Lights down, the conductor walks on with a flourish to face his on-stage jazz-band-come-chamber-group and we are launched into the beginning of a jaunty overture which sets the trend for the rest of this lively, enthusiastic rendition of Guys and Dolls in the newly built Pilchette auditorium at Pembroke. Happily, Guys and Dolls is one of those musicals in which it gradually dawns on you that you know the rousing chorus for most of the songs. My particular favourites were “Sit down, you’re rocking the boat”, led by a sharp and funny Nicely Nicely, (Time Coleman), and Adelaide’s Lament, “A person can develop a cold”, sung in the strong and searing voice of Ellie Shaw, who adds a certain genuine emotion to what could otherwise have been a jolly but un-moving evening.

Callum Jackson, playing Benny Southwest, has pulled off the tricky feat of both directing and acting a lead role in a musical: his comic double-act with Nicely Nicely becomes a recurring motif throughout the play which we look forwards to with the reassurance that it will be amusing and seemingly flawless. Funny lines punctuate the musical: “I kinda like it when you forget to give me presents. It’s like we’re married” raised more than a few cynical chuckles, and the cast have resisted the ever-tempting venture of disrupting the script in order to insert too many college jokes.

The first half of this musical moves swiftly through its near hour and a half, and a technical glitch involving a staged telephone conversation and a microphone was triumphantly saved by some hasty improv, greatly appreciated by the audience. Admittedly the second half started off with a slight sense of the cast flagging at the end of a long night; but it soon picked up in a rousing rendition of “Luck be a Lady”, sung by the male half of the chorus who rendered the lack of microphones irrelevant, and a beautifully sung duet between Sarah Brown (Ros Dobson), and the delightfully aged vicar, Arvide Abernathy (Josh Barr).

This performance was filled with charming moments, one of the most memorable being an appearance of a mournful-looking  Sky Masterson (Jack Graham) in a floral apron making pancakes, as seen in the imagination of Sarah Brown. The cast sang very competently, and included some truly talented singers; the choreography was lively and well-coordinated.

Undeniably there were hitches, and at times the delicate operatic voice of Sarah Brown contrasted with the powerful rough-and-ready Adelaide in a way which didn’t quite show off either to their best advantage, but this being the first night I feel sure that the musical will only come together even more over the coming week. Go and see Guys and Dolls for the reasons you would go and see any musical; to have fun and be entertained; and the evening is sure to be a success. 

THREE STARS

Mariah Carey feat. Miguel – #Beautiful

Mariah Carey’s new effort is quite possibly the most 21^st century pop song to date (the title is a fucking hashtag).  Miguel’s production borrows from the lo-fi indie crowd for Carey’s single, perhaps owing more to Frank Ocean than Beach Fossils, but regardless it’s a charming new direction and probably the best piece of pop I’ve heard in months. Summer jam.

Rich Gang (Birdman, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, Future & Mack Maine) – Tapout

Rich Gang is the new supergroup formed from Young Money’s cream of the crop, and if their line up ain’t enough for you, this video got cameos from Paris Hilton (you know), Kimora Lee Simmons (she was on America’s Next Top Model?) and Christina Milian (ok I don’t know who she is either). Alright, there might not be anything particularly ground-breaking about this, but it is a banger and Future has some stellar auto-tuning in it. I also really dig the leather skirt he wears in the video. And boasting about being “the only rap bitch on the Forbes list” (at 3:45) has to be one of Minaj’s best lines.

Is Tropical – Dancing Anymore

This isn’t exactly new, but at least the video is. And despite the lack of nudity, it is somewhat risqué, so bear that in mind before watching it in the Rad Cam. The song itself is pretty basic guitar-pop, I just sort of felt it needed inclusion on the merit of the visuals alone. Whilst not exactly reinventing the wheel, Is Tropical do what they do just fine – make moderately catchy guitar music with that comfortingly clean Kitsuné sound to it so it seems far more current than it actually is. Which I don’t think is necessarily such a bad thing. At least the three guys that still read the NME have something to listen to.

Twigs – How’s That                   

New material from Twigs, produced by DIS favourite Arca, and apparently they feel like the modern ballad needs to get in touch with polyrhythms. And I’m not sure I’m about to argue. Despite the incredibly dope production and visuals, I can’t help but feel that this is lacking in some pop sensibilities that I believe could only work in its favour. But it does sound like the future, so maybe I should just move with the times. Yeah, I’m moving with the times. This slays.

Cee Gee – Wine (Prod. Douster)         

Cee Gee’s producer Douster isn’t exactly the first cultural import for Jamaican lyricists, and he brings with him a lot of the aspects of contemporary stripped-down US hip-hop. That said, his Parisian roots are still plain to see, with the track relying on a somewhat continental synth-lead hook, but the whole ‘glitchy dancehall’ thing kinda works. I especially appreciate the way it makes the noise that speakers make by active phones, invoking dancehall salesmen themselves, Major Lazer.

Chronik – Deepest Darkest

“We will destroy your livestock. We will destroy any means you have of survival. SLEW DEM. SLEW DEM. SLEW DEM.” I don’t think David Starkey’s most xenophobic wet dream would be half as ridiculous as this. The new Chronik vid literally has him pretending to be an African dictator. Check it. It’s pretty great.

Wang Leehom is an American born Taiwanese pop star most famously known for his pioneering music that fuses both traditional Chinese and Western song elements. He has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide and previously starred in Lust, Caution by Ang Lee, Jackie Chan’s Little Big Soldier and self-written and directed Love in Disguise.

It’s the first time that Leehom had visited Oxford University and like many that set foot on campus, he too felt “how incredible it was to be put into the state of mind of wanting to learn”. Leehom previously studied music at Williams College and Berklee College of Music.

Leehom comes from a family of three boys. When he was growing up in New York, there was competition between the siblings but they ended up “gravitating towards different things” and thus each excelled in their own fields. His older brother would always get the best scores in tests, whilst Leehom got his affirmation through music and his youngest brother became a mathematician.

For musicians, the songwriting process varies dramatically. With Leehom, he tends to create the melody first and then adds the lyrics on top. Leehom was quick to point out that it gets back more and more to his faith as a Christian, the inspiration for songs arrives when he is not expecting it. He gets ‘hit by a melody, or it comes in a dream” even. He is constantly open to inspiration and seldom sits down to write a song now. But once the “1% inspiration” is there, “99% perspiration” has to follow. He becomes “a slave to the idea” and has to see it through.

Leehom candidly admits that he is “demanding” and tries to “always see the big picture” and listens to his music objectively as if it was an artist that he was producing. Inspiration too can be derived from poetry and indeed Leehom used to read a lot when he was younger. He is a fan of John Keats and also Chinese tangshi poems by Li Bai.

Leehom is proud of “songs that have had social contribution” and therefore he feels that the song he wrote with David Tao, ‘Hand in Hand’, whereby 85 singers in the Mandarin pop singing world all got together to encourage the community during the Sars epidemic, is one of his proudest pieces of work.

A prominent strength of a musician is the diversity in their music repertoire. And Leehom is no stranger to this. Leehom’s passion for music and curiosity in learning has meant that he is adept in playing more than 15 different musical instruments. When asked which Chinese musical instruments he loved, Leehom enthusiastically named Erhu, Guzheng, Pipa and Zhongruan as his favourites. He has often incorporated them to create traditional Chinese melodies in his westernised songs such as Hua Tian Cuo.

Life is a long learning process and for Leehom it has at times been tough. People constantly will either criticise or praise him and sometimes he would take it to heart. The most important lesson he has learnt in life he says is becoming unafraid of “being judged by others”. Leehom loves “making people happy” and connecting with them “even if it is just for a short amount of time” so for him it’s really important if someone wants an autograph or a photograph, but he has learnt to finally say no when he has reached a limit. “God can judge me, I shouldn’t be afraid of man or even myself, not for them to judge,” he concludes.

Like many artists, Leehom is highly spiritual. “Art is a divine process, to create beauty out of nothing, to get the gift of inspiration from thin air is miraculous, it’s like witnessing a baby being born”, Leehom exclaims. God is an inherent part of his creativity. What does happiness mean to him? “It means being in tune with life’s purpose” which is “to do the best” that he can be in both music and movies.

In terms of film projects, what’s lined up for this multi-talented maestro? Leehom’s next film is a romantic comedy, to be released in July, called My Lucky Star, shot in Singapore in collaboration with Zhang Ziyi. So fans will be reunited with Leehom on the silver screens later this year. 

To finish the interview on a light note, I asked Leehom to describe himself to an alien using five words; he slowly uttered “I am a human being!” From this close encounter with an incredibly talented human being, I was able to get an insight into his core beliefs and values in life. Leehom is beautifully down to earth, humble, continuously striving for excellence and learning. 

The two scenes of director Susanna Quirke’s new production, which I was lucky enough to witness, can be described as nothing less than utterly intriguing. The Winterling by Jez Butterworth is a modern day drama set in a derelict Dartmoor country house and follows strongly in the footsteps of previous works (Mojo, Jerusalem) as a play presenting a study of power relations between a collection of mysterious and unbalanced individuals. Mr West, the Lord of this crumbling manor, has called old crime partner Wally; and his partial stepson Patsy, from London for…well it’s not quite clear what for, but once you’ve started watching your curiosity will creep over you and you’ll sure as hell want to find out.

Quirke’s decision to perform in the round at the Keble O’Reilly, thereby decreasing capacity, is hoped to draw the audience straight into the heart of this oppressive production and feel encircled by the menacing tension, which these actors are certainly capable of creating. Minimal prop use and scenery made up mostly of grass carpet and a crumbling fireplace; leave the audience’s attention to be captured by the drama.

The charismatic trio of male leads; David Shields as West, Arty Froushan as Wally and Leo Suter as Patsy, in these particular scenes, provide interesting relationships quickly without the need for much dialogue, while Suter’s moments of comic relief are perfectly timed and fairly rewarding.

Confusion is increased further still by new entrant, Lue, a young traveller with dreams of a sunny holiday abroad – or simply escape. Played by graduate Carla Kingham with a voice full of knowing and disappointment, Lue provides another layer of mystery as well as a thoughtful female character in this otherwise male-dominated performance. 

While I only caught a short glimpse of this tale of misplaced London thugs with mysterious motives and a dark past, I would definitely return for more. With profanity, intimidation and the threat of violence abounding, this play might easily be labelled as ‘masculine’ and discarded by many, but don’t dismiss it too quickly. As Quirke revealed passionately – ‘I did this for the script’ and as a portrayal of power, there’s much here to captivate and teach many of us this 4^th week at the Keble O’Reilly.