Public Performance

15 August 2010 @ 19.40

EDINBURGH FRINGE 2010

LISTINGS INFORMATION – GRAFFITI CLASSICS
Venue 150 @ EICC:

Tickets £12 (concessions £2 off)
Box Office: Venue 150 @ EICC: 08448 471 639 www.venue150.com / Fringe: 0131 226 0000 www.edfringe.com

16 August 2010 @ 19.40

26 November 2010 @ 20:30

ARRIGORRIAGA(Vizcaya).
SPAIN

27 November 2010 @ 22:30 h

SONSECA (Toledo).
SPAIN

17 December 2010 @ 20:30

TOLOSA (Guipúzcua).
SPAIN

18 December 2010 @ 22:30 h

OÑATE (Guipúzcoa).
SPAIN

19 December 2010 @ 20:30

AZUQUECA DE HENARES (Toledo).
SPAIN.

Graffiti Classics Musical Show Review

Everybody loves a good laugh and that’s just what you’ll get if you go to see these guys and gals, the Graffiti Classics show was brilliant, we laughed our socks off all the way through the entertainment.

We saw the group Graffiti Classics play in St Mathews Church in Skegness as their contribution to the...full review

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The original stand-up-falling-down string quartet's return to the Fringe might be subtitled "The Three Stooges" as two double-bass apprentices and a certain disgraced MP in the audience become the object of, respectively, a firing, a phone number request and a serenading in this fast-paced and entertaining show.

Classics here is an inclusive term, with Irish, Scottish, English and Russian folk favourites and even the Charlie Daniels Band's The Devil Went Down to Georgia joining Beethoven, Bach, Prokofiev and opera played and sung in various positions between sprinting, dancing and, apparently, sleeping. You may wonder on arrival why you're being given the words to Donald Whaur's Yer Troosers. I won't spoil the gag. It's as apt and timely as the kazoo finale to their unravelling Bolero.

The Herald. Pleasance Dome. August 12th, 2008

***

A wonderful feast of entertainment! Graffiti Classics are a string quartet like no other. There is the usual line up of two violins (Alice Pratley and Frances Grime), viola (Stephen Kennedy) and double bass (Cathal O'Duill). Accomplished musicians though they are, it is the fun and excitement they create that enthrals.

They draw on a variety of musical forms and they perform to the music. Thus, when they play folk tunes like the Sailor's Hornpipe, they do the dance. Their musical parodies and visual humour are both hilarious, particularly when the select music from opera and the classics. Towards the end, they drop the humour and change pace completely to play a lovely, lyrical Scottish air.

Their finale and ingenious encore leave the audience as they exit the auditorium with smiles and a warm, 'feel good' feeling. When they appeared two years ago, they just blew me away and I gave them 5 stars. This show is new and even better but I just have 5 stars to play with. See them if you can because they only have 9 dates this year.

***

Bowing Their Way Through Baroque, Romantic, Folk, Jazz And Gospel

Smoke floods the dark stage to the sound of thundering drums. A portentous voice intones that the audience will be elevated to the higher echelons of consciousness. The string quartet marches on, performing Holst's Jupiter on kazoos. Graffiti Classics mock the seriousness surrounding classical music with family friendly humour and audience participation. They jostle and bow their way through baroque, romantic, folk, jazz and gospel, pausing to fight each other for the spotlight. The musicianship is precise and impressive - the violinists astonish on the Romanian melody The Lark - and the gags move things at a rapid pace. This is the perfect introduction to classical: the tunes are familiar and, in spite of moments of tenderness, they keep the children laughing. The weaker parts here are the songs - none of the band has a strong voice for the resonance of folk and jazz - but these are brief interludes. The finale - an Irish song, dedicated to the departed father of the bassist - is poignant, but when they charge into the can-can for the encore, they dispel the melancholy and leave the crowd applauding furiously.

***

They may defy definition but are definitely worth seeing

They aren’t gypsy, they aren’t folk, they aren’t jazz, so what are they? To find out you will have to see them for yourself, but you can be sure that, in defying categorisation they have built immaculate music firmly into the mix.

You will be well rewarded by a medley of pure comedy, poignancy, thrilling virtuosity, and one of the sexiest blues voices I have ever had the pleasure of revelling in (Bertie Anderson, viola, whom the Daily Mail described as 'actually female'. I'll say...)

As well as the viola there are two further violins, the neat and most charming Alice Pratley and the dashing Bogdan Vacarescu, and a double bass played, if that is the right work, by Cathal O’Duill.

Cathal is a sort of Fozzy Bear without the ears, yet he is really the leader of the gang. If you only thought of bassists doing nothing but sawing away in the back row, you will be more than surprised at his ability to play the ponderous instrument while dancing around it, finishing up right underneath, like someone laid flat by a double bass falling from the sky.

It was a very hot night, so hot that the violins kept slipping from under the players jaw-clamps like fish out of the grasp.

No matter, the playing was thrilling, balletic, prolific, choreographed, whatever, and as accurate as William Tell’s arrow could ever have been.

See them for yourself but sadly you won’t be able to for a while since they’re off up to Embra and after that it's cruising in the Med.

The thought of the after-show parties takes the imagination to new heights.

***

Graffiti Classics Festival Highlights

A romp is probably the last thing you would put with classical music, and to some, inappropriate behaviour. This family-friendly, over the top quartet dramatise old classics and favourites from Romania to Ireland. A bit whacky in places, but serious in others, when a blues standard made an appearance, these four carved up the floor with their stringed instruments and bursting enthusiasm. Whether they sang, can-canned, or fooled around, they were sure to have the audience play a part, resulting making sure that any classical music-related snobbery was left at the door. A fantastic way to introduce young uns to classical music, and a chance to have a laugh in places you previously dared not to.

***

Lunch With The Hamiltons

"The Perrier Jouet Award for Tickling the Hamiltons' Fancy"!

www.one4Review.com

A simply wonderful show. This string quartet can sing, dance and do comedy but the basis of their act is that they are all accomplished musicians.

The range of music they can play is remarkable, from jigs to Mozart. Songs they perform range from gospel to folk. They received tremendous audience participation - clapping, singing and a bit of banter with the Irish bass player.

Amongst the many highlights, I particularly enjoyed was the frustration expressed by the viola player when she found herself alone on stage. The violinists can show off their 'flying fingers' even the bass player can get more attention. When the rest ganged up on her, as she started into a really heavy piece of Hindemith, who could not sympathise with her.

Graffiti Classics is the kind of act an audience wants more than one encore. If they are back next year, this would be one musical treat I would not want to miss.

Christine Hamilton, Performer

Life has been a whirl since Neil and I arrived in Edinburgh. We are leading a student existence in a jolly little flat. We have washing hanging on a rail in the sitting room, and somehow it just seems right to chuck back the duvet and leave the bed unmade all day. We’re having a second honeymoon!

With 10 shows under our belt and a lot of hard partying, we’re a bit knackered but having a ball. There’s a terrific atmosphere and a real camaraderie among the performers, regardless of what they’re doing, or how big or small their venue or reputation. We love the showbiz life, and we’ve made some splendid new friends.

We didn’t know what kind of reception we would get from audiences, so we agreed to go for a small venue, the Pleasance Dome. It can hold about 180, and I’m happy to say that we’ve sold out every day. Each show is completely different, and our three guests are always an interesting mix. There’s no script, so it tends to be somewhat anarchic: Neil describes it as a cross between Newsnight and Hi-De-Hi! He’s right, but the emphasis is heavily on the latter.

We haven’t yet managed to see a fraction of the show on our list, but here are our recommendations to date: Graffiti Classics, four brilliant musicians with a glorious sense of humour and great comedic twist; Lies Have Been Told, Philip York’s tour de force as Robert Maxwell; the Caesar Twins, a mesmerising physical display, beautifully choreographed with great wit Reginald D Hunter, who hold the stage for a hilarious hour that challenges and provokes and Ella Meet Marilyn, Rain Pryor and Sally Lindsay are terrific as Fitzgerald and Monroe.

***

The Times Newspaper, The Edinburgh Festival (18th August 2005)

On the Fringe, a dazzling foursome called Graffiti Classics has been packing them in at the Pleasance Dome. They are basically a string quartet, with double bass replacing cello. But that classification doesn't begin to describe their quick fire concoction of dancing, singing and clowning, all done while they also get their virtuosic fingers around a repertoire running from madrigals and Mozart to tango - and even a can-can.

The humour is one-dimensional and heavily dependent on the mordantly mournful Irish bassist. And it sometimes flags. Even so, the show would be a wonderful antidote for those who think that classical music is as staid as stained-glass. Instead of signing up yet more third-rate stand-up comics, the legion of TV executives currently cherry-picking on the Fringe ought to give Graffiti Classics a chance.

***

Daily Mail, 10th August 2005

Take two pretty girls on viola and violin; add a blisteringly hot fiddle player dressed like a humbug in a striped teddy boy suit with co-respondent shoes; throw in an Irish primate of the lower order, double bass: and you have Graffiti Classics, the most sensational string quartet on the Fringe.

Bertie Anderson, who is actually female, Alice Pratley, Bogdan Vacarescu and Cathal O'Duill combine superb classical music skills with inventive comedy and relentless dance energy.

From Cossack dance to can-can, they caper their way through the popular classics, from Strauss to Bizet into Irish folk and Jewish bar mitzvah music.

With sharp and lethal bows flashing through the air, the choreography has to be spot on - one careless Hava Nagila could leave the primate wearing a Moshe Dyan eye-patch. Instead, he jigs wildly around his bass like a leprechaun in a gorilla suit, without ever losing total command of the instrument.

For extra measure, Pratley sings a haunting rendition of Irish folk classic The Parting Glass, while the skirt-swishing, fan-fluttering Anderson doubles as a sultry torch singer, burning up on It Ain't Necessarily So.

Vacarescu’s glissando is so slippery cool it's red hot - with such talent, he can be forgiven the suit. I'd write more, but the primate ran into the audience and confiscated my notebook. I can't rid my mind of the image of him playing the Pizzicato Polka with the bass tucked crosswise under his chin - God knows, I've tried.

***

Enfield Independent, 8th June 2005

"Quartet With A Difference" - Graffiti Classics Summer Extravaganza, Windmill Lane, Arkley.

They have performed in front of royalty at Kensington Palace (although they were not allowed to reveal to whom). They have performed for the Rockefellers and the Kennedys. They have just come back from a world tour. Now they perform for Barnet and Enfield residents.

Graffiti Classics are a string quartet with a difference. They are two violins, a viola and a double bass, but they also dance and sing while playing. "It's a very interactive comedy show", says double bass player Cathal O'Duill. "The show was originally conceived for children, but the adults liked it just as much as the children."

The classically-trained musicians, Cathal O'Duill, Alice Pratley, Bogdan Vacarescu and Bertie Anderson, who lives in Brent Cross, met during their holidays as students, busking at Covent Garden. Seven years later and they now perform their act all over the world, so much so that they come to hate airports.

"The budget airlines always try to make me pay excess luggage for my double bass."

What they lose in airport costs, they make up for in ticket sales. Catch them before they hit the Edinburgh Festival at this event to raise money for Cherry Lodge Cancer Care in Enfield.

***

Letter from Mary McAleese, President Of Ireland

"I would like to thank you and all the members from Graffiti Classics for your wonderful performance at the reception at Aras an Uachtaráin on Thursday, 18 September, 2003. I greatly appreciate the contribution you made to our event in terms of talent and time."

***

The Graffiti Classics i Arken for femte gang

Strykevkartetten fra London har besokt Arken hver sommer siden starten for fem år siden. Forste sommeren falt de pladask for sorlandsperlen og har siden satt Lillesand opp på turneplanen. De fire medlemmene er hver for seg fremragende individualister som sammen utover en slags ekstremsport med sitt virituose spill med dans og koreorgrafi.

På sorlandet har de fått mange beundrere. For to år siden utga Arken en CD med gruppa med Torbjorn Egers melodier. Dette var et sammarbeid med selskapet NAXOS og Dyreparken i Kristiansand. Noen as Egners melodier har siden gått inn i deres show og blitt tatt med jorda rundt på deres turneer.

De spiller to ganger på Arken i år, fredag formiddagmed familiekonser, og hovedkonserten lordag kveld.

***

Edfringe.com

Here's what the members of the public and press think about this one. If you do get to see it and agree or disagree please let us know by posting your opinion online. In the meantime, these pearls of wisdom (or otherwise!) should help you pick the right show.

***

Something happened in Porlock

When four ladies are walking down the main street in Porlock singing and juggling to the tune of Hava Nagila, then something has happened to put song in their hearts and spring in the steps!

That 'something' was a string quartet called Graffiti Classics who entertained a full and appreciative audience in Porlock Village Hall on Saturday night.

The group, two girls and two boys, led by Ireland's answer to the great, late Les Dawson, the double bass player, Cathal O'Duill, demonstrated a versatility with two violins and a viola that had every foot tapping and had clapping within minutes of the start of their very varied programme.

Whilst maintaining perfect notation, the humour and antics of the group, led by Cathal, had the audience falling off their seats with laughter. From the “lets get the boring bits over first, I've only got eight notes” in Pachelbel's Canon in D, with facial contortions that would have won a gurning competition, to the lively violins and haunting melodies of Irish folk songs, this young and talented group provided us with a wonderful selection of both instrumental and vocal music, memories of which will remain for a long time, and much of it accompanied by choreography that any circus clown would envy!

Graffiti Classics formed in 1997, whilst busking in Covent Garden, tour extensively in Ireland and England, on radio and TV are enthusiastic about the children's workshops which they run.

Congratulations to the Porlock Village Hall Management Committee in conjunction with Take Art! for finding and presenting such a memorable evening. The best £5 I have spent in the village for ages.

***

Classic start to festival encouraging Raw Talent

Manic musician Cathal O'Duill pulled a few strings to get Leicester's Raw Talent arts festival under way. Cathal, a member of string quartet Graffiti Classics, who are bringing their silly-but-serious approach to classical music to the festival, helped launch the event at Rolleston Junior School, Glen Parva.

The event, part of the National Streets Arts Festival, is unlocking the talents of up to 1,000 young people in a series of workshops at schools across Leicester and the county this week. [...]

***

This show was simply unforgettable

Connoisseurs of good music were in their elements at the fabulous Festival 2000 concert which was summed up in the title of one Nat King Cole classic: Unforgettable.

An appreciative audience, gathered in one of Nottingham's showpiece settings, found it hard to resist the charisma and humour of compere Andrew David, the combined talents of a 73-strong choir, and a remarkable string quartet. In fact, it was the latter Graffiti Classics - they began as four busking musicians in 1997 - who were the undoubted stars.

Alice Pratley (violin), Cathal O'Duill (double bass), Ben Smith (violin). Alison Dalglish (viola) simply mesmerised the audience - which included civic guests - with a repertoire that ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Cossack dance music, jazz classics, Strauss polkas and Proms favourites held no fears for these talented entertainers who performed standing, kneeling or lying down! [...]

***

Live Music Now! Wales

The thrill of live music has been brought to both the young and the elderly in a series of concerts. The Live Music Now! Wales foundation has been on tour sponsored by Manwel.

The week-long tour reached schools, colleges and older people's centres in several areas including Llandudno. Performances were given by the Graffiti Classics string quartet, who aim to educate, entertain and bring an understanding of music to all ages. In Llandudno the quartet held a session at Ysgol Gogarth.

***

Classic day for school pupils

Youngsters at Amotherby Community Primary School are well on the way to being hooked on classics following a musical workshop. The event involving players from Graffiti Classics, was intended to be exciting, fun and educational. Bob Audsley, headteacher at the school near Malton, said: "We don't get many double bass players in school, so the children were very interested. At one point he was playing it lying on the ground, with the double bass lying on top of him."

He said the London-based string quartet, which also includes a viola player and two violinists, performed a number of familiar tunes. "They got one or two children up to partake as well. The children thoroughly enjoyed it, and found it extremely entertaining." Mr Audsley said: "They were touring Ryedale courtesy of the Pied Piped Project, which does lots of good work bringing music into schools."

The week-long Graffiti Classics tour also took in primary schools in Terrington, Foston, Sand Hutton, Norton, Pickering, Slingsby, Rosedale Abbey and Gillamoor.

***

Playing for Queen Mum

Graffiti Classics string quartet is giving a concert at St Mary's Church, Fanham, on Saturday August 5 as part of a festival weekend to celebrate the Queen Mother's 100th birthday.

The foursome got together in 1997, after meeting while busking in London's Covent Garden. Their performances are aimed at bringing interactive involvement and understanding to audiences of all ages.

They have toured in the Republic of Ireland, appeared numerous times on television and radio - including The Late, Late Show and in Dublin carried out education workshops and appeared annually at the Baboro Festival.

In July last year, they gave their Prom debut at St David's Hall, Cardiff, for the Welsh Proms.

***

Stunt-strykere på Eg(n)ertorget

Torbjorn Egners melodier har vi hort i utallige ganger, nå persenteres de for forste gang for strykekvartett og Norges-debuten foregikk på Eg(n)er-torget i Oslo i går.

Det er kvartetten Graffiti Classics fra London som har arrangert materialet for fire strykere og fremforer det på sin helt spesielle måte. De gjogler og spiller seg gjennom de kjente melodiene med masse humor og spilleglede. Denne måtten å formidle musikk på er blitt deres varemerke, når de trunerer gjor de det samme med Back, Vivaldi eller sigoynermusikk. De reiser rundt på de britiske oyer som profesjonelle musikkformidlere, sælig rettet mot skolebarn og har rtviklet sin helt spesielle presentasjonsmåte som tydelig fenget de forbipasserende på torget.

Kvartetten består av Fiona Griffith (bratsj), Bogdan Vacarescu og Alice Pratley (fiolin) og Cathal O'Duill (bass). Det var Ivar Skippervold som introduserte dem for Egners melodier og for tiden donserterer de i Norge med dette programmet.

***

Spiller Egner strykende

Egner har to linjer, som repeteres hele tiden i de forskjellig sangene. For å få folk til å holde ut en hel sang, måtte vi lage vårt eget arrangement, forklarer Cathal O'Duill, ire på kontrabass. [...]

***

Taking music to the schools

Renowned musician Yehudi Menuhin set up Live Music Now to bring music to the young and old across the country. And this week a string quartet with a difference, Graffiti Classics performed at schools, colleges and old people's centres in a special tour sponsored by Manweb.

Stewart Saunders, Manweb's managing director, said: "Manweb had developed an excellent parnership with Live Music Now. The Musicians are able to interact with their audiences of all ages and abilities and their work really does make a difference."

As part of their tour, quartet Graffiti Classics played a Ysgol Hafod Lon, Ysgol y Ffor, Ysgol Pendlar, Caernarfon, and at the Celtic Royal Hotel, in association with Age Concern.

Alice Pratley of Graffiti Classics said: "Live Music Now gives young musicians the chance to perform as well as hopefully bringing a little entertainment to children in special schools and the elderly."

***

From big bands to jumping jazz...

A young string quartet with a vibrant take on classical music comes to Thirsk this weekend. London quartet Graffiti Classics performs the usual classical staple with all the movement and energy of a rock band. "Everything we do is choreographed," said viola player Miss Alison Dalglish. "It is musically sound with a lot of humour and light-hearted entertainment thrown in. "People often thing, 'Oh God, Classical music, no thinks,' but when they make the effort to come along and see us they are very surprised."

The quartet had even ditched the traditional cello for a double bass to allow more freedom of movement. "We have a double bass instead of a cello because a cellist would have to sit down," said Miss Dalglish. "Our double bass player jumps around all over the place and we even play one number lying flat on our backs!"

The group is currently involved in Live Music Now, the charity that sends musicians into special needs schools to work with youngsters. This week the quartet has visited schools across North Yorkshire including the Dales school in Morton on Swale on Tuesday.

The trip is a homecoming of Miss Dalglish, whose parents live in Boltby near Thirsk. "It's not very often that we get to come up here so I love it when I get the chance. It's always great to come home," she said.

Graffiti Classics give a free performance at White Rose book shop in Thirst on Sunday from 4pm, followed by a full concert at St Mary's church at 8pm.

***