Grand Hotel

What was life like for those living amidst the luxury of 1920s Berlin; how did the privileged few live whilst revelling in the magnificence of the Wiemar Republic, before the Great Depression and the Nazi seizure of power?

All is revealed in a new dynamic production of the musical “Grand Hotel”, staged at the Bridewell Theatre by the Stock Exchange Dramatic and Operatic Society (SEDOS).

Based on the book Menshen Im Hotel, by Austrian novelist Vicki Baum, Grand Hotel follows the lives of a diverse set of characters staying at one of the most opulent hotels in the world.

Directed by Andrew Overin, with choreography by Gayle Rogers and musical direction by Matthew Gould, the balance of character and dance led performance provided the production with energy and elegance. A large cast, extensive under-scoring and opening with a long sequence involving the entire cast; the three in charge did not pick an easy challenge. Nonetheless, they certainly pulled it off.

Set in the hotel lobby, inclusive of a revolving door, the performance opens with a lavish sequence, establishing the show as one oozing with enthusiasm and enjoyment. Each character is wonderfully introduced by Colonel-Doctor Otternshlag (Craig Karpel) with a charming yet venomously sordid tone.

And so we follow the lives of the dashing and debonair Baron Felix Von Gaigern (Angus Jacobs); the aging ballerina Elizaveta Grushinskaya (Cheryl Knight) on another farewell tour; the ambitious young Flaemmchen (Kelly Chinery) with dreams of Hollywood; the modest Otto Kringelein (James Franey) in failing health and the apparently earnest Hermann Preysing (Chris De Pury) experiencing the pressures of business. Guided through their collective foibles, tribulations, passions, failings and hardships, the production is enthralling and endearing.

Jacobs’ portrayal of the Baron is charismatic with impressive depth and feeling, particularly during ‘Love can’t happen’ and ‘Roses at the Station’. Of equal gravitas is Franey’s ‘Kringelein’; a tender vulnerability suppressing any justified resentments and loneliness.

De Pury is convincing as both the gentlemanly family man and the depraved failed business man; chillingly so. In addition, Chinery’s ‘Flaemmchen’ is played with a lovely vitality, particularly in the adoration of the Baron.

Something the show certainly profited on is the propensity of the whole cast, not just the leads, to shine. The Telephonists were delightfully sprightly, the scullery workers injected light hearted interludes and the two Jimmy’s (energetically played by Dan Chasemore and Robin Crowley) were superbly buoyant and entertaining.

Particular mention must go to Knight’s portrayal of Grushinskaya. Commanding the stage, Knight delivered a thoroughly engaging performance, able to deliver both a sense of aging pretension and sincere emotion, the delivery interspersed with the ability to make the funny lines hilarious. With the support of Raffaela, played touchingly by Susan Booth, the Grushinskaya character is certainly a favourite.

Overall I very much enjoyed the performance of Grand Hotel. By the end a few questions were left unanswered, and I did feel that perhaps there was only a vague undercurrent of this Grand Hotel experience soon to be lost forever - with little feeling of the foreboding years to come. Also, a few times, there were pools of light with the performers opting to stand on the periphery. Nonetheless, this did not detract in any way from the thoroughly enjoyable nature of the piece.

Grand Hotel is running in London at the Bridewell Theatre, Bride Lane, off Fleet Street, EC4Y 8EQ until Saturday 5th May. I heartily recommend taking a look. For further details, or to book tickets, go to www.sedos.org.uk.

Heroes Episode Guide - Chapter 12: Godsend

As usual, this episode guide will tell you more, although the last couple of reviews have tended to be slightly negative. While everyone’s entitled to an opinion, it moans about the behind the scenes goings-on and clips that have been airing in America so it spoils the episode - that’s not the creator’s fault, more the American TV networks who sometimes even show you the best bits of the episode before it begins (see Battlestar Galactica for that).

Anyway, I finished this episode thinking that not a lot had happened when on reflection it did. Matt gets discredited, Sylar didn’t escape afterall, Claire and the Haitian continue to talk (although not much happens), Claire lets Zack know her secret again, Hiro finds the sword and loses it to Mr Linderman, Nathan and Hiro meet, Niki/Jessica story actually becomes interesting - super strength may be her power now, DL and Micah might be in trouble with the egnimatic Mr Linderman, Ted explores his powers, Mohinder and Claire’s dad meet and Peter wakes up and finds the invisible guy (Christopher Eccleston), who seems visible to Peter at least.

It’s a great introduction to the invisible guy (Claude) and I’m intrigued to see if whatever he touches becomes invisible or Peter has absorbed his powers. Also Peter seems to be predicting the future again, seeing Claude in his coma before actually meeting him.

I enjoyed the bits with Claire and Hiro’s search for the sword the most. I still have no idea where the series is headed, but I’m enjoying the ride.

Airline To Off-Set Carbon Emissions

Delta, in a partnership with The Conservation Fund, are the first U.S. airline to implement a voluntary carbon offset program.

From their press release:

“It’s simple. Beginning June 1, 2007, you will be able to add a small donation to fund the planting of trees in sustainable managed forests around the globe when you book your ticket at delta.com. These trees will help off-set carbon emissions by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and converting it to oxygen as part of their natural processes.

We’ll disburse 100 percent of your donation to The Conservation Fund program to plant trees and to support the organization’s education and outreach efforts. Additionally, we’ll make a donation to The Conservation Fund for every customer flying on a Delta mainline jet worldwide on Earth Day (April 22).

It’s just part of our Force for Global Good initiative that strives to benefit the world we fly everyday. So go ahead and take a flight, and join us in uniting our customers and employees in support of environmental stewardship.”

Obviously you’ll cut emissions by not flying at all, but if you are flying it might be worthwhile considering. What do you think?

The £5 Eco-bag

Currently selling on eBay for around £100, Sainsbury’s £5 “Eco-Bag” is designed to reduce the amount of plastic bags used at supermarkets.

Designed by Anya Hindmarch, the unbleached cotton bag shown below is currently limited to only 20,000 bags and has sold out, with each store only having 30 bags for sale.

According to We Are What We Do, we use on average 167 plastic bags a year, with only one in every 200 bags being recycled (Waitrose offers this service is anyone was wondering), and plastic can take up to 400 years to break down in a landfill.

A good idea, or not?

[Via BBC]

Cheap Energy Saving Lightbulbs

Currently only the 11W (60W equivalent) screw caps are in stock online, but for 49p per bulb it’s a bargain from John Lewis.

It’s best to buy in-store rather than online though, as the delivery cost outweighs any savings. Also all versions are available in-store, 11W (60W) and 18W (100W) bayonet and screw cap bulbs.

[Via MoneySavingExpert]

Song of the Day - Keep The Car Running by Arcade Fire

Keep The Car Running by Arcade Fire, from the album Neon Bible. There’s no music video for it, so instead enjoy a live version. Why not?

Latest Green News

Green Household News

US retailers are becoming increasingly concerned with boosting their green credentials in a bid to attract customers. Home Depot announced it will introduce a line of 3,000 products that promote clean water and energy conservation. The product line is expected to reach 6,000 products by 2009 and it would become the largest “green” labelling programme in American retailing.

Greenpeace has warned that a rise in the demand for the golden wood merbau in the UK is causing immense damage to forests in New Guinea. The group has stated that at current rates of logging, the wood would be commercially extinct within 35 years. Although some retailers, including John Lewis, have stopped selling the wood, it is still on sale in many shops including Topps Tiles and Floors2Go.

Green Supermarket News

Environmental campaigners have stated that supermarkets need to make more significant efforts to reduce their amount of carbon emissions. A report last year by the National Consumer Council warned the big four supermarkets that they were still failing to do enough to protect the environment and Rob Shaw, director of policy and projects at the Town and Country Planning Association, has condemned out-of-town stores but claimed that large supermarkets have a “real opportunity to make a difference”.

A survey has revealed that women are more concerned about the environment than men and are viewed by advertisers as having a key role in influencing male partners and families to become more ‘green’. 56% of the women questioned said concern about the environmental impact of supermarkets influenced their grocery buying, compared with only 38% of men.

Sainsbury’s has revealed that it will ban disposable plastic carrier bags for one day. Customers will instead be given 10p reusable bags for free, a move that Sainsbury’s called a “revolution in supermarket shopping”. It said the 24-hour embargo was to make people aware of the environmental costs of their actions and encourage them to be more environmentally friendly. The supermarket said the day would cost £700,000, and it would replace the reusable bags free when they wore out. The company said it will be the first in a series of five days intended to highlight its corporate responsibility principles. A spokeswoman said it would monitor customer reactions to see if a longer-lasting bag ban was feasible. San Francisco and Bangladesh have already banned the use of plastic bags in supermarkets and pharmacies, but UK retailers have pledged to reduce the overall environmental impact of their carrier bags by just 25 per cent by the end of 2008. Sainsbury’s has stated that Tesco alone accounts for 4bn plastic bags out of the 13bn used every year.

Asda announced it is spending £3.5m on a “green scheme” whereby customers are given green gifts such as can crushers and model wind turbines for schoolchildren in return for boycotting plastic bags. The voucher-based scheme will be launched tomorrow and will run for 10 weeks until the summer holidays and then restart in the autumn.

The Daily Telegraph reports that Sainsbury’s is launching a fleet of zero-emission vans for home deliveries. The retailer has ordered an initial eight Edison electric vans for its online fleet as part of its green commitment to switch 20 per cent of urban deliveries to electric vehicles by September 2008. The Daily Mail today reports that
Sainsbury’s will update shareholders next month on plans to open as much as 4m sq ft of supermarket floor space, and will reveal that it could create 15,000 new jobs.

An investigation into food packaging has found that excess wrapping adds more than 20 per cent to the cost of buying fruit at Waitrose. However, the supermarket said it was committed to reducing waste packaging and had reduced the weight of product packaging by 33 per cent since 2000.

Green Finance News

Barclaycard aims to boost its environmental credentials with the launch of a credit card that offers cardholders incentives to be environmentally friendly. The new card, which will be launched in the UK in the summer, is a response to consumer demand. Barclaycard becomes the first leading card provider to issue a card that allows customers to contribute to environmental schemes and reduce their carbon emissions.

Lloyds TSB Insurance is to start offering free insurance cover for green energy equipment such as solar panels, ground source heating pumps and wind turbines, in order to encourage UK households to make green energy choices. The insurance will cover repair, replacement and theft of the equipment at no additional cost to any of firm’s buildings insurance policies. More than 100,000 households in the UK have already installed equipment of this type, and this is expected to increase to more than 1.3m by 2020, especially in light of the government proposal to get rid of planning permission to install such devices.

British Gas is launching a new division, British Gas New Energy, which will allow customers to help tackle global warming. The division will install rooftop solar heating panels, allowing users to obtain hot water, as well as offsetting carbon dioxide emissions via schemes that procure credits from other businesses or nations that have exceeded their CO2 emission targets. Energy Performance Certificates will also be provided by British Gas, offering an energy efficiency rating for properties being sold and which from 1 June 2007 will be compulsory for people selling homes in this country. Centrica, the firm’s parent, estimates that the annual value of the market for rendering firms and homes more environmentally friendly may be worth several billion pounds.

Environmental campaigners have welcomed the launch of Pay As You Drive car insurance in the UK. Norwich Union (NU) first introduced the insurance in October 2006 and says that it has been popular with all ages, despite being marketed at 18 to 24 year olds originally. The Energy Saving Trust says that the insurance gives people an incentive to drive less and could also help to improve road safety and reduce congestion. Cars are fitted with black-box devices and charged £1 a mile as part of the scheme, which the AA says could reduce road accidents by encouraging drivers not to drive in peak hours.

General Green News

Singer Sheryl Crow has said a ban on using too much toilet paper should be introduced to help the environment. Crow has suggested using “only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where two to three could be required”. Continue reading at BBC News.

A Zambian man has won a prestigious Goldman Prize for helping to curb widespread elephant poaching by setting up economic projects for villagers. Hammerskjoeld Simwinga wins $125,000 for the award, sometimes called the Nobel prize for the environment. Continue reading at BBC News.

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