The Cuban Ballet Superstar Returns to the Stage Carlos Acosta retired from the stage in 2015; but the stage hasn’t never left him, and in Myths and Modern Masters, his self-curated programme, which has just opened at Covent Garden, he proves once again that at 53 he’s still got what it takes. At just over […]
The Car Man – Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures
Bizet’s Carmen Inspires Bourne’s Raunchiest Work I’ll be honest. The first time I saw Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man at its London premiere at the Old Vic in 2000, I disliked it intensely. Since then, Matthew Bourne’s tale of sex, sleaze, jealousy and murder among car mechanics in 1950s small-town America, very loosely inspired by […]
Die Entführung aus dem Serail at Glyndebourne
Escape to the Country With the hideous realities of people trafficking for sexual exploitation regularly in the news, it’s an apposite moment for a sparky revival of David McVicar’s 2015 production of Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail. The work is a landmark “singspiel” from 1782, a German form of opera promoted by Holy Roman […]
Tao of Glass
A Portrait of the Artist… The charismatic Phelim McDermott is the central figure in The Tao of Glass, a work that originated from a unique theatrical collaboration with the American minimalist composer Philip Glass. First staged as part of the 2019 Manchester International Festival, it tracks Phelim’s life from a young theatre-obsessed boy, to a […]
Love’s Labour’s Lost, Shakespeare’s Globe
Flirting and Flamenco in a Bailar of the Sexes Why isn’t Love’s Labour’s Lost a better loved Shakespeare play? It borrows familiar components audiences know from other pieces – the disguises of Twelfth Night, the “play within a play” antics of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and plenty of romantic chicanery and silliness. Less frequently staged […]
Marianela – Timeless
A Celebration of Royal Ballet Veteran Principal Marianela Núñez Marianela Nuñez is very easy to love. Her radiant smile has been lighting up the stage at Covent Garden for 28 years, her all-consuming love of dance bringing an added dimension to every step she makes – and how she makes them! At 44-years-old, the Royal […]
BBC Proms 2026 – Sibelius’s Second
Three Masterpieces, One Outstanding Prom How do you pick your Proms? Now that I’m not always in London, choosing which Proms to attend is a real challenge. The breadth of programming is extraordinary, often featuring orchestras and soloists who only appear in London once or twice a year. I try my best to balance going […]
Trainspotting: The Musical (Theatre Royal Haymarket)
Much-loved 90s Scottish cult classic movie about heroin addiction gets a slightly baffling musical makeover Thirty years ago back in my provincial hometown, I sat down in the local movie theatre to watch Trainspotting. The subject matter (heroin addiction) did not sound like something that I would ordinarily be interested in, but everyone was talking […]
Hofesh Shechter: In the Brain
A New High-Octane Work for the Young Dancers of Shechter II Part rave, part ritual, relentlessly physical and danced to loud, throbbing music, Hofesh Shechter’s In the Brain is a high-energy, pulsating work, the kind that we’ve come to expect from this choreographer, showing many of his characteristic tropes, yet somehow fresh and newly engaging […]
BBC Proms 2026 – Mahler’s Tragic Sixth.
A Summer of Classics in London and Beyond. For more than 130 years, the BBC Proms has been one of the highlights of the classical music calendar. Founded in 1895 by impresario Robert Newman and conductor Sir Henry Wood, the original Promenade Concerts were designed to bring great music to the widest possible audience, with […]