Women powering the arts On International Women’s Day, exhibitions showcasing female artists blossomed across London. In Chelsea, The Future is Female opened at The Garrison Chapel, while in Hampstead, Burgh House launched two exhibitions of female artists who fled the Nazis and took refuge in the UK in the late 1930s. Built in 1859, the […]
Madama Butterfly – Royal Opera House
Float on, white winged Butterfly Giacomo Puccini certainly knew how to stir a controversy, if only a century after his death. Madama Butterfly, first performed in 1904, sits alongside Turandot as most likely to cause complaint on its performance. Butterfly can be a victim of its own success. It’s legion of poor quality copycats, the […]
Harry Clarke at the Ambassadors Theatre
A darkly comic one-person show that leaves you reeling. Harry Clarke is a one-person show arriving in London after two successful runs in the US. Billy Crudup, Emmy-nominated for his performance in The Morning Show, reprises his roles as all nineteen characters in a virtuosic and darkly comic spectacle. Written by David Cale (The History […]
Jenůfa – English National Opera
Psychological Turmoil with a Powerful Ending David Alden’s production of Jenůfa, first shown at ENO in 2006 and revived in 2016 takes the work from its original village setting to a remote industrial estate at some point in the twentieth century, with Števa (John Findon) an Elvis like character complete with bleached blond hair, leather-jacket […]
London Zoo at the Southwark Playhouse, Borough
Bigotry in Business Challenged Think of a satirical take on a big, morally dubious media conglomerate acquiring a reputable newspaper, and many will think of HBO’s Succession. The winner of every award available, Succession was so good that it now practically owns the genre of “media drama”. London Zoo, Farine Clarke’s play at the Southwark […]
Guys and Dolls at the Bridge Theatre
Ringing the Changes at the Bridge Nicolas Hytner’s prizewinning 2023 production of ‘Guys and Dolls’ at the Bridge Theatre, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and a book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, is getting refreshed. Some new cast members are being brought in so it seems like a good time to review. […]
New York City Ballet at Sadler’s Wells – Mixed Bill Review
Welcome to the NYCB dancers; sensitive, speedy and spectacular The New York City Ballet (NYCB) has returned to London after sixteen years, performing from 7-10 March in Sadler’s Wells Theatre. The company was last in London in 2008 and has been greatly missed, so there was a great air of expectation in the audience last […]
Giant – Royal Opera House review
Fee Fi Fo Fum I smell the story of an Irishman Following it’s world Premiere at the Aldeburgh Festival last year, Sarah Angliss’s Giant has made its way to the Lindbury theatre. Giant is based on the true story of 18th century “Irish Giant” Charles Byrne. Byrne was an enormously tall man who made his […]
Swan Lake – Royal Ballet at ROH
Revival of Liam Scarlett’s Swan Lake at The Royal Opera House. Liam Scarlett’s 2018 production of Swan Lake for the Royal Ballet, with glorious sets designed by John McFarlane, is a sumptuous show which has won many accolades. Now on its third revival, this fairytale ballet has its roots in German and Russian folklore. With […]
Nye – National Theatre – Review
New play on the birth of the NHS opens at the National Theatre ‘Hospitals will be built where there is need not where there is money’, stated Nye Bevan in his campaign to establish the NHS. Nye is a new play, directed by Rufus Norris and written by Tim Price, and stars Michael Sheen as […]