Blue/Orange

Play: Blue/Orange by Joe Penhall 

Venue: Greenwich Theatre

Visited: 25th October 2025 (Playing 1st - 26th October 2025) 

Cast: John Michie, Rhianne Batteto and Matthew Morrison.

The play: Described as a landmark drama about mental health and race this play seemed to cover a few more bases. Touching on the NHS funding crisis, sexism and ego it’s a play that doesn't shy away from controversial topics. The fact it's twenty-five years old tells a worrying story about how little things have changed. James Haddrell directs this version and I've read that Penhall updated the text changing the junior psychiatrist from a white man to an Asian woman which probably reflects the more modern NHS. 

Set in a meeting room in a psychiatric hospital over around 24 hours a young black man has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. The junior psychiatrist supporting him is idealistic and invested, at times a little too far. The senior psychiatrist is detached, career minded, judgemental and probably a little jaded. I am sure there are parallels between this role and many other jobs.

What follows is a battle of wills between the old order and the new and the focus of the patient is sidelined in a bureaucratic scuffle that totally loses focus on the diagnosis of the patient and the best possible treatment. In fact, the patient, Christoper, is sidelined for much of the second part of the play as tensions rise between the doctors and the battle to win him over means his actual issues are barely touched on. I won’t give away any more as it is a tense, darkly comic in places and worrying play – you hope that this is an extreme example and never occurs in real life but I am sure it does.  

This play seems to pop up on a regular basis – well worth a visit.

Kurt Cobain - Unplugged

On Thursday 30th October 2025 the Royal We (Dad&Daughter) visited the Royal College of Music. A stumble from The Royal Albert Hall its in an area of architectural spendor and the inside of the building matched the outside. A centre of learning and prestige, I managed to sneak in. 

Let's have a blurb - Step into the world of Kurt Cobain and explore the legacy of Nirvana, a band that defined a generation. Explore their iconic 1993 MTV Unplugged performance, one of Nirvana's final televised appearances before Cobain’s death just five months later. See up close Cobain’s rare Martin D-18E guitar, uniquely adapted for his left-handed play, shaping the unmistakeable sound that defined Nirvana’s music. In 2020, it became the most expensive guitar ever sold at auction, bought for over $6 million by Australian entrepreneur Peter Freedman AM.

The exhibition, at the Royal College of Music Museum, reunites Kurt Cobain’s guitar with another piece of rock history – his famous olive-green mohair cardigan, worn during the MTV Unplugged performance, marking the first time these two legendary items have been displayed together.  

Immerse yourself in rare memorabilia, uncover insights into Cobain’s songwriting, and discover the lasting influence of a band that changed the face of rock music. 

Co-curated by Alan di Perna – one of America’s foremost rock journalists, and Royal College of Museum Curator Gabriele Rossi Rognoni. Source

Above - Cobain's cardigan made between 1960 and 1965 by Manhattan Industries. Made of acrylic, mohair and lycra - it would've cost you $16 new but sold in 2019 for $334,000

Above - Cobain's guiatar modified for left handed playing and adding an extra pick up. It's a Martin D-18E Electro-Acoustic Guitar from 1959. 

Above - The Hardshell Case for his Martin Guitar

Above - The internals of a Martin D-28E 

Above - Cobain's guitar - "Mojo"

Above - Not Kurt Cobain

Above - Aside from the Cobain exhibition there are lots of musical instruments with historical significence that is far beyond my understanding. But my attention was drawn to the guitar above - listed as the worlds oldest guitar - Belchior Dias, Lisbon, 1581.

 

"...in the morning, we don't know what to do"

With Oasis once again in the news my default position remained the same - I was neither "Blur or Oasis" but Radiohead. And lets be honest, I looked down on both of the others. But while I think Blur showed far more evolution than Oasis I forgot how Oasis were part of my life growing up. 

"Get a grip on yourself, it don't cost much"

December 1994 - stood by the petrol station on Waldram Park Road in Forest Hill, London (the petrol station has now gone). Its a pre Christmas drink and Nicholas Dunn is there handing a present to me, James Clifford and possible Anthony Saunders. This is a strange one - we're twenty year old boys and the selfless act of gift giving wasn't familar to us. But Nick, bless him, hands us the 12" vinyl of Whatever and a small cassette tape with an orange paper insert. The cassette is a recording of the first Oasis album Definately Maybe (August 1994) and he's hand written the tunes on the orange paper. Pretty sure we had a few beers after in Forest Hill at the Dartmouth Arms but what I do know is that the 12" and tape made it home with me - no small feat considering how much twenty year old me used to drink. I still have the vinyl.

"I wanna talk tonight, Until the mornin' light..."

I'd like to be cool and say that my involvement with Oasis ended there but jump forward a few years when I worked for Lewisham Council and I'd stuck around for the second Oasis album which ended up being my jumping off point. But looking back I remember having a final moment with the first album when during a bit of a testing time in life when I received some very welcome friendship from someone who drifted out of my life then back into it a lot later. So whenever I hear "Talk Tonight" (1995) I'm reminded of them and a smile crosses my face. The song was released on The Masterplan (1998) as well as the B-side to "Some Might Say" but I think I discovered it on the 1998 release. 

"Lately, did you ever feel the pain..."

So whats the point of this ramble? The point is if someone asks if I'm an Oasis fan I say no. But they've still soundtracked parts of my life that were special. When I put them on Spotify I know most of the words, learnt from a hundred drunk singalongs in pubs and clubs (yes, probably a few times at The Venue in New Cross). Their tunes take me back to my twenties and remind me of people I no longer see and people I'm lucky enough to still know. So I guess I am a fan - but Radiohead are still better! 😜

NMEC - National Museum of Egyptian Civilization

Mamluk Lamps

A group of glass lamps decorated with multi-colored enamel, which were designated for lighting in religious establishments during the Mamluk Period. These lamps are distinguished by its floral decorations and inscriptions in the Naskh script, which depend mostly on the Ayat al-Nur. These lamps were lit by means of a wick of cotton or linen placed inside a glass container containing clean oil, usually olive oil. This group of lamps belongs to the Sultan Hassan School, Al-Nasir Muhammad Ibn Qalawun School, and Al-Zahir Barqua School.

[Mamluk Period - 8th century AH - 14th century AD / Glass]

Dush Treasure

This treasure was found in 1989 inside a pottery vessel that was hidden in the walls of a Roman fort that includes a temple of the gods Serapis, Isis, and Harpocrates in Dush, Kharga Oasis. The treasure includes a golden wreath with the image of the god Serapis at its center, two bracelets, and two gold necklaces made of 187 golden plaques.

[Roman period, AD 2nd century]

Coffin of Nedjemankh

Nedjemankh was a priest of the god "Heryshef" at the city of Ahnas. His coffin is made of gilded cartonnage with inlaid eyes and covered with scenes as well as funerary hymns from the Book of the Dead had made it considered to be one of the masterpieces of coffins from the Ptolemaic Period.

[Repatriated from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York / Ptolemaic Period (305 - 30 BC) / Gilded stucco]

آختى

كان رع حور أختى يمثل إتحاداً عقائدياً ما بين الإله رع رب ملكية السماء والإله حورس رب ملكية الأرض كتعبير عن سلطة إله الشمس حين يسيطر على الأفقين ويتجلى على الأرض فيجتمعان فى كيان واحد.

الدولة الحديثة، الأسرة التاسعة عشر (١١٨٦-١٢٩٥ ق.م)/ صان الحجر / جرانوديوريت

Ra-Horakhty

Ra-Horakhty represented a doctrinal union between the heavenly kingship represented by the god Ra and the earthly kingship represented in the god Horus as an expression of

on the earth.The authority of the sun god when he dominated the two horizons and was manifested

[New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty (1295 - 1186 BC) / San al Hagar / Granodiorite]

Cippus of Horus

The oldest of cippi (sing. Cippus) of Horus is dated back to the Late Period, and became popular during the Ptolemaic Period, where Horus the son of Isis is depicted on as a naked child with a side lock, standing on two crocodiles and holding a group of snakes, scorpions, deer and lions, which represent symbols of evil. These cippi were placed in temples and homes and registered on them the spells of Isis that repel evil and prevent the bites of scorpions and snakes. Usually, priests poured water that flowed over it while reciting Isis spells, then gathered in a small basin at the feet of Horus, and drank after that in order to ward off evil.

[Ptolemaic Period / Alexandria / Green Schist]

The vizier Paser

Paser lived during the reign of Seti I, where he held the title of the sole companion of the king and held many positions as the royal palace advisor, the governor of the city "Thebes", and who receives the tribute of the foreign lands for the king. Then, during the reign of Ramses Il, he became a judge, a seal bearer and deputy of the king in Nubia where he supervised the construction works of the temple of Abu Simbel. He also assumed the position of high priest and overseer of the Karnak temple until his death in the 25th year of the reign of Ramses I. Paser appears in this statue carrying an altar topped by the head of a ram, the symbol of Amun Ra Lord of Karnak 

[New Kingdom - 19* Dynasty - reign of Ramesses I (1279-1213 BC) / Karak / Black Granite]

Purification with water

Upon his arrival from the other world, the sun god purifies himself in eastern horizon before his shining in Heaven, where the four-gods "Horus", the Lord of the North, "Seth", the Lord of the South, "Dewen-anwy", the Lord of the East, and "Thoth", the Lord of the West, pour the water of life and power over him from the four corners of the universe. This rare statue depicts king Amenhotep Il, assimilated with the sun god in his shining in the moment of his purification on the horizon.

[New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty (1550 - 1295 BC) / Valley of the Kings - Thebes / Alabaster]

The Coffin of Lady Isis

This coffin was discovered in the tomb of Sennedjem among several coffins of the family members. It belongs to Lady Isis, wife of the artisan Khabekhent, son of the Sennedjem. The outer cover depicts Isis in a loose robe carrying the sacred ivy leaves, and the coffin is surrounded by the four sons of Horus to protect her body.

[New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty (1295 - 1186 BC) / Deir el-Madina, Thebes / Wood - Pigment]

Sarcophagus of Kha'y

Kha'y was one of the most important statesmen during the New Kingdom. His anthropoid sarcophagus registered his positions as he was a fan bearer to the right of the king and the chief overseer of the southern foreign countries.

[New kingdom. 19th Dynasty / Black Granite]

The coffin of Sennedjem

The inner coffin of Sennedjem is made in anthropoid form, where his mummy was placed inside. The inner cover depicts Sennedjem in in his worldly clothes as he wears a long kilt of white linen. The coffin is decorated with funerary scenes of the protective goddesses from the Book of the Dead, while Sennedjem receiving provisions from the Tree Goddess.

[New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty (1295 - 1186 BC) / Deir el-Madina, Thebes / Wood - Pigment]

The Protective Goddesses

A group of statues of the protective goddesses that were found in the tomb of King Amenhotep II, they were responsible for protecting the body of the king in his afterlife journey, they are "Wadjet", depicted as a cobra, "Nekhbet" the vulture, "Meretseger" in the form of the winged Cobra, and the cows "Mehet-Weret" and "Hathor" goddesses of heaven. These goddesses are known to be among the oldest who were worshiped in ancient Egypt.

[New Kingdom - 18th Dynasty (1550 - 1295 BC) / Valley of the Kings - Thebes / Wood]

Dated visited 7th March 2025

 

Balloon Museum Art Installation

At the old Billingsgate building there is a Balloon Museum although it’s actually a series of Balloon art installations. Or inflatable art installations if you want to be precise. But don’t let that distract you from the impressive nature of these pieces that range from small to huge as you walk through flashing moving globe and then witness huge inflatable rabbits. From their website - 

“Balloon Museum is a format created by a curatorial team that designs and realizes contemporary art exhibitions with specific works in which ‘air’ is a distinctive element. A journey through out-of-scale installations with unexpected shapes in which the interaction with viewers is placed at the center of the experience. Art one can touch, to live with and share, never static that creates an innovative relationship with the user, giving life to an experiential path of socialization. This unconventional approach to culture is fascinating and intriguing to adults and children, as they are passionate and curious, and are helping to establish Inflatable Art as one of the most acclaimed ‘Pop’ movements in the world.”

Phillip Guston at The Tate Modern

On Monday I was lucky to visit the Guston exhibition at the Tate Modern. Previously I’d not heard of Guston but really enjoyed this selection of his work. Tate Link. 

I also saw two quotes I enjoyed - 

“When you start working, everybody is in your studio - the past, your friends, enemies, the art world, and above all, your own ideas… But as you continue painting, they start leaving, one by one, and you are left completely alone. Then, if you’re lucky, even you leave” (John Cage)

“The canvas is a court where the artist is prosecutor, defendant, jury, and judge… You cannot settle out of court” (Phillip Guston)

From the Tate Modern website - For over 50 years, artist Philip Guston restlessly made paintings and drawings that captured the anxious and turbulent world he was witnessing.

Born in Canada to a Jewish immigrant family, he grew up in the US and eventually became one of the most celebrated abstract painters of the 1950s and 1960s, alongside Mark Rothko and his childhood friend Jackson Pollock.

His early work included murals and paintings addressing racism in America and wars abroad. During the social and political upheavals of the late 1960s, Guston grew critical of abstraction, and began producing large-scale paintings that feature comic-like figures, some in white hoods representing evil and the everyday perpetrators of racism. These paintings and those that followed established Guston as one of the most influential painters of the late 20th century.

Guston was a complex artist who took inspiration from the nightmarish world around him to create new and surprising imagery. This exhibition explores how his paintings bridged the personal and the political, the abstract and the figurative, the humorous and the tragic.

Philip Guston is the first major retrospective on the artist in the UK in nearly 20 years.

The exhibition is co-organised by Tate Modern, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Visit - 29th January 2024. Thanks to BW for arranging x 

Delight Art Exhibition at Borough Yards

The Delight exhibition is marketed as a fresh and creative interpretation of urban city life - the marketing minimises the Korean aspect which is a shame and it was only when I was inside that the use of Seoul was evident. There are twelve immersive zones - immersive in as much as you walk around and in the art and people were enjoying themselves taking selfies. 

(Above and below) 631 - Spanning 631 years from the Joseon Dynasty to Seoul in 2023 there are 631 individual lights that transition colour as you walk through. 

(Below) Shinro (God’s Road) - a counterpoint to modern living and materialism. A meditative path toward divine communion. 

(Below) Mind : Myth - using inspiration from myth using the twelve zodiac animals. 

(Below) Collage : Gwanghwa- the heartbeat of Seoul through vivid images. 

(Below) Resonance - the vertical flow channels serenity inspired by a bamboo forest. 

(Below) Urban Pulse - an urban narrative and the rhythm of modern commerce. 

(Below) Neon Nostalgia - the vibrant neon signs of the urban landscape. 

(Below) The Moon - homage and regression. Reflected in a pool the tidal ballet is represented. 

(Below) Goblins - the belief that guardian spirits walk among us. 

(Below) Soseuldaemun - The Gate. A symbol of immense authority reimagined as an understated aesthetic.