A review of Folk at London’s Hampstead Theatre. A ‘play with songs’ that goes to the heart of Englishness, tradition and preservation. Folk How fortunate that I was able to get a return ticket for Folk! I missed its first run as part of Hampstead Theatre‘s winter season, and initially missed out on tickets for […]
A description of a visit to Burgh House in Hampstead, which also includes the Hampstead Museum. A nice survival which has become something of a neighbourhood cultural hub. Burgh House And Hampstead Museum Burgh House is a delighfully historic house in the delightfully upmarket London suburb of Hampstead. It dates to 1704, which means it […]
A review of Peggy For You, the last of Hampstead Theatre’s season of ‘originals’. This comedic portrait of real-life agent Peggy Ramsay is affectionate yet honest, with a top-notch performance by Tamsin Greig. Alan Plater on Peggy Ramsay Peggy Ramsay was a force to be reckoned with. Her life, ironically enough, sounds like a character […]
A review of The Two Character Play, a Tennessee Williams play which originally premiered right here at the Hampstead Theatre. But was I going mad, or was the play? The Two Character Play – A Late Work By Tennessee Williams I knew very little about The Two Character Play going into this. Just a brief […]
A review of the Alfred Fagon play The Death of a Black Man at Hampstead Theatre. A period revival that covers a lot of ground, from cricket to death via capitalism and pan-Africanism. Reviving A Hampstead Theatre Original: The Death of a Black Man My outing this week was the first time I’ve ever been […]
On today’s walk we trace the Fleet from one of its sources on Hampstead Heath, through centuries and city streets all the way to Blackfriars. London’s Lost Rivers: It’s Been a While! It sure has. “The years start comin’ and they don’t stop comin’,” to quote a key touchstone of millennial culture. And so the […]
A first-time visit to Kenwood House turns into an unexpectedly rich day out, combining historic architecture, a world-class art collection, and Hampstead’s landscape history A Day Out at Kenwood House A recent bank holiday brought the perfect excuse for a day out, and Kenwood House did not disappoint. In fact, it turned into such a […]
Two very different London museums tell us a lot about how the dialogue around human remains in museums is evolving, at least in the UK. Content warning: this post inevitably deals with death and human remains. I have, however, made an effort not to show images/close-up images of human remains. I use the terms ‘human […]
Get ready for a bumper week of architectural treasures as we embark on Part II of 2024 Open House. Open House London 2024: Part II You know how I got so overexcited at Open House this year that I had to split my post in two (first part here)? Well buckle up everyone, this second […]
A lyrical journey through London and beyond, Jan Noble takes a tragedy as his starting point to create something beautiful in Body 115. The Story Of Body 115 I first noticed the memorial plaque a few years ago, on a wall at King’s Cross Station. It references a tragedy which occurred on 18 November 1987. […]
