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A Cornish Winter's Kiss by Jo Bartlett #Review

  It does seem rather early for a festive read but I couldn't resist joining a tour to celebrate Jo Bartlett's latest novel. A Cornish Winter's Kiss was published by Boldwood on July 2nd. It's the most wonderful time of the year...isn't it? Emily Anderson adores romance—both in books and in real life (though her own love life is more ‘tragic subplot’ than ‘happily-ever-after’). As an audiobook narrator, she spends her days bringing love stories to life, convinced that one day, her own perfect romance will come true. Jude Cavendish, thinks romance is a fairy tale for fools. A crime author with a serious case of writer’s block, he’s horrified when his publisher asks him to add a love story to his latest novel. He knows murders, mysteries, and mayhem—not grand gestures and stolen kisses. Desperate for help, Jude reluctantly turns to Emily, whose sunshine personality is the complete opposite of his grumpy cynicism. She’s determined to show him that love is m...

Play: Pomona by Alistair McDowell




Play: Pomona by Alistair McDowell

Performed at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester and directed by Ned Bennett



Pomona is a bleak and uncompromising look at life. It is a dystopian thriller set in the inhospitable  landscape of Pomona: an empty strip of wasteland which lies between Salford and Manchester. It is a black hole at the centre of the city.  The play centres on the search for lost people, who have disappeared or lost themselves, somewhere in the city. Pomona seems to be an area which is ignored no matter how unsavoury the events there might be.

The staging is as bleak as the story, with a metal grid at its centre. The action takes place in a series of staccato scenes, punctuated with blackness. They seem harsh and unconnected. The effect on the viewer is unsettling and jarring, like the story. There are numerous time lapses in the course of the action. My thought at the end of the play was that the narrative had been like a double helix, twisting from past to present and back again. As the M60 circled the city so the story line seemed to run on without a conclusion, looping back onto itself.

Throughout the play, some characters are playing a role playing game. It is difficult to know what is real and what is just part of the game. It is unclear whether the whole play is in fact one huge game.  Open to interpretation, it strikes one that each viewer will see a different play. Some may take it at face value that there are two twin sisters who are searching for each other, as I did. Others may think that there is only one girl.

In short: a unsettling  play which journeys to a vacuum at the centre of everyday life where unspeakable deeds are ignored  and disregarded.


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