Empty Room rescratched

Saturday 2nd June 2018
Battersea Arts Centre, London
 

I made the trip up to London with Dave and Libby to catch the latest iteration of my friend Miriam's one-woman-show-in-development Empty Room which is based on her family experience (her father was the cult tenor sax prodigy Sal Nistico, her mother is the jazz singer Rachel Gould, and she grew up on the road with them, very much immersed in the European jazz world). The show had moved along considerably since last time, with a whole new section inspired by her teenage obsession with Shostakovich. I was especially impressed by the way she played her dad (she plays her adult self, teenage self and both parents), fast-talking in bebop rhythms. On top of that she plays violin and sings some of her mum's original songs. Altogether wonderful. Here's a glowing review of the finished show later in the summer (which sadly I couldn't get to).

Here's some classic footage of SN when he was the golden boy in Woody Herman's big band the Thundering Herd:

Juliet came along too and was profoundly moved by the show, read it at subtle levels that had escaped me, typically. Afterwards we went back to flat in Streatham where she was living with Timmy and Dave (both former UKC Psychedelic Society presidents), listened to some Sal Nistico and a lot of ambient hiphop. Mostly we talked psychoanalysis (which Timmy is training in). Dave was there briefly, then disappeared to go and watch Nick Cave and Patti Smith play in Victoria Park (he came back happy, but disappointed that Patti's brief set hadn't included "Dancing Barefoot").