Prom 20. Review by Julia Pascal. The night of the male Modernists opened with a tribute to Harrison Birtwistle’s Sonance Severance 2000, a three minute composition which is as huge in its effect as it is brief in its length.
theatre
My Fair Lady. English National Opera. Review by Julia Pascal. My Fair Lady, the musical version of George Bernard Shawâs 1912 play Pygmalion is staged at the English National Opera this summer.
The Excursions of Mr Broucek. Review by Barbara Lewis. The Excursions of Mr Broucek is an opera like no other â or as Wasfi Kani, the founder and power behind the bold, brave and never daunted Grange Park Opera, puts it: âCosi fan Tutti it isnât.â
As You Like It. Review by Barbara Lewis. Shakespeare famously was for all time, and yet this version of As You Like It feels uniquely relevant to our age.
Lillias White Sings Broadway. Review by Barbara Lewis. The pan-damn-demic, as Broadway singer Lillias White puts it, has abated sufficiently for her to bring her considerable presence to cosy, atmospheric venues, including Londonâs Crazy Coqs.
Anyone Can Whistle. Southwark Playhouse. Review by Barbara Lewis. Anyone Can Whistle opened on Broadway in April 1964 to mixed reviews and closed shortly afterwards. Nearly 60 years on, this Southwark revival deserves to run and run as Georgie Rankcomâs inspired direction does justice to Sondheimâs genius, even when in its early phase, to make musicals from the most unlikely material.
Truth to Power CafĂ©. Review by Barbara Lewis. Speaking Truth to Power has come to mean âsaying something to those in a position of trust or authority who donât want to hear it,â Jeremy Goldstein, the MC of the Truth to Power CafĂ©, tells us. Itâs a non-violent means of conflict resolution whose origins lie in the anti-war movement.
An Earlâs Court Miscellany. FinboroughFrontier online content. Review by Barbara Lewis. The ever-inventive Finborough Theatre has combined its return to real-life drama with an enlightened decision to carry on delivering original online work for free that surely can only enhance one of the strongest off-West End brands.
Gianni Schicchi. Review by Barbara Lewis. Gianni Schicchi, the protagonist of Pucciniâs only wholly comic opera, was a 13th-century Italian knight immortalised by Dante in the Circle of Impersonators for pretending to be the rich gentleman Buoso Donati and dictating a testament highly favourable to himself.
The Wife of Willesden. Adapted by Zadie Smith from Chaucerâs âThe Wife of Bathâ. Kiln Theatre, London. Until 18 December 2021. Review by Carla Scarano.
Zadie Smithâs brilliant adaptation of âThe Wife of Bathâ from Geoffrey Chaucerâs The Canterbury Tales triggers a rethinking of womenâs roles in society.
West Side Story, directed by Steven Spielberg In the new West Side Story Leonard Bernsteinâs magnificent music and Stephen Sondheimâs incisive and witty lyrics have all been preserved and bring as much pleasure as before.
by Michael Bartholomew-Biggs • added recently on London Grip, books, performance, poetry reviews, theatre, year 2022 • Tags: books, James Roderick Burns, performance, poetry, theatre • 0 Comments
Poetry review â PERFORMANCE RITES: James Roderick Burns admires Barry Smithâs exploration of the overlap between art and nature