Profil von Aish

Greenwich is one of the coolest places ever. Firstly I love it because it’s a ten minute drive away and secondly because in this small little space there is so much going on. Every Saturday and Sunday you can garuantee that Greenwich will be packed with people lulling and strolling about. Greenwich is the ideal place to do nothing but hang, you can have a look around the markets, have a Crepe from the Crepe stand, spend hours in Ottakers, which has a coffee shop inside. You can go to a bar, a pub, a restaurant or go to the Maritime museum. The things you can do in this little area is so vast. Greenwich is the kind of place that in summer I always bump into people that I know. Last year I was chilling outside a bar drinking a white wine spritzer when a group of my friends walked passed with a picnic basket, headed towards the park. Yes I did infiltrate this little picnic and in the mean time i called up a few other people to come down – we ended up having a miniature party in the park! When I was younger me and my friend would go to Greenwich solely for the two pound book shops and we’d literally just collect books upon books! If you love books then you should definitely check out these two pound book stores, there aren’t as many as there used to be, but there are still a few with really good books all for two pounds!
Go to Greenwich with no plans and just see what happens!

How did this manage to be so far down my list of places to write about? Being at uni gave me some of the best years of my life, student loans, student overdrafts, student accounts, student discount - free money - free money - free money! Oh and of course the pursuit of a deeper knowledge! But let's be honest, the most dominant thing at university is money. Whether you have it or not is a different issue, but the point is money was a huge issue at uni. Rent was due, books had to be bought, late student loan arrivals, library fees, study fee's etc etc etc. Nevertheless I had more money as a student than what I have now! Who ever told me to pursue this writing career, eh?
Anyhow, I love Greenwich University because I love Greenwich, it has become the centre point of my social life and has been for nearly five years. It is my local central point with my friends and isn't too bad an area, with bars, restaurants, clothes shops and a market! The university is phenomenal - as in the bricks or should I say the architecture not the actual institution itself. Greenwich University, or the Royal Naval College is a historical building and I often saw people just strolling through the university grounds enjoying the architecture and the history of Greenwich and the university buildings. The university has been a host to many film crews, the latest film it played a large role in was the film that tells the story of William Wilberforce called Amazing Grace 2006.
The university as an institution is cool, uni at the end of the day is as they say what you make it. However I had some really genuinely nice tutors who I went for Coffee’s with and discussed theatre and plays! My degree was in English and Creative Writing and amongst my English electives, as well as studying Theatre I also studied American Studies and Latin American Studies. Latin American studies is an amazing elective to take, the culture is breadth and beautiful and has inspired me to explore some of these amazing countries and histories.
I had a really great time at Greenwich University, particularly in my last year when I ultimately really started to appreciate what I was learning and took a deep interest in the subject matter. This university ultimately led me to my calling of being a writer – now all I have to hope is that it will lead to some money or at least employment!!! ;-x

The Entertainer is by far my worst theatre experience to date, although a humorous play which clearly catered to its target audience, for people such as me the play rendered to be a lot less enjoyable than I would have predicted. The recent film with Michael Cane and Jude Law is an original Harold Pinter script. Set in the backdrop of the Suez Crisis which took place in 1956 John Osborne introduces us to the Rice family. A family the theatre was introduced to fifty years ago and has reappeared to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of The Entertainer. Taking the lead role of Archie Rice was television’s Robert Lindsay, the role once played by critically acclaimed actor Laurence Olivier. Not being aware of any of Olivier’s works I can’t compare the performances, nevertheless Lindsay played the cynical, misogynistic, disillusioned entertainer superbly and it appeared that the audience genuinely enjoyed his performance. He had a good sense of comical timing, he engaged with the audience well and appeared completely at ease with his character. Lindsay brought controversy, tension and humor to the play. He became my saving grace for a play that without his presence would have been incredibly boring to watch. The play set fifty years ago in the home of a working class British family talks of many issues that I found difficult to relate to. The play features a very patriotic set of characters that look back at the British Empire with sentimentality and nostalgia, the characters fear the unknown and with the decline of post war Britain and the decline of Britain’s power the family are set to enter a new Britain, a place where the culture may be affected and traditions lost. Although I am aware of such issues and have an understanding for them I found myself being further and further alienated from the play. The constant casual racist comments which managed to thread themselves throughout the play left me feeling completely uncomfortable, however it is of the understanding that I am not the targeted or expected audience member of the Old Vic theatre and that these issues and traits are clearly what must remain in order to make the play an authentic one. Of course the play still manages to pluck some contemporary chords, particularly with the questioning of war, power, the deaths of young men and whether it’s all worth it. Even the fear of the loss of British culture and tradition is an issue that is prevalent in people and society today. Nevertheless I found the play tedious, too long and ultimately going nowhere. The play appeared as though the ending was rushed, two new characters were introduced in the last scene of the play; which in my opinion is careless and messy playwrighting, dialogues ended up appearing to be monologues, as one character spoke there would be no interaction from the rest of the cast and at times they’d go off on a tangent of heartfelt word which ultimately were meaningless and did nothing for the play. The play neither engaged me nor moved me; I wasn’t particularly interested in the storyline and just as well, as the story didn’t go far and revealed nothing of any weight. Myself and the play could not have had a greater distance between us, yet this needn’t be the deciding factor on whether the play was a success or not. I believe the play did what it had to do; which was to pay homage to the 1950’s, remain authentic to this era and allow its audience to possibly relive the phenomenon of The Entertainer.

Attempts on her life was by far the best play I’ve ever viewed and to write this review is a true honor. To describe this play in words would do it no justice, too many words would taint it and too little would leave you lost. This play has managed to arouse passions inside me that I’m almost too embarrassed to express. Attempts on her life was the manifestation of the beauty of the human mind, its function and the talent and creativity it has to offer the world. The collaboration of Martin Crimp’s compelling dialogue with Kate Mitchell’s vivid vision and direction concocted a genius masterpiece. A play made ten years ago still held so much relevance to date and regardless of whether it did this or not the play can not fail to entertain you, engage you and hold your attention to the nth degree. Attempts on her life held no boundaries, it explored theatre and discovered it in a completely new light; the exploration of the world through many different communicative forms is what keeps you intrigued in this intense two hour interval free play. The play lacks all conventionalism; no acts, no characters, eleven cast members, seventeen scenarios and one name.
Confused?
You should be. The play commences with the opening of two very heavy, screeching screen doors separating horizontally, they reveal to us eleven people dressed in black, with the motif colour of red accessories. The characters are engaged in a chatty, fast paced dialogue which sounds as though they are creating a pitch to a director, novelist or playwright. The eleven cast members are creating the protagonist of their piece – a non smoking, tragic, terrorist, porn star named Annie, who later transforms into a car, a mobile phone advert, the center of a press conference, an artist, a serial suicide attempter; Anya, Anoushka – Annie.
Still confused?
You still should be!
The stage is occupied by cameras and film props, a projector screen, an organ, an ashtray, a red dress which is suspended from the ceiling and many other props. The most crucial prop is the projector screen, which most of the plays stunning moments are displayed on. With the heavy dependence on the film and camera work a common questioned arises - Is Attempts on Her Life theatre? In Attempts on Her Life everything that is displayed on the projector screen is filmed live on the stage, nothing is pre- recorded. The viewer has the ability to watch the screen, which is hung in the top left hand corner of the stage or watch the action taking place on the stage – this is what I believe allows the play to qualify as theatre; the audience has its choice in what it wants to view and everything before them is taking place live. The play deals with issues such as the superficiality of a fast paced, capitalist, globalised world and what better way to communicate this than through media communication? The play makes humor of the consumer relationship between the person and the world and informs us that all is not as it may seem. There are some amazing scenes in the play, particularly the scene which acts as a car infomercial for the New Annie. The host of the advert is a Polish girl who churns out a great script in Polish persuading the audience to purchase the New Annie. On the other side of the stage stands an English translator, who translated the Polish persuasive script in to English. This scene is by far the most genius of the play, the acting of the girl who hosts the commercial in Polish is amazing, her timing, body language, stage and screen presence is flawless – she states, ‘The new Annie doesn’t get sticky with chocolate or sperm, it doesn’t get stuck in traffic…’
Ultimately I could say too much, I could say too little but what I will say is; if you get the opportunity– you must watch this play.

Fabulations

The Tricycle Theatre is like Kilburn’s little treasure, tucked away on the urban Kilburn High Road I would never have guessed a theatre as such existed. And as unconventional as its location us the interior of the Theatre, set out with bicycle parts and iron flooring leading me to the box office. The theatre exudes a comforting and welcoming feel to the drama theatre world, with its unreserved seating policy and comfortable huge cushioned seats I didn’t feel as though I was entering an elitist world.

This was also reflected in the audience; a truly well rounded completely mainstream audience, there wasn’t a predominant demographic, from black, Asian and white, American to English, male and female and a completely diverse age range. I must honestly admit that I had my preconceived ideas about a Black Female play, I concluded the issues must be deep rooted and the play heavy. I had hoped that Lynn Nottage would prove me wrong and the general feeling I had accumulated so far made me feel that she would, leaving me more confident and excited about the play I was about to review.

On the stage sat a very minimalist set consisting of white floors and a single white wall in which all the action took place in front of. The white wall also acted as a light box, certain sections of the wall occasionally lit up, the wall also had an opening in the left hand corner which acted as a doorway. The cast would often, instead of disappearing off stage using the wings would slip off behind the wall and would appear on stage the same way, this acted as a benefit for those cast member who had quick changes, particularly with the doubling up of characters. The white walls and floors encased locations such as an office, a front room, the streets of Brooklyn, a substance abusers meeting, a hospital, a pharmacy, a jail cell, a prison inmates visitors room, it was clearly important that the set remain minimal in order to be adaptable for the many locations the play was placed in. Often the lighting and sound aided in following through with the story lines, most locations consisted of simply a plain very bright lighting pattern, however the appearance of Herve was often complimented with a fiery red/orange which complimented his Latino passion or the low lights of the Brooklyn streets at night, the flashing blue lights and the sound of the siren from the police car we don’t see and the sound of the buzzing streets and traffic we hear when located in Brooklyn.

The play opens, inviting us into the office of Undine Barnes, Boutique Public Relations. Downstage right sits a black leather office chair, a desk with a laptop, a telephone and scattered papers on it. At the desk sits a young black woman, yapping away on a call, however instead of talking into a handset she talks with a Bluetooth earpiece clipped onto her ear and almost yaps into space. We so often see people walking down the street or in the supermarket appearing stir crazy talking to themselves, only to realize that it’s the modernity of technology. And this is exactly what the play oozes with – modernity; The sets bright lights, the lap top, blue tooth earpiece and the manifestation of modernity itself; Undine. Undine the young, sexy meets classy, powerful, successful upwardly mobile black woman, concerned with her career, her status and social class, making her riches from - how ironical – Public Relations, a woman who lied about her family dying in a fire in order to save her own relationship with the public. Jenny Jules embodies Undine as a dramatic, extreme and neurotic woman, who possesses some eccentricities, which is I believe as Nottage would have intended her to be. The story in itself is extremely melodramatic, Nottage introduces us to a riches to rags tale, where Undine, in her powerful job and sexually charged relationship all come to an end, along with her money, social status and any other privileges she may have accumulated being a privileged member of society. From Manhattan she returns to Brooklyn, back to the family she verbally murdered and physically separated herself from for fourteen years. Nottage hands Undine’s character chunks and chunks of humble pie over and over again throughout the play; Penniless, in Brooklyn, going to jail, being sentenced to substance abusers meetings, buying drugs from a ‘hood rat,’ lining up in a never ending Social Services queue and to top it off, an unwanted pregnancy. Undine goes from what she calls ‘the privileged class’ to ‘the under class, the negro class.’ Anyone’s fall from grace is inevitably painful, yet with the tone that I believe that Nottage intended and what the director captures perfectly is the lightheartedness, the humor and the reduction of the seriousness of very serious issues. As what we are handed here are some extreme issues, however with the eccentricity of Jenny Jules playing Undine and of the plot, whilst watching the play we almost don’t realize what lies beneath the surface of some of these characters and more importantly Lynn Nottage.
A technique that reminds me of the Harlem renaissance writers, communicating pain through laughter, rhetoric and disguise; words that may appear futile and insignificant were words that came from a much deeper place, communicating deep rooted issues.
Nevertheless the audience are aroused and humored throughout the play, with laughs and jokes lined up one after the next. The Yuroban spiritualist had a great affect on the audience and had them in uproar, I also found Alison a delight to watch, changing her accent from the thick New York accent to that of what sounded a Latin American.
What I enjoyed and valued realness of the play, some of the characters I felt I had met, passed on the street earlier that day, I knew someone like them or a part of them existed in me. I took pleasure in the contemporary feel of the play and liked knowing these characters, not only in the Tricycle theatre, but in the world, American sitcoms, London streets and of course Black women. However, being a black woman and believing I possess the black paradox W. E.B DuBois and many Harlem Renaissance artist spoke of, this was also what I disliked about the play. I believed Nottage was reinforcing the black stereotypes and placing on stage the black characters that even if one had never been acquainted with a black person would know these characters. There is the common reference throughout the play to the black man concerned with material goods, who is uneducated and disrespectful towards women. The Nigerian man who plays with spirits and magic, Flo, Undine’s brother, who worked as a Security guard, like their mother and father, had never got out of Brooklyn, still lived at home with his parents and was writing a never ending poem which he believed would someday be his ticket to success. Undine’s ex-boyfriend, the ‘gangsta rapper’ concerned with illusions of grandeur and falsifying dreams and going nowhere. Then finally of course Undine herself – who Nottage may have allowed to slightly break the mould; however in a once existing stereotype amongst the blacks (that may still exist in a lesser scale), she strengthens the opinions that the black person who breaks the mould and gains success, forgets who they are, diminishes their roots and as they climb up the ladder their skin becomes lighter. This is Undine.
Can the privileged black woman not know herself? Apparantly not, in fact the privileged black woman is afraid of herself, in denial and cutting herself off from her roots. In the audience I heard a comment, ‘Undine wants to be white.’ It is a debate within me whether Undine’s fear was being black or being of a working class – however as mentioned above, even this she associates with the Negro class – being black.
The play not only deals with being black, but being a female and the state of society. Trapped in the patriarchal system, a woman is behind bars for defending herself against a man who has taken it upon himself to touch her as he feels – a common occurrence in plays by women. This scene is acted out wonderfully and she extorts all the frustration and anger you can imagine a woman who’s behind bars for protecting herself would have. She triumphantly states at the end of her monologue ‘I believe I just introduced him to a feminist movement!’ At this point the audience applauds her, her performance in this scene was amazing and shone out of all the scenes in the play.
The play possesses the frustration of being suppressed by any form of categorization or label, as these are what have the ability to oppress us. What I believe the play communicates in someway is that regardless of hierarchal rankings, which ever category one may fall into there are consequences and expectations. Nottage presents this to her audience in regards to race, social class and gender.
However in the opinion of this review this play is a black play, maybe not to all, but specifically to the black audience and specifically to me.
The play on a whole, taking it for face value, which I’m sure the majority of the audience did was a laugh a minute. It is a play, that regardless whether the audience is concerned with the issues it deals with or not, has a hilarious plot, an array of brilliant characters and settings and an accessible sense of humor that makes this play a play that cannot not be enjoyed!

Salvo’s - short for Salvatore, Salumeria - an Italian delicatessen is a fair sized café owned by Salvo himself in Leeds also providing authentic, Italian quality delicacies to people who required genuine Italian produce. Me and my partner were lucky enough to meet Salvo, who is Sicilian as is my partner. A friend who lives in Leeds took us here for my partners’ birthday, we spent the day toasting his birthday with Pinot Grigio, chilling in this little Italy. My partner said that this café is probably the closest thing to being in Sicily in the UK. Whilst there I ate a sausage Lasagne, which was absolutely delicious, my partner and his friend has roast chicken wrapped in parma ham with mozzarella, for desert we had a selections of cakes and a desert wine called Marsala – which has a similar taste to Sherry. After feeling nice and content by our intake of foods and wines we enjoyed coffees, Italian biscuits and the warm, welcoming atmosphere.

If you’re ever in Leeds go here!
Bi-Bi’s is an Italian diner located in the heart of Leeds city centre. The restaurant is absolutely huge and is much bigger than most bars and clubs in London. Bi- Bi’s is a non reservation restaurant, however this is not because the bar doesn’t get busy, quite the contrary. The non- reservation system allows for everybody to have the opportunity to eat in Bi – Bi’s on a first come serve first serve basis. I’ve frequented Leeds twice and each time I’ve visited I’ve been to Bi- Bi’s and have loved it both times. It’s like Gaucho Grill in it’s sexiness and beautiful dining décor and interior, but then has a dash of Tinsel Town, in regards to it’s diner feel. To be fair, not much of Bi-Bi’s seems like a diner, apart from the huge plasma screens with Elvis singing and thrusting his pelvis. Bi- Bi’s very much pays homage to it’s Italian – ness. Most of the staff working here are men and all the staff are all Italian, they all have thick accents and it’s not hard to get caught in the cross fire of an Italian conversation.
On entrance to Bi-Bi’s you are handed a contraption that informs you when your table is ready by vibrating, our table has been both times ready before the estimated time – which is always great. However whilst waiting for the vibrating sensations we head over to the bar where cocktail juices are sloshed around. Bi-Bi’s is the ultimate, decadent dining experience, when you’re here you feel special, spoilt and indulgent. The place is not pretentious at all, if Bi-Bi’s ever came to London the likes of you and I would never see it, there would probably be a huge guest list, a six month waiting list, a members charge or something ridiculous like having to be invited by her majesty herself! Yes – that is how exquisite Bi – Bi’s is and I haven’t even got onto the food yet! Everyone in Bi – Bi’s dresses up, there is no limit to how dressed up you can get for this occasion and if you like dressing up and feeling special then this is the ideal time to go all out and where whatever you consider to be dressed for the occasion!
Of course I love Italian culture, my partner being Italian, however if you want to get a bit of warmth from the Italian fire then go to Bi- Bi’s, the staff are all so friendly and even took the time out to chat with me and my partner and introduce us to the Chefs, who were from the same part of Sicily as my partner. The food in Bi-Bi’s as the venue is, is absolutely magnificent, the last time I went I had Beef Carpaccio as my starter and Beef Stroganoff with Tagliatelle for my main – trust me it was to die for! The food is on the pricier end of the scale, but for being at Bi-Bi’s it is entirely worth it.
Bi-Bi’s is one of those places that manages to get everything just right, no element of this restaurant out shines the next, everything compliments everything, from the food to the dressing, the Italian staff to the cocktail bar, from the dressing up to the Elvis tribute – everything just goes perfectly - Bi-Bi’s in itself is an experience. You can get dressed up, enjoy great food and brush up on your Italian!

China White was the first 'posh' club I ever went to at the tender age of nineteen. I had met a Saxophonist in Ten Rooms who had conveniently been a resident musician at China's and played there on a Monday night. He offered me and my friends complimentary entry every Monday night and so every Monday night I would find myself sipping on wine, listening to live music in the intimate setting of China White. Monday nights used to be much different from any other night at China’s as it was open only to members and complimentary guests only, there were no promotions or events held so there were no external guest lists. This makes a huge difference to going on a general week night. Monday nights were quiet, everybody was friendly and ultimately were there to have a drink and a dance, it never got packed and there was never any trouble. My recent ventures to China White has sadly not not been on a Monday and quite frankly I have regretted going. I’m often not too keen on the music, the crowd seems to be full of pretentious figures, people that fancy themselves way too much and footballers, which then usually equates to desperate women, WAG wannabe’s and gold diggers! God I sound harsh, but it’s true, I sadly have friends like this! Going to China White on a general week night involves queuing, complications at the door and entry charges. I try to avoid charges like the plague – as far as I’m concerned I drink enough, besides, I wouldn’t turn up to my own funeral if there was a charge on the door! A Monday night is exempt from all this nonsense BS and is a much easier, more relaxed way of going out.
The crowd in general tend to dress up, some people are wearing suits having come straight from work, however smart casual here is completely appropriate. A bottle of house wine starts at twenty four pounds.
China White is a beautifully decorated, Aladdin’s cave kind of club. Its very dear to me and holds a lot of good memories!

Tiger Tiger is one of those places that I never plan to go to but always seem to end up here. Tiger Tiger used to be somewhere that we’d always walk past on our way to a club, but one day something changed, we ventured in and surprisingly had a really great time. Last year Tiger Tiger saw most of me and the girls’ drunken moments. It’s particularly ideal for me and my very loyal drinking partner in crime to go here, we both live either sides of London so it makes sense that we meet at this central drinking place. And every time we do we tell ourselves that we’ll catch the last train home, but how easy is that to do when you know that Tiger Tiger doesn’t close till three in the morning? Well, me and my friend could verify that it is in fact impossible. A night that was initially intended to be a quick drink ends up being a night of clubbing, meeting loads of cool people and getting incredibly drunk – I love this! In fact, Tiger Tiger’s utmost appeal to me is it’s bar like mentality, but ultimately is a club in disguise! The venue is absolutely huge with secret staircases, private rooms and restaurants dotted about the club, it also has two floors and two bars; To me this sounds like a night club, however if you arrive before nine you don’t have to pay to get in, there is no queuing involved, you don’t need to contact a promoter to get on a guest list and it is literally a hassle free way of going out and having an eventful night.
Tiger Tiger’s music is a bit kind of all over the place, one minute your dancing to Britney Spears, the next minute you know you’re electric sliding to Earth Wind and Fire. But I don’t mind this, as long as the DJ throws in a Funky House track I’m good to go. Tiger Tiger is by far the most friendliest place I’ve ever been to, I remember me and my friend were here one summer night when a girl initiated a conversation with me solely based on the fact that she loved the Spice Girls! I’m not sure how pleased I was about this, but the point is everybody here is so friendly and I’ve met such a huge range of people here. I can guarantee that most nights I end practicing my Spanish or Italian skills, playing guess the accent with South Africans or comparing British and American culture with Americans. Tiger Tiger is so mixed and I love it!
Tiger Tiger, although having club like antics is as much a good place to dance as it is to have a chat, get some food and relax. Me and my friend always arrive in time for happy hour, where we get in enough bottles of wine to suffice us for a few hours along with some Nacho’s and chicken burgers! Happy hour finishes at seven thirty and which explains why we always arrange to meet at seven fifteen.
Sadly my partner in crime is fed up of Tiger Tiger and whilst trying to pick our new hang out I’m suffering from withdrawal symptoms, nevertheless you should go and get hooked!