![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sharplittleteethI love Daniel Kitson.
With his bushy beard, unkempt hair, and ill-fitting suits, he looks like a UNIX programmer from 1979*. But he's mastered the difficult art of being whimsical without being twee. He can make watching fireworks explode or paddling in the sea sound like acts of revolution.
There are two major themes in his work. One is documenting those fleeting moments of magic and wonder that illuminate our otherwise dull lives. The other is railing against the world's cunts.
He seemed pretty cheerful tonight. Fireworks was heavy on the wonder, light on the cunts. Maybe he was just pleased with the size of his audience. The Atheneum was sold out. (Of course, Kitson was one of the few acts on on a Monday night.) We managed to score last minute tickets in the front row of the Upper Circle, so we had a precipitous drop between us and the stage.
The Atheneum's a beautiful old theatre. Crumbling plaster ceiling roses, red velvet seats, Art Deco urinals in the Gents. There was a velvet curtain near our seats with a NO EXIT sign above it. I just had to peek behind it. And there was a little storage room, piled up to the ceiling with old red velvet cushions. It was like the Elephants Graveyard of theatrical seating.
It was a surreal little moment, entirely fitting for a Daniel Kitson show.
And how was his show? Well, in his own words: "If you haven't seen me before... I'm brilliant."
* Even amongst computer geeks, fashion evolves. Modern UNIX programmers look more like ageing goths.
With his bushy beard, unkempt hair, and ill-fitting suits, he looks like a UNIX programmer from 1979*. But he's mastered the difficult art of being whimsical without being twee. He can make watching fireworks explode or paddling in the sea sound like acts of revolution.
There are two major themes in his work. One is documenting those fleeting moments of magic and wonder that illuminate our otherwise dull lives. The other is railing against the world's cunts.
He seemed pretty cheerful tonight. Fireworks was heavy on the wonder, light on the cunts. Maybe he was just pleased with the size of his audience. The Atheneum was sold out. (Of course, Kitson was one of the few acts on on a Monday night.) We managed to score last minute tickets in the front row of the Upper Circle, so we had a precipitous drop between us and the stage.
The Atheneum's a beautiful old theatre. Crumbling plaster ceiling roses, red velvet seats, Art Deco urinals in the Gents. There was a velvet curtain near our seats with a NO EXIT sign above it. I just had to peek behind it. And there was a little storage room, piled up to the ceiling with old red velvet cushions. It was like the Elephants Graveyard of theatrical seating.
It was a surreal little moment, entirely fitting for a Daniel Kitson show.
And how was his show? Well, in his own words: "If you haven't seen me before... I'm brilliant."
* Even amongst computer geeks, fashion evolves. Modern UNIX programmers look more like ageing goths.
no subject
Date: 2007-04-09 07:53 pm (UTC)