London
Blu-ray: Nil by MouthTuesday, 03 January 2023
Greg Urbanski, Gary Oldman’s long-term producing partner, tells us on the commentary track that no film company wanted to touch the script of Nil by Mouth. Oldman was riding high as an actor in 1996, renowned for his shape-shifting... Read more... |
Chasing the Night, Echo Vocal Ensemble and Friends, Latto, Kings Place review - midwinter songs from around the worldFriday, 16 December 2022
At this of year there is always a good range of seasonal choral concerts on offer in London – and an audience for them all, weather and strikes permitting. But while I enjoy a canter through Carols for Choirs as much as anyone, I am perhaps more... Read more... |
Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol, Queen Elizabeth Hall review - Scrooge goes to TennesseeThursday, 15 December 2022
We’ve had 75 years to get used to Scrooge McDuck, so we can hardly complain if the Americans indulge in a little cultural appropriation and send Charles Dickens’ misanthrope to Depression-era Tennessee for another whirl on the catharsis-redemption... Read more... |
Emma Smith, Pizza Express Jazz Club review - Christmas spiritedThursday, 15 December 2022
There’s much fun to be had with snow, and fun things go with it, too, such as album launches in Soho on a freezing Saturday night in December, when the rest of the country is watching England depart the World Cup in the quarter finals.Downstairs at... Read more... |
Kerry Jackson, National Theatre review - new writing nadirMonday, 12 December 2022
Is British new writing in deep trouble? With the Arts Council defunding venues such as the Hampstead Theatre, the Donmar and the Gate, and past masters such as Terry Johnson underperforming, the signs are not good. But what about the National... Read more... |
First Aid Kit, Eventim Apollo review - joyful folk rockSunday, 11 December 2022
Growing up in Sweden, sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg developed ways of combatting the biting cold and bleak darkness of winter. As well as writing during wintertime, they turned to the open landscapes and pervasive desert heat of the USA to... Read more... |
Harry & Meghan, Netflix review - at home with the HarklesFriday, 09 December 2022
There’s no stopping Harry and Meghan. Logic, reason and facts can’t stand in the way of their “war on oppression and injustice” and determination to become “advocates of healing”. Even though their notorious interview with Oprah Winfrey was littered... Read more... |
Mandela, Young Vic review - baffling bio-musicalFriday, 09 December 2022
As bio-musicals continue to have their heyday, it makes sense for the Young Vic to throw its hat in the ring and champion a work about the hugely influential Nelson Mandela. But this new musical about the South African anti-apartheid activist and... Read more... |
Orlando, Garrick Theatre review - Emma Corrin is incandescent in an underwhelming adaptationTuesday, 06 December 2022
Identity is thorny business. This was the parting thought of Anna X, the play that marked Emma Corrin’s West End debut in the summer of 2021. The same credo governs Corrin’s return to London theatre with Orlando, in Neil Bartlett’s adaptation of... Read more... |
Baghdaddy, Royal Court review - Middle-Eastern magic realismMonday, 28 November 2022
What is the best way of talking about the Middle East? Should plays take a documentary or verbatim approach, all the better to educate and inform, or is there another path, with includes entertainment, and that magic ingredient called theatricality?... Read more... |
Mary Gauthier, Union Chapel review - a living room concert in all but nameSunday, 27 November 2022
Mary Gauthier’s first tour in more than three years landed at London’s Union Chapel on Saturday, concluding with another sold-out gig. The venue is perfect for unplugged acts – intimate, architecturally pleasing and acoustically spot on. But cold,... Read more... |
Basel Saleh, Sansara, United Strings of Europe, St Martin-in-the-Fields review - music of sanctuary and solidaritySaturday, 26 November 2022
This collaboration between two young and exciting ensembles, the choir Sansara and the United Strings of Europe, had its heart in a good place. It explored notions of sanctuary and solidarity with those suffering displacement, through a diverse... Read more... |
