Signs of a star-shaped diva

It was being a lover of all things cabaret that initially made me book to see Caroline Parker, and the little snippets of performance during the event were definitely entertaining. They are not, however, what I will remember most; I left Clephan building feeling moved and full of admiration for this performer.

Caroline Parker is deaf. Not profoundly, she stated - she can hear bits and pieces of the songs she performs, using British Sign Language and mime. But this has not once stopped her pursuing her ambition of performing with music. She is well known for her signed performances, often finding herself with bookings for various cabaret acts. But alongside this she is a comedian and actress, having appeared in programmes such as My Hero. She has also toured her own one woman show, 'Signs of a Star-Shaped Diva.'

To listen to, she was fascinating, funny and full of energy; the hour long event seemed to pass in no time. You could hear the passion for her work in every word she spoke, and her genuine desire to change the discriminatory attitudes towards performers with disabilities in the industry.

Seeing Caroline has definitely sparked an interest in signed singing for me; I'd definitely like to go and watch her at some point. But mostly, the entire event was purely inspiring and thought-provoking - she definitely seems to be somebody you could learn a lot from.





Stephanie-Louise Farrell

Of music and morality

Feargal Sharkey is still punk.

Okay, he was wearing a suit. That brings his punk credibility down slightly. But still.

This was one of the most thought-provoking events I have attended. It only lasted an hour, but I could have listened to Feargal for a lot longer. His views on the state of the music industry and twenty-first century music in general are, to say the least, strong – but certainly, they are moral.

He covered the issues with the UK’s artists surrounding the internet, particularly illegal downloading, royalties and how he believes the lack of a figure such as John Peel has changed the way the public learns about and discovers music. And now he is the C.E.O of UK Music, the nerve centre of the country's music industry, let’s hope he can have some influence with his fierce ideals.

So, why is he still punk? Because he is not happy with something and he firmly believes he will change it. He does not want innocent people to get sued for mistakes regarding music licensing laws. He wants artists to be in control of everything they create, from touring down to royalties.

And I love music. So I hope he gets his way.

Stephanie-Louise Farrell

"When people are young, they don't think"

It's perhaps hard to associate sculpture with Ordnance Survey maps before seeing an example of Simon English’s work.

He firmly believes that art is about communication, not merely ‘things.’ He also stated that ‘when people are young, they don’t think, they just do.’ These are two of the reasons this conceptual artist/sculptor began his 1971 project. He planned to take a journey, marking his route onto a map into the shape of the word ‘England’ – placing little flags in each pointed destination as he came to them.

Last year, he began the project ‘England Revisited,’ taking the same route and photographing himself in the same places he had done forty years ago. The scenery wasn’t the only thing to have changed very little; he revisited an address he’d been to on the original journey, to discover the same man living there. The man was now in his nineties and remembered Simon clearly.

As somebody who is awful with a paintbrush and has trouble even navigating the way to the local shops, I found myself quite in awe of the project, not least for the exciting journey described. It is an intriguing piece of conceptual art – the thought that a creative project could come to life after beginning as little marks on a map was fascinating to me.


Stephanie-Louise Farrell

The children of variety

When we think of ‘variety theatre,’ the terms ‘old-fashioned’ or even ‘dead’ may spring to mind. This is really quite sad. In a world where revolting chat shows and exploitative singing contests pass for entertainment, ‘One Night Only’ was a fun and insightful breath of fresh air.

Sue Barber was the charismatic host of the hour-and-a-half show, talking with humour and fondness about her theatrical upbringing. She is what she terms a ‘child of variety,’ being the fifth generation in a family of performers – she has performed herself in an act with her father – and is now studying for a PhD on the subject of variety theatre at DMU.

Guests included Andrew Van Buren, an illusionist who can do amazing things with plates. Another guest read from the diary of his travelling performer father, providing an amusing insight into the offstage life. One entry mentioned a rat eating through his clothes. Glamorous.

The fuzzy pictures and warped soundtracks of the archive footage did not distract from their entertainment value. They were five ‘home-movie’ style videos depicting acts from comedians to stilt walking (Sue Barber herself and her father were featured in one video).

Arguably, variety theatre doesn’t have its place in Britain anymore. However, with performers like Andrew Van Buren trying to keep it alive, it may one day make a comeback. He is apparently very popular in Dubai…

I also never knew Harry Houdini’s real name was Eric Weiss.


Stephanie-Louise Farrell