Offence: give and take

Nigger by Drek Davis

Two BBC News stories that were originally posted within 25 minutes of each other today:

Race complaint over Dandy reprint

Publishing giant DC Thomson has been criticised after it reprinted a 1939 annual which contained racist references to black people. A reader condemned the inclusion of a comic strip from the original 1939 Dandy annual which included a term deemed unacceptable in modern society."

'Offensive' poster banned on Tube

London Underground (LU) has been accused of censorship after refusing to put up posters for a comedy show. LU said adverts for the show Pride and Prejudice and Niggas by African-American comedian Reginald D Hunter were 'likely to offend'."

Goodbye to the Sultan's Elephant

The Sultan's Elephant making its way from Piccadilly to Horse Guards Parade

Just got back from seeing the last bits of the Sultan's Elephant on Pall Mall, The Mall and Horse Guards Parade.

It was quite surreal to see, among other things, the huge mechanical pachyderm saunter by the Crimean War Memorial while spraying the crowds with water from its trunk.

It all ended with the elephant seeing the Little Girl back into her rocket - it fired up and reopened to reveal her vanished into thin air...

The Verneans have landed

A mysterious rocket has landed on Waterloo Place...

Went along to Pall Mall and Waterloo Place yesterday after work to see part of the ongoing Sultan's Elephant performance, manifesting in sites around central London until tomorrow evening.

Nantes-based artists Royal de Luxe are using giant street puppetry to tell a fantastic tale inspired by the imaginings of Jules Verne.

They succeeded in creating a truly magical space in the capital yesterday, inspiring childlike enchantment from many of its more usually cynical inhabitants (a trait of ours to which the endlessly ludicrous and deeply pathetic David Blaine can attest).

A Guardian article today includes some of the more amusing responses from passers-by and spectators, while the BBC has a good in pictures feature.

The Musical of Musicals

I'm glad I went to the press night of The Musical of Musicals at Sound Theatre last Friday. Despite definitely NOT being a fan of stage musicals, I thought I'd go to support my friend, the show's producer (think Max Bialystock crossed with a Scottish Kenneth Williams).

I was incredibly relieved not to have to pretend to have enjoyed myself, so often the burden of the comp ticket junkie, as the whole thing was terribly clever and absolutely hilarious.

I think I only got around half the references (it affectionately parodies 5 musical writers, including Rodgers & Hammerstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Stephen Sondheim) but it was so skillfully done it didn't seem to make a difference.

It's only on until April 22, so with unashamed bias I thoroughly recommend getting tickets as soon as possible!!