On the 28th of May, I was lucky enough to attend an event hosted by the left-wing magasine, The New Statesman, ‘An Evening with Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer’. The two-hour talk was led by the aforementioned figures, which discussed the latest copy of The New Statesman, which they edited, titled ‘Saying the Unsayable’, and dealt with censorship of both what we support, and what we do not. Guest speakers were also invited; poets, comedians, and singers, who contributed to the night, each, in their own way, discussing the titled theme. Short stories, songs, poetry and stand up managed to ensure that the night was dominated by humour, with occasional touches of poignancy.
A heavily pregnant Amanda Palmer certainly led this combination of frivolity and seriousness, her musical talents shining throughout the evening. Performing four of her original songs; Not the Killing Type, Oasis, I Google You and Ukulele Anthem, her passion for performing lit up the stage. As well as musical talent, Palmer also exhibited her skilful command of spoken word, reciting one of her many poems. After discovering that there may been complications with her pregnancy, which have now been resolved, Palmer found the only way to calm herself was to obsessively google the German Airlines tragedy, which had happened only days earlier. The extensive study of the event turned into a poem, wondering about the lives that those on board could have led. The musings over death and life was even more touching from a soon to be mother’s perspective, Palmer’s overall performance demonstrating her versatility and talent.
Neil Gaiman, husband to Palmer, hosted the evening with her. A renowned author, winner of the Carnegie medal among many other awards, he enchanted the audience with readings of his short stories, as Palmer did with her music. Opening the event, Gaiman read aloud his introduction to the latest issue of The New Statesman, describing his beliefs regarding free speech, at the core of which was the accurate observation that you can’t kill an idea. Following that, he described the experience of attending a literary awards show in New York, which other authors had refused to be present at, as the surviving staff of Charlie Hebdo were there. His final recitation of the night was of a short story written approximately 20 years ago, which Gaiman described as ‘The only thing I’ve ever written that truly disturbs me”. It tells of a world where the animals disappeared, so, instead of no longer testing medicine and cosmetics, or eating meat, the people simply replaced the animals with babies. The chilled silence, which cloaked the audience, was broken by Palmer leaning over her bump, comically whispering “Don’t listen to your father!” and Gaiman finished the evening by joining his wife in a rendition of ‘I Google You’, which was met with rapturous applause.
Each of the hosts’ performances was, of course, interjected by the appearance of a guest that appeared onstage for the show’s finale. The combined humour and touching truth of the literary cabaret style event was undoubtedly crafted, making for an enjoyable, and memorable, night.
Image: http://www.theouthousers.com/images/jce/S.F._Jude_Terror/2015/05/Gaiman.png
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