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Lee James Broadwood's website, home to the London-based interdisciplinary artist's work, services, and publications. LEE JAMES BROADWOOD Interdisciplinary Artist: Live Performance and Creative Media About Me Audiovisual Content Live Performances Written Content My Website Highlights Poetry Anthology my most recent publication, now available for purchase! More Info Order Today

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This mesmerising anthology is divided into four categories, each demonstrating the versatility and art of the poet: LOVE AND ROMANCE, MELANCHOLIA, FANTASY AND INTRIGUE, and DARK. MORE INFO VIEW EXCERPTS ORDER NOW Only £15.99 - Ebook Version Coming Soon! About Book ABOUT THE BOOK The works included in this collection provide the reader with powerful and visceral vignettes to celebrate the beauty of life and of imagination and to appreciate our fragile safety from ubiquitous dangers and pains. Some poems are tributes to the serene and the romantic, whose magic is often overlooked in our fast-paced and sterile world; others sensationalise the horrors so commonplace to our homes and streets that their alienation reveals their truly harrowing and insidious reality. Fictional in nature, these poems are presented alongside eleven special poems dedicated to the poet’s beloveds. PARTIAL EXCERPTS Extracts 'Riverboat Island' Bobbing on a riverboat, hand in hand, heart in heart, for an island far from here, the bold lovebirds depart. Written in the ripples thin, vows eternal, vows of love. Constellations spell their names, behind the moonlit clouds above. 'Firefly' I know you hear me whilst I cry. Hush, my twinkling firefly. I am here, and all is fine, my gentle shimmer, my nightly shine. I know you watch me whilst I pray; worry not your wings away, for I am here, and all is fine. No need to fear, my butterfly. ‘I No Longer Love You’ 'Lauren Taylor' Sunset heart. I used to love you, but now, you’re my eclipse. I prise my soul from your spirit; my kisses, from your lips. Once bewitched by the glints within your eyes and homesick for your chest, I remove your impression from my pillow, and, from my heart, the rest. Violet blush, and silent lips, brunette hair, eyes opaline, hollow skin, and fading gaze, sapphires where carmine had been, Lauren Taylor, aged fourteen, found Bradley Flynn and in deep love fell, warmed by his dulcet passion-words, soothed by his voice of caramel. Extract: ‘Duchess’ Red wine turned to crimson for the powders in their fists, the dukes, ever gallant, must escort this duchess home tonight, in such a state as this. But the poor, little duke who should choose this victim, little does he know… our duchess is a murderess— as his luck should go… Extract: ‘Nectar’ Thawing nectar on my lips, let this not be our last kiss. Hold me tightly, close to you. Feel one rhythm beat again from two. Sugar sweeter once before, show me love awaits once more behind this kiss of honey blue. Soaked my skin in saccharin, glazed his love-yous with black lies, lulled my butterflies to sleep, and with blue nectar bound my eyes. 'Labour' Bleach-white walls, and freezing room. They gather around my bed. Electric shock. Jolt. Convulse. No life within it yet. Regulated ventilation. Coffin made of glass. Death-kissed body crimson. And the wait’s over— at last. CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR PERSONAL COPY TODAY SEE ALSO Click on a title below to see more information, excerpts, and purchasing options. THE EXPLOSA SERIES Visit My Bookstore

The Live Performance Mentor Analyses MAN IN THE MIRROR, Golders Green Hippodrome, London. Man in the Mirror is an excellent performance with striking visuals and enjoyable choreography. Particularly exceptional is the makeup, which captured Michael Jackson’s likeness superbly and was longevous, though fading slightly at the midway-point of the performance. A wonderful array of Michael Jackson’s songs are included, sweeping through his various eras, which are each reflected well in set, video and costume design [though I would have liked even more variety from this latter]. Whilst the function of audience interactivity could be improved upon, performer "CJ" himself has excellent grounded presence, corporeal awareness and exudes [vocalised] respect for his work, which is commendable. Choreography is sharp and intentional, certainly reminiscent of Michael Jackson’s performances with distinct movements calling from his dance repertoire. Costume has also been chosen well to complement movement — as well as aesthetic. Ensemble synchronicity could be improved, however, across all the dancers, and whilst the Stage-Right side of the band are vitalised and demonstrative, the Stage-Left side seem less enthused in their facial and bodily expressivity, which compromises Upstage activity significantly. CJ’s wife stands out as exemplary for her lip-syncing abilities; I would urge the other dancers to note how she locks her head into position when lip-syncing towards a microphone on a stand. Without this locking in, it is clear that the backing vocals are not coming from the onstage performers, as the dancers’ mouths are nowhere near the correct position for sound to be picked up. Still with regard to choreography: in particular, with the original ‘Thriller’ having so iconic a choreography, heavily culturally studied and, most significantly, a collective work, it was quite disappointing to see how unstructured this rendition was and that CJ spent most of the song alone, pacing back and forth on the stage, repeating the same, relatively simple movements. A quicker costume change here or a rearrangement of titles would ease this — I see no reason, for example, why this song could not have followed ‘Billie Jean’. On the topic of ‘Billie Jean’’s choreography itself, small hiccups are sometimes negligible, but I would urge CJ to further rehearse placing the suitcase down upon the stool, as its dropping off compromised an otherwise deliberate and tension-driven overture for this song. Beyond this, for CJ himself, his movements are precise throughout, if a little underperformed [I imagine from the regular over-repetition of these throughout his career]. My top two major concerns for this performance are CJ’s diction and [a venue-specific issue] technical issues. Particularly when performing higher-note titles, words are often completely lost, but this is redeemed by excellent vocal control and faultless energy as well as by an exceptional recreation of Michael Jackson’s familiar vocal isms: his percussive breaths, exclamations, yelps, etc. Technical issues here refer solely to the volume of the microphones. Sound was heavily distorted by the lavalier microphones, whereby the opening song, in particular, was much too loud and clipped, which was a shame, considering how sleek the visuals, band music and choreography were. Sound quality was greatly improved by the later use of handheld microphones, though the lavaliers did improve as the show went on. My next major concern is one of cultural appropriation: to observe the white dancers come out wearing headscarves and performing movements of prayer and supplication, exultation and rejoicing, is significantly inappropriate and ought to be reworked. Whilst the objective here was noble and well-intentioned, the result is not to contemporise the song’s meaning and to call for peace and justice in modern times but to play dress-up as a particular sociocultural profile within the context of family entertainment. I urge this be reconsidered. I would really urge CJ not to refer to himself as a Michael Jackson impersonator [especially so repeatedly]. Whilst his dedicatory messages about continuing Michael Jackson’s legacy and the significance behind Michael Jackson's work as ‘the world’s best entertainer’, as he put it, the effect of this is equally a complete destruction of illusion. Knowing full well that this is not truly Michael Jackson, a recognition only exacerbated by the horrific history of his death, and so already having to suspend our disbelief, it is counter-productive to go through such trouble to develop/learn the choreography, dedicate this performance to him, appear like him, sound like him, and then communicate ‘this is all artifice’. These dedicatory messages, which appear to be central to CJ's work and so need to be included, could be communicated via projections in text form, which would separate them from the world of the stage, or [still not a personal favourite but much better] at the end of the performance, instead of regularly throughout. Overall, an incredibly enjoyable performance whose video and lighting design complement its dynamism and refinement. Judging by the advertisements alone: of all other Entertainers shows, this is, by far far far , the best of those on offer. This private analysis has been publicised as per the request of the creatives. To discover the difference between public and private analyses, please click here . Request a Performance Analysis To request your own (public or  private) analysis, please click the button below. -

The Live Performance Mentor Analyses STALLED: THE MUSICAL, The King's Head Theatre, London. I have really mixed feelings about this performance, notably due to the significant shift in emotional truth, authenticity and performance style that occurs at the midway point. Suddenly, there is a clever clashing climax in the stories of the characters — but chiefly in those of Cynthia (Josie Benson) and Emma (Grace Venus), and Maggie (Lauren Ward). Indeed, I even observe that the performers themselves could connect much more deeply with their characters in the latter part of the performance too, with a definite increase in conviction and credibility. Before this shift, material certainly feels rushed and indecisive, favouring fast pace, caricature and humour over character depth and development. With a performance like this presenting such varied characters and their stories, a certain reliance often arises upon cliché and caricature — to prevent an audience from losing track and to communicate information quickly and clearly. This is certainly the case for this performance which quite routinely feels commercial and stilted — especially in choreography. However, when the text does really dedicate some well-needed time to each of the characters, that aforementioned [positive] shift occurs, and the material is far more fruitful. Whilst depictions of autism, for instance, remain quite stereotypical and somewhat superficial, it is the interactions between the characters that really serve as its major selling point. Ward portrays her character with a truly commendable accuracy and with conviction, dedication and understanding. Her work here has the potential to be truly very moving [as it certainly was for me]. And this goes hand in hand with an effective character portrayal of grief and bereavement in the text itself. Whilst elements and techniques surrounding this portrayal are very predictable and hence somewhat inefficacious — that Rebecca-Jo Roberts should be the ghost of her daughter, Robin, for example, lingering to give her advice from beyond the grave — Maggie's stagnancy, in particular, is very well communicated and most effective, along with her fixations and poetic-vs-absent relationship to her own grief. Character voices are extremely well differentiated, pairing well with the overall cast's excellent portrayals. I would just pay attention to how the characters truly relate to and progress the overarching themes and narrative of the text. Namely, Krystal's (Regina Co) and Serena's (Evita Khrime) stories are distinctly different — both in written content and in their portrayal in performance — only loosely related to the main narrative by the themes of loss and motherhood. On the topic of Serena, the incorporation of spoken word convolutes performance style quite significantly and, simply, dilutes the material in its repetitiveness and esotericism; the spoken word work in this performance is simply quite weak and needs to be reconsidered. There were quite a number of technical difficulties for the particular matinée I attended — lavalier microphones not working, unsynchronised lighting transitions, etc. — and these certainly ought to be addressed. Also, realism would certainly have been achieved with working spray bottles, mobile phones that are actually switched on and displaying something relevant, and [most of all] working taps. Mime has no place in a performance with such elaborate theatrical properties like this one; it is most destructive of illusion where very simple solutions may be conceived and allows for a stylistic inconsistency [toilet rolls, hand tissues, bins, cubicles, hand lotions…but no running water]. This is a play set in a public toilet, after all; running water should be a must in its design. This premium public analysis ends here. A further analysis may be requested (see below). [Further Analysis] For the Creatives Behind this Performance: Additional Notes Are Available on… Please contact Lee James Broadwood via contact@leejamesbroadwood.com Premium and private analyses are deliverable within 48 hours of their request. Request a Performance Analysis This public analysis was produced at the request of the creatives behind this performance. To request your own (public or  private) analysis, please click the button below. -

The Live Performance Mentor Analyses BEFORE I DIE, The Cavendish Arms, London . There is a certain clunky disorganisation to this performance which could be successful in a different, more deliberate context, but it serves here as this performance’s major downfall. Firstly, there is a semantic confusion with the purporterd form of the performance: cabaret. I can certainly understand the attractively pompous and extravagant connotation of a ‘cabaret’, and the cosy-lounge and fourth-wall-breaking style, that all together led to using the term as a descriptor of this performance, but this performance is certainly not a cabaret but a simple medley concert, especially given that the vast majority of this work is performed sitting down. Thus, from the very beginning, we have a misleading title and promotional material. Secondly, the very purpose of this performance is communicated differently at the very beginning vs throughout: is it to create one’s own artistic opportunities because there are so few out there, is it to look good for an Arts Council application, or is it to secure an artist’s visa? Lastly, we have the consistent performance-based mishaps upon which I shall elaborate below.  These significant concerns remain such without a noteworthy degree of irony: we must feel that the performers are describing themselves and their work ironically ; that the work is of high-quality and is deliberate , well structured, clever and refined; and that the mishaps and misuses are pre-determined and rehearsed aspects of the performance, serving only to accentuate the integrity of the work. When we have faltering vocals, forgotten lyrics, stumbles over set pieces, missed cues, etc., and this is not ironic , it is easy as an audience member [with no internal familiarity with the performers] to feel cheated of one's money and time. It is easy to feel that the performers are, indeed, just ticking a box for a funding application or doing the bare minimum to evidence the propriety of their stay. [NB: This is the impression, of course — an inoffensive reading and not truly evidenced as the reality.] There are some very tender moments in this performance where emotionality pairs well with refined and controlled vocals, most notably in Kelsey Marlowe Jessup's parts. The desire to include and interact heavily with the audience is also a good direction for this performance, though this feels indecisive in the first segment, and so there is too extreme a shift when we are invited to sing ‘When I Grow Up’ in the second [a section of participation that really ought to be a lot shorter, I may add]. The underlying concept, regardless of its articulation and form, is most inviting as well, but this is certainly overclouded by inconsistencies in reason and delivery. For Kira Gaudynski , I would really recommend singing in a lower register, especially as currently there is an over-reliance upon the head voice, which causes notes to either falter with a strain of the vocal cords or to be projected nasally — both most common to this performance, where pitch has been prioritised over tone. I would also pay attention to note accuracy, as there is often an inaccuracy of a half- or whole step, and there is a particular tendency for control to falter when scaling up abruptly seven whole steps or higher. For Marlowe Jessup , some very strong vocals at times; I would just be wary of the overuse of vibrato and the control over notes leading up to and succeeding its usage, which are often quite shaky. To sustain the note and introduce vibrato further into the notes at the end of verses would have a greater, punchier effect and would demonstrate further control. This standard public analysis ends here. A premium analysis may be requested (see below). [Premium Analysis] For the Creatives Behind this Performance: Additional Notes Are Available on… Performance Styles: Significant Clash Between the Two Performers. Onstage Personae and Their Communications. Structuring Narrative Work and Autobiographical Material. Incorporation of the Pianist. Use of Space: Topography, Use of Properties and Choreography. Audience Participation: Agency and Invitations. Backstage Etiquette. Premium analyses are delivered privately and are deliverable within 48 hours of their request. Request a Performance Analysis This standard public analysis was produced at the request of the creatives behind this performance. To request your own (public or  private) analysis, please click the button below. -

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