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a, Men's Varsity, Sports

Basketball: Redmen stay unbeaten, dismantle Stingers before Winter break

by Aaron Rose on

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McGill Redmen
75

 

 

Concordia Stingers
53

 

“It was an unbelievable atmosphere and our kids want to play on a night like that,” Redmen Basketball Head Coach David DeAveiro said. “We need this crowd to feed off of and succeed.”

In front of over 600 rambunctious fans, the McGill Redmen (3-0) put on a basketball clinic, downing the Concordia Stingers (2-1) in a 75-53 victory on Thursday night.

The Redmen jumped out to a 15-11 lead after the first quarter before extending the margin to 34-26 at halftime. Junior forward François Bourque led the squad in the first half, scoring nine of his 13 points in the early frames. McGill maintained control after halftime, outscoring the Stingers 41-27 on 50 per cent second-half shooting.

“It was a total team effort, and our depth really made the difference,” DeAveiro said. “Today was a good challenge for us because it was a close game throughout, [but] the fourth quarter, I just thought that we were mentally tougher [and] imposed our will on them.”

Coming off a career high 29-point game against the Bishop’s Gaiters (0-3), starting point guard Jenning Leung once again led the way for the Redmen with a game-high 15 points. Junior guard Dele Ogundokun stuffed the stat sheet, recording seven points, along with a game-high nine boards and four assists.

The win marked McGill’s eighth victory in the last 11 games against the rival Stingers, and reaffirmed that the Redmen are the team to beat in the RSEQ. After a tough pre-season that included a 74-70 victory over the No. 1 ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees (5-0), the Redmen emerged as the No. 3-ranked team in the country.

“When you have some early success, you become a target,” DeAverio said. “Everyone is going to give you their best game and we can’t let up.”

On Saturday night, sophomore centre Noah Daoust led the Redmen to a 74-58 dismantling of the UQÀM Citadins (1-2). Coming off the bench, Daoust dropped a game-high 18 points, including four buckets from beyond the arc. Leung struggled with his shooting in the first half, but came through in the second half, scoring nine of his 14 points after the break.

The Redmen return to Love Competition Hall on Dec. 5 in a showdown with the Laval Rouge et Or (1-1). Look for McGill to improve to 4-0 on the season before the winter break.

Quotable:

“If you look at our team you look at depth. I think [after] two [or] three quarters, we started to wear them down and just put our foot on the pedal.– DeAverio on McGill’s ability to punish opponents late in games

Stat corner: 

McGill’s ranked in the top three in the CIS for the first time since Nov. 27, 2012

Moment of the game:

Daoust scored nine consecutive points in the first half against the Citadins

 

a, Science & Technology

Disclosing medical information in the work place

by Andy Wang on

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On Nov. 19, the Comparative Health Systems Program (CHSP), a non-profit organization within McGill, hosted a lecture on medical information privacy and its implications in the workplace. The evening’s lecture began with an image of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 1976 year-end report. Among the many issues the WHO addressed, including female genital mutilation and infectious diseases, the privacy and protection of medical information was highlighted as an emerging problem due to the various technological, medical, and human rights advancements made in the last 50 years. The pace of scientific discoveries today is faster than ever before, yet privacy of medical information continues to be a problem that both individuals and corporations address on a daily basis. 

Guest speaker and McGill Law Professor Derek Jones spoke to the audience about concerns dealing with privacy. In practicing law, balancing individual rights with the moral and social values of society can be difficult.

“The question I hope to address tonight is: To what extent do human rights balance against disclosure of medical information in a work setting.” Jones said.

Jones explained that ‘the law of humans rights’ is absolute and is given the highest priority in a court of law—violations to human rights will always be prosecuted. But the issues of privacy and medical information in the corporate world has not been as straightforward, and its evolution can be summarized in three parts. 

“[First,] the HIV/AIDS emergence in the ’80s [brought] medical information privacy into the spotlight,” said Jones. “Then, in the late ’90s and early 2000s it was the disclosure and release of genetic information. And in the last five years or so, the disclosure of depression and mental health information has begun to emerge the central issue where privacy is concerned.” 

It is estimated that more than $50 billion worth of corporate income is lost annually in Canada due to mental health issues, including depression. Up until the early 20th century, laws existed in Canada in which individuals could be forcefully committed, without a proper diagnosis or form of legal protection. Mental health issues, however, continue to be stigmatized in society. It is therefore not surprising that around 71 per cent of employees conceal issues concerning depression for fear of discrimination. Yet around one in five individuals, of every age and ethnicity, are afflicted with some form of mental health issue, and with it being such so opaque and widespread, the question now becomes: Aside from the individual and their physician, who else needs to know?

The answer is perhaps not as clear-cut as one might think. While laws exist in Canada to protect against discrimination based on mental disability, certain issues occasionally arise wherein the disclosure of mental health information is essential for the daily functions and duties of a job. For example, a professional struggling with depression or anxiety may not be able to provide services to their clients at the expected standard.  

To conclude the talk, Jones stressed the importance of considering opposing viewpoints in this issue; however, Jones also stated that there will never be a definitive or decisive answer to the problem of medical information privacy. 

“Problems associated with mental health arise from both its concealment as well as its over-focus,” said Jones. 

The answer lies somewhere in the middle. 

“The Quebec Bar exam for law school graduates has five questions concerning mental health,” Jones explained. “After a thorough review by human rights professionals, these questions have been cut down to two.”

Just as the symbol of law—the scales of Madam Justice—never really stop teetering, the solution to disclosure and privacy must always be a dynamic one. 

a, News, SSMU

SSMU moves for electoral reforms in light of recent election

by Garima Karia on

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On Nov. 19, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) voted in favour of establishing an ad-hoc electoral reform committee, institutionalizing support for indigenous communities, and creating a committee to initiate and propose changes to the student health and dental plan.

 

Electoral Reform Committee

 

In response to recent and prolonged SSMU election disarray, Arts Representative to SSMU, Adam Templer, spoke in favour of passing a motion to create an ad-hoc electoral reform committee.

“In the aftermath of the elections this Fall, last [Winter, and] elections before that […] SSMU elections have really gotten a bad reputation from the way [they] have been run,” Templer said. “[This motion is about] bringing forward a committee to investigate avenues for electoral reform, to make it less personal, more functional, [and] more sustainable.”

Vice-President (VP) Clubs and Services Kimber Bialik cited a need to reform online campaigning.

“What was left out [of the previous revision were] any guidelines […] on online campaigning, which has been a primary issue in past campaigns,” Bialik said.

Council looks to address online campaigning alongside strategies for faster responses to issues during the election period. Consultation from the student body on desired changes to the current electoral format will also be prioritized. Visiting former Council member Omar El-Sharawy described student consultation as a step in the right direction.

“I believe the biggest problem for the larger student body is just feeling that SSMU isn’t listening to them,” El-Sharawy said. “The fact that we’re trying to involve students, and trying to have students engaged, and trying to have student consultation is literally what students have been begging SSMU to do.”

The motion passed unanimously, with an amendment to include six councillors and six members-at-large, as opposed to the four of each proposed originally.

 

Institutionalization of support for indigenous communities

 

Council voted unanimously in favour of renewing the motion to adopt the Traditional Territory Acknowledgment for another year.

This motion calls for the practice of indigenous solidarity by SSMU and the student body as a whole by resolving to state the Traditional Territory Acknowledgment at all major SSMU-affiliated events. This motion also gives access to room bookings through the VP University Affairs to indigenous students and groups that organize events aiming to bring greater support and visibility for indigenous communities. Bialik brought up a concern with the room bookings clause, relating to existing space capacity issues on campus.

“We have a pretty serious space constraint issue, and it isn’t possible for us to support all our current clubs and services right now,” explained Bialik. “If we keep offering free room bookings to everyone, we’re less and less able [to accommodate].”

SSMU President Kareem Ibrahim reminded the Council that they had passed a similar motion on mental health space.

“Indigenous groups are 0.006 per cent of the population at McGill,” said Ibrahim. “The visibility of that community is so minute, that to add this to what they can access is not going to [disadvantage other groups], but speak volumes to what [SSMU] is doing to make sure that [the ingidenous] voice is heard throughout this campus and in our country.”

 

Improving mental health and legal services for students

 

Councillors voted in favour of creating a subcommittee to propose changes to the existing student health and dental plan, with a focus on improving mental health and legal services.

Templer referenced a March 2014 survey conducted by Alliance Pour La Santé Étudiante au Quebec (ASÉQ), a Quebec insurance company, in which McGill students requested better mental health coverage, as a reason for developing this committee.

“McGill Mental Health Services has a wait time of two weeks for initial appointment, followed by an additional two weeks to see a psychiatrist, and a three-to-four month wait for regular psychotherapy,” Templer said. “It’s completely strained [….] This committee will allow for investigating options to get students the help that they need.”

On the legal front, Templer explained that the McGill Legal Information Clinic only provides free, confidential advice and representation to students seeking legal advice in matters involving the university. Reforms would allow coverage for students in need of representation in cases such as a dispute with a landlord, or an underpaying employer.

“We need better support systems for [students] in those instances,” Templer said.

a, Arts & Entertainment, Theatre

McGill English department’s “In the Next Room” flicks back to a complicated era

by April Barrett on

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The McGill Department of English’s production of Sarah Ruhl’s In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play) is all about electricity. The play takes the audience to early 20th century Saratoga Springs, New York, a time when on-off switches were a technological marvel, a Victorian-level of propriety was imposed on every conversation, and women suffered from elusive bouts of ‘hysteria.’ Dr. Givings (Anurag Choudhury), a man of science and a Thomas Edison fan-boy, has just the thing to treat such an illness. He sees patients in his home ‘operating theatre,; and the electric vibrator he employs clears ‘congestion of the womb’ that hysteria patients were thought to have suffered from. To Dr. Givings, the female orgasm is a clinical treatment.

Things are not so simple for his young wife, the vivacious Catherine (Sophia Metcalf), who is physically unable to breastfeed their new baby, and spends her days in the parlour feeling guilty and neglected by her husband. When her insatiable curiosity is heightened by boredom, Catherine makes it her mission to find out what exactly is going on in the next room. The cast of characters that stroll in and out of her living room—urse Anna (Jacqueline Geday), impassioned artist Leo Irving (Nathaniel Hanula-James), wet nurse Elizabeth (Sandrine Jaumard), and the loveless couple Mr. and Mrs. Daldry (Tom Gould and Clara Nizard)—begin to elucidate Catherine’s understanding of her husband’s practice. As the characters’ lives interweave and complicate, each one begins to feel the connective, arousing power of electricity, both externally and bodily. 

The Vibrator Play provides a charming critique of Victorian notions of female desire, modernity, and motherhood. Although Ruhl’s writing is light and entertaining, there aren’t as many laugh out loud moments as might be expected in a play focused on such subject matter. Still, the The McGill Department Of English’s cast acts superbly. Most notable performances are Nizard’s gentle, discerning Mrs. Daldry, a fragile woman slowly learning herself, as well as Hanula-James’ Leo, a desperately romantic, physically unrestrained painter. Metcalf does an enthralling job bringing life and poignancy to some of Ruhl’s more complicated and philosophical monologues, and in scenes between Metcalf and Choudhury viewers can almost feel the aching between Mrs. and Dr. Givings’ experience.

The costumes, designed by Catherine Bradley and the McGill Costume Class, were impeccable—perfectly evocative of the Gilded Age era of the play, from the intricate, braided coifs, right down to the bloomers and corsets. On top of this, the props (crewed by Linna Nam, Tutu Cheng, and Yasmin Bitar)—specifically the overstated switches, buttons, and levers flipped and pushed in the operating theatre—create an interesting juxtaposition to the ornate Victorian parlour designed by Corinne Deeley. The set conveys the strange encounter of modernity and antiquity, found in the turn-of-the-century home.

In Director Myrna Wyatt Selkirk’s program note, she states that the production process has been one of “allowing our fingers to wrap around the corset laces of daily life and find the strength to break free of the cords that once bound us.” This is certainly what /In the Next Room/ achieves; it is a play that gets right to the underclothes of Victorian decency, and is a reminder that innovation always starts with breaking the rules.

The Vibrator Play runs from Nov. 26 – Nov. 28 at 7:30 p.m. in Moyse Hall. Tickets are $10.

One Direction
a, Arts & Entertainment

Album Review: Made in the A.M. – One Direction

by April Barrett on

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After a glistening and highly successful five years of ultra fame, One Direction are now officially on hiatus. 2015 was full of tabloid-worthy escapades for the British-Irish boyband. Most notably Louis Tomlinson became a baby daddy, and token brooder Zayn Malik ditched the gang for good. Their hotly anticipated fifth album Made in the A.M. is here to finish the year off, interpreted by their adoring fan base as a goodbye-for-now.

The album continues with the conscious stride away from bubblegum pop established with 2014’s Four. Under the careful watch of longtime Producer Julian Bunetta, the album imitates folk rock greats such as Fleetwood Mac and Paul Simon. It’s even evoked a couple, ever-blasphemous Beatles comparisons from publications like Rolling Stone due to its more whimsical numbers. One Direction has finally attained the soul sound that it had been hinted at in their previous work; however, despite the interesting homages paid to the classics, Made in the A.M. can’t help but sound like the glossy commodity it is. The band remains not so much musically impressive as it is socioeconomically, and it proves that the now-foursome have not quite escaped Simon Cowell’s million-dollar pop machine.

The singles “Drag Me Down” and “Perfect” are typical 1D—if a little more biting and mischievous—with the latter making references to post-adolescent ‘badness’ like, “Causing trouble up in hotel rooms.” Many songs like the mid-album “Long Way Down,” are pleasant, but otherwise empty and sonically reminiscent of early 2000s Britpop. There are clean, pretty guitar loops, and sentimental gushes about falling love, described with picture-book clear imagery: “We had a mountain, but took it for granted / we had a spaceship, but we couldn’t land it.”

Things do get more interesting during the album’s second half. “Never Enough” experiments with acapella doo-wops and snaps—a dead ringer for the Tokens classic, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” Then there’s Harry Styles’ “Olivia.” Initially, the boys skip through assonance playfully, as horns and strings build the little ditty to a Beatles-level of soaring in the bridge. At that point, Styles coos about summertime and butterflies and his imagination, sounding uncannily similar to Gene Wilder’s “Pure Imaginations” from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1974). “What a Feeling” combines echo-y harmonies and moody guitar riffs to evoke a kind of polished, pop version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” while the Graceland-era Paul Simon influence is especially notable in the hopeful, strolling song, “Walking in the Wind.”

The final track “A.M.” is the perfect outro, both for the album, and for the band. It’s a gentle coming-of-age meditation on late nights of recording, touring and youthful camaraderie. “A.M.” suggests that having big dreams for the future doesn’t mean forgetting about the past. It’s a benign conclusion for One Direction, especially pleasant in that, although a bit weary, it doesn’t sound bitter. One can only hope that the boys find their voices in solo projects, emerging from the whole affair as adults.

Standout tracks:

“What A Feeling,” “History,” & “Olivia”

Best line:

“If you’re looking for someone to write your break-up songs about / Baby, I’m perfect.”

Sounds like:

The Verve, Coldplay, and a more mature One Direction

Enya Dark Sky Island
a, Arts & Entertainment

Album Review: Dark Sky Island – Enya

by Jack Neal on

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Irish singer-songwriter, Enya, is all alone. In a music industry filled with electronic, pop, and alternative sounds, each battling for their right to be heard by an audience intent on new, it’s a breath of fresh air when recording artists who sound like absolutely nothing else are still making music. It’s amazing how timeless Enya’s sound is: Above a whimsical mix of Celtic and New Age-revival, her ethereal vocals float through the songs like clouds through the skies.

Enya’s new album, Dark Sky Island, is her first album in almost seven years. After the trainwreck that was And Winter Came (2008)—a collection of unconnected songs that sounded only vaguely like Christmas—Dark Sky Island is a return to form for Enya. The album is a seemingly intentional attempt at recreating her previous sound on albums such as A Day Without Rain (2000), or the brilliantly mesmerizing Paint the Sky With Stars (1997). The inclusion of elements such as the piano-driven chorus during “Echoes in Rain” or the staggered drums on “The Loxian Gate” feel almost directly taken from her 1997 song, “On My Way Home.” But by doing so, Enya has placed Dark Sky Island in exact alignment with her earlier albums. Against such stiff competition, this latest album simply pales in comparison.

As a standalone project, this album is about as ‘Enya’ as an Enya album can be. As always, the natural world and its general phenomena are her lyrical inspiration. Drawing from the water—oceans, to be exact—the sky, and the moon, Dark Sky Island drifts through its 11 songs effortlessly; however, while Enya has always provided the airiest of melodies, the perceived ease of the album’s tracks could be taken as a lack of originality as Enya runs out of ideas. After all, there’s only so much one can sing about when it comes to the sea, and on Dark Sky Island it seems that she’s hit the ocean floor.

Nonetheless, the songs, while a tad restrained, are meticulously crafted—as are her vocals—and the general vibe of the album is, as always, other-wordly. But the nagging issue with the Dark Sky Island as a whole is its tendency to float along the easy road instead of Enya pushing herself in any new musical or lyrical direction. And while already regrettably using such a common phrase for an album this out-of-touch with modernity, it is a classic case of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’

She’s aware of that, though: With aptly-titled songs such as “I Could Never Say Goodbye” and “The Humming…,” Dark Sky Island is Enya returning to claim her territory in the music industry. The problem, though, is that with no one there to compete with, she’s allowed to go along uncontested—overshadowed only by her sole competitor: Herself.

Standout Tracks:

“The Humming…,” “Even In the Shadows,” & “Echoes in Rain”

Best Line:

“Even when I whisper / The winds will come / To steal the words I say.”

Sounds like:

An uninspired Enya; defined by self-imposed limitations of her previous self.

a, Arts & Entertainment, Theatre

Horror and hilarity converge on TNC stage in Blue Heart

by Stefan Zajdler on

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Strange and elusive energies crackle with abandon on the Tuesday Night Café (TNC) stage in Caryl Churchill’s unnerving Blue Heart, a production of two one-act plays performed as a set. Teasing apart cruel dimensions of language and longing in a theatrical experiment in form, the self-sabotaging construction of the play suggests dark avenues of fear and confusion, and watching it conjures the inconceivable giddiness of absurd hilarity.

If there is connective tissue between the two acts, it’s dark and anguished. The first act, “Heart’s Desire,” is a shifting, swirling melodrama where a family is unlatched from time and sent swinging along its own track, careening into countless futures with each buzz of an offstage buzzer. The light falls, and the scene resets,drafting versions the play might take up sometimes sped up, sometimes in halting phrases, and discards each in turn.

The first act tells the unraveling story of a married couple–Brian (Max Katz) and Alice (Amalea Ruffett)—as they wait with Brian’s sister, Maisie (Sasha Blakeley), for the return of their daughter, Susy (Natalie Liconti). Almost at once the marriage seems on the point of collapse, as the play retreads the same scene countless times, to dizzyingly different results. All of this occurs in a perpetually melodramatic arena: The kitchen. Set Designer Chip Limeburner’s spare set conjures abstractions of unrest.

Visitors arrive to disrupt the scene. An alcoholic son (Martin Seal) emerges from a drunken stupor to terrorize the family, ski-masked and gun-toting thugs arrive to assassinate everyone, and a giant bird unfolds from the doorway. The gaze of the characters intrudes as well; a sudden hush gives way to unsettling stares turned towards the audience. An unmistakable strain of absurdity endures throughout. Thus the spirit of this act is one of preoccupied horror, braced by the unmistakable need to laugh out loud.

If there is a moment that most clearly treads the thin line between hilarity and horror, it’s the sudden fantasy that Brian unleashes on his shocked sister and wife. Katz is appropriately intense in this sequence, confessing his desire to eat himself up, bit by bit, body part by body part, leaving nothing but a mouth. He then questions whether the mouth can consume itself. The language-cannibalizing second act may offer answers.

In “Blue Kettle,” the second act, a confused young man witnesses language becoming suddenly, irrevocably unhinged. As though revealing the mutative influence of an inexpressible core, the words of the title, “Blue Kettle,” begin to infiltrate speech, substituting nouns, verbs, adjectives, until a final, wrenching scene where two characters speak haltingly in the shattered syllables of the title.

The confused man is Derek (Seal), a 40-something-year-old con man playing a strange and inscrutable game—tricking women into believing he is their long-lost son. To what end? Be it money, or a substitute for his own ailing mother, it seems not even Derek is sure. Limeburner splits the stage into three smaller sets, isolating the players within pools of light. It pulls the frenetic energy of the first half into a far more contemplative place.

Director Johanna Ring creates a more static second act as well, mostly consigning itself to calmer two-person scenes. Derek is paired his presumptive mothers, or his girlfriend Enid (Liconti), allowing subtler performances to emerge. The women are drawn into Derek’s odd orbit, but it is clear that each possesses an odd core of their own. Derek’s real mother (Kelly Lopes) delivers a quivering, fractured performance, and Blakeley forms her Mrs. Oliver at the converging vectors of shame and anxiety.

Churchill is a veteran playwright of prodigious talents and roving insight, possessing an imagination that seems both at once capricious, and laser-focused. She has written an extensive catalogue of experimental productions that hint at a restless and unsatisfied mind. In Blue Heart, this restlessness catalyzes in strange devices fixed to plot and language, causing these to become unstuck and free flowing, unraveling even as they reveal their construction.

There is a sense of pervasive dread to Blue Heart, a subtle violence that lingers in the brain long after leaving the theatre. And yet, the play’s vibrancy is unmistakable; this is not a sinkhole of doom and gloom. The aura of unease is palpable in the lobby, and yet so is the fierce glow of anarchic exhilaration. Blue Heart sticks.

Blue Heart runs from Nov. 18-21 and 25-28 at 8 p.m. at TNC Theatre in Morrice Hall.Tickets are $6 for students.

Adele 25
a, Arts & Entertainment

Album Review: 25 – Adele

by Jack Neal on

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Some singers shoot for critical reception; others for commercial success. Some aim for none, some for both… and then there’s Adele. The British sensation—officially Adele Laurie Blue Adkins MBE (yes, she’s an order of the British empire now), literally started from the bottom. Born in Tottenham, U.K., and raised by a single mother, Adele has since sold over 30 million albums worldwide and won more awards than could possibly fit on the mantelpieces of her extensive property portfolio across the world.

Her previous two albums, 19 (2008) and the ever-infamous 21 (2011)—now one of the best selling albums of all time—catapulted her to what could be argued as the pinnacle of the 21st century music industry thanks to her simple but universal songs. However, despite their unparalleled success, both albums suffered from cases of filler and mediocre ballads, and unfortunately, 25 simply delivers more of the same.

Beginning with the chart-topping, Vevo-record-breaking lead single, “Hello,” Adele sets the premise for what is ultimately an album of apologies: Apologies to an ex-lover (“All I Ask”), to an ex-friend (“When We Were Young”), and to her younger self (“Million Years Ago”). She’s also sad, reminiscing on both her past friendships (“Hello”), and she’s mad about growing older (“River Lea”).

It’s a neat concept—Adele imagining the conversations she envisions herself having in the future with people she predicts she’ll grow apart from—but even over a mere 11 tracks, her apologies grow as thin as the heartache she wallowed in on 21. There are bright moments—moments of utter brilliance and clear examples of a more daring and exciting musical direction that she could have taken this record in. The stunning Jessie Ware-esque “Water Under the Bridge”—easily one of her finest songs—mixes pulsing beats and galloping drums that escalate to a crescendo finale with a backing choir, raising the song to an almost gospel level. Despite the plodding name, the sun-kissed “Send My Love (To Your New Lover)” is the simplest and most carefree that Adele has sounded on record with a bubbling guitar and clapping supporting her surprisingly upbeat vocals, and “When We Were Young” is a moving nod to a life she once lived. 

Elsewhere, though, the songs drag tremendously. “Remedy” is a faceless ballad about yet another ex-lover, while somewhere during the album’s back half—when “Love In the Dark” unnoticeably becomes “Million Years Ago," the underwhelming finale, “Sweetest Devotion,” comes to a close—and 25 is simply over. There is no tongue-in-cheek “Rumour Has It” equivalent; definitely no beautiful-restraint that was “Make You Feel My Love,” and nothing that comes close to the heartbreaking levels of “Someone Like You.” And while it would be unfair to expect another 21—she certainly would have been critiqued if she had merely replicated its sound—for a singer who rests on her emotional appeal, 25 falls heartbreakingly flat.

There is no doubt that Adele is unprecedently talented, and that she has one of the most powerful, unique, and recognizable voices that have shaken the music industry in the past decade. 25 will sell an unimaginable amount of albums in its first week—sales are currently being forecasted as being a record-breaking 2.9 million, and will thus most certainly allow Adele to grace the stage of the 2017 Grammys to pick up some coveted awards. Despite this, there's the nagging feeling that, on 25, she's played it a tad too safe. Aside from the aforementioned standout tracks—as well as the fantastic, 50s-esque "Why Don't You Love Me" on the deluxe edition of the album—25 sees neither vocal nor lyrical progression from 21, allowing itself to get dragged down relentlessly by the soggy piano ballads that Adele too-often falls back on. It’s a shame; “Send My Love” and “Water Under the Bridge” are glimpses into the more daring, upbeat, and ‘fun’ side of Adele. But as it stands, Adele should not only be apologizing to her former lovers and friends on 25, but to the music industry—heck, the world—for delivering another middle-of-the-road record.

Standout Tracks:

“Hello,” “Send My Love (To Your New Lover),” & “Water Under the Bridge”

Best Line:

“If you’re not the one for me / Why do I hate the idea of being free?”

Sounds like:

An off-peak Adele and gospel-turned Jessie Ware

a, Arts & Entertainment, Theatre

Shaking up Shakespeare: Players’ Theatre gives new spin on timeless classic in Fortinbras

by Luka Ciklovan on

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Centuries after its composition, William Shakespeare’s Hamlet remains a powerful cultural force in the world. Its oft-quoted words, “to be or not to be” are particularly salient with the approach of final exams. The breadth of its impact on popular culture, ranging from James Joyce’s Ulysses to Paul Cernea’s Hamlet RPG, stand as testaments to the pervasiveness of Shakespeare’s work. Yet, despite its influence, the dramatic, dated language of Hamlet is nonetheless somewhat of a barrier to modern audiences. This barrier is precisely what Players’ Theatre latest production, Fortinbras, seeks to dismantle. Directed by Claire Hill, Fortinbras presents itself as an ‘unofficial’ sequel to Hamlet. The show attempts to explore the themes of truth and action present in Shakespeare’s work in a more modern and accessible way involving a mix of comedy and more colloquial, 20th century diction.

Beginning with the final scene of Hamlet, Fortinbras is centred around the Norwegian prince, Fortinbras, and his recent acquisition of Elsinore Castle, the residence of Hamlet’s now deceased family. Hamlet, along with his dead relatives, however, return as ghosts to haunt the halls of Fortinbras’ castle, and hilarity ensues. While the cast comically questions the potential absurdity of Shakespeare’s original tale, they still take the time to muse on deeper, philosophic questions. Fortinbras rides a fine line between comedy and drama, and Players’ Theatre, mainly through their strong cast and solid direction capitalizes on this notion.

Oscar Lecuyer (Fortinbras) brilliantly captures and displays both the comedic and serious dimensions wrapped up in the character of Fortinbras through a mix of his commanding voice and quirky body language. Alexander Friesen (Osric), perhaps the comical highlight of the play, often provides great comical relief through his twitchy eye and facial movements and is elegantly foiled by Maka Ngwenya’s (Horatio) calm and composed demeanor. Seb Mattey (Hamlet) likewise demonstrated a strong performance, consistently capturing the melancholic anger of Hamlet through clear and sharp diction in the face of the surrounding comedy.

Hill’s decision to incorporate the extras carrying props and set pieces into the scenes themselves was also a great use of her cast, as it simultaneously justified the presence of otherwise seemingly random prop holders and heightened the comedic effect of certain scenes. Having Hamlet acknowledge and curse out the two extras holding the castle walls in place post monologue, for example, was a surprising burst of comedic relief and continued the breakdown of traditions pervading the play; however, these same extras also hindered the play quite significantly at times, as they literally blocked the main actors in the foreground. Such blunders ultimately hindered the suspension of disbelief at times, as the staging directly blocked the audience’s access to the narrative.

Nonetheless, in addition to a strong cast, Hill’s spin on the production through her direction allowed it to truly come alive for the audience.

“I first became aware of this play in my freshman year of high school during a one-act theatre competition,” Hill said in an interview with the Tribune. “Fortinbras gives me the opportunity to poke fun at Hamlet while reinforcing Shakespeare’s fundamental messages regarding the importance of truth and action.”

Hill developed multiple clever ways to modernize the performance. For example, the fear encapsulated in the opening scene, where Hamlet’s family lies murdered, is augmented through the use of radio static that accompanies the arrival of Fortinbras’ army. Similarly, whenever characters experienced moments of revelation or grief, an accompanying contemporary song, usually a widely known Red Hot Chili Peppers song, would fade in with the revelation, thus using relatable exposition to explore underlying themes. Despite the aforementioned minor set problems, Players’ Theatre’s latest production is a hilarious success.

Fortinbras runs from Nov. 18-21, and then from the 25-28, 8 p.m. every night at Players’ Theatre (3480 Rue McTavish). Tickets are $6 for students, $10 general admission. Email [email protected] for reservations.

Ellie Goulding Delirium
a, Arts & Entertainment

Album Review: Delirium – Ellie Goulding

by Jack Neal on

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Ellie Goulding is no stranger to the pop music scene in which she seems so steadfastly stuck. While Halcyon (2012) was released to to commercial adoration, Goulding failed to properly carve out her own unique space within pop; unfortunately on her latest album, Delirium, she just sinks herself further into a mess of unfocused music that tries far too hard to cover the pop bases for mass listenability.

While Halcyon was a striking—albeit conservative—record, it was at least interesting in its unique sound. Delirium, on the other hand, suffers from a dire case of being totally mundane. Beginning with the rather unconventional, “Intro (Delirium)”—a song consisting of a wailing Goulding multilayered to create a supposed atmospheric sound—ends up sounding like something that would feel at home on a B-side album of a corny knock-off Lord Of the Rings soundtrack. In its attempt to take itself too seriously, it loses any credibility and instead becomes almost laughable.

What follows are 16 tracks—a pompous and unnecessary 25 on the deluxe edition—that are, at large, so utterly unmemorable that they verge towards being offensive due to their total lack of creativity, personality, or even likeability. Lead single, “On My Mind,” starts off okay—the ’80s-esque guitar riff wouldn’t sound out of place on a La Roux album—but then Goulding begins to sing, in her typical whisper-come-annoyingly-quiet-voice, before the chorus hits, in which she unemotionally says, “Boy I got you on my mind,” a total of eight times. Eight. This use of repetition is something that heavily plagues the album: More than half of the songs force the listener to sit through choruses that offer nothing more than repeating its’ title over and over. Delirious? After mindlessly repeating the same words, it’s not surprising that she was.

The only obvious highlights—“Something In The Way You Move,” Lost And Found,” and Goulding’s contribution to the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack, “Love Me Like You Do”—stand out for their sheer simplicity. The latter of the aforementioned three highlight tracks sees a surprisingly direct vocal transform from barely a whisper over a pulsating and skeletal beat, to a crescending epic final chorus in which she lets it all go, introducing layered background vocals and echoing drums. By not sounding like the rest of the album, it stands out as a winner, avoiding the ‘anti-pop’ mentality that plagues every other track.

Though the songs provide a hopeful glimpse into a possible future Ellie Goulding—someone who is in command of her own music, finally letting the lyrics do the talking while avoiding getting so caught up in being ‘pop’ that it erodes her own artisticity—it’s hard to actually conceive how she made a record this arbitrary and faceless. There are so many topics to sing about; so many production tricks—heck, even Katy Perry succeeded in creating a more interesting collections of songs on her 2013 album, Prism, than this.

Put simply, the album already feels dated. And annoying. And utterly pointless. For an artist who claims to “have big dreams, baby,” (see “Holding On For Life”) she should have actually acted on them. Instead, she’s left tirelessly belabouring “I got you on my mind,” but after listening to this record, it’s anything but what listeners should want to have on their minds

Standout Tracks

: “Something In The Way You Move,” “Love Me Like You Do,” & “Lost And Found.”

Best Lyric

: “I get so caught up in the city cloud / But this place is still my first love.”

Sounds Like

: A lost and lifeless Ellie Goulding.

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