At Home He Feels Like A Tourist

  • Bach’s St John Passion at the Barbican Hall review ****

    Britten Sinfonia, Britten Sinfonia Voices Barbican Hall, 14th April 2017 Britten Sinfonia Mark Padmore – Evangelist/director Jacqueline Shave –  leader/director Simon Russell Beale – speaker Britten Sinfonia Voices JS Bach – St John’s Passion They were a glum looking bunch these great classical composers weren’t they? It is alright for us with…

  • Verdi Requiem at the Royal Festival Hall review ***

    Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Bach Choir Royal Festival Hall, 13th April 2017 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Vasily Petrenko – Conductor Maija Kovalevska – Soprano Karen Cargill – Mezzo-Soprano Saimir Pirgu – Tenor Alexander Vinogradov – Bass The Bach Choir Verdi – Requiem Right. Off to the RFH with BUD for a bit…

  • Tenebrae and the Aurora Orchestra at St John’s Smith Square review ****

    Tenebrae and Aurora Orchestra: Bach and Faure St John’s Smith Square, 12th April 2017 Tenebrae Aurora Orchestra Emma Walshe – Soprano Stephen Kennedy – Baritone Max Baillie – Violin Nigel Short – Conductor Bach – Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein BWV245 Bach – Partita No. 2 in D – Allemande BWV1004…

  • London theatre update

    So a few things to note since the last London theatre update. Booking opens 5th May (earlier for members of various hues) for the new batch of productions at the National Theatre. I reckon tickets for Follies, the Sondheim musical with a cast of thousands and the pocket rocket Imelda Staunton…

  • The Lottery of Love at the Orange Tree review ***

    The Lottery of Love The Orange Tree Theatre, 13th April 2017 Apparently there is even a noun for it, “Marivaudage”. Slightly sarcastically applied, but it describes a way of writing that is precious or affected, and is derived from our friend Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (I so wish my…

  • Twelfth Night at the National Theatre review ****

    Twelfth Night National Theatre, 10th April 2017 Now I’m not going to lie to you. The first couple of times when I saw Twelfth Night years ago I had no idea what was going on. Mind you I put no effort in and was, on one occasion I recall, knackered…

  • Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead at the Old Vic review ****

    Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead The Old Vic Theatre, 27th March 2017 Sorry I have come a bit late to the party here both in seeing this and then setting down a few thoughts. I am still a Stoppard virgin so you must treat me gently and this is the…

  • The Japanese House exhibition at the Barbican review ***

    The Japanese House: Architecture and Life after 1945 Barbican Art Gallery, 27th March 2017 Bit of a mixed bag/curate’s egg here. There are some undeniably interesting insights in this exhibition but I was less enamoured of the set piece external and internal installations accommodated within the fabric of the Barbican’s…

  • Ugly Lies the Bone at the National Theatre review ****

    Ugly Lies the Bone National Theatre, 28th March 2017 Tricky one this. It was by no means perfect, a little too thinly drawn for me, but there was so much to applaud that I think it worthy of a strong positive review. The playwright, Lindsay Ferrentino is entirely new to…

  • Balm in Gilead at the Guildhall School review ***

    Balm in Gilead Silk Street Theatre, 27th March 2017 Less a review, more a plug for the terrific music, drama and opera on offer to you, the London public, from the massively talented students (and teachers) at the Guildhall School on the Barbican site. There’s all manner of free stuff…

  • Graduation – film review *****

    Graduation, 12th April 2017 I haven’t seen too many films at the cinema this year and have so far resisted the temptation to offer up an opinion on any of them, in large part because they had been and gone before I kicked off this blog. (For what it’s worth…

  • Wolfgang Tillmans at Tate Modern review ****

    Wolfgang Tillmans: 2017 Tate Modern, 9th March 2017 Oh my giddy aunt. What to make of this. I am slowly clambering my way up the shaky but intriguing edifice that is contemporary art. I have a rough map in my head but still have a long way to go and…