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Reviews, Books - Roads by Larry McMurtry By Steve Rudd
	Better known for his novel writing than his travel writing, Texan man McMurtry's most famous works include the epic Western story of Lonesome Dove, and the tear-jerking Terms Of Endearment and The Evening Star. For much of his life he's been a keen collector of books Read more...

Reviews, Books - Silk Dreams, Troubled Road by Jonny Bealby, By Steve Rudd
	The third and final travel book in a fascinating and most exhilarating trilogy, this epic account follows Jonny across the mountains of heaven on the Old Silk Road, from Kashgar to the Caspian Sea. Or thereabouts, given that the horses on which Jonny and 'friend' travel are often beset Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - Up 'n' Under at Hull Truck Theatre with Cast Interview 23/07/2004 By Andy Dykes
	John Godber's play 'Up 'n' Under' has enjoyed widespread success for twenty years. So it's obvious that the story, although I have to admit I don't really know it, does not need to be reviewed. So I realise that if this report is going to be of any worth at all, tonight I need to review the performance. Read more...

Reviews, Books - Ash Wednesday by Ethan Hawke By Steve Rudd
	The definition of grace is the ability to accept change. I needed to start calculating my masculinity not by the amount of pussy I could grab, or how many girls I could bang, but by how true I could be with one girl. How infrequently I could lie. How often I could show up when I was needed. Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - Up 'n' Under at Hull Truck Theatre By Nicholas Boldock
	Once upon a time, there was a young boy called James Crossley. James liked to play sport and did a lot of exercise. He bought himself some weights and trained hard until he became big and beefy. When James grew up he grew his hair all silly so that he looked like a blond spaniel. Then he became famous Read more...

Reviews, Events - Renegade Writers; A Review of Sorts By Alexander Porter
	First off, this is not an objective review, having never been to a performance by this motley crew before I had expected a bunch of pretensions twenty something spouting angst, instead I got a pirate, an extremely pleasant surprise, second only to finding an entire packet of fags at three in the Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - Up 'n' Under with Talkback at Hull Truck Theatre By Elsie Creek
	So, it's twenty years ago that John Godber showcased this, his first play for Spring Street Theatre, for which he won the Laurence Olivier Comedy of the Year Award. There has been a lot of water under the bridge since then, as we were reminded in the post-show talkback with director and cast. Both Hull Truck Read more...

Reviews, TV - Big Brother Exposed By Lee Cassanell
	If Kittens revolution had been supported by the rest of the housemates this years Big Brother could have been one of the greatest television shows of all time. Unfortunately, due to the anaemic sailor persona and an amazing lack of charisma, the bi-sexual Che Guevara never quite managed too inspire Read more...

Reviews, Opera - Gilbert & Sullivan The Mikado at Middleton Hall, Hull University By Nicholas Boldock
	Dagger Lane Operatic Society are old hands when it comes to Gilbert & Sullivan. - in fact, they've been performing their operettas for 20 years now. Way back in 1984 their inaugural production was HMS Pinafore. This year, for their twentieth anniversary show, it was the most celebrated Gilbert & Sullivan Read more...

Reviews, Books - Lovely Green Eyes By Arnost Lustig By Steve Rudd
	This is truly an extraordinary novel, written by a man who survived the horrors of Auschwitz, and who lived in fact to tell his tale. Bizarrely though, this isn't so much his tale as a girl's story.. a 15-year-old girl called Hanka who lies about being a Jew to survive, and who becomes a prostitute in due course. Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - The Blockheads New Writing Festival Hull Truck Thursday June 24th Review by Jane Foster.
	Special Guest Reviewers Bernard Manning - Hilarious original Northern comedian Tony Blair - The Prime Minister, not Lionel's brother you prancing thespians you Thora Hird - Thoroughly nice old lady who's drop scones are the envy of, well.. other old ladies An idealistic young teacher ( Kelly Hardy ) tries to Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - Up n Under Hull Truck Theatre 17th July By Nick Quantrill
	This special production of Up N Under is being staged to celebrate twenty years of John Godber productions at Hull Truck. As Godber's Olivier Award winner it's only right this should be the chosen play as well as it being an opportunity to reclaim its reputation back after the sheer awfulness of the film it spawned. It's truly Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - The Blockheads New Writing Festival Hull Truck June 23rd Review by Jane Foster.
	Special Guest Reviewers Michael Jackson - D-List celebrity with a confusing skin disorder. Snoop Doggy Dogg - A gentleman entertainer who likes the ladies. Barry White - A gentleman entertainer who lurves the ladies. An art student recruits a fellow scholar to find out all about her life..and then paint her in her absence Read more...

Reviews, Films - Fahrenheit 911 - Moore heat By Martin J Deane
	I announced this film to cheers at The Welly when Sam Ahmed and his band invited us to speak, on 4th July, Independence FROM America Day. Michael Bush-whacker Moore takes us on a roller-coaster ride through the Republicans stealing the 2000 election - with shameful scenes of one black Representative Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - UpN'Under Hull Truck Theatre 13th July By Michelle Dee
	A near capacity audience at the Spring Street Theatre attended the twentieth anniversary performance of John Godber's Rugby League comedy on Tuesday evening. A remarkable testament to the extraordinary pulling power and appeal of his work. There was an audible buzz of excitement among the crowd as we sat down to enjoy Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - Be My Baby at The Hull Truck Theatre Saturday 12th June By Cilla
	I'm not a regular theatre goer. Not at all. It's like a different world to me. And frankly in the past I'd say that overall I felt disappointment and (perhaps imagined) exclusion from that scene. My sister could appreciate it, enjoy it even but I always thought of myself as not the type to go Read more...

Reviews, Books - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time By Mark Haddon Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	I think people believe in heaven because they don't like the idea of dying, because they want to carry on living and they don't like the idea that other people will move into their house and put their things into the rubbish. This strangely endearing novel is one of the most originally-styled that Read more...

Reviews, Films - Bring me Sunshine - Eternal sunshine of a spotless Mind By Lee Cassanell
	I believe that it's much easier to make people laugh than it is to make them cry and if you look back over all the films you've seen in your life, I'll wager that the ones you shed tears over are your secret favourites. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of those movies and although I wasn't quite blubbing like Read more...

Reviews, Special Events - Simon Armitage at PAVE 22nd March 04 by Elsie Creek
	It seemed that, until this event, I was the only person in existence not to have heard of Simon Armitage. Nowadays, the writings of this ex-probation officer, from the small West Yorkshire town of Marsden, are apparently even studied at GCSE. I'm sure that is the final proof of success for even the most Read more...

Reviews, Films - Here comes the Bride - Kill Bill Volume 2 By Lee Cassanell
	Juicy junior..real Juicy.. Joe Cabot (Reservoir Dogs) For those of you who've been holidaying on the sun for the past few months, Kill Bill is the latest offering from Quentin Tarantino who as far as I'm concerned is the most important and influential director of the last Read more...

Reviews, Films - Are you Passionate? By Lee Cassanell
	I recently saw The Passion of Christ; the Mel Gibson film that portrays the last 12 hours of the life of Jesus of Nazareth who Christians believe was the Messiah of ancient prophecy. The film was beautifully shot, highly stylised, Jim Caviezel born to play Old JC and it had the added bonus of Monica Bellucci Read more...

Reviews Films - Slack Video at the Lamp - Monday 12th April 04 By Gail Anthony
	This is the third Slack Video night I've been to. And the best, in my opinion. And what do I know? Slack Video is where a bunch of local film makers show off their skills. Slack is all about the audience's views on local films. Everyone will have their own favourite. They are organised once a month at Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - Fusion @ Hull University - 1 March to 1 April By Michelle Dee Clark
	Contemporary multimedia art from Hull: art-music-film. Tearing through the traffic on a cold Monday evening, anxiously watching the big hand tick by quarter past seven.. We were supposed to be at the Middleton Hall on the Hull University grounds for Fusion. Read more...

Reviews, Books - Top Ten Books By Darren Sant
	Not exactly an original idea but I thought I might share my top ten favourite books with you. They are listed in no particular order of preference. Maybe you have a top ten to share with This is 'Ull? Lord of the Rings, J.R.R Tolkien Superlatives don't do this justice so I won't even try heaping praise on this one. Suffice to say that this classic grips your imagination Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - ConPromise by Mal Williamson, Directed by Mathew Smith EICH Gallery, Hull
	By Michelle Dee I shall start with no preamble but immerse you straight away very much the same way that the 30+ audience were. Last Friday night at the EICH Gallery in Hull I was sat in the front row, watching and listening to the reading of ConPromise by Mal Williamson. For the first 5 minutes I tried desperately to understand the .. Read more...

Reviews, Films - The Renegade Writers Recommend...Festive Film Releases by Jane Foster.
	When Addy met Saddy ( U ) This is a tale of two moustaches. A tale of two hardcore dictators, united in mutual follicular admiration. Adolf is a young dictator with a genetic disorder, which means that his moustache extends no further than his Cupid's bow. His secret wish is to own a large, bushy moustache. Read more...

Review of 2003 - By Nick Quantrill
	In the festive tradition of polls, surveys and what have you that all the best magazines and websites carry at this time of the year, you'll have to settle for some things I liked in 2003 and some things I didn't.. 1 Gigolo Aunts - Pacific Ocean Blues 2 Jesse Malin - The Fine Art Of Self Destruction Read more...

Reviews, Films - "Love Actually" (15) by Shelly Dee
	Wednesday night I went to see Love Actually. It is a fantastic feel good movie. Yes, it is Richard Curtis of Four Weddings fame again doing English romantic comedy but it's really good. Hugh Grant, as the man at No 10, gave a typical Hugh Grantesque performance. However, his dance to "Jump" was a real eye opener and raised a laugh or two in the auditorium. Read more...

Reviews, Books - "A Man Named Dave" by Dave Pelzer By Darren Sant
	By Darren Sant A Man Named Dave is the third and final book in the memoirs of Dave Pelzer. See this website for reviews of the first two books: A Child Called "It". and The Lost Boy. The first two books cover the authors early years and detail the abuse he suffered at the hands of his Mother. The third book details Dave's life from late teens to the present day. Read more...

Reviews, Books - "The Lost Boy" by Dave Pelzer
	By Darren Sant The memoirs of Dave Pelzer, see my review of the first book on this website. here The first book leaves you with a naïve feeling of satisfaction as Dave finally escapes his cruel mother. However, things are not as cut and dried, as we would like them to be. This second book deals with Dave's life from ages 12 to 18. Read more...

Reviews, Books - "A Child Called 'It'" by Dave Pelzer By Darren Sant
	By Darren Sant What can I say about this book? Anyone that knows me well would perhaps describe me as a "sentimental bugger". I am therefore surprised that I did not cry buckets of tears after every page of this book. A Child Called 'It' is the first in a trilogy of books. The books are the memoirs of Dave Pelzer. This first book covers Dave's life from ages 4 to 12. Read more...

Reviews, Books - "Cradle Song" by Robert Edric
	By Nick Quantrill Being a bit of sucker for crime fiction, and more pertinently, hard-boiled private investigator stories, I picked up this book purely on the basis it fulfilled the above criteria and is set in Hull. Upon further investigation it turns out this is the first part of a trilogy set on the mean streets of Hull by Booker Prize nominated Robert Edric. Read more...

Reviews, Books - "A Drink With Shane MacGowan" by Victoria Mary Clarke and Shane MacGowan
	By Nickolas Boldock Shane MacGowan may just be a medical miracle. He is, of course, a chronic alcoholic, whose love affair with drink will likely never cease until he is six feet below. His consumption of other inebriants is now the stuff of legend. His hedonistic exploits are usually the first thing to come to mind at the mention of his name; the first subject covered in any interview; the introduction to any article (even this one). Forget that though. Read more...

Reviews, Books - A Friend of the Family by Lisa Jewell
	By Darren Sant This book is a tale of the trials and tribulations of three brothers. The brothers are suffering from differing problems and there lives are not at present on the right track. Jewell's novels are accurately described as pop fiction but don't let that put you off. The characters are believably written and there is a high degree of what I can only call emotional depth to them. Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights
	Adapted by John Godber, Hull Truck Theatre 09/10/03 By E.M.X. Creek I went to this production with some apprehension. I am not a huge Brontë fan, and in addition had some doubts as to how well Wuthering Heights would adapt for our modest location. I am happy to say that the result was remarkably good. Read more...