) and made a giant production of making us sit in almost the worst seats in the house, even when there were better non-accessible seats. So that was cool! Here's another off-Broadway I'll probably never return to!

Seriously, though, Im working on a theory that you can tell the play is gonna suck by the way the ushers treat you. I think they get stressed out about the play being bad and they take out their guilt on you, the unsuspecting audience.

The play is a 3(!) hour long musical(!) comedy(!) with abstract acrobatic-prop staging, house facades interspersed with vine-like ropes, trapeze swings and ladders to nowhere, meant to suggest the engulfing gothic liminality of the moors, I guess. The musical numbers (such as they were) were performed by an electricized rock quartet occupying a quarter of the stage at all times. The child parts (and there were several) were played by on-stage puppeteers controlling child-sized, anatomically articulable wooden marionettes, whatever those are called. I walked out of the last play I went to that had them...

And -- spoiler alert -- we walked out of this one! Sooo many red flags that it may come as no surprise, I know. A comic musical about Wuthering Heights? I swear I didn't know before I got there.

As a further red flag, my theatre bud nervously admitted as the house lights were dimming that reactions among friends were decidedly mixed.

The thing is -- I love this book, and I probably would have bought a ticket if I heard just the play title. Probably. I'd like to believe I would have seen some of those red flags and second guessed, at least.

And to be honest, the script retained enough of the original text that I might have chosen to ignore the awkward british twee humor and nonsequitur electric folk rock numbers and tried to get swept up by the (actually ravishing) costumes and (actually ravishing) love story portrayed by 2 extremely attractive leads with palpable chemistry.

But then near the first intermission the diminutive actress playing Isabella Linton as a shrill little ninny tells the audience she likes to slide down the banister at her house because AND I QUOTE it "tickles" her "hooha" and that's all she wrote, for me. We left at intermission to get drunk at the River Cafe (fabulous).

[p-redux]

Oh, Happy Day! Just got this selfie of My Lord and Master, Mr. Tobias Menzies from one of the Team!

She went to see him in the play "The Hunt" at St. Ann's Warehouse, Brooklyn, New York. She's letting me post it with my watermark on it. She said he was so nice, very handsome, and taller than she expected! Of course he was. ❤️😍

Imma pretend baby was looking at me that way, all smiley-eyed, looking adorable. 😍

I woke up being Tobiazed and I'm smiling from ear to ear. Let's see if I get any more deets about the encounter and/or the play. Like I told my friend, I'd forgotten she was going to see him. Had I remembered, I would have given her some "instructions" 😉.

Off to try to tame my racing heart...

[domhnallgleesonhaven]

The awesome cast of Medicine, photographed by Enda Walsh during the American run of the play, 2021:

Domhnall, Clare Barrett, Aoife Duffin and Sean Carpio ❤️

[nefelejts]

[paracunt]

Hayley Williams attends Susan Alexandra & Rachel Antonoff's "Best in Show" at St. Ann's Warehouse during New York Fashion Week (2024) photos by Taylor Hill, Nina Westervelt & Dimitrios Kambouris

[hopecel]

“Oh, come on! Don’t play the guitar!”

Laurey Williams & Curly Mclain played by:

Amber Gray & Damon Daunno  (Bard Summerscape festival)

Rebecca Naomi Jones & Damon Daunno (St Ann's Warehouse run)

Rebecca Naomi Jones & Damon Daunno (Broadway run at Circle in the Square)

Sasha Hutchings & Sean Grandillo (National Tour)

Anoushka Lucas & Arthur Darvill (Young Vic off-West End run)

Anoushka Lucas & Arthur Darvill (West End run at Wyndham's Theatre)

Anoushka Lucas & Sam Palladio (West End run at Wyndham's Theatre)

[aimeedaisies]

The Princess Royal’s Official Engagements in February 2024

01/02 Visited ReBoot (Moray Computer Recycling) in Forres. 🖥️

As Warden, opened the Queen Elizabeth II classrooms at Gordonstoun School. 🏫

Visited Lossie Community Hub at the Warehouse Theatre, in Lossiemouth. 🎭

Unofficial Sir Tim, as Chair of the Board of Trustees, attended the opening ceremony of the Zimingzhong 凝时聚珍: Clockwork Treasures from China's Forbidden City exhibition at the London Science Museum. 🐉🧧🕰️

03/02 With Sir Tim As Patron of the Scottish Rugby Union, attended the Six Nations Rugby Match between Wales and Scotland at Principality Stadium in Cardiff. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏉

05/02 Visited Dressability Clothing Alterations Charity in Swindon, to mark its 25th Anniversary. 👗🪡🧵

As Commandant-in-Chief (Youth) of St John Ambulance, attended the dedication of a new Community Response Unit in Devizes, Wiltshire. 🚑

06/02 Held an Investiture at Windsor Castle. 🎖️

As Patron of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, attended the launch of Nottingham West Primary Care Network’s Interactive Group Therapy at Plumptre Hall. 🩺

As President of the UK Fashion and Textile Association Limited, visited GH Hurt and Son in Nottingham. 🪡

With Sir Tim As Royal Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, attended the announcement of the winner of The Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering at the Science Museum in London. ⚙️🥂

07/02 As Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Logistic Corps, visited the Defence Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Munitions and Search Training Regiment at St George’s Barracks in Bicester. 💥

As President of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, visited the Commission’s Headquarters in Maidenhead. 🪦

As Patron of Catch22, visited the Commissioned Rehabilitative Services at Community Links in London. 🔗

08/02 As Vice Patron of the British Horse Society, visited Wormwood Scrubs Pony Centre in West London. 🐎

As President of the Royal Yachting Association, attended the Annual Luncheon at Trinity House in London. 🛥️🥪

09/02 In Wales, Princess Anne; 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

As Royal Patron of the National Coastwatch Institution, visited Worms Head Station in Rhossili, followed by a Reception at South Gower Sports Club in Scurlage. 🔎🍾

Visited Newport Medieval Ship. 🚢

Visited Newport Transporter Bridge which is undergoing maintenance. ��

10/02 With Sir Tim As Patron of the Scottish Rugby Union, attended the Six Nations Rugby Match between France and Scotland at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh. 🇫🇷🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏉

12/02 As Patron of Swinfen Telemedicine, attended a Meeting at the Royal Society of Medicine. 💊

As Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, held a Dinner at Buckingham Palace. 🎓

13/02 Held an Investiture at Windsor Castle. 🎖️

As Master of the Corporation of Trinity House, chaired the Quarterly Meeting of the Court at Trinity House. 📆

14/02 As Royal Patron of the National Coastwatch Institution, visited Hengistbury Head Station near Bournemouth. 🌊

As Colonel-in-Chief of the Intelligence Corps, visited I Company at Hamworthy Barracks in Poole. 🕵️‍♀️

15/02 Visited the Ordnance Survey National Mapping Agency in Southampton. 🗺️

With Sir Tim Attended Evensong and the James Caird Society’s Dedication Service followed by a Reception in Westminster Abbey, to mark the 150th Anniversary of the birth of Sir Ernest Shackleton. 🔭🧭🇦🇶

16/02 Visited knife crime community group ‘Off the Streets’ North Northamptonshire in Wellingborough. 🚫🔪

20/02 As President of the UK Fashion and Textile Association, visited Laxtons Limited in Baildon near Bradford. 🧶

As President of the UK Fashion and Textile Association, visited Marton Mills in Otley, West Yorkshire. 🪡

21/02 In Doncaster, South Yorkshire, Princess Anne;

Visited Agemaspark Precision Engineering Company. ⚙️

Visited Haith Group Vegetable Processing Machinery Company. 🥕🥦

As Patron of the Butler Trust, visited HM Prison and Young Offender Institution Doncaster. 🚓👮‍♀️

As Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Carmen, attended a Joint Services Awards Dinner at Painters’ Hall in London. 🍽️

22/01 Visited London South Bank Technical College and Lee Marley Academy. ✏️👷

As Patron of Save the Children UK, visited Mary’s Living and Giving Shop in Wandsworth. 👚

23/02 unofficial Departed Heathrow Airport for Namibia 🇬🇧✈️🇳🇦

24/02 unofficial Arrived at Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport in Namibia. ✈️🇳🇦

Representing The King, Princess Anne called upon Mrs Monica Geingos (widow of Dr Hage Geingob). 🖤

Unofficial Sir Tim represented Princess Anne, Patron of the Scottish Rugby Union, at the Six Nations Rugby Match between Scotland and England at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏉

25/02 Representing The King, Princess Anne attended the Burial Service for Dr Hage Geingob at Heroes’ Acre. 🕊️

Later attended a State Luncheon given by The President of Namibia at State House. 🍽️

26/02 unofficial Arrived at Heathrow Airport from Namibia. 🇳🇦✈️🇬🇧

With Sir Tim Attended the British Horseracing Authority’s Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards at Ascot Racecourse. 🐎🏆

27/02 With Sir Tim Attended a Service of Thanksgiving for the late King Constantine II at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle with members of 🇬🇧, 🇬🇷, 🇩🇰 and 🇪🇸 royal families.

28/02 As Patron of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, attended the Emergency Medicine Trainees' Association Annual Conference at Hilton Newcastle Gateshead. 💉💊

As Royal Patron of the Motor Neurone Disease Association, attended a Rugby League Reception at Leeds Rhinos Rugby Club, in Headingley, Leeds. 🦽🏉

29/02 unofficial Departed from Heathrow Airport for the United Arab Emirates 🇬🇧✈️🇦🇪

Unofficial Sir Tim, as President of Never Such Innocence, attended a 10th anniversary celebration for the charity at Edinburgh Castle. 🏰

Total official engagements for Anne in February: 44

2024 total so far: 85

Total official engagements accompanied by Tim in February: 6

2024 total so far: 23

FYI - due to certain royal family members being off ill/in recovery I won’t be posting everyone’s engagement counts out of respect, I am continuing to count them and release the totals at the end of the year.

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

THE HUNT

Tobias Menzies in New York City. A world-class adaptation of a dark Danish parable for our times. THE HUNT opened on the Brooklyn waterfront, straight from rehearsals in London's @almeida_theatre.

Director @rupertgoold and Emmy Award-winner Tobias Menzies reunite for this modern-day parable and thriller.

St. Ann's Warehouse - Brooklyn Bridge Park | 45 Water Street, dumbo - BKLYN

#TheHuntSAW started on 16th February 2024 @stannswarehouse

#TobiasMenzies

@imahalfemptykindofgirl That encounter was fantastic!. I'm glad you got to meet him in person. Did you not recognise his voice at that moment? Tobias is a charming man, very different from what some people may think. Moreover, the most important thing is he is a superb actor who is fully dedicated to his profession. I saw The Hunt at the Almeida Theatre in London, and it was incredibly well done. Tobias truly immerses himself in his character, and the production is also superbly crafted.

The new building looks interesting. I read that the walls of St. Ann’s Warehouse were originally, built in 1860 when it was a tobacco warehouse.

[thealogie]

I feel that this is a place to share that I’m going to St Ann’s warehouse in Brooklyn to see Tobias Menzies in The Hunt tonight! It’s going to be pouring rain! I hope we can get something to eat beforehand! I’m excited and hope it will be good! (Reviews say so but you know)

St Ann’s warehouse is tied with the donmar as my favorite theatre in the world. Can’t believe Mr Menzies is going to be there and I didn’t even know. I’ve really neglected my New York theatre knowledge in light of the….everything happening

[atotaltaitaitale]

.

DUMBO (short for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) by Day & by Night

Trendy Dumbo's cobblestone streets and converted Brooklyn warehouse buildings are the backdrop for independent boutiques, high-end restaurants and trendy cafes. Near the waterfront, St. Ann's Warehouse, in a former tobacco factory, is the heart of a thriving performance and gallery scene. The north end of Brooklyn Bridge Park features historic Jane’s Carousel as well as picturesque views of the Manhattan skyline.

[storkmuffin]

VOGUE US March 2024

On His Terms

by Sarah Crompton

With his red cap pulled down over horn-rimmed glasses, Tobias Menzies walks into a London hotel with the wariness of a man who might just be recognized. It's his face that would catch him out, those deep lines running from eyes to chin. "He had those even as a young man," says his friend the theater director Rupert Goold. "It's like someone has taken a knife and carved them. And I feel those lines run deep inside him as well. He's grown into his face like a lot of actors do."

Menzies's smile is warm and his handshake firm, and though he lives not far from here in north London's Crouch End, he is dressed more as a country dweller than a man-about-town, in jeans and blue gilet zipped over a soft mustard-and-red-checked shirt. Only his Grenson trainers, white and red and with flashes of the same yellow, suggest he might belong to an artier milieu.

"I don't get recognized on any intrusive level, but it's not a part of [the job] that I love," he admits as we settle down to talk. "I like to watch people—I don't like them to watch me." I've asked him about the experience he's having at 49—that of a talent stepping into his prime. Blame it on The Crown, in which he played the second incarnation of Prince Philip across two seasons (a role that won him an Emmy), and last year's wry, acclaimed comedy You Hurt My Feelings, in which he starred opposite Julia Louis-Dreyfus ("He's one of the most warm and present actors I've worked with," says its director, Nicole Holofcener). And now, he's appearing in two leading-man roles, as Edwin Stanton, Abraham Lincoln's secretary of war, in Apple TV+'s series Manhunt in March, and he's currently onstage in The Hunt, an adaptation of the 2012 Thomas Vinterberg film directed by Goold, playing at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn five years after its London premiere.

"I've got to be honest, I really liked it," Menzies says of the status he enjoyed in Manhunt. "Being in the engine room of it and part of the storytelling decisions." The series is part thriller and part history lesson, set over the 12 days following Lincoln's assassination in 1865 as Stanton attempts to track down the president's killer, John Wilkes Booth (it's based on historian James L. Swanson's 2006 bestseller). Episodes skip forward and backward, tracing the story of a tumultuous time and the ideological schisms that caused the Civil War and continued long after it. Stanton, a brilliant lawyer and strategist, is at the center of everything, clashing with Lincoln's successor, President Andrew Johnson, as he attempts to preserve the late president's legacy.

As gripping as any detective story, Manhunt addresses painful facts of America's past: "The implications of losing Lincoln and what that meant for African American people," says showrunner Monica Beletsky, who spent four years developing the project and who has followed Menzies's career since they overlapped as students at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London (she on a stint studying there from the US). "You could argue in a way that the Confederates won the peace," Menzies points out. "What is important about Monica making the show is that she is a person of color, and arguably the big fallout from Lincoln's assassination was that Reconstruction was lost until 100 years later and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Voting rights, land rights—they didn't happen. A lot of the things that African Americans have been fighting so hard for, for so long, were on Stanton's agenda."

Menzies studied carefully for the role ("He prepares months in advance," says Beletsky), working to find Stanton's voice and make his accent seem effortless, but also reading widely about the Civil War and its aftermath. Doris Kearns Goodwin's classic history Team of Rivals was a particularly rich source: "It takes you into this very disparate group Lincoln collected around him," Menzies says. "There was such a diversity of opinion and a lot of antagonism, but that was part of the power of it." Menzies also studied Gregory Peck's towering performance as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. "I was thinking of those archetypes that American literature and film are full of," he says. "Because it's such a whirlwind story with so many different characters floating through it—so you need a moral compass."

The key to the character became a combination of "stoicism and radicalism," Menzies says—and as an actor, he's exceptionally good at playing men who are fighting such opposing impulses, with strong currents of feeling running beneath an impassive surface. "He is one of those rare actors who does a lot with silence," Beletsky says. "He makes you believe you can feel what he is thinking, and he can do those things without saying a word."

Goold, who has directed Menzies many times onstage—including as Hamlet, as Valentine in Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, and as Edgar in King Lear—thinks this quality has become stronger as Menzies has grown older. "He's got this wonderful physical expressiveness, but there's a slightly remote quality to him, I suppose," Goold says. "The quality I find really compelling in him is his committed curiosity. It's quite rare, especially for British actors, to keep their craft developing, to become more rigorous and investigative, and I think Tobias is an outlier on that."

Menzies is attracted to roles that conceal depths. "There is a certain magic about that. Part of the maths is that there is more on the inside than on the outside"

Their most recent collaboration is The Hunt, a haunting story in which a small-town teacher becomes ostracized when a six-year-old child accuses him of abuse. Menzies will be reprising his devastatingly observed performance from the play's 2019 London premiere. "When we put it on, we felt it to be about false accusations and the way that cancel culture was creating pariahs," says Goold. "But it is as much about someone who is shut out from their community because they choose to live apart. There is part of Tobias that is like that."

Menzies acknowledges that he is attracted to roles that conceal depths. "It's partly a taste thing," he says. "I like the kind of acting where I can't see the performance, I can't see how it is happening. There is a certain magic about that. Part of the maths is that there is more on the inside than on the outside, there's a kind of mystery there."

Menzies was born in London, his father a radio producer for the BBC, but after his parents separated when he was six, he lived with his mother, a drama teacher, and his brother in Kent. On their regular cultural outings, he was inspired by contemporary dance and the experimental theater companies he saw: Pina Bausch, Complicité, Shared Experience, Cheek by Jowl. "I was interested in companies that were making their own work," he says, "and I tried to go to train with [the radical movement coach] Jacques Lecoq in Paris; but I didn't have the money for that, so I went to RADA."

He never dreamed of being a famous actor. "My obsession as a kid was tennis," he says, with a grin. He was good enough to be on the fringes of the team for the county of Kent but gave it up when he realized he would never be truly first-class. He stopped playing for a long time. "Periodically I would pick up a racket and try to play a bit, and my game had completely fallen apart and it made me so angry. It was so frustrating. A few years ago I thought, Let's start again, do my 10,000 hours, and let's fix it." He approached the task with "monomaniacal" intent, working for a year on his forehand, and a year on his backhand, then adding his serve. Now he plays three times a week at a local tennis club, either with a coach or taking on other members in clay court matches. "I'm pretty obsessive about it," he says. "I just find it fascinating. It is such a mental game—a very interesting microcosm of one's brain."

His hero is Novak Djokovic. "He has less natural flair than Nadal or Federer but there is an epic quality to his tennis. He is able to endure and suffer, and so he can do it all in some way. There is a sort of purity to what he is doing. I think only if you have struggled with tennis do you realize that even though it looks plain, what's going on, the footwork, the ability to get to that ball and then hit it—it's just rather remarkable."

Menzies admits that his attitude to life mirrors his tennis. "I am probably on the methodical end of things, yeah," he says, with another low laugh. I ask about his film roles, which have been getting bigger and richer of late. He loved filming in New York with Holofcener on You Hurt My Feelings—"It was definitely bucket list"—and is currently appearing alongside Brad Pitt in the as-yet-untitled Formula 1 drama directed by Joseph Kosinski, which is filming scenes at Grand Prix around the world.

Before the actors' strike interrupted production, they had shot two scenes at Silverstone in the UK. "It was bonkers because we are in amongst everything else. So we did this scene on the grid before the race and the grid is live: real drivers, real cars, celebrities wandering around." He pauses, then adds: "It was like theater on steroids—really, really fun." He has nothing but praise for Pitt—"a lovely, lovely person, very collaborative, very nice to act with, and supersmart"—but working with him brought Menzies face-to-face with a level of fame that he doesn't aspire to. "How does he go out? It is very constraining to have that level of visibility."

Partly from a desire to preserve his anonymity as much as he can, Menzies took an early decision never to talk about his private life. "Is that old-fashioned of me?" he asks. "I'm going to stick to my guns. It's partly natural shyness on my part. But to be a bit more grandiose about it, the idea of celebrity moving into the arts and acting does have an effect on how we watch."

Through it all Menzies is genial and engaged, asking a lot of questions, yet there is something formal about him too. This is someone who is deeply serious about acting, pursuing projects that interest him and then immersing himself in them. I ask if being able to choose work of quality and interest is part of this new level of success, and Menzies says that it has come at a good time. "The question for me would have been whether as a younger person I would have handled it very well," he tells me. "I just think at some base level, it has taken me time to get really good." He laughs gently. "If I'd had a lot of exposure early on, I don't think I'd have been ready. I know I am a lot better now than I was 10 years ago. Acting keeps you very humble because you never quite know day-to-day. You can do all the work in the world and try the best you can, and sometimes it just lifts off and sometimes it doesn't."

[exitiumhq]

✧ ━ rise above the flames, the enemy is at the gates ━ ✧

A heinous crime was discovered in the early hours of the morning, the bodies of five OEA hunters having been found. Their bodies had been burnt and discarded of in an abandoned warehouse; a couple miles out of the French Quarter. All five had been identified as members of the OEA from the NOLA division and their cause of death has officially been determined as murder. 

Extensive forensic investigation has concluded that no lighter fluid was used to start the fire and with that discovery the blame returns to the witches. However, it is believed that the witch responsible was not working alone.

Whilst this matter continues to be investigated a citywide curfew has been introduced with the exception of members of the OEA. Anybody without an OEA escort caught out in the city between the hours of 11pm and 6am will be detained and dealt with accordingly. With suspicion heightened, members of the OEA will have the right to question suspects and search their homes and places of business. Be warned, their methods of questioning will be persuasive and anybody with any knowledge of the event will be expected to come forward. Or more likely forced to.

OOC information:

With the OEA trying to re-establish dominance throughout the city, it's only fitting that our residents are going to fight back. In order to defeat the enemy, working together is the only way to get ahead.

Running discreetly inside of an abandoned St Anne's church and away from the prying eyes of the OEA; an election is to be held between the supernatural factions in order to give each a voice and unite them. They must decide who they wish to be the voice for their species and regular meetings will be held to begin healing the rifts and working together to overturn the OEA.

If you wish for your character to be one of the names in the running, simply drop us a message to the main ( character name & their faction ) From there we will let you know when our vote is officially open. Species that have less numbers than others can absolutely still partake either joining another group, ie: fairies with witches, or can alternatively have an npc following & put a call out for wanted species connections.

( We ask that all names are sent to us by 01/24 )

[chongmiz]

initially posted to main blog but i wanted to expand so

i think a good rule of thumb is artists don't need to disclose their medical history to "prove" their credentials. i understand how the fortnight MV and suicidal lyrics throughout ttpd can read as careless; i had some initial hesitation because i haven't stopped thinking of britney spears' memoir since i read it, and the lineage of women in her family being institutionalized against their will by and pumped full of lithium. but just because one blond pop star publicizes this doesn't mean every other should follow.

however, strong reactions to fortnight, in particular, must come from the discomfort of taylor's proud ownership of her songs as "about her life" (miss americana doc), but this wasn't even true of her discography at that point in time, before folklore; they've been about friends' lives, the kennedys, characters from books and film and tv, like she says about "death by a thousand cuts" and much of her older songs at NPR tiny desk. but taylor hasn't framed her music as narrated by characters since folklore and evermore, and she's never not appeared in a self-directed music video; i think she's only been a supporting role twice, in the ATW "film" and "i can see you."

i wonder if some more obvious buffer between her and the material might help its reception infinitesimally, like having an actor in the fortnight MV. then again, i'm reminded of pj harvey:

'Some critics have taken my writing so literally to the point that they’ll listen to 'Down by the Water' and believe I have actually given birth to a child and drowned her,' scoffed Harvey to Spin in 2005. It’s a curious trend: unlike her old pal Nick Cave, a man always left free to slip into the skins of murderers, sleazebags or demonic preachers because he’s playing characters, Harvey has often been shackled by folk desperate to bolt autobiographical meaning to her every song. 'It can be very frustrating, particularly when it seems almost preposterous that it could be autobiographical,' she told me in an interview for the Quietus in 2011, just before the release of Let England Shake. 'People don’t allow the metaphor, the imagery, all the things that you work with as a writer … standing completely outside, as the narrator of a story.' (The Guardian, 2015)

i don't bring in pj harvey for no reason. her late career has included incidental music for ivo van hove's west end productions, including all about eve starring gillian anderson and lily james. a few years prior, gillian anderson played blanche dubois in a streetcar named desire at st. ann's warehouse dir. benedict andrews. the ending of "hits different" (feeding into beginning of "fortnight") made me think of a streetcar named desire on first listen, which ends with blanche involuntarily committed after her brother-in-law assults her, her sister helpless to intervene. you might recognize the line "i have always depended on the kindness of strangers" that lana quotes somewhere on born to die, said by blanche to the nurses taking her away. i suppose early lana's midcentury nostalgia successfully separated lana from lizzy, and pj harvey did not start her career claming her lyrics as autobiography. unfortunately, taylor swift may never be allowed such estrangement because she doesn't seem to want it ("i hate it here"), even if her next directorial outing is something vastly more "period" than fortnight, even if she doesn't appear onscreen.

as much as people fantasize about her writing a musical one day, 1) "beautiful ghosts" was redundant to an already nonsense libretto and really just the ingenue version of "memory," so you're back to a ybwm madonna/whore binary, groundbreaking and 2) based on her music video treatments, i question her interest in writing in someone else's voice, as in a flesh-and-blood character with material context, not loosely-defined devices like betty and james

[eggtrolls]

Weekend to do list round 3

Saturday:

Dishes

Litter box 1 & 2

Update LinkedIn

Soak AWC seeds

Clean out fridge

Apply for job

Vacuum

Figure out how to make beans in instant pot

Fold clothes

Watch Singin’ in the Rain for @roycohn

Social media posts for org :(

Try to do art?

Sunday

Weed Japanese knotweed

Schedule email to plant lady (Joanna)

Play at 4:30 at St. Ann’s Warehouse

Check on secret beach plum no one knows about