A Festive Fondue in Covent Garden To my recollection, it was sometime between 2010 to 2012 that London experienced its last fondue craze. To my mind, suddenly, all sorts of restaurants and eateries were trying to get fondue on their menus by any means necessary, and then, as if by magic: the craze ceased. The […]
Sussex Art Shuttle
Sussex showcases the Best of British this Autumn To celebrate Eastbourne’s Towner Gallery hosting the Turner Prize this year, Towner Eastbourne, Charleston and the South Downs National Park have organised the Sussex Art Shuttle that takes visitors from Eastbourne, through the Sussex countryside to Lewes and back. With the aim of making the beautiful Sussex […]
Hiroshi Sugimoto Hayward Gallery review
Sugimoto’s Time Machine is serene and sublime London and the Southbank Centre are a hub of activity at the beginning of October: the London Film Festival is in full swing at the BFI and Frieze London is rolling into town for the weekend. The Hayward Gallery’s new show Hiroshi Sugimoto: Time Machine is therefore an […]
RE/SISTERS: A Lens on Gender and Ecology
A masterful women-led take on climate change The Barbican have brought together almost fifty female and non-conforming artists for their new show Re/Sisters: A Lens on Gender and Ecology, opening today at the Barbican Art Gallery. Combining better-known feminist artists such as Barbara Kruger, Judy Chicago and Ana Mendieta with lots of international names that […]
Don Carlo at the Royal Opera House
Superb Bertrand de Billy tames Verdi’s challenging masterpiece Don Carlo is a complicated beast. There are multiple versions (in both French and Italian), a turbulent historical setting and many meaty themes to navigate, not to mention a complex score and a pretty long run time. Despite, or perhaps because of the above, this opera in […]
Dear Earth at the Hayward Gallery
A poetic image of hope at The Hayward Dear Earth: Art and Hope in a Time of Crisis opens tomorrow at The Hayward Gallery, part of the Southbank Centre’s Planet Summer festival. Featuring fifteen artists from a wide range of backgrounds, some big names alongside artists that have not previously shown at a UK institution, […]
Clerkenwell Design Week 2023
CDW paints the town pink For only three days a year, the usually quiet Clerkenwell flings open all its doors for Clerkenwell Design Week. Shocking pink signs and lines illuminate the path around the neighbourhood, showing off homegrown and emerging talents as well as established names. Clerkenwell Design Week returns for its 12th iteration, having […]
UniVerse: A Dark Crystal Odyssey review
Feast for the senses with an urgent message It’s got lycra, a dazzling light show, strong political undertones and a fair bit of skin: no it’s not Eurovision, it’s Wayne McGregor’s UniVerse: A Dark Crystal Odyssey. This new ballet at the Royal Opera House’s Linbury theatre focuses on the future of mankind, whilst celebrating thirty […]
The Magic Flute – The Royal Opera House
David McVicar’s much loved production approaches 20 and shows no sign of hanging up its magic flute. The Magic Flute was the first opera I ever saw. In fact, it was this very same production of the Mozart singspiel, already a revival when I saw it as a tween circa 2008. Premiering in January 2003 […]
Das Rheingold – Regents Opera
Regents Opera are off to a promising start at the Freemasons’ Hall It’s pretty gutsy for a ‘fringe’ opera company to take on Der Ring des Nibelungen. Everything about Wagner is big, whereas ‘fringe’ opera tends to be thought of as small (budgets, orchestra, venues and so on). Regents Opera proves here that this is […]