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Ruthless People: Ruthless - Arches Lane Theatre

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What is it about the Madoff’s that writers can’t resist writing about? Sure, it may have been the largest Ponzi scheme to collapse (so far), but there isn’t much more to explore. Or is there? In Ruthless by writer Roger Steinmann, Ruth Madoff is imagined as a wronged, gun-toting woman anchored in the past while trying to move on with her life. It’s not entirely successful but a fascinating look at life and wig choices, It’s currently playing at the theatre now known as the Arches Lane Theatre in Battersea. Ruth Madoff, played by Emily Swain, is here wearing a wig. I thought it was an odd look until I reviewed how closely it matched the photo of her interview in  The New York Times .  Typically, it’s the sort of wig you might see worn by Ladies on a night out in central London, not someone who once had over $80m in assets. With Bernie in Jail and both her sons now dead - one by suicide and one due to cancer, she is setting a table for the men who have left her. And ordering p...

Art: Shadow Catchers Camera-Less Photography


Shadow Catchers - V&A from Sound Films on Vimeo.

The Victoria and Albert Museum has been running an excellent little exhibition since October last year on Shadow Catchers: Camera-less photography and I managed to take a look at it over the weekend.

After brushing up on what a photogram is via the Art of Photography (basically its an image created by placing an object on light sensitive paper), we headed over to the V&A to look at some shadows...

This exhibition is an opportunity take in some extraordinary pieces that leave a lot up to the imagination, or at least provoke it a little. The low light of the exhibition space helps, and adds a moody atmosphere.

There is beauty with the simplicity of the works, particularly those that hinted at absent objects. They appeared less impressive when combined with other photographic techniques, although it is easy to appreciate the effort required in their production. It is at the V&A until February 20... Initial boo thoughts below...

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