Two Virtuosi of Dance and Music Strut Their Stuff at the Linbury Two virtuosi of dance and music, respectively, Royal Ballet principal dancer Steven McRae and violinist and principal guest concert master Vasko Vassilev came together in the Linbury, the second stage of the house they call home, to perform, reminisce and pay homage to […]
Man to Man – Royal Court Theatre
Tilda Swinton delivers a powerhouse character study Tilda Swinton was in her mid-twenties when she first performed Manfred Karge’s one-act monologue Man to Man. The play landed in a very different cultural moment: the Cold War hung over Europe; the Berlin Wall still cut the German capital in two. Almost 40 years after the original […]
Arcangelo Bach B Minor Mass – BBC Proms
Award-winning early music ensemble Arcangelo brings the B Minor to the RAH I find it really hard to review the Bach B Minor Mass. As one of the towering masterpieces of Western music, it in some senses defies criticism. Albert Einstein even, allegedly, said: ‘This is what I have to say about Bach’s life’s work: […]
Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy, Stratford East
Ava Pickett’s latest play starring Michelle Dockery Although Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy is billed as a conflict between two female friends, there is much more to rising playwright Ava Pickett’s dynamic follow up to her award-winning 1536. With feisty dialogue in a domestic Essex sitting room, it’s like a modern Abigail’s Party except there’s […]
The Children — Lyric Hammersmith Theatre
A tender study of nuclear fallout Lucy Kirkwood’s The Children is about energy. The emotional core of the play is a charged love triangle between ex-engineers; its literal core is a broken nuclear reactor that explodes the drama into life. The Children explores the repercussions of an environmental catastrophe as they play out in the […]
Don Giovanni at the Royal Opera House
A Punchy Don Giovanni to Open the Royal Opera Season The new season at the Royal Opera House kicked off last night with a strong revival of Kasper Holten’s 2014 production of Don Giovanni. Holten casts us deep into the amoral, guiltless world of the eponymous arch seducer. A man whose power and self-belief catalyses the […]
Tartuffe (Remixed) – Marylebone Theatre
Mark Rylance stars in a farce for our times When Molière’s farce Tartuffe was first performed for the King of France in 1664, it is thought that it met with royal approval, with King Louis XIV finding it amusing. Shortly afterwards, the play was banned after pressure was brought to bear on the king by […]
Woody Sez: The Life & Music of Woody Guthrie (Underbelly Boulevard Soho)
American folk music icon Woody Guthrie’s songs of social injustice, resilience and hope sparkle in the hands of the multitalented Woody Sez cast led by David Lutken
The Story National Theatre
Clint Dyer Brings Kinetic Energy to a Newsroom Battle The newsroom has always struck a chord with storytellers, both on the screen and on the stage, depicting everything from world politics in the 1976 film “All the President’s Men” to comic satire in the 90s TV series “Drop the Dead Donkey”. Drama fuelled by journalistic […]
Electra/Persona – National Theatre
After Sophocles and Ingmar Bergman Two actors enter in front of the audience and ask someone in the front row to spin a coin. It lands on heads, and Cate Blanchett chooses to act as Clytemnestra, leaving Nina Hoss to play Electra. The actors apply white makeup to their faces; we are transported to ancient […]