London
The Good Liar review - the grey pound dipped in acidFriday, 08 November 2019
Ian McKellen, his Mr Holmes director Bill Condon and Helen Mirren play clever, nasty games with conman clichés and presumptions about the elderly in this sometimes absurdly twisty thriller.McKellen’s Roy Courtnay is an irascible, whiskery cad,... Read more... |
Urioste, Chineke! Orchestra, Edusei, QEH review – a precious gem catches the light at lastFriday, 08 November 2019
The Chineke! Orchestra, founded by double-bassist Chi-chi Nwanoku as the first majority BME orchestra in the UK, is heading off this week on a substantial European tour, which began last night at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Since the organisation has... Read more... |
BaBa ZuLa, Jazz Cafe review - much more than mere entertainment from 'Turkish Psych' specialistsMonday, 04 November 2019
BaBa ZuLa only fully manifest their free spirit when they play live, and in the intimate setting of a venue like the Jazz Cafe, where the entre audience is close to the stage. The Istanbul purveyors of "Turkish Psych" began their set by infiltrating... Read more... |
Lisa Stansfield, Royal Albert Hall - mutual Affection, 30 years onFriday, 01 November 2019
Rochdale boasts quite a number of star turns but those that spring readily to mind are William Walton, Andy Kershaw, Barb Jungr, Gracie Fields and Lisa Stansfield. And here’s a good pub quiz question: what, apart from Rochdale, links Gracie and Lisa... Read more... |
Little Simz, EartH review - bossing itWednesday, 30 October 2019
Little Simz exits through the ladies. It's telling, since her set at EartH is the capstone to a tour that, by her own admission, has left her rinsed, broken friendships, torn her away from her family and led her to question her career. And yet, as... Read more... |
Lucian Freud: The Self-Portraits, Royal Academy review - mesmerising intensitySunday, 27 October 2019
Lucian Freud died in 2011 after a career spanning some 70 odd years. Over the decades, he painted and drew himself repeatedly, creating a fascinating portrait of a man who spent an inordinate amount of time scrutinising himself and others.One of the... Read more... |
Little Baby Jesus, Orange Tree Theatre review - an early play thrillingly alive for nowThursday, 24 October 2019
Time has been not just kind but even crucial to Little Baby Jesus, the 2011 play from the multi-hyphenate talent Arinzé Kene, who since then has gone on become a major name on and offstage: the West End transfer of his self-penned... Read more... |
Gerstein, LPO, Adès, RFH review - engaging new piano concertoThursday, 24 October 2019
Every ten years or so Thomas Adès writes a piano concerto and the latest had its UK premiere last night at the Royal Festival Hall, played by Kirill Gerstein and conducted by Adès himself. Following on from the youthful, skittish Concerto Conciso of... Read more... |
Hogarth: Place and Progress, Sir John Soane’s Museum review - state of the nationThursday, 24 October 2019
Of the British, the English have a reputation for satire. They’re also prone to stupidity. The combination of biting morality and excoriating wit required to deride this tendency reached notable heights in the work of engraver and painter William... Read more... |
Don Pasquale, Royal Opera review - fun and frolics in stylish new productionSaturday, 19 October 2019
Venetian director Damiano Michieletto’s new Royal Opera production of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale is a clever and entertaining mix of old and new. The curtain rises to reveal a skeleton of a 1960s style house - there are doors, but no walls, revealing... Read more... |
Glennie, Lubbe, Ticciati, O/Modernt, Kings Place review - a Pergolesi-based dudSaturday, 19 October 2019
Some of the greatest pieces of the string orchestra repertoire are based on pre-existing pieces: the fantasias by Tippett and Vaughan Williams, on Corelli and Tallis respectively, treat their starting material with invention and sweep, creating... Read more... |
Giri/Haji, BBC Two review - inspired Anglo-Japanese thriller makes compulsive viewingFriday, 18 October 2019
Well here’s an interesting one. We’ve been up to our eyebrows in Eurocops for the past few years, but this Anglo-Japanese fusion from BBC Two (the title translates as "Duty / Shame") feels strikingly fresh and different.It began, as policiers are... Read more... |
