“November returns, bringing an enchantments of satire and surrealism…” See below for Ruthie Collins’ guide to the Cambridge arts scene
This Image: Attenborough, Cleese and a number of other Cambridge University alumni are depicted in Ophelia Redpath’s painting
November returns, bringing an enchantment of satire and surrealism. Escape this month’s wry grey skies and need for Magritte-style brollies by heading out of town to the Stapleford Granary, where figurative fine-art painter Ophelia Redpath is exhibiting a collection of magical, musical paintings called ‘Where should this music be? I’ the air or the earth?’ – named after a quotation from Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
The delightful series of paintings features Cambridge-linked personalities, from John Cleese and David Attenborough to Henry VIII. I came across Ophelia at artist retreat, La Muse, in France, where I recently hid away to work on my novel. She’s described by Clive James as “the most brilliant artist of her type currently working in Britain” and literature lovers will adore how she creates paintings inspired by Shakespearean quotes. Check opheliaredpath.co.uk for more.
Cambridge’s connection to surrealism, which often slices up its imagery with a contrasting conservatism, might not seem obvious. But dig a little and you’ll find a witty, sometimes dark, strand of oddity originating in the city and influencing British culture. Whether it’s Monty Python, whose Graham Chapman and John Cleese met here at Footlights (there’s a Footlights Smoker on 10 November at the ADC Theatre), the dark psychedelia of Cambridge-born Pink Floyd’s Another Brick In The Wall, or street artist Charlie Cavey who’s famous for, um, playing music in a bin, our city is a hotbed for surreal eccentricity. Book early to see pop-culture surrealist Noel Fielding (of The Mighty Boosh) at the Corn Exchange, on 4 December.
At the heart of surrealism – like the fringe politics of Monty Python – is often satire. This was key to the work of Cambridge-born Ronald Searle – best known for inventing St Trinians and Nigel Molesworth. His satirical, clever work was also published in Punch (who my Grandpa used to illustrate for), Le Monde and The New Yorker. Visit Ronald Searle: Obsessed with drawing at the Fitzwilliam, running until January. Companion exhibition Cradled in Caricature: Visual humour in satirical prints and drawings, looks at how artists, caricaturists and cartoonists, from Gillray to the present day, create visual jokes.
This Image: One of Ronald Searle’s surreal sketches to see in the Fitzwilliam Museum’s latest exhibition
Children’s book illustration is a magnet for the bizarre. Snap up award-winning Elys Dolan’s The Mystery of the Haunted Farm, launched in September at Heffers. Described as “genius” by The Telegraph, her work is attracting a bevy of adult fans drawn to her satirical subtexts and humour (check Weasels – brilliant). As any parent knows, if the book is tedious to read, unless seriously popular with your dearest, it may vanish from the shelf. Confession: I hide The Cat In The Hat from my son. It’s torture (exhausted parents were not considered as Dr. Seuss penned those technicolour tongue-twisters). Happily, the worst Dolan’s Weasels is guilty of is teaching my three-year-old how to say “world domination”.
So next time you dismiss satire or surrealism as whimsical, think of what our culture might be like if it was banned. I’ve just been reading Azar Nafisi’s Republic of the Imagination: The Case For Fiction, whose #BooksSave campaign highlights the vital importance of fiction in culture. In a world where man is too often tempted “to judge before he understands” (Milan Kundera), imagination is a vital antidote.
Families can celebrate imagination and adventure by heading over to Cambridge Junction for a touch of enchantment on 15 November, with The Boy Who Never Grew Up (suitable for ages four and up), where happy thoughts make you fly and you can go on your own search for Neverland. Fairies may not die every time you ditch books for Facebook, but perhaps a little bit of our cultural soul does. More adventure and imagination? Yes, please.
Enjoy your month, all.
