• Act and Terminal 3 at the Print Room Coronet review ***

    Act, Terminal 3 The Print Room, Coronet, 13th June 2018 Lars Noren is considered by many of those who purport to know about these things to be Sweden’s greatest living playwright. He certainly looks the part. His writing is oft compared to Beckett and Pinter. The Print Room is a terrific space. The intimacy of…

  • Leave Taking at the Bush Theatre review *****

    Leave Taking Bush Theatre, 13th June 2018 I confess I had never heard of Winsome Pinnock’s 1987 play Leave Taking until this season’s announcement for the Bush. Shocking for someone who considers themselves to be a theatre obsessive. I still have so much to learn. Still theatre is always the best way to confront ignorance…

  • The Two Noble Kinsman at the Globe Theatre review ****

    The Two Noble Kinsman Globe Theatre, 12th June 2018 I am not too keen on the Globe. Actually that is putting it mildly. I really don’t like it. For the simple reason that it is so bloody uncomfortable. I know that is the point. Sam Wanamaker’s vision of a re-creation of Shakespeare’s original entertainment house…

  • Tallis Scholars and Peter Philips at Cadogan Hall review ****

    The Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips (director) Cadogan Hall, 7th June 2018 Robert White – Domine, quis habitabit John Sheppard – Missa Cantate John Sutton – Salve regina Robert White – Magnificat Thomas Tallis – Spem in alium I just cast my eye over an article in the Guardian purporting to list the best albums of…

  • LSO play Ravel and Mussorgsky at the Barbican review ***

    London Symphony Orchestra, Gianandrea Noseda, Yefim Bronfman (piano) Barbican Hall, 3rd June 2018 Ravel – Rapsodie Espagnole Beethoven – Piano Concerto No 3 Mussorgsky arranged Ravel – Pictures at an Exhibition It has been a few years since I have heard Pictures at an Exhibition live, and I have thoroughly enjoyed Mr Noseda’s way with…

  • Julie at the National Theatre review ***

    Julie National Theatre Lyttleton, 9th June 2018 I am not sure if I like Strindberg’s play Miss Julie. The programme notes for this adaptation of the story by Polly Stenham explicitly deals with Strindberg’s rampant misogyny and class hatred. Whilst setting, plot and, to a certain extent, the bare bones of the text, afford plenty…

  • The Moderate Soprano at the Duke of York’s Theatre review ****

    The Moderate Soprano Duke of York’s Theatre, 7th June 1018 There are a couple of weeks to go in the run of David Hare’s The Moderate Soprano at the Duke of York’s Theatre. There are plenty of (discounted) tickets left. You could do a lot worse than seeing this if you are after a bit…

  • Translations at the National Theatre review ****

    Translations National Theatre Olivier, 6th June 2018 At the end of the day it is all about the words. That’s theatre. The power of language. Which is exactly what Brian Friel’s play is all about. A modern classic, first seen in 1980, in Derry (with Stephen Rea, Liam Neeson and Ray McAnally no less in…

  • Quiz at the Noel Coward Theatre review *****

    Quiz Noel Coward Theatre, 2nd June 2018 Your starter for ten. (I know I am mixing up my quiz show formats). Why where there empty seats at the Saturday evening performance of Quiz that the Tourist attended alongside the SO, BUD and KCK? Reviews for the original production at the Chichester Minerva, and this transfer,…

  • Nicola Benedetti and the Academy of Ancient Music at the Barbican review ****

    Academy of Ancient Music, Nicola Benedetti (violin), Richard Egarr (director and harpsichord) Barbican Hall, 31st May 2018 Antonio Vivaldi – Concerto for Violin in D major RV 208 “Il Grosso Mogul” Antonio Vivaldi – Concerto for Harpsichord RV 780 Mystery Composer – Sinfonia in D first movement Georg Philipp Telemann – Concerto for Violin in…

At Home He Feels Like A Tourist