A Cultural Agenda

We all do it, see an event coming up, use the phrase “_I’m going to go to that, I’ll see who wants to come with me”_and inevitably find that we don’t go at all. This year I decided that was going to change, so sat down and purchased 2 tickets to a bunch of shows I’d like to see. With a fairly wide range including comedy, Shakespeare, classical and contemporary music and of course the ballet, I’ve already had the chance to see a few different and entertaining things and haven’t had any issues finding a date.

The Whitlams and the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra

Last year I was introduced to The Whitlams (I know I’m a little late) so when I found out they were performing with the WA Symphony Orchestra I thought it was a great opportunity to start off my cultural resolution. I’d like to be more classy and cultural so thought this was a good way to ease into it rather than going straight to a full-blown orchestra.

I’d never really been to any live music shows so didn’t see the point of spending so much money, until I saw my first live gig a few years ago (yes I know I’m really late). But this was entirely different. There’s something about seeing an orchestra in full flight that simply cannot be put into words or recorded through any device (although technology is getting better). Plus anything at the Perth Concert Hall means a great chance to get all dolled up.

Melbourne Comedy Festival Roadshow

By the time it came to this one, I’d had a long day at work and was really looking forward to my comfy pants and a cup of tea. Having only ever been to amateur comedy nights before, I had no idea how much I needed this one. I had no idea who any of the comedians were, although it turned out I’d seen Bob Franklin (MC) in a few things.

The humour was crude at times (as the best kind often is) but I laughed and laughed until my face hurt and I thought I’d managed to get abs. Definitely not one of the classier shows I’m going to see but worth it none the less.

The Merchant of Venice

No cultural agenda would be complete without a little Shakespeare. There are many different versions around but I wanted to see a traditional version (or at least as close as I could get) so managed to find a Bells Shakespeare production. I hadn’t experienced The Merchant of Venice yet but I’m in the process of reading it now to confirm how much is accurate.

I’d made sure to find a traditional version but completely forgot about it until they started talking (that’s right, I have no idea what they’re saying…). I got used to it after a couple of minutes and was pleasantly surprised to find that I didn’t get lost (or bored). The last play I saw was King Lear and I remember it dragging but I guess it’s a lot longer.

I did a bit of research on the play beforehand so knew what was going on but was a little confronted by the severity of the religious themes. This is still a hot topic at the moment and it was a bit of a shock to realise that we haven’t really come that far. On a lighter note, it’s been interesting to learn how accurate the play was with the original Shakespeare actually was. I had a bit of a laugh as well when I found out that a pun about pirates was actually in the original play (Shakespeare actually wrote a pun).

The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary

Working my way up to a proper orchestra, I jumped at the chance to join a friend watching the WA Symphony Orchestra perform from the Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary. There was definitely an interesting array of people there, some die-hard Zelda fans, some concert goers and some kids who’ve gotten into the game.

They had a reel of game footage in the background, but for the most part, I enjoyed just closing my eyes and listening. There were some bits that I recognised (and some that gave me flashbacks), but despite the fact that the music was from a video game there was so much emotion in the music.