Darla Dryland writes:
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| Trio Literati: Maggie Mash, Richard Rastall, Jane Oakshott |
The wonderful Trio Literati, comprised of
Maggie Mash, Richard Rastall and Jane Oakshott, educated and entertained their
audience with a captivating account of the life and works of Rudyard Kipling.
Combining musical performance, poetry reading and storytelling, we were led
through the imaginative journey of Kipling’s creative development. Richard
Rastall played Rudyard Kipling himself, providing an emotional insight into the
great writer’s many enchanting experiences. Maggie Mash and Jane Oakshott
frequently switched from a narrative, external outlook to playing comical roles
that interacted brilliantly with Rastall. The Trio were accompanied by Eleanor
Rastall on vocals and Jonathan Drummond on the piano, adding another dimension
to the intriguing atmosphere. It was absolutely breathtaking.
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| Eleanor Rastall |
I was surprised and excited by the scope of
Kipling’s work the Trio introduced to us. They brought to life poems such as
‘If’, ‘The Lie’ and ‘Boots’ and musical performances of ‘Let’s All go Down to
The Strand’ and ‘I Wanna be Like You’ from the Jungle book. This innovative yet
informative production combined educational purpose with creative involvement
and they maintained an active engagement with the audience from start to
finish.
This terrific Trio is definitely one to watch!
Sally Bavage adds:
Darla Dryland, who wrote our blog above, was also very helpful in clearing up after the event. Furniture moving her speciality!
Sally Bavage adds:
Darla Dryland, who wrote our blog above, was also very helpful in clearing up after the event. Furniture moving her speciality!
Audience Comments
The performers sang and spoke so well that
even I (a foreigner) could understand everything. The actors were fascinating,
musicians were brilliant. I am very happy to know new facts about Kipling. This
performance was wonderful and educative.
Diversity was a theme and the show was
exceedingly and very pleasingly diverse. Well structured, mixing biography with
creative work. Enjoyable performance bringing Kipling to entertaining life.
A lovely mix of poetry, music, biography. I
knew only a little about Kipling and hadn't appreciated how interesting his
life had been. Another fantastic Trio Literati performance!
A fabulous evening with not a weak link -
Trio Literati, with Eleanor and Jonathan created a great and warm rapport with
the audience, who clearly appreciated the evening.
A superb evening - varied and witty and it
was so good to be at an event where the word could be so clearly heard.
Trio Literati; Eleanor Rastall and Jonathan
Drummond are simply delightful. The text, the songs, the production were all
first rate, entertaining and educational, funny and thought provoking.
Right venue - quite intimate. So well
thought through, it knitted together excellently + lovely performance. We
really enjoyed it.
I enjoyed the mix of narrative and song. An
interesting mix of material about Kipling and his writings. Learned a lot about
him I didn’t know before.
A well researched, comprehensive and witty
survey of Kipling's life, times + a glimpse into his art. A sound basis on
which to study his works further.
Didn't realise Kipling was such an
interesting character - what a wonderful variety of writing and an interesting
selection of music and words.
Very interesting and informative as well as
enjoyable. Well performed both music and drama. Loved the coconut horses!
A really interesting and thought-provoking
mix of prose and poetry. The music added greatly to the atmosphere and made the
evening wonderfully varied. Tragedy and humour combined.
Really enjoyable and entertaining selection
of pieces encapsulating Kipling and his life and times
Most enjoyable evening. Broadened my
awareness of the work of Kipling. Lovely entertaining performances.
A lovely mixture of poetry, story, song and
music - nostalgic and very memorable.
As ever, an interesting and esoteric
assemblage of diverse material, well presented.
Well done and thoroughly enjoyable because
I am particularly fond of Kipling.
A very well-acted tribute to Kipling, with
an excellent selection of music and song!
Reminiscent but different. Well presented
celebration of Kipling.
A marvellous performance, capturing the
spirit of Kipling so well.
A very interesting and enjoyable compilation.
New insights into K's life and attitudes.
A thoroughly 'old fashioned' evening -
beautifully performed and very informative.
Very good - well presented. A joy to watch.
Very well done + excellent singing and
music.
Someone who knows very little of Kipling's
life I found it not only educational but also entertaining and fun to watch.
A wonderful evening well in keeping with
the ethos of the LitFest.
As always, a stimulating and amusing event.
Impeccable acting. Fun and moving.
My first Headingley LitFest event - if the
quality and entertainment value of this is representative it must be a very
good festival!
Rudyard Kipling has always been just a name
to me, synonymous with empire. This evening, he became human.
Enjoyable, and challenging received opinion
of Kipling's place in literature.
--> Brilliant
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