Meet The Team

Hello there. We’ve missed you.

We’re back on Leeds Student Radio and you can listen every Sunday from 2-3 at thisislsr.com. But for now, we’d like to introduce you to our gorgeous new team.

Faye Lawrence – Lead Presenter 

English Literature and Theatre Studies, Year 2 

What’s your specialist subject?  

Theatre

What’s the most recent ‘arty’ thing you’ve done in Leeds?

 I was in a play called ‘The Boat’ with Leeds University’s Theatre Group

What’s your desert island disk? 

Late Registration by Kanye West

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? 

A Blue Peter presenter.

Do you have a favourite line from a play or film?

‘I have to return some videotapes’ American Psycho

Mark McDougall – Producer 

Theatre and Performance, Year 3 

What’s your specialist subject?  

I adore music in performance whether it be musical theatre or something more obscure (I like to refer to this as ARTPOP)

What’s the most recent ‘arty’ thing you’ve done in Leeds? 

 I recently finished work on Electrified, a new musical where I performed and documented our process through a blog.

What’s your desert island disk? 

I feel Love by Donna Summer 12 inch version – arguably the best disco song in existence.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? 

Buzz Lightyear. I’m still working on it.

Do you have a favourite line from a play or film?

‘Great. I was wearing a carpet.’ Bridget Jones’ Diary

Lily Melhuish – Features Presenter 

Theatre and Performance, Year 2 

 

What’s your specialist subject?

Theatre

What’s the most recent ‘arty’ thing you’ve done in Leeds? 

I played ‘Chief Weasel’ in Open Theatre’s ‘Wind In The Willows’

What’s your desert island disk? 

Stripped by Christina Aguilera

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? 

A superhero (specifically with cat-like superpowers)

Do you have a favourite line from a play or film?

‘To tell you the truth, I don’t give a shit’ The Shawshank Redemption

Hannah Cook – Features Presenter 

Medicine, Year 3 

What’s your specialist subject? 

Classical music and opera

What’s the most recent ‘arty’ thing you’ve done in Leeds? 

I visited the most amazing violin shop in the centre of Leeds called Hobgoblin and played some amazing violins that were probably worth more than me!

What’s your desert island disk?

Champion Sound by Crystal Fighters because it reminds me of many happy memories from many summers.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? 

I wanted to be avril lavigne. So badly. I even looked into changing my surname.

Do you have a favourite line from a play or film?

‘We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep’ The Tempest

Lea Ogunlami – Features Presenter 

English Literature, Year 1

What’s your specialist subject? 

Fashion

What’s the most recent ‘arty’ thing you’ve done in Leeds? 

I bought an SLR from vintage camera shop in The Corn Exchange

What’s your desert island disk?

Heard Em Say by Kanye West.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? 

A chef.

Do you have a favourite line from a play or film?

‘We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep’ The Tempest (I think Lea and Hannah are going to get on)

Livi Morrissey – Features Presenter 

Theatre and Performance, Year 2

What’s your specialist subject? 

Theatre

What’s the most recent ‘arty’ thing you’ve done in Leeds? 

I was in OT’s ‘Wind in the Willows’

What’s your desert island disk?

Stevie Wonder’s Definitive Collection

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? 

A Post Office lady.

Do you have a favourite line from a play or film?

‘Come the fuck on Bridget’ Bridget Jones’ Diary

Clea Southall – Features Presenter 

Medicine, Year 3

What’s your specialist subject? 

Theatre

What’s the most recent ‘arty’ thing you’ve done in Leeds? 

I watched the Medic’s panto.

What’s your desert island disk?

679 by Fetty Wap. It’s an absolutely awful song I know, but it’s so bloody upbeat, I think I’d need that if I was on a desert island. No judgements.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? 

Rapunzel (my aunty) – my aunty was the only person I ever knew who had really long blonde hair so I gathered she must be the real life Rapunzel, except I took this a little too far and started filling in my name at the top of my work in primary school as Clea Marie Southall – safe to say my parents were slightly confused to see I’d adopted a new middle name.

Do you have a favourite line from a play or film?

‘At the present moment I am eating muffins because I am unhappy. Besides, I am particularly fond of muffins’ The Importance of Being Earnest

Alex Leonard – Features Presenter 

Media and Communications Studies, Year 3 (on a term abroad from Canada)

What’s your specialist subject? 

Visual Arts

What’s the most recent ‘arty’ thing you’ve done in Leeds? 

I’ve been working my graphic novel, 28 Years Later. It’s a continuation from 28 Days Later and features the same lead character in a completely different setting.

What’s your desert island disk?

The Beatles on BBC Radio 1 in 1967 because it’s such a long album and will keep me happy and entertained for the longest period.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? 

I wanted to be a forensic investigator, but it’s a rather dark industry and needs too much science skills that didn’t settle with me. Thus, I became an inquisitor in the music industry without any label or platform restrictions.

Do you have a favourite line from a play or film?

I don’t have a favourite line from a play or film, although from a comic it is about meditation.

Grace Baylis – Features Presenter 

Theatre and Performance, Year 3

(Grace has been busy in rehearsals this week, so Faye has guessed what her answers might be. I hope they’re accurate) 

What’s your specialist subject? 

Post-postmodernist art.

What’s the most recent ‘arty’ thing you’ve done in Leeds? 

I volunteered as a model for a life drawing class.

What’s your desert island disk?

Agadoo by Black Lace.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? 

A student at Leeds University. I’m so happy my dreams came true.

Do you have a favourite line from a play or film?

‘Troll in the dungeon’ Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

(Sorry Grace – love from Faye)

Aren’t they a lovely bunch? Catch our first show on thisislsr.com on Sunday at 2pm  

The Arts Show Visits: Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Part 1)

I have no idea how to start this blog post. I spent the past month working as Front of House at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. After working thirty-four consecutive twelve-hour days, I am an emotional wreck and I am just pleased that I can form sentences other than Hi guys, can I just see your tickets please? and No, I don’t have any spare tickets for Nina Conti.

I worked for a company called The Pleasance. I’m debating whether to use past tense or present tense there because I don’t want to have to accept the fact that it’s over and I no longer work there. I work for a company called The Pleasance. The Pleasance is one of the ‘Big Four’ companies at the Fringe, hosting a programme of over 200 shows on 23 stages in 2 venues, Pleasance Courtyard and Pleasance Dome.

Front of House is the face of the Fringe. We’re there to organise, assist and advise. I’m really sorry but that show is actually on at The Dome, not The Courtyard. We’re there to hold giant yellow lollypops showing people where to queue. Are you here for Lee Nelson? The queue is actually continuing out onto the street behind the massive sign saying Cabaret Bar. We’re there to smile and be friendly, regardless of what abuse gets thrown at us. Yes, I may be a ticket nazi but you’re still going to have to join the back of the queue.

Doesn’t sound very glamorous does it? That’s because it wasn’t. Days were long, cold, wet and gruelling. Despite this, it was one of the most, if not the most enjoyable month of my life. The excitement in Edinburgh is tangible during the Fringe. The city is full; young people, old people, mad people, people who love the arts. I’m just one scruffy teenager amongst thousands of people who come to Edinburgh with the same intention, having fun.

But what made my Fringe was the Front of House team. When you’re with 25 other people who are all mad enough to volunteer to stand in the cold for a month telling people where the loos are, you’re guaranteed to have a brilliant time. Friendships for life form when you spend two whole days postering the same staircase. Guys, does anyone know if Street Team has any more tape?

The shows were pretty good too. At my last count I saw 31 shows, that’s an average of 1.2  shows every day. (That’s not counting the shows I had to sit in more than once. Something changes deep within you when you have to do your fourth Reginald D. Hunter sit in.) The moments in the shows that will stand out in my memory are the bit with the money in Gein’s Family Giftshop, when The Boy With Tape On His Face smashed the plates in The Tape Face Xmas Special and when This Guy actually scored the winning goal in Adam Riches is Coach Coach.

Once I’ve given my Mum my washing, eaten some fruit and slept for more than four hours in a night I will post a more detailed blog post about some of the other shows I saw. But for now, I’m going to stare out of this train’s window, listen to Sam Smith and try to cry discreetly.

Faye Lawrence

Review: Blue Remembered Hills

We’re all guilty of romanticising the past. We love looking back and reminiscing about the way things used to be. However, Theatre Group’s production of Blue Remembered Hills looked beyond the rose tinted spectacles to present a gritty exploration of childhood innocence and cruelty.

The play follows seven children spending an afternoon playing in the countryside in 1943. The set was extremely effective, although it simply consisted of hay bales, sticks and some crates, it evoked both the austerity of the war and the extent of the children’s imaginations. The action was not limited to the stage and the Banham Theatre was transformed into a playground with the actors running and playing around the whole space, encircling and involving the audience.

The minimalist production of the play meant that a lot was riding on the strength of the acting and the cast did not disappoint. Adults acting as children has the potential to come across as exaggerated and unrealistic but the cast of Blue Remembered Hills portrayed perfectly the candid innocence of childhood physicality. The cast maintained hyperactive, childlike energy levels throughout the piece and this was especially impressive coming from the actors who performed fight scenes and headstands. At some points in the play, parts of the dialogue were lost. This is partly down to the choice to have actors all spoking in thick West Country accents, but it also reflected children’s natural style of speech. Although that dialogue was difficult to follow, it contributed to the play’s dark undertones.

Lily Hall, Alex Charing, Alex Maxwell, Joe Featonby, Bella Speaight, Rob Meyer, Ethan Holland. 

The characterisation of each child was believable and consistent and the cast portrayed a range of different childhood figures to which it was easy to relate yourself, from Ethan Holland’s loveable, stuttering Raymond to Lily Hall’s aggressive, stroppy Audrey.  However, my favourite performance came from Rob Meyer, whose tearful Donald was a subtle reminder of themes of war and sadness in the play.

Blue Remembered Hills was another high quality production by Theatre Group that left me nostalgic for the past and thankful that I live in the present.

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Blue Remembered Hills was performed at the Banham Theatre, from the 17th-19th February. 

You can follow the production team’s blog at https://tgbluerememberedhills.wordpress.com 

Faye Lawrence

Preview: Love’s Labour’s Lost – Live from Stratford-upon-Avon

The Royal Shakespeare Company is my favourite theatre company. I grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon, so I forget how fortunate I am to have world quality theatre on my doorstep. For those who daren’t venture into the abyss of the midlands, the RSC broadcast their top productions into cinemas across the UK and around the world.

Last semester on The Arts Show, we debated whether seeing theatre on a screen is as good as seeing it live. Although nothing beats feeling that connection you feel with actors live on a stage, live broadcasts of theatre give us easy and (relatively) cheap access to performances that we may have never had the chance to see otherwise.

When I was at home over Christmas, I went to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (my spiritual home) and I saw Love’s Labour’s Lost performed live. The director, Christopher Luscombe set the play in the pre-WW1 summer of 1914. Despite the undertones of war, the play was packed with both verbal and physical comedy – it was a delight to watch. Edward Bennett, who has previously performed with Frantic Assembly in ‘Lovesong’, plays Berowne and his comic timing was exceptional. This was not the kind of performance of Shakespeare you need to be a scholar with a PhD in iambic pentameter to enjoy; it was incredibly accessible and absolutely hilarious.

So… if you’re free tomorrow evening (Wednesday 11^th February), the RSC are broadcasting Love’s Labour’s Lost live from Stratford-upon-Avon into cinemas. If you can’t make it down to Stratford to see the show live, I urge anyone who enjoys theatre to pop to the cinema to see this production while you have the chance! Loves’ Labours Lost is playing in Leeds at:

• Everyman, Trinity Centre – 18.35 (£20)
• Showcase – 17.00 (£10 with student ID)

Loves’ Labours Lost and Loves’ Labours Won (aka Much Ado About Nothing) are playing at the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon until 14^th March. We love arts under £5 at The Arts Show and with the RSC Key card you can get £5 tickets to all of their performances. So, no excuses not to visit!

Faye Lawrence, Features Presenter