Audiences Central Blog

Its a story that has it all and its coming to a venue near you.... well in an abandoned rubber factory in Ladywood actually.

Birmingham Opera Company are embarking (with a captital BARKING) on another fabulous Opera going back to their traditional routes after the large scale, big audience La Traviata performance at the NIA.

Moody and unique surroundings set the scene for this breathtaking and ambitious Opera. Without giving too much away a triumphant king of Crete returning from the Trojan wars is forced into a terrible dilema with his undecisiveness raining down the wrath of the Gods upon his Kingdom.

The opera explores themes of fathers and sons, morale codes, the social revolution between young and old ways of of thinking, the potential cost of bargaining blindly and forbidden love.

Anyway ... look out for performances in August - awesome - forget everything you ever knew about opera and get yourself there .... (all the details will be uploaded to the BOC website soon)

It's no secret that I'm a bit of a digital cynic, and generally I'm of the opinion that no-one cares what other people are writing about in their blogs.

In fact, I recently saw a t-shirt for sale with the slogan "More people have read this t-shirt than your blog". I might get one. I'm sure more people would read it than are reading this!

It recently occurred to me, that a blog is a bit like a sermon. You're supposed to take some everyday activity, reflect on it, and suddenly gain some fascinating insight. "And you know, in a funny sort of way, isn't changing your printer cartridge, rather like Jesus turning water into wine?"

In this case, it's all about finding marketing or audience insights from our day-to-day experiences. And in a funny sort of way, isn't writing a blog rather like much of our marketing activity? We spend ages creating carefully worded copy, we seek out perfect links specially selected to be of interest to our target audience, and yet we have no idea if anyone is reading them, responding to them or acting on them as a result.

Well, hopefully we can all be a bit more sophisticated than that, but I bet we've all asked ourselves "is anyone even listening?" in some of our low moments.

The idea behind a blog is that it creates a sense of community and invites a two-way relationship with audiences. There is now a noticeable move among cultural organisations towards their websites being more interactive and inviting audiences and participants to play an active role in the online experience.

A new kid on the blog (sorry) is www.culturalplayingfield.org, which "aims to bring together anyone in the voluntary arts who is interested in creating an environment where more people really can participate in the arts and crafts. The focus is on political, legal, policy and funding issues that affect voluntary and amateur arts organisations and individual arts participants in the UK and the Republic of Ireland."

It's not entirely clear if this has been set up by Voluntary Arts Network, or is simply the brainchild of VAN Chief Executive, Robin Simpson, who also authors blogs entitled Cultural Dessert and Cultural Outlook. So, if any of these are of interest to you, click the links and have your say, join the debate, or simply watch and learn. And maybe you can puncture my cynicism by responding to this blog and letting us know if it's been useful or interesting.

Here endeth the lesson.

Well as my £ is spread out and put to a more effective use in fatherdom it has got me reviewing my shopping antics and hey presto, abracadabra gonna reach out and grab ya out comes some wisdom I have long suspected - but now confirmed.

My partner reading a review of which supermarkets are the most expensive confirms my thoughts that Somerfied 'are a right ruddy rip off' and they are - performing terribly against even Waitrose and Marks and Spencers in many cases.

So how do they get away with it? Well if you ask me they are the Dr Evil of all supermarket brands.

Why?

They brand themselves 'down' as a cheap supermarket, down market and low end. Their idenity stinks of it, their stock is generally low quality backing up your thoughts of cheapness when inside, they have waggon wheels and blue ribbands a plenty, you go to pay after a 3 hour wait (under staffed and under paid - keeps you thinking cheap) but hey - then they hit you - completely stiffing you at the check out before packing your over priced low quality food in cheap bags.

Quite premeditated if you ask me (cynic). Gits.

So how long can they get away with this ... not long if we spread the word ... hit em where it hurts!

Wow... went to the Birmingham Opera Company open day on Sunday at The Custard Factory, Digbeth. The great setting coinciding with the Sunday Flea Market was fantastic fun and part of their wider engagement policy to open up opera, singing, acting and movement to those who are not just performance collaborators.

Anyway ... the day from 12noon until 4pm was well attended and provided the public to take part in a series of informal but professional workshops on choral singing, acting and dance as well as making some professional partnerships with muscians and other groups.

I took part (as a well rounded 2nd Tenor) in the singing workshop and within minutes had been taught a range of Gospel Singing Movements and a complete song, broke down into voice range parts and in different keys. Well .... Can you see the light ... Can you see the light... I have seen the light! I have seen the lights brothers and sisters! (it was great fun - and facilitated briliantly)

If you haven't heard of Birmingham Opera Company - put them on your radar - they are real arts champions!

Last Saturday our child friendly cultural expediation led me and my compact family unit to Perrotts Folly. The folly was built in 1785 by John Perrott supposedly to keep a watchful eye on his wife and in later years sadly her grave (makes you wonder whether his obsessive behaviour was taking its toll?)

The tower has been opened to the public by the IKON gallery and the trust managing the site with each floor of the tower housing items of cultural interest (on some occasions pushing this definition on my own personal taste) from different artists.

The views from the top are stunning with beautiful greenery and helps you think back to a time when city centre architects of the future would have surely been charged for heresy

It's well worth a visit, completely free of charge and a great illustration of how historical and cultural tourism can cross pollinate with arts marketing - commendable.

p.s. if you a sling carrier its a cool climb because you have a break in the rooms on the way up!

p.p.s. Wilson liked the music composition best