'Bombshells' at QPAC

I saw bombshells tonight at QPAC and it was profoundly good. I don't usually write reviews; it's not really that type of blog - But this is an exception. Bombshells exceeded my expectations so much that I would be doing a disservice to myself and my (admittedly very small) amount of followers if I didn't share with you how well-written and performed it is.

Bombshells is a one-person show performed by Christen O'Leary. It runs for about 85 minutes in which O'Leary performs the whole time. Throughout the show O'Leary plays 6 vastly different, but equally interesting characters, in short segments. Some of the characters are amusing, some are heartfelt and emotional, but all of them are vividly real. The characters range from young (a school-aged talent-show enthusiast) to old (a volunteering widow) and from the everyday (a stressed housewife) to the eccentric (a cactus enthusiast). The skill with which O'Leary captures these characters is profound and rare. I found myself missing the old characters when the new ones were introduced, wanting to talk to them, to find out more of their stories.

The last show that really impressed me at QPAC was Mary Poppins, but that was a totally different theater experience altogether. Mary Poppins was impressive because of it's scale, it's light-hearted fun, it's magic and gimmicks and it's musical appeal. Comparatively Bombshells is on a stage one quarter of the size, performs to an audience an eighth of the size, features only one actress, and relies entirely on the the scriptwriting and acting to pull it all together. This is part of the reason I think that it deserves so much praise. In the world of Mary Poppins everyone is playing a character that is larger than life; in true Disney style you are transported to a whole different realm where anything can happen. Bombshells instills in you the same sense of wonder, except that the characters are believable.

I don't want to destroy the magic by describing any specific scenes or characters in too much detail so I'll just leave it with the suggestion that you see it for yourself.

http://www.qpac.com.au/event/Bombshells_12.aspx?showTab=Overview

#6 Amartya Sen. Beer. Brownies.

My Sunday night has comprised of reading Amartya Sen's book 'The Idea of Justice', drinking a superb beer called 'Aphrodisiaque', and eating chocolate brownies. It could be the incredible potency of the beer (it packs a considerable 6.5% ABV) but I'm feeling pretty good about life in general at the moment. I got a call earlier this week to inform me that I'd got the job at QPAC, tomorrow night we're hosting a party, and swotvac has just begun. Anyways, I'll tell you a little about 'The Idea of Justice' based on what I've read so far (I'll be sure to write a better review when I've finished reading it).

I hadn't read much of Amartya Sen before I bought 'The Idea of Justice' so I had no idea whether or not it would be my sort of style at all. As it turns out I find Sen incredibly easy to read and very engaging. His prose reminds me of reading Peter Singer (although obviously the content is quite different), it isn't unnecessarily academic or esoteric (as a lot of philosophy can tend to be) yet at the same time it doesn't undermine the intelligence of the reader. As the title suggests the theme seems to be concerned with 'justice'. Most of the philosophy that I read is concerned with morality or ethics and seems to focus on 'right-ness' or 'wrong-ness' of the decisions that we make. 'The Idea of Justice' takes a broader look at morality and focuses on the institutions and social systems that we live in. 'The idea of Justice' has the same sorts of aims as Rawl's 'A theory of Justice' and Nozick's 'Anarchy, State, and Utopia' and could probable be labelled as a sort of political philosophy.

I'm only 87 pages in so far so I can't really tell you much about Sen's theories yet, but I can tell you that Sen's work is worth reading if only for his prose and background. So far I've learnt about Ashoka Maurya and the ancient approaches to justice of Niti and Nyaya. It feels good to hear about the history and philosophy from non-western countries and it is, I think, hugely beneficial from a philosophical perspective to do so in order to avoid cultivating a 'west is best' prejudice. Anyhow, so far Sen hasn't actually began explaining his own theories and has just explained how and why his theory will differ from the Rawls' 'Theory of Justice' and the problems with trancendental institutionalism.  

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#3. QPAC.

I had a pretty swell day today. 

I had a group interview for a job at QPAC. Contrary to my expectations it was actually a pretty fun experience. There were about 20 of us and we all started out together in a large foyer area just waiting around. The tension was beautiful. For some reason it gave me a great pleasure to look around and watch everyone watching everyone else. It's an interesting scenario - the group interview. So anyway we all stood around looking at each other pretending to be friendly whilst (at least subconsciously) sizing up our opposition. It was great.

Once we got started it was revealed that we would participate in a few group activities. These were the type of thing that you can probably remember doing in primary school, i.e. building a tower out of newspaper (no really, we did that). It was, quite honestly, the most enjoyable job interview I've ever had. Sure, everyone knows that you've got your potential employers watching over you to see whether you decide to hog the sticky tape but nobody really minded. I was fun. To make it better there I also developed a bit of an infatuation with one of the other applicants (not that she'd know it given the 5-6 words I spoke to her all day). I really hope that we both get the job so that I can actually have a chance to talk to her. So job prospects are looking up.

Now I'm at home, eating some potato and parsnip soup I made and drinking one of my top 5 favorite beers - Don De Dieu. It is pretty incredible. I'm feeling pretty chuffed.