A quick look at the 2022 Bloomsbury Festival, in which I sampled but a small number of the events on offer under the theme ‘Breathe’. Bloomsbury Festival 2022 I’ve said before that a great feature of London life is that there’s always something on. In fact the problem is likely to be that there’s too […]
A review of the West End transfer of the Almeida’s production of The Doctor, with Juliet Stevenson reprising the title role. Identity politics writ large in Robert Icke’s loose adaptation from an earlier work by Arthur Schnitzler. The Doctor It feels a bit like a full circle moment to be seeing Juliet Stevenson on stage. […]
A review of The Moors in its UK premiere at London’s Hope Theatre. This darkly comic, immersive production brings the surrealist Gothic text to life. The Moors You’ve probably read some Gothic fiction before. Maybe something by Emily Brontë, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker. Ringing any bells? Well the writer of today’s play, Jen Silverman, is […]
A review of a VR experience at Swedenborg House, allowing you to step into the world of Hilma af Klint. Captivating if short, it brought mediumistic art to life for this reviewer. Hilma af Klint Today’s post isn’t about any old artist – the beliefs and artistic practice of Hilma af Klint are integral to […]
An evening in London’s Old Operating Theatre Museum where I observe a recreation of a Victorian mummy unrolling. Unexpected, unique and very educational! You Went To What Now? A Victorian mummy unrolling! Maybe you’ve heard of it before, maybe not. But it’s fairly self-explanatory, if a bit macabre. Victorians (the practice was mostly but not […]
A review of The Canterville Ghost, a perfect Halloween show by Tall Stories on at the Southwark Playhouse. Tall Stories rework Oscar Wilde’s original story into a fun evening of magic, illusions and ghostly happenings in a music hall production. The Canterville Ghost It’s the right time of year to see a production which is […]
Pearl Cleage’s tragi-comedy Blues for an Alabama Sky makes for powerful viewing at the National Theatre. With a strong ensemble cast and all of the precarious glamour and ever-present hardship of the Harlem Renaissance. Blues For An Alabama Sky The Harlem Renaissance is a period which endlessly inspires us even a century later. The jazz, […]
An evening of film, music and poetry, Black Corporeal (Breathing by Numbers) continues Julianknxx’s exposure of the realities of Black lives in London and the effect of the built environment on the psyche. Black Corporeal The mind of a poet is a wonderful thing. They have a wonderful ability to draw out connections, strip complex […]
A look at the latest series by Valerie Ellis, artist and former psychotherapist. Spread Too Thin once again captures the Zeitgeist of our current moment. Spread Too Thin Today’s post is a rare commercial gallery outing for the Salterton Arts Review. Even rarer, this is an artist whose work we have seen before. Valerie Ellis […]
A review of The Cherry Orchard. A new version at the Yard Theatre in Hackney Wick sees Chekhov’s tale in an intergalactic, South Asian setting, exposing the currents of universality and specificity in both. The Cherry Orchard Often times, all it takes to get me interested in something is a hook. On this occasion, I […]