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.
performance
THE TRAVELS OF A PINK FEATHER: Lisa Kelly reports from the first international Performance Poetry Biennial Symposium-Festival
THE BOOMING LOVELIES: Stephen Claughton visits one of London’s newer poetry venues at The Spice of Life
Truth to Power Café. Review by Barbara Lewis. Jeremy Goldstein is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his company London Artists Projects, whose missions include taking his “Truth to Power Café” across the world.
Swan Lake in the Round. Review by Julia Pascal. This is the most famous of classical ballets and it was conceived for the proscenium arch Italianate style theatre of Imperial Russia when it opened with Marius Petipa’s choreography to Peter Tchaikovsky’s composition at Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet in 1895.
Stephen Sondheim Society. Review by Barbara Lewis. The SSSSPOTY, as it is known in Sondheim circles, technically is a competition, but, like Bonnie Langford, compere of this year’s 16th edition, you may prefer to see it as a celebration.
Romeo and Juliet. Review by Julia Pascal. This production has not been seen in London since 2009. Consequently, most Londoners will know revivals of Kenneth MacMillan’s famous 1965 version which has regularly been performed by the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden.
Poetry review – THE TRAPEZE OF YOUR FLESH: Thomas Ovans is impressed by the extensive knowledge behind Charles Rammelkamp’s poetic history of Striptease and Burlesque
New York City Ballet at Sadlers Wells. Review by Julia Pascal. George Balanchine founded New York City Ballet and gave us classical technique without classical narratives. His work is described as neo-classic or even anti-classic. But since his death in 1983 the Company has been looking at other creatives to provide Company identity.
The London Handel Players, after touring Northern Ireland, Spain, Turkey, Canada and America, have returned to base for the 2023 – 2024 season. The ensemble specialises in Baroque chamber music.
Festival Universatil. Review by Barbara Lewis. The students in a KAP live together and work together on a cultural or community project, one of which is Le Théâtre Universitaire de Louvain, which every year organises the “Universatil” festival of French-language drama.
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.
By Barbara Lewis • performance, society, technology, theatre, year 2025 • Tags: Barbara Lewis, performance, society, technology, theatre