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Edition number 7 September 2014

The Corner Shop PR & Marketing, 36 Great Queen Street, London WC2B 5AAT 020 7831 7657 F 020 7831 3596 www.thecornershoppr.com

Reading is a solitary experience, and although this is one of its greatest virtues, there is something

wonderful about finding out that someone you know has just read the same book as you, so you can have a good old natter about it. Having said that, book clubs – like informal English seminars without the exam at end – present interesting challenges.

Ours has a democratic selection process – we take it in turns to choose the books. What’s interesting is how this individual act illicits individual responses – we disagree about what we’ve read almost as much as we agree. The book club gives voice to points of view that are not the same as those we have ruminated on whilst enjoying the solitary act of reading. We can articulate a response that would not otherwise be said aloud. There’s discussion, theory, opinion and interpretation – conversation about things other than the every day takes place, verbally. But before I make it sound like the dullest hour you could spend after a hard day’s work, part of the enjoyment is also that you will almost certainly end up reading

Edict is an object of printed art’. A free magazine launched in May this year by Photographer

perou, Edict encompasses all the things we love about print, images and editorial. On the one hand these elements constitute our bread and butter, they are sustenance to our profession. And yet, with the chips falling ever more heavily on the side of digital media, magazines have taken on another form. Collectible, treasurable and utterly tactile, they feel expensive (and often are). More often than not they rely on advertising to exist. And yet, Edict has managed to nourish our souls without

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The Corner Shop Book Club

books you might not otherwise read. Or else revisit something you thought would be left on the shelf for ever, having read it once many years ago. We are only four books in and already the variety of literary choices is probably not the list of books any of us intended to read before Book Club. We began with Stoner by John Williams. This was followed by Dave Eggers’ The Circle. Evelyn Waugh’s Vile Bodies came after that and Mrs Dalloway is next. Rock and Roll it ain’t, but the effects can be similarly stimulating and a bit healthier for the brain. CC

‘THERE’S TOO MUCH OF EVERYTHING, HERE’S SOME MORE’

selling its own. Its manifesto is to attract interesting contributors, revered specialists in their field, to big-up their heroes and the things they love. It’s entirely subjective of course, but it works on many levels. You learn about the contributor, you learn about the thing or person they have chosen, and you see the chemistry of this combination laid out with such exquisite design and illustration that you find it difficult to separate one component from the other. The number of outlets stocking Edict is growing, find your copy www.facebook.com/edictmagazine CC

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CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY 1ST BIRTHDAY PARTY

The Corner Shop Events was honoured to manage the celebrations for Charlie and the

Chocolate Factory’s first birthday. Held in the Palm Court and Adelphi Suite at the Waldorf Hilton Hotel on Aldwych, 650 guests were welcomed to mark the new musical’s first year in London’s glittering West End.

Wonka himself would have been proud as there were sweets galore, including giant lollipops and candy canes, and sweet trees made with fizzy flying saucers. The party food menu, created by the hotel’s own Head Chef, comprised mini versions of hamburgers, pizzas, sausages, fish and chips, and hot dogs, perfect with the wine and beer on offer.

Inspired by Charlie Bucket’s favourite Wonka bar, Whipple Scrumptious Fudge Delight, the bespoke cupcakes were created by the Laura Kate Designer Cake Boutique, based in Welwyn, Hertfordshire. The chocolate delights had a fudge brownie centre and were topped with a marshmallow frosting and covered in edible glitter. The themed lighting (including ‘W’s on the ceiling) was designed by Elliot Griggs, with sound and production by Ed Borgnis and Simon Hendry.

Towards the end of the evening, the dance floor was the place to be, with DJ Matt Terris hitting all the right notes. The children from the cast proved that they are a force to be reckoned with, showing off their impressive dance moves.

As the guests left, laden with balloons, bags of sweets and cakes, we wished them a safe onward journey. Hopefully some of them got to experience the glass elevator…

Happy Birthday Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! HS

For details of events services and all enquiries visit thecornershoppr.com/events or email hannah@thecornershoppr.com

QUIZ NIGHTDo you know anywhere that has a good Pub Quiz

night in central London?’ Two months ago our answer to that question would have been ‘Come to think of it, no.’ So, on 28 May, The Corner Shop held its first Quiz Night in the Oak Room at The Hospital. Dipping our toes into the waters of Quiz, we realised there is demand out there. The event quickly sold out and we had to turn teams away at the virtual door. We were up-front about the cultural bias of the quiz (this is the West End after all), but topics varied enough to make the not insignificant quota of non thespians comfortable that they were making a decent contribution to proceedings. 12 teams of 5 or less fought the good fight and there could only be one winner. Now it’s nearly time for a rematch. Make sure you book a place for your team good and early, the date is Monday 6th October. We’ll see you there. CC

For bookings and enquiries email hannah@thecornershoppr.com

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Recent Events

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Monobox LibraryTHE MONO BOX 

For many actors the quest to find a “good monologue” is an ongoing drama. When you have

only 2 minutes to convince a panel of your acting skill, your audition speech can be both the reason for your success and an excuse for failure.  I remember when I first applied for drama school I felt incredibly lost. I sat on the bookshop floor furiously skimming the plays that had interesting titles for long extracts of text. I could not afford to buy plays on the off chance they would contain my killer speech; Watford Public Library could only offer a half-chewed copy of Top Girls, and my English teacher’s advice was to remove a Complete Works from its position as a doorstop in her office because she believed, “there might be some stuff in that.” This gross understatement showed that I could not do this alone. I needed some help; I needed someone confident, experienced and interested. That, or to miraculously become Judi Dench.  Years down the line, now working as a movement director, I’ve experienced many actors who could have done with a little more help before auditions, and through conversations with actor Joan Iyiola we realised that there is little guidance for actors just starting out or support for jobbing professionals. Acting can be a solitary business so we decided to start an event where we could help actors find interesting plays, introduce them to new writers and help them discover classical playwrights in one shared event.  So together in late 2012 we started writing to industry professionals we admired asking them what play they would recommend an aspiring actor to read. Now – nearly two years on – we have a collection of over 750 plays personally chosen, inscribed and donated by some of our favourite actors, playwrights, directors and publishers, including Tom Hiddleston, Joanna Lumley, Michael Sheen, Juliet Stevenson, Caryl Churchill, Alan Bennett, Ian Rickson and Simon Stephens. Recommended by professionals who know what it takes to give a good audition, The Mono Box is a diverse, living, breathing archive of plays, not just another collection of monologues. The goal has always been to make this unique collection available to actors on a regular basis at little expense. Since our launch in October 2012 we

have held 27 events from Speech Surgeries and Play Browsing sessions to workshops and industry Q&As.  Physically we have helped 748 actors, and digitally we have reached 2,458 members. We have delivered play-reading workshops for NSDF, performance skills for Arts & Business and collaborated with The Actors Centre, Old Vic New Voices and the National Youth Theatre on both its Playing Up course for NEETs, and its Epic Stages professional development programme to introduce young actors to modern playwrights and classic texts.

The Mono Box has undoubtedly become a go-to place for actors struggling to find an appropriate audition speech as well as for those who need some extra guidance and those who just want to keep on top of their game. Polly Bennet. www.themonobox.co.uk

A SPACE FOR OUR BOX

With our growing reputation and ever-increasing play collection, we are now in a position where The

Mono Box needs its own space. Presently we lug the plays around London in Perspex boxes. The demand is such that we are constantly on the move.  Ideally we would like a permanent space to house our collection with walls for bookshelves around a space for people to read and try scenes out in. A room, if you will.

If you are interested in us, happen to have a space lying around and want to help us maintain this project, we would love to hear from you.  Email Polly and Joan at hello@themonobox.co.uk

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CC: I was interested to read that your career started in PR in Liverpool? Can you tell us about what you did and how you found it and then what made you change direction?

LF: I didn’t go to University and fell into PR and I was fortunate to move to Liverpool at a very exciting time for the city. It was just in the process of launching its bid for Capital of Culture. They say you can always tell the success of a city by the amount of cranes, and there were lots of lots of cranes and building work, lots of regeneration. I set up a small PR company which took off in its way and was great. I used to write a regular column for the Liverpool Daily Post. Very embarrassing, it was called ‘Lady Lucy on the town’, but it had a following and it was fun. It was a fantastically vibrant city and I loved it. I miss it. As I fell into PR, I fell into theatre really. It was by chance. I had come back to London because my mother had become very ill, and I didn’t work while I was looking after her. I was going mad, crawling the walls not having a job and I needed something that was close to the hospital and would keep me occupied so I started working at Hampstead Theatre. Which was a fantastic and extraordinary experience. My life became very theatre involved.

CC: So the PR you were doing up in Liverpool, was that culture related or was that completely different?

LF: It was less culture. It was more property and leisure. Theatre was actually a very new world for me but one I absolutely loved from the outset. There was a fantastic family atmosphere at Hampstead. I spent 5 years there. When I was there, Hampstead had just moved into its new building so it was going through a real transition. It was inspiring. Their education work was extraordinary, I’ll never forget the impact that it had on the kids.

CC: And then moving on to Regent’s Park, how different was it for you?

LF: It was a completely different environment, aside from the fact that it was outdoors. I worked very much on building their backstage area and to move their offices onto the theatre site. The Open Air Theatre has been there for such a long time, it is

such an institution, but in terms of fundraising it was reasonably untapped. I relished that challenge. Even now when I go to the OAT it never ceases to wow me. That special moment when the natural light is fading and the theatre lights come up, a little bit of magic happens. So yes, a very happy time there.

CC: Moving into fundraising at both Hampstead and Regent’s Park with a different set of objectives and goals, it must feel like you invest lots of yourself personally in those kinds of roles. Do you maintain relationships with places. What makes you move on?

LF: In terms of fundraising I think it is important to move on, otherwise you get donor fatigue. The thing that I love and think is very important about fundraising is those relationships you build up with the people you are raising money for and people who are donating to you. I have been very fortunate and have made some extraordinary friends over the years, through what I do. And I suppose what I do has become who I am.

CC: St James Theatre is an entirely different prospect as a new build. Was that an irresistible opportunity?

LF: Yes absolutely. An old friend of mine said he would be opening a brand new theatre and asked if I would like to be involved. To be involved from scratch in opening a theatre in the heart of London was something that doesn’t happen. It has been the most extraordinary, special journey. I was involved in the project from when the theatre was a complete building site, none of it existed, so seeing it coming together over the year has been amazing. I still find it very exciting almost 2 years on. We turned two this month (September). I love watching people coming in and taking ownership of the building. It is incredibly fulfilling. It’s the first newly built theatre complex in Central London for 30 years. So a real achievement

CC: You’ve done a bit of producing as well. Is that an avenue you would like to explore more?

LF: That was a very rewarding experience. That was very much to do with the First World War charity that I have set up, Never Such Innocence. I wanted to make sure from the outset that it was something

IN CONVERSATION WITH: Lady Lucy French

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very theatrical. I wanted to bring something to life and that really happened at the launch evenings at Australia House. It was extraordinary, our director Nick Hutchinson did the most remarkable job, the actors were unbelievable given they had such little rehearsal time. It was just a real thrill creating something that really was so moving and so poignant. We performed it over two nights to over 400 people and there really wasn’t a dry eye in the house. So yes I have absolutely got that bug.

CC: You mentioned the social column you wrote in Liverpool. That’s an interesting juxtaposition working in PR and being something of a journalist. How did you balance the two of them?

LF: I would use the term journalist very loosely. The column just seemed to work, it was hardly high journalism. I used to go from party to party to party taking photographs and writing about it all, so it was an absolutely fantastic job, I adored it. It was great fun and I actually did that for a little while when I moved back to London, at the Ham & High. That was Lady Lucy at Large. It was a sort of formula that seemed to work and I hope people enjoyed it. Once in Liverpool was when I was walking down the main street and there were some builders on some scaffolding they shouted out ‘there goes our Lady Lucy from The Daily Post’ and I thought ‘wow, that’s it, I’ve made it.’ That was great!

CC: Were you wearing a hat at the time?

LF: Yes

CC: So this is something of a trademark?

LF: Yes, for that particular column, during that period I wore a lot of Stetson type hats. So yes, I was quite recognisable. The hat thing is fairly significant in my life.

CC: How does a theatre survive without public money?

LF: It’s incredibly tricky. St James Theatre receives absolutely no subsidy at all, so all money comes from box office sales, sponsorship and general fundraising. So far we’ve been incredibly fortunate, we’ve had some fantastic supporters, sponsors, investors with a vision who wanted t o make the place a success. In terms of programming, we do a mixture of producing, co-producing and receiving, which very much balances our books and we’re making it work. So far to date, we’ve been completely sold out in 2014 which is fantastic.

CC: Then there’s the venue hire side of things, is that an important part of the economy?

LF: Essentially the building needs to be busy from first thing in the morning to the last thing at night and that’s the way it works. It’s getting as many people using the space as possible. There are lots of opportunities, we’ve done AGMs and product launches and book signings, a multitude of things and with the multimedia aspect of the theatre, we can do an awful lot.

CC: Do you see those people from other worlds coming in to use it for their own purposes as potential supporters of the artistic side of the building?

LF: Yes, and I think people love coming in and using it corporately, because it’s a theatre, because it breaks the boundaries of corporate environments which are generally quite stuffy. I think once they’re here they love it and they want to come back and see a play or go to see comedy or get involved a little bit. So yes, I think it’s a fantastic tool for us.

CC What’s next for you? How far in the future can you see from your position?

LF: Right at the moment I’m expecting a baby, so that’s as far as I’m seeing right at the moment

CC: Congratulations!

LF: Thank you. Very exciting / nerve wrecking. So that’s my next project but the theatre is continuing to go from strength to strength really. We’re working on some very exciting programming so the future is looking very positive. Never Such Innocence has really taken off in a very big way so it’s very exciting, lots of potential. So yes, I think the future’s busy.www.stjamestheatre.co.ukwww.neversuchinnocence.com

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The Fragrance Lab was a partnership between Selfridges and The Future Laboratory that

explored the future of in-store retailing. It created an environment where customers’ habits, preferences and tastes, as well as their physical interaction with objects in a space and different environments could be used to develop a personalised service or product.

A compelling alternative to the screen-based activity of online shopping, where the browser is removed from the merchandise, in Fragrance Lab the consumer’s physical presence informed the alchemy of the fragrance to offer a more meaningful ‘shopping’ experience.

The concept store was transformed into The Wonder Room – a series of sensorial chambers that guided the customer through an exploration of the outer reaches of scent. The individual’s interactions in the spaces indicated preferences that informed the final product presented to them.

Perfume choice reflects so many aspects of our personality. Scent says so much about us. So it makes total ‘sense’ the choice we make should not only be based on our response to a variety of stimuli but also that when that choice is made there is something not just chemical involved, but something of discovery. A little bit of algebra that means we made a choice based on who we are, not on who other people are and who advertisers tell us we want to be. It’s empowering and it smells like gene spirit. In a good way.

www.thefuturelaboratory.com

FRAGRANCE LABRetail as Theatre

Hilary Fayle – A Stitch UpHilary Fayle is an artist who has a very particular

schtik. Her art form is not painting, nor really is it sculpture. She takes nature and adds craft to create a thing of such idiosyncratic beauty that it is difficult to define. She starts with a leaf, she cuts out an area of it, and she embroiders an intricate pattern in the space she has created. A perfectly formed intricate pattern in coloured twine that leaves one scratching one’s head as to how such a delicate form can survive the process. The photos of her hand stitched creations possibly do them more justice than the finished objects themselves can convey, so small and fragile are they, that you cannot be sure the object could withstand your gaze. Unlike most objects of desire, it is difficult to know what you would do with them and, indeed how they can possibly stand the test of time without withering and, ultimately, dying. Their transience is one of the things that makes them special. Have a careful look for yourself at http://hillaryfayle.wordpress.com/lovestitching. CC

THINGS WE LIKE

Shreds

Many’s the singer whose survival depends on auto tune. Hitting notes with the aid of this

technological device has been made a virtue of by so many so-called vocal artists from Cher to Kanye West and back again. The effect of auto tune is transparent, the correction of pitch treats the voice like an electronic instrument and tells tales out of school that can, for the most part, be celebrated. But should singers be allowed to get away with it, and can this correctional facility be put to less virtuous use? The answer is a resounding ‘yes’. Shreds have taken live performances that managed without auto tune and auto un-tuned them. Hilarity ensues. Our favourite of the bunch is a Kenny Gee / Michael Bolton duet of How Am I Supposed To Live Without You?. The notes are ever so slightly off piste. The saxophone solos would make a real, atonally-partial jazz player proud. It’s one of those things that you either get, or you don’t, and we won’t judge you either way, but give it a go and before you know it you’ll be enjoying Shred takes of all-comers including One Direction, Celine Dion, Snoop Dogg and Kings of Leon. In some cases it could be deemed unfair, but either way, their talents are most definitely musical and no one is safe. Google ‘Kenny Gee Shreds’ and you’ll find it. Enjoy. CC

Stitch work by Hilary Fayle

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Art & The Wine LabelThe most frequent guilty admission I hear from

wine buyers is not that they secretly like Black Tower (with sales of 14 million bottles last year, they are not alone), but that they often buy wine based purely on the label. This is not necessarily a bad way of doing things; if a winery didn’t make the effort to design a good label, it may well also follow that they have not taken all the trouble they can in creating a good wine.

As with many other factors concerning the context of wine (who you drink it with, what you eat it with, how much you paid etc), the aesthetic of the label does have an influence on how the wine will taste. By selecting a label that is aesthetically pleasing, I believe it prepares you to enjoy the wine a little bit more. Wines have always tried to stand out in order to get people to buy them in the first place as well as to remember them afterward. This has led to the use of wine label as art, or art as wine label.

In the former category, the leading light is probably Sine Qua Non from California. All labels are designed and made by owner/winemaker, Manfred Krankl.

3 wines from SQN (below): Turn The Whole Thing Upside Down, Imposter McCoy and my favourite, 17th Nail in My Cranium.

THE CORNER SHOP BLOG

Dürer’s Rhinoceros

Montevertine, one of the truly great Tuscan estates, commissioned the artist Alberto Manfredi to do their original label of their top wine, Le Pergole Torte, in 1982 and they have used his work ever since. See the full gallery at: http://www.montevertine.it/en/gallery_pergole.php

This Barbaresco from La Spinetta features Dürer’s Rhinoceros. The reason? None, other than owner Giorgio Rivetti’s love of the artist.

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Christmas jumper effort) have made them stand out on the shelves and seen them rise back up to the figure I quoted earlier.

Still, the proof will always be in the pudding, and if consumers don’t like what they taste, they’re unlikely to return for another bottle.

Wine, like art, is something that needs to be experienced. The labels, as attractive as they may be, will only take you so far. I’ll leave you with the thoughts of one of the featured artists, Balthus. Before a retrospective of his work at Tate in 1968, the gallery received this note:NO BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS. BEGIN: BALTHUS IS A PAINTER OF WHOM NOTHING IS KNOWN. NOW LET US LOOK AT THE PICTURES. REGARDS. B.

Ben Murray

With thanks to Laura Vickers forsource material relating to Black Tower.

But the undisputed champion of the art label is Chateau Mouton Rothschild, who, in 1945, began commissioning artists to design each year’s label. The artists for these include Cocteau, Dali, Miro, Chagall, Kandinsky, Picasso (1973 – the only posthumous label), Francis Bacon and Prince Charles… The complete set, up to 2011, can be viewed at http://www.theartistlabels.com/

They were also involved in the most famous case of wine-art censorship. In 1993, Mouton’s label was designed by Balthus and featured a reclining nymphet, which was rejected by the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Instead, a blank space was left where the drawing should be.

Of course, when you charge several hundred pounds for a bottle, you can afford to be creative.

Which brings me back to Black Tower. From record sales in the 1980s, they slumped massively through the 90s, owing to the emergence of affordable New World wines. However, since 2010 their interesting bottle designs (including this rather fetching

Mouton’s Censored Label - Left : US Label, Far Left : Rest of the World

The Corner Shop PR & Marketing, 36 Great Queen Street, London WC2B 5AAT 020 7831 7657 F 020 7831 3596 www.thecornershoppr.com

Contributers: CC: Clair Chamberlain, Marketing Director at The Corner Shop; HS: Hannah Schmitz: General Manager and Head of Events at The Corner Shop

Polly Bennet is a movement director and choreographer and is also co-founder and director of The Mono Box www.pollybennettmovement.com/Ben Murray is an expert in fine wine retail currently working for Hedonism Wines in Mayfair http://hedonism.co.uk/