Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (1927)

What a mouth full of a title! "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea", presented by 1927, however belies an hour-long multimedia production filled with a pervading sense of rustic allure which aptly suited its strange, gently warped ideas. Set against a timeless Britain of cobbled winding thoughts, two deadpan sisters (played by Esme Appleton and Suzanne Andrade) narrates ten grisly tales a third (Lillian Henley) tinkles chilling tunes at the piano.

Standing before an intricately shot and designed video (by Paul Bill Barritt), the actresses act out darkly humorous sketches ranging from the profane "The 9 Deaths of Choo Choo le Chat" to the strangely reminiscent "The Sinking City" where men and children moon in the streets, bereft of women lost for - the "clap". Each tale has it's own unique offers, keeping the audience ceaselessly giggling at the edge of their seats.

Among the more memorable tales for me is the delightful "The Tin Biscuit Revolution" in which disgruntled gingerbread men, taunted by the recalcitrant baker, haunted him down with gingerbread guns shooting icing pellets, and eventually taking over the world leaving the rivers running red with raspberry jam.

The second tale, the name of which I have forgotten, was a surrealistic recounting of a dream where the celestial bodies indulged in lesbian orgies and the moon fed her baby stars and depressingly practical brownie girls turn out to be goat demons. And in "Grandmother", two sadistic sisters found among the audience a new playmate to replace their recently escaped granny.

All too soon, the tale came to an end, leaving poor Appleton "running" in the "streets" as reluctant audience members left the recital studio...

1927 Official Website

Jan Morris Remarries

Jan Morris, a prominent travel journalist who famously recorded her sex-change operation in the autobiographical "Conundrum", entered a civil partnership with her previous wife, Elizabeth Tuckniss, nearly 60 years after their marriage and more than 30 after their divorce. Read the entire The Daily Telegraph article for more information.

Many in recent years have perhaps unconsciously felt intimidated by the ways limits of sexuality have been stretched and challenged (remember Thomas Beatie); and I shouldn't be surprised if more discontent should be elicited from Singaporeans, who have been generally considered a conservative population.

I, however, always find it encouraging to hear such news, knowing that while unprecedented divorce rates in heterosexual marriages have also been challenging conventions of love, people belonging to the sexual minorities are treading, against prevailing negative stereotypes, previously unimaginable and untrodden axes of loves.

May I just softly give my blessings to this wonderful octogenarian.

Michael Schiefel

Listening to the June 2007 Musik-Podcast des Goethe Institut today, I was introduced to a most enchanting and innovative musician - Michael Schiefel. The episode talked briefly about his latest album "Don't Touch My Animals" (2006) and featured an extremely amusing song - "Aufm Dorf und Inner Stadt" - that was exuding with Hindi charm and caught my attention immediately.

Michael Schiefel was born in 1970 in Münster and has worked as a professional vocal artiste since the 1990s. In 2001 he was appointed a vocal professor in the Franz Liszt Conservatory in Weimar.

Prior to "Don't Touch My Animals", he produced two solo albums: "I Don't Belong" (2000) and "Invisible Loop" (1997). Though he is formally trained in jazz vocals, Michael Schiefel's albums reflect experimental styles with interesting electronic manipulation methods like track looping. His voice, which covers a wide range, has also been frequently described as androgynous - which is of great intrigue to me!



Do visit his websites for more information
www.michaelschiefel.com
www.myspace.com/michaelschiefel (While you're at it, listen to Präludium #3. I love it!)