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A local production captures the spirit of a Shakespearean comedy.

WHETHER performed in 1613 or 2013, some of William Shakespeare’s plays still make us laugh.

Suggest a Shakespeare play, and most people will have images of long soliloquies, high-browed humour, and men prancing around in tights, reciting dialogues in Elizabethan English.

However, the Bard does not have the best reputation nowadays. To many literature students and theatre audiences, the thought of being “Shakespeared” is an unpleasant experience, a long ordeal in pretension, boredom and irrelevance.

This is a crying shame as Shakespeare wrote for the enjoyment of the masses. His plays, after all, contain some of the most beautiful language ever written, as well as themes and humour capable of being enjoyed by all.

The recent production of The Merry Wives Of Windsor, performed by local theatre group Shakespeare Demystified at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac) was a good reminder of that. A stripped-down, Reader’s Digest version of Shakespeare, the show was a delight to watch, a non-stop laugh riot of crazy antics, clever wordplay, and cross-dressing.

The play starred Qahar Aqilah, Sandee Chew, Marina Tan, Lim Soon Heng and Lim Kien Lee, as well as guest actors Anne James and David Lim. The production had no director – the ensemble cast directed one another.

The duration of the play was also considerably trimmed down from its original three hours to 90 minutes, with a narrator included to ease scene transition. (The play’s original script however, was retained, with only occasional words changed.)

Gone, therefore, is the romantic subplot between Anne Page and Master Fenton, as well as characters such as Doctor Caius, Sir Hugh Evans and Shallow. Instead, the play focused entirely on the fat knight Sir John Falstaff, and his exploits in wooing the clever and lively Mistress Ford (who together with her friend Mistress Paige, are the titular “merry wives”.)

Having previously done heavier plays like Julius Caesar and The Merchant Of Venice, Shakespeare Demystified is now turning its attention to comedies instead, and is proving to be just as adept at handling them.

The Merry Wives Of Windsor is one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known comedies, jokingly said to be left off most school reading lists due to it being “too much fun”. This local production effectively captured the play’s raucous spirit, with the actors’ energetic performances sending audiences into fits of laughter.

What was good about the production was how accessible the humour was – whether it was slapstick, bawdy innuendo, or sly wordplay, much of the wit in The Merry Wives Of Windsor could have been successfully transplanted into a modern romantic comedy without being out of place.

Acting was generally well done. James did well as Mistress Quickly, managing to make an impression despite a relatively smaller role, and David was good as the Servant, although his enunciation was not always easy to make out. Soon Heng as Master Ford was occasionally over the top, while Kien Lee put up a good show as Master Paige.

Chew and Tan shone as the merry wives. The two had good chemistry and performed many of their hilarious lines with great aplomb – it was difficult not to want to cheer when these tricksters hatch their ridiculous schemes.

The role of Falstaff is always tricky to play, but Qahar did a great job of doing so. Donning a fat suit, Qahar effectively portrayed his character as pompous but lovable, a man who thinks the world of himself despite others laughing at him behind his back. One particularly hilarious scene was when Falstaff complained about being thrown into the river Thames, with Qahar’s wonderful delivery of the line: “You may know by my size, that I have a kind of alacrity in sinking.”

The narration felt organic, too. Cast members cracked jokes, streamlined events, and explained obscure concepts in a simple yet interesting manner which really helped flesh out the world of The Merry Wives Of Windsor.

Let’s dance: British indie outfit Delphic, featuring (from left) Rick Boardman, Matthew Cocksedge and James Cook, will be firing up the Upfront series in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow.

IS there such a thing as a Manchester sound these days? Of all the much storied British music scenes, the legacy of the post punk, indie and rock scene from Manchester, England has transcended several generations, with music fans – young and old – still buzzed about the legacies of Factory Records, Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths, the “Madchester” bands and the more mainstream triumphs of Oasis in the 1990s.

The pressure to escape the Manchester textbook when it comes to music must be difficult. Or do newer bands from that rainy day city subscribe to its past music legacies?

“It’s not so much a ‘sound’ anymore because that disappeared with the growth of the Internet and every genre being readily available to anyone,” said frontman James Cook, from the indie electro outfit Delphic, hailing from Stockport, which is a town just outside the Manchester city centre.

Delphic plays a gig at The Bee, Publika in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow as part of the venue’s Upfront live series.

“But it’s definitely the legacy and the mindset of the people from Manchester that affect local bands and artistes,” he added in an email interview.

In terms of music, Delphic’s debut Acolyte in 2010 was a love letter to Factory Records, but the group has broadened its sound on its new album Collections, released in January.

Collections, sees the band leaving the brooding, monochromatic mood of Acolyte, and trying out electro pop flourishes, vocal harmonies and even the odd stab at R&B and hip hop.

“We wanted to make it clear that just because we are three guys who play guitars and keyboards, we don’t have to stick to the usual template forced on bands. If you listen to other genres of music, such as R&B and jazz, and start reflecting that in your music, you’re going to sound like a mish-mash of styles.”

Cook maintained that Delphic is at a career stage where the music genre lines are being blurred, and it is vital to keep moving ahead.

“We feel that is how new genres and new things that interest our ears can be found.”

Part of the reason for this evolution was because the style reflected in the group’s debut has become so saturated in popular music. The excitement was gone. For the new record, the idea was to add more texture to the music, namely recording with a more varied set of instruments and even using other musicians where necessary.

“We’ve taken the important step away from looking at ourselves as a band because that has too many limitations,” added Cook.

“Instead, we are viewing Delphic as more of a production team.”

With such a career profile acquired so quickly, comes the expectation that Delphic is a special act, which is why fans of the group here are anticipating a riot of a show tomorrow.

“Some of the best shows we’ve done have been in small clubs, and some of the worst shows can be in front of huge uninterested festival crowds,” said Cook before issuing a rallying call to Delphic’s fans in these parts.

He also wants to learn “some Malay” to connect with the masses.

“It all relies on the audience, we urge you to dance, sing the words back to us if you know them and put your hands in the air! We’ll all have a great night when this happens.”

> Upfront presents Delphic at The Bee, Publika, Kuala L:umpur tomorrow at 8pm. Tickets cost RM148. This gig is above-18 only. For bookings, call 03-6201 8577 or visit thebee.com.my. Email: bees@thebee.com.my.

True school rocker: Wings frontman Awie cranking up the volume at the band’s Rockestra concert series at Istana Budaya, which ends tonight.

Local rock institution Wings rolled back the years with a high-octane performance at Istana Budaya – albeit with a twist.

IT’S been 27 years and 17 albums since Klang Valley-raised hard rock act Wings soared into our lives and the quartet shows no signs of slowing down, as evidenced in its latest concert series – Wings Rockestra.

The concert series at Istana Budaya, which ends tonight, is a culmination of three months of hard work, detailed planning and renewed passion, before the eagerly-awaited release of the band’s latest album, Menakluk Kosmos.

And judging by the 1,500-strong turnout at Istana Budaya last Thursday, the concert promised non-stop, rock-out entertainment and some surprises. The band was complemented by the 43-piece National Symphony Orchestra (NSO), led by Mustafa Fuzer Nawi.

Wings drummer Black, despite his svelte frame, was a force of nature on the drums.

With an expansive 20-song setlist (21 if you include two guitar solos), including evergreen hits such as Misteri Mimpi Syakilla, Taman Rashidah Utama, Opera Hidup and Sejati, the concert presented the band with an opportunity to revisit its vast catalogue and dust off some rare, live gems such as Dari Tuhan, Kota Kemusnahan, Amok, Alam Barzakh, and Awang Trasher.

The quartet, decked in suits that wouldn’t look out of place in a fashion magazine, made a stylish entrance as it emerged from beneath the stage. They kicked off the show with Amok, a foot-stomping, riff-heavy number. The orchestra gamely matched the tempo of the band – some of the musicians were smiling as they fiddled and strummed away with gusto. A few numbers on, sections of the crowd was seen headbanging to the lush soundscape.

The heavier numbers such as Ameringgo, Alam Barzakh and Awang Trasher were perfectly suited to the orchestral accompaniment. The orchestra beefed up the original melodies, making them sound fuller and heavier. The musical production was good – every instrument had a clean and clear sound. From where the writer was seated, the intimate settings enhanced the acoustics of the hall.

On the contrary, some fans seated at the back of the hall complained that the sound was muted, especially during the power-packed classics.

Wings guitarist Joe making his presence felt against the string section at the Rockestra concerts.

Awie, 45, who was at his visceral best during the heavier numbers, displayed a softer side during Sayap Illusi, as he effortlessly switched gears from the hard to the heartfelt. As the consummate showman, Awie was humourous and affable throughout, as he put the crowd at ease in their seats.

Midway through, came the surprise in the shape of guitar virtuoso Hillary Ang and Indonesian rock legend, Ian Antono. And with guitarist Joe, 44, who is also the concert’s musical director, the three amigos served up a serve-and-volley rendition comparable to G3 (Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Eric Johnson). Antono made an immediate impression when he jammed the first bluesy number with his eyes practically closed.

Economical in movement, Ang let his guitar do the talking throughout, as he rocked with the band right to the very last number. Joe’s erstwhile riffing and cajoling of the six-string had the crowd lapping up to every lick, from the soulful to the searing.

The hard-hitting style of drummer Black, 47, was best captured in Ameringgo, the heaviest number of the night. He smiled and pounded away without a care in the world for two-and-a-half hours, leaving the majority of the audience in awe. Bassist Eddie, 45, matched Black beat-for-beat, powering the band’s rhythmic formation on, as he plucked away in his usual cool manner.

And as the unlikely marriage of rock and opera draws to a close today, the Wings boys would have been glad that they have nailed it with tantalising triumph.

> Limited tickets are available for Wings Rockestra’s final show at Istana Budaya in Kuala Lumpur tonight. Call 012-298 8446 / 017-652 8423 / 03-4026 5555 for details. Browse: ticket2u.biz.

The Danish actor cooks up an interesting character with Hannibal.

IT took a good two hours before producer Bryan Fuller could convince actor Mads Mikkelsen to star as the notorious serial killer, Dr Hannibal Lecter, in the new TV series Hannibal. The Danish actor was hesitant only because, to him, the character had already been portrayed to perfection by British actor Sir Anthony Hopkins.

“I was very concerned. Why would I repeat something that has been made to perfection already? But Bryan Fuller gave me the script and explained his vision to me for two to three hours, and he convinced me that we would be doing something totally different. So, I agreed. But I was very reluctant, at first,” says Mikkelsen in a telephone interview from South Africa where he is shooting a Western called Salvation.

The series is a prequel to Thomas Harris’ novels and the five films which the books inspired. In Fuller’s Hannibal, Dr Lecter has not yet been incarcerated. His identity as the terrifying, cannibalistic serial killer is still a secret and the other characters on the show know him only as a successful psychiatrist.

When the series begins, Dr Lecter is recruited by the FBI to help Will Graham, a troubled consulting FBI profiler, work through some issues. Graham’s problem is his ability to empathise with the killers he profiles: he visits a crime scene and is able to see exactly what happened and, worse still, he is able to get inside the mind of the killer.

Portraying the back story of Lecter is tricky – the audience already know exactly who Lecter is and what he is capable of. The secret is already out, so how can Fuller possibly portray Lecter as anything other than a monster?

It was this aspect of the show and the character that appealed to 47-year-old Mikkelsen.

“What we are doing is something else. We are starting before he is in jail. He is a man out in the real world who has to make real friends and behave, to a certain degree, normal,” the actor says.

One major difference is that in the movies and the books, Lecter was already incarcerated and therefore, he was entrapped. In the series, he is a free man. This, explains Mikkelsen, will give the TV viewers a chance to see a different side of Lecter.

Though he hasn’t had the opportunity to meet Hopkins, Mikkelsen is aware of the one tip his predecessor had for him on playing the formidable character.

“He gave me one word of advice and that is not to play him (Lecter) evil. I totally agree because everything Lecter does is quite evil so there is no need to add to that. It was good advice,” he says.

Would he want to meet Hopkins?

“Oh, yes! I would love to have a conversation with Anthony Hopkins, whether it is about Hanibal or not. In fact, I think I may prefer not to talk about Hanibal with him,” he says with a laugh.

Mikkelsen finds it interesting and “joyful” to play the part of Hannibal Lecter the ruthless serial killer.

“I have in mind a theory that he is a fallen angel. He is as close to the devil as anyone can be. He has no specific reason for doing what he does except that he sees the beauty in death.

“The thing about Hannibal is that he is not a character who has deep troubles or even a dark mind. He is a very happy man. He enjoys life. Every day is a new and wonderful day for him. What he does is grotesque but, in his mind, it’s a beautiful day. He is kind of a happy character to play, actually,” he adds.

Because of the different circumstances in which the television series is set, it is quite safe to say that Mikkelsen’s version will stand apart from his predecessors (other than Hopkins, Lecter was also played by Scottish actor Brian Cox in the 1986 film Manhunter).

However, Mikkelsen is acutely aware that he will be scrutinised for his interpretation of the character but is certain that he can and will make the character completely his own. In an interview with The Telegraph recently, he intimated that copying the past would be “certain death”.

Having said that, Mikkelsen points out that some aspects of the character, however, will inevitably be the same.

“The character is the character. We can’t change that. He loves fine arts. He loves food. Everything banal, he hates. And he wears a three-piece suit. For that reason, we can’t detach ourselves totally (from how he has been portrayed),” he reasons.

Mikkelsen is also pleased to be working with Fuller, whom he describes as “brilliant”.

“He is probably the most energetic man I have ever worked with. He wants (to have) his hand on everything. He is just a brilliant, brilliant man and we should be thanking God every day that he ended up being a writer,” he says.

Prior to Hannibal, Mikkelsen won praise for playing the villain Le Chiffre in the 2006 James Bond movie Casino Royale. Playing a baddie, however, isn’t something the actor consciously chooses.

“Apparently, in American films, I am very much the bad guy,” he says with a laugh. “But back home in Denmark, I have played a variety of roles … a family man, a drug dealer, a man falsely accused of paedophilia. I agree to do a role if I find it interesting. And if they cast me as a villain again, I will do it if it is interesting,” he says.

> Hannibal airs every Tuesday at 10pm on AXN (Astro Ch 701) and AXN HD (Astro B.yond Ch 721).

IT goes without saying, Hannibal Lecter is a foodie.

Well, that is, if you don’t take into consideration the ingredients he uses in the preparation of his divine meals belong in the morgue rather than in his well-stocked fridge.

The title character (Mads Mikkelsen) in Hannibal is often seen cooking an elaborate dish for himself and, sometimes, a guest. What his unsuspecting guests don’t realise is when Hannibal says he loves to have them for dinner, he means it literally.

For food stylist Janice Poon, the chance to create fake human organs for the show was just too delicious to say no to. In a telephone conversation with Poon who lives in Toronto, Canada – where Hannibal is also filmed – she shared that, creatively, she is allowed to be as imaginative as she wants on the show. “You can push the idea as far as you want. Nobody is going to say that it’s over-the-top, or it’s too gruesome.”

She details her culinary adventure for Hannibal on her entertaining blog (janicepoonart.blogspot.ca) – complete with illustrations, photos and actual recipes. From the blog, you will discover that she calls her nephew (a sports medicine intern) and niece (a physiotherapist) to get ideas on how to replicate a dish that Hannibal makes out of a girl’s thigh, for instance.

According to Poon, her family members don’t think her questions are weird because they are all adventerous when it comes to food. “We are championship eaters and we are all avid cooks. I think, in many ways, because we have a Chinese background, we basically (eat) anything if you can make it into food,” she said with a laugh.

On the show, whenever Hannibal is cooking, real organs are used – “organs of pigs are almost exactly the same size and configuration as humans” – but when the actors are eating, Poon uses “a lot of bread, potatoes and glutinous rice flour” to replace them.

Sometimes, using real meat is not an option as it cannot be kept at room temperature for a long period of time, especially since a scene may be filmed a dozen times. “I have to give them something manageable, something easy to chew and nothing that would stick to their teeth and nothing too spicy.”

Poon added that although each dish has its difficulty, the hardest thing she has had to prepare for the show so far is tongues. “Hannibal was feeding his guest what he said were lamb’s tongues.

“Hannibal is, of course, always lying about what he is serving his guest. I didn’t want to serve lamb’s tongue because it is too small. I wanted them to look like children’s tongues. I just thought the actors didn’t want to eat (lamb’s tongue) bite after bite after bite – cutting that tongue tip every time.

“So I made fake tongues out of bulgar (wheat) mixture to get that bumpy quality. But I had to form each one by hand and I had to estimate how many tongues I needed for a two-and-a-half page script. I made 60 of these tongues, steaming three at a time. Honestly, I was very lucky. If they had done one more take, then I would’ve been in trouble.”

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Almost four years after his shocking death, the bizarre life and sorry demise of Michael Jackson will play out again in a US$40 billion civil trial that pits the singer's family against the organizers of a musical comeback that never happened.

Opening statements are set for Monday in what is expected to be an emotional, three-month long jury trial that seeks to hold AEG Live, the promoters of the never-realized series of 2009 London concerts, liable for the wrongful death of the Thriller singer.

The lawsuit, brought by Jackson's elderly mother Katherine on behalf of the singer's three children, alleges that privately-held AEG Live was negligent in hiring the physician convicted in 2011 of his involuntary manslaughter to care for the singer while he rehearsed for the series of 50 shows.

Jackson, 50, drowning in debt and seeking to rebuild a reputation damaged by his 2005 trial and acquittal on child molestation charges, died in Los Angeles of an overdose of the powerful surgical anesthetic propofol and a cocktail of other sedatives in June 2009.

His personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, is serving a four-year prison sentence after being found criminally negligent by administering propofol to Jackson as a sleep aid.

Murray's six-week trial in 2011 portrayed the former child star known for his stunning dance moves and spectacular public performances as a slurring, drugged-up man off-stage who slept with a toy doll on his bed and whose planned comeback tour was plagued with problems.

The civil trial in Los Angeles is expected to be just as sensational, although a request by TV networks for live coverage was turned down.

AEG Live contends that it did not hire or supervise Murray and claims that Jackson had prescription drug problems for years before entering into any agreement for the This is It London concerts.

The concert promoters also argue that they could not have foreseen that Murray posed a danger to Jackson.

SEX ABUSE TRIAL MAY BE REVISITED

Los Angeles Superior Court judge Yvette Palazuelos ruled last month that AEG Live can raise Jackson's 2005 child abuse case as it may be relevant to the singer's history of prescription drug abuse and despondency.

Jackson's two oldest children, Prince, 16 and Paris, 15, are on the witness list this time, although neither testified in Murray's trial. Singers Prince and Diana Ross are also potential witnesses along with the singer's ex-wives, Lisa-Marie Presley and Debbie Rowe.

"Any time you start injecting family members and rather sensitive issues (into the mix), there are going to be strong feelings," former federal prosecutor Marcellus McRae told Reuters.

Murray is not being sued but is also on the witness list, although he has made clear from jail that he will refuse to answer questions for fear of jeopardizing his appeal process.

McRae, now a trial lawyer with Los Angeles firm Gibson Dunn, said that while the criminal trial focused heavily on medical and scientific evidence - including a defense theory that Jackson gave himself the fatal dose of propofol - the jury in the civil case has a very different task.

"The jurors are going to be asked to decide to what extent a third party can be held liable for the actions of someone else.

"To what extent did they (AEG Live) have visibility into what Dr. Murray was doing, did they encourage what he was doing? To what extent was whatever Dr. Murray did a reasonable and foreseeable consequence," McRae said.

Katherine Jackson, 82, and her son's three children are seeking some US$40 billion in damages from AEG Live for loss of the singer's earnings and other damages.

AEG Live has argued in court papers that the figure is absurd because Jackson's career was in a downward spiral at the time of his death.

The final amount will be determined by the jury should it hold AEG Live liable for negligence.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - South Korean rapper and Internet sensation Psy was honored as a transcultural phenomenon by the Tribeca Film Festival on Friday along with a host of other luminaries ranging from choreographer Twyla Tharp to controversial media host Glenn Beck.

"Who knew, right?" Psy said as he was presented his Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award. "Giving me this award in itself is innovation, I think."

Referring to his sudden worldwide fame both on and off the Internet, where his videos have racked up more than one billion views on YouTube, Psy said, "I still cannot believe what happened right now."

"I'm still figuring out the reason for this happening like this," he said, noting that he had been working in music in his native South Korea for over a decade.

The Disruptive Innovation Awards honor those whose ideas have broken the mold to create significant impact.

"In our fourth installment, we are exploring the ever-increasing gap between the rate of technological change and the bumpier, slower-moving cultural adoption and diffusion," said Craig Hatkoff, a festival co-founder and the awards' chief curator.

Wearing a black suit and stylish white dress shirt, Psy, known for his megahit Gangnam Style as well as his energetic and flamboyant performances, charmed the audience with self-effacing remarks offered in rather halting English.

"I don't want to say this but, it's kind of embarrassing, but ... maybe, am I handsome?" The audience expressed its approval with cheers and applause.

The awards were presented at New York University, marking a homecoming of sorts for Psy, whose real name is Park Jae-sang.

"I applied to this school in 1996, but I failed. What a success," he said. "Finally, I entered this building this morning."

Other recipients of the Disruptive Innovation Awards included Beck, a conservative television and radio commentator, fashion designer Norma Kamali, Chobani yogurt mogul Hamdi Ulukaya, music and film entrepreneur Peter Shapiro and Forbes Media, in addition to Tharp who received a lifetime achievement award.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Quentin Tarantino's violent slavery revenge fantasy Django Unchained will be released in China in May, its U.S. distributors said on Friday, and a Hollywood source said additional cuts had been made after Chinese authorities halted the film's initial rollout this month.

The movie was pulled from theaters in China minutes into its debut screenings on April 11 for "technical reasons," according to a Shanghai movie theater official.

The Chinese government censors all movies before they can be released. Scenes that contain nudity, politically sensitive issues, as well as extreme levels of violence, must be edited out before the film receives a go-ahead from the authorities.

"We are delighted that audiences throughout China will be able to experience Django Unchained beginning Sunday, May 12th. There is tremendous excitement, anticipation and awareness for the film and we thank the local authorities for quickly resolving this issue," Columbia Pictures said in a statement.

Columbia declined to comment on what changes, if any, had been made or why the movie, the first work by Tarantino to be shown in the increasingly important Chinese film market, was pulled from movie theaters in China earlier this month.

Anticipation was high for the April opening of Django because of reports that it would have only minor cuts by Chinese censors, despite Tarantino's reputation for violence.

When its was pulled from movie theaters, Chinese media quoted industry insiders as saying the cancellation was probably due to some nudity that may have escaped initial attention.

A Hollywood source close to the film said on Friday that additional cuts had been made for the newly approved Chinese version but declined to elaborate on what they were.

The film stars Jamie Foxx as a slave-turned-bounty-hunter who wreaks revenge on slave plantation owners while on a mission to free his wife. It features Tarantino's trademark style of extensive graphic violence, along with dark humor, and in one scene Foxx's character is strung upside down wearing only a skimpy cloth.

China has become the largest international market for Hollywood films, with its box office takings for U.S. films growing by 36 percent in 2012, according to a Motion Picture Association of America report in March.

Django Unchained won two Oscars in February for Christoph Waltz's supporting actor turn as a dentist who became a bounty hunter, and for Tarantino's screenplay.

LONDON (Reuters) - Helen Mirren was crowned best actress at Britain's top theatre awards on Sunday for reprising her Oscar-winning portrayal of Queen Elizabeth, while a play about a boy with autism was the night's top winner, taking home seven Olivier prizes.

Mirren, 67, has won stellar reviews for starring in The Audience, Peter Morgan's play about the private weekly meetings between the queen and the 12 British prime ministers during the six decades of her reign.

Mirren (pic) is no stranger to royalty having won an Academy award, a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA, one of the UK's most prestigious entertainment honours, for the same role in the 2006 film The Queen that was also written by Morgan.

The actress said the monarch deserved an Olivier, Britain's equivalent of Broadway's Tonys, after receiving an honorary BAFTA this month for supporting the film and TV industry.

The queen, 87, demonstrated her support for the film industry last year when she starred with actor Daniel Craig in a James Bond spoof at the opening of the London Olympic Games.

"Each time I (play her) I feel people are really responding to the queen," Mirren told reporters after accepting her award from Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe at British theatre's biggest night at London's Royal Opera house.

"I feel I am rather coasting along on that love and respect," added the actress who had been nominated three times previously for best actress at the Olivier awards.

TIES WITH RECORD

She beat Hattie Morahan in A Doll's House, singer-turned-actress Billie Piper in The Effect and Kristin Scott Thomas in Old Times to take home the leading female honour.

Mirren's co-star, Richard McCabe, won the award for best supporting actor for playing the prime minister Harold Wilson.

But the biggest winner of the 37th Olivier awards was The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time that opened at the National Theatre in London in 2012 and transferred to London's West End theatre district this year.

The play, based on Mark Haddon's 2003 award-winning novel, won seven of the eight awards for which it was nominated, equalling a record set by Matilda The Musical in 2012.

It was named the best new play while Luke Treadaway won the best actor statuette for playing 15-year-old Christopher, a maths prodigy with autism who sets out to solve the mystery of who killed his neighbour's dog.

He beat Rupert Everett in Judas Kiss, Mark Rylance in Twelfth Night, Rafe Spall in Constellations, and James McAvoy in Macbeth for the top male prize.

"The book created such an amazing central character who people seem to relate to even though he has behavioural problems and his way of viewing of the world," Treadaway, 28, told Reuters on the red carpet ahead of the glitzy ceremony.

Christopher's mother in the play, actress Nicola Walker, won best supporting actress while the play also won awards for Marianne Elliott for best director as well as for lighting design, set design and sound design.

The prize for best new musical went to Top Hat, based on the film starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, which received seven nominations and took home three prizes. It also won a sound award and best costume design.

Composer Philip Glass's opera Einstein On The Beach won the award for best new opera production, a five-hour event in which audiences were invited to enter and exit at their leisure.

The Royal Ballet's production of Aeternum won the best new dance production award.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - With a son on the way and a new album with more original songs than ever, Michael Buble is venturing into uncharted territory without letting go of his personal or artistic roots.

To Be Loved, the 37-year-old Canadian singer's follow-up to his 2011 Christmas album, mixes standards inspired by jazz, Motown and even the Bee Gees, with tracks written by Buble as well as collaborations with Bryan Adams and Reese Witherspoon.

"I wanted everything to be soulful," Buble told Reuters.

The album grabbed the top spot on the U.K. Billboard chart the week of its April 15 release there, and is poised to take the top U.S. spot after debuting stateside this week.

Buble (pic) said that he was inspired to write more of his own songs such as the single It's A Beautiful Day after receiving a positive response to previous originals like Haven't Met You Yet and Home.

Still, he remains committed to the classics that first made him famous.

"I love writing songs, but the truth is I love doing thoughtful, great covers too," he said. "It'll never get to a point where I have a record that comes out of all originals."

To Be Loved has received mostly positive reviews especially for the classic tracks, though a few critics found the album uneven. Buble said that his most important reviews come from his fans.

"The truth is that the greatest review I can get is somebody putting their hard-earned money into the hand of a cashier and investing in me to buy the CD," he said.

By that measure, he is doing quite well: Buble has sold 45 million albums over the course of his career, and is set to play 10 sold-out shows at London's 02 Arena beginning on June 30.

He will be back from touring in time for the birth of his first child, a son due on August 21. Buble said that he and wife, Argentine actress and singer Luisana Lopilato, agree that family will always come before career.

He has already cut back on his time away from home in anticipation of his son's arrival.

"My wife is a really successful actress, and I don't think it's fair for me to be the one who's always working," he said. "She loves working, it feeds her soul, and when she's working she's happy."

Buble, who comes from a family of fishermen in British Columbia, Canada, says he wants his son to grow up with the same values that marked his early years.

"I think we take great comfort in knowing that we have families that are so down to earth and real, great blue-collar families, that just being around that will be enough to keep that kid centered," he said.

On his new album, Buble sings a song called I Got It Easy, which he wrote about his current life.

"I want him to grow up knowing that it doesn't come easy, that you have to work for things you really want," he said.

LONDON (Reuters) - Scottish singer-songwriter Emeli Sande scored a new chart record on Sunday with her debut album after a stellar year in Britain that has paved the way for her next challenge - the U.S. market.

Sande (pic) smashed a record held for nearly 50 years by The Beatles when her debut album, Our Version Of Events, hit its 63rd week in the top 10 of the UK album charts, according to the Official Charts Company.

The Beatles previously held the record for the debut album spending the most consecutive weeks in the top 10 with Please Please Me racking up 62 weeks in 1963 and 1964.

"It feels quite surreal to even have your name mentioned in the same sentence as The Beatles," Sande, 26, told Reuters television.

"For a record to stay there for so long it means that people have connected with it so that's how I'm enjoying celebrating this record."

The release of Our Version Of Events in February 2012 kicked off a year of successes for Sande who sang at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics and won best British female artist and best album at the BRIT Awards.

Sande also notched up three No. 1 singles in the UK with Read All About It with Professor Green, Next To Me, and Beneath Your Beautiful, a collaboration with Labrinth.

Now the former medical student has set herself a new challenge, tackling the U.S. market, where she has yet to make a name for herself.

Her single Next To Me is currently 46th in the Billboard Hot 100 chart and she is in the United States this month to promote her album.

"I'm really excited about taking music over to the States because it's a brand new challenge," she said.

"There's different formats over there so you have to understand the market, the people, you really have to take into account how massive the place is .. It's a brand new adventure and it's chapter two of this whole big thing."

Sande is the first to admit that the past year has been extraordinary but she is aware that she needs to keep building from her debut album that was Britain's best-seller last year.

"So many things I've dreamed of doing have happened last year which is amazing, but you always want to be better as a musician," she said.

"The biggest thing for me right now is creating a second record that I love."

So does the success mean that she has abandoned her plan to go back and finish her medicine degree that she shelved in its fourth year?

"Would I go back? I'd like to and every time I see programmes on medicine I'm tempted to go back to it because I do miss it a lot and I miss science and learning but in the near future, no. I think I'd miss music too much," she said.

REUTERS - Mark Wahlberg's dark comedy Pain & Gain brought enough box office muscle to knock Tom Cruise out of the No. 1 spot on movie charts in the United States and Canada.

Another box office heavyweight, Robert Downey Jr., scored big overseas with the international debut of Marvel superhero sequel Iron Man 3.

Mark Wahlberg with his co-star, Australian actress Rebel Wilson at the premiere of their film "Pain & Gain" in Hollywood.

Pain & Gain took in US$20 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters over its first three days, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. Cruise's sci-fi thriller, Oblivion, slipped to second place with US$17.4 million.

Iron Man 3 hauled in US$195.3 million in 42 international markets, distributor Walt Disney Co. said, a total that surpassed the international opening of The Avengers. The movie arrives in the United States and Canada on Friday to kick off Hollywood's lucrative summer blockbuster season.

Receipts for Pain & Gain beat pre-weekend forecasts for a debut of at least US$15 million. The film is based on the real-life story of Miami bodybuilders who kidnap a wealthy deli owner and plan to steal his fortune. When their plot goes awry, the criminals scramble to escape being caught.

"We were estimating high teens, so anything with a two in front is good," said Don Harris, president of domestic theatrical distribution at Paramount Pictures, the Viacom Inc. unit that released the movie.

Paramount Pictures produced Pain & Gain for US$26 million. Dwayne Johnson stars alongside Wahlberg in the film, which is directed by Michael Bay of the blockbuster Transformers series.

Oblivion, a post-apocalyptic drama about the last humans on Earth, brought its two-week total in North America (the United States and Canada) to US$64.7 million. Comcast Corp's Universal Pictures estimated international sales through Sunday at US$134.1 million, bringing the film's worldwide total to US$198.8 million.

Baseball drama 42, about Jackie Robinson's debut as Major League Baseball's first black player, finished in third place with US$10.7 million domestically.

In fourth place, new romantic comedy The Big Wedding earned US$7.5 million. Despite a big-name cast including Robert De Niro, Susan Sarandon and Katherine Heigl, the movie was ravaged by critics. Only 6 percent of reviews on the Rotten Tomatoes website recommended the film.

Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. distributed The Big Wedding, and Millennium Films covered most of the US$35 million production cost.

In the No. 5 slot, animated Stone Age comedy The Croods grossed US$6.6 million.

North American ticket sales for all movies this year reached nearly US$2.9 billion, running 11.8 percent behind sales at the same point in 2012, according to the box office division of Hollywood.com.

The release of Iron Man 3 next weekend is expected to jump-start domestic sales. Boxoffice.com is projecting US$151 million in North American receipts over the film's first three days, which would rank as the biggest opening so far this year.

Disney's executive vice president for motion picture distribution Dave Hollis declined to make a prediction for the film's U.S. opening, but was optimistic based on the overseas numbers.

"To say that we are encouraged by these results is an understatement," Hollis said.

LONDON: The stage adaptation of Mark Haddon's novel "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" on Sunday claimed seven prizes at Britain's prestigious Laurence Olivier Awards.

The mystery drama's haul included best play and best actor for Luke Treadaway and equalled the 2012 record set by musical hit "Matilda".

Treadaway plays 15-year-old Christopher Boone, a maths genius with Asperger syndrome, who is determined to find out who killed his neighbour's dog.

"This is for everyone who worked on the show," he said after accepting his award from "Sex and the City" star Kim Cattrall. "I can't believe it. This is absolutely amazing!" he added.

The stage show premiered at London's National Theatre in August last year before transferring to the Apollo Theatre in the capital's theatre heartland.

Veteran performer Helen Mirren was awarded the best actress prize at the London ceremony for her role as Queen Elizabeth II in "The Audience".

Mirren argued it was the queen who really deserved an award, "for the most consistent and committed performance of the 20th century, and probably the 21st century".

The awards, named after stage icon Laurence Olivier and first held in 1976, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre. -AFP

Daddy’s girl: In Nation Movie, Joanne Yew’s character Bee, who is set to marry a British guy, has to appease her father who insists on a traditional Chinese wedding.

Former beauty queen Joanne Yew talks about her comeback to the entertainment scene and why she prefers dating Malaysian men.

JOANNE Yew is the kind of girl who would make you stop and stare. And it is not just because that, at nearly 1.76m, she makes most Malaysian men look like hobbits. With porcelain skin and a sultry persona, the 25-year-old stands out as a power-packed combination of a supermodel and a bubbly K-pop star.

Indeed, Yew knows how to work her magic with an audience. In 2007, the fashion marketing and management student competed at the Miss Astro International beauty pageant and took home the coveted crown.

It seems almost inevitable that fame and recognition would come a-calling afterwards. Yew quickly became the “it” girl in the fashion and entertainment scene, scoring modelling gigs and roles in various commercials, and even starred in a local drama series before moving on to pursue a bachelor’s degree in South Korea.

Now, the pretty lady is back in showbiz with her first feature film, Nation Movie, more than ready to charm everyone once again.

Nation Movie, produced by Malaysian director Chiu Keng Guan, is the third instalment to his trilogy of family-oriented films, which include Woohoo! (2010) and Great Day (2011).

Woohoo! was selected as one of the Top 10 films at the Osaka Asian Film Festival 2011, where it was screened for the first time outside Malaysia.

Great Day, on the other hand, raked in a whopping RM5.8mil in box office collection within a month of its release.

Nation Movie revolves around a conservative Chinese father, Uncle Quan (played by 73-year-old Frankie Lee), who reluctantly agrees to his daughter’s marriage to a Brit, Benji (played by Australian actor Ben Pfeifer).

Here is where the all-too-familiar East-West culture clash comes in. Old Uncle Quan insists that the couple hosts a traditional Chinese wedding and also to deliver their wedding invitation cards by hand (because he’s never heard of e-mail), all for the sake of “saving face”.

Soon enough, the recalcitrant uncle finds himself on a road trip across the peninsula with the carefree Englishman. Together, they set out to deliver the invitations to Quan’s former schoolmates.

Along the journey, Uncle Quan starts to grow fond of the strapping Benji. The strained relationship between Quan and his daughter, Bee, also undergoes a transformation that would forever change their lives.

“Making the film has been an exciting experience,” Yew, who plays the role of Bee, shared.

“My character is a strong lady who was sent to England by her dad when she was very young. He was forced to send her overseas after her mother died because there was no one to take care of her. She has always been angry at him for sending her away.”

Needless to say, there is a great deal of tension between father and daughter. However, working with Lee has been great fun, Yew said.

“We fight a lot in the film, but he is such a fun person to work with in real life. He is a fun old ‘young’ man,” she said with a laugh.

Yew’s experiences in the dating scene also served as research fodder for her performance.

“I have met many men from different countries and went on quite a number of dates when I was in South Korea,” she recalled candidly.

“But I still prefer Malaysian guys. I find that they have a sort of ‘innocence’, and we share similar beliefs such as treating our elders with respect and upholding family values. Also, I grew up here and I feel more comfortable dating a Malaysian.”

The chatty actress added: “I encountered a lot of ‘ta nan ren’ (male chauvinists) when I was in Korea. I don’t like ‘ta nan ren’, because I am a ‘ta nu ren’ (feminist)!

“I have also met a lot of ‘huai nan ren’ (bad guys), so I am feeling a little numb right now. I will just sit back and relax, and wait for whatever that comes,” she said with a sigh.

For director Chiu, casting the outspoken Yew was an easy decision. Unlike Woohoo! and Great Day, which starred some of the nation’s biggest names such as Jack Lim, Vivian Tok and Royce Tan, Chiu decided to do away with the tried-and-tested method and went out of his way to scout new talents this time around.

“I wanted to explore the potential of these new and aspiring actors and actresses for this film,” the director explained.

“We must have seen over 100 auditions and we were about to end when Joanne appeared at the last minute. I saw her video clip and knew instantly that we have found our female lead,” he concluded.

Nation Movie is expected to hit the cinemas later this year. For more information about the film, visit facebook.com/ulala2013 or ulala.la.

Captivating: Kuchipudi dancer Shallu Jindal mesmerised the audience with her footwork on the brass plate. – AZMAN GHANI/The Star

Indian dancer Shallu Jindal captivates the audience with her own brand of kuchipudi.

WHEN kuchipudi exponent Shallu Jindal placed her feet on the rims of the brass plate, the audience watched in mesmerised silence.

It looked painful and challenging, but with perfect balance, she shifted the plate all over the stage as her anklets resonated with complicated rhythms. Jindal moved with such dexterity, quickening the tempo as the dance progressed. It was almost as if her feet moved faster than the vocalist could call out the syllables.

In this feature known as the tarangam, the dancer sometimes dances with two diyas (small oil-burning candles) in her hands while balancing a small vessel containing water on the head. At the end of the dance, typically, the dancer extinguishes the candles and washes her hands with the water from the vessel. But, Jindal held nothing in her hands or head; her feet alone spoke a thousand words.

At the end of it, she was clearly in ecstasy as applause rang out at the Indian Cultual Centre in Kuala Lumpur where Jindal’s solo recital took place recently.

She was here to perform in conjunction with the recent 10th Biennial World Telegu Federation Conference held at the Sunway Convention Centre in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. And what a delight it was to watch the petite dancer weave her magic.

At 41, her youthful appearance belies her age. For someone who picked up kuchipudi only 12 years ago, Jindal has come far.

“It was my destiny to dance when I met my gurus Raja and Radha Reddy. They are very famous in India and I met them at the lotus feet of Lord Venkateshwara in Tirupati. The temple doors opened and we did pooja together before exchanging numbers. Weeks later, Raja called to ask when I was going to become his disciple. That’s how it all started,” recalls the mother-of-two.

Although she had studied kathak (another Indian classical dance) before and garnered numerous awards, dance was only a distant dream after she got married and had kids.

“I initially started learning kuchipudi to keep fit. It was more difficult than kathak and although I had some knowledge of taal (rhythmic pattern), I had to relearn everything. After three years, my gurus decided I was ready for my arangetram (graduation). Then performances started happening. Now I’m in love with kuchipudi!” she enthuses.

As a classical form of dance, drama and music, kuchipudi enjoys a unique place among the Indian classical dance idioms. It is ebullient, scintillating and yet, has the capacity to be intensely lyrical. It is bold and sensuous in the movement of the eyes. The songs in kuchipudi are mimed with alluring expressions, swift looks and fleeting emotions evoking the rasa.

Unlike the linear lines and more sculptured poses in bharatanatyam, kuchipudi has more rounded poses. Beyond the stylistic differences of kuchipudi and bharatanatyam steps, there are certain types of dances that are unique to kuchipudi and the tarangam is one of them.

“When you stand on the brass plate, your earthly connections are no more. You let go of all worldly desires and are elevated to a higher state – from atma (being) to parmatma (supreme being),” explains Jindal. “In the beginning, I used to gets cuts and scrapes on the soles of my feet. It’s tough to balance but after 12 years, it’s finally okay!”

Her performance had a natural rhythm and instinctive flow. Her innate grace, beauty, expressive face and spellbinding presence proved to be a charming combination.

Jindal feels the use of symbolism can be a very powerful medium to convey ideas that would otherwise require an academic discourse. The passion of dance also allows for a lot of introspection and serenity besides developing a proper work culture for the mind and body. She keeps up with her rigorous practice of kuchipudi five times a week.

She says, “At 28, I didn’t take it for granted when I started learning kuchipudi. When you’re a child, a lot of things come naturally but as an adult, you have a lot more responsibilities. I knew I needed to work hard. I believe I could have been a better dancer had I started much younger.”

Born in Punjab, Jindal was exposed to various art forms since young. On her mum’s insistence, she picked up playing the sitar and guitar along with learning kathak. She wanted to become a dancer by studying with a famous kathak dancer but her parents disagreed, saying it wasn’t a “proper” education. So she was packed off to college, got married and had kids.

The New Delhi-based Jindal is married to Indian politician and steel magnate Naveen Jindal, who instigated an initiative that led to a revision of the Flag Code of India, which now grants every Indian citizen the right to fly the Flag of India (also known as the “Tiranga”) publicly on all days of the year.

Husband and wife are also founders of the Flag Foundation of India, which is their effort to foster among Indian youth respect for the Tiranga and the values it embodies. She says her husband has been very supportive and encourages her to do what she loves. And like all women, the deeply religious Jindal has to juggle many roles.

“As a woman, I have to multitask. But because of dance, which gives me the energy and focus, I can do everything else. Daily, I see the kids off to school, spend time with my husband, do pooja, then go to work till 4pm. I’ve to see to the kids when they come home, then I go for an hour’s walk to de-stress, by which time, I’m totally exhausted!”

Jindal calls herself a social contributor and recently, as part of a delegation focusing on cancer awareness, she successfully scaled the highest summit of Africa – Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. It was a feat because she had not trained for it. All she did was chant god’s name when the going got too tough. It took five days to reach the summit and two days to descend. Now she wants to climb another mountain.

She says, “It was such a challenge but I’m glad I made it. I never think of the future. I live in the present. If I were to be reborn again, I want to be a dancer again.”

Tickled pink: 988 DJ Sam Mak with funnyman Eric Tsang. Catch him on Morning Up VIP.

988 gets you up to speed on GE13.

IF YOU feel overwhelmed with the amount of information and news on the upcoming general election, worry not, as 988 will dispense hourly news highlights on GE13 so you can be clued in on what’s happening.

Since the dissolution of parliament, 988 has been covering GE13 with a special segment called Da Xuan Zhui Zhui Zhui (The Election Trail).

The segment, prepared by the 988 news team, aims to provide listeners with accurate coverage on everything pertaining to elections. Stay up-to-date with 988’s hourly reports from 7am to 8pm daily.

Being in a democratic nation, voting is a citizen’s duty. 988 urges its listeners to perform their responsibility in deciding the nation’s future. This week, Morning Up Cases (weekdays, 8am-9am) will feature a showcase named Rock & Roll Home To Vote in line with this cause.

988 has also gathered 20 artistes to do shout-outs on air to encourage voters to exercise their right to vote. To further promote the “Undi” campaign, 988 will be distributing car stickers to the public via 988 Cruisers. These limited edition car stickers bear the message “Tou Nin Shuo Hao. Ai Ma Lai Xi Ya” (Vote Wisely. Love Malaysia).

Also on 988 this week

> Morning Up Cases (Monday-Friday, 8am-9am): The 13th General Election, to be held on May 5, is presumably the country’s most intense election since Independence. To both the Ruling Party and the Opposition, every vote counts. “Jom Balik Undi” is a campaign initiated by Malaysian Netizens to urge fellow registered voters overseas to return home to vote. Find out more about today’s political campaign on cyberspace.

> The Feature (Monday, Tuesday, 9am-10am): Although many old folks are blessed with filial children who take responsible for their parents’ well being, some are sent to elderly care centres. 988 looks into the topic of old age and care centres this week.

> Morning Up VIP (Wednesday-Friday, 9am-10am): Famous funnyman Eric Tsang once said: “I decided to become a martial artist because I’m agile.” Yet today, he is well known as the “Jiang Mun Yan” (Game Master) in the popular variety show Super Trio. Want to know more about Tsang? Do not miss this exclusive interview.

> Music Gets Crazy (Monday-Friday, 1pm-4pm): From singer to actor, and now a boss, Wilber Pan Wei Bo has never failed to perform his best. Catch Pan and also Cantopop singer, William So Wing Hong and Taiwanese band, Magic Power in Stars Guide this week.

> Music VIP (Monday-Friday, 2pm): Now that he has established a career in Taiwan, Anthony Neely – who grew up in the United States – wants to get in touch with the Taiwanese culture. Has he succeeded in doing so? Tune in to find out.

For more information, log on to www.988.com.my. 988 is a subsidiary of Star Radio Group.

Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, creators of Chicago Fire, are more known for their writing work on a handful of movies including the critically-acclaimed film 3:10 To Yuma, 2 Fast 2 Furious and Wanted. In an interview in Chicago, Illinois, the duo revealed that working on the TV drama has so far been a satisfying venture.

“The movie industry has changed so much ... the kind of movies that Hollywood makes now, they tend to be sort of these big summer movies. And if you wanted to make something smaller ... the studios have become places where they only make them if you consider taking a project that’s already put together,” shares Brandt.

“Personally, I was getting a little tired of the kinds of movies that we were being offered so when the opportunity to work on a TV show came along, we took it thinking that we’ll probably just write the pilot and then go back to writing features (films).”

However, when their script for the pilot was picked up, Brandt and Haas were roped in to the production team and asked to come up with more scripts. With the multiple Emmy Award-winning Dick Wolf on board as one of the show’s executive producers (the others include Matt Olmstead, Joe Chapelle, Danielle Gerber and Peter Jankowski), it’s a little hard to turn down the offer.

While working in Chicago, the pair discovered a new found love for writing for television.

“Unlike in features, the writers for TV are in charge of the show, or at least are in charge more, and people actually listen to us! It’s so satisfying to sit and talk to the director about what we had in mind for a scene and then the director would try and do it.

“So here we are a year and a half later – Derek and I realised that we’ve had more of our words spoken exactly how we want it in the first couple of episodes (of Chicago Fire) than in our entire features career combined! It’s just so satisfying to write something one day and shoot it the next, then see it on TV a few weeks later,” Brandt says.

The writers also said that Chicago had always been the original setting for the show, citing the Great Chicago Fire as one of the reasons for it.

(The Great Chicago Fire is considered one of the largest disasters to happen in the United States. The fire started on Oct 8, 1871 and went on for two days, killing hundreds of people and destroying close to 10km² of the city. Today, the Chicago Fire Academy stands on the original site where the fire first began, and serves as a reminder of the horrific event.)

“We didn’t want to do it in New York because of Rescue Me (another show about firefighters that’s no longer airing), and we also thought about setting it in Boston before realising that Chicago is a city that was born out of fire. Plus, the architecture is beautiful, so you can just about put the camera anywhere in the city,” says Haas.

Apart from David Eigenberg, who plays Christopher Hermann, the rest of the main cast of Chicago Fire are not Chicago locals. But everyone seems to have a lot of love for the city, even though some of them are not too crazy about its infamous “bipolar weather”.

“The city of Chicago serves as a character in its own right. I don’t think we’d have the same show and the same chemistry (among) the cast if we’re not shooting in Chicago. There’s no excuse not to hang out with one another because most of us are from out of town and we don’t have families or friends to go home to here,” says Taylor Kinney, who is the boyfriend of pop star Lady Gaga.

For Australia native Jesse Spencer, being on the show was a whole process that he took in his stride. “Yes it was a process, coming here to Chicago, stepping into a new role. I’ve been doing the same thing for eight years, so stepping into something else and playing American – I played Australian for eight years (in medical drama House)! – it was a departure for me. But it’s grown on me over the year or so.”

The show, too, has gone through a few processes of its own. It started as a 13-episode season, but midway through, the network decided to extend that to 24 episodes. Rumours are rife that there will also be a second season, with executive producer Dick Wolf announcing at the NBC Summer Press Day event in Los Angeles earlier this week that, “We even know what the first episode of the third season is ... we are definitely looking at the remainder of this season as a jumping-off point for next season.” At the same time, there are also reports stating that Wolf is considering making a spin-off of the show, this time focusing on Chicago’s police department.

Looks like the Windy City may get to see a lot more small screen action in months to come.

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