³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Sorry to hear about the death of Tony Curtis. I got the chance to meet him face to face a few years ago. I was asked to interview him on stage in the Ulster HallÌýwhen he came over for the Hay in Belfast festival. I had read his memoir "American Prince" and was struck by just how beautiful he had been as a young actor and also how many people he had slept with!!ÌýIt seemed no one was immune to the Curtis charms.

Just before the event started, I was shown into the dressing room to meet him. The small room was packed; his wife was there, her mum, his agent.Ìý And then suddenly the room was empty, as they all went to look at the stage and the ramp for his wheelchair.Ìý

He nodded to a chair beside him. I sat down, opposite a wall length mirrorÌýand for the next 10Ìýminutes we faced each other's reflections, not speaking.ÌýI had attempted to discuss the format of the interview but he just nodded and went back into what seemed like a semi trance. It was weirdly calming. Usually I babble in the presence of someone so famous. But he wouldn't entertain one word.

When he came out onto the stage of the Ulster Hall later, and I had said please welcome Tony Curtis, I was worried he wasn't Ìýgoing to say anything. But then a light went on in his eyes, and he literally danced out of the wheelchair and performed. In fact he started talking and after about 15 minutes turned to me and said "are you going to ask me anything?".Ìý His eyes were twinkling and you could see that Tony Curtis charm that had made Marilyn Monroe fall for him!

I'm so glad I met him. And, best of all, spent those moments in silence with him.

I was speaking to Richard Bean earlier today about his new play "The Big Fellah" which opens inÌýthe Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith in London next week. And I remembered a summer job there, *cough*Ìýin 1987Ìýin the theatre cafe.ÌýI got to serveÌýdinner every night for six weeks to Kenneth Branagh . He was the lead in a thriller he had written set in Belfast called "Public Enemy". He had written for his newly formed Renaissance Theatre Company.ÌýI got a ticket one night. Even then he was getting a name and there was a real buzz around the theatre, but all I could think was that I knew what he'd had for his dinner.ÌýTheÌýspaghetti bolognese. Richard tells me the cafe has had a make over but doesn'tknow what the menuÌýis for the run of his play! Could I suggest the Ken Branagh special?

Loving this band from Derry - The Wonder Villains.Ìý17 year olds Cheylene Murphy and Eimear Coyle with Ryan McGroarty and Eimear's brother Kieran (a medical student apparently!).

They're being managedÌýby Rocky O'Reilly (exÌý and are making theirÌýmark through radio coverage (Across the Line a big fan) plus social networking sites from their own Youtube channel to Facebook and MySpace.

However,ÌýI admit I come to them after the in crowd has been there, done that and tossed the tee shirt to one side. But hey I know their dad!ÌýOk, now I feel even older and completely uncool.ÌýBut it's true.ÌýCheylene's dad Kevin Murphy was in theÌýWestern Education and Library Board Youth Orchestra with me back in the day.ÌýHe played clarinet, I was in the back desk ofÌýcellos.ÌýI was 12, he was one of the older boys, at least 14!Ìý

If only Kevin and me had ditched the clarinet and cello and got our hands on a Casio keyboard and drum kit, it could have been a different story! Ìý

On a more current note, as part of Belfast Music week this week, Wonder Villians feature on a new album "".ÌýIt's a new CD of 12 upcoming acts from Northern Ireland. The launch date is September 16.

Now I think I might re-string my cello.

A farmer and his son discuss why the arts are worth saving in David Shrigley's new animated film.Ìý It wasÌýreleased earlier today as part of a campaign called .

Locally,Ìýthe Arts Council of Northern Ireland has just met Stormont'sÌýCulture, Arts and Leisure CommitteeÌýto spell out what the arts cuts would mean for the industryÌýhere.ÌýA figure of 18% cutsÌýis being talked about, with up to 100 jobs set to go. Nick Livingstone of the ACNI said there was a "real fear that Northern Ireland would become a no go zone for artists".

A no go zone? What do you think?

I've been listening toÌýthe snippet of Nadine Coyle'sÌýdebut single,Ìýwhich she's launching in Tesco in November. Not that she's launching it in her local Tesco, but rather her own record company has signed a deal with the supermarket chainÌýto distribute it. It sounds great, theÌý0'40 secsÌýthat has been released so far. But I've always known she could sing.

I've known Nadine since she was about 7. Her dad, Niall ,always played the Dame in the local panto in Derry's St. Columb's Hall,Ìýand Nadine began her now famous career in the fairies line up.

Her big break came when she was about 9 or 10, the year we did "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". Circa 1994/1995. I was Snow White. She was either Happy or Bashful.ÌýÌýÌý

One nightÌýI'm on stage lying in the glass coffin, having bitÌýthe poisoned apple. TheÌýSeven dwarfs areÌýweeping at my demise, when I hear the whisper "Dopey's been sick...Dopey's been sick...." passed from dwarf to dwarf until Nadine whispers it to me. I half open one eye to see that indeed poor Dopey has been illÌýdown the front of her costume and is looking kind of white and sweaty.ÌýBut I can't do anything as Prince Charming hasn't kissed me back to life.ÌýIn true panto tradition,Ìýthe Prince wasÌýcalled Siobhan. When she got her cue,Ìýand bent down to deliver the "kiss" that would awaken me from the poison, I whispered "Dopey's been sick". And as I rose, to a gasp of joy from the audience, who by this stage were high on fizzy drinks and crisps, I managed to draw Dopey towards me and kind of hide the sick side of her costumeÌýbehind my Snow White costume.ÌýForget the smell of the greasepaint. It was a bit more pungent than that. But Nadine and I,ÌýSiobhan and theÌýotherÌýDwarfsÌýsangÌýour hearts out until theÌýcurtain came down and we reunited a shakey Dopey with her mummy. Ìý

I feel it's moments like this that shaped Nadine Coyle for greatness.

So when you see her next, just mention Snow White, St Columb's Hall, Derry and "Dopey's been sick" and see what she says.Ìý

Just been listening toÌýan amazing singer songwriter. Isobel Anderson.

She's from Brighton but is living and studying in BelfastÌýnow. She's just released herÌýdebut album Cold Water Songs, in between finishing an MA in Sonic Arts at Queens University and about to start a Phd on Northern Ireland folklore which she is going to map using digital media.

I've been playing ""Ìýover and over since I got it this morning.ÌýHer voice reminds me ofÌýBeth Orton, that easy, effortless beauty combined with gorgeous songs. My favourite is called Seaside Suicide. She tells me it's not an actual death, but about the break up of a relationship. She had just moved over here, her boyfriend was still in London, and she was sitting on the beach at Newcastle (County Down) struggling with her life back in England and how much she was beginning to care about this new place. Shedding that life and love was like walking into the sea and letting it wrap its arms around her she told me. I think I'm just going to have to listen to it again with that insight from her.

Isobel isÌýsingingÌýlive on Arts Extra tomorrow by the way. Ìý

So the rumours are true aboutÌýField Day Theatre Company putting on a new production.ÌýIt's happening in 2013 for the UK City of Culture.ÌýNo word yet on what the play will be. Will Brian Friel, one of the founders along with Stephen Rea, write something new? Or should it be a new play from a new voice? There are some strong writers around, David Ireland, Abbi Spallen, Jimmy McAleavey, Dave Duggan?ÌýQuotes from Seamus Heaney's The Cure at Troy which Field Day premiered in 1990 provided the context for the Derry~Londonderry bid. Thirteen years later it's a vastly different cultural landscape. So it'll be interesting to see what play is selected.

It might even make it's way into the discussion on Saturday 2nd October in the Playhouse in Derry.ÌýSeamus Deane and Stephen Rea are hosting a workshop "Second time as Farce". I'm told it's to be aÌýreview of the work of Field Day.ÌýAndÌýhopefully a preview of the Field Day future.

Ìý

Ìý

Enjoyed seeing Paul Muldoon earlier today. HeÌýclearly loves the role of being the guest. His years as a ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ arts producer means he knows the behind the scenes mechanics only too well. Now he seems to relish theÌýreversal!

I firstÌýmet him a few years ago, with a recording machine whose batteries died 2 minutes into the piece.ÌýWeÌýdecamped to the hotel hall way while I plugged into a mains socket and we perched on a window ledge. HisÌýradio producer instincts kicked inÌýand he reminded me what my first question had been and pretty much saidÌýthe same answer verbatim. Ìý

Today no recording glitches. He read from his new collection "Maggot". It's being published in October. I love hearing him read his poetry.ÌýIt's pure performance,Ìýthe word play, the cheeky cleverness, the humour, the puns, the rhythmsÌýand rhymes,Ìýthe trademark Muldoon repititionÌýwhich he mines for comic effect.Ìý

But behind the easy laughter of a rhyme are life and death issues. Poems about cancer,Ìýbeing a parent, his mother, lovers. Ìý

In theÌýbrilliantly titled "Balls" he writes about a personal brush with possible testicular cancer.ÌýA "sudden outgrowth/On my otherwise even keel" finds him in a doctor's surgery being askedÌý"Please exhale". It wasn't a tumour.Ìý

He apologises to the home audience for calling a poem "The Windshield", rather than windscreen.ÌýYears of living state side he says. Anyway, Americans, he says, would think windscreen was sun protection.ÌýYou can listen to him reading it on the 1st September Arts Extra here.

With Muldoon there is always a weave and turn in our chats.ÌýI start up one path and find myself coming back to meet myself and still laughing.ÌýHe's acting the Maggot and loving it. Ìý

"Maggot" is out 7th OctoberÌýpublished by Faber & Faber.ÌýÌý