The National Portrait Gallery‘s exhibition juxtaposing two pioneering female photographers, Francesca Woodman and Julia Margaret Cameron: Portraits to Dream In creates a curious tension in which the pairing both makes sense and doesn’t. Read on to discover why. Francesca Woodman and Julia Margaret Cameron Francesca Woodman. Julia Margaret Cameron. Do you recognise the names? I […]
A father’s story is unravelled in front of our eyes in The Tailor of Inverness, a compelling if detail-heavy one man show by Matthew Zajac. The Tailor of Inverness In seeing this play, although this run at the Finborough Theatre is its London debut, I join a cumulative audience of more than 40,000 across at […]
Martha Watson Allpress’s Lady Dealer is a mile-a-minute play about a girl-bossing, poetic, witty drug dealer who is fine. Totally fine. Lady Dealer The more someone reassures us they’re fine, the more we know they’re not, right? Generally speaking it holds true in real life, and also very much in the dramatic format of the […]
Suzan-Lori Parks’ play The Book of Grace packs a real punch under the direction of Femi Elufowoju Jr. The Book of Grace This is the second time I’ve seen a play by Suzan-Lori Parks. Similar to other playwrights like Lynn Nottage, Parks’ work is self-referential, creating links and synergies which reward repeat forays into her […]
The Royal Academy’s exhibition about one of its two founding female members, Angelica Kauffman reminds us of the difficulties faced by pioneering female artists, whilst also giving a decent overview of Kauffman’s work. Angelica Kauffman Maria Anna Angelika Kauffmann was born in what is now Switzerland in 1741. The only child of Austrian painter Joseph […]
Polly (The Heartbreak Opera) goes back into the archives to create a very contemporary adaptation. An obscure 1729 ballad opera is the perfect source material for a modern feminist show? Tell me more! A Historic Work, Ripe for a Radical Retelling Do you have to be familiar with John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera or its […]
Rosamund Gravelle brings to life Tudor intrigues over the course of a dramatic night in Three Queens, now on at Barons Court Theatre. Three Queens What goes on behind the closed doors of the royal family? It’s something we speculate about frequently today. But this interest has been around for at least as long as […]
An urgent, global survey of artists who experiment with feminism and resistance/protest through photography, Acts of Resistance at the South London Gallery constitutes a compelling contemporary exhibition. Acts of Resistance In search of a cultural outing one weekend recently, I decided to stay local and head to the South London Gallery. This venerable institution opened […]
A new play by Sonali Bhattacharyya, Liberation Squares puts the government’s Prevent strategy under the spotlight as three Muslim schoolgirls find their path to confidence and self-determination. Liberation Squares There’s been a synergy in the theatre I’ve seen this week. A shared preoccupation between SO THAT YOU MAY GO BEYOND THE SEA and Liberation Squares […]
A very personal exploration of identity, cultural appropriation and relationships, Undone Theatre‘s SO THAT YOU MAY GO BEYOND THE SEA will forever alter how you see Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. On at Camden People’s Theatre. SO THAT YOU MAY GO BEYOND THE SEA Have I seen theatre in the form of a thought experiment before? I’m […]
