Two performers, a bare stage, and a tabletop of household objects combine to deliver a truly inventive work of physical theatre in A.I.M [An Invisible Mission]. A.I.M [An Invisible Mission] The best kind of fringe theatre tends to do one thing very well, and A.I.M [An Invisible Mission] knows exactly what it’s doing. ICA Theatre […]
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 […]
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 […]
As well as being a valuable green space in South East London, Crystal Palace Park contains several reminders of the great industrial wonder that once stood here. The Wonder of the Age The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, commonly known as the Great Exhibition, took place from 1 May to […]
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. […]
The Globe’s Romeo and Juliet, transplanted to the Wild West, gains more visually than textually from the shift. At the Globe on a Hot Summer’s Day Gosh, it’s been such a long time since I visited Shakespeare’s Globe. Years, in fact. Time does get away on you a bit, doesn’t it? And the Salterton Arts […]
