6 minute read
WHAT'S ON
The AgendaEVENTS NOT TO MISS IN LONDON
SPECTACLE
Light Festival
UNTIL 5 MARCH, BATTERSEA POWER STATION
Returning for its third year, the free Light Festival at Battersea Power Station will be brightening up the dark winter evenings with the largest collection of installations to date. Eight spectacular pieces of artwork, curated in partnership with Light Art Collection, will be on display both outdoors and inside the iconic Grade II* listed Power Station.
THEATRE
NT Live: The Crucible
7 February PICTUREHOUSE CENTRAL Raised to be seen but not heard, a group of young women in Salem suddenly fi nd their words have an almighty power. As a climate of fear, vendetta and accusation spreads through the community, no one is safe from trial. Pictured: Eileen Walsh as Elizabeth Proctor. ntlive.com
ART Alice Neele: Hot off the Griddle
16 February - 21 May BARBICAN ART GALLERY The UK's largest exhibition to date of the work of American artist Alice Neel (1900–1984). Neel painted fi guratively during a period in which it was deeply unfashionable to do so. She persisted with her distinctive, expressionistic style, even though it meant that for most of her life she lacked critical recognition. barbican.org.uk
DANCE
DANCE ME
– MUSIC BY LEONARD COHEN
7-14 February SADLERS WELLS Dance Me is inspired by the rich and profound work of poet, artist and songwriter, Leonard Cohen. Three contemporary dance choreographers were entrusted with putting movement to Cohen’s legendary songs. Scenic, visual, musical, dramaturgical, and choreographic elements pay tribute to him. robomagic.com
ART
Atta Kwami: Maria Lassnig Prize Mural
Until September 2023 SERPENTINE GALLERY A public art mural by the late painter, printmaker, independent art historian, and curator Atta Kwami (1956-2021). The mural is painted on wood – the surface Kwami used for outdoor constructions – by artist Pamela Clarkson, Kwami’s widow, and designer Andy Philpott, his friend and collaborator. serpentinegalleries.org
Special Event
DESIRE FAIR
10-12 MARCH CHELSEA OLD TOWN HALL
This stunning mixed media jewellery and silversmithing event enables visitors to purchase direct from contemporary designer makers selected from the best in the UK. Desire o ers visitors a choice of individual jewellers and contemporary silversmiths who have been selected for their superb and innovative craftsmanship and have a genuine passion for the work they create. desirefair.com
Art
TO WATCH
A fresh perspective on New York and postcard perfection take centre stage
CARNICELLI NY NURSE'S GEAR 1966
Streets of New York at the David Hill Gallery is an exhibition of Big Apple life, as captured by fi ve masters of their craft. The show includes work from the late 1940s through to the early 1970s, the period generally considered the golden age of street photography. Featuring exceptional photography from Werner Bischof, Mario Carnicelli, Harold Feinstein, Larry Fink, Marc Riboud. Until 3 March. davidhillgallery.net
BETHANY CZARNECKI UNTITLED, 2023
Take home an original mini masterpiece in support of the Hepatitis C Trust from 23 February via Art on a Postcard, who is hosting its fourth International Women’s Day auction. This year they have invited seven female curators to each curate a show featuring 25 female artists. The curators include Beth Greenacre, whose clients have included David Bowie and more recently the allfemale members club Allbright, Liminal Gallery’s Louise Fitzjohn and Mollie Barnes of She Curates plus Carrie Scott, Lee Sharrock, Bakul Patki and Sandra De Giorgi. This is an opportunity to acquire a highly collectible, original artwork by a series of leading international female artists at a very reasonable price, with bidding starting at just £50. artonapostcard.com
This LITTLE GIRL
Absolutely goes behind the scenes at Matilda The Musical
RAKESH BOURY AS MR WORMWOOD
Even as an adult, I’m excited to meet the cast of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Matilda The Musical. The show has been playing in the West End since 2011 and its unforgettable songs are played on repeat in countless households. There’s hardly been an empty seat in the house since it opened, and now a new film is attracting even more fans – because it’s a timeless show that people of all ages return to again and again for its anarchic spirit and unique style.
Clearly, the show has a special energy behind the scenes as well. A new cast change brings Rakesh Boury and Amy
Ellen Richardson to the roles of Mr and
Mrs Wormwood, and they were both fans before they’d been cast. “I saw the original at Stratford and I remember thinking, there’s nothing else like this. I laughed,
I cried,” says Richardson. We’re in the theatre’s Circle Bar in the afternoon, where tables are already set up for the children’s supper later. For them it’s a tight schedule – they spend the day at school, then rush to the theatre for the evening performance.
“It’s a well-oiled machine,” says Boury.
There are currently three teams of children who perform in turns, and Boury and Richardson are blown away by their talent. “They’re so unbelievably good,” says Boury, who has four-year-old twin daughters who are deep into their Matilda fan phase. Richardson has been acting since she was 10, so seeing the children on stage reflects her own life. “What an experience it is for them,” she says. “And they’re so good that they make you up your game.”
For a long-running show, it’s unusual to have so many of the original team still involved, but Matilda The Musical is very much a passion project for pretty much
everybody. Writer Dennis Kelly, composer and lyricist Tim Minchin, director Matthew Warchus, musical director Laurie Perkins and choreographer Peter Darling have all been hands-on since the beginning, and the show adapts to each new wave of actors. “We were encouraged to bring our own interpretations to the roles,” says Richardson. “We do feel that they’re our roles, which is great when you’re taking on an existing role,” says Boury. “The team genuinely wanted us to find our own versions, which is great – I’ve done shows where they insist on you doing everything a certain way. But every Wormwood there’s ever been has been their own.”
Plainly, they both love the show and feel lucky to be part of it. “We’ve done 140 shows but we still feel like the new cast,” says Boury. And the energy comes from the audience too. “When I finish work, 1200 people applaud me. That feeling can keep you going. Just this week there was a 40-year-old man in a Matilda The Musical t-shirt standing up at the end, bawling his eyes out. It’s the power of the arts, isn’t it.” He’s right – this show stays with everyone it touches. Long may it continue.
AMY ELLEN RICHARDSON AS MRS WORMWOOD
