feat of and physical performance experience

Where? Wilton’s Music Hall Wapping

GIG | The Swingles Vocal Weekender

There’s two headline concerts, workshops, a scratch choir and pop-up performances on the agenda as the ve-time Grammy winners come to Wilton’s. May 5-6, times vary, from £35, wiltons.org.uk

how Richard Burton’s nephew, Guy Masterson is set to play every single character in Under Milk Wood

by Jon Massey

The numbers are impressive. A total of 69 characters, 100 minutes of entertainment and three score years and 10 of history – the forthcoming production of Under Milk Wood at Wilton’s Music Hall has it all. It also has a man who has performed Dylan Thomas’ day-in-the-life of ctional Welsh coastal town Llareggub more than 2,000 times over three decades, himself with a powerful link to the text.

In shows running May 9-13, Guy Masterson is set to portray every character in the poet’s masterpiece – a feat of memory and physical transformation he’s been touring for more than 30 years.

Inspired by his uncle, Richard Burton, who led the rst broadcast of Under Milk Wood on the BBC World Service in 1954, Masterson promises an evening of the bawdy and beautiful, sad and sensual as he works his way through the text.

The show, directed by Tony Boncza, also features an original soundscape by Matt Cli ord. Tickets for the performances start at £14.50, with shows at 7.30pm and matinees on Saturday and Thursday at 2.30pm. Go to wiltons.org.uk to book or for more information

Scan this code for more about the show or to buy tickets book now

Following massive demand for tickets to their Eventim Apollo show, The Flaming Lips have added a second London date at Troxy in Limehouse to play Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots in full on April 25. Tickets from £43.55 troxy.co.uk

Scan this code to nd out more about the gig or to book tickets to see The Flaming Lips live want more? @wharfwhispers what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see

Where? Craft Central Isle Of Dogs

Minutes of contemporary dance will see the dancers of Unlocked re ect on the events of 2020 and 2021

Nova Grace Productions’ lockdown collaboration with choreographer Karen Hill – Unlocked – is set for a run at The Space in May

EVENT | Flax Piece #1

To celebrate London Craft Week this performance piece will see Shane Waltener explore making ax into thread. Expect scutching, hacking and spinning. May 12, 4pm-6pm, £10, craftcentral.org.uk

Where?

Poplar Union Poplar

LEARN | Thursday Blast With Both Dance

These once-a-month classes o er three hours of training for experienced dancers. Expect a challenging programme to help individuals develop. May 4, 6.30pm, £18, poplarunion.com

Where? The Space Isle Of Dogs

EVENT | Board Games Night

Running the rst Wednesday of every month, these regular evenings are for casual and serious players alike. Donations will be encouraged to SpaceLift. May 3, 7pm, free (booking advised), space.org.uk try this unlocking the

This delightful bowl of Mussel Linguine is from new seafood player on the Island The Shell – open now at South Quay Plaza. Its current lunch deal o ers this dish and Mussels With Fries for £9.90 each. Decent. theshellseafood.com

Scan this code to nd out more about The Shell at South Quay Plaza or to make a booking want more? @wharfwhispers

by Jon Massey

Aquartet of dancers is set to unleash Unlocked at The Space on the Isle Of Dogs in May. uring the first lockdown in March 2020, the performers from Nova Grace Productions collaborated with aidstone-based choreographer Karen Hill to create the piece.

Conceived as an exploration of both life in lockdown and the story of the pandemic, they created a production of four 5-minute sections each intended to represent different stages of lockdown life.

Rehearsing over Zoom, the performers patiently contended with limited space and time lags on ideo calls to create nlocked which was first performed in December 2020.

Its arrival at The Space is intended as an opportunity for audiences to reflect on all that came before from vaccines to masks social distancing and long-awaited hugs.

“Life over the pandemic was very interesting to say the least,” said Karen, who choreographed nlocked. “In man wa s lockdown had an incredible effect on m life. uring that time – trapped at home – my love for music and composition grew, but my passion for dance became frustrating.

“My mind was dreaming of choreography that I couldn’t bring to life. Then came the suggestion to dance on Zoom with the professional performers of Nova Grace Productions. So, we started with ballet classes together three times a week and soon de eloped long choreography sessions.

“We all had free time to spend working together when mone wasn’t an issue. We’ll never have that again.

“Dance was our coping mechanism – doing what we love most and what makes us who we are. Joining together via Zoom, keeping close to one another although isolated, sharing a joint purpose, we started documenting the experience in choreography.

“It gave me great pleasure to see what was in my head coming to life. It reall was a gift which kept me going. I believe that it was the joy of creating together, which makes the pro ect perfect.

“Technique, style and form are always important in dance but, during that time in lockdown ust working together was what mattered.

“ rt speaks without words and is interpreted by each individual. I hope the audience will all find positive encouragement in this piece.”

Founded in 2015, Nova Grace Productions is a social enterprise aimed at building a platform for creating original dance pieces and deli ering workshops “with a message”.

Over the seven years it’s been in existence, that has involved the creation of shows focused on mental health awareness inspiration and lockdown.

Unlocked is an effort to capture a moment in time and to provide a space for self reflection as it takes people back in time ia news headlines, confusion and government messaging to ensure the pandemic is neither forgotten or brushed under the carpet.

Following each performance at The Space, audiences will be invited to participate in a 0-minute with the dancers to hear about their creative process and the development of the project.

“Interpret and take what ou will from this creativity,” said aren. “ lwa s find positi e encouragement. It is the joy of creating together that makes it perfect.”

● Unlocked is set to run at The Space from a - with all performances starting at 8pm. ickets for the show are offered on a pa -what- ou-choose basis with £6, £12 and £18 options. Go to space.org.uk for more information

Scan this code to nd out more about Unlocked

by Jon Massey

Matt Lo’s vision is one of community. Having dropped out of university, bored by his business course and keen to avoid getting into debt, the entrepreneur tried his hand in various sectors. Following stints in estate agency, stockbroking and helming a failed website business, fitness beckoned.

“I fell into personal training,” he said. “I was always sporty –basketball, football and athletics at school and basketball for my county, Essex.

“But then you get into standard living, so it was nice to get back into fitness. What I learnt from the website business was that I wanted to gain some experience for a few years and earn my stripes before launching something. So I worked for Virgin Active in Moorgate, spent all my spare time studying, did my personal training qualifications in 2013 and that was it.”

From those beginnings, Matt started hosting outdoor fitness sessions in east London parks before successfully crowdfunding and opening his first ph sical g m in Old Street in 2016.

“I took my personal training clients, went freelance and that’s how things evolved,” he said. “Walking through those doors on opening day was beautiful, but also so stressful.

“We had plumbing problems the changing rooms leaked into the g m floor and when we first opened I was there for several nights in a row lifting floorboards with water gushing out.

“I didn’t know what to do, but that’s part of the game – the unexpected stuff the random scenarios. If you don’t want those challenges, then you shouldn’t run a business.”

With the leaks stopped his first gym performed solidly up until the pandemic when, like many businesses, its model was upset by unprecedented circumstances.

When the Old Street g m closed permanentl in 0 buffeted b lockdowns and home working, the next chapter in Matt’s story was already unfolding.

“I first saw the space on reenwich eninsula about fi e ears ago – but we couldn’t get funding for it back then,” he said. “So I reached out to developer Knight Dragon as it was still empty and they said they were looking for an operator.

“We came in and opened in 2021 – I feel we’ve created something really solid for the community here.”

That something is Outrivals – a health and fitness space located on the Thames with its entrance facing elevated public space The Tide.

“When the agent showed me the unit in 2018 it looked really promising – especially with everything the developer was doing to create a community, building it up from scratch,” said Matt. “I wanted to be a part of that.

“Outrivals has been set up as a place where people can come together to make friends and connections through fitness. Essentially, it’s a communitybased gym.

“We offer small group classes and personal training with a team of people who are all specialised in their fields. It’s down to them that we have got where we are today.

“We’ e tested man different classes – sussing out exactly what people like. We wanted it to be a very strong facility, where people come knowing that they’re getting excellent training from very good staff but ha ing fun at the same time.

“We do strong-man and strongwoman classes where people lift 50k balls stuff ou wouldn’t be able to do at home on your own.

“We do an hour and a half endurance class and we have a leg-day on Monday. So we’ve worked on what we want to be about, but at the same time made these things fun for the people who are doing them.”

Memberships at Outrivals start at £30 per month for gym-only access – available for anyone who works, studies or lives in reenwich. Standard open g m memberships are £55. Small Group Training memberships start at £60 per month for four classes with eight session and unlimited options also available.

One-to-one personal training packages start at £99 per month with three hour-long sessions included.

“We also offer dedicated packages such as our 12-week strength, weight loss or post-natal programmes,” said Matt, who also runs Choy House, an Asian street food restaurant now based at Design District’s food hall Canteen, a little further south on the peninsula.

“We feel we’re on a really good journey here at this gym. When I first came here there weren’t many buildings – the community was very new. Since then lots of people have moved in and lots has been built.

“To help boost that we create events, summer socials and charity challenges that help bring people together, not just in the gym but outside it as well.

“Personally, I understand the importance of fitness although I admit I’m hit and miss with how much I train.

“When I miss a session, though, I really feel it both mentally and physically, so I know what an effect it can ha e.

“Ultimately I’d like to grow the brand, launching in other new developments so we can widen out the community and bring even more people together – whether that’s in London, other cities or even internationally.”

Outri als has a number of offers for those considering taking out a membership. Prospective clients can try out the gym’s facilities for three consecutive days, including open access to training spaces and small group classes.

Members can also get up to £50 cashback for referring new clients who then take out a membership.

On the personal training front, in addition to packages for indi iduals Outri als offers sessions for couples or people who simply want to train together. A £150 per month fee covers two sessions for two people with an Outrivals coach. Packages covering more sessions are also available.

For individuals who need more flexibilit the g m also offers blocks of personal training that can be used over a two-month period instead of the usual one-month expir date. Go to outrivals.com for more information

Greenwich - Peninsula - Woolwich what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see

Where?

The O2 Arena Peninsula

Can you feel that Eurovision buzz? The Italians arrive in London on their Loud Kids tour as they continue to go from strength to strength. Selling out fast. May 8, 6.30pm, from £166.87, theo2.co.uk

Where? Greenwich Theatre Greenwich

STAGE | The Dumb Waiter + Slight Ache

A double-bill of Harold Pinter’s dark comedies exploring the political machinations of those in power and those who are powerless. Don’t miss it. May 12-Jun 3, times vary, £27, greenwichthreatre.org.uk

Where?

Visitors’ Book Cafe Woolwich Works

A young creator in jazz, the 21-year-old saxophonist and singer from Leeds writes danceable songs that have gone down very well on social media. May 13, 6.30pm, £10, woolwich.works ash back

This is Harry Major and

Scan this code to read Wharf Life’s interview with Harry and Veronica and nd out more at wharf-life.com want more? @wharfwhispers

by Jon Massey

There’s about to be a lot going on to the east of Canary Wharf.

The Royal Docks Team (RDT) has o ciall un eiled its At The Docks programme – an umbrella for numerous e ents and attractions set to come to fruition in E16 between May and September.

hese include the likes of the reenwich ocklands International esti al the ondon - rix the ock ards Summer Series and ewham Heritage Month.

It also includes Sea Change – an RDT collaboration with ni ersit College ondon (UCL) that has seen four new artworks commissioned.

hese ha e been curated b In isible ust which has brought together a quartet of artists with scientists at UCL to respond to the climate crisis. inall after what feels like a bli ard of stakeholders and acron ms that leads us to a - une when these installations will be a ailable to iew for free.

ather than a galler howe er three of the works will be on show at The Greenhouse heatre a ero-waste tra elling enue that e en as ou read this is being built at hames arrier ark. a ing spent time in Canar Wharf in 0 it’s a structure t picall used as a space for li e performances which has meant a few changes for its latest incarnation.

“We’ll be this reall exciting creati e hub for those weeks down in hames arrier ark a space where people can engage with the amazing artworks that In isible ust has programmed said Oli Sa age co-founder and artistic director of The Greenhouse Theatre.

“ h sicall this is the same enue built from rec cled materials – but there will also be some new spaces for 2023.

“One of the pieces Flotilla by Melanie Manchot – will be shown in our new screening space a er lo el repurposed shed. We’re also introducing our first ero waste bar on site where people can come and hang out and sta sustainable while the ’re ha ing a drink.

“Our message is that the site is open – we’re encouraging people to come down and en o planet’s future. full schedule of e ents is set to be announced soon. s part of the o erall programme he reenhouse will be hosting a free youth festi al on a aimed at people aged - 0. all the things that are on offer. We want to make it a space that people reall want to come and spend time in.

“ his will be a full da with workshops e ents and refreshments a ailable said Oli. “ here will be li e music too and this is er much b and for people aged - 0 we’d lo e a great crowd of oung people along to come and hang out with us.

“In fact we want as many people to come down and see us as possible throughout our time here. It is a lo el lo el park on the ri er and right beside the Thames Barrier itself – an iconic piece of architecture so we’re really lucky to be there.

“There’s also a fantastic communit locall which we’re reall excited to engage with and ser e.

The Greenhouse Theatre is also expecting to return to Canar Wharf in une before heading to attersea in ugust.

The core of Sea Change will be four artworks with three housed at he reenhouse.

Biotopes b Simon aithfull explores habitats with the artist using printed sculptures of his bod adapted for other species to reside in.

Power In b ana Ol rescu promises an exploration of energy equity with input from local people.

Manchot’s Flotilla comprises a film of local women afloat on boats on the night time waters of the o al ocks inspired by the history of protests for equality in the area.

The fourth artwork – The Waves Are Rising b aqs edia Collecti e will be iewable at o al ictoria ock and sees an augmented realit wa e superimposed o er li e ideo footage of the still waters in front of City Hall. All are free to access.

Sea Change will also include Forecast 2023 on May 19 – a s mposium during which writers artists scientists and cultural commentators can explore the nature of stories and how the might shape the

“We’re expecting the Wharf run to go ahead which will be a return to theatrical programming with a festi al feel said Oli. “We’ll ha e two or three shows each da a range of different fringe artists alongside headline show To The Ocean which will be on at pm.

“It’s a modern retelling of the Selkie m th a musical about how we connect with each other with famil and with the natural world.

“It will feature original music and it’s all about a oung girl’s ourne to find herself who on her th birthda disco ers her dad hasn’t been entirel truthful about where she’s from.

“She sets out on a m thical magical ourne to the ocean to meet her mother and disco er her roots.

“One of the reall exciting things is we’ll be holding open rehearsals people can come to for free while we’re in Royal ocks as well as pre iew performances at a reduced rate from une - . Go to royaldocks.london or thegreenhousetheatre.com for more information

Of the four Sea Change artworks will be on display at The Greenhouse Theatre in Thames Barrier Park from May 11-29. The venue will be in place until June 4

We’ll be this really exciting creative hub down in Thames Barrier Park where people can engage with amazing artwork

Co-founder and artistic director of The Greenhouse Theatre

Oli Savage says the team are really excited to be bringing the nomadic venue to Royal Docks in May

Royal Docks - Canning Town what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see

Where? Wonderful Things Canning Town

TRY | Meditation For Self-Expansion Workshop

Katie Mantwa George is set to host an educational and practical session aimed at exploring the impact meditation can have in all areas of life. May 13, 2pm-5pm, £55, beinghumanwell.com

Where?

Excel Royal Victoria Dock

EVENT | Grand Designs Live 2023

TV architect and problematic developer Kevin McCloud’s live spin-o of Grand Designs is set to return to east London for budding home builders. Apr 29-May 7, daily, from £13, granddesignslive.com

Where? Social Convention Canning Town

GIG | Bavvn

Billed as Late Night Lock

In 5, this evening of live music features a London-based indie pop singer, songwriter and producer with something to say. May 12, 8pm, from £5, socialconvention.org looped in

The Mayor Of London’s Superloop bus service is set to connect outer boroughs and includes stops in Royal Docks and Canary Wharf –albeit the point at which the loop breaks to form a sort of Pac-Man shape t .gov.uk

Scan this code to nd out more about the Superloop and when consultations on the new services will start want more? @wharfwhispers

£8.50 what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see

Where? Printworks

London Canada Water

EVENT | Brew LDN

Around 12,000 people are expected to come and worship at the temple of craft beer as this two-day festival returns to the vacant press halls. May 5-6, times vary, from £21.25, printworkslondon.co.uk

Where?

Brunel Museum

Rotherhithe

EVENT | Loudspeaker Orchestra

The chamber is set to become an immersive listening space for a new work for trumpet and electronics by Bede Williams and Andrew Knight-Hill. May 17, 7pm, £5, thebrunelmuseum.com

Where?

The Albany Deptford

Price at Mouse Tail, which comes with a co ee on the side

EVENT | A Big Conversation Finale

An opportunity for arts organisations, politicians, healthcare workers and civil servants to hear from young people on the mental health crisis. May 11, 6pm, free, thealbany.org.uk move fast

There’s still time to participate in We Move –an initiative by The Albany for young people aged 16-25 to see their ideas for improving the borough of Lewisham workshopped and realised. Find out more online thealbany.org.uk

Scan this code to discover more about We Move and how to get involved at The Albany want more? @wharfwhispers

by Jon Massey

Rodents are well known for their ability to chew through the toughest of substances. While you may not need the front teeth of a beaver to gnaw through the Tomato, Mozzarella And Pesto Sandwich at Mouse Tail Co ee in Canada Water, you should come prepared for a serious oral workout.

The avourful lling may be soft enough, but the robust sourdough doorstops that surround it do require some signi cant worrying.

Persevere though and you will be rewarded with a decent feed, made all the more generous by the cafe’s o er of a “free co ee” with the food.

a clever wheeze on the part of the business to ensure diners enjoy a hot beverage with their snack.

The co ee, admittedly, is excellent – a regular serving in contrast to the vast buckets served by Starbucks and their ilk. But Mouse Tail’s chief attraction is really its location. Found a short walk from Canada Water station (on the way to Surrey Quays), it boasts a substantial, although unsheltered outdoor space overlooking the waters of the former dock.

On a sunny spring day it’s the ideal place to people watch or survey the impressive collection of duck and swan islands that have been installed to help boost local biodiversity.

On a hot summer’s day it’s easy to imagine it becoming a must for iced refreshment.

Then again it also serves beer and wine, for those looking for a weekend session.

Go to mousetail.co for more information about this Rotherhithe cafe

Scan this code to nd out more about Mouse Tail Co ee