Dear Reader
The thing about This Thing We’re In is that it seems a pandemic doesn’t make everyone come together in quite the way we want — or hope it would. As I’ve mentioned before, here in New York — like elsewhere — we’re asked to wear a mask when outside, yet there are still people who aren’t doing so. My fellow South African in New York Trevor Noah put it so well on The Daily Show when he pondered how wearing a mask for the safety of ourselves and others became so politicized. “Proud patriots, who say they would do anything for their country, don’t want to wear a mask,” he says. “But America is at war with the coronavirus. If you’re going outside without a mask on, well, then you’re fighting for the other side.” Also: “People say a mask makes it hard to breathe. You know what also makes it hard to breathe? Coronavirus.” I’ve really been enjoying how the late night show hosts have adapted to continue to do what they do best, just in a hoodie. We clearly still need them to call out the craziness around us.
Let’s get to it, then: today’s list of entertainment options for these times.
1. This one I’ve had on my calendar for a while. Nia Vardalos is reprising her role in Cheryl Strayed’s Tiny Beautiful Things for a live reading of the play, in honour of the Actors Fund. She also adapted the book for the stage, and the cast from previous runs in NY and LA will be part of it. 11am PST/ 2pm EST on Stars in the House.
2. Artist JR and director Darren Aronofsky will be in conversation on IG live 8pm Paris time/ 11am PST/2pm EST, as part of the Kourtrajmé School of Cinema (Ecole Kourtrajme).
3. Grammy-winning Fantastic Negrito continues the New York Guitar Festival with a performance that’s part of their online series, Reverend Gary Davis: In Search of the Harlem Street Singer. The fest invited a dozen of artists to explore the music of the blind blues musician Reverend Gary Davis, and Fantastic Negrito is up today!
4. The Dave Matthews Band has jumped on the archive concert bandwagon [insert lame joke drum sound here]. Each Wednesday they’ll be releasing a live show from the past. This week’s inaugural show is from a gig the band played last year in a place called Noblesville. 5pm PST / 8pm EST.
5. Over at the New York Abu Dhabi Arts Center, a snippet of the 27-hour Ritual Groove Music performance installation will be streamed on Facebook. Pianist/composer Nik Bärtsch (who collaborated with one of my favourite South African musicians, Neo Muyanga, earlier this year) led his acoustic quartet, Mobile, in the one-of-a-kind piece in 2016 — just over 6 hours of highlights will be shown today!
Thank you for reading, sharing and caring. Here’s another pic from my run yesterday. (All the pics I post at the top of each newsletter have come from my runs, so this really is In a New York Mile!)
Stay safe, stay sane
Your neighbour
Nadia