A small exhibition at the National Gallery, From the Shadows makes the case for Joseph Wright of Derby as an important artist with a strong local identity. Wright of Derby: From the Shadows I’ve written many times before about exhibitions at the National Gallery – most recently about Radical Harmony: Helene Kröller-Müller’s Neo-Impressionists, and prior […]
I finally make it to Chislehurst Caves, and find an intriguing mix of pseudo-archaeology, WWII forebearance, and music history. Introducing Chislehurst Caves Let’s start by getting one thing straight. Despite the name, Chislehurst Caves aren’t caves. They area instead man-made tunnels and caverns, excavated as chalk and flint mines. The first mention of the mines, […]
A quick visit to Autograph for I Still Dream of Lost Vocabularies turned into a wander through photography, textiles, video and family archives. I Still Dream of Lost Vocabularies I’ve always liked collage. It allows different histories, textures, and viewpoints to sit side by side. It resists being forced into neat alignment. That feels like […]
At North London’s Park Theatre, Patrick Marber’s After Miss Julie revisits August Strindberg’s classic drama through the lens of post-war Britain. After Miss Julie August Strindberg’s Miss Julie still seems to intrigue audiences more than a century after its debut. At North London’s Park Theatre we see it through the lens of After Miss Julie […]
MILES. at the Southwark Playhouse feels less like a conventional play and more like a piece of live jazz, with all the unpredictability that implies. MILES. I was thinking, as I watched MILES. at the Southwark Playhouse Borough, about a pre-show talk I once went to by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. I’m not […]
Monstering the Rocketman at the Arcola Theatre takes on 1980s tabloid journalism through the lens of Elton John and The Sun. Monstering the Rocketman I briefly considered sprinkling this review with Elton John puns. It’s easily done, and I’ve seen it work elsewhere in writing about Henry Naylor’s one-man show Monstering the Rocketman, now at […]
Debate: Baldwin vs. Buckley brings a landmark 1965 Cambridge Union Society debate to Wilton’s Music Hall, and proves that it still has plenty to say. Note: this post uses outdated terminology in a historic context. Debate: Baldwin vs. Buckley I love Wilton’s Music Hall for the possibilities its space and programming embody. In the past […]
Today’s review is a rare opportunity to engage with an interconnected play and exhibition: Mary Lincoln & Frida Kahlo UNFRAMED at the Royal Watercolour Society Gallery, and Mrs. President at the nearby Charing Cross Theatre. Both are the work of John Ransom Phillips, who took inspiration from Mary Lincoln herself to tell this story. A […]
Cable Street returns to London at a moment when its story of community resistance to fascism feels worryingly relevant. Cable Street Well. I can’t imagine that when Tim Gilvin and Alex Kanefsky independently had the idea for a musical about the Battle of Cable Street back in 2018, they quite realised how timely it would […]
In Tell Me, Sadiq Ali Company combines Chinese pole, theatre and dance to explore an HIV diagnosis with striking visual confidence. Tell Me I really liked Tell Me by Sadiq Ali Company. It’s a bold blend of unflinching subject matter and physical prowess across circus, theatre and dance. The hour-long devised work follows a young […]
