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Here’s One We Made Earlier The Lowry by Alfie Moulson (10)

I went to The Lowry last Thursday to see the preview of Here’s One We Made Earlier, an exhibition celebrating BBC Children’s broadcasting. The exhibition is a collaboration between the BBC and The Lowry and there were speeches from Joe Godwin who is the current boss of BBC Children’s and Julia Fawcett who is the chief executive of The Lowry. They talked about working together and the history of BBC radio and TV for kids and what they hoped to make in the future.

The exhibition tells the story of broadcasting for children in the UK from the first radio show to the newest multimedia projects. There is a big section on Blue Peter which tells you about the different presenters there have been on the show and the stuff they’ve done. I think there were some Blue Peter presenters there too. And also some Blue Peter badge winners. There is lots of information about old shows that I hadn’t heard of, shows that my mum & dad might have watched or even my grandma. There are also some interesting things which they used to use for the shows. I won’t spoil it for you by telling you what they are!

There are all kinds of shows there. Entertainment, news, documentary, drama, animation etc. The BBC said that they wanted the same types & quality of shows for children that adults get to watch. There’s also a room filled with puppets which is cool. Another cool thing is wallpaper which displays BBC shows. You can listen and watch clips as you move around the different areas. I think Here’s One We Made Earlier appeals to grown-ups and kids alike as it covers more than 90 years of programmes for children!

Our very own Alfie Moulson with Michael Morpurgo and a rather large gun!

Darren Shan

Alfie's MCBF Diary

Darren Shan @ MMU

I went to see Darren Shan at MMU. Darren is a really popular horror writer, his books have been translated into 31 languages and have sold over 25 million copies! Loads of adults and kids went to MMU to see him. Darren said he liked to mix politics in with horror and zombies. Darren read from his new Zom-B series, 12 books in total with 1 being published every 3 months or so. I won’t spoil the books for you but there were a lot of brains being eaten and a scary vampire baby. Darren also read from another of his books The Demonata which is gruesome. He said his publishers asked him to tone down the violence so he said yes I’m going to change it all but only actually changed one thing - instead of the mum’s head getting chopped off it was the dad’s and it was totally fine with the publishers. “Mothers are always sacred” he explained.

When he’s writing Darren often names his characters after real people like his cousin and his neighbours and fellow writer Anthony Horowitz. He said he only names characters after people he likes. I thought this was interesting as Darren Shan isn’t his real name! Although Darren writes about fantasy characters such as zombies, werewolves & demons he says a lot of his work is really a response to the world around him. Events such as the 9/11 and 7/7 bombings and what he sees as the rise of racism in the UK have shaped his writing. In all Darren did 3 readings, all of them with different scary voices which was cool. Afterwards the audience asked him loads of questions and hundreds of people queued up to get their books signed.

Alfie's MCBF Diary

July 5th Crimelines @ John Rylands Library

I went to the launch of the Crimelines book at the John Rylands Library. The book is written and illustrated by students. The event lasted about an hour with students giving readings from their short stories - they were allowed 7 minutes each and the stories were all about crime. I liked some of them more than others. The John Rylands Library is a brilliant place to read scary stories in. I could imagine Harry Potter in there.

Andrew Cope's Spy Dog

Alfie's MCBF Diary

July 3rd

I went to see Andrew Cope, the author of the Spy Dog and Spy Pup series at Chorlton Library. He brought his dog Star with him. Star was a young Border Collie who slept under the table while Andrew was talking. Andrew talked a lot about the power of positive thinking, how your thoughts can change your life. He has written a book called The Art of Being Brilliant which tells you how to do it. Andrew likened life to a sausage machine, if you put in rubbish ingredients such as boredom and negativity then you get a rubbish product.

Andrew likes to encourage boys to read as he believes boys don’t read as much as girls because they think they don’t enjoy it. He loves libraries because when he was little a library book changed his life (Roald Dahl’s Charlie & the Chocolate Factory). Now he’s a writer every time someone borrows one of his books he gets 3p. He loves books and thinks reading is like having a TV inside your head.

The Spy Dog and Spy Pup books were inspired by Star’s mum, Lara, a dog that Andrew rescued from the RSPCA. One day Andrew was watching a James Bond film and he kept looking at Lara sleeping and then at the TV which made him put “super secret spy” and “dog” together to create Spy Dog. He named the first spy dog Lara after her, however he made up Spud, the other puppy in the books. Someone is making a TV show about the spy dogs which will be out soon.

After the talk, I spoke to Andrew and asked him what his favourite books were. He said Harry Potter and popular science books on happiness. I wondered what he’d take to a desert island and he said a book to keep him entertained, a radio to listen to the football and dog to keep him company.

- Alfie Moulson

Manchester Children's Book Festival 2014

Alfie’s MCBF Diary

This year is the third time the Manchester Children’s Book Festival has run and I am going to report on several events.

June 30th.

I went to see Guy Bass at Central Library. Guy has written several books including Stitch Head and The Legend of Frog. Guy Bass is funny and entertaining. He talked about his childhood a lot especially the lies that his mum used to tell him. Once he was cast as a sheep in his school nativity play and his mum told him that was the best part. Guy believed her and just as the show was starting he realised it wasn’t true. When he’s writing stories Guy likes to think about the lies adults tell children so he made a list of what he thought were the meanest lies. These included if you go outside with wet hair you’ll go mad & when the ice-cream van plays music it means they’ve sold out of ice-cream. This made me think about what the difference is between a lie and a story?

Guy’s presentation was really fun & energetic with some cute pictures. He told us about his book Legend of the Frog which involves a frog, a sheep, a wizard, a princess and some aliens. Afterwards I asked Guy what inspired him to be a writer and he said that ever since he was little he was always making up stories and although it wasn’t his first choice when he realised it was a job he thought he’d give it a go. His first choice of career was being a dinosaur or a superhero. Guy likes comics and describes his genre of writing as “fantastical adventures superhero science-fiction” and if he could be anything else in the world he’d be an explorer.

Central Library is a really cool location and Guy signed some books for me which I'm looking forward to reading.

- Alfie Moulson

MYUK performing Sweeney Todd at Z-arts, Hulme.

Sweeney Todd @ Z-arts

For many, ‘Sweeney Todd’ is not their ideal family theatre production. Not surprising, considering that the storyline revolves around a barber who slits people’s throats, bakes them into pies and sells them. MYUK Manchester Hub 2, hoping to challenge that perception, produced the school edition of the musical at Z-Arts. It still had all the gore, but all of the parts were acted by children and teenager aged 10-19. Sweeney Todd has never appealed to me as a play, but since my best friend was in the production I agreed to watch it.

MYUK is well known for its polished productions as incredible voices, and this was no exception. The quality of the vocals was outstanding, and the performance flowed smoothly. Particularly excellent performances were given by the girls who played Mrs Lovett and Johanna, who both had excellent voices, and kept to the tone of their parts very well; Johanna sweet and lilting, Mrs Lovett more harsh and rough around the edges.

The actors were all at ease with the set, which included a trap door with a slide that led into a room underneath. Since the actors were supposed to be dead when it was opened, they all had their eyes closed and must have had only a vague idea of when the trap door was going to open. So to stay in character and not react when it did open was a remarkable feat.

In the opening scene of Act II, the cast utilised freeze-frames very effectively, freezing when the main characters, Mrs Lovett and Sweeney Todd, were talking. The use of the whole cast to narrate parts of the story also worked very well. The smoke machines and lighting added to the eerie atmosphere, however there were times when the lighting at the back was too dark and it was difficult to make out who was singing. The white face paint and dark shadows under the eyes made the characters seem much scarier, again adding to the atmosphere.

My only criticism of ‘Sweeney Todd’ is the storyline itself. I found it very predictable, and at times, boring. The gruesomeness of it made it interesting at first, but as the play went on it became repetitive and dull. My friend and I predicted some key plot points at the beginning of the play, and sure enough we were proved right. I feel like I have become jaded by musical theatre. Sweeney Todd made me feel that the whole genre is too safe, too predictable. I prefer to watch something different and risky, something that makes me curious, nervous or scared. Something that leaves me wanting more. Unfortunately, the plot of Sweeney Todd failed to deliver, leaving me disappointed.

While the quality of the production was excellent, it was unfortunately let down by the poor quality storyline.

- Hemma Jari

FRESH SKILLZ @ Z-arts

FRESH SKILLZ International Breakdance Contest @ Z-arts

The Fresh Skillz Breakdancing Competition took place on the 4th April 2014 and was an international breakdancing event hosted in the cafe area of Zion (Z-Arts). It featured some sensational dancers who really did have some amazing talents and skills.

The event was hosted inside a marked area on the floor in the cafe which was classed as a privately hired area of the building and both male and female dancers took it in turns to enter the area and perform for a short amount of time to wow the audience and intimidate the next participant. People of all ages shapes and sizes were involved in this, each bringing there own flare and style to this.

The music was all of a similar hip hop genre but the tempo and dynamic was changed as the music progressed. What was really interesting to see was how the dancers changed and adapted the moves and rhythm to fit the music. It is incredible to think that none of these moves had been planned and were all done on the spur of the moment and the support and love the audience gave to the individuals.

As more people arrived and more left the atmosphere of the room was constantly changing and developing to fit people's preferences and it soon became clear that different individuals responded to the competition differently. The area around the performance area was used for experiments and for people to socialise and experiment with new ideas and moves. Moves were repeated but always seemed different as individuals interpreted them in different ways.

The DJ there used hi tech equipment that looked complicated and included items such as a turntable. Some dancers focused on the speed and mood of the song whilst others concentrated on lyrics or beats.

Overall it was an impressive and unique night that wowed all of the audience.

Quotes from the competitors: Full of energy, flavour and moves. A must see for any dancer or anyone who loves insane hype. -Rhys Fagan

Good energy good vibes and it makes it different that it is on an evening keep them coming. -Leeds the way

It's a national b boy competition happening in Manchester with multi talented dancers from around Europe. - LB - Evie Pendlebury and Faye Heywood

Few Collective UK Tour @ Z-arts

Few Collective Review

Few Collective are a vibrant and inspirational group of artists spreading good messages throughout forms of music, dance and art. They had travelled to the UK from America on a tour, however each of the five attending performers originated from all over the world.

The show itself was energetic and fun, and after a hesitant start, the artists managed to engage and captivate the audience with their non-stop energy and charisma. They were all extremely talented too, from oud players and bilingual vocalists to rappers and DJs. There was even a dancer, Bravemonk, clad in a highly controversial Manchester United tracksuit, impressing everyone with his skilled dance moves and infinite energy.

In fact, the show was so informal and enjoyable, that the performers were chatting to the audience by the end of it. Throughout the show, the spectators were not allowed to sit and simply watch, either; there were dances, extremely fast clapping, and even some singing involved! The quietest and most reserved members were soon bopping along, too.

The music itself was a delightful mix. With catchy beats and stunning sound effects from the DJ, contrasted with the beautiful oud and mind-blowing vocals, there were some unforgettable tunes and goose-pimples were sure to emerge at some point. Each song, as if there weren’t enough good things about them, also carried an inspiring message as well, as Few Collective aims to ‘engage, educate, and inspire’ through the means of art.

Overall, the show was a surprising mix of colour and fun. I would recommend it to everyone who would like an exciting, captivating and energetic family night out.

- Ella Slater

My Only Daughter @ Z-arts

I saw ‘My Only Daughter’ at Z-Arts last week. The advert promised us ‘a night of drama and comedy’ along with ‘hope, romance and an inkling of Caribbean sunshine.’

What seemed like it was going to be a hilarious show turned out to be a bit of a let down. The comedian who did the ‘warm up’ section at the start of each half was very funny, but seemed unnecessary to make the show work. He made jokes about being a Jamaican in England, which many of the audience were able to relate to and spoke in the Patois dialect that the actors used in the performance. This linked him to the main performance, but only very loosely. It would have been better perhaps, to give him an hour-long show of his own on another night. Here he seemed to just be used as a means of filling out and delaying the show, and his talent wasn’t really utilised.

The actual performance of ‘My Only Daughter’ was very funny. The character of ‘Miss Janie’, the old lady who helped the other characters out, was hilarious with her shuffling, stamping of her stick and re-enacting anecdotes. She was the most realistic of the characters, and was portrayed very well by the actress who played her. The other characters however, were somewhat one-dimensional. They had no depth to them, and were less engaging to watch.

The actual storyline of the play was funny, but inconsistent and somewhat disjointed. There were parts such as Miss Janie telling us about her birthday that were very funny, but unnecessary to the rest of the plot. They were used more as fillers than key plot points. While the main storyline was clever in that it made an ordinary dilemma funny and unique, it was spoiled by the numerous sub-plots.

The use of the Patois dialect was key device in getting the story across. While it was sometimes a little hard to understand for people who aren’t familiar with it, it worked very well with the predominantly Jamaican-origin audience. It seemed to draw them into the story more, and they could familiarise with the characters more easily. It also allowed for some great one-liners from the characters.

The staging was simple but effective, with four mini settings that would have a spotlight on them when a scene was taking place. It created a sense of movement, time and place, without having loads of blackouts to move set around. The music transported the audience to Jamaica, and fit very well with the storyline.

‘My Only Daughter’ was a funny performance that was unfortunately let down by structural errors in the plot. I would recommend it to people age 13 and over, and I give it three stars out of five.

- Hemma Jari

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