53 YEARS The No. No 1 Magazine Maga ine for International International Vis V Visitors is sitors
Charity No. 226446
Est.1956 Est.1 1956 No.2748 Friday y 5 June, 2009 OL OLYMP LYMP LY Y PIC PIC CITY 2012 OLYMPIC
Charity No. 1117794 Registered Charity number 1120920
ENO’s new production of MOZART’s most popular comic opera Following the sell-out success of ENO classic THE MAGIC FLUTE 29 May – 5 July 2009 10 performances only
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ENO LIVE AT THE LONDON COLISEUM www.eno.org 0871 911 0200 Illustration by Steve Rawlings
Welcome to London CONTENTS Events
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Royal Marines Beating Retreat London’s Open Garden Squares
Music
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BBC Proms at Westfield Ronnie Scott’s at 50
Exhibitions
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Science Museum Centenary Avenue of Champions at Belgravia
Theatre
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All’s Well That Ends Well
Proprietor Julie Jones Chairman Terry Mansfield CBE Advertising Janet Gardener Editorial Sue Webster Jessica Rowe
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Whilst every care is taken in the preparation of this magazine and in the handling of all the material supplied, neither the Publishers nor their agents accept responsibility for any damage, errors or omissions, however these may be caused.
June is the perfect time for art-lovers to visit London, when clement weather coincides with an abundance of fabulous visual arts events. An annual highlight is The Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair which takes place between 11-17 June and which celebrates its 75th flourishing year in 2009. The UK's most prestigious and oldest-established art fair is held in The Great Room of Park Lane's Grosvenor House hotel, Europe's largest ballroom, which has been the venue of the Fair since 1934. Nearly ninety of the world's top dealers cluster to offer for sale carefully chosen examples of the finest quality art and antiques spanning 5,000 years. The variety of works on offer is extraordinary and this year traditional fields such as painting, jewellery and furniture will be joined by fresh and exciting new disciplines such as wine, photography and classic film posters. The Fair is the perfect destination at which to start or expand upon a private collection and appeals to first-time investors and seasoned buyers alike. For those who prefer just to browse, it is equally special. Over the years the Fair has raised nearly £3.5 for worthy causes and this year the benefiting charity will be the National Osteoporosis Society. Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall will attend the ‘Grand Tour’ themed Royal Charity Gala, which takes place within the Fair on 11 June and is followed by dinner in the spectacularly decorated ballroom. The Gala regularly attracts a stylish crowd peppered with famous faces and this year will be no exception. We warmly invite you to The Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair, an unmissable event for London visitors whether you are looking to invest or simply wish to witness a stunning array of beautiful works.
Alison Vaissiere Director, The Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair www.grosvenorfair.co.uk
VISITOR INFORMATION Emergencies 999 Police Ambulance Fire 24 Hour Casualty 020 8746 8000 Dentistry 0808 155 3256 The Berkeley Clinic, 19 Upper Berkeley St, W1. Tel: 020 7724 4004 www.theberkeleyclinic.com
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EXPERIENCE SOUL-STIRRING PAGEANTRY AT BEATING RETREAT The Massed Bands of Her Majesty's Royal Marines will perform their world-renowned Beating Retreat ceremony on London's Horse Guards Parade in celebration of the birthday of their Captain General, His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on 9th, 10th and 11th June at 18.15. The Duke of Edinburgh has now become the longest-serving royal consort in British history, having surpassed the record of 57 years and 70 days set by Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III, making this year's ceremony an even more special occasion.
All five of the Royal Marines Bands will be performing, comprising a total of 200 of the world's finest military musicians, with all proceeds going to Help for Heroes and service charities. Only performed once every three years, this magnificent pageant of military music, precision drill and colour dates back to the 16th century and is regarded as a piece of living history. To book tickets, call 0844 847 2504 or visit www.ticketmaster.co.uk and search for Royal Marines Beating Retreat. Tickets are priced at £12 each or £40 for a family ticket. Don’t miss it!
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LONDON’S OPEN GARDEN SQUARES WEEKEND Visitors who buy tickets for Transport for London’s Open Garden Squares Weekend at the Britain and London Visitor Centre and be in with a chance of winning a Fortnum and Mason hamper. Tickets are on sale at the Britain and London Visitor Centre from 6-14 June and the centre will exhibit sculptured plants, injecting some flora and fauna into the proceedings. While purchasing a pass to unlock the secret green spaces of London, a refreshing glass of Pimms or succulent strawberries will be available. Open Garden Squares Weekend which takes place on 13–14 June sees some usually hidden green spaces open up to members of the public, including Lincoln’s Inn gardens with its magnificent lawns, Lambeth Palace, one of the oldest and largest private gardens, and Bedford Square, the best complete example of a Georgian square in London. More intriguing locations such as HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs and The Goring Hotel’s enclosed garden can be viewed by special arrangement. Get some inspiration for the summer season and learn about the wealth of gardens that are opening their gates in Britain. With such a variety to visit, from wild and organic to exotic and landscaped, there’s something to suit all ages. 7.8 million overseas visitors went to a park or garden while on a trip to the UK and it’s a popular day out with Brits too. Whether you’re looking for a garden within day trip distance from London or a place to visit while on holiday, drop into the Britain and London Visitor Centre for ideal destinations for the green-fingered. Log on to www.opensquares.org L O N D O N
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TRAFALGAR SQUARE FOUNTAINS UPGRADE TURNS THEM 'GREEN' The latest stage in the transformation of Trafalgar Square is formally unveiled this week, following the refurbishment and contemporary makeover of the Grade II* listed fountains. A major element has been the installation of an innovative 'green' energy lighting system, replacing the previous lighting, which was beyond repair. As well as saving thousands of pounds a year in running costs, the state of the art lighting will enable the fountains to be lit up in different colours to tie in with major events, further enhancing the square as one of the greatest public squares to visit – every year 13 million people come from all over the world to the instantly recognisable landmark. The work, which began in March, also included renovation of metalwork, conservation of the merman, dolphins and tritons, as well as cleaning, pointing and repair of stonework. In addition, work on the three pumps, which power the fountains with continuously recirculated water, means the fountains will cascade higher than has been seen for around thirty years. London Mayor Boris Johnson said: 'This is the final major piece of the transformation of one the greatest public squares in time for the 2012 Games. It brings together the old and the new in a T H I S
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way that London does so well and 60 years since work began on the present layout, it is a brilliant way to help kick off the Story of London festival - which is about celebrating the capital's past, present and future.' The new LED lighting system was first used last week, helping herald in the Story of London festival, which runs throughout June. The new lighting replaces the previous system, which was beyond repair. It will cut the carbon footprint of the fountain lighting by an estimated 90 per cent saving 16,400 kg of carbon every year, as well as saving thousands of pounds on energy bills. The Mayor has set a target to cut carbon emissions by 60 per cent by 2025 helping London to protect the planet and save money off energy bills. Work on the fountains began in March. They were designed by Sir Charles Barry and were later remodelled by Sir Edwin Lutyens starting in the late 1930s and completed after World War II; they are now Grade II* listed. The refurbishment of the fountains follows the once in a generation restoration of Nelson’s Column, which was completed in partnership with Zurich Insurance in 2006, and the part pedestrianisation and remodelling of the square in 2003. For more information about Trafalgar Square visit: www.london.gov.uk/trafalgarsquare
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JESSOPS LAUNCHES NEW FLAGSHIP STORE Jessops, the UK’s leading photographic retailer, has launched its new look flagship store on London’s New Oxford Street. Intended to personify Jessops’ reputation as a full service photographic retailer, the store represents Jessops’ expertise from product through to prints in a contemporary retail environment. The London New Oxford Street branch builds on the successful launch of Jessops’ Westfield London store in 2008. Customers are encouraged to interact with product in advance of purchase and as such, Jessops’ full range of photographic equipment is on display throughout the store for customers to engage with and experience without request. Jessops’ offers a leading selection of photographic equipment throughout the New Oxford Street store. Featuring leading brands including Canon, Nikon and Sony, the flagship store creates a platform for a vast range of photographic equipment set in an innovative and exciting environment. The flagship store boasts 14 Lucidiom kiosks, Jessops’ largest selection on any one site, each offering from 25 minutes to 24 hour photo processing as well as Jessops’ full range of personalised photographic gifts. The branch also offers a dedicated photo studio where consumers can benefit from passport photos to family portraits. The emphasis on printing continues downstairs where customers can enjoy a dedicated photo suite where the lab enables customers to enjoy watching their photos being developed as they browse. The London Oxford Street branch is also Jessops’ first to offer on-site canvas printing where customised canvas art can be printed, mounted and collected within the hour. Uniquely, the flagship store also features a Jessops Academy Training room where photographers from novice to professional can enjoy courses to develop their photographic ability and technique in an environment devoted to their passion. L O N D O N
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LOST MUSICALS PRESENT JOHNNY JOHNSON (1936) The unique Lost Musicals is now in its 19th season and this week sees the UK première of Kurt Weill’s Johnny Johnson with the complete script which will be presented from 14 June until 12 July at the Lilian Baylis Sadlers Wells. Johnny Johnson (1936) was produced by The Group Theatre at Broadway’s 44th Street Theatre where it ran for 68 performances. The cast included Elia Kazan and Lee J Cobb and the director was Lee Strasberg. This was Kurt Weill’s first American musical. Johnny Johnson is a mixture of satire, sentiment and surrealism. The anti-war fantasy, with 56 characters, has a rich and complex score including cowboy ballads, French music-hall, American vaudeville, and Weill's mordant and distinctive style. It combines broad comedy (a singing Statue of Liberty, a soldier who tries to bring peace by spraying the generals with laughing gas) and wit (a burlesque of psychoanalysis). Lilian Baylis Theatre Sadler’s Wells Box Office 0870 737 7737.
BBC PROMS STRIKE A CHORD AT WESTFIELD SHOPPING CENTRE BBC Proms is taking to the streets of London for a musical marathon, bringing hours of free live music to many of the city’s communities on Thursday 25 June. Members of the world-renowned BBC Symphony Orchestra are to perform for
PIOTR ANDERSZEWSKI Tuesday 9 June 2009 Royal Festival Hall, 7.30pm Schumann Gesange der Fruhe Op.133 Bach Partita No.6 in E minor for keyboard, BWV 830 Janacek In the mists Beethoven Sonata in A flat, Op.110 Tickets £9-£50
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free in unexpected venues around the capital ranging from the Natural History Museum, Lyric Square in Hammersmith, Kings Cross St Pancras and Waterloo Tube Station. The day culminates in a musical spectacular, when the full orchestral force of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, nearly 100 musicians, gives a free concert at Westfield Shopping Centre. The day marks the meeting of some world-famous institutions, magnificent public spaces of London with the magical sounds of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC’s flagship orchestra, which performs over 12 concerts in the festival, including the First and Last Nights of the Proms. Inspired by the rich heritage of London, the Westfield concert features British music including, Benjamin Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Eric Coates’s London Calling and a world premiere by renowned film and jazz composer Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Chelsea Reach. John Wilson, who features at the MGM Musicals Prom on 1 August, conducts the concert, which also highlights BBC Radio 3 New Generation trumpeter, Giuliano Sommerhalder. The BBC Symphony Orchestra reaches out in the most literal sense – being out and about in the busiest and most iconic corners of this great city. The Out+About event is part of the Story of London Festival, a month-long celebration of the city’s past, present and future organised by the Mayor of London, in partnership with a host of organisations across the capital. The festival takes place throughout the whole of June 2009, with more than 350 events aimed at tourists and Londoners alike. For further information on these events, visit the website at www.london.gov.uk/storyoflondon L O N D O N
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DANCE OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA IN BLOOM AT SOUTHBANK On Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June, the Association of Dance of the African Diaspora (ADAD) and Southbank Centre are to present The Bloom Festival, a two-day celebration of dance of the African Diaspora featuring performances, free workshops, film and talks across the site. Highlights include a two night mixed bill at the Purcell Room featuring performances from Freddie OpokuAddaie, recipient of the prestigious 2009 Robin Howard choreographic commission, with his prize winning work Silence Speaks Volumes and choreographer Tony Adigun and his company Avant-Garde Dance. Other upand-coming black choreographers, dancers and companies include lead dancer of BBC1's Strictly African Dance, Mohammed Dordoh; Manchester based contemporary tap dancer-choreographer Imani Jendai, Paradigmz, Tolo Ko Tolo and Vocab Dance. Free beginners workshops in Kizomba (an Angolan partner dance) and Caribbean dance will take place at the Clore Ballroom at the Royal Festival Hall, and award-winning Kenyan dancer and choreographer Opiyo Okach presents an introduction into his work and dance development in East Africa in Spirit Level. Ticket Office tel: 0871 663 2500. T H I S
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SALVATION ARMY’S GOSPEL ARTS CONCERT The Salvation Army's annual Gospel Arts Concert on Saturday 6 June in London's Royal Albert Hall will once again showcase the creative. Alongside the International Staff Band (featured recording artists on Universal Classics and Jazz recording 'Together) and International Staff Songsters, the concert will also feature a chorus of 500 voices drawn from Salvation Army centres in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The youth of The Salvation Army is represented by the 'A' Band from their Territorial Music School. This group is made up of some of the best young instrumentalists in The Salvation Army and will be performing a recently written work for Brass Band. Traditionally, The Salvation Army is synonymous with the tambourine, and a group from Northern Ireland will be featuring in an exciting display of Tambourine playing. Box Office telephone 020 7589 8212. M A G A Z I N E
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LATIN FEVER AT SADLER'S WELLS’ PEACOCK THEATRE Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova will present their first West End show Latin Fever at Sadler's Wells’ Peacock Theatre from 27 May to 28 June. Darren and Lilia are joined on stage by four stunning Latin American dance couples and a sensational Latin band. This brand new show sees the couple travel from the streets of Brazil to the bullrings of Spain by way of a vibrant mix of dance styles including the tango, rumba and cha-cha-cha. The show includes an explosion of South American rhythms beginning with the Carnival atmosphere of Rio before moving to the sultry clubs of Buenos Aires to be seduced by the passion and intensity of tango. Cuba beckons with the cheeky chacha-cha and rumba and then its time to boogie to the American dance halls of the 1930s for the swing and jitterbug. Tickets are still available from the box office telephone 0844 412 4322.
MEGUMI FUJITA piano WIGMORE HALL Friday 19 June at 7.30pm Haydn: Piano Sonata No.31 in Ab Hob.XVI:46
Takemitsu: ‘Breeze’ & ‘Clouds’ (1979)
Ravel: Miroirs Rachmaninov: Variations on the theme by Corelli Op.42
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.31 in Ab Op.110 Tickets: £20-£10
Box Office 020 7935 2141 All engagement enquiries to:Neil Chaffey Concert Promotions neil37@musiciansfromchaffey.com I S
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MEGUMI FUJITA WIGMORE HALL RECITAL Megumi Fujita was born in New Zealand as a daughter of a Japanese diplomat. She started to study piano at the age of five in Japan, followed by studies in the USA and Iraq and then joined the Yehudi Menuhin School in 1979 to study with Simon Nicholls and Louis Kentner. She has since won numerous prizes including 3rd Prize at the international Bosendorfer Competition in Belgium, 4th Price at Montreal International Piano Competition and 2nd Prize PTNA Piano Competition in Japan. An active chamber musician, Megumi is also a pianist of the Fujita Piano Trio and regularly collaborates with other musicians including the Dominant Quartet of Russia. Megumi has recorded the critically acclaimed Takemitsu Chamber works for the ASV and the Tchaikovsky Piano Trio, Rachmaninov 24 Preludes for piano, Shostakovich/Ravel Trios, Schubert Piano Trios and Dvorak/Smetana Piano Trios wih the Swedish label Intim Musik. The programme for her Wigmore Hall recital on Friday 19 June will include Haydn, Takemitsu, Ravel, Rachmaninov and Beethoven. Tickets from the box office telephone 020 7935 2141. T H I S
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PUSH RETURNS TO SADLER'S WELLS Following three sell out seasons at Sadler’s Wells in 2005, 2006 and 2007, a world tour and a run at the London Coliseum as part of the 2008 Spring Dance season, PUSH returns to Sadler’s Wells on Thursday 11 & Friday 12 June. Featuring world renowned dancer Sylvie Guillem and acclaimed choreographer Russell Maliphant, PUSH is a Sadler’s Wells Production comprised of four works by Maliphant. The programme features the eponymous work Push, danced by Guillem and Maliphant set to music by Andy Cowton with vocals by Barbara Gellhorn, Solo performed by Guillem, with music by Carlos Montoya, Two, (re-worked for Guillem in 2004) and Maliphant’s seminal 1996 solo, Shift, with music by Shirley Thompson. Lighting is designed by Michael Hulls, with 2009 marking Maliphant’s 15th year of collaborating with Hulls. PUSH has been honoured with many major awards including the Laurence Olivier Award for ‘Best New Dance’, a Time Out Award for ‘Guillem’s performance in Solo’, ‘Best Choreography (Modern)’ for Maliphant at the National Dance Awards and a South Bank Show Dance Award. Ticket office: 0844 412 4300.
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JAZZ IN JUNE CELEBRATING RONNIE SCOTT’S AT 50 To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the legendary Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, the BFI presents a tribute to both the venue and to jazz on the small screen with a season showcasing an eclectic mix of the very best performances and seminal documentaries from the television archives to compliment the live performances and events taking place across the BFI throughout June including Jazz Wednesdays and the Jazz Weekender. The world-famous Ronnie Scott’s has become the heart of the jazz world in the UK and has played host to the cream of the jazz greats throughout its history. Many of the performances found in the season, including those by Nina Simone and Chet Baker, were filmed at Ronnie Scott’s, while others feature artists who had strong connections with the club – such as Tubby Hayes who was on the opening night bill back in 1959. Some have been chosen to represent the personal preferences of Ronnie Scott himself whilst others explore the tradition the club maintains for offering as wide a spectrum of jazz as possible. Documentaries include a newly restored Bernard Braden interview with Ronnie Scott from 1968, as well as the complete series of the highly acclaimed Jazz Britannia (BBC 2005) which examines the roots of the movement in Soho and tracks the form through to its presentday resurgence. Other highlights include classic 60s performances by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, more contemporary performances by Chico Freeman and Courtney Pine as well as the only surviving footage of the great Charlie Parker playing on camera and the last Chet Baker concert at Ronnie Scott’s before his untimely death. There is something for everyone throughout June as the BFI celebrates 50 years of Ronnie Scott’s.
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Piotr Anderszewski.
PIOTR ANDERSZEWSKI IN ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL RECITAL Polish-Hungarian pianist Piotr Anderszewski is a great favourite with London audiences and on 9 June gives his first Series recital in the Royal Festival Hall with a dazzling programme of Beethoven and Bach, the composer with whose works Anderszewski has developed a particular affinity with his insightful interpretations. The programme also includes Janacek's set of imaginative miniatures 'In the Mists' and a seldom played work by Schumann.
Anderszewski is widely regarded as one of the most exciting pianists of his generation. Since first coming to public attention at the 1990 Leeds Piano Competition, he has become a familiar figure on the international concert platform, recognised for the intensity and originality of his interpretations. He has made a number of highlypraised recordings since becoming an exclusive artist with Virgin Classics in 2000 and his recording of solo piano works by Karol Szymanowsky received a Grammy nomination in 2005. When he performed in the IPS in 2007 the Daily Telegraph wrote 'This was a recital that made you glad to be alive.' So this is a much awaited return visit. Tickets ÂŁ9-ÂŁ50 are available from the box office telephone 0871 663 2500. www.southbankcentre.co.uk
LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SUMMER NIGHTS The London Symphony Orchestra’s Summer Nights series features an eclectic mix of inspiring, enjoyable, momentous and moving concerts at the Barbican, LSO St Luke’s and St Paul’s Cathedral. This eight-week long series has something for every taste and offers some welcome musical treats during the long summer nights including music performed by the world’s greatest artists and our own community groups showcasing their talents. On 4 June, virtuoso Gypsy violinist Roby Lakatos and his fantastic Ensemble are welcomed back to the Barbican to perform their unique and dazzling mix of classical, jazz and their own Hungarian folk music together with the LSO. The fiery programme will include Monti’s Csårdås, Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No 2 and many other favourites to show off the talent of these astounding musicians.
On 7 June, British film and television composer George Fenton joins the LSO for the first time to conduct and present music from his myriad of scores. Fenton has written music for over 70 feature films, collaborating with some of the most influential directors of the late 20th century. The programme includes a world concert premiere of music from the BBC TV series Planet Earth, Cry Freedom and the unforgettable music from his awardwinning score The Blue Planet. Yan Pascal Tortelier, who conducts the LSO for the concert on 11 June, has worked with many of the world’s acclaimed orchestras including the LSO, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He joins one of today's foremost opera stars, Susan Graham in an exciting programme of Ravel and Debussy. The LSO’s President Sir Colin Davis will be conducting two special concerts as part of the series. On 17 June the pianist Paul Lewis, one of the most sought-after artists of his generation, will join him in a concert featuring Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 5 and Brahms’ Symphony No 3. On 21 June, Sir Colin will conduct his LSO 50th Anniversary Concert, which will feature Mozart’s Symphony No 40 in G minor and Piano Concerto No 2 by Brahms played by Grammy-awardwinning pianist Nelson Freire. Tickets for all concerts available from the Barbican box office: 020 7638 8891.
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Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the 'War of The Worlds - Alive on Stage!' returns to The O2 on 20 June as part of its 13-date 30th Anniversary UK Tour.
THE PRINCE OF WALES MEETS PETER PAN Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, will attend the Royal Gala Premiere of a new production of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens on 17 June in aid of the Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts, an educational charity that helps disadvantaged children to experience the arts in a high quality and sustained way. The event will be attended by celebrities, VIPs and supporters of the charity. Kensington Gardens is where JM Barrie first met the children on whom Peter and the 'Lost Boys' are based, where he told them the stories that were woven together and published as "Peter Pan" and where he found the landmarks that he transformed into the magical Neverland. As JM Barrie wrote in ‘Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens’: ‘Standing on the ledge he could see trees far away, which were doubtless the Kensington Gardens, and the moment he saw them he entirely forgot that he was now a little boy in a nightgown, and away he flew, right over the houses into the Gardens.’ Ticket prices are £70 £100 £130 £150 from 0871 386 1122. T H I S
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LEGENDARY KODO DRUMMERS RETURN TO SOUTHBANK CENTRE Kodo returns to Southbank Centre with Ekkyo: Trans-border on 6-7 June, a new performance never seen outside Japan, featuring fresh new dance, vocal and traditional Japanese taiko (drum) compositions as well as signature Kodo compositions. Lavish costumes, huge drums, and Kodo's legendary precision and power make every performance into an exhilarating and unmissable theatrical and musical experience. Kodo’s Royal Festival Hall performances in June are part of JAPAN-UK 150, celebrating 150 years of friendship between Japan and the United Kingdom With the Japanese taiko (drum) at its core, Ekkyo: Trans-border explores the transient boundaries between traditional and contemporary, local and foreign, gods and humans, and men and women. For tickets telephone the box office on 0871 663 2500. GHOSTS – ARTISTS DEFACE EACH OTHER'S WORK AT CELLO FACTORY Four artists, a composer and a film maker have defaced each other's work in ‘Ghosts’, a show inspired by Rauschenberg's celebrated erasure of a De Kooning drawing, (1953). This challenge to the sanctity of art will be at London's new visual arts venue, The Cello Factory, Waterloo, SE1, on view from 12 - 25 June. Susan Haire, Mark Dickens, Francesca Simon, Gillian Cutbill and Bernard Mordan, will be joined by New York composer, Stephen Dydo for the exhibition. Haire's and Simon's ghostly images will reveal traces of each others' work as will those of Dickens (showing internationally with Waterhouse and Dodd) and Cutbill. The artists have pieces in many corporate and private collections and show and perform regularly in international venues. This is their first collaboration.
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BELGRAVIA ROCKS A GEM OF A TREASURE HUNT In celebration of Coutts London Jewellery Week (8-14 June), the jewellers of Belgravia – Erickson Beamon, De Vroomen, Kim Poor and Carolina Bucci – have joined together to create an exciting treasure hunt across Belgravia. From Monday 8 June, jewellery lovers can visit each of the four boutiques to identify the ‘odd piece out’ and be entered into the draw to win a piece of jewellery or gift from each store. Kim Poor have given a stunning Jade necklace with Carolina Bucci adding one of her signature silver lucky bracelets. Erickson Beamon are donating an eye catching semi precious necklace and De Vroomen a £200 gift voucher. The hunt will culminate in the colourful Elizabeth Street Carnival taking place on 10 June. Each year the Carnival sees local residents, traders and visitors join together to celebrate the start of summer in a spectacular form with a vibrant party on one of the most famous streets in Belgravia. From 18.00, Elizabeth Street will be transformed into a dynamic carnival with bands, street entertainers and speciality food and drink served from local stores. DALI UNIVERSE - BRINGING WORLD CLASS ARTS TO THE CAPITAL ‘Dali on Flesh’ is a commemorative of the 20th anniversary of Salvador Dali’s death and on the 4 June, one lucky Dali fan will have a Salvador Dali inspired tattoo inked onto him by worldrenowned tattooist, Dan Gold. This exciting opportunity will give visitors the chance to watch this memorable creation of art, which will take place at the Dali Universe on London’s South Bank. The Dan Gold name has become one of the most familiar faces in the world of tattooing; including appearances on the TV hit series London ink. His name has become synonymous with the world celebrities and has won him favour with clients such as Kate Moss, Emily Scott, Dr Dre, Kasabian and Peaches Geldof. L O N D O N
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Gateway of India, Bombay, 11ins x14ins
Beautiful habitations, auras of delight
Julian Barrow Solo Show at Indar Pasricha Fine Arts 20 May – 13 June 22 Connaught Street, London W2 2AF Tel: +44 (0)20 7724 9541 info@ipfa.co.uk
Mapusa Fruit Stall, Goa, 10ins x 8ins
www.indarpasrichafinearts.com
The Residency, Hyderabad 6ins x 8ins
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SCIENCE MUSEUM CENTENARY The Science Museum will celebrate its one hundredth anniversary on 26 June and has announced a year-long centenary programme to take the renowned institution into the future. To commemorate the date the Museum became an independent organisation on 26 June 1909, the Science Museum will be hosting a 3-day public birthday party, unveiling a new ‘Centenary Journey’ trail, refurbishing two major galleries, launching a £1 million public fundraising appeal, as well as commemorating other anniversaries including the 40th anniversary of the Moon landings Chris Rapley, Director of the Science Museum, said, ‘The world has witnessed an incredible century of science – countless discoveries, inventions and endeavours that would have been unimaginable when the Science Museum came into being in 1909. Today, at a time of rapid and radical change for humankind, the Science Museum is committed to becoming the best place in the world for people to enjoy science, and gain insight and inspiration. Our centenary is a moment of reflection and celebration but is also an opportunity to look towards the future. What are the museum artefacts of the future? How will science, engineering, medicine and technology shape our lives in the next one hundred years? I, for one, am very excited to find out.’ During its centenary year the Science Museum will also open two new exhibitions. Cosmos & Culture, opening 23 July, traces the history of astronomy up to the present day exploring how different cultures have studied the night
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The Launchpad at the Science Museum.
sky. It includes rare and beautiful objects from the Science Museum’s worldleading astronomy collection. In April 2010, the new Watt’s Workshop display will centre on the attic workshop of the renowned engineer James Watt. After his death in 1819, this fascinating time capsule of inventiveness was preserved in its entirety, and transferred to the Science Museum in the 1920s. The exhibition will explore manual creativity, science and business and aims to inspire whole new generations of James Watts by linking to new close-to-market models. Alongside the Science Museum’s own anniversary, a summer ‘space season’ will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Moon landings and will include family events, a mini sci-fi film festival, a space-themed Lates and highlights in the Exploring Space gallery. For information, call 0870 870 4868.
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YOUNG PEOPLE RETELL STORIES FOR CULTURAL OLYMPIAD The London Museums Hub (a consortium of Museum of London (lead partner), Museum of London Docklands, Geffrye Museum, Horniman Museum and London Transport Museum) and young people across the nation are taking part in a major new project for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. Stories of the World will involve 59 museums, libraries and archives across the UK to create over 35 exhibitions for 2011-12 that will reconnect museum collections with the people and communities that they came from. The Stories of World exhibition in London is called London: World City and young people will lead in its creation. As people from across the globe have settled in London, they have brought the world with them. London: World City will bring together unusual groups of collections by organising them around four aspects of life in the world city – identity, home, journeys and place. At the core of each group is a major non-national museum from the London Museums Hub who will work with other collections, youth and community groups to rethink, rediscover and reinterpret London’s world stories. The outcome will be local displays in 2011 that tell stories about the selected objects and build profile for the capital’s non-national museums, four major exhibitions in 2012 that bring together these objects and themes in an exciting multi-venue format, and London Votes, an interactive event inviting Londoners to choose their favourite object during 2012.
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BEN DEARNLEY OLYMPIAN AVENUE OF CHAMPIONS AT BELGRAVIA The forthcoming show at the Belgravia Gallery is one which has taken artist Ben Dearnley on a personal journey engaging with some of the United Kingdom’s finest athletes. The resulting showcase is one which at first glance seems to be dating from another time altogether. Ben works with the fragments of the body highlighting, as he sees it, the power zones of each athlete. It is a true collaboration as each sculpture is a direct result of the coming together of the athlete and artist. These sculptures in bronze and stone reference the early Greek classical Olympian statues, the result of hours of studies with the current sporting greats. Ben places them in the pantheon of our time at the moment when we celebrate excellence in a way befitting the outstanding achievements of these individuals. For it is here one gets close to the underlying theme which is one of unity. We are presented with a range of Olympic and Paralympics athletes in a fragmented format and it is difficult to discern who is who. When we see that the body we are looking at is one which has spent most of its life to date in the pursuit of excellence in a chosen discipline, we begin to see T H I S
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the subtle differences of body shape and tone. This gives a deeper insight into the athlete’s inner focus and holds them in their peak physical state. What we are looking at is a representation of what it takes to become the very best in the world at any particular sport. It is here that we find a unity of strength and beauty as the sculptures tell each athlete’s story through the shapes and forms. ‘There is an almost brutal nature to the beginnings of the sculpture with huge sections of stone needing to be removed at first. Then as one gets closer to the actual measurements (taken from the master copy) the amount to be removed becomes less and less until the process is one of a very fine delicate work. Each sculpture is in itself a journey to find the form within the stone and this is balanced by the wish to find the form within the athlete. I work in a state of single minded nature and here I find a sympathy towards the athlete I’m working on as I spend so many hours with their body and the shapes and contours become extremely familiar to me as I refine the work until such a time as I am happy with the final views.’ – Benjamin C Dearnley Born in 1964 in Salisbury into a musical family, Ben moved to London in 1968 and grew up in the City as his father, Dr Christopher Dearnley, was organist to St Paul’s Cathedral from 1968-1989. Ben used to play in the Cathedral and was influenced by the stone masons at an early age. This was enhanced by the hours spent within the majestic surroundings of every nook and cranny of one of the world’s finest
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Cathedrals, as witness to the great works of art set in bronze, stone, glass and mosaics. It was also at that time when you could get a day ticket for the buses for 5 pence and he would often spend weekends jumping on and off the old classic route masters all over London in mad games of cunning dexterous chase, all the while taking in the inner workings of the City of London. Ben spent the best part of the next three decades studying and working as an instrument technician and become a specialist in the workings of the saxophone. These years were to nurture his fine detail skills and the chance to develop friendships with some of the UK’s finest jazz saxophonists. A select few are working with Ben on a piece of new music for the show at the Belgravia Gallery. Ben Dearnley.
Deciding to take up sculpture full time, he eventually made the transition into full time education at Camberwell College of Arts London, studying for a degree in sculpture. This was all made possible by the help given him back in 1995 and the good fortune of being able to study with a master carver of the past Mr Les Sandham, who worked notably with Jacob Epstein in the 1950’s. Today, Ben’s studies continue with each new piece, in particular the current series of ‘Modern Day Heroes’ which stretches his understanding and response with every new athlete. Ben Dearnley’s ‘Avenue of Champions’ is at Belgravia Gallery, 45 Albemarle Street, Mayfair, W1 from 5 to 15 June. 020 7495 1010. I S
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Wunmi and hip hop DJ Rich Medina. BASS has the UK rights to 'Art's Own Kind', the first showing of Lemi's work in England for five years. The exhibition brings together some of his most infamous designs to show how creative and repressive moments in the 1970s bore the Afrobeat phenomenon. Running for its fourth consecutive year, BASS (British Arts and Street Sounds) 2009 will be celebrating the influence of Africa and Africans throughout June. The month long celebration of urban music and art will play host to live music, theatre and dance performances, exhibitions and master classes. The 'Art's Own Kind' launch will take place on 9 June at Rich Mix, Shoreditch, from 19.30 onwards.
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BASS FESTIVAL 2009 EXCLUSIVE ART EXHIBITION Pioneering Afrobeat musician Tony Allen will perform at the London launch of BASS Festival 2009, kicking off the festival's month-long celebration of Africa. Allen's appearance will coincide with the opening of an exclusive art exhibition that documents the work of Ghariokwu Lemi, best-known for designing 2000 album sleeves, including nearly 30 for iconic Nigerian musician Fela Kuti. Allen, the former musical director and drummer in Fela Kuti's band, will appear alongside other celebrated African musicians on Tuesday 9 June at Rich Mix in Shoreditch, London. Fela Kuti once stated that ‘without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat’. His unique drumming style, which incorporates all four limbs, helped shape the funky rhythms that defined the genre. Since his influential work in the 70s, Allen has established himself as an artist in his own right, recording and touring with his own band as well as collaborating with acclaimed contemporary musicians such as Sébastian Tellier, Air, Jarvis Cocker and Damon Albarn's The Good, the Bad and the Queen. Joining him on the night and also performing will be Fela Kuti keyboard player Dele Sosimi, singer/dancer T H I S
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PETER HALLEY: NEW WORK AT WADDINGTON GALLERIES Waddington Galleries are presenting an exhibition of seven new paintings by Peter Halley. The paintings show the continued development of a select group of forms that Halley has been engaged with over the last three decades: ‘cells’, ‘conduits’, ‘windows’ and ‘prisons’. Three of the paintings, ‘The Unseen’ (2009), ‘Dust’ (2009) and ‘Forever’ (2009), draw on the duality of two identically sized cells, placed one above the other, connected in varying ways by conduits. Each element is defined by a single solid vibrant colour. Peter Halley has stated that his methodical working practice is organised on the same principles as that of an architect’s office. He begins each work by making a line drawing on the computer. After he has produced a finished drawing he starts to work with colour, using a traditional paint and brush to make a small study. Each colour component of the drawing is then noted so that the study can be translated into a larger painting. Based in New York, Halley has explored the connection between 20th Century geometric art and the structure of the modern city since the early 1980s.
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S-27 WORLD PREMIERE S-27, the winner of Amnesty International’s first Protect The Human Playwriting Competition, opens for a four week limited season at Finborough Theatre from 9 June – Saturday, 4 July. The work was inspired by the events at the notorious S-21 prison in Cambodia and by the work of the photographer Nhem En, a young soldier responsible for taking the ID photos of thousands of people before they were tortured and killed by the Khmer Rouge. Playwright Sarah Grochala draws on prison records and interviews with both prisoners and Khmer Rouge cadres to create a startling and affecting drama.
Brooke Kinsella and Tom Reed in S-27. On April 17th 1975 the Khmer Rouge captured Cambodia’s capital and began a four-year reign of genocide. It is estimated that some 2 million Cambodians, a quarter of the population, died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot. During this murderous period a secret torture and interrogation prison, codenamed S-21, operated from a former school, Tuol Sleng. Prisoners were tortured until they confessed to whatever crimes they were charged with, photographed and then executed. The prisoners' photographs and confessions formed dossiers that were submitted to Khmer Rouge authorities as ‘proof’ that the ‘traitors’ had been eliminated. Of the 14,200 known people who were imprisoned at S-21, less than 20 are believed to have survived. An Exhibition of photographs, ‘Facing Death Portraits from Cambodia’s Killing Fields’ runs until 26 June at Photofusion Gallery. L O N D O N
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LIBERTY ARTS & CRAFTS EXHIBITION Following the success of last year’s show, the 2009 Arts & Crafts Exhibition at Liberty will run for an extra week from Thursday 4 June to Sunday 28 June, on the 4th floor central atrium. Patch Rogers is again curator for the collection which reflects a superb selection of British art and design that flourished from 1850 to 1950. The exhibition will include an important George Walton bedroom suite, commissioned for Elm Bank 1898, a rare Morris & Co three seat settee to a design by Ford Maddox Brown, a magnificent Donegal carpet by CFA Voysey and an extremely rare Rowley Gallery Screen, ‘The Jungle’ attributed to William Chase. Other pieces include furniture by Liberty & Co, Heals, Shapland and Petter, Gordon Russell, alongside John Pearson and Newlyn copper works, Archibald Knox ‘Tudric’ pieces and a fabulous display of Arts & Crafts embroideries, textiles, ceramics, metal ware, pictures and mirrors.
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American Angel.
STEVEN HUBBARD CONSTRUCTIONS AND PAINTINGS AT FRANCIS KYLE Utopia may carry many meanings and take many shapes but for Steven Hubbard it must surely take, as its portal, the shape of a cabinet of curiosities – a place where on entering the viewer is constantly surprised by a profusion of new perceptions and unexpected devices, sometimes concealing moving parts, which reawaken a childhood capacity for wonder. For his third one-person exhibition with Francis Kyle Gallery in Maddox Street, Hubbard has assembled a typically wide range of his constructions in mixed media, alongside oil paintings, drawings and prints reflecting his interests in Renaissance Italy, the sea, the applied arts and literature of the inter-war years as well as realms of the exotic in an ethnographic perspective. Steven Hubbard was born in London in 1954 and educated at Gloucester College of art. After graduating he evolved his own distinctive genre combining painting with craft, which he considers his most rewarding activity. Telephone 020 7499 6870.
MODELLED IN MEMORY Alon Zakaim Fine Art is holding an exhibition of photorealist paintings by Dan McDermott at 30 Cork Street entitled ‘Modelled in Memory’. McDermott’s latest collection revives characters from pop culture of the past through a dynamic form of portraiture. Drawing from a personal archive of visual material, he transforms old photographs, film stills and newspaper cuttings into refreshing and distinctly contemporary paintings. The artist works with material that he responds to both instinctively and personally. For further information, telephone 020 7287 7750.
Ben Dearnley AVENUE OF CHAMPIONS 5 – 15 June A sculpture exhibition featuring works based on the Olympic heroes of our time www.belgraviagallery.com
45 Albemarle Street London W1S 4JL 020 7495 1010 laura@belgraviagallery.com
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ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL National Theatre Nothing is quite what it seems in Shakespeare’s tragi-comedy, but at least in Rae Smith’s Gothic fairytale design for the National we recognise at once the sort of riddles we can expect. Turreted castles, tangled woods and howling wolves make the dark backdrop to this production, where silhouetted versions of the main characters are occasionally backlit in attitudes of unalloyed melodrama. It must have occurred to many readers to feel dissatisfaction with the father of a girl who is cruelly treated by her new stepmother. In similar vein, Shakespeare’s plot involves a young girl, whose success in curing the King of a painful illness is rewarded by allowing her to choose her own husband from amongst the courtiers, regardless of the man’s own sentiments. In what way, we wonder, will that result in a happy marriage? George Rainsford plays Bertram, the indignant bridegroom. Handsome, youthful and floppy-haired, he opens the first scene by battling, soldier-like, with imagined foes, running them through with his sword, triumphing to the sound of his own made-up squelches and yelps. Marianne Elliott’s take on ‘All’s Well...’ is spot on: hilariously funny on the surface, sombre and slightly worrying underneath. Bertram’s friend and mentor, Parolles (Conleth Hill) is clown of the show. He is a coward purporting to be a great man-atarms, an overweight fop with a taste for preposterous gartered sleeves and a braggard, whose self-importance dissolves in a twinkling once blindfolded and threatened with a feather. Despite these comical attributes, he is unscrupulous and detestable, yet never properly punished. Such are fairytales. Michelle Terry plays Helena, the plucky if plain gentlewoman who cures the king and T H I S
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Oliver Ford Davies (The King of France) and George Rainsford (Bertram).
has to spend the rest of the play pursuing either a barefoot pilgrimage to somehow assuage her sorrows, or the errant fiancé himself. We see her morph from hopeful adventuress in red velvet cape and sparkly shoes, through weary penitent into a sort of foxy bunny girl, who tricks Bertram into bedding her after all by slipping into the place of a local Tuscan maid for whom he has the hots. What sort of girl is she, exactly? The richness of the tale is thoroughly entertaining; its depths are a pleasing puzzle and the senior members of the cast – Clare Higgins as Bertram’s mother and Oliver Ford Davies as the King – lend some gravitas. It makes for a brilliant show which devotees of the £10 Travelex ticket scheme will no doubt be thrilled to see all summer. Sue Webster
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REHEARSALS START FOR THE 2009 OPEN AIR SEASON The blossom is on the trees and summer is finally here at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre but what heralds the changing seasons most of all is the opening of Much Ado About Nothing, the first production in the 2009 season on London’s most beautiful outdoor stage. Samantha Spiro and Sean Campion will play the reluctant lovers Beatrice and Benedick in Shakespeare’s wittiest and best-loved comedy, which will be directed by the Open Air Theatre’s Artistic Director Timothy Sheader in this his second year at the helm. Alongside Much Ado About Nothing, a brand new adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, re-imagined for everyone aged 6 and over, will play from 5 – 28 June. Directed by Liam Steel, this production will feature live music and aerial performance and, as A Midsummer Night’s Dream did in 2008, strong interactive elements to bewitch and entertain an audience of all ages. When the sorcerer Prospero conjures up a storm to shipwreck his enemies, he sets the scene for an enchanting tale of spells, monsters, revenge and romance. For the first time, the production will also have two performances on Sundays to provide more opportunities for the whole family to share the experience together. For the first time this summer, visitors wishing to enjoy the full Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre experience will be able to pre-book picnics with their theatre tickets up to 36 hours prior to their visit. The picnic will include a delicious selection of food and drink, including wine, and a complimentary programme. For tickets, telephone 0844 826 4242. L O N D O N
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ORWELL: A CELEBRATION AT TRAFALGAR STUDIOS Alan Cox, Ben Porter and comedian Hal Cruttenden will perform in Orwell: A Celebration, an unprecedented theatrical homage to Orwell to mark the 60th and 70th anniversaries of the publication of Nineteen Eighty-Four and Coming Up For Air, which opens at Trafalgar Studios on Wednesday 10 June. Comedian Hal Cruttenden plays George Bowling, a middle-aged insurance man who is married with kids, saddled with a mortgage and living a henpecked life, in a new version of Coming Up For Air. Ben Porter plays lone hero Winston Smith in a chilling distillation of Nineteen Eighty-Four's 'Ministry of Love' interrogation scenes, alongside Alan Cox as party apparatchik O'Brien. Porter also plays Orwell in Shooting an Elephant in which the narrator – a white police officer – describes being compelled by the curiosity of a gathering crowd to track down and kill a rogue elephant. Cox will perform the final monologue-essay, ‘A Hanging’, which describes in bleakly humorous detail the execution of a prisoner in a Burmese jail.
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NEW CAST FOR MAMMA MIA! The new London cast for the global smash hit musical Mamma Mia! at the Prince of Wales Theatre will start performances on Monday 15 June. The cast will be headed by Sally Ann Triplett as 'Donna Sheridan', with Katy Secombe as 'Rosie' and Jane Gurnett as 'Tanya'. The smash hit musical based on the songs of ABBA has just celebrated its 10th London birthday in April this year and continues to break box office records at the Prince of Wales Theatre. From West End smash to global phenomenon, Mamma Mia! has already
been seen by more than 40 million people in over 200 cities across North America, Australia, Europe and Asia. It has grossed over $2 billion at the box office worldwide. Inspired by the story-telling magic of ABBA's timeless songs, writer Catherine Johnson's enchanting tale of family and friendship unfolds on a Greek island paradise. On the eve of her wedding, a daughter's quest to discover the identity of her father brings three men from her mother's past back to the island they last visited 20 years ago… Box office telephone 0844 482 5115.
WRITE TO PLAY PRESENTS HOWARD BRENTON AT THE GLOBE Following the success of Write to Play in presenting leading playwrights in venues across London, the series will continue at The Globe Theatre on 29 June with Howard Brenton. He will be in conversation about his life, career and work prior to extracts from his plays Greenland and In Extremis being read. The evening will conclude with a question and answer session. Born in Portsmouth and educated at Cambridge, Howard Brenton quickly became one of the leading voices of British postwar political theatre. Frequently controversial, darkly comic and often irreverent, Brenton’s work has been a constant force for five decades. For tickets telephone the box office on 0207 401 9919.
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PLAYS
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THE 39 STEPS Maria Aitken’s tongue-in-cheek adaptation of John Buchan’s whodunnit has four actors playing 150 parts and includes all the legendary scenes from Hitchcock’s movie. CRITERION THEATRE Piccadilly Circus, WC2 (0844 847 1778) ARCADIA Major revival of Tom Stoppard’s play, directed by David Leveaux. A dazzling, witty masterpiece of misunderstanding and quest for knowledge, resonating across centuries. DUKE OF YORK’S St. Martin’s Lane, WC2 (0870 060 6623) THE WOMAN IN BLACK An innocent outsider, a suspicious rural community, a gothic house and a misty marsh are the ingredients of this Victorian ghost story, now in its 17th year. FORTUNE THEATRE Russell Street, WC2 (0870 060 6626) Royal National Theatre (Plays In Repertory) OLIVIER THEATRE
TIME AND THE CONWAYS J B Priestley was fascinated by the study of time. Writing in 1937, he saw how Britain was complacently failing to learn from history and charging headlong towards another conflagration. PHEDRE Helen Mirren takes the title role in this savage play by Jean Racine, translated into muscular free verse by the late Poet Laureate, Ted Hughes. COTTESLOE THEATRE THE OBSERVER Richard Eyre returns to the National Theatre to direct this gripping new play by award-winning playwright Matt Charman. NATIONAL THEATRE South Bank, SE1 (020 7452 3000) WAR HORSE The National Theatre’s new epic based on the celebrated novel by Children’s Laureate, Michael Morpurgo. Actors work with magnificent life-size puppets on a gruelling journey through history. NEW LONDON THEATRE Drury Lane, WC2 (0844 412 4654) CALENDAR GIRLS The true story of the members of the Woman’s Institute who shun their usual cake baking and jam making in order to produce a nude calendar to raise money for Leukaemia Research. NOEL COWARD St Martin’s Lane, WC2 (0870 850 9175)
ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL Set against a background of sexism, snobbery and a battle between the generations, Shakespeare turns fairytale logic on its head. DEATH AND THE KING’S HORSEMAN Set against the conflict of indigenous and invader, Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka’s extraordinary play uses Elesin’s transition from the living to the dead to examine the essence of corruption and the power of the human will.
WAITING FOR GODOT Samuel Beckett’s classic play originally exploded onto the London stage 50 years ago when it shocked as many people as it delighted. This new production stars Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart. THEATRE ROYAL HAYMARKET Haymarket, SW1 (0870 400 0626) DUET FOR ONE Deeply moving psychological drama about a brilliant concert violinist who is forced to rethink her career and her life after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. VAUDEVILLE THEATRE Strand, WC2 (0870 890 0511) HAMLET Jude Law makes his Donmar debut in the title role, directed by Kenneth Branagh. WYNDHAM’S THEATRE Charing Cross Road, WC2 (0870 950 0925)
MUSICALS DIRTY DANCING Based on the ‘80s movie, this famous tale involves a daddy’s girl and a dance instructor at a New York holiday resort during the long, hot summer of 1963. ALDWYCH THEATRE Aldwych, WC2 (0870 4000 704) WICKED THE MUSICAL Hit Broadway story of how a clever, misunderstood girl with emerald green skin and a girl who is beautiful and popular turn into the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch in the Land of Oz. APOLLO VICTORIA THEATRE Wilton Rd, SW1 (0870 161 1977)
The National Theatre’s epic production of War Horse with actors working magnificent life size puppets. New London Theatre.
ENGLAND PEOPLE VERY NICE A riotous journey through four waves of immigration from the 17th century to today. The emerging pattern shows that white flight and anxiety over integration is anything but new.
THE MOUSETRAP Agatha Christie’s whodunnit is the longest running play of its kind in the history of the British theatre. ST MARTIN’S THEATRE West Street, WC2 (0870 162 8787)
THE LAST CIGARETTE Warm, candid and with a double dose of dark humour, this dramatisation of Simon Gray’s ‘The Smoking Diaries’ was completed just before his death last summer. Felicity Kendal stars. TRAFALGAR STUDIOS Whitehall, SW1 (0870 060 6632)
CHICAGO A dazzling mixture of sinuous bodies, tough broads, murder and fickle fame, the Ebb-Fosse musical goes from strength to strength in this monochrome production. CAMBRIDGE THEATRE Earlham Street, WC2 (0870 890 1102) SUNSET BOULEVARD A new and intimate production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s highly acclaimed musical, which premiered at the Adelphi Theatre in 1993. COMEDY THEATRE Panton Street, SW1 (0870 060 6637) WE WILL ROCK YOU A unique collaboration between the legends of rock and Ben Elton, reflecting the scale and T H I S
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spectacle that marked Queen’s live performances. DOMINION THEATRE Tottenham Court Rd, W1 (0870 169 0116)
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A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC Set to a score in waltz time by Stephen Sondheim, the story turns on four couples over a midsummer weekend in turn-of-the-century Sweden, where affairs of the heart are uppermost. GARRICK THEATRE Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2 (0844 412 4662) THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Long running epic romance by Andrew Lloyd Webber, set behind the scenes of a Paris opera house, where a deformed phantom stalks his prey. HER MAJESTY’S THEATRE Haymarket, SW1 (0870 890 1106) SISTER ACT The new stage musical based on the smash-hit movie, featuring a score by 8-time Oscar winner, Alan Menken. LONDON PALLADIUM Argyll Street, W1 (0844 847 1722) THE LION KING Disney‘s phenomenally successful animated film is transformed into a spectacular stage musical, a superb evening of visual delight. LYCEUM THEATRE Wellington Street, WC2 (0870 243 9000) THRILLER – LIVE Spectacular, high octane show celebrating the career of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5. LYRIC THEATRE Shaftesbury Avenue, W1 (0870 890 1107)
BLOOD BROTHERS CELEBRATES ITS 21ST PHENOMENAL YEAR! Blood Brothers celebrates its 21st birthday in London’s West End at The Phoenix Theatre, marking the phenomenal success of Willy Russell’s legendary musical with the casting of twins Ben and Michael Sewell in the iconic roles of the brothers. It tells the captivating and moving tale of twins who, separated at birth, grow up on opposite sides of the tracks, only to meet again with tragic consequences. Few musicals have received quite such accolades as this multi-award winning show, which, having opened in 1988 to tremendous acclaim, continues to enjoy standing ovations at every devastating performance. LA CAGE AUX FOLLES Major revival of the classic Jerry Herman musical, which became the biggest new American musical of the decade when it opened on Broadway in 1983. A timeless and deliciously funny tale of family values and the need to be proud of who we are, and where life is never a drag! PLAYHOUSE Northumberland Avenue, WC2 (0870 060 6631)
CAROUSEL The story of the love affair between Billy Bigelow, a smooth-talking carousel barker, and Julie Jordan, plus one of the most celebrated scores of all time, including The Carousel Waltz, If I Loved You, June is Bustin’ Out All Over and You’ll Never Walk Alone. SAVOY THEATRE Savoy Court, WC2 (0870 164 8787)
PRISCILLA THE MUSICAL Based on the Oscar award winning film, a glamorous Sydney based performing trio take their show to the Australian outback. PALACE THEATRE Shaftesbury Avenue, W1 (0870 895 5579)
JERSEY BOYS Rags to riches tale of four blue collar kids working their way from the streets of Newark to the heights of stardom as Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Features such hits as ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’, ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’ and ‘Sherry’. PRINCE EDWARD THEATRE Old Compton Street, W1 (0870 850 9191)
HAIRSPRAY THE MUSICAL Tracy Turnblad, the big girl with the big hair and an even bigger heart goes from 60s style dance show to a downtown rhythm and blues record shop . Based on the John Waters movie. SHAFTESBURY THEATRE Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2 (020 7379 5399)
BLOOD BROTHERS Willy Russell’s powerful musical about twins from Liverpool, separated at birth, whose paths cross in friendship and finally in bloodshed. PHOENIX THEATRE Charing Cross Road, WC2 (0870 060 6629)
MAMMA MIA Hit musical based on the songs of ABBA, set around the story of a mother and daughter, on the eve of the daughter’s wedding. PRINCE OF WALES THEATRE Old Compton Street, W1 (0870 850 0393)
OLIVER! Cameron Mackintosh’s revival of Lionel Bart’s musical masterpiece, starring Rowan Atkinson as ‘Fagin’. The legendary songs include ‘Consider Yourself’, ‘Food Glorious Food’, ‘I’d Do Anything’ and ‘As Long as He Needs Me’. THEATRE ROYAL DRURY LANE Catherine Street, WC2 (0870 890 1109)
GREASE THE MUSICAL Inimitable slice of 50s Americana, bursting with denim, cheerleaders and well-oiled quiffs. Summer Nights, Hopelessly Devoted to You, You’re The One that I Want and many more get audiences dancing in the aisles. PICCADILLY THEATRE Denman Street, W1 (0870 060 0123)
LES MISERABLES Much praised and spectacularly staged version of Victor Hugo’s epic novel. Mon-Sat at 19.30. Mats Weds & Sat at 14.30. QUEENS THEATRE Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2 (0870 950 0930)
BILLY ELLIOT - THE MUSICAL The hit British film is transformed into a thrilling stage musical by its original director, Stephen Daldry, with music by Elton John. VICTORIA PALACE Victoria Street, SW1 (0870 895 5577)
STOMP This British theatrical sensation has enthralled audiences across the world with its combination of theatre, dance, comedy and percussion. NEW AMBASSADORS West Street, WC2 (020 7369 1761)
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SUSHINHO I love the Kings Road: the bohemian tales of the 60s, the chic re-furbishments of the 80s – the fact that the Bluebird emporium used to be a garage and the street itself was once the private route of kings travelling west to Hampton Court Palace or Kew. These days, there is some new boutique or eatery opening every few months. We are restless consumers; is there anything we have not yet tried? Well, new to me, at least, was the concept of Brazilian-Japanese food. There is a sizeable Japanese community in Brazil – the largest outside Japan, apparently. Sushinho, which opened a few months ago and has just opened a matching bar for those who like their caipirinhas loaded with limes, mint and ice, aims to serve the cuisine of that community in the heart of Chelsea. Of course, cultural differences cannot be entirely obliterated by mere sophistication. My Brazilian friend Sandra protested that her caipirinha had too little cachaca in it to be authentic, whereas I thought it was fresh and citrussy. (I expect they stay up later than we do, dance better and have altogether more fire in their blood.) The restaurant itself is a cosy spot, with rock on the walls, a pebble hearth with gas fire in it, lots of dark wood and
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was contrasted with a citrus dressing. My friend would kill me for saying this, but it was so much better than the real feijoada, a peasant dish that you might be grateful for if you were riding a horse across the Pampa…
silk cushions and lots of chic young things eager to indulge in this exotic cuisine. The staff are noticeably warm and friendly. The menu, in truth, is largely Japanese. There is a big range of sushi – try the chef’s special selection of the day for a representative feast of temaki, nigiri and sashimi. It is super fresh and prettily organised – we liked the composites of avocado, asparagus, tuna and so forth. I could see though, that if I were a regular visitor (and there are clearly plenty of those), the seaweed salad would be a favourite, plus the edamame (fresh soy beans sprinkled with sea salt) as they are so simple and wholesome. A highlight was on of the Specials, a boat-like plate of pork belly strips, lined up with military precision on a base of pureed feijoada, the Brazilian bean stew. The puree had a fantastic flavour – sweet with reduced stock no doubt – and
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Another Brazilian afterthought is a side dish of chips made from cassava. Everyone knows cassava in London is nothing like the fresh, white root of the South America. And so these fat chips, slightly dry and not exactly golden on the outside, were dismissed as nothing like the cassava chips of Brazil. It’s good that there are some things you can only get at home. Besides, two of the biggest prawns I have ever seen cheered my friend up considerably – straight from the grill, hot and juicy, with two different sauces, just delicious. Is ‘passionfruit crumble’ anything like an English crumble? No. It’s a fruity mousse topped by chocolate mouse with, somewhere in the middle, a crunchy sprinkle of something reminiscent of crumble. I liked it. Polenta cake with strawberry ice cream and tiny meringues? This did not meet with my friend’s approval either, but she had to admit the cake was good. Let’s just say that Sushinho is for adventurous diners – and at an average cost of £25-£34 per head, it’s not such an expensive adventure, either.
Sue Webster SUSHINHO 312-314 Kings Road, SW3 020 7349 7496
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group exhibition
sixth sense Michael Chandler
19 th May - 3 0 th June 2 0 0 9
Pete Hoida Michael Lyons Holly Parot ti Lynn Parot ti Lélia Pissarro Paul Vans tone Presented by Sandra Higgins F ine Ar t
T he Boulevard
Contact : sandra @ sandrahiggins.com 0 7 7 21 741 10 7
Imperial W har f
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L ondon
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S W 6 2UB
OPENING HOURS : Tues,Wed & Fri 12 : 0 0 - 8 : 0 0 T hurs, Sat & Sun 12 : 0 0 - 6 : 0 0 closed mondays or viewing by appoint men t
N e a r e s t t u b e s t a t i o n s : F u l h a m B r o a d w a y, W e s t Brompton, Earls Cout
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P a y o n f o o t p a r k i n g a v a il a b l e
w w w.parot t i.com / map.ht ml A p o r t i o n o f t h e p r o c e e d s w ill b e d o n a t e d t o t h e C h e l s e a C h il d r e n’s H o s p i t a l S c h o o l ’s H o li d a y A r t P r o g r a m m e a t t h e R o y a l B r o m p t o n & H a r e f i e l d a n d C h e l s e a & W e s t m i n s t e r ’s H o s p i t a l s f o r c h il d r e n i n h o s p i t a l a n d t o t h e B e n U r i G a ll e r y