Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: story

  • After Story

    After Story

    After Story is truly an original and amazing story. It is wonderfully and seamlessly constructed, and riveting reading.

    Della is an Aboriginal woman who lives in a tiny town called Frog Hollow. She has had a catastrophic event in her life which she acknowledges she will never get over. Jasmine is her daughter, who has defied all odds and gone to university. Mother and daughter are not particularly close, so it came as a surprise when Jasmine invited her to come on a Literary Tour of England. They were to travel with a professor and a group, visiting homes of the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen, Shakespeare Virginia Wolf, and many more.

    Each day is written by Della and then by Jasmine, and it is here that the reader will be holding their breath. While Jasmine observes and looks after her mother, she also discusses the merits of the authors with the group. Della who has not read any of the authors listens carefully and has her own thoughts and observations. They are so powerful; they need re reading. For example, near Thomas Hardy’s home was an ancient Druid stone. “Most people don’t even know about the things Aboriginal people built, Della thought”. Many of them were destroyed when the British came. They would rather think of us as backward. It made it easier to take away our children.

    At Stratford-upon-Avon, the tour guide said, “No other culture produced a Shakespeare.” Della thought “Well, no other culture produced an Aunty Elaine, and I wondered why people had to make these comparisons.” Aunty Elaine was the storyteller, who passed on knowledge to the younger people. She always knew the appropriate story and the message it was meant to send.

    It is quite thrilling to read a chapter looking at the authors and literature from Jasmine, then to be privy to Della’s thoughts about the same experience.

    After Story from Larissa Behrendt is pure gold.

  • Stories from Portugal

    Stories from Portugal

    Every place is filled with stories, everyone has their own story to tell which adds to the rich tapestry of life surrounding the many places we all love and enjoy as a part of our life journey. Stories from Portugal from Suzanne Herman are a rather interesting collection of stories delivered in solo piano narrative.

    Commencing the tale with Coimbra’s Legacy she weaves a tale around the often overlook city of Coimbra, a place that was once the capitol of Portugal, to be discovered on the banks of the Mondego River, its medieval architecture a well-kept secret, found only by those who choose to take a pathway less travelled.

    Dancing across the keyboard the notes of A Conversation Under the Stars will take you to places only you can discover as you have your own conversation with the magic of the night skies; Herman’s music moves from dancing, twinkling stars to a the more sombre spaces that act as a majestic backdrop for the twinkling enchantment of the night skies.

    Another interesting composition is Journeys, Encounters and Unanswered Question something we all have in our backstory of life, but perhaps never more so than when traveling in different worlds, cultures and histories when there is always much to be pondered. Deep and almost melancholy, the song is lifted with a light melody running through the piece. Calçada Portuguesa is an intriguing title for a piece as it refers to the wonderfully tiled pavement seen throughout Portugal made from small, flat pieces of stone in a technique first bought to Portugal by the Mesopotamians.

    The final song the Breadmakers Dance, something that is a tradition through Portugal, as it is to do with the making of bread, the kneading of the dough; when the dough is slammed onto the boards then pushed, folded and repeated again and again creates a type of ‘dance’, the rhythm of which  is captured in this delightful song.

    As do all journeys, so too does this one end with a flourish and the suggestion of bread baking in the oven to round out a tapestry story book, journeying through Portugal, enjoying the stories told along the way.

  • Love Story

    Love Story

    Love Story from Robin Spielberg is akin to entering a room full of old, much loved friends and remembering the precious moments in life spent with them, the times they cheered, soothed and totally meshed with the emotion of the moment.

    In selecting this romantic and popular collection of music in celebration of her 25 years spent with beloved husband  Larry Kossen, she has chosen pieces that have meant much to so many over the years; pieces which are considered as evergreens, many written in the changing times of the late 1960’s and ‘70’s when the world was once again changing.

    From the first note in Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, made famous by Elton John in 1973 with lyrics by Bernie Taupin, through to the reflective and soulful And So It Goes from Billy Joel, this is an album that while romantic to very last note, is also a walk down memory lane.

    All of the piece without exception on their original releases came with rich backing or backing in some way. To have the beautiful melodies extracted and presented using only voice of the piano played with a deep passion and emotion, is a rich and wonderful experience.

    Sergei Rachmaninoff provided the inspiration for the delicate Alone By Myself (All By Myself), a piece full of heartache and reflection. A particular favourite has always been Alone Again, Naturally from Gilbert O’Sullivan; the somewhat wry lyrics to this piece fit the emotion beautifully.

    David Gates wrote IF in 1971: the words come immediately to mind, how could they not; ‘If a picture paints a thousand words……………..’, Spielberg has captured perfectly the emotion entwined with these deeply emotional words of love written by Gates so many years ago.

    When ‘Love Is Blue’ arrived on the music ether in 1967 it was almost a revelation in the world that was full of the new beat: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley and everything as far from a rich orchestral piece as you could imagine. To say this gloriously romantic song captured the airwaves would be an understatement. To hear it refreshed, stripped bare and beautiful is a wonderful treat.

    Bob Dylan, noted folk singer and political activist wrote the intriguing Make You Feel My Love in 1997, a folk song and one of his many romantic pieces, as he pleads his case of true love to his lover, before And So It Is Over from Billy Joel draws  Loves Songs to a close, signing off on a work that is all of many things; beautiful, rich, emotional, passionate, wry and accepting.

    Spielberg at her very best.

  • The 13-Storey Treehouse: A play for young audiences

    The 13-Storey Treehouse: A play for young audiences

    Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton, who are widely known throughout the world of books and authors as a formidable team, whom between them can come up with some very plausible, but absolutely crazy plots that capture the imagination and become runway best sellers, have allowed Richard Tullock to capture their every craziness, turning their zany 13 Story Treehouse story into a play.

    Now after reading the script, this is a play that is almost as full of craziness as the book, but because it is on a stage, which as you all know is pretty flat, has a had to make do without actually constructing the 13 story tree house, but other than that, is pretty good and very, very, very funny.

    As the actors perform the many rolls, they will have the audience in heaps of laughter, almost wanting to join in and help the cast as they struggle their way through the plot. Fun, disaster and other stuff notwithstanding, because in an Andy and Terry books, pretty much anything can and often does happen, this is a play that will see the audience in fits of laughter.

    Of course, the two main characters are Terry and Andy, and the rest are not all, but many of the others you can find in the book. But not to give to much away, there is a fish or is it a mermaid or is it a computer or maybe even something else entirely, mixed up in the storyline and on stage of course! As well as a secret laboratory and a marshmallow machine that has a little bit of fun!

    For any teacher or small professional or amateur theatre company looking to create an end of year play or anytime of the year play, The 13 Story Tree House would be a hard one to pass up as it has an incredible amount of flexibility and can have as large or small a cast as required.

    Stage set, costumes and props can be simple, minimal or elaborate depending on your budget.

    After all, with a script based on such an enjoyable romp through the imagination crafted from imagination, pens and paper of Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton, what could possibly go wrong!