Tag: Teo-Wa Vuong

Pidgin MacBeth by Ken Campbell, Cottesloe Theatre, 1 August 1998

This was a preview of a show Ken Campbell put on at The Piccadilly Thetre later that year.

I loved Ken Campbell’s work and I seem to recall a very funny monologue in one of his earlier one-man shows when he talked about his fascination with the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu) and vaguely posited the idea of performing MacBeth in pidgin.

In this piece, Campbell goes into far more detail about the language and his desire to establish pidgin as a world language, or Wol Wontok, which he believed could be achieved in just a few days as the language is so easy.

Here is Ken Campbell’s Guardian piece shown on the back of the programme note above, in proper clipping/readable form:

Guardian Wol NambawanGuardian Wol Nambawan 22 Jul 1998, Wed The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

The first part of the prodcution was fascinating and funny, but, in truth, Janie and I found the delivery of MacBeth in pidgin less funny than the idea of it being done.

Never mind. An evening in the hands of Ken Campbell is never dull and I remember this evening more fondly than my log note suggests I would:

Not as much fun as we thought it might be – the idea is funnier than the delivery

Somewhat strangely, through work, soon after seeing this play, I met Patrick Ellum, who was a former Attorney General of Vanuatu. Through Patrick, I met one of that nation’s visiting Prime Ministers and his entourage. No, I didn’t try out my pidgin on them, although I did ask them about the deification of Prince Philip in Tanna. Hopefully I’ll Ogblog that event in the fullness of time.

But I digress.

“Prince Philip” in pidgin was, “nambawan bigfella emi blong Misis Kwin“, by the way.

I digress again, but no more.

Lyn Gardner in the Guardian gave Pidgin Macbeth a guarded thumps up, while signally failing to translate The Bard’s name into pidgin properly – it’s “Macbed Blong Wilum Sekspia“, dear, not Sekstia – typical Grauniad:

Gardner Guardian PidginGardner Guardian Pidgin 14 Oct 1998, Wed The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Charles Spencer was less sure about it:

Spencer Telegraph PidginSpencer Telegraph Pidgin 13 Oct 1998, Tue The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nick Curtis in The Standard was far more forgiving :

Curtis Standard PidginCurtis Standard Pidgin 12 Oct 1998, Mon Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

This post production article by Dan Glaister in The Guardian describes Ken Campbell’s campaign taking this play to Papua New Guinea. Cool.

Glaister Guardian Pidgin TourGlaister Guardian Pidgin Tour 19 Nov 1998, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

I wish I could write stuff like that.

Mebi Wilum Sekspia, No Mebi Wilum Sekspia

Take Away by Stephen Clark, Lyric Studio, 30 May 1998

I have very little intel on this play/production, other than the above sheet handed to us at the Lyric.

I think the playwright is probably THIS Stephen Clark but I could be wrong.

My one word review of the play/production was:

Good

…which means it was good.

My records show that we went to Sabai Sabai afterwards. Janie and I had a little reminisce when I found that reference, as we both remember really liking that place – we went quite often back then. So good they named it twice.

Ironically, I think we ate in there rather than take away, but perhaps on this occasion we took away!

The next day we went to a rather ghastly chiropody trade show in Mitcham (Footman) before visiting my folks. The diaries reveal.

Violin Time by Ken Campbell, Cottesloe Theatre, 16 January 1996

This evening – a rare visit to The Cottesloe on a Tuesday evening – was the first time I saw Ken Campbell perform.

I was really smitten with this piece – I found it very funny. I think I got more out of it than Janie did, but she was fascinated enough to want to see more of his work after that.

One of the things that attracted us to the piece, apart from the weirdness of the blurb, which promised us – I paraphrase from various book blurbs available:

“Cathar heretics, a mysterious female French book thief and a Vietnamese violinist who does pig impressions”.

It would be difficult to say no to that, especially as we had booked to go to Vietnam a couple of months later.

Janie and I saw an early preview of the show; it didn’t get reviewed until October but we saw a preview in January.

There is a somewhat tepid Independent review of the piece by Robert Hanks available on-line – here.

Michael Coveney in the Observer liked it, perhaps because he got a name drop:

Coveney on Violin TimeCoveney on Violin Time Sun, Oct 6, 1996 – 76 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Unusually, it doesn’t look as though The Guardian reviewed it.