London & Partners

ENTERTAINMENT
Entertainment
With David G. Taylor
What’s hot
From 7 Sep Experience the outrageous fashions of London’s
nightclub scene during the late 1970s and early 80s, with the revival
of Boy George’s Olivier Award-winning musical, Taboo. A classic
boy-meets-girl love story, it also follows George’s evolution from
club cloakroom attendant to millionaire Karma Chameleon crooner,
encountering real-life characters along the way, such as Visage singer
Steve Strange and the late Leigh Bowery (Taboo club host and Lucian
Freud model). Songs include Bow Down Mister.
Taboo, p. 99
Open-air fun
Britain’s sultry summer days and
balmy evenings bring with them some
great outdoors entertainment. There
are free shows to be enjoyed at The
Scoop, where you can hear Free Music
concerts (until 31 Aug, p. 105) from
a wide range of musicians (Weds-Fri
12.30-14.00 & 18.30-21.30). The
annual Canary Wharf Jazz Festival
(17-19 Aug, p. 105) also offers free
entertainment. Music fans won’t
want to miss an inspiring line-up of
performances in Canada Square Park
that includes English legend Courtney
Pine (18 Aug).
Back at The Scoop there’s also
a Free Film (12-28 Sep, 19.30) season. It boasts a mix of contemporary and classic screenings including the
thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (27 Sep), starring Gary Oldman, and the award-winning musical West Side
Story (28 Sep). Meanwhile, the wandering Nomad cinema (p. 105) pops up in a wide range of locations. In
northwest London’s Queen’s Park (Harvist Road, NW6) for example, you can catch The Goonies (18 Aug),
The Graduate (8 Sep) and The Big Lebowski (22 Sep).
Theatregoers need not miss out on the outdoor fun. Just head for the Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park for
Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (p. 100) and E. L. Doctorow’s American immigrant tale, Ragtime
The Musical (pictured, p. 99). Meanwhile, the open-air ‘yard’ at Shakespeare’s Globe includes an all-male
production of the Bard’s tragedy Richard III (p. 104), and his comedy The Taming Of The Shrew (p. 104).
RAGTIME IMAGE © JOHAN PERSSON
Beatlemania comes to Theatreland
From 14 Sep Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of British music legends
The Beatles with the tribute show Let It Be (p. 99) at the Prince of
Wales Theatre. This ‘theatrical concert’ charts the Fab Four’s rise
from the relative obscurity of Liverpool’s Cavern Club to international
superstardom. Among more than 20 of their greatest hits you can hear
Hard Day’s Night, Twist And Shout, Yesterday and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely
Hearts Club Band. Not only is it a rare chance to hear Beatles’ tracks on
the West End stage, but the theatre itself has quite a Beatles pedigree.
It was the venue for the 1963 Royal Command Performance where, in
the presence of the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret, John Lennon
famously quipped: “Would the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands. And the rest of you...
if you’ll just rattle your jewellery!”
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| visitlondon.com|LONDON PLANNER|London 2012 Issue August/September