Poetry, puppetry and music create a powerful production This superb production of Shakespeare’s tragicomic poem, Venus and Adonis, has been reprised by the dream team of Greg Doran, former Artistic Director of the RSC and Simon Russell Beale, one of the UK’s foremost Shakespearean actors. Both men are steeped in Shakespearean knowledge and the staging […]
High Society – Barbican Theatre
True love Hollywood style, old friends and just a little misbehaviour The play, The Philadelphia Story, on which High Society is based, premiered on Broadway on 28 March 1939, starring Katharine Hepburn as Tracy Lord, a role specifically written for her. Based on a book by Arthur Kopit, the Broadway success was swiftly followed by […]
Beatriz González – Barbican Art Gallery
‘Art says things that history cannot’ explains González Beatriz González, who passed away in January 2026, sadly did not live to see the opening of her first retrospective show in the UK. She had, however, previously walked around the rooms of the Barbican art gallery, discussing the layout of the show, and asked whether the […]
Julia Phillips at the Barbican Curve
Inside, Before They Speak Exhibition Writers often use the term ‘visceral’ metaphorically, to signify raw, instinctive emotions: but as applied to the current exhibition at the Barbican Curve, Julia Phillips’s Inside, Before They Speak, the term is used quite literally. The exhibition focuses on the Chicago-based artist’s almost obsessive interest in the body, particularly […]
Wendy & Peter Pan – The Barbican Theatre
Wendy & Peter Pan doesn’t have the strongest storyline, but it is a jolly good ride, and a comfortable one at that, thanks to the Barbican’s excellent seats. It’s an entertaining, incredibly well-produced spectacle that reminds you that, however old you are, playfulness is not just for children.
Gesualdo Passione, Barbican Review
A work of intense religious fervour, Gesualdo Passione inextricably knits together music and movement in 65 minutes of extraordinary originality. I had never seen anything like it before. Brought to London by Dance Umbrella – stress “dance” – it was described as “a concert” by the Barbican, where it had its one-off performance in the Barbican Hall, which usually hosts music concerts.
Lucy Raven: Rounds Review
You hear it before you see it. An almighty explosion, followed by crystalline burbling calls the visitor to the far end of the Curve and the film of a river’s progress towards the sea and back again.
Dirty Looks: Desire and Decay in Fashion
The Barbican Dwells on the Dirty Side of Fashion Who knew the now ubiquitous torn jeans have a distinguished cultural pedigree? Yes, it seems they are direct descendants of 19th-century Parisian Bohemians’ predilection for “lived-in” garments, by way of the Surrealists of the 1930s, the Beats of the 1950s, the hippies of the 1960s, punks […]
Mona Hatoum Encounters: Giacometti, Barbican
Giacometti X Mona Hatoum is the second in the Barbican’s trilogy of exhibitions, Encounters: Giacometti, that matches the practices of three contemporary artists against historic works by Giacometti. The first contemporary artist in the series was Huma Bhabha, and the third and final is Lynda Benglis, coming in February 2026.
Game Season and the Jugged Hare
The Jugged Hare has long been one of my favourite London game restaurants. In the shadow of the brutalist Barbican Centre, it has the easy warmth of a country pub, and despite being in the heart of the City, it serves the kind of seasonal British produce that makes it a standout.