At Home He Feels Like A Tourist

  • Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin at the Wigmore Hall review *****

    Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin, Isabelle Faust, Bernhard Forck Wigmore Hall, 29th June 2017 JS Bach – Suite No 2 in A Minor BWV 1067a JS Bach – Violin Concerto in E Major BWV 1042 JS Bach – Violin Concerto in A Minor BWV 1041 CPE Bach – String Symphony…

  • Common at the National Theatre review ***

    Common National Theatre, 28th June 2017 Is it possible to feel sorry for a play? Common has had some pretty poor reviews from the criterati and the public alike and there are tons of tickets left for the month or so left on the run. Well I can’t pretend it…

  • Churchill film review **

    Churchill, 25th June 2017 I am a sucker for screen portrayals of Churchill. I didn’t really get on with The Crown last year on NetFlix but John Lithgow was on the money as the great man. And the past performances from the likes of Brendan Gleeson, Timothy Spall, Michael Gambon,…

  • Monteverdi Vespers at the Barbican Hall review *****

    The Academy of Ancient Music, Choir of the AAM, Robert Howarth, Louise Alder, Rowan Pierce, Thomas Hobbs, Charles Daniels Barbican Hall, 23rd June 2017 It was the Academy of Ancient Music and its choir performing Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers. It was bound to get 5 stars. If you have spent your…

  • Ensemble InterContemporain at the Wigmore Hall review ****

    Ensemble InterContemporain Wigmore Hall, 20th June 2017 Debussy – Premiere rapsodie Bruno Maderna – Viola Messiaen – Le merle noir Philippe Schoeller – Madrigal Luciano Berio – Sequenza 1 Ravel – Violin Sonata Matteo Franceschini – Les Excentriques Ensemble InterContemporain was founded in 1972 by Pierre Boulez and tenures 31…

  • Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Cadogan Hall review ****

    Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins, Jan Mracek Cadogan Hall, 16th June 2017 Berio – Sequenza V for solo trombone Prokofiev – Quintet in G Minor Debussy – Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un faune, Beethoven – Violin Concerto, Shostakovich – Symphony No 5 A welcome innovation from the RPO at its Cadogan…

  • Life of Galileo at the Young Vic review ****

    Life of Galileo Young Vic, 21st June 2017 My Brechtian education continues apace. Who would have thought that until a couple of years ago I hadn’t see any Brecht plays at all and frankly wasn’t that interested having been put off by the great man’s reputation. What a klutz I…

  • My favourite London theatre of 2016

    Right then. I know what you are thinking. Doesn’t this numpty know that it’s June 2017. Bit pointless talking about theatre from last year then. Well yes, you may well have a point. However this blog only started in March 2017 and it’s mine anyway so I can do what…

  • Anatomy of a Suicide at the Royal Court Theatre review *****

    Anatomy of a Suicide Royal Court Theatre, 22nd June 2017 There are many extraordinary things about Anatomy of a Suicide. One is that there are still tickets left in the run at the Royal Court. Snap them up. Another is that as far as I can see all the serious…

  • Terror at the Lyric Hammersmith review ****

    Terror Lyric Hammersmith, 19th June 2017 Terror is not your typical piece of theatre. It is a courtroom drama yes, but not in the form of a classic “did he/she or didn’t he/she do it”. Nor is it especially interested in probing the psychological make-up of accused, victim or legal…