The English National Opera appears to have a penchant for the modern opera. Last year saw the appearance of Doctor Atomic, produced by Penny Woolcock, an eclectic modern piece dealing with the rise of the Atomic bomb. While some found it intriguing and entertaining, I found it quite frankly bizarre and a tad flat. By the second half, I found remaining alert was proving remarkably difficult and, when the curtains closed, the comments around me revealed that I wasn’t the only one.

This year we have seen the staging of Tosca and Idomeneo. The latter presented an interesting twist to a greek mythological tale composed by Mozart, with ultra-modernist settings of characterless furniture and decor, dull office-esque colours and an atmosphere of stifling formality to contrast an otherwise epic and passionate tale. While the contrastive affect was impressive in its own unconventional way, it was nonetheless somewhat jarring.

And now we are treated to yet another transported classic: The Pearl Fishers, a 19th century French piece by Bizet, also produced by Penny Woolcock. Here it was to be staged in a modern era, and one was somewhat apprehensive of the result for fear of discovering yet another beautiful opera forced into the stifling pantyhose of a modern era at the cost of spirit and impact. However, I was very pleasantly surprised. In a world of ‘high’ entertainment that often reads essentially as the more costly distractions from the World’s realities, this modern rendition of The Pearl Fishers presented itself as a piece that worked remarkably well, not merely for its quality of production but for its consciousness of context. The play
is a 19th century French orientalist piece, portraying a ‘Far Eastern’ village of Pearl fishers and presenting the vibrant culture and eligious/superstitious ways of its inhabitants. The original piece reflected the attitudes and ideas of its time: colonialism and discourses of the Other. In this modern rendition the play is staged in a context of climate change; a pivotal issue of modern times. The setting reveals itself to be a village of presumably Sri Lanka as the original was set in Ceylon, but most likely in Bangladesh, as the programme
appears to indicate. Both the realities of poverty and the complexities of survival before the uncontrollable entity that is nature are skilfully encompassed in a stage that is as vibrant as it is realistic. One is presented with rickety homes built from corrugated iron sheets, wooden beams, and similar cheap and insecure materials, which are perched on the  characteristic bamboo stilts of the region to withstand the frequent floods.

As with the stage the plot also accurately reflects a region struggling to survive in the face of climate change. The living of pearl fishing and the battle to survive entailed forms a central theme; reflecting the complexity of existence in an ever destabilizing ecosystem. A priestess from another village is brought to pray day and night as the villagers go fishing to
ensure they return home to safety. Wrongdoing brings with it tumultuous changes in weather as storms are provoked when the priestess violates her vows. Their very actions directly affect changes in weather, just as our actions today are directly impacting global changes in climate. As the original play was produced for its time, so the new play has been skillfully
adapted to its. Bangladesh is the ‘ground zero’ of Climate Change; a poor and densely populated country that is in danger of 17% submersion by the year 2050, threatening to leave 20 million homeless. Woolcock deftly brings this reality to life, allowing the audience an opportunity to in some way experience the lives of those affected. In a quirky twist, she introduces a Western tourist couple at alternative moments, snapping pictures and weaving a trail between the villagers as they observe in amusement and wonder – a symbol of the London audience upon the stage itself; experiencing the plight of the villagers yet somehow still alien and unaware.

However, if there was a point of criticism, it would be in the performance of the actors. While Nadir was well performed with vocals of evocative power, there was little magic to be found in that of princess Leila or Nourabad. Freddy Tong, drawn from Monty Python to play Nourabad, was an unconvincing jealous lover and appeared ill-placed for the part, while Hanan Alattar proved an unexciting and tedious Leila. It was also amusing to find that while the village was apparently Hindu, both Nadir and Leila had distinctly Muslim names – although I daresay that should be put down to Bizet’s own colonialist confusions and not Woolcock’s production. Furthermore, a stage full of individuals, accurately South Asian in attire yet distinctly English in appearance did little to contribute to realism.

Penny Woolcock’s version of The Pearl Fishers is an engaging opera, presenting pivotal concepts with energy and vibrancy. And while some aspects may not have been brilliant, it remains both an entertaining and important piece.

The Wu is back! That’s right: living legends of hip-hop The Wu-Tang Clan are back on tour. Featuring an 11 strong posse including main players RZA, GZA, Raekwon and Ghostface Killa this could be the last chance to see them all on the same stage.

Their debut Enter the Wu-Tang(36 chambers) along with their fantastic solo work(Liquid Swords, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… and Supreme Clientel to name but a few) are ranked as some of the best albums in hip-hop. The UK shows take place at the Manchester Academy on the 3rd of August and the Brixton Academy on August the 4th. Tickets on sale now!

A student from King’s College London (KCL) has sparked off a sexism row after claims he verbally abused a female member of Oxford University Conservative Association (OUCA).

Vitus van Rij, 18, allegedly told Isabella Burton, a second year Oxford theology student who was giving a speech during an OUCA education debate, to “shush”, adding “you’re a woman”.

Van Rij, a member of KCL Conservative Society, seems to have arrived in Oxford from London with a delegation from UCL Conservative Society, invited guests of OUCA. He is said to have then started chanting “kitchen, kitchen, kitchen, get back to the kitchen”.

The Daily Telegraph reported that he went on to tell her to “go back to washing the dishes” instead of debating political topics.

Many students reportedly felt that the event organisers were slow to react to the sexist comments, but he was eventually ejected by Oxford Union president Laura Winwood who also publicly condemned the incident on stage. She and OUCA President Natalie Shina said that “misogyny is not tolerated” on Union premises.

Mr van Rij, understood to be from Belgium and studying in the War Studies department at King’s, is now banned from UCL Conservative events and OUCA events.

According to the Daily Telepgraph, Kieran Weisberg, the president of UCL Conservatives, said he was not sure how van Rij came to be at the event, but may have heard of it through Facebook.

OUCA founded in 1924, is one of the oldest student political organisations in the country. It has only recently been re-affiliated as a society – and is once again able to use the university’s name – after a racist joke was told at a hustings event last year.

Past presidents of the association include former Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Edward Heath, as well as current Foreign Secretary William Hague.

Van Rij is said to have refused to apologise for his comments.

The President of KCL Conservative Society, Simon Moorcroft, told London Student: “Obviously I want to stress that he was attending as an individual and not representing our society. Clearly the comments are unacceptable and certainly we will not tolerate this sort of behaviour. He has caused distress to the individual who these comments were directed at, and again, it’s not acceptable, it goes against everything that the Conservative Party and King’s College Conservatives stand for.”

He said that van Rij would be banned from attending future events and that the society’s committee “intend to terminate his membership as soon as we can”, following the Students Union’s procedures.

“We don’t want him as a member”, he said.