Just For Lookin' Thru

The Frames’ front man Glen Hansard plays a wounded busker singing songs of heartache and heartbreak on the streets of Dublin. He is spotted by a young Czech immigrant who loves his songs although they are pretty maudlin. She is the driving force that shakes him out of his inertia, prompts him to pick up the pieces and follow his dream, and it’s interesting that she is making such a success of her life in a new country whilst he is floundering in his own. Without her inspiration he'd still be fixing vacuum cleaners in a back street shop. They recognize each other as a pair of love casualties and this film is a touching study of two people meeting at a vulnerable time in their lives and making a deep connection. It shows how even a transitory relationship can have a profound effect on our lives, without the obvious outcome, and avoids the cliché of boy meets girl. Despite the hand held camerawork being a bit jerky at times, intentionally arty but disconcerting, and the poor

Newton Faulkner’s returned to Truro after visiting Europe this autumn. He’s a sell out in most British venues and his last date is back in Cornwall where, only in March, he was the support for James Morrison. Since the success of his single Dream Catch Me with its summer sound that gets right in your head and stays there, he’s also getting plenty of airtime for his new single, Teardrop. Relaxed and easy on stage, Faulkner chats between numbers, his long dreads swinging in front of his face. He goes into a soft reggae song, just off the beat, for ‘People Should Smile More’ and the warm crowd of 1700 go crazy for him, cheering, waving and calling out, ‘I Love You.’ Strumming and banging, using his guitar as percussion, he’s backed up by bongos and a bassist, and moves from ballad to funk. He’s got such a great voice it seems he can’t make an ugly sound, then he shifts into a stomping rhythm for ‘UFO.’ Whatever he does the crowd love it, and he’s having fun. He raises a finger - they chee

Writer David Stuart Davies has created a superb one man show, and the script is spot on, combining humour and pathos with drama and keeping the tension throughout. Sherlock Holmes returns to Baker Street after the funeral of his old friend, Watson and, from the moment he appears on stage Roger Llewellyn is riveting. It is impossible to tear your eyes from him as he talks to Watson, or to the memory of him, recalling their first meeting, reminding him of conversations past, and recreating the cases and the stories they worked on together. He demonstrates a tender and regretful affection for Watson which is often poignant, but also amusing. Llewellyn’s performance is spellbinding. He plays a whole host of characters, switches accents and posture with bewildering ease, and terrific direction from Gareth Armstrong keeps him moving around the stage in surprisingly physical theatre. He is both fit and graceful. The pace is fine tuned so that moments of high melodrama move seamlessly into tou