The Corby Cube

This evening I had tickets to see a show at the Corby Cube which is the first time I have been to Corby's new Theatre.

First impressions, I'm sad to say, were not very good as there is no car parking at the Corby Cube.  Their website has some cleverly worded directions for parking which basically say you can park in the car park next door.

The only problem with this is that it's the swimming pools car park.  And you'll never guess who parks in it?  Yes, that's right, the users of the swimming pool so there was no room for myself and many, many other cars that were aimlessly driving around in circles wondering where they could park.

The best known fact about the Corby Cube is that is has been a cock-up from start to finish.  It was supposed to cost around £21million instead it cost nearer £49million - more than double the initial cost!  The bungling councilors didn't stop there though, they build the Corby Cube to a dangerous design that was revealed in a leaked report to the BBC.

I don't know what they spent the overspend on, it certainly wasn't on a car park.

I finally found a place to park in the car park where all the shops are.  After a short walk I arrived at the cub where I was greeted with a gigantic pavement area that serves no point what-so-ever other than to annoy people who couldn't park in the swimming pools car park as this could have quite easily been used as a car park.

There wasn't a clear entrance to the theater as all you can see is the Library and after walking all the way around the Corby Cube we realised that that was the only entrance so ventured in.  We soon could see some smartly dressed people who looked like they worked in the Theater part of the Cube so we walked towards them and as we did so they greeted us with a smile and a warm welcome and after a quick look at our tickets they helpfully pointed us in the right direction.

After walking down several flights of stairs we ended up in the bar area where we decided to have a drink whilst we waited for the show to begin.  Now I don't know what is in the local water supply but whatever it is, it makes the Diet Pepsi taste like flat dish water so if you want a non-alcoholic fizzy drink then I'd steer clear of anything on tap as it's disgusting - luckily they sell bottle soft-drinks too and that's what we had during the interval of the show.

We were very grateful for the interval as watching a show at the Corby Cube is a painful experience as the seats are the thinnest, most flimsy and uncomfortable seats I have ever had the misfortune to sit in.  Again, I can't for the life of me see where the £49million was spent, not only was it not on the non-existent car park, but they certainly didn't spend very much on the cheap and nasty seats that wobbled all over the place when anyone in the building walked around.

All-in-all I have to say that I sadly would not recommend the Corby Cube to anyone.  Even the McKinlay Theater (which has now been demolished) on the former Tresham Institute site on St Marys Road in Kettering was better than the Corby Cube and Ken Dodd once described that as nothing more than a disused aircraft hanger!

If you're looking for a night out in Corby, then either drive, catch a bus or hail a taxi and go to the Castle in Wellingborough as it has ample car park spacing and the seats are very, very comfortable.

I've given The Corby Cube 1 star out of 5 simply because I don't have an image with no stars in it as up until now I didn't think I would need one.  :(

---

Django Unchained Film Review

It's a couple of years before the start of the American Civil War and Dr King Schultz who is a German immigrant dentist is searching for a slave by the name of Django.

When he locates Django he finds that he has recently been purchased by a chain gang so he has to purchase him and gain a bill of sale as proof of ownership.

Why is he searching for a slave?  Well, Dr Schultz is also a Bounty Hunter but there isn't a bounty on Djangos head, instead he needs Djangos help to identify some brothers who do have a bounty on them so he gives Django his freedom and asks him for his help and this is how the story of Django Unchained begins.

As you can probably guess Django agrees to help Schultz and they end up in a partnership and they soon find the brothers that Schultz is looking for, but this is only the beginning of their partnership...

As with Quentin Tarantino's other films, the soundtrack throughout the film is fantastic and plays an important part of the story telling and as per usual there is a different 'special effect' that is used throughout the film that is both gory and funny at the same time.

It's quite a dark film and is Tarantino's first attempt at a Western and I have to say it is one of (if not the most) fantastic film I have ever seen.  Some of the subject matter in the film can be hard to stomach and I'm not talking about the bloodshed but the graphic depiction of how slaves were treated as nothing more than property for their 'owners' to do with as they please.  From whipping their backs to dogs ripping them apart limb-from-limb.  Although you don't always see the full gory details on screen, you hear what is happening and your imagination does the rest.

There is the typical Tarantino humour throughout the film and you find yourself laughing at subject matters that you shouldn't/wouldn't normally be laughing at.  One particular example is there is a moment where what can only be described as the beginning of the KKK where they are discussing the merits of their new headgear which consists of a poorly designed white hood with eye-holes they all can't see out of properly.  I can remember hearing the whole cinema erupting with laughter, followed by an uneasy silence.

Although you could wait for it to be released on DVD and Blu-Ray I would strongly recommend you watch this amazing film at the Cinema as the experience you'll get from the atmosphere is simply fantastic.

---