Arts > Theatre
Henry Rollins' Travel Slideshow
The Nick Rayns LCR, UEA
09/02/18
Henry Rollins is the kind of man you want to spend time with. He has an inspiring intelligence, a quick wit and a way with words that made spending a night listening to him talk a very warm and comforting experience. Strolling on stage at exactly 8 pm, Henry doesn’t strike me as a man who likes to be late, he began his show and didn’t stop until 10.30. Two and a half of hours of talking, without pause, and it was never less than completely engrossing. I’ve seen Henry doing his spoken word show several times before, but this time it was billed as a ‘travel slideshow’ and that’s exactly what we got.
Standing to the side of the stage in front of a big screen, clicker in hand Henry shared a constant stream of photos from his travels around the world, mainly from the past 15 years or so. Not the average holiday snaps though – most were photos from the frontline of travel in countries such as Syria, North Korea, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Laos, and Vietnam; anywhere off the beaten track basically. Some photos were more visually arresting than others, but it was the explanations behind them that made them engrossing. Whether telling us about the bizarre Plain Of Jars in Laos, or explaining the horror of the Bhopal disaster in India, or merely speculating as to the meaning of a certain hand gesture, each of the photos came to life before our eyes.
Although the show touched on politics, it wasn’t political. Whilst it would have been easy to feel intellectually inferior and considerably less well travelled than Henry he never spoke down to the audience and there wasn’t the slightest hint of boastfulness about his stories. Simply an engaging person sharing his passion for travel. It was also interesting to hear that he has been on numerous ‘tours of duty’ to entertain US troops around the world, his problem being with war not enlisted soldiers, he explained.
Possibly my favourite image of the whole night though was the final one, and ironically the only one not taken by Henry. In 1981 Henry was invited to audition to become the new lead singer of Black Flag. This single moment is the reason why Henry has ultimately been able to visit over 100 countries, the door opener that enabled him to be an actor, author, documentarian and broadcaster. Unbeknownst to him until last year, SST Records in house producer Spot took a photo of him auditioning and there it was up on the screen. Amazing. Imagine having a picture of the exact moment your life changed?
It was a brilliant way to end an enormously enriching evening. The tales he told were endless, his memory for detail enviable and it was a pleasure to spend time in the company of someone who can truly claim to have made the most of every opportunity life has presented them with.