Ireland Has a New Holiday

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 25 January 2024 > Celebrate

Ireland has a new bank holiday: St Brigid’s Day, the first to be in honour of  a woman. From 2023, it is marked on the first Monday in February. St Brigid is one of Ireland’s three patron saints, alongside St Colmcille and St Patrick. Like so many Irish celebrations, the Catholic saint’s day on 1 … Continue reading “Ireland Has a New Holiday”

Waitangi Day in New Zealand

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 24 January 2024 > Celebrate Shine Bright Collège Shine Bright Lycée

New Zealand is a unique country, so it’s not surprising that its national day is unique too! New Zealand’s nearest big neighbour, Australia, is more than 4000 kilometres away. Because it is so isolated, it has some unique plants and animals, like the kiwi, a bird that can’t fly. People from New Zealand are often … Continue reading “Waitangi Day in New Zealand”

The Color Purple Returns

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 24 January 2024 > Shine Bright Collège Shine Bright Lycée What's On

Steven Spielberg’s 1985 film The Color Purple was extremely unusual for having an almost entirely African-American cast. (Alice Walker, whose 1982 novel it is based on, was the first ever African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.) The film is an enduring classic, and the musical-theatre version of the story is now hitting … Continue reading “The Color Purple Returns”

Celebrate Black History Month in Rennes

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 24 January 2024 > Celebrate

In honour of Black History Month, the Institut Franco-Américain in Rennes has varied events about African-American culture and history. There is music, with a gospel and dance show, Shosholoza, an exhibition and concert on female jazz singers and a bilingual lecture about hip-hop. As well as a conversation with Brooklyn-based Dawnie Walton on her first … Continue reading “Celebrate Black History Month in Rennes”

U.S Election: Nikki Haley

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 22 January 2024 > In the News

As of 21 January, Nikki Haley is the only opponent to Donald Trump in the Republican Presidential primaries. Who is the former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations? Born Nimrata Nikki Randhawa in South Carolina in 1972, Haley, 51, is the daughter of Indian Sikh immigrants. She worked in the family … Continue reading “U.S Election: Nikki Haley”

Chicken Run 2: Dawn of the Nugget

Posted by Speakeasy News > Sunday 21 January 2024 > Shine Bright Collège What's On

Bristol-based Aardman Animations made their reputation with short films and adverts using plasticine models brought to life with stop-motion animation. In 2000, they released Chicken Run, their first full feature-length film, a gargantuan task and a huge success. Twenty-three years later, they made a sequel! Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget picks up where the … Continue reading “Chicken Run 2: Dawn of the Nugget”

Poor Things: Frankenstein Revisited

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 17 January 2024 > Shine Bright Lycée What's On

Poor Things, adapted into an award-winning film from the novel by Alasdair Gray, imagines a female Frankenstein’s monster who is fundamentally human, and her creator, who much like Dr Frankenstein, is perhaps more monstrous himself. Yorgos Lanthimos’s previous films such as The Lobster and The Favourite were far from mainstream, even if The Favourite won … Continue reading “Poor Things: Frankenstein Revisited”

On the Election Road: U.S.A. 2024

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 16 January 2024 > In the News

The electoral process for a U.S. President is long, with many candidates declaring their campaigns six or even 12 months before primary season opens in January. But this year, the primaries could lack suspense, with one incumbent candidate, President Joe Biden for the Democrats, and one Republican, Donald Trump dominating that party’s primary process despite … Continue reading “On the Election Road: U.S.A. 2024”