This has been an action-packed month, and I’ve done a lot in the 19 days I wasn’t in Edinburgh & Orkney!
The exhibition highlight was Hadrian at the British Museum; the second use of the magnificent Reading Room space. Though it was a bit crowded (even first thing on a Monday), I rather liked the way it told the story [...]
Archive for August, 2008
The Rest of August
Posted in Archaeology, Architecture, Art, Classical Music, Contemporary Music, Film, Opera, Theatre, tagged Archaeology, Architecture, Art, Classical Music, Contemporary Music, Film, Opera, Photography, Theatre on August 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Martha, Josie & the Chinese Elvis
Posted in Theatre, tagged Theatre on August 31, 2008 | 1 Comment »
This is a quirky Charlotte Jones play which has never had a proper London outing and I’m a bit puzzled as to why – and why this is only a one-week run. It’s a somewhat preposterous story of a dominatrix with a compulsive obsessive cleaner and a mentally handicapped daughter whose 40th Birthday party, arranged by a [...]
Edinburgh Festival Blog 2008
Posted in Art, Classical Music, Comedy, Contemporary Music, Dance, Theatre, tagged Art, Classical Music, Comedy, Contemporary Music, Dance, Theatre on August 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Well, here I am for the Nth time (I’ve lost count) in the August cultural capital trying to work out which of the c.2000 shows I should take in. The more you come the easier it gets, as you learn to discriminate between the best home for new writing in the UK (The Traverse) and [...]
They’re Playing Our Song
Posted in Theatre, tagged Theatre on August 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I’d question the decision to revive this, but it’s hard to fault the production.
It’s really a songspiel and just nine songs (some repeated) are padded out to a rather overlong 2.5 hours.
Connie Fisher successfully proves there’s life after Maria (and with an impeccable New York Jewish accent) and Alistair McGowan continues to succesfully establish himself [...]
Her Naked Skin
Posted in Theatre, tagged Theatre on August 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The suffragettes are a hugely important part of British 20th century history but their story is much neglected in film TV and theatre, so I welcomed Her Naked Skin.
Unfortunately, the playwright has made two decisions which seem to me to strangle her play at birth – the first is to run a personal story in [...]
50 Ways To Leave Your Lover
Posted in Comedy, Theatre, tagged Comedy, Theatre on August 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
This is one hour of sketches and one-liners on the theme of leaving your lover. It’s a very hit-and-miss affair which would be fun on the fringe but isn’t really substantial enough for a night at the Bush. I don’t know how big or noisy the previous tour venue was, but in this tiny space [...]
The Frontline
Posted in Theatre, tagged Theatre on August 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
This is probably the best non-Shakespeare play the Globe has ever put on. It’s a fairly plotless slice of life with overlapping tales and dialogue. It takes a while to atune your ears and concentrate (not aided by the notoriously noisy Globe crowd) but it gradually draws you in. Prostitutes, drug dealers, hot dog salesmen, [...]
The Mikado
Posted in Classical Music, Opera, Theatre, tagged Classical Music, Opera, Theatre on August 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
After wowing me with The Pyjama Game, this tiny space under the arches in Southwark now delivers a wonderful Mikado where the full house only out-numbers the audience by 3 to 1. I’m not a great Gilberrt & Sullivan fan and the only Mikado I’ve seen was at the other end of the size range [...]
London Top 5s – August 2008
Posted in Theatre, tagged Theatre on August 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Musicals (excluding very long-runners)
Billy Elliott
Hairspray
The Mikado @ Union Theatre
Jersey Boys
Marguerite
Plays & Comedies
Brief Encounter
Never So Good
The Frontline @ The Globe
39 Steps
The Female of the Species
