A Whole New Way of Seeing Annexe – Site Change

The time has finally come. We’re officially going to stop using the WordPress site as of today. We’ve set up a new subscribing/newsletter button over on the new site so you don’t have to miss out on getting our writing straight to your inbox. Head over to our flashy new Annexe site and on every page under the magazine tab, there’s a little form on the right for you to put in your email.

We’ve upgraded our output too, so instead of getting all the articles as and when they are posted, we’ll be sending out a properly drafted newsletter every fortnight with the latest articles linked and a few extra bits that we think you’d like to hear about.

A massive thank you to everyone who has been reading since the beginning, you’ve helped make Annexe what it is. Now come with us to the next step and enjoy our site in all it’s swanky glory.

 

– Nick & the Annexe Team

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Event – Words on Cities – Iain Sinclair, Tom Chivers, Katy Darby and Clare Fisher

We’re proud to announce that our next event will be at the end of this month. A night all about the city. Read all about it further down, and then come along, why don’t you!

The cityscape has long been an influence on modern writing. As a setting, a starting point or even a medium, the urban landscape draws a particular kind of creation from writers.

Annexe has brought together four of the finest writers working with the urban condition for an evening of talks and performances that display their hugely varied takes on the city.

Words on Cities – Iain Sinclair, Tom Chivers, Katy Darby, Clare Fisher
Thursday 25th April || 7.30pm
£7 (buy tickets here)
Toynbee Studios
28 Commercial St
E1 6AB

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On the bill we have:

With a long-standing history of poetry and prose, Iain Sinclair is sits at the leading-edge for writing that deciphers the hidden aspects and connections of London. His work has reinvigorated the call for psychogeographical exploration across the globe. For Words on Cities, Sinclair will present a talk based around his forthcoming book American Smoke: Journeys to the End of the Night. When Iain Sinclair was first setting out, it was mainly American writers that influenced him, but he never visited the USA. Locked down in Hackney, the transatlantic mass was as unreal as Kafka’s ‘Amerika’.

Tom Chivers is a poet and editor residing in London. His recent work, with the Cape Farewell project, has led Tom to investigate the changing landscape of London and unearth an urban geography that has been covered by the constant growth and renewal of the capital city. His talk will focus on his practice of ‘psychogeology’ and his migration through the lost rivers of London.

Katy Darby is a writer, an editor, a teacher and the founder of the incredible storytelling night Liars League. Katy will be reading a selection of her prose work based around London.

Clare Fisher’s current project The City in my Head is an exploration of London through fiction. Each story shows a snapshot of a particular area, constructed from human experience. Claire will be reading a selection of works from the collection.

Ta Da! Our new site is unveiled!

Today we finally pulled the cover of our brand new site! All singing, all dancing. New and improved. Better than ever.

 

WordPress has been a wonderful home to us for over a year and a half now. It’s straightforward layout has been a joy to work with, but now we’ve decided we want to cut the .wordpress. from our name and exist on our own two feet at http://www.annexemagazine.com. Like a bird flying from the nest (actually more like a teenager leaving home, because we’re still utilising the WordPress CMS in true semi-independent fashion) we will be posting primarily to our dedicated domain. It all looks quite fancy over there too! The layout is updated, though not too distanced from the look you’re used to. Head on over and have a look. If you spot anything that needs changing, drop us a line and we’ll thank you for your vigilance.

If you’re subscribed to us via WordPress, not to worry. We’ll post duplicate articles here until we’ve found a suitable replacement for the subscription system.

Without further ado, I declare the new Annexe Magazine site OPEN! 

Edinburgh Review: The Most Dangerous Toy – Playades

The Most Dangerous Toy
Review by Felix Trench

In the early 1880s, the 21 year old Louise von Salomé arrived in Rome. Here she would meet two men: the author Paul Rée, with whom she formed a relationship, and his friend Friedrich Nietzsche.

Edinburgh Review: Phil Mann’s Full Mind

Fans of QI, Answer Me This!, and all things ‘funny and a bit clever’ will love Phil Mann’s Full Mind. Each and every day of the festival, Mann is given a topic on which he has to give a talk and that audience then chooses the topic for the next talk. Simple. The clever bit is Mann’s ability to take the most obscure of subjects, break them down and, with the most precise of comic timing, deliver them to an audience in a way that is not only entertaining, but also a little educational too.

Edinburgh Review: Comedian Dies in the Middle of a Joke – Ross Sutherland

More from our Edinburgh Ones to Watch series. Annexe Editor Nick Murray reviews Comedian Dies in the Middle of a Joke.

The Edinburgh Fringe has become renowned for theatre companies taking experimental and interactive performances and casting them at an unsuspecting audience. They can be interesting and inventive, or they can be an ever-stretching hour of self indulgence. Whether that kind of thing is your cup of tea or not is up to you. However, finally a show is coming to Edinburgh, crossing the boundaries of interactive theatre, spoken word and performance that feels genuine while also trying something really new.

Edinburgh Review: Blind Date Ruined My Life – Taylor & Bird

Continuing our Ones to Watch series highlighting the hit acts of the Edinburgh Fringe, Pauline Stobbs reviews comedic duo Taylor and Bird’s ‘Blind Date Ruined My Life’.

Taylor and Bird have got guts. Forgetting the slow and steady path to comedy, these two have fast tracked straight to the fringe festival with their first show Blind Date Ruined my Life. “What?” I hear you cry. “How could a classic ITV show have any damaging consequences to anyone ever?”

Edinburgh Review: Who’s Dorian Gray? – Empty Photo Theatre

With the Edinburgh Festival starting imminently, theatre companies are flocking northward to present their latest performative offerings. Dozens of venues and hundreds of shows means that there will be rather a lot for the discerning audience member to sift through. To help in the hunt, we will be presenting a series of ‘One’s to Watch’. First, we have Who’s Dorian Gray? from Empty Photo Theatre.

Who’s Dorian Gray?
Review by Pauline Stobbs

Ah, the world of flat sharing. Whether it’s trying to create some sort of livable co-existence with the weirdo across the hall or witnessing your best friend transform into a washing-up tyrant, modern day living arrangements can be a heinous battleground.