Category: History
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Shipwreck at the Almeida Theatre review *****
Shipwreck Almeida Theatre, 18th March 2019 The Tourist, as this blog shows, is a nice bloke given to giving creatives the benefit of the doubt. Hence the string of positive reviews on these pages. He likes to think that he is wise in his choice of entertainment. The reality is…
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Richard III at the Alexandra Park Theatre review ***
Richard III Headlong, Alexandra Park Theatre, 17th March 2019 Right. Let’s get the gripe out of the way. Maybe in the smaller venues where this production will tour it might creep up to a 4* but Alexandra Park Theatre, whilst an undeniably superb space after the refurbishment, is just a…
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I Am Ashurbanipal exhibition at the British Museum review ****
I Am Ashurbanipal King of the World, King of Assyria British Museum, 15th February 2019 Crikey. Those Assyrians had a way with reliefs carved in gypsum/alabaster. Even if it was primarily all in the service of terrifying aggrandisement. The King hunting, the King and his soldiers slaying his enemies, the…
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The American Clock at the Old Vic review ***
The American Clock Old Vic Theatre, 11th February 2019 All the reviews will tell you the same thing. This was not one of Arthur Miller’s finest moments. Mind you his finest moments are amongst the greatest in theatrical history so the bar is set pretty high. A series of vignettes,…
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Rosenbaum’s Rescue at the Park Theatre review ***
Rosenbaum’s Rescue Park Theatre 200, 29th January 2018 Not quite sure why this didn’t entirely work for me. Alexander Bodin Sophir takes an intriguing story, the escape of 7500 Jews by boat from Copenhagen to Sweden in 1943 just before the Nazis were about to round them up, and puts…
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Julia Wolfe’s Anthracite Fields at King’s Place review *****
Bang on a Can All Stars, BBC Singers, Tecwyn Evans (conductor) Kings Place Hall One, 19th January 2019 I had heard a few snippets of Julia Wolfe’s compositions but freely admit this was a bit of a leap into the unknown. Still what I had heard seemed interesting, I was keen…
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The Tragedy of King Richard the Second at the Almeida Theatre review ****
The Tragedy of King Richard the Second Almeida Theatre, 9th January 2019 Vain, frivolous, self pitying, introverted. Richard II doesn’t come across too well at the beginning of this play, Shakespeare’s first instalment of his histories that chart the origins of the “War of the Roses” and end with the…
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The Double Dealer at the Orange Tree review ****
The Double Dealer Orange Tree Theatre, 7th January 2019 Now everyone know’s that Restoration comedy is a tricky customer. What with the humour built on misogyny, that’s if it is funny at all. The satire of a social class few of us recognise. Texts are so thick, built on repartee,…
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Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms at the British Library review *****
Anglo-Saxon Kingsdoms: Art, Word, War British Library, 30th December 2018 I mean it isn’t all books. There are charters and letters as well. And pottery, coins, art and jewels. But there are a lot of books. Oh my word though, what beautiful books. If you are at all interested in…
At Home He Feels Like A Tourist 