Issue 27 | Lent term 2010 JOHNIA N news LIFE AT THE LODGE ALUMNI NEWS HIDDEN GEMS OF THE CHAPEL CASt OffS DONORS StUdENt NEWS SPOTLIGHT ON ADMISSIONS JOhNIAN WOMEN IN SpOrt ST JOHN’S INNOVATION CENTRE www.joh.cam.ac.uk Welcome to the Lent 2010 issue of the Johnian News ! The border photo features a phrase well-known to many Johnians scratched into the Chapel roof. While we do not condone graffiti in any form, we thought this particular message should be shared with you, along with some of the Chapel’s many hidden gems. We are still looking for stories of night-climbing at Cambridge from Johnians who may remain anonymous. If you would like to tell your story, or to put forward any other news for inclusion in the next newsletter, please contact the Editor by 30 September 2010. Don’t forget to check our dates for the diary for events where you can meet with fellow Johnians. the Editor Development Office, St John’s College, Cambridge CB2 1TP. Email: [email protected] Tel: 01223 338700 Contents 2011 .....................................................................................................3 Alumni News .......................................................................................4 Life at the Lodge ...................................................................................6 College News .......................................................................................7 Johnian Women in Sport .......................................................................8 Hidden Gems of the Chapel ...............................................................10 Student News ......................................................................................12 List of Donors .....................................................................................13 The Paul Beard Sports Fund ................................................................17 Spotlight on Admissions ......................................................................18 St John’s Innovation Centre .................................................................20 The Campaign Board ..........................................................................23 The Beaufort Society ...........................................................................24 Development News ............................................................................26 Missing Johnians .................................................................................27 Dates for the Diary .............................................................................28 Editor: Marianne Crowder | [email protected] Design & artwork: Cameron Design | 01284 725292 Print: Marstan Press | 0208 301 5900 Photography: Annie Christiansen, Channel 4, LaundryRepublic, Alice Hardy, Danielle Lavender, Ben Gallagher, Global Poverty Project, Alistair Field, St John’s Innovation Centre, Nic Marchant. Cover photograph: Ceiling of the Chapel reflected in the lectern, Ben Gallagher. Lent Term 2010 20 11 500 years of St John’s College, Cambridge Save the date! The College’s quincentenary in 2011 is rapidly approaching the present day. Thanks to a very generous gift by a Johnian and preparations are well underway to celebrate our very benefactor, we are delighted to announce that all alumni will special birthday. Since our foundation in accordance with the be entitled to collect a copy free of charge. Further details of wishes of Lady Margaret Beaufort on 9 April 1511, St John’s has how those resident further afield may secure theirs will be been a world leader in politics, literature, music, sport, and of circulated in due course. course academic endeavour. In this year, therefore, we aim to celebrate five hundred years of Johnian excellence. 2011 is also a special year for the Choir of St John’s College, who will be marking their fiftieth anniversary. In addition to Johnians will be welcome to attend a series of events their usual busy programme, Easter will see the Choir embark throughout the year in Cambridge, the UK and beyond. We on a major tour of the US and they will top and tail the year hope that there will be something to appeal to everyone and as with concerts at prestigious London venues. A celebratory part of the year we warmly encourage you to bring friends and dinner for former members of the Choir will take place in the family to see the College. Two extra-special quincentenary summer and throughout the year they will be performing weeks will take place in July and September during which extensively. Johnians and their guests will be welcomed back to College for a vibrant programme of events – full details will be enclosed in We hope to welcome as many Johnians as possible back to the next issue. Fascinating Johnians who are leaders in their College over the course of the year, or to see you at one of our field will lead debates in these weeks on key issues facing our events in the UK and throughout the world. world today – come and have your say! 2011 is set to be an extravaganza of drinks, dinners and debate. Next year also sees the publication of a new College history, Look out for further details in the Michaelmas Johnian News . edited by the Dean of College Dr Peter Linehan (1961). This volume, of between 600 and 700 pages, will provide the first If you have any questions or suggestions please contact us: comprehensive study of the College from its foundation up to [email protected] page 3 JOHNIAN news www.joh.cam.ac.uk Alumni News Cast Offs Sarah Evans (2006), President of the St John’s Film Society, reviews Cast Offs . As co-director of Cast Offs , Channel 4’s latest foray into thought-provoking comedy drama, Amanda Boyle (1992) is no stranger to provocative, thoughtful and revolutionary projects. this brilliantly observed six part series aired last November to a plethora of admiring reviews thrilled by its pointed satire and dark humour. A fictionalised reality tV show about six disabled people marooned on a remote island, Cast Offs seeks to cut sharply through the mire of trite sentimentality that so often surrounds explorations of disability onscreen. For Amanda, getting involved with the production was an obvious choice and one she describes as a ‘unique experience’. She particularly relished the opportunity to work with lead writer Jack Thorne, a regular for Skins and Shameless , and with the ‘very talented cast’, in her biggest directing job to date. Her experience making award-winning short films, her years spent at Working Title Films, and her time involved with the exciting theatre scene in Cambridge, helped to prepare her for this immense challenge. As a Philosophy student at St John’s, supervised by Professor Heal, ‘a woman I greatly respect’, Amanda was able to immerse herself in both acting and devising productions. From Shakespeare to musicals, Greek tragedy to ‘a very silly comedy show’, Amanda’s ‘lasting impression’ of her time here is of ‘some thrilling theatrical collaborations with very dynamic women’, which convinced Amanda that her future lay in directing film. I found Cast Offs an engaging and unsettling viewing experience, one that was well worth its frequently uncomfortable scenes. It’s also extremely funny, by turns wickedly amusing and wrenchingly moving. The three episodes that Amanda directed, ‘Dan’, ‘April’ and ‘Carrie’, are filled with subtle and achingly nuanced performances from the central cast, each of whom share their character’s disability. Victoria Wright, who plays April, evokes a quiet, desperate sadness in her portrayal of a grief-stricken woman, protected only by a gently sardonic wit honed over years of coping with the reactions of those around her to her cherubism. Peter Mitchell is also winning as recently paraplegic Dan, struggling to renegotiate life, and his relationship with his well-meaning father, in very changed circumstances. Throughout the series, it is very apparent that far from being their defining characteristic, as so often in depictions of the disabled on screen, their disabilities are but one part of their lives, and only a fraction of the stories that they have to tell. I can only urge you to catch this unmissable series on 4OD if you have not already had a chance to see it. One of an emerging generation of female British filmmakers, alongside Andrea Arnold ( Fish Tank, Red Road ), who are offering new and exciting possibilities from the medium of film, Amanda is now working on her first feature film, and a big multi- media project with the National Theatre. Based on the talent in evidence here, I’m excited to see what she has in store for her audience next. Cast Offs was nominated for the Royal Television Society’s Best Drama Series Award 2009. page 4 Lent Term 2010 Alumni News Republic takes off from Trafalgar’s Fourth Plinth Ian Walker (2000) put forward LaundryRepublic, his dry cleaning startup, to take part in the Trafalgar Square Fourth Plinth living art display on a whim. Three days later his business partner, David Lambert, was up there in the rain, dressed as Superman and ironing dozens of red underpants! BBC News Online picked up the story and ran it on their business front page for a week, and since then nearly all their clients have mentioned the event. It led, directly or indirectly, to articles in the and over the next few months Ian hopes to roll out the service Financial Times and The Times , and shows how guerrilla throughout Central London. ‘Starting out in the depths of the marketing can hugely increase recognition for the cost of a fancy