A book that has been on my to read list for quite some time HAS FINALLY BEEN READ! This was definitely a 50% cover buy 50% book buy because the artwork on the cover of this book is beautiful!
The story is a retelling of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson, and when reading a synopsis before purchasing the book it was clear that this would not be the sugar coated Disney tale that most people are familiar with. Having said that, the story was much darker than I expected it would be. The store clearly sold this book as a feminist retelling, which is exactly what the story is, and is something that I have never come across before for the story of the Little Mermaid.
The Story starts out when the youngest daughter of the Sea King turns fifteen years old. We are taught how the monarchy works underneath the surface and are introduced to all of his daughters. The royal family live in a rather sinister way and it is clear that there is definitely a corrupt side to the king. The Women are basically seen as pawns that are only good to be sold to a potential suitor. They have no voices of their own and are told to smile whenever it is necessary. Gaia is just a girl with her head in the clouds who is willing to risk everything. She is searching for someone who will adore her for who she is and not because of her looks and her royal status.
This book definitely captures the dark essence of the original book. It brings into the play the question: is it truly love at first sight or is is lust at first sight? It is a tragic tale for Gaia, but it is understandable why she desires to leave home.
This is one of the best fairy tale retelling stories that I have read. The author managed to capture the devastation and gruesome tale that we are familiar with, and added a modern twist to it which made it such a unique read. The feminism arc in this story is very important and it shows that women aren't as weak as men may perceive them to be, they have their own voices and demand to be heard.
Hunted was a book that I really enjoyed reading. I really liked how it was a retelling but tried to be different to the story that we already know. Yeva used to go hunting with her father in the wood as a child, but then when she grows up, she stops since it is something that a young lady shouldn't do. When their father is forced to sell his home and move to his hunting cottage with his three children, Yeva begins hunting again. Her father goes missing and Yeva goes into the forest to see what has happened to him, which is where she encountered the Beast.
I liked how the relationship built up between Yeva and the Beast, but overall I was not a huge fan of the romance as I felt like that element of the relationship was very rushed into the story. It was great that you could see that they began to understand each other, and a sort of friendship formed between them.
It was a fun book to read, not the best but every book has its flaws and I personally really enjoyed reading this book. It was a very easy to get through and took me three days to finish. I'd say if you were looking for a more romantic book or a book with intensive world building, then this book may not be for you since as mentioned before, the romance feels very rushed, and there is little to no world building in the book.
So I will not be posting a proper blog post this week, this is due exam season coming up so I am currently prioritising my work over my blog at the moment. I knew that if I did not post this week then it would break my cycle of uploading every Monday of the year, and the blog will start looking more like it did in 2018/2017 and we do not want that. So I thought I would share some exciting news with you.
I have been cast as Rory in Bare: A Pop Opera. This is one thing that is changing up my schedule a lot, since we have eight weeks to put this musical together and combined with exam stress I just have not managed to write anything this week. Make sure to follow this blog so you can be updated with any further news of the production!
I am super excited to be a part of this show though, it will be my first show that I have done in two years so it is really exciting (unless you count performing on Children in Need, but that was a whole other experience!)
It's a shame that I could not come up with anything to post this week, but these things do happen sometimes to the best of us!
To kick off the month of March, I have decided to make a February Favourites post. If you did not catch my favourite list from January 2019, you can click here and find out what I liked most from that month. February has been a very busy month for me, especially considering the work that I have been doing for uni, so here are my favourites from this month:
Shows
Starship
I started off the month re-watching Starship - a musical by Team Starkid. It seems as though I am going to watch a Starkid musical every month at this rate (which I am not complaining about!), since it has been such a long time since I have actually sat down and watched the Starkid Shows; since coming to uni I have found myself introducing more and more people to them. Starship has always been on of my favourites though. It was the first Starkid Musical that I was around for to wait for it to come out on YouTube, and the difference in production quality really set it apart from the potter musicals at the time. I felt very nostalgic whilst watching it, and it reminded me why am currently on the course I am on now. I love the whole concept of the musical and I love the puppet work in the show. It is fantastic! It is also up on YouTube for free, so if you do find that you have some spare time do give it a watch!
Spies are Forever
I rewatched this fantastic show when introducing it to my flatmates at university. This show is definitely in my list of favourite shows of all time! I love how you go into it expecting it to be one thing and then it turns out to be something completely different. I did not expect a musical about Spies would work, but then again people didn't think that a musical about a barber killing people and a baker making them into pies would work but there we go! That is the wonderful world of Musical Theatre! The cast in this show is absolutely fantastic, as well as the music. This is another show that you will be able to watch for free on Youtube, so you should definitely give it a watch!
Games
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
A game that I feel so much nostalgia for. It has been years since I have played Ocarina of time, so I decided that this month would be the time that I revisit this classic game. I am still yet to finish it, but I forgot how amazing this game is, especially for the time that it came out. With the updated edition being released on the 3DS, it proved that this is a completely timeless game that you can just keep going back to. I have a lot to thank this game for, with it being the second Zelda Game that I played in my lifetime, and without it I don't even know if I would be as interested in games as I am now.
The Sims 4: Vampires Game Pack
Yes, I bought another Sims 4 Expansion pack this month, please do not judge me! I have always wanted the Sims Vampire Game Pack, and managed to get round to buying it this month. I love everything that has been added to this pack, the furniture, the new world, the CAS items ect. I am yet to actually play as a Vampire in the Sims, this is due to me currently trying to do the Disney challenge (I'm in generation 4 so it might be a little while before I get to play as a Vampire) but this is a game pack that I have really enjoyed playing so far and I am really looking forward to the other surprises I may find in this Game pack.
Films
I ship it
The Harry Potter and Scott Pilgram vs the World crossover that seemingly nobody expected, but we all deserved. I Ship it is a short film about a couple who were in a band and then broke up, and the girl is entering into a battle of the bands competition against her ex and his new girlfriend. The film is beautifully shot, with great costuming and set designs. The original songs in the piece are also fantastic. I Ship it is a free film on Youtube, it also stars Mary Kate Wiles who was in Spies are Forever which is mentioned in the list above!
The King and I
I had a tutorial with my singning teacher a couple of weeks ago and she said that I should really look at the character Anna from the king and I and add some of her songs to my rep book. I had only ever seen the animated version of The King and I which was made in the 90's, so I watched the film which inspired it first. I was surprised to see that there were no monkeys or dragons or evil magician, but it is such a lovely story, and I love the songs and the music too. It is such a lovely story, and now all I want to do is dance around in a big poofy dress.
Edgar Allan Poe's Murder Mystery Dinner Party
I went on a bit of a re-watch marathon this month, and re-watched Edgar Allan Poe's Murder Mystery dinner party. I am a lover of murder mystery, and have been for as long that I remember. When I was younger, my favourite game to play was Cluedo. I love this show and its unpredictable plot, not to mention that the beautiful sets and costumes! The actors are brilliant and the script writing is on point. This is definitely something that you need to add to your to watch list.
Books
A Problem Like Maria: Gender and Sexuality in the American Musical by Stacy Wolf
So I was given an essay to do at university on misogyny, and that lead me to reading the entire book. I found this book fascinating to read, I was only going to make some notes on what I needed but I found what it said very interesting. It explores how different women throughout periods of musical theatre were treated at the time and looks at many different characters and shows.
Changed for Good: A Feminist History of the Broadway Musical by Stacy Wolf
This is another book that I was originally going to skim for information to help with my essay, but I ended up reading the entire book. This book allows you to see the shows that you are familiar with and may even love through fresh eyes and explores how the role of women changed over the last few years. It is highly informative and - like the other book by Stacy Wolf on this list - explores the history of women in musical theatre.
The Surface Breaks by Lousie O'neil
A book that has been on my to read list for quite some time HAS FINALLY BEEN READ! This was definitely a 50% cover buy 50% book buy because the artwork on the cover of this book is beautiful! The story is a retelling of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson, and when reading a synopsis before purchasing the book it was clear that this would not be the sugar coated Disney tale that most people are familiar with. Having said that, the story was much darker than I expected it would be. The store clearly sold this book as a feminist retelling, which is exactly what the story is, and is something that I have never come across before for the story of the Little Mermaid.
The Story starts out when the youngest daughter of the Sea King turns fifteen years old. We are taught how the monarchy works underneath the surface and are introduced to all of his daughters. The royal family live in a rather sinister way and it is clear that there is definitely a corrupt side to the king. The Women are basically seen as pawns that are only good to be sold to a potential suitor. They have no voices of their own and are told to smile whenever it is necessary. Gaia is just a girl with her head in the clouds who is willing to risk everything. She is searching for someone who will adore her for who she is and not because of her looks and her royal status.
This book definitely captures the dark essence of the original book. It brings into the play the question: is it truly love at first sight or is is lust at first sight? It is a tragic tale for Gaia, but it is understandable why she desires to leave home.
This is one of the best fairy tale retelling stories that I have read. The author managed to capture the devastation and gruesome tale that we are familiar with, and added a modern twist to it which made it such a unique read. The feminism arc in this story is very important and it shows that women aren't as weak as men may perceive them to be, they have their own voices and demand to be heard.
Music
Freedom (from The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown)
I listened to this song whilst looking for duets to sing at university, I really liked this song for the harmonies in it. I haven't listened to it to much since I am unable to find it on spotify and we have ultimately decided that we do not want to so this song for our assessment, but it is such a lovely song and I urge you to listen to it. If you are looking for a duet between two women with some challenging harmonies it is definitely worth having a look at. It is also a rather unusual song choice so is great if you want to perform something a little different.
Casting Call for a Best Friend (from The Girls Night Out)
This is another song that I looked at when looking for duets for my singing assessment. What I loved the most about this duet was the humor in the lyrics and how relateable the song can actually be. When you walk into an audition and meet the other people auditioning you do sometimes have these little thoughts and you do try to big yourself up in your head to make you feel like you are the best person for the job. Admit it, we all have been guilty of this at some point.
Somethings are meant to be (from Little Women)
This is the song that we have decided to do for my singing assessment. I absolutely love this duet, there are some beautiful harmonies and there is a great relationship between the two characters. The song is about two sisters reflecting on life and how it is precious, but some things are set in stone. Little Women as a musical is absolutely amazing, but this song in particular is a stand out song for me.
Company (2018) Cast Recording
As mentioned in my January Favourites, I absolutely love the Company Cast recording. Then the Company 2018 Cast Recording was released and I fell in love with it all over again. I love the effort that has been put into bringing this show together, there was no lazy "okay, we will just make Bobby a girl and keep literally everything else the same". The have transposed songs where needed, switched and rewritten characters to fit into the modern world, changed lyric ect. The Company 2018 Cast Recording is definitely on my frequently listened to list. Not to mention that I feel like the gender reversed Company reflects a lot on women in society today, many people expect women to get married and settle down almost as soon as they hit their twenties (I know that a lot of family members have asked me when I'm planning to have kids, little do they know I want to adopt twelve dogs). I think it is just really effective to have Bobby as a female and to show that she has hit thirty five and she has still not settled down in a long term relationship, men are kind of allowed to have the time to be single, but as mentioned there are different expectations for women. I would love to be able to see this show one day, but unfortunately I do not think I will be able to see the current version that is running in the West End.
So there you have it, here are my favourites for the month of February. What were your favourites of this month? Let me know!
