Review of the Citi exhibition Manga マンガ at the British Museum

by Sonali Dutta. 

Manga, Japanese comics and cartoons, is the artistic medium that is hugely popular both in Japan and abroad. The illustrated medium has greatly influenced video games and also anime (televised version of the comics) similarly well-loved across the globe. The literal meaning of “manga” in Japanese translates as “picture run riot” which perfectly sums up how big the artistic expression has become. Nearly all of us will have at least heard of a popular series such as Pokemon or the Studio Ghibli films if we haven’t seen them. The British Museum is hosting the Citi Exhibition Manga as part of UK/Japan Season of Culture 2019-2020, in what is the biggest exhibition outside of Japan. As a former teenage manga nerd who still enjoys a manga comic or five, I eagerly spent an afternoon exploring the history, technique and influences of this type of graphic art and how it’s evolved.

J.Fernandes.(c) The Trustees of the British Museum

Northern Ballet 1984 on the BBC Review

1984

This review contains spoilers for the novel 1984 by George Orwell.

by Sonali Dutta

George Orwell’s novel 1984 is one of the most famous (and terrifying) dystopian texts. Set in “Airstrip One” which is part of Oceania, the protagonist Winston is part of the Party that controls everything in the superstate. Terms from the novel are part of our everyday vocabulary. But is it possible to successfully adapt a novel where language (for example, the use of Newspeak) is so pivotal into a wordless ballet? Choreographer and director Jonathan Watkins ambitiously translates Orwell’s text to the medium of dance in this new production for the Northern Ballet accompanied by Alex Baranowsky’s score. I saw the production on the BBC.

Photograph by Emma Kauldhar.