A new exhibition space at the Barbican opens up fresh possibilities, starting with Encounters: Giacometti x Huma Bhabha. This Place Looks Familiar If you’re interested in seeing this exhibition, I haven’t left you very long to get to the Barbican to see it. Yes, it’s that time in the exhibition cycle again where I’m rushing […]
Londongrad throws a newly minted Labour prime minister into crisis mode when Putin offers to buy London – via emoji – in this sharply–executed political farce. Londongrad There’s an undeniable energy to Londongrad, Athena Atherton’s satirical political farce that imagines what would happen if, just months into a Labour government, Vladimir Putin offered to buy […]
In All These Pretty Things, Tracey Yarad transforms personal heartbreak into a cathartic evening of songs and storytelling. All These Pretty Things It’s easy to imagine Tracey Yarad at a piano in the corner of a hotel bar, chatting to the regulars between songs, reading a room without seeming to try. That’s not to diminish […]
The sustainable travelling Shakespearean company The Handlebards return this summer with Much Ado About Nothing, bringing a cycling spin to the antics of Beatrice and Benedick. Handlebards, We Meet Again Long-time readers will remember the Handlebards, a sustainable Shakespearean touring company. I first saw them performing A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2023. They’re back this […]
A once in a lifetime exhibition, this is your chance to see Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, the Mona Lisa of manuscripts. A Once in a Lifetime Exhibition To begin with, it’s important to understand that I am very much a Benjaminian when it comes to art. I don’t care how good […]
I was invited to see Time Travelogues From Those Left Waiting, a film and installation by Harmeet Singh Rahal at the Acme Propeller Factory, and found myself drawn into a world where time is fluid and powerful. Time Travelogues From Those Left Waiting There’s a line that repeats in Time Travelogues From Those Left Waiting, […]
Who knew a coffee shop in a billionaire’s doomsday bunker could serve up such a funny, well-observed and quietly dystopian two-hander? It’s Not About Coffee certainly hits the spot. It’s Not About Coffee You don’t necessarily go into a play set in an underground coffee shop built by a tech billionaire with especially high hopes […]
Jenny Saville: The Anatomy of Painting at the National Portrait Gallery – a raw, compelling look at the body, form, and feminist art from one of the UK’s leading contemporary painters. A First Encounter with Jenny Saville I was glad to catch this exhibition early in its run (OK, fine, it then took me a […]
Ithell Colquhoun offers a compelling introduction to a quietly radical Surrealist who merged nature and the occult into a singular artistic vision. Getting Value from that Two-for-One Ticket Recently on the blog, I wrote about Tate Britain’s exhibition Edward Burra. It was, I said, very refreshing to have the enormous Tate Britain temporary exhibition space […]
Places I Never Think About is a tender, funny, and richly crafted piece of queer storytelling, using music, folklore, and puppetry to bring Eastern European myths to life. Places I Never Think About There’s something deeply human about storytelling at its most essential. A circle of listeners, voices across generations weaving and embellishing old stories. […]
