Playing Real Good for Free
One of the pleasures of our 10-day stay in Lisbon was the quality of the street music all over the city. Best of all was a really fine ensemble from Cabo Verde playing near the waterfront, Nôs Raíz. We listened…
RSC: Kathryn Hunter's Timon of Athens
Kathryn Hunter in Timon of Athens, photo by Simon Annand When Judith and I learned that the Royal Shakespeare was doing Timon of Athens this winter, with Kathryn Hunter in the lead role, we were more than excited. Kathryn Hunter…
RSC: Tartuffe in Birmingham
Tartuffe (played by Asif Khan) takes a selfie. The RSC's new version of Molière's Tartuffe is a remarkable piece of work. It transports the plot to Birmingham, and sets it in a Pakistani Muslim household. Tartuffe is a fake holy…
Richard II at the Almeida: the real Beale
It was with great anticipation that I went to the Almeida to see Simon Russell Beale in The Tragedy of Richard II. He had been a brilliant Timon of Athens at the National in 2012, in a startling production by…
Tate Modern Photo-ops
Picasso retrospective I love the Tate Modern. There's the shows, of course -- the free ones from the permanent collection and the blockbusters. There's the mysterious Tanks and the clever Artist Rooms. There's the building, with all its curves and…
Gallery 46: Photos of homeless in 1970s London
A room in Gallery 46 Gallery 46 is in Whitechapel at 46 Ashfield Road, one of two adjacent Georgian houses. To be admitted to 46, you knock on the door of its neighbour. The gallery occupies three floors of the…
National Theatre: Consent
Consent at the Harold Pinter Consent is what used to be called a "problem play", an examination from various perspectives of a current hot topic. The topic in this case: consensual sex versus rape. The characters are almost all lawyers…
Arcola Theatre: Donizetti and Ravel Operas
Opera Alegria poster for Grimeborn Grimeborn is an annual summer series of opera performances by alternative companies, held at the Arcola Theatre in Dalston. This is a chance to hear chamber versions of operas, sung up close and personal by…
