Miro. Review by Barbara Lewis. For Barcelona-born Catalan artist Joan Miro, Mallorca was the land of his maternal grandmother, of his wife, and from 1956, his adoptive home. It was also a refuge and his connection with it was fundamental to his work.
Barbara Lewis
Medieval Women. Review by Barbara Lewis. Between 1100 and 1600, Europe had 20 reigning queens. It produced numerous women who turned to religion to escape female servitude and gain influence and others who offered practical common sense to relieve the often fatal trauma of childbirth.
Pirates of Penzance. Review by Barbara Lewis. Sasha Regan’s all male operetta productions faithfully capture the febrile atmosphere of student interpretations in which adolescent boys, with raging hormones, play all the parts male and female, compounding the absurdity of Gilbert and Sullivan’s plots.
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.
Tattooer. Review by Barbara Lewis. Love them or loathe them, tattoos have global appeal. But Japan’s version of permanently etching ink into the skin is culturally specific.
One Small Step. Review by Barbara Lewis. Japan’s Umeda Arts Theater, based in Osaka, began collaborating with London’s Charing Cross Theatre in 2019. It’s now back after a break for the pandemic and then a joint venture with London’s Menier Chocolate Factory last year.
James Ensor and the Graphic Experiment. Review by Barbara Lewis. This year marks 75 years since the death of the painter and printmaker James Ensor, which has been the cue for a flurry of exhibitions in his native Belgium.
Why Am I So Single?! Review by Barbara Lewis. From Jane Austen to “Friends,” the pursuit of heterosexual love has been the goal of romantic comedy. Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, the makers of the international musical hit “SIX,” have turned that on its head with a musical comedy that celebrates “love friendship” between a non-binary man and a woman.
Georgian art. Review by Barbara Lewis. Georgia is a country of less than 4 million inhabitants with a language its guides will tell you is unique. They might also mention that the word for hello “gamarjoba” comes from the word for victory.
Jazz Conversations. Review by Barbara Lewis. Choreographer Dollie Henry and jazz composer Paul Jenkins have for more than a quarter of a century led the Body of People Jazz Theatre Company (aka BOP) on the basis jazz is a life-affirming, always-contemporary, ever-adapting, all-inclusive, forgiving form.
Plantation A. Review by Barbara Lewis. In 1957 Alain Robbe-Grillet reinvented the novel with an almost abstract, almost plot-less narrative and a central character named only as A… Now composer Edward Jessen has reinvented opera with “an experimental sonic theatre work” and a lone soprano (A…) singing words whose meaning we can only guess at.
The Crumple Zone. Review by Barbara Lewis. For anyone nervous their personal relationship might not withstand the stress of the festive period, “The Crumple Zone” offers a manic reassurance that we can survive the impact of an emotional crash, but the pain is excruciating.
By Barbara Lewis • comedy, plays, theatre, year 2024 • Tags: Barbara Lewis, comedy, plays, theatre