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Floating Solo by Shelley Wilson #Review

  Fancy taking a leisurely boat ride along a beautiful Warwickshire canal? Floating Solo by Shelley Wilson was published by Hillfield Publishing on November 5th. Are you single? Have you lost your confidence when it comes to travelling? Would you welcome a few weeks away to find that missing spark? Climb aboard the Creaky Cauldron for an adventure like no other! Budding entrepreneur Kat Sinclair wants to grow her quirky solo narrowboat holiday enterprise but faces rejection at every turn. Until a Hollywood film crew gets in touch with the potential to change her business, dreams, and love life forever. 'Enemies to lovers' 'Small town romance'   My Thoughts   You can't help but fall under the spell of life on the canals when you read this story. Kat has big dreams for her business but seems to lack confidence to put it into action. Her Floating Solo holidays are very successful for her clients and many use the experience to sort out their thoughts and plan their ...

Play: The Mighty Walzer by Howard Jacobson adapted by Simon Bent

Performed at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester and directed by Jonathan Humphreys - World Premiere

Set in Manchester in the 1950's, The Mighty Walzer is an adaptation of Howard Jacobson's novel. Semi-autobiographical in nature, we see life in a Jewish family with an adolescent boy. The pace of the play is beautifully handled with Elliot Levey taking the part of Oliver and seamlessly changing from participant to narrator and back, as Oliver looks back at his adolescence. Lacking in social skills and self- absorbed, Oliver is lured out by his father to sample the delights of the ping pong tournaments. Socially gauche, he proves to be a master of the table tennis table and meets kindred spirits.

    I found the play to be very enjoyable and entertaining.  I particularly enjoyed the visual gags, such as the toilet and cistern appearing from the theatre roof, as did the ping pong ball which hung in the air, tantalising. Oliver's parents' relationship was a great source of humour and Tracy-Ann Oberman as Oliver's mother was sharp tongued and sassy. The relationships within the family are complicated and the audience sees them unfolding through Oliver's eyes. His parents' hopes are lodged on him as he navigates his way towards Cambridge University and they are determined that he will make something of himself, no matter how unprepossessing the raw material might be.

    Simon Bent, who adapted the book for the stage, describes how he went about the task on the website artsdesk.com and his article can be read here. I was interested to read that he decided to abridge the original novel and stop after Oliver went off to University, although there is a hint at the end as to where Oliver has ended up. I did feel at the end, that there was more to find out about Oliver's life and  family, certainly not having tired of them in any way. 

In short: an entertaining look at family dynamics. 

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