Reviews
BBC Young Dancer 2015, BBC FourSaturday, 18 April 2015
Lest the BBC Four imprint prove not strong enough a signal, I'll say it loud and clear: don't go into this expecting Strictly, kids. On the evidence of last night's contemporary dance showdown, the first of four section finals, the brand new BBC... Read more... |
DiDonato, NYPO, Gilbert, BarbicanSaturday, 18 April 2015
Visits by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra are always an adrenaline boost for musical life in London, and yesterday evening was no exception. The first concert in their brief residency took in Finnish, French and German music (plus one Russian... Read more... |
La Fille mal gardée, Royal BalletSaturday, 18 April 2015
In 1803 they called it Filly me Gardy. Today British ballet lovers refer to it by a single coded syllable: “Fee”. But translating its title is, for audiences at least, the only hard thing about this three-act romcom by Frederick Ashton. The rest is... Read more... |
The Necks, Village UndergroundFriday, 17 April 2015
Novelty and rapture are rare commodities in Shoreditch these days, where everything has already been tried, and nothing surprises. But Australian post-jazz trio The Necks, ending their European tour at Village Underground last night, mesmerised the... Read more... |
Measure for Measure, Cheek by Jowl/Pushkin Theatre, BarbicanFriday, 17 April 2015
Russia isn’t the only country where violations of personal freedoms and censorship seem to be mounting by the day, but it’s surely the most confused: ask any of the persecutors what they hope to achieve, and you won’t get a convincing answer. Moral... Read more... |
Child 44Friday, 17 April 2015
"There is no murder in paradise" is the official line of the authorities in 1950s Russia, but nevertheless Child 44 is the blood-drenched tale of a hunt for a mass-murdering paedophile in Stalin's deathly shadow. The source novel was the first in... Read more... |
Mortal Kombat XFriday, 17 April 2015
I've got blood in my eyes… no, hang on a second, it's OK, it's not blood – it's brains and a bit of severed spinal column! Mortal Kombat X is one of the most gleefully violent and bloody videogames ever.It may not technically offer the best in fast-... Read more... |
Gypsy, Savoy TheatreThursday, 16 April 2015
Vaudeville is alive and well in the silvered Lilliputian cave which might have been made for it (not that Victorian Savoyards could have had any inkling). If you find yourself, like last night’s showbiz audience, beguiled to cheering point by the... Read more... |
Auf dem Gebirge hat man ein Geschrei gehört, Tanztheater Wuppertal, Sadler's WellsThursday, 16 April 2015
Retrospectives are difficult in dance, and for Pina Bausch's brand of Tanztheater, even more difficult. A great deal of her oeuvre's impact derives from the special atmosphere of her Wuppertal company, whose dancers were devoted to her and to each... Read more... |
Paul Simon and Sting, O2 ArenaThursday, 16 April 2015
Put your hand up if you were in the audience last night, or indeed on any of the nights of this ambitious On Stage Together tour, and came only to see one man, and that man was Paul Simon. I’m sure you won’t need much nudging. After all, after... Read more... |
Newzoids / Thunderbirds Are Go, ITVThursday, 16 April 2015
Who says satire is dead? After this, I would imagine just about everybody. According to Jon Culshaw, one of the prime movers in ITV's new puppet-CGI farrago Newzoids [*], this isn't just Spitting Image revisited because "the puppets have... Read more... |
Lampedusa, Soho TheatreThursday, 16 April 2015
You might think you know what you’re in for with a play by Anders Lustgarten, winner of the inaugural Harold Pinter Playwright’s Award and current go-to political activist for the Royal Court and the National. Listed alongside the plays on his CV is... Read more... |
