Welcome to London Grip, a forum for reviews of books, shows & events – plus quarterly postings of new poetry. Our most recent posts are listed below. Older posts can be explored via the search box and topic list. For more information & guidelines on submitting reviews or poems please visit our Home page.
Testament. Review by Barbara Lewis. Green Opera’s aim is to put sustainability and nature at its core, while redefining opera for a new era in which art and environmental consciousness unite.
Much Ado About Nothing. Review by Barbara Lewis. “Much Ado About Nothing” in the “humble opinion” of Associate Director Mark Collier is the perfect comedy.
Summers. Review by Barbara Lewis. Heejin Kim takes us to a near future where there is no longer any doubt that summers are something to fight rather than enjoy.
Fiddler on the Roof. Review by Julia Pascal. In Fiddler on the Roof, inspired by Sholem Aleichem’s 1894 Yiddish short story, and now a celebrated revival from the 1960s, we have to explore what this means today.
Storehouse. Review by Barbara Lewis. As the former CEO of the national independent TV and radio stations in Georgia, Liana Patarkatsishvili has strong views on freedom of expression and on attempts to stifle the truth.
Giffords Circus – Laguna Bay. Review by Barbara Lewis. Imagine a time when childhoods were free from mobile phones, video games and Instagram, and when the arrival of an exotic circus troupe on a village green or at the seaside represented magic and excitement far beyond the everyday.
Cul-de-Sac. Review by Barbara Lewis. “Do you think this is enjoyable for anyone to be around?” It’s a very dangerous question in the mouth of Ruth Townsend, who is the aptly named wife of the overly frank Frank Townsend, the central couple of this tale of frustrated lives at the end of the line in London’s Zone 6.
The Frogs. Review by Barbara Lewis. The time is now. The place is ancient Greece. So begins this extremely freely adapted version of Aristophanes’ “The Frogs”.
The Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show. Review by Barabara Lewis. The Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show is a mood-enhancing, life-affirming start to the day – and after an 18-year run at the Edinburgh Fringe and an 11-year absence from Brighton, where it began, it is back on the English coast.
Peter Grimes. Review by Barbara Lewis. In difficult times, it would seem, people crave total escapism – or deep catharsis from confronting our own failure as humans and society.
Here We Are, by Stephen Sondheim. Review by Graham Buchan. The production of a new work by Stephen Sondheim is a significant event in any cultural calendar.
Chicago. Review by Barbara Lewis. Born of a rift between French and Dutch speakers in the Belgian city of Leuven, Louvain-la-Neuve, one of Europe’s youngest cities, dates back to 1971 and has a history of creating new traditions.
Testament. Review by Barbara Lewis. Green Opera’s aim is to put sustainability and nature at its core, while redefining opera for a new era in which art and environmental consciousness unite.
By Barbara Lewis • added recently on London Grip, music, opera, theatre • Tags: Barbara Lewis, music, opera, theatre