Fails to charm 

By Christine Powley 

The End of the Affair (Rialto) is an impeccably crafted document of the social modes and spiritual
dilemmas of upper class English people during World War 2.

Novelist Maurice Bendrix (Ralph Fiennes) conducts a passionate affair with Sarah Miles (Julianne Moore)
as the London blitz thunders around them. Then to Maurice's mystification Sarah ends the affair. He sulks
for two years then is forced to re-examine his bruised feelings after bumping into Sarah's husband, Henry
(Stephen Rea).

Henry confides that he fears Sarah is having an affair and Maurice jealously springs into action, hiring a
detective to track down her new love.

The End of the Affair , of course, is based on Graham Greene's loosely autobiographical novel of the same
name. The temptation when viewing anything of a biographical nature is to judge the prototypes on whom the
fiction is based rather than the success of the fiction generated.

On both counts I found myself resistant to The End of the Affair's charms. Maurice is an egotistical
self-pitying bore whose first reaction to every development is how does this make me feel? No wonder
Greene is routinely summed up as being a difficult man.

As for the story, The End of the Affair contains a swoony, "grand passion" love story which strongly mimics
the doomed love affair that Fiennes acted out in the film version of The English Patient . Yes, I know that
Greene's novel considerably pre-dates The English Patient but we are talking movie here.

Where I got bored with The End of the Affair was that it totally miscued its surprises. We are allowed to
work out why Sarah halted the affair way before Maurice, but the movie continues to worry the issue until
he is allowed to catch up. Then the sting in the tail has all the subtlety of a car alarm.

The End of the Affair works on many levels but still fails to make you care about the fate of its lovers.

Director: Neil Jordan.

Actors: Ralph Fiennes, Julianne Moore, Stephen Rea, Ian Hart, Jason Isaacs, James Bolam, Sam
Bould.

Rating: M.

Eleanor, an entertainment about the life of Eleanor of
                               Aquitaine, the first of a series on famous women of
                               the last millennium, opens at the Fortune Theatre
                               tomorrow. Charmian Smith talks to the local artists
                               and performers behind the project.

                               QUEEN of France and Queen of England, mother of kings, an
                               intrepid traveller and stateswoman, patron of the arts and courtly
                               love, Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204) was one of the outstanding
                               women in the early part of the past millennium.

                               Her story has captured the imagination of a group of local arts
                               professionals who are portraying her life in music, song, dance and
                               a play, as the first of a series of works on four famous women.
                               The others will be Dunedin poet Ruth Dallas (born 1919), Aphra
                               Behn (1640-89) novelist, dramatist and secret agent, and Dunedin
                               painter Frances Hodgkins (1869-1947).

                               In the 12th century, women were chattels of their fathers or
                               husbands, Christine Johnston, who wrote the play, said.

                               "Many women were abducted and forcibly married for their wealth
                               and when Eleanor's father died she was a sitting duck for
                               abduction for her lands," she said. 

                               Soon after his death she was married at 16 to her cousin, Louis,
king of France, bringing the rich lands of the duchy in south western France. 

Paris must have seemed dull after the lively court of her father, the Duke of Aquitaine but Eleanor went on a
Crusade with her husband and brought back things like sheets, carpets, tapestries, soap, forks. However,
Eleanor and Louis did not get on and she had only borne him daughters, so their marriage was annulled on
the grounds of consanguinity and Aquitaine reverted to her.

In 1152, at the age of 31, she married 18-year old Henry of Anjou, soon to be king of England. She bore him
eight children, including Richard Lionheart and John, both later kings. However, she did not get on with
Henry and helped her sons rebel in 1173. Henry put down the rebellion and for the rest of his life kept
Eleanor prisoner, letting her out for family Christmases. On his death she liberated herself and ruled England
while Richard the Lionheart was away on Crusades. 

In spite of being so high born and wealthy, Eleanor could not survive in that world on her own. She lived a
dangerous life, her fate often determined by men, Ms Johnston said.

Much of her later life was spent negotiating advantageous marriages for her children and grandchildren. 

In an age when marriages, especially among the aristocracy, were arranged, the convention of courtly love
grew up at the court of Aquitaine. 

Courtly love had four characteristics, humility, courtesy, adultery and the religion of love, according to
Bronwyn Judge who choreographed the dances for the show.

"It involved passion and suffering and living intensely on the edge," Ms Judge said.

It was different from the modern notion of romantic love which developed from it, the ideal that people
marry for love and live happily ever after.

"In courtly love people wanted to be unhappy. Suffering was really important so you could live passionately
and intensely with so much longing. It was the subject of so many songs and poems - unrequited love, lust
and similar sentiments," Ms Judge said.

The passionate poems and songs were written and sung by troubadours who were often of noble birth, and,
occasionally were women. Eleanor's grandfather, Duke Guillaume of Aquitaine, was the first troubadour and
chivalry, tournaments and courts of love were an essential part of the culture. 

The object of desire was usually a noble lady and several were in love with Eleanor, according to Ms
Johnston.

Eleanor was always described as exceptional, beautiful, wise and honourable, but never as a saint. She had
detractors, often men in the church who called her a whore, but her court was one of the most civilised at
the time, with troubadours and courtiers from Moorish Spain, Arab countries, Germany, and of course
France and England. She was a patron of the arts which were flourishing after the dark ages, particularly
gothic architecture, music and dance.

It was an important time for dance. Earlier dances were lines of dancers weaving figures, but the individual
steps did not matter. With the development of courtly love and couples dancing, the idea of solos and duets
and having music at the back and audience at the front developed, said Ms Judge.

The production group, Panache, grew out of the Women's Work Collective which produced the successful
Everloving Friends for the sesquicentennial. It comprises playwright Christine Johnston, composer Gillian
Whitehead, choreographer and dancer Bronwyn Judge and actors Hilary Norris and Prue Clark. Ana Good
sings, Patrick Davies directs and Ann Moir, Sarah Cuthbertson, Joyce Whitehead and Heather Cooper also
perform. Jonette Hall and Ann Harris, of Oamaru, made the costumes.

Artyfacts 

  New Hall play

Former Dunedin playwright Roger Hall has written two new plays involving farmers experiencing changed
circumstances.

The first of those, You Gotta Be Joking!, will be seen on tour throughout Otago and Southland in the next
two weeks, followed by a season at Dunedin's Fortune Theatre.

The play heralds the return of Dickie Hart, who Hall fans first met in his 1996 hit, C'Mon Black. In that play
he recalled his trip to South Africa, following the All Blacks on their 1995 World Cup campaign. Five years
have elapsed and, at his wife's prompting, Dickie has retired from their farm and moved to Wellington.

There he comes into contact with a New Zealand he has never known before, coaching a largely Maori and
Samoan under-10s rugby team and joining the chorus of a Gilbert and Sullivan Society production.

The Circa Theatre production, starring veteran actor Grant Tilly, is on tour until April 22, with the support of
Reid Farmers, and will be at the Fortune from April 28 to May 20.

GM presented from opposite perspectives 

UNRAVELLING GENES

A layperson's guide to genetic engineering

Mark Walker and David McKay

Allen and Unwin, pbk, $24.95

GENETIC ENGINEERING, FOOD AND OUR
ENVIRONMENT 

A brief guide 

Luke Anderson 

Scribe, pbk, $24.95 

By Charmian Smith 

Governments, multinational companies, scientists and people who
support genetic engineering often call for reason and scientific
argument to prevail over emotional persuasion. If the public would
only listen to reason, they believe, we would all see the light and
accept their argument. These two books offer an interesting
polarity.

Unravelling Genes is written by two scientists in an accessible
style to explain to non-scientists what genetic engineering is and
how it works. They discuss some of the hopes that bacteria may
be engineered to clean up various types of pollution such as PCBs,
some of the modifications made to plants and animals, and human
gene therapy, the use of gene technology in medicine to treat
human diseases. 

I was struck by the narrowness of the authors' attitudes. Both are
eminent Australian scientists and obviously both are excited by the
new science and the possibility of what might be achieved by it.
Apart from the last chapter, when they mention the ethically
contentious issue of using gene technology on humans, they seem
to be divorced from people and our human concerns about the
world we live in. They discuss some of the scientific risks, the
horizontal transfer of genes across species and the dangers of
using antibiotics as markers. It is as if cold, hard science has no
relationship with humans - as in how it might affect other parts of
our life or society, or how humans may subvert the technology for
their own ends. 

Perhaps this is typical of scientists not to look beyond their laboratories into the wider world, and the reason
for the apparent dearth of understanding between them and ordinary people over this contentious issue.

This book is useful reading if you want to understand the science, technology and some of the possibilities of
genetic engineering but, to learn about the issues, you will need to read something else. 

I suggest Genetic Engineering, Food and our Environment . The logical reasons against GM food are
clearly, succinctly, dispassionately and authoritatively put, andell documented.

This is a book you must read if you want to be better informed on the subject, whichever side you are on, or
if you are floundering in a mass of incomprehension about the topic, which will be a major concern of the
21st century, as nuclear power was of the 20th.

The British author discusses the science, the effects of genetically modified organisms on the environment,
GM and farming, including the social issues of industrial farming land reform, debt, the claim to feed the
world, labelling, and the tricky issues of bio-piracy and patenting life and how, in some cases, research is
restricted in organisations that do not hold patents - which leads to a scary chapter about the life science
industry and government. 

What emerges as the most frightening aspect is the way the multinational companies use their influence in
government and in regulatory authorities to push their own interests, with so little concern for the public. A
case study on milk and GM growth hormones makes horrifying reading.

This is an Australian and New Zealand edition, with resources applicable for us listed in the back.

  Charmian Smith is an ODT feature writer and books editor.

Tales of hunting, shooting, fishing fraternity 

By Stephen Jaquiery

How hungry does a man have to be before eating a handful of
dog biscuits? How keen are the city slickers when the blisters
begin to form and the gorse works through their clothing? And
what does it feel like to be charged by an enraged boar?

Ellis Emmett, author of A Wild Obsession: Wild Pork and A
Wet Arse and other New Zealand Outdoor Sto ries , (Caxton,
pbk, $29.95) answers these questions and plenty of others in a
humorous, fast paced, well illustrated and highly enjoyable
recounting of his own wild obsession.

The enthusiasm of youth takes a few body blows as Wayne
Blake describes successful possum trapping in the sixties.
Trappers, Dogs ''n'' Deer , (Halcyon, pbk, $29.95) is unusual in
that it follows the trials and tribulations of a possum hunter, one
aspect of our hunting scene which has not been extensively
documented. A chance encounter with a seasoned trapper
taught Blake that the wily possum was not as stupid as he first
thought. Young hunters today could well get started in the
industry by following Blake's experiences as possum fur makes
a resurgence on the world market.

North Island Back Country Dunnies (Halcyon, pbk, $29.95), a
cheeky trip around back block conveniences in the North Island
by Hans Willems, is a companion to his Back Country Huts
published a year earlier. The numerous colour photographs
convey a definite resourcefulness, versatility and humour in our
bush builders. There are descriptions of huts, maps of tracks and
comments on fishing, hunting and history of the area. This is an
enjoyable read even if you are not contemplating using the
facilities described.

In the journalistic style of an author with a lengthy newspaper
background, Don Wright, in Deer Were Their Lives , (Craigs,
pbk, $35.95) has recorded the involvement of Jock Murdoch and
his associates in the southern venison industry of the '50s to '70s.
There are no exaggerated stories of animals shot on the run at
800 yards or descriptions of the step by step stalking of a roaring
stag. This is a journal of record based on the memories of a few
key figures involved with the varied hunting activities of the time.
Southland Times chief photographer Barry Harcourt brings
their musings to life with dramatic photographs of helicopter deer
capture. They ponder on who were the best in their trade, give
tribute to some who paid the ultimate price and pull no punches
in describing relationships with some deerstalkers' association
members with whom they did not see eye to eye. It is a pity
some of the colour plates are just repeats of the author holding
fish and I could hardly not notice the misspelling of Jaquiery
stream. Don Wright will find agreement with other Fiordland
users but is sure to annoy conservationists when he suggests the
balance of the bush has reverted to an overgrown mess with the
drastic reduction of grazing animals. Mostly this is a record of
tough men reliving their profession. 

  Stephen Jaquiery is ODT illustrations editor and a keen
hunter. 

File of evidence uncovers story
                of the `mad monk' 

                                RASPUTIN. THE LAST WORD

                                Edvard Radzinsky

                                Allen and Unwin, hbk, $59.95

                                By Geoff Adams

                                In lengthy, detailed but quite enthralling fashion, Radzinsky (after
                                Chekhov, Russia's most frequently staged playwright) has
                                produced a biography of "the mad monk" and an account of his
                                murder which is a compelling read.

                                A trained historian, Radzinsky spent 25 years researching and
                                writing his life of Nicholas II in The Last Tsar, which was a
                                worldwide best-seller. That was followed with a life of Stalin. He
                                also works on Russian television, having won an award most
                                recently for his series on Napoleon.

                                Grigory Rasputin was the semi-literate and enigmatic mystic who
                                exercised extraordinary power over Nicholas and Alexandra, the
                                last tsar and tsarina of Russia, and their haemophiliac son Alexei.
                                He was seen by some as a "holy fool" in a special and almost
revered sense and disgusted others with his drunkenness, sexual excesses and nepotism. There were
rumours of him being a German agent and during his life he often appeared to be under close observation by
various teams of security forces and police compiling reports of his movements.

Radzinsky long wanted to write a proper biography of this strange, magnetic figure who seemed to have both
healing and malign powers. But, he was deterred from the task by large gaps in official records.

He needed "the file" (being missing documents from the report of Section 13, an Extraordinary Commission
set up in 1917 to investigate the activity of the "dark forces", meaning Rasputin, the tsarina and others close
to them). Diaries of Rasputin were deemed to be spurious and the published proceedings of the commission
were "pitiful". Radzinsky searched for the full testimonies heard by the commission. After the start of
perestroika he renewed his efforts, but the breakthrough only came when his friend Slava Rostropovich,
who was conducting an opera at the Bolshoi Theatre in 1995, told him he had purchased an enormous file of
documents for him at a Sotheby's auction.

Radzinsky went with him to Paris and found it was "the file". The jigsaw was complete and he was able to
begin assembling the pieces.

Radzinsky's scholarship enabled him to point out the deficiencies of many previous sources and accounts,
while drawing upon the contemporary accounts and interviews previously unavailable to historians. Through
the text of telegrams now brought to light, he has been able to uncover the full extent of the emotional
relationship between Rasputin and the tsarina, the German-born grand-daughter of Queen Victoria. The way
Rasputin influenced, through the tsarina, Nicholas' conduct of Russia's disastrous war against Germany, is
shown.

There are astonishing and frank accounts of the sexual odyssey and debaucheries of Rasputin in St
Petersburg.

The scheming behind Rasputin's murder in "a nightmare evening" is laid bare - with all its fabrications by the
conspirators and the author's own reconstruction (and the reasoning behind it), which seems to clarify why
the poison did not work, the monk was shot (several times) and finally found as a corpse floating in the river.

This is a fascinating example of historical truth being far stranger than fiction and one is left with the
impression that this well researched and beautifully written book is aptly titled The Last Word on Rasputin. It
is a lengthy tome, made easier with subheadings throughout the chapters and the reconstruction of weird
events never palls.

  Geoff Adams is a former editor of the ODT

Traditional society not easy for women 

                              THEY WHO DO NOT GRIEVE

                              Sia Figiel

                              Vintage, pbk, $24.95

                              By Dinah Dunavan

                              It is always interesting to read a novel set in another land, another
                              culture. Will it reinforce a preconceived conception, enlighten as to
                              how other people live, or baffle in the strangeness of its language
                              and ideas? I must admit that this novel does all three.

                              Sia Figiel writes of her home country, Samoa and explores the lives
                              of women who live in and come from Samoa. The picture she
                              presents is of a very hard and violent existence.

                              Although I have never lived in Samoa, I talked to friends and family
                              who have and they tell me Sia Figiel has portrayed a true picture.

                              They Who Do Not Grieve weaves a picture of Samoan women
                              through the stories of two young women who grow up shaped by
                              the anger and prejudice around them.

Malu, raised by her grandmother, is scorned by the villagers because she is illegitimate. Alofa, taken to live in
Giu Sila by her grandmother, struggles to remain Samoan while living in a European world. The girls are
linked through their grandmothers' history of friendship, jealousy and betrayal.

A more mythical and dream-time story also runs through the book, of the Siamese twin sisters who swam to
Samoa from Fiji, bringing with them the women's tattoo. This tattoo links the two girls and their
grandmothers. There is also a strong thread of dream stories involving the forest, menstruation and lust.

At times in these sections, I must admit I found myself lost, having to retrace my steps to understand what
was happening.

The strongest theme for me was the violence and anger meted out by women to other women. "Most of
these so-called conversations were in reality commands, accusations, curses, It was common practice."

Life for a young woman was full of rules and strictures. "Don't leave the house unaccompanied, . . . Don't
even look at a boy."

Each of the women we meet in the book suffers from violence, physical, sexual and emotional. Violence is a
way of life and no-one tries to change that way.

For a palagi the story is sometimes confusing and rather disturbing. But, it is a story of personal strength and
some peace is found at the end. The two stories come to an end as the two girls determine to break the
cycle of violence, anger and prejudice.

  Dinah Dunavan is on the ODT editorial staff.

Transcendental Blues . Steve Earle. E-Squared Records (Sony Music). 4980749. 15 tracks, 49 mins 56 secs, plus bonus CD, 4 
tracks, 16 mins 28 secs. Reviewed by Dave Cannan. 
In the five years since his triumphant return from the brink of musical oblivion in 1995, Steve Earle has done more to re-establish and 
redeem his reputation as one of the truly great singer-songwriters than any others I can think of. 
However, this latest CD serves to re-affirm rather than enhance that standing for, of the five albums he has released since his release 
from prison, (and this pains me greatly), this is arguably the least impressive. 
But let me quickly add that such an apparently harsh assessment is relative. The four previous albums were all five star-plus efforts. 
This is only four star, but still miles ahead of much of what I've heard this year. 
I'm unsure why Earle doesn't quite measure up to his own exceptional standards. Maybe it was pressure from the record company to 
get something out to meet contractual obligations; perhaps he's just going through a lean creative spell. It happens to the best of them; 
just ask any avid Dylan fan. 
Of the 15 tracks on Transcendental Blues there are three standouts sure to become Earle classics. The Irish-drenched "Steve's Last 
Ramble" and "The Galway Girl" are so good they are included in a live bonus CD, while "Another Town" is one of those infectious, 
just-never-quits tunes he produces with apparent ease. 
Two of the quieter, introspective songs - "Halo Round The Moon" and "Over Yonder (Jonathan's Song)" - show Earle at his poetic, 
Springsteen-ish best, while "Until The Day I Die" was probably a left-over from The Mountain , Earle's masterpiece bluegrass album 
from last year, but it's still a standout. 
"When I Fall", a duet with Earle's little sister Stacey, is sweet but not up there with some of his most memorable partnerships with 
Lucinda Williams, Iris de Ment and Emmylou Harris. 
"Everyone's In Love With You" could have been cut straight from a Rubber Soul session and shows once again Earle's admiration for 
the Beatles (remember his great version of I'm Lookin' Through You ?). 
Perhaps the best clue to some of the puzzling inclusions here comes from his liner notes: ". . . transcendence is about being still 
enough, long enough, to know when it's time to move on . . . (expletive deleted)". 
rating: four stars.

Low-cost festival of arts caters to youth 
By Angela Crompton 
Providing a high-quality holiday programme for young people, regardless of how much money they have - not - is an important aim of 
this year's Dunedin youth arts and cultural festival. 
Organised by the Dunedin Youth Forum, the "Out of Body" festival features workshops each morning and afternoon where 
participants' only cost is the effort to book themselves in. Performances in the evenings are open to anyone who can pay a gold coin 
entry fee or, for the final dance party event next Saturday, a $5 door charge, said forum co-ordinator Adam Doesburg. 
Young people with money to spend were well-catered for in the holidays, he said. "For those who don't, there's not a heck of a lot to 
do." 
The Out of Body programme, starting on Monday and aimed at 13 to 25-year-olds, includes stone sculpture, script-writing, stilt-
walking, African drumming and body art workshops. They were brought together after a brainstorming session by Adam and festival 
facilitator Cara Paterson, then approved or adapted by forum members. 
People approached in Dunedin's art community to assist, had given a "fantastic" response, Adam said. 
"We're able to offer a . . . very varied, broad, exciting programme with really experienced and very talented tutors. We've been 
extremely lucky." 
Many had agreed to run workshops at "greatly reduced rates". Fees that were asked have fallen within a $10,000 grant, provided by 
financial support from the Lottery Youth Grants Board, Community Trust of Otago, Creative Communities NZ and the Dunedin City 
Council, Adam said. 
"We're looking forward to an awesome week," Adam said, noting the more people who took part, the better chances were of scoring 
more money for next year's festival. 
Programmes for this year's event are available in cafes, sports venues, schools and recreation stores around Dunedin.

Hot jazz on a cold winter's afternoon 
SORT of a strange weekend last week. Went back to the Dunedin Lodge's Gresham Bar and saw Robert Scott again. This time he was 
ably supported by Smirky frontman and ace songwriter Stephen Stedman and yours truly. 
Stephen Stedman has been writing songs for absolutely years now. His second band of note, Glovepuppet, still has its music played on 
a regular basis, as Bonvina is the theme tune for TV2's music programme, Squeeze . Recently, Stephen has been putting the finishing 
touches on the Smirky album, Vitamin M. 
Stephen writes some of the most beautiful pure pop songs around and has a fairly versatile style, from moody and intense to light and 
almost jolly. He played a fine couple of sets on Friday. 
Robert played for around an hour, doing a good mix of his originals and songs he has taught students. Every time he did a cover, he 
managed to make the song his own, translating it into fluent Robert Scott. He closed the night with a beautiful, stripped-down version 
of one of his songs that brought me to Dunedin, North by North . 
On Saturday, I had meant to go to see the international reggae day-gig at Passion, but I had to rest. Instead, I went on Sunday to see 
the last performance of the Dunedin City Jazz Orchestra before it leaves to play around Europe - at the prestigious Montreux and Saas 
Fee jazz festivals, as well as playing in the Netherlands. 
Walking into the University of Otago's Castle One lecture theatre brought back many memories - mostly of working with the capping 
show but also way back to English 103 with John Dolan in 1995. It was pretty weird getting seated and seeing the Good C Quartet 
warm up. 
Local jazz legend and great, modest compere Jack Allpress introduced the event as "Jazz on a Winter's Afternoon", a fitting title, as 
the temperature outside was suffering, due to the southerly. The Good C Quartet had become a quintet, with the addition of Graham 
Perkins on piano, and it chugged through Miles Davis' Four then into Wayne Shorter's Footprints , before sliding into the Latin beauty 
of Horace Silvers' Song For My Father . The Good C finished with a stomping version of the John Coltrane classic Mr PC , delivered 
at break neck speed, due to the immense skill of all the players. 
At this time, all of the audience had arrived but the auditorium was only half to three-quarters full, which was a shame, as the gig was 
a last fund-raising effort before the jazz orchestra leaves for Europe. 
Jack joked about a bus from Ross Home bringing in members of the South City Six - of which he is the drummer. The line-up has 
some definite similarities to the Calder Prescott quartet, with Neil Paget on bass, Calder on piano and Mike Gibbs on trumpet. They 
brought the number up to six with Doug Law on trombone and Jim Mackay on clarinet. This beat-combo rattled through some fine 
Dixieland jazz classics, ending with When the Saints and, as Calder's quartet has done in the past, introductions of all the band 
members, which is really down-home and charming. 
After a short break, during which you could hear instruments warming up out the back - a sound that could only be described as some 
very modern jazz - the orchestra started its set with the John Dankworth piece, Curtain Up . It was quite inspired and suited being the 
opening tune. The sheer volume that four trumpets, four trombones, five saxophones and a rhythm section of bass, piano and drums 
can achieve is terrifying - I can understand how hearing problems are common among orchestra players. 
After a swinging version of Fly Me To the Moon , band leader Calder Prescott introduced the whole band, a feat I am not about to 
reproduce here. 
Song No 5 in the set was Summertime, and I can hear some of you groan at the thought of that. But the orchestra re-interpreted it with 
a '60s soul and '70s funk feel. It also featured some outstanding solos from Sarah Walker on trumpet and Melissa Sydney on alto sax. 
Duke Ellington's Caravan was another stand-out tune, with the horn section becoming a percussion section for the introduction. 
The orchestra closed with a tribute to Miles Davis, after which Calder was persuaded to break with tradition and play an encore, for 
which they chose Satin Doll . 
It was a fine afternoon's entertainment. Warm jazz on a cold day is a soothing tonic for the winter blues. Good luck and best wishes to 
the Dunedin City Jazz Orchestra as it takes on Europe. 
Tomorrow night will be busy in town with the closing of the youth festival and a gig above The Lonestar featuring Carriage H, Silver 
Cloud Lounge and various DJs. At Arc on Saturday, music will be played by Christchurch band Pine, whose instruments include a 
snare drum, melodeon and an old keyboard of some sort, along with the obligatory guitar. Pine has been compared to Australian band 
The Lucksmiths, which is a very good thing. Pine will be supported by Battle of the band fifth placegetters Lilas, whose gentle and 
beautiful songs are nothing short of enchanting.

Essays about Hotere fill
                       yawning hole 

                                      RALPH HOTERE BLACK LIGHT

                                      Te Papa Press and Dunedin Public Art Gallery

                                      By Nicola Mutch

                                      Ralph Hotere is an artist who has sparked much opinion
                                      and few words. Despite critical acclaim and the
                                      outstanding contribution he has made to New Zealand art,
                                      scant written material exists to provide an overview of his
                                      approach and output as an artist.

                                      Ralph Hotere Black Light - the publication to
                                      accompany the recent exhibition of the same name - was,
                                      therefore, intended to be more than just a catalogue. It
                                      was to serve as a body of literature. To achieve this, it
                                      brings together a variety of perspectives from individuals
                                      who have sought to make sense of Hotere's art: the
                                      academic, the fellow artist, the poet, the reviewer.

                                      Of course, Hotere does not make it easy for writers. This
                                      exhibition focuses on his numerous black works and the
                                      culture of silence that surrounds them. This is art that
repeatedly renders viewers mute. The starting point for many essayists here is the question of how to assign
words to works that seem to occupy the space outside of language.

A popular approach is to mirror the feel of the works with words. Ian Wedde and David Eggleton create
texts as unwilling to be pinned down as a Hotere artwork, weaving his paintings into a world of myth-making,
metaphysics, literature, nature and commerce. Francis Pound, with the rigour of a modernist, works away at
the surfaces of the paintings. Cilla McQueen beautifully uses language to evoke an ensemble of the moods,
images and smells that inform Hotere's art.

John Reynolds' personal account provides a unique sense of the experience of creating art with Ralph
Hotere. However, it is Gregory O'Brien I found to be the most inspiring with his insights, as he explores the
spiritual dimensions of Hotere's art and its relevance in New Zealand.

We get perspectives and we get debate. While Pound focuses on Hotere's modernism and O'Brien offers a
religious reading of his works, Wedde rejects such pigeon-holing.

This book succeeds as a telling collection of essays about Ralph Hotere, but it is somewhat at the expense of
its function as an exhibition catalogue. If many of these essays approach Hotere's art by talking around it,
then, similarly, this catalogue avoids directly addressing much of the exhibition in question. In particular, the
major works of Black Light - the jaw-dropping Black Phoenix and the luminous collaborative projects Hotere
created with Bill Culbert - barely rate a mention.

This might not be the point. The assortment of essays, ideas and attitudes assembled in Ralph Hotere Black
Light ensures the document will sustain, long after memories of the exhibition have faded.

  Nicola Mutch is an ODT art and book reviewer .

Just browsing 

For people in business and public life, handling interviews with the press, radio and television is a routine part
of the job, but a poor presentation can not only be embarrassing, it can also damage one's credibility. Much
good advice can be found in Media consultants Brian Edwards and Judy Callingham's book How to survive
and win with the media (Tandem, pbk, $24.95).

***

People suffering from back pain may find help in Sarah Key's Back Sufferers' Bible (Allen and Unwin, pbk,
$29.95) with its explanations and suggested exercises.

***

The power of the mind is often evoked. In The Fascination Principle (Magari Publishing, pbk, $24.95),
New Zealand clinical hypnotherapist Aaron McLoughlin explains why this is so and prescribes a technique
for turning your life around by connecting the mind with the body.

***

Parents, teachers and coaches involved with young athletes will find Sports Nutrition for Young People
(Longman, pbk, $19.95) useful. Written by four dietitians and mothers, Lyn Gillanders, Lyn Lloyd, Kerry
McIlroy and Helen Wallwork, it is full of information about children's nutritional needs, particularly when they
are active and competing. Charts, practical advice and many illustrations make it attractive and easy to
follow.

***

A welcome reprint of Robyn Kahukiwa and Patricia Grace's 1984 Wahine Toa: Women of Maori Myth
has been published by Penguin (pbk, $34.95). Grace's retelling of female centred myths and Kahikiwa's
drawings and colourful paintings appear as fresh and charming as they were when first published 16 years
ago.

***

Nga Kupu Me Nga Tikanga (Longman, pbk, $34.95), by University of Otago professor of Maori studies
John Moorfield, is a Maori-English dictionary linked to the Te Whanake series of textbooks, but may well be
a useful stand-alone dictionary.

Bookmarks 

English author Lee Child, married to a New Yorker and now living
in the United States, hit the financial big-time with his creation of
Jack Reacher, a former American military cop. In The Visitor
(Bantam, pbk, $34.95), the fourth of the Reacher thrillers, the
tough, peripatetic investigator with a conscience has to beat the
clock in running to earth a psychopath.

This serial killer is singling out army career women forced to leave
the service after their involvement as victims in sexual harassment
incidents. In their own homes, two women have ended up dead in
baths filled with army-issue camouflage paint.

The reader is taken all round the mulberry bushes as Reacher
seeks the killer. If the journey is not quite so riveting as one
anticipated, it packs enough suspense and thrills to satisfy. -
Clarke Isaacs 

***

Another psychopath features in Ryne Douglas Pearson's Top Ten
(Harper Collins, pbk, $29.95). Known as Michaelangelo, he's a
murderer with bizarre tastes in quietus-dealing, whose ambition is
to graduate from No 10 on the FBI's 10 most wanted list to top
ranking. A drunk doctor's slip of the knife deprived Michaelangelo
of his penis at birth, a loss which has caused him to be most bitter.

Ariel Grace's and other law enforcers' hunt for Michaelangelo,
who also has an undercover FBI agent in his sights, is the impetus
for a quick-moving, racy thriller. The author serves up a sustaining
ration of blind alleys and action in staccato style. - Clarke Isaacs 

***

Awe and reverence are more usually associated with poetry or
religious feeling than scientific knowledge, but in The Sacred
Depths of Nature (Oxford, pbk, $26.95), Washington University
professor of biology Ursula Goodenough evokes such feelings
from scientific concepts such as evolution and cell biology. It is a
refreshing, sensitive way to look at ideas that are more often
presented as devoid of meaning. Her lucid, understandable
explanations of the origins of the earth, of life, how organisms and
evolution works, on the development of biodiversity, species,
awareness, emotions, sex and sexuality and death are followed by
reflections on nature's complexity and wonder. It is a welcome
addition to the debate between science and religion. - Charmian
Smith 

***

Hsu-Ming Teo's first novel, Love and Vertigo (Allen and Unwin,
pbk, $24.95), revealed an aspect of Chinese customs and beliefs
which was new to me.

The extended family of Pandora is assembled in Singapore for her
wake. Seeing her mother in relation to her family, Pandora's
daughter Grace, who tells the story, cannot recognise her as the
person she knew.

Pandora was born on the day of the Japanese invasion of
Singapore and was rejected by her mother Mei-Ling. Her life was
harsh and painful and she was frequently whipped by her mother
who had a violent temper.

The book also follows the lives of Pandora's brothers and sisters
and there is some quite refreshing humour and some basic
language.

Following her marriage to a dentist, Pandora, her husband and
family move to Australia where she is subject to mood swings and
in fact creates an unhappy household, not unlike her mother had done.

The style and content of the story was pleasing and a worthy winner of the Australian Vogel Literary
Award. - Mary Wallace

Actor whips up a storm

Film Review
The Hurricane
By Caroline Hunter

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter's wrongful conviction and 19 years' imprisonment 
for three murders he did not commit make
ideal material for a film and a dream part for Denzel Washington. It is 
easy to see why he won a Golden Globe for his
role in The Hurricane (Hoyts) and is a strong Oscar contender.
Carter's story is a classic underdog's struggle with all the elements of 
good drama. Carter, a world-class boxer (called
"The Hurricane") with a criminal background, was convicted for shooting 
three people in a New Jersey bar in 1966
after he and a young friend,
John Artis (also sentenced to life), were pulled over for driving a car 
similar to one identified by witnesses.
After many years, two trials, a failed appeal, the publication of a book 
and the intervention of many people - some
famous, such as Bob Dylan, who wrote a song about him - Carter gave up his 
struggle for freedom, cutting off his
family and supporters.
Then, in 1980, he received a letter from a young man called Lesra Martin, 
who had read The Sixteenth Round,
Carter's book written in prison. The commitment of Martin and his 
guardians, nine lefty academics from the 
University of Toronto (reduced to three in the film), eventually led to Carter's release in 
1985.
Other people played a part in Carter's conviction being overturned, such as 
former New York Times reporter Selwyn Raab (now an outspoken critic of the film and 
its veracity) and  
Carter's lawyers, who worked for many years voluntarily. But the film's focus is on Lesra 
-and his Canadian friends 
and, in the interests of brevity, many details
have been omitted.
Too many in fact, say a number of journalists and people close to the 
events. Such was the volume of protest after
the film's release that the producers had to launch a vigorous defence, including full page 
advertisements ,in the Hollywood trades.
Substantial details have been invented or distorted, such as the creation 
of a vindictive detective who pursues Carter
from childhood, or the suggestion Carter was robbed of a middleweight title 
when in fact he was squarely beaten. His
previous convictions for assault -and purse snatchings do not rate a 
mention either.
Carter is presented as a saintly victim of racial hatred and corrupt 
policing. He was certainly a victim, but not to the martyred degree portrayed in the film.
In spite of the "Hollywoodising" of the story, including the usual quota of 
speechifying and profound remarks in place
of realistic dialogue, the injustice of Carter's incarceration and his 
spirited attempts to transcend prison life are very
moving. But the embellishments are unnecessary; if anything they have destroyed the 
film's 
credibility.
Washington is superb - intense, proud and
clearly absorbed in the role - and he obviously trained hard to be 
convincing as a boxer. His immersion in the spirit of
the role makes it no surprise "The Hurricane" has warmly endorsed the film.
Director: Norman Jewison
Actors: Denzel Washington, John Hannah, Deborah Kara Unger, Vi Reon 
Shannon, Liev Schreiber, Dan Hedaya.
Rating: M.

Farr works fun and flash but lack real substance
By Bryan James

CD Review
Classical
Owhiro, works for string quartet; Farr; NZ String Quartet; Morrison Trust

Owhiro (1993) is New Zealand composer Gareth Farr's first venture into the 
genre. It is a single movement, some 20
minutes in length, chockfull of character and vivid sound.
It begins with vigorous jazz-like rhythms and scintillating sound
mixtures before
the viola and cello
introduce a
sequence of
darker colours. A repetitive slower section, suggestive of the
movement of waves, provides an aural link
with what is said to be Farr's visual inspiration, and the precursor to a whirling, wind-like 
finale for which the cello supplies the pulse.
The second work, Mondo Rondo (1997) represents the extrovert Gareth Farr 
testing the extremes. The three brief
movements are best described by their titles: mondo rondo, mumbo jumbo, and 
mambo rambo. Great fun to perform,
I should imagine, providing you have the technical facility and plenty of 
confidence, but don't look for profound insight
into the human condition. This is a "fun" piece expertly written and 
unashamedly self-indulgent.
Frenzy (1998), at nine minutes, is in similar vein although I rather feel 
Farr has put more effort into this work. The title aptly describes its "all over in a flash" 
sensation. I hear some listeners 
adding "flash in the pan", too, but Farr is a musician with a gift for creating compact, 
intense bursts of sound. I just 
wish he would take more time to express
that gift. He is capable of creating works of considerable substance, but 
they are not to be found on this disc.
There are just 40 and a-half minutes of music on Owhiro; would that it consisted of just 
one major work for the New Zealand String Quartet to really show their plumage.
 
School staff bound by no common theme
By Richard Dingwall

On Making, School of Art Staff Show, Foyer Gallery
Shadows and Reflections, Susan Awunor-Renner, Moray Gallery
Open Flocking Books, Antonia Muir, Renaissance Gallery

Fourteen artists from the staff of the School of Art are represented in 
this exhibition by one work each.
It would be satisfying to find a common theme but there is none. A number 
of artists present samples of their work
that will be familiar to regular gallery-goers in Dunedin: Di Halstead with 
her tentative photographs of landscape;
Michael Morley with his microbial colonists; Lloyd Godman shows colour 
prints of his recent Light installation at the
Temple Gallery. The idea of "making" in the title finds expression in such 
diverse practice as Ken Laraman's
installation of modified yellow pages (with poignant crumpled pages on the 
floor) to Peter Nicholl's monumental carved and moulded homage to boats and the sea. 
Derek Ball's startling concave 
face of Beethoven is from a large maze
project in Wanaka.
Particularly impressive are the photographs  of Georgiana Morison. By 
photographing areas of skin and printing the
images in soft tones she creates through these unpromising means a mood of 
lyricism and tenderness.
The work encompasses the breadth of vision of a Romantic landscape within 
an intimate examination of the body.
True poetry.
At the Moray Gallery, Susan Awunor-Renner's starting place is the lyricism 
of landscape. She paints in a convincing
Impressionist manner, and then strains to achieve a deeper significance. 
Thus a work like Long Shadow can be seen
as a cheerful cousin of Monet's Poplars (1891) where the sun shines through 
the line of trees, emphasising the strong
vertical lines of the composition. This makes for pleasant viewing. It is 
when the artist pushes for meaning that things go wrong. Soren's Forest, with its 
geometrical elements against the natural land
forms, is strident and unconvincing in its insistence  that we respond to 
the transcendent  qualities of nature.
Perhaps a way forward for Awunor-Renner can be found in Ship in a Stone 
Port Cornaa. Here the representation of
nature is pushed to the point of ugliness. By no means the most 
accomplished of the works in this show, it
nonetheless caught my attention  and seemed to suggest a way out of the 
picturesque cul-de-sac that troubles her.
Open Flocking Books is the name given to this first solo exhibition by 
Antonia Muir. The title alludes to an amusing
conceit of books behaving like birds. They fly around and finally come home 
to roost in libraries.
The paintings which pursue this idea look like illustrations for a story 
that has yet to be written.
The exhibition comprises a selection of paintings and monoprints. The 
prints are the more interesting, having a fresh
quality with wry observations executed in a cheerful scratchy line. The 
paintings,  by contrast, look stiff and self-conscious.

Campbell into stride quickly
Radio Review
By Clarke Isaacs

Chock-full of young man enthusiasm
(well, 36 is young, isn't it?) and wonderment at the treasures of the 
world, especially in New Zealand, to be explored on radio, John Campbell arrived last 
week, almost breathlessly, on the National Radio Saturday Morning scene.
And judging by the immediate approving listener response in faxes, 
e-mails and phone calls, the TV3 weekday
newsreader has already won a place in the affections of the morning 
coffee brigade.
Save for his starry-eyed demeanour and cloyingly habitual use of words 
like "lovely" and "wonderful" when thanking
guests or referring to something just broadcast, Campbell also impressed 
me with his interviewing skills, relaxed,
easy-going manner, and ability to obtain a good rapport with his guests.
He certainly seems to be a worthy successor to Brian Edwards, to whose 
show Campbell said he listened like
others Saturday after Saturday.
In something akin to a mission statement, this caring, New Age chap 
declared: "What I'd love to do, what I'll try to
do, is to be curious on all our behalfs and occasionally be lucky enough 
to discover things that we didn't already
know, to see the world and particularly New Zealand, afresh, to seek 
surprises. Nothing too worthy, you understand."
Though much of Edwards' format for the show remains, Campbell has 
introduced new features.
 In Playing Favourites, guests will pick and play three or four of their 
favourite songs, and talk about why they like
them. Dame Malvina Major filled that slot last Saturday. In Travelogue, 
guests will talk about places they've visited.
Prime Minister Helen Clark, first up, gave her impressions of No 10 
Downing Street, and Gallipoli.
And there will be a "slight reworking" of the Last Word to turn it into 
"a more explicit" examination of the Fourth Estate (the media, in other words) in this 
country. Journalist Gordon 
McLauchlan inaugurated this segment in a show Campbell obviously intends not to be 
boring and predictable.

Early morning viewing of valuable social ideas
TV WEEK
Keith Harrison

0NE of the most exciting programmes to appear on  
screens in recent weeks is Big Ideas from TV1 in the early morning 
section, which transmits BBC World via satellite.
This week we were offered comment on what is needed to change society 
in 
order to improve the quality of life for the
great majority of people.
In Winners Take All, Prof Julian Le Grande, an old Etonian, put forward 
some compelling ideas which may help in the
creation of a better quality of life in the United Kingdom, in his 
search 
for a rich and equal society.
He believes that education holds the key and that an appreciation of 
excellence must be returned to the state
system. He quoted a successful private school, Belvedere, many of whose 
students had been awarded free places,
which had succeeded in turning around the lives of its people.
Prof Le Grande is an idealist who would tear down the walls of 
privilege 
around private or fee-paying schools and
would decree, if he were in power, that the critical exercise would be 
to 
allow education and health services to be
available to all people for the same cost, limiting the range of 
services 
which can be bought by the wealthy.
Prof Ruth Lister, on the other hand, saw equality as a mirage in her 
society and that to achieve such a state would
require a massive amount of state intervention. Prof James Tooley, of 
the 
University of Newcastle, rounded off the
discussion by asserting that the family cannot be left untouched and 
with 
a government which is desperate to please
the public, such family intervention would be intolerable.
Stephen Pollard, in his analysis of contemporary British society 
claimed 
that the old class system has disappeared,
replaced by a superclass of city-based professionals, supported by a 
huge 
middle class, with each group dependent
on a working or service class to keep the wheels of the structure 
turning. Stephen Pollard was doubtful about a
person's ability to move from one class to another and believes that an 
earlier flexibility has been lost with the bald
fact of where one was born being the most likely place one will end up.
The speakers quoted the problems of Liverpool where the population has 
shrunk by 60% in 30 years and, that
however much people wanted change, there was little they could do in 
the 
face of such economic regression.
The group looked also at the success which Cambridge University has had 
in finding and encouraging the best
students to seek admission. Students who were questioned did not 
attribute their entry to birth or to influential or
successful parents, but to their own hard work and achievement. It was 
pointed out that Cambridge authorities have
worked hard to change their image of tradition and class and that only 
hard work and constant vigilance
will raise the value of meritocracy  in society as a whole.
I found myself thinking of what is happening in our society as it is 
reflected on our television screens when I turned to
TV2 last Tuesday night to explore the mysteries of Havoc and Newsboy's 
Sell-Out Tour 2. Described as "an
entertainment series as they travel the country, meeting the locals and 
enjoying the scenery along the way", I was
too late to see the first advertised visit. This was to Helen Clark in 
her Beehive office, but I caught up with their visit to
Pauanui and a visit to a gas rig off the Taranaki coast.
I soon realised that it didn't matter where they were, the screen would 
be taken over by their "look at me" act, most of
it designed to appeal to the smart-mouthed 12-year-old. A slice of 
juvenile quips, an inordinate amount of posing for
the camera in endless cavorting in search of humour, made this show, 
for 
me, the low point of the month.
I had escaped to Prime to watch BBC Report: The Nazi Nail Bomber in 
which 
the subject was highly unpleasant but
in which the viewer was credited with enough intelligence  to follow 
the 
investigation. A misfit, a social pariah in the
world around him, David Copeland found his niche in the National 
Socialist Movement, an extreme right-wing group
which advocated violence and murder, against minority ethnic groups.
Some brilliant detective work by the Metropolitan Police caught up with 
Copeland at the time of his third bombing, too
late to save the lives of innocent people. If there is any lesson to be 
learnt from sharing the investigation into such a
sad and twisted life, it is that we must all be as aware as we can 
possibly be of the people with whom we come in
contact each day and be alert to any behavioural changes.
It was good to have Wycliff back on Monday night, albeit at the late 
hour 
of 11pm from TV1. We have come to know
the main characters and viewers have enjoyed the rural and coastal 
settings in the British southwest. Story quality is
variable but police work is taken seriously and viewed as a responsible 
and worthwhile job, even if the main players
suffer from a little human frailty. Good camera work and a high 
standard 
of acting make this show worth recording to
play when there is a clutch of "reality" shows on the box.
Watch for the appearance on our screens of Natural History New 
Zealand's 
Wild Asia series, nine hour-long
programmes, featuring more than 165 species and costing about $15 
million. It was a privilege to view two of the films
a week ago and to meet some of the people who produced this largest 
documentary series made in New Zealand.
Two images have stayed with me. The first was the family of golden 
jackals scratching a living on the outskirts of an
Indian city, the pack caught on screen in brilliant camera work by 
Dunedin's Robert Brown.
The second was the most extensive filmed encounter with a snow leopard, 
set in a high altitude valley In the thin air of
the Himalayas. Mitchell Kelly was on the camera, demonstrating beyond 
any 
doubt that the Dunedin-based Natural
History New Zealand is capable of attracting the best people in the 
world into its film making. The series was co-produced with Discovery 
Channel, Japan's NHK and Germany's NDR and will be seen in 130 
countries.

Well-fought-over over battle still intrigues
THE BURNING BLUE
A New History of the Battle of Britain
Edited by Paul Addison and  Jeremy A. Crang
Pimlico, $45
By Ron Tyrrell

Despite extensive previous coverage, the Battle of Britain remains a 
fascinating subject and
this volume, the outcome of a University of Edinburgh 60th anniversary 
conference, continues that interest.
British and German reappraisals confirm neither side was well-prepared, 
as the Luftwaffe was intended for close army
support, lacking heavy bombers and fighters with sufficient range, 
while 
the RAF had only just re-equipped with
modern low-wing monoplanes and lacked sufficient pilots for a prolonged 
battle.
While differing in minor details, they largely agree as to the main 
phases and with the availability of confirmed losses
from both sides comparisons make interesting reading.
It is apparent the Luftwaffe suffered significant losses in men and 
materials during the Battle of France, and this fact,
with Hitler's hope for peace with Great Britain, led to a pause while 
the 
Germans pondered what to do next.
Of the Battle of Britain, the contributors give a candid picture of the 
British air commanders, stress the importance of
radar, and analyse the strengths and weaknesses of equipment and 
tactics.
Certain aspects remain clouded
and controversial. Hitler's procrastination, hastily prepared plans and 
a 
very tight schedule, repeated invasion
postponements, and links with preparations for an invasion of the 
Soviet 
Union, make his real intentions and the effect
of the Battle of Britain on later campaigns difficult to assess.
One writer compares the German invasion preparations and damage from 
British bombing with the size of the Allied
D-Day operation, where command of the sea and air was vital, drawing 
the 
conclusion that invasion in 1940 was not a
viable option.
Sections "Before the Battle" and "The Battle", based on British and 
German sources, have an immediacy and reality
which is lacking from "The View from Afar" in which Soviet, American 
and 
Japanese perspectives are more of the
state of the war at the time and their sympathy or otherwise for 
British 
heroism.
For the Soviet Government the battle was just part of the air war in 
the 
west, and Britain still regarded as a partner in
appeasement, blamed for the situation following the Munich agreement of 
1938.
It is interesting to read current Russian comment that Stalin's papers 
and documents of the Red Army general staff are likely to become 
available to scholars. Questions of any 
link between the Battle of Britain and
Barbarossa, and why Stalin did not learn from events in the west, 
allowing the Soviet Air Force to be largely
destroyed at forward bases on the outbreak of war with Germany, may 
then 
be answered.
It is intriguing to notice that leading American military observers and 
Genda Minoru, Japanese air attache in London
and later the planner of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941, 
flew on the same flight from Lisbon to New
York, as they returned from their assignments in Britain. Genda 
apparently learned much more than did the
Americans.
A general analysis of the battle's significance finds that only after 
the 
war was it seen to have had a decisive strategic
result. At the time invasion was turned back, the German blitz and 
blockade continued, American rearmament and
assistance for Britain was encouraged, and a European platform was 
preserved for later Allied success. Further afield
the battle did little for Britain's parlous position in the 
Mediterranean 
and the Middle East, and grudging appreciation
from the Soviet Union only came after the extension of the war to the 
east. Increasingly, after 1940 the Battle of
Britain become a symbol of self-esteem, defiance and international 
credibility.
Overall, this is a mixed bag. The military and political accounts of 
the 
battle still engross, but the inclusion of a
lengthy section on the development of legends does not satisfy to the 
same degree.
 Ron Tyrrell is a Dunedin historian and reviewer

Insight into US musical theatre
BEAUTIFUL MORNIN'
The Broadway Musical in the 1940s
Ethan Mordden
Oxford University Press, hbk, $69.95
By Charles Campbell

Beautiful Mornin' provides a comprehensive and fascinating insight into 
the world of American musical theatre in that
special era
many revere as the time when musicals became of age.
It was also an era "in which the musical's artistry changed most 
decisively" in what, the author suggests, we might
call the "Rodgers and Hammerstein revolution", thus the book's title - 
derived from one of musical theatre's most
famous and loved songs, from 1943's evergreen Oklahoma!
Ethan Mordden is one of America's foremost authorities on the American 
musical (and author of several musical
books). In Beautiful Mornin'. . . his detailed knowledge and love of 
his 
subject is enthusiastically imparted to his
readers.
Mordden explains how the 1920s created the musical, the 1930s gave it 
politics and in the 1940s it found its soul -
when the "new" musicals favoured strong characters and atmosphere and 
the 
decade saw the demise of the old-time
musical.
1920s-style musicals, vaudeville theatre and revues slumped as 
Hollywood 
lured away many of the musical's most
gifted performers. New composers' works developed during the 1930s but, 
for many, their best Broadway stage
musical efforts did not blossom until the 1940s, when they managed to 
survive Hollywood's buying up Broadway
talent.
Beautiful Mornin' backgrounds numerous 1940s American musicals, so many 
that even the most ardent lovers of
musical theatre can be forgiven their ignorance of some of them.
The author outlines the plight of many 1940s musical theatre failures 
early in his book - in war time people wanted
entertainment, not serious drama, so it took a few years for "quality" 
musicals to develop. Initially, war servicemen
and servicewomen undiscerningly cheered cheap comedy and inadequate 
stagecraft but as the 1940s grew
audiences "matured" - they became more discerning as Broadway became a 
magnet, not only for producers but also
for talent.
The decade was the first to provide us substantial documentation in the 
form of original cast recordings, bequeathing
us a powerful sense of Broadway performing style, as well as an 
impressive selection of undisputed classics,
regularly performed today, being revived on Broadway and London's West 
End, competing with today's
megamusicals.
Beautiful Mornin' . . . is an excellent book to include in any musical 
theatre buff's library. With such an extensive
coverage of its subject it is a pity its only two "musical" photos are 
on 
the book's cover sleeve. There are many photo
opportunities in the book and photos would have embellished its 
contents 
considerably.
Charles Campbell has long been involved with musical theatre in 
Dunedin.



