Author Archives: Paul Crabtree

My mother was horrified by The Beatles’ I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1964.) She felt that the song’s overly forward message heralded a downturn in decorum and general civility. The repetitive panting of the lyrics and the explosive tribal yodeling was a far cry from the songs of … Continue reading →

Robert Tressell’s novel The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, published posthumously in 1914, has become a recommended text for initiates into the Socialist movement. It is a dispiriting text in need of a good editor. The plot is episodic and disconnected, the characters don’t develop … Continue reading →

This week’s suicide of Lutterworth teenager Hannah Smith is tragic and incomprehensible. Seeking solace and advice online for a common teenage skin condition, she was verbally hounded and bullied by anonymous contributors to the site Ask.fm to the point where she took … Continue reading →

In the 50s, 60s, and 70s American corporations and manufacturers commissioned reputable and successful composers (such as Kander and Ebb, who also wrote Cabaret) to write large-scale Broadway-style musicals that would energize the sales force. These Industrial Musicals were fully staged and … Continue reading →

What makes an audience? What motivates people to buy a ticket? What influences their decisions? Answer this with any degree of certainty and a job in the Audience Development Department of a major arts organization can be yours. Ask a performer … Continue reading →

Two verses of Hillaire Belloc’s satirical verse The Garden Party deftly satirize how class distinction is expressed. The scene would be an expansive lawn in view of a splendid English manor house, thrown open to the locals (by invitation) for an afternoon … Continue reading →

In America, celebrity can get you anywhere. It can even win you the Presidency. Most importantly, it can maneuver you to a position in front of the microphone ahead of the other guys. The media turn to celebrities to offer … Continue reading →