til_24-3-17

60 Years Informing International & UK Visitors to London 

Est. 1956 Issue 3042 

Friday 24 March, 2017 

the Charterhouse 

The Making of a London Landmark 

Living the nation’s history since 1348 

Charterhouse Square London - EC1M 6AN

3 

CONTENTS 

Events 4 

the Charterhouse reopens 

London Stadium Tours 

Tall Ships Cruises over Easter Weekend 

Music 10 

Idina Menzel London dates 

London Concert Choir Russian Concert 

Exhibitions 16 

Scottish Diaspora Tapestry at 

Houses of Parliament 

Wembley Stadium Tours 

Theatre 18 

Ugly Lies the Bone 

An American in Paris 

Proprietor Julie Jones 

Publishing Consultant Terry Mansfield CBE 

Associate Publisher Beth Jones 

Editorial Clive Hirschhorn Sue Webster 

© This is London Magazine Limited 

This is London at the 

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park 

Stour Space, 7 Roach Road, 

Fish Island, London E3 2PA 

Telephone: 020 7434 1281 

www.til.com www.thisislondonmagazine.com 

Whilst every care is taken in the preparation of this 

magazine and in the handling of all the material 

supplied, neither the Publishers nor their agents 

accept responsibility for any damage, errors or 

omissions, however these may be caused. 

AN AMERICAN IN PARIS OPENS IN LONDON 

Christopher Wheeldon’s stunning reinvention of the Oscar® winning 

film ‘An American in Paris’ features the sublime music and lyrics of 

George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin and a new book by Craig Lucas. 

Directly following celebrated engagements in New York and Paris, 

this critically acclaimed and multi award-winning new musical 

opens this week at the beautifully restored 

Dominion Theatre. 

Jerry Mulligan is an American GI pursuing his dream to make it 

as painter in a city suddenly bursting with hope and possibility. 

Following a chance encounter with a beautiful young dancer named 

Lise, the streets of Paris become the backdrop to a sensuous, 

modern romance of art, friendship and love in 

the aftermath of war. 

Photo: Johann Persson. 

VISITOR INFORMATION 

Emergencies 999 

Police Ambulance Fire 

24 Hour Casualty – NHS Direct 111 

Dentistry 0808 155 3256 

Victim Support 0845 30 30 900 

Visit London 020 7234 5833 

Heathrow Airport 0844 335 1801 

Gatwick Airport 0844 892 0322 

Taxis 020 7272 5471 

Dry Cleaner 7491 3426 Florist 7831 6776 

Optician 7581 6336 Watches 7409 3555 

Weather 0370 9000 0100 

t h i s i s l o n d o n m a g a z i n e • t h i s i s l o n d o n o n l i n e

4 

THE CHARTERHOUSE NOW OPEN 

TO THE PUBLIC 

The Charterhouse, set adjacent to the 

ancient boundaries of the City of London 

in Clerkenwell, is a remarkable assembly 

of historic buildings dating from the 14th 

century. In January parts of the 

Charterhouse were opened to the public 

for the first time in its 660 year history, 

revealing the great story of this important 

London landmark which has been ‘living 

the nation’s history since 1348’. 

With its partner the Museum of 

London, the Charterhouse has created a 

new museum within the Tudor mansion, 

as well as a Learning Centre, cafe and 

exhibition space. All were formally 

opened on 28 February by Her Majesty 

The Queen, accompanied by His Royal 

Highness The Duke of Edinburgh. 

The museum houses an exhibition, 

curated by Dr Cathy Ross, Honorary 

Research Fellow at the Museum of 

London, where she was Director of 

Collections and Learning until 2013 

which tells the story of the Charterhouse 

and its role in key moments in English 

history, using artefacts from its own 

Lawrence Watson photography. 

collection, together with others from the 

Museum of London and other collections. 

The story of the Charterhouse is the 

story of our nation. It begins in 1348 

during the Black Death when the land was 

used as a burial ground for victims of the 

plague. In 1371, the Charterhouse was 

built and a Carthusian monastery 

flourished on the site. Elizabeth 1 

convened the Privy Council here in the 

days before her coronation in 1558, and 

James 1 followed her lead by staying at 

the Charterhouse prior to his coronation. 

In 1611, Thomas Sutton, a wealthy 

businessman, bought the Charterhouse 

and established the foundation that now 

bears his name providing a home for up 

to 80 Brothers: ‘either decrepit or old 

captaynes either at sea or at land, maimed 

or disabled soldiers, merchants fallen on 

hard times, those ruined by shipwreck of 

other calamity’ and for 40 poor scholars 

(which became Charterhouse School). 

Large parts of the buildings were 

damaged in the Blitz of May 1941. Yet it 

was faithfully restored and is now home to 

over 40 Brothers. 

The museum, overseen by the Museum 

& Collections manager Ellie Darton- 

Moore and the Learning Centre managed 

by Cynthia Adobea-Aidoo, are accessed 

through the new public entrance designed 

by Eric Parry Architects. Charterhouse 

Square has been re-designed, inspired by 

its 18th century layout, by Todd 

Longstaffe-Cowan. 

Islington has the least green space of 

any London borough and the refurbished 

garden square offers nearly 2 acres of 

open land to be enjoyed by the public. 

The cafe will be serving tea, coffee, 

light lunches and a Brothers lunch 

special, featuring classic English fare. The 

project was funded by the Heritage Lottery 

Fund and a range of other generous 

supporters including Helical plc, Charles 

Hayward Foundation, Sir John Cass’s 

Foundation, The Wolfson Foundation, 

John Lyon’s Charity, Mercers Charity, 

Monument Trust, Sackler Trust, Garfield 

Weston Foundation, The Schroder 

Foundation, The City Bridge Trust, 

Christian Levett and The Lyon Family 

Trust. Further information at the website 

www.thecharterhouse.org 


LONDON 

STADIUM TOUR 

Now Open 

EXPERIENCE OUR 

MULTIMEDIA TOURS 

• A brand new exciting interactive multimedia tour 

• Go behind the scenes at the former Olympic Stadium, 

home to West Ham United and UK Athletics 

• See panoramic views, the changing rooms, indoor running 

track, players tunnel and go pitch side amongst much more 

• Interactive devices allow you to control your own content 

• Enjoy beautiful parklands and serene waterways 

in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park 

• Ideal for individuals and groups 

Available in 5 languages 

SHARE IN LONDON’S LEADING EXPERIENCE 

tours@london-stadium.com I london-stadium.com

6 

Derren Brown. 

DERREN BROWN’S GHOST TRAIN 

CRANKS UP FEAR FACTOR 

Thorpe Park is set to unveil a new 

destination to their multi-million pound 

attraction, Derren Brown’s Ghost Train, 

this year following fans’ feedback for 

more scare at the end of 2016. 

Renamed Derren Brown’s Ghost Train: 

Rise of the Demon, a new deeper, darker, 

more intense journey is planned for the 

new season. The extended name of the 

ride hints that the dark creature – the 

demon – may take centre stage for 2017. 

Last year saw the arrival of Derren 

Brown’s Ghost Train – a groundbreaking 

new smart ride that merged five 

experiences, grand illusion, live action, 

Virtual Reality, special effects and 

physical movement. 

Following guest feedback for more 

scare, the team made a decision to ramp 

up the fear on board the 20 tonne 

Victorian suspended carriage. 

The Ghost Train was purpose built to 

introduce new journeys over time, using 

the latest VR technology, the HTC Vive, 

to ensure the journey could always be 

changed and continuously offer guests a 

fresh experience. 

Thorpe Park gave Derren a brief of no 

boundaries to fear for 2017, much to the 

Master of Illusion’s delight who admits 

he personally has no fear. 

FORMER OLYMPIC STADIUM OPEN 

FOR PUBLIC TOURS 

As West Ham United continue their 

first season in their new home, the 

former Olympic Stadium in Queen 

Elizabeth Olympic Park is inviting 

visitors to take a behind the scenes tour 

of the centrepiece of the London 2012 

Games. Fans will have the exclusive 

opportunity to put themselves in the 

shoes of their heroes as they stand on 

the very spot where superstars won gold 

four years ago and where West Ham’s 

players now play their home matches. 

With exclusive access to usually 

private areas of the venue, superstar 

interviews and unique memorabilia, the 

new London Stadium tours are perfect 

for London 2012 enthusiasts, West Ham 

United supporters and anyone simply 

interested in understanding the workings 

of a world class stadium. 

Visitors will be able to re-imagine the 

success of the Super Saturday athletes 

as they made their preparations from the 

competitors’ entrance to the warm up 

track and out to the main arena where 

the roar of the crowds spurred them on 

to gold. And fans of the Stadium’s 

newest residents, West Ham United, will 

The London Stadium 

not be left disappointed as they follow in 

the footsteps of their heroes and make 

the walk along the players’ tunnel, out to 

the manager’s dug out before standing 

pitch side at the iconic venue where they 

can imagine they are being serenaded by 

a deafening rendition of ‘Bubbles’ by 

54,000 fans. 

The Stadium will come alive through 

a 90 minute interactive multimedia tour 

that has been specially developed for the 

Stadium. Every visitor will have a 

personal hand held device that will play 

video and interactive content on their 

journey through the venue. 

The Tour starts off in the Hammers 

Stadium Store – which boasts over 

1,200 new products and the 2016/17 

home and away kits – and is then 

rounded off back in the new Stadium 

Store, where supporters will receive an 

exclusive and complimentary, 

personalised certificate to remember the 

day. The London Stadium is a short walk 

from Stratford station, which is on the 

Central, Jubilee and overground lines. 

There is also a cafe, situated underneath 

the West Ham store, serving tea, coffee 

and a range of food. 

Visit www.london-stadium.com 


THERE’S NO GREATER SALUTE TO ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HISTORY 

THAN A HARD ROCK CLASSIC. 

LONDON | 150 OLD PARK LANE | +44 0207 514 1700 

HARDROCK.COM 

#THISISHARDROCK 

©2017 Hard Rock International (USA), Inc. All rights reserved.

8 

Zeynep Ucbasaran and Sergio Gallo. 

& Sergio Gallo P 

TALENT UNLIMITED PRESENT 

PIANO FOUR HANDS RECITAL 

The weather might be freezing but 

Spring is not far away and Talent 

Unlimited will start the whirlwind dance 

of the season with a Piano Four Hands 

Recital at St James’s Church Piccadilly 

on Thursday 6 April (nb at 19.00). 

Zeynep Ucbasaran and Sergio Gallo will 

present an enchanting repertoire based 

on dances of various types including 

waltz, schottische, pas de deux, twostep, 

tango and gallop amongst others 

by Barber, Liszt, Gouvy and Milhaud. 

Pianist Zeynep Ucbasaran started her 

music studies at age four at the Istanbul 

Conservatory. After advanced studies at 

the Hochschule für Musik, Freiburg, 

Germany, she obtained her MA and DMA 

degrees in Piano Performance from the 

University of Southern California. She was 

designated a ‘woman of distinction in the 

year 2003’ by the Daughters of Atatürk 

organization in the USA. She made her 

Wigmore Hall debut in November 2004 

and issued CDs of the music of Liszt, 

Schubert, Mozart, Scarlatti, Beethoven, 

and twentieth century composers such as 

Saygun, Bernstein and Muczynski to 

critical acclaim. The Gramophone 

Magazine, remarked that ‘An agreeable 

elegance pervades pianist Zeynep 

Ucbasaran's playing’. 

Her recordings include the scherzos 

and polonaises of F. Chopin, complete 

piano sonatas of W. A. Mozart and the 

piano music of A. Saygun. As a part of 

her unique project of three-piano music 

of international composers, she has 

performed with her colleagues Sergio 

Gallo and Miguel Ortega Chavaldas and 

realised the premiere recording of 

Saygun's Poem, Op. 73 for three pianos. 

Her performance of works that Franz 

Liszt performed in Istanbul when he 

visited there in 1847 was broadcast by 

the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) 

to all of Europe in the 200th birthday 

celebrations of Liszt in October 2011. 

Sergio Gallo has performed with 

orchestras throughout the Americas and 

in Turkey, as well as for Radio France 

and Radio Cultura. Recently, he has 

performed in several countries in Asia 

and Europe, as well as in major cities in 

the United States and in his home 

country, Brazil. Sergio is a Steinway 

Artist and records for the Eroica label. 

His recordings have received high praise 

from Gramophone Magazine and 

American Record Guide and he’s a 

winner of concerto competitions of the 

Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra and of 

the University Symphony in Santa 

Barbara. He lives in the United States 

where he teaches at Georgia State 

University in Atlanta, and at Rocky Ridge 

Music Academy in Estes Park, Colorado. 

This is a fund-raising concert to help 

the young musicians that Talent 

Unlimited is helping in various ways. 

Tickets from the website www.pianofour-hands-recital.eventbrite.co.uk 

or at 

the door on the night. 

BREAKFAST WITH BUNNY AT 

HARD ROCK CAFE 

Hop on over to Hard Rock Cafe 

London this Easter for Breakfast With 

Bunny – a tasty, authentic all-American 

breakfast buffet on 9 April. Hard Rock 

Cafe will be hosting ‘Breakfast With 

Bunny’ during the Easter holidays for 

family and friends to go along and enjoy 

breakfast Hard Rock style, complete with 

entertainment for the little ones. 

The London cafe is putting on its 

bunny ears especially for little Roxstars 

who can enjoy face painting, egg 

decoration and it wouldn’t be Easter 

without an egg hunt complete with a 

visit from Bunny itself. The Breakfast 

with Bunny buffet offers scrumptious 

sausages, bacon, American-style 

waffles, tasty pastries, veggie options 

and, of course, eggs! In addition, all 

Hard Rock Roxstars will receive an 

Easter present. 

With venues in 74 countries, 

including 174 cafes, 24 hotels and 11 

casinos, Hard Rock International is one 

of the most globally recognised 

companies. Beginning with an Eric 

Clapton guitar, Hard Rock owns the 

world's greatest collection of music 

memorabilia, which is displayed at its 

locations around the globe. 

Pre-booking is essential, telephone 

the Hard Rock Cafe on 020 7514 1700. 


TALL SHIPS CRUISES OVER THE 

EASTER WEEKEND 

Over the Easter weekend from 12-16 

April, more than 30 Tall Ships will be 

moored on the Thames in Royal 

Greenwich. Well over 1 million visitors are 

expected to attend this year – the 2014 

Tall Ships Festival had 1.1 million 

visitors. There will be two main event sites 

with entertainment, catering and street 

theatre in Royal Arsenal Woolwich and 

Maritime Greenwich. Each night, the Tall 

Ships festival will end with a spectacular 

display of fireworks for everyone to enjoy. 

The best way to see all the Tall Ships 

is by taking a Tall Ship Cruise. On 

leaving the Royal Arsenal Pier, you will 

sail through the Thames Barrier towards 

The O2 Arena enjoying the magnificent 

views of the Old Royal Naval College, 

the Cutty Sark and Canary Wharf. The 

Tall Ship will pass the prime-meridian 

several times. 

There are a variety of hospitality 

packages available differing in duration, 

programme, catering menu and sailing 

route with a limited number of special 

cruises sailing through the specially 

opened Tower Bridge. All cruises pass 

alongside the fleet of Tall Ships moored 

in the Thames so guests will experience 

at close quarters the grandeur and 

romance of the Tall Ships from all over 

the world. On selected nights a fireworks 

display will provide a grand finale to the 

evening cruises. The capacity of the 

cruises is 12 to 180 guests. 

Tickets are available from the website 

at www.sailroyalgreenwich.co.uk/tickets 

A special treat is the VIP Thames Tall 

Ship Cruise. Your cruise, reception or 

dinner party will be complemented by 

first class cuisine with a choice of three 

menus that are focused on style, 

creativity and value to make the event 

special, memorable and that little bit 

different. The chef and ship’s crew will 

take care of everything, providing 

exceptional service to ensure an 

outstanding experience. Drinks such as 

wine, beer and soft drinks are included. 

Daily departure 18.30. 

A Tall Ship in front of The Shard 

9 


10 

THE SPRING DECORATIVE 

ANTIQUES & TEXTILES FAIR 

The Decorative Antiques & Textiles 

Fair is London’s largest and most 

diverse antiques event, with more than 

150 exhibitors from the UK and Europe. 

Held three times a year, it offers an 

unparalleled selection of period design 

from the 1700s to the 1970s, and is a 

destination event for international 

decorators, collectors and styleconscious 

private buyers. 

Catering to all tastes and with an eye 

for the unusual, exhibitors offer fine and 

decorative furniture and interior 

accessories, art, sculpture, garden 

artefacts, architectural elements, 

jewellery, curiosities and objets trouvés. 

Stands are decorated to inspire and 

delight, with exciting ideas on how to 

incorporate distinctive antiques at home 

The Spring Decorative Antiques & 

Textiles Fair returns to the marquee in 

Battersea Park from 4-9 April. The foyer 

display will focus on the rising trend for 

a new area in the home that combines 

our love of bringing the outdoors inside 

with a tranquil space reclaimed for 

grown-ups away from the hubbub of 

open-plan living, designed as an escape 

from daily chores. Traditionally called 

The Morning Room, at the Spring 2017 

Fair it will be created as an extension of 

a contemporary kitchen/living room. 

Goldstein Mirror by Simon Rohrer of 

Liverpool, c.1880 

Galerie Arabesque: 

French porcelain tureen 1860 

The Morning Room Revisited, in its 

own stand at the entrance to the Fair, will 

show items selected from exhibitors, all 

for sale, including beautiful ideas for 

displaying a favourite collection of 

decorative ceramics or glass; garden 

urns for growing herbs and favourite 

plants year-round; a florist’s table, and a 

seating sanctuary to view the garden or 

outside vistas. 

Catering to all tastes, exhibitors offer 

fine and formal antiques, decorative 

period furniture, unusual accessories 

from all eras including lighting, mirrors, 

ceramics, metalware, silver and glass, 

20th century designer pieces, traditional, 

modern and contemporary art and 

sculpture, garden artefacts and 

architectural elements, antique and fine 

costume jewellery, curiosities, toys, 

collectables and objets trouvés. Stands 

are decorated by the dealers to inspire 

and delight, giving visitors exciting 

ideas about how to incorporate 

distinctive antiques and period design in 

their own homes. 

For further information, telephone 

020 7616 9327 or visit the website at 

www.decorativefair.com 

WEIR TAKES SIXTH SUCCESSIVE 

SILVERSTONE VICTORY 

David Weir took his sixth successive 

win at the 2017 adidas Silverstone Half 

Marathon on Sunday as part of his 

build-up towards the London Marathon 

in April. The multiple Paralympic 

champion was the first racer across the 

Finish Line at the world-famous 

Silverstone circuit in a time of 47:30 on 

a damp and drizzly day that saw 

thousands of runners race at the home 

of British motorsport. 

In the women’s wheelchair race, Nikki 

Emerson took her fourth Silverstone win, 

finishing in 65:38, while in the mass 

race David Hudson took the victory in 

the men’s race in 72:15, with Tori Green 

first woman in 82:21. 

Like so many of the runners taking 

part in the race, Weir was using the 

event to test his fitness ahead of the 

Virgin Money London Marathon in April 

when he will target his seventh win at 

the London Marathon, which would 

make him the race’s most successful 

ever competitor. 

In the women’s wheelchair race, Nikki 

Emerson took her fourth victory, after 

winning the first three editions of the 

event between 2009 and 2011. 

Another famous face taking on the 

half marathon challenge was actor Adam 

Woodyatt, who plays Ian Beale in the hit 

BBC soap EastEnders. Woodyatt is also 

preparing to run his first marathon in 

London in April, when he will run 

alongside his son Sam to support the 

Air Ambulance Service. The pair agreed 

to run for the charity last summer but, in 

a cruel twist of fate, Sam ended up 

relying on an air ambulance when he 

was hit by a car in September and 

rushed to hospital. 

Sam is now on the road to recovery 

and determined to run the marathon 

alongside his famous dad who admits, 

whatever Sam's fitness, his son will still 

be the first Woodyatt to cross the Finish 

Line on The Mall in April. 


wembleystadium.com/tours 

0800 169 9933 

TOURS DEPART DAILY: 10:00 – 15:00 

PRINTED TRANSLATION GUIDES AVAILABLE IN 9 LANGUAGES

12 

Warner Bros Records. 

IDINA MENZEL ANNOUNCES UK LEG 

OF HER 2017 WORLD TOUR 

After releasing her fifth solo studio 

album idina. last autumn, Tony Awardwinning 

superstar Idina Menzel will 

return to the UK as part of her 50+ city 

global spring and summer tour. 

Called ‘the Streisand of her 

generation’ by The Denver Post, Idina 

has captivated audiences at sold-out 

concerts around the world with her 

irresistible charm, wit and unparalleled 

vocal prowess. Throughout the tour, 

Idina will lead audiences through a 

special journey of songs from idina., as 

well as other classic pop, musical 

theatre favourites and her own personal 

catalogue. 

Tony Award-winning icon Idina 

Menzel has a diverse career that 

traverses stage, film, television and 

music. Idina's voice can be heard as 

Elsa in Disney’s global box office smash 

Frozen, in which she sings the film’s 

Oscar-winning song ‘Let It Go,’ and in 

the follow up short, Frozen Fever. 

After Idina’s performance of the multiplatinum 

song at the 86th annual 

Academy Awards, she made history as 

the first person with both a Billboard Top 

10 hit and a Tony Award for acting. She 

capped 2016 with the release of her fifth 

original solo studio album idina., and 

filmed Lifetime’s remake of Beaches, in 

which she portrays the role of ‘CC,’ 

made famous by Bette Midler. Idina 

earned her first Tony nomination as 

Maureen in the Pulitzer Prize Winner 

Rent, and won the award for her 

performance as Elphaba in Wicked. 

Idina also performed the National 

Anthem at Super Bowl XLIX in February 

2015, which was the most-watched 

television program in U.S. history. For 

further information on Idina and her 

career, visit www.idinamenzel.com 

Idina Menzel will be performing at the 

Royal Albert Hall on 16 June, with other 

dates across the UK throughout June. 

Tickets at www.livenation.co.uk 

PARKHOUSE AWARD 2017 

COMPETITION FINALS CONCERT 

Visitors to London should head to 

Wigmore Hall on Saturday 8 April at 

13.00 to hear four ensembles of piano 

with strings compete for the 2017 

Parkhouse Award. They will have been 

selected following two days of intensive 

auditions from an international entry to 

this unique chamber music competition 

which has been discovering exceptional 

young groups since 1991. 

Each group performs for 30 minutes 

and the choice of repertoire is theirs so 

there will be a feast of chamber music to 

hear. The distinguished jury can choose 

only one winner who will be announced 

shortly after the fourth ensemble has 

performed. Do go along for an exciting 

afternoon of music-making. It’s all over 

by 16.00 so there is still plenty of time 

to enjoy London. 

The Wigmore Hall Restaurant is open 

for dinner every day throughout the 

week. The food is firmly based around 

seasonality and provenance, whether it 

be new season venison, fresh broad 

beans and beetroot or the first of the 

summer strawberries. 

Box Office telephone 020 7935 2141. 

Amatis Piano Trio. Winner of the 2015 

Parkhouse Award. Photo: Marco Borggreve. 


Wednesday 29 March 2017, 7.30pm 

RACHMANINOV 

THE BELLS 

Borodin: 

Tchaikovsky: 

Polovtsian Dances 

Polonaise from Eugene Onegin 

Fantasy Overture – Romeo and Juliet 

London Concert Choir 

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 

Mark Forkgen conductor 

Natalya Romaniw soprano 

Andrew Rees tenor 

Michael Druiett bass baritone 

Tickets £35, £30, £25, £20, £16, £12 

Booking fees: £3 online, £4 by telephone. 

There is no fee when tickets are booked in person from the Box Office.

14 

PASSIONTIDE CONCERT BY 

THE WHITEHALL CHOIR 

The Whitehall Choir are to present a 

very special Passiontide concert in the 

great church of St. Margaret, 

Westminster, in the shadow of the Abbey 

on Thursday 6 April at 19.30. 

The first half of the concert presents 

smaller-scale works by a variety of 

composers beginning with plainchant, 

moving through beautiful polyphony by 

the Spanish composer, Victoria, the 

Italian, Antonio Lotti, the English Tudor 

composer, Richard Farrant, the 19th 

century Austrian, Anton Bruckner, and 

the 20th century organist of Gloucester 

Cathedral, John Sanders. Of these, 

Lotti’s deservedly famous 8 part 

Crucifixus piles up agonising 

suspensions one after another until one 

is emotionally wrung-out by the end of 

the second page! But it is hugely 

effective and he knew exactly how to 

extract maximum tension from the music 

mirroring Christ’s agony on the cross. 

Bruckner’s large-scale motet Christus 

factus est takes this art to an altogether 

higher plane with the benefit of two 

further centuries of musical exploration. 

He was used to working in a cathedral 

with a very reverberant acoustic and the 

spaces he leaves in the music for his 

echoes to die away cause breathtaking 

effects, especially at the great climax of 

the motet. An unforgettable experience. 

The main work in the programme, 

after the interval, is Maurice Duruflé’s 

remarkable and beautiful Requiem. It 

was commissioned in 1941 by the 

collaborationist Vichy Regime but 

Duruflé didn’t complete it before its 

collapse in 1944. He went on to finish it 

in 1947 and dedicated it to the memory 

of his father. 

When it was commissioned Duruflé 

was working on an organ suite based on 

Gregorian chant themes and he 

incorporated these sketches into the 

Requiem which is largely based on 

Gregorian themes and especially those 

from the Missa Pro Defunctis or Mass 

for the Dead. 

There are nine movements and Duruflé 

uses both mezzo-soprano and baritone 

soloists. The mezzo has the Pie Jesu to 

herself whilst the baritone punctuates the 

3rd and 8th movements. Duruflé was truly 

inspired in this work. Who can fail to be 

deeply moved by the power of his writing 

in the Kyrie second movement? 

Duruflé was incredibly self-critical, 

like his master, Paul Dukas. He only 

allowed 12 opus numbers to be 

published of which the Requiem is no.9. 

This concentration of excellence is a rare 

and wonderful thing where so many 

composers, even the greats, often write 

far too much which is almost inevitably 

of variable quality. 

So do join The Whitehall Choir for 

their Passiontide concert at St Margaret’s 

Church, Westminster. It is sure to be a 

memorable evening. Tickets at 

www.whitehallchoir.org.uk or at the door. 

SADLER’S WELLS FAMILY WEEKEND 

Family Weekend, Sadler’s Wells’ 

annual two-day festival of family-friendly 

events, returns on 14 and 15 April. It 

takes over the building, offering 

something for all ages with fun 

activities, arts and crafts and workshops 

complementing the show on the Sadler’s 

Wells stage – Aracaladanza’s Vuelos. 

Multi award-winning company 

Aracaladanza returns to the UK with 

Vuelos, inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s 

quest to make man fly. Choreographer 

Enrique Cabrera uses Aracaladanza’s 

trademark style to make dancers canter 

like horses, make a mess at the dinner 

table, play with fluttering birds and grow 

wings of their own. 

In the Lilian Baylis Studio, the stage 

will be transformed into a mystical world 

by Vanessa Woolf, a professional 

storyteller. Woolf takes listeners on an 

adventure with a story inspired by da 

Vinci’s wish to make man fly. This 

interactive and engaging story will 

demonstrate the value of hard work, 

supported by the loving family bond. 

In the foyers, there will be lots of 

activities to entertain before and after the 

show. Arts and crafts activities include hat 

making, origami birds, decorating wooden 

spoons, stained glass and screen printing 

sessions. The Fox Garden Court café at 

Stage Door will be open all day serving 

family-friendly food. 

For tickets, telephone 020 7863 8000. 

Photo: Pedro Arnay. 


16 

A Monk rings the bells. 

LONDON CONCERT CHOIR IN AN 

ALL-RUSSIAN CONCERT 

London Concert Choir and conductor 

Mark Forkgen with the Royal 

Philharmonic Orchestra will present a 

concert of Russian music at the Barbican 

on Wednesday 29 March. 

The evening begins with a fanfare 

introducing the grand Polonaise from 

the ball scene of Tchaikovsky’s opera 

Eugene Onegin. In the well-known suite 

from Borodin’s opera Prince Igor, the 

captive prince is entertained by the 

retinue of the Polovtsian leader Khan 

Konchak in an exhilarating sequence of 

exotic songs and dances. The first half 

ends with Tchaikovsky’s Fantasy 

Overture – Romeo and Juliet, his 

passionate orchestral interpretation of 

the contrasting themes of Shakespeare’s 

tragedy: romantic love, violent conflict 

and final reconciliation. 

The second half of the concert 

showcases choir and orchestra plus 

three excellent soloists in 

Rachmaninov’s choral symphony The 

Bells. Its four movements brilliantly 

portray the glittering silver sleigh-bells, 

mellow golden wedding bells, loud 

brass alarm bells and mournful iron 

funeral bells on the journey from youth 

to the grave. Rachmaninov wrote it in 

1913 and said it was his favourite of all 

his compositions. The words are from a 

Russian version by Balmont of the poem 

of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe. 

Soloists in The Bells are the soprano 

Natalya Romaniw, tenor Andrew Rees 

and bass baritone Michael Druiett. 

London Concert Choir is one of 

London’s leading amateur choirs. With 

Mark Forkgen, who this season 

celebrates 20 years as the choir’s Music 

Director, LCC regularly appears at all the 

major London concert venues and is 

notable for the conviction and 

expressiveness of its performances in an 

unusually broad repertoire. 

The nearest station is Barbican. 

Tickets at £12 to £35 are available from 

020 7638 8891 or online at 

www.barbican.org.uk 


Soloist Luke Sinclair. 

NEW SUSSEX OPERA PERFORM 

A VILLAGE ROMEO & JULIET 

‘I know of no music more hauntingly 

beautiful than this... amongst the 

greatest works of the whole late- 

Romantic period.’ – Gramophone. 

‘Delius – the last great apostle in our 

time of romance, emotion and beauty in 

music’ – Sir Thomas Beecham. 

After last season’s light-hearted 

melodrama Mignon (‘superb central 

performances’ – The Guardian), New 

Sussex Opera is returning to Cadogan 

Hall this week with something darker 

and more dramatic. Delius’ masterpiece 

A Village Romeo & Juliet is loosely 

based on Shakespeare’s tale. Here the 

‘star-crossed lovers’ are childhood 

sweethearts, which piles even greater 

poignancy onto their plight, while the 

mysterious Dark Fiddler introduces a 

chilling hint of the supernatural. It’s one 

of NSO’s most ambitious productions, 

but the community-based company’s 

resources are equal to the challenge. 

Direction is by Susannah Waters, 

whose gift for creating great theatre from 

great opera has already proved itself both 

with NSO (L’Etoile) and at Glyndebourne. 

The music is dreamlike, achingly 

beautiful. ‘Its rich soundworld is as 

decadant as slipping into a warm bath: the 

much-loved Walk to the Paradise Garden 

is one of many highlights’ says conductor 

Lee Reynolds. (‘You get the feeling that he 

is fairly near the start of what might well 

become a glorious international career’ – 

Alex Leith). It’s the orchestral players of 

Lee’s own Kantanti Ensemble who bring 

out every nuance of Delius’ rich, 

sumptuous score. While Susannah and 

Lee have strong Sussex connections, 

designer Anna Driftmier hails from the US 

and it’s her set that morphs seamlessly 

from a rowdy fairground to the agricultural 

badlands where much of the action is set. 

Supporting the outstanding cast of 

soloists is the NSO chorus, whose 

distinctive sound has done so much to 

cement the company’s reputation over 

the last forty years. For this production 

the chorus doubles up as ever-present 

stage management, remaining in view 

when not singing and altering the multifaceted 

stage settings between – and 

during – scenes. 

This new production of the intimate, 

dream-like masterpiece is ideally suited 

to Cadogan Hall. New Sussex Opera will 

perform A Village Romeo & Juliet on 

Tuesday 28 March. Box Office telephone 

020 7730 4500. www.cadoganhall.com 

or details at www.newsussexopera.org 

t h i s i s l o n d o n m a g a z i n e • t h i s i s l o n d o n o n l i n e 

Conductor Lee Reynolds. 

17

18 

ALFIE BOE AND KATHERINE 

JENKINS IN CAROUSEL 

Alfie Boe and Katherine Jenkins are to 

star for the first time together in the West 

End as Billy Bigelow and Julie Jordan in 

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel, 

the third production in the partnership 

between English National Opera and the 

GradeLinnit Company. Lonny Price will 

direct the strictly limited run of 41 

performances at the London Coliseum, 

beginning on 7 April. ENO awardwinning 

40-piece orchestra and chorus 

will accompany the cast in this semistaged 

production. 

Fifteen years after getting caught up 

in an armed robbery and taking his own 

life, the charming carousel barker Billy 

Bigelow gets a chance to return to earth 

and make amends. Discovering that his 

daughter Louise has grown into a lonely, 

troubled teenager, haunted by her 

father’s legacy, Billy vows to restore 

pride to his family. 

Platinum-selling recording artist, 

English tenor and actor Alfie Boe returns 

to the West End to play Billy Bigelow. 

He played Jean Valjean in the West End 

production of Les Miserable at the 

Queen's Theatre, a role he also played in 

the show’s 25th Anniversary Concert and 

on Broadway. After studying at the 

National Opera Studio and the Royal 

Opera House, he went on to release 

numerous highly-successful solo albums. 

Welsh lyric mezzo soprano, singer 

and songwriter Katherine Jenkins will 

make her West End Theatre debut as 

Julie Jordan. She won a scholarship to 

study at the Royal Academy of Music 

and has since gone on to record ten 

studio albums with Second Nature and 

Living a Dream receiving Classic Brit 

Awards Album of the Year. 

Her most recent album Home Sweet 

Home was her seventh studio album to 

reach number 1. She has performed for 

the Pope, Presidents and Royalty 

including The Queen’s 90th birthday 

celebrations earlier this year. 

Further information at www.eno.org 

THE ‘EXHIBITION WATERCOLOUR’ 

TODAY AT MALL GALLERIES 

This year’s major exhibition by the 

Royal Institute of Painters in Water 

Colours, at London’s Mall Galleries from 

6 to 22 April, features over 350 new 

works in water media, including several 

contemporary examples of the so-called 

‘exhibition watercolour'. 

According to Tate, the ‘exhibition 

watercolour’ became an art form in itself 

in the early years of the nineteenth 

century. ‘Grand, close-framed in gold 

and conceived to rival oil, with sheer 

size at a premium, it was more than just 

a watercolour in an exhibition’, says 

Tate; ‘It was a spectacle – fashionable, 

showy and sometimes very expensive.’ 

An example on view at the RI 

exhibition is by the Royal Institute’s 

newly elected, first female President, 

Rosa Sepple. In Sepple’s The Harbour, a 

watercolour collage with ink and 

gouache, the ‘exhibition watercolour’ 

appears fully formed in its twenty-first 

century guise – super-sized, showy, and 

sensational, even more excitingly and 

experimentally so than its Victorian 

forebears. 

There will also be a special display of 

smaller works by members of the 

Institute, offering exquisite watercolours 

at affordable prices. 

Rosa Sepple: The Harbour. 


© PAL Robotics 

Media Partner 

BOOK NOW 

8 February – 

3 September 2017 

Open until 22.00 every Friday 

sciencemuseum.org.uk/robots 

ScienceMuseum #Robots

20 

THE SCOTTISH DIASPORA 

TAPESTRY COMES HOME 

The Scottish Diaspora Tapestry, a 

unique international community artwork 

chronicling the impact of Scots 

throughout the world, is returning to the 

UK following a global tour which has 

seen its panels double in number to over 

300. It will be exhibited in its entirety for 

the first time in Westminster Hall at the 

Houses of Parliament this Spring. 

From the ten Scots who have held the 

office of Prime Minister at 10 Downing 

Street, to the Scots who blazed a trail in 

the world of football by introducing the 

sport to Argentina and Brazil, the many 

stories of the Scottish diaspora’s 

achievements have been brought to 

colourful life in the embroidered panels. 

Designed to encourage Scots 

everywhere to celebrate Scottish 

influence, the tapestry has gathered 

support and momentum by touring 

Europe, the Americas, Australia and New 

Zealand. Every aspect of Scottish culture 

and heritage – food and drink to politics, 

exploration to innovation, military 

prowess to medicine, and more – is 

represented by tales embroidered in 34 

countries by over 1,000 named volunteers. 

The Scottish Diaspora Tapestry will 

be on display from 20 March to 29 April 

(closed on Sundays and public holidays, 

14 and 17 April). Entrance is via the 

Cromwell Green entrance where 

exhibition tickets will be issued. Visitors 

are advised to avoid busy periods, 

notably between 15.00 and 17.30 on 

Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons. 

The Houses of Parliament is one of 

the world’s busiest parliament buildings 

with more than one million visitors 

passing through its doors each year. 

Visitors are also welcome to watch 

debates and committee hearings or take 

one of the audio or guided tours. 

The UK Parliament has also launched 

a new 360° virtual tour of the historic 

interiors of the Palace of Westminster, 

which enables people to take a closer 

look at some of the most famous rooms 

in Parliament, including the medieval 

Westminster Hall and the iconic 

Commons and Lords debating Chambers. 

Other highlights include St Stephen’s 

Hall, where suffragettes chained 

themselves in protest in the early 20th 

century, and Central Lobby, the very 

heart of the building, where the public 

exercise their democratic rights by 

‘lobbying’ MPs. The tour will become 

part of the Google Maps world alongside 

similar experiences for other well-known 

landmarks, including Buckingham 

Palace and the White House. 

The virtual tour has been developed 

for Parliament by Aardvark 360, who are 

specialists in creating interactive 360° 

imagery. The tour will also be available 

on the Parliament website, accessible 

either via a computer or mobile device. 

Accessing the tour in VR mode allows 

for an even more immersive experience 

using a virtual reality headset. 

The virtual tour will open the Palace 

up to visitors who haven’t yet had the 

opportunity, allowing them to learn more 

about its fascinating history and 

encouraging them to visit in real life. 

Details at www.parliament.uk/visit 


22 

Kris Marshall (Kelvin) in Ugly Lies the 

Bone at the National. Photo: Mark Douet. 

UGLY LIES THE BONE 

Lyttelton Theatre 

Virtual Reality as psycho-therapy is a 

concept new to me, but that’s the use to 

which it is being put in American 

playwright Lindsey Ferrentino’s awkwardly 

titled Ugly Lies the Bone. 

The recipient of its benefits is Jess 

(Kate Fleetwood) who, after three terms of 

combat duty in Afghanistan, has returned 

home to Titusville near Cape Canaveral in 

Florida so physically scarred (it took three 

operations to replace an eyelid), and 

covered in unsightly skin-grafts, that each 

step she takes or movement she makes is 

excruciatingly painful. 

Jess is emotionally damaged as well, 

suffering from post traumatic stress 

disorder – a condition mirrored by the 

shell-shock suffered by her small home 

town and its diminished community in the 

wake of NASA’s cutbacks to its space 

programme. 

The VR experiments she undergoes 

have been designed to give her more 

mobility through much-needed exercise 

and to divert her mind away from her 

pain by following an avatar as it passes 

through a dream-like, snowy landscape. 

In tandem with these sessions are her 

attempts to rehabilitate herself 

domestically. She lives with her caring 

sister Kacie (Olivia Darnley) who herself is 

trying to cope with the stress of Jess’s 

problems without outwardly showing the 

strain; and with Kacie’s boyfriend Kelvin 

(Kris Marshal), an oaf but with hidden 

sensitivities. 

She also re-acquaint’s herself with 

Stevie (Ralf Little) an erstwhile boyfriend 

now running a gas station convenience 

store. Though Stevie is married, he has 

never forgiven Jess for choosing a third 

term in Afghanistan over him. As it turns 

out, he’s still emotionally attached to her 

even though he literally can’t bear to look 

at her physically. 

The nearest thing to a love scene 

between them takes place when, from the 

top of her house, they both watch the very 

last space-shuttle launch. It’s a rare and 

moving moment of intimacy, which ends 

badly after Jess suffers a relapse and has 

to be hospitalised. Moving too, is the 

moment when Jess makes the physically 

painful effort to put on a new, more 

appealing blue dress in place of the 

clothes she usually wears. 

Despite its liberating VR vistas of a 

world where anything seems possible, this 

is a bleak and uncomfortable play to watch. 

Ferrentino does, however, provide a ray 

of hope. In the play’s final moments we 

get to meet Jess and Kacie’s mother, who 

has dementia and lives in a home. She 

has deliberately been kept away from Jess 

because of the distress seeing her 

daughter so horribly scarred might cause. 

The mother, however, doesn’t at all 

register what has happened to her 

daughter and sees her as she once was. 

This uncompromising acceptance gives 

Jess the kind of therapy with which her 

VR treatment could never compete. 

Ugly Lies the Bone is a small play 

whose larger context – the nature of the 

on-going war in the middle East, its 

purpose and political implications, the 

role played by women in it – are 

marginalised. Nor, really does it make a 

particularly convincing case for VR as 

therapy. 

For this reason, it might have 

resonated more strongly had it been 

staged in the smaller, intimate Dorfman 

theatre. The cost of the trade-off would 

certainly have impacted on Luke Hall’s 

Cinerama-like landscapes, but as they’re 

only a vague assimilation of what VR is 

like anyway, that would not have been a 

problem. 

By putting a wide-angle lens on what is 

basically a chamber piece and mounting it 

in the more demanding Lyttelton, intimacy 

has been sacrificed for the kind of 

production values it could have survived 

without. 

A pity as Ms Ferrentino’s writing is 

very good indeed. And so are the 

performances with Kate Fleetwood, 

though physically encumbered by the 

restrictions demanded of her character, in 

total command of the role’s spectrum of 

fluctuating emotions. 

Olivia Darnley effectively delineates 

both Kacie’s outward and inner selves 

where her sisterly feelings are concerned; 

and, as Stevie, Ralf Little articulates 

through inarticulacy the pain and 

confusion caused by circumstances too 

complex for him to understand or control. 

In the end, though, I just wonder 

whether, by giving the playwright the most 

prestigious exposure of her promising 

career to date, the National are doing her 

or her play a favour. 

CLIVE HIRSCHHORN 


“BEG, BORROW OR STEAL TO SEE IT!” 

 

Francis Carlin, FINANCIAL TIMES 

AN AMERICAN IN PARIS 

Music and Lyrics by GEORGE GERSHWIN and IRA GERSHWIN 

Book by CRAIG LUCAS 

Directed and Choreographed by CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON 

BOOK NOW! 0845 200 7982 * 

AnAmericanInParisTheMusical.co.uk * 

*Calls cost 2p per min. plus the network access charge. Phone & online sales subject to booking fees. No booking fee in person at the Box Office.

24 

PLAYS 

TRAVESTIES 

Tom Stoppard’s dazzling comedy of art, love 

and revolution features James Joyce, Tristan 

Tzara and Lenin as remembered – and 

misremembered – by Henry Carr, a minor 

British diplomat in Zurich 1917. 

APOLLO THEATRE 

Shaftesbury Av., W1D (020 7851 2711) 

THE COMEDY ABOUT A BANK ROBBERY 

One enormous diamond, eight incompetent 

crooks and a snoozing security guard. What 

could possibly go right? 

CRITERION THEATRE 

Piccadilly Circus, (020 7492 0810) 

THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG 

A Polytechnic amateur drama group are 

putting on a 1920s murder mystery and 

everything that can go wrong... does! 

DUCHESS THEATRE 

Catherine Street, WC2 (0330 333 4810) 

THE GLASS MENAGERIE 

John Tiffany's acclaimed 2013 Broadway 

revival of Tennessee Williams' play starring 

Cherry Jones. 

DUKE OF YORK’S THEATRE 

St Martin’s Lane, WC2 (020 7492 1552) 

THE WOMAN IN BLACK 

An innocent outsider, a suspicious rural 

community, a gothic house and a misty marsh 

are the ingredients of this Victorian ghost story. 

FORTUNE THEATRE 

Russell Street, WC2 (0844 871 7626) 

THE MISER 

Actor, writer, and two-time Olivier awardwinner 

Griff Rhys Jones returns to the West 

End in a hilarious new adaption by Sean Foley 

and Phil Porter of Moliere’s classic comedy. 

GARRICK THEATRE 

Charing Cross Rd, WC2 (0330 333 4811) 

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG 

IN THE NIGHT-TIME 

Based on Mark Haddon’s best-selling novel, 

the play follows a 15 year-old maths genius 

who tries to unravel the mystery of his 

neighbour’s murdered dog. 

GIELGUD THEATRE 

Shaftesbury Avenue, W1 (020 7452 3000) 

WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLFE? 

Imelda Staunton and Conleth Hill star in a 

new production of multi Tony Award and 

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Edward 

Albee’s landmark play, directed by James 

Macdonald. 

HAROLD PINTER THEATRE 

Panton Street, SW1 (0844 871 7627) 

Twelfth Night is currently playing at the 

National Theatre. Tamsin Grieg is 

Malvolia in this re-invention of 

Shakespeare’s famous play. 

Photo: Marc Brenner 

Royal National Theatre 

Plays in repertory 

OLIVIER THEATRE. 

TWELFTH NIGHT 

Simon Godwin directs this joyous new 

production of the Shakespearian classic, with 

Tamsin Greig as a transformed Malvolia. 

AMADEUS 

Peter Shaffer’s iconic play had its premiere at 

the National Theatre in 1979, winning multiple 

Olivier and Tony awards before being adapted 

into an Academy Award-winning film. 

LYTTELTON THEATRE 

UGLY LIES THE BONE 

Award-winning American playwright Lindsey 

Ferrentino makes her UK debut with this 

honest and funny new drama, directed by 

Indhu Rubasingham. 

HEDDA GABLER 

Ivo van Hove – one of the world’s most 

exciting directors – makes his National 

Theatre debut with a modern production of 

Ibsen’s masterpiece. 

DORFMAN THEATRE 

MY COUNTRY; A WORK IN PROGRESS 

In the days after the EU referendum, the 

National Theatre began a nationwide listening 

project to hear their views of the country and 

town they live in, their lives, their future, and 

the referendum 

CONSENT 

Nina Raine’s powerful, painful, funny play sifts 

the evidence from every side and puts justice 

herself in the dock. 

NATIONAL THEATRE 

South Bank, SE1 (020 7452 3000) 

ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE 

DEAD Half a century after its premiere on The 

Old Vic stage, the play that made a young 

Tom Stoppard’s name overnight, returns in its 

50th anniversary celebratory production. 

OLD VIC THEATRE 

The Cut, SE1 (0844 871 7628) 

HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED 

CHILD PARTS I & II 

A brand new stage play based on the Harry 

Potter franchise written by Jack Thorne, based 

on an original story by J.K Rowling. 

PALACE THEATRE 

Shaftesbury Avenue, W1 (0844 412 4656) 

THE MOUSETRAP 

Agatha Christie’s whodunnit is the longest 

running play of its kind in the history of the 

British theatre. 

ST MARTIN’S THEATRE 

West Street, WC2 (0844 499 1515) 

STEPPING OUT 

Amanda Holden heads a starry cast in this 

wonderfully funny and heart-warming comedy 

which charts the lives of seven women and 

one man attempting to tap their troubles away. 

VAUDEVILLE THEATRE 

The Strand, WC2 (0330 333 4814) 

DON JUAN IN SOHO 

Loosely based on Molière's tragicomedy, this 

modern update transports the action to 

contemporary London. Starring David Tennant. 

WYNDHAM’S THEATRE 

Charing Cross Rd, WC2 (0844 482 5120) 

MUSICALS 

KINKY BOOTS 

Inspired by a true story and based on the 

Miramax film, the show tells the story of Charlie 

Price who has reluctantly inherited his father's 

Northampton shoe factory. 

ADELPHI THEATRE 

Strand, WC2 (020 3725 7060) 

STOMP 

This multi-award winning show continues to 

astound audiences across the world with its 

universal language of rhythm, theatre, comedy 

and dance. 

AMBASSADORS THEATRE 

West Street, WC2 (020 7395 5405) 


WICKED 

Hit Broadway story of how a clever, 

misunderstood girl with emerald green skin 

and a girl who is beautiful and popular turn 

into the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda 

the Good Witch in the Land of Oz. 

APOLLO VICTORIA THEATRE 

Wilton Road, SW1 (0844 826 8000) 

25 

BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL 

This new musical is the untold story of her 

journey from school girl to superstar, featuring 

the Carole King classics. 

ALDWYCH THEATRE 

Aldwych, WC2 (0845 200 7981) 

MATILDA 

Critically acclaimed Royal Shakespeare 

Company production of Roald Dahl’s book, 

directed by Matthew Warchus. 

CAMBRIDGE THEATRE 

Earlham Street, WC2 (0844 800 1110) 

AN AMERICAN IN PARIS 

The award-winning, thrillingly staged and 

astonishingly danced Broadway Gershwin 

musical featuring some of the greatest music 

and lyrics ever written. 

DOMINION THEATRE 

Tottenham Court Rd, W1 (020 7927 0900) 

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA 

Long running epic romance by Andrew Lloyd 

Webber, set behind the scenes of a Paris opera 

house where a deformed phantom stalks his prey. 

HER MAJESTY’S THEATRE 

Haymarket, SW1 (0844 412 2707) 

THE LION KING 

Disney‘s phenomenally successful animated 

film is transformed into a spectacular stage 

musical, a superb evening of visual delight. 

LYCEUM THEATRE 

Wellington Street, WC2 (0844 871 3000) 

THRILLER – LIVE 

High octane show celebrating the career of the 

King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Over two hours 

of the non-stop hit songs that marked his 

legendary live performances. 

LYRIC THEATRE 

Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2 (0330 333 4812) 

SCHOOL OF ROCK 

Andrew Lloyd Webber's new stage musical 

with lyrics by Glenn Slater and book by Julian 

Fellowes, adapted from the film. 

NEW LONDON THEATRE 

Drury Lane, WC2 (020 7492 0810) 

HALF A SIXPENCE 

The first West End revival of the classic 1960s 

musical transferring from an an acclaimed 

Gary Barlow and Tim Firth’s new British musical, The Girls, based on the true story, 

the film and the award-winning play by Tim Firth, Calendar Girls, is now playing at 

the Phoenix Theatre. The show is inspired by the true story of a group of ladies, who 

decide to appear nude for a Women’s Institute calendar in order to raise funds to 

buy a settee for their local hospital, in memory of one of their husbands, and have to 

date raised over £4million for Bloodwise. 

Photo: Matt Crockett. 

season earlier this year at the Chichester. 

NOEL COWARD THEATRE 

St Martin's Lane, WC2 (0844 482 5141) 

MAMMA MIA! 

Hit musical based on the songs of ABBA, set 

around the story of a mother and daughter on 

the eve of the daughter’s wedding. 

NOVELLO THEATRE 

Aldwych, WC2 (0844 482 5170) 

THE GIRLS 

Gary Barlow and Tim Firth's new musical 

comedy, based on the true story about the 

Women's Institute's Calendar Girls. 

PHOENIX THEATRE 

Charing Cross Road, WC2 (0844 871 7627) 

JERSEY BOYS 

Rags to riches tale of four blue collar kids 

working their way to the heights of stardom 

as Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. 

PICCADILLY THEATRE 

Denman Street, W1 (0844 871 3055) 

ALADDIN 

The classic hit film has been brought to thrilling 

life on stage by Disney, featuring all the songs 

from the Academy Award winning score. 

PRINCE EDWARD THEATRE 

Old Compton Street, W1 (0844 482 5151) 

LES MISERABLES 

A spectacularly staged version of Victor Hugo’s 

epic novel about an escaped convict’s 

search for redemption in Revolutionary France. 

QUEEN’S THEATRE 


DREAMGIRLS 

West End premiere, starring Amber Riley. 

Set in the USA during the late 1960s and 

early 1970s, it follows a young female singing 

trio as they become music superstars. 

SAVOY THEATRE 

Strand, WC2 (020 7492 0810) 

MOTOWN THE MUSICAL 

Featuring all the much loved classics from 

Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, and the Jackson 5, 

the show tells the story behind the hits. 

SHAFTESBURY THEATRE 


42ND STREET 

The song and dance, American dream fable of 

Broadway returns to the West End. Featuring a 

score by Harry Warren and Al Dubin and book 

by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble. 

THEATRE ROYAL DRURY LANE 

Drury Lane, WC2 (020 7492 0810) 


26 

THE WILD PARTY 

The Other Palace 

There’s a decidedly febrile, overheated 

quality to Drew McOnie’s 

unashamedly in-your-face choreography 

and direction of The Wild Party, a 

musical Broadway audiences gave the 

thumbs down in 2000. 

Inspired by a prohibition era narrative 

poem by Joseph Moncure March, with a 

possible nod in the direction of the wild 

party given in a San Francisco hotel 

room by silent-screen comedian Fatty 

Arbuckle that ended in tragedy, there are 

also echoes of the far superior Kander 

and Ebb musical Chicago. 

Genesis Lynea and Gloria Obianyo as The 

Daarmano Bros with Frances Ruffelle as Queenie 

in The Wild Party. Photo: Scott Rylander. 

The setting, this time, is New York and 

the party’s hosts are an abusive burlesque 

comedian (first seen in a circus clown’s 

makeup) called Burrs (John Owen Jones) 

and Queenie (Frances Ruffelle), a 

vaudeville dancer with whom he shares an 

edgy relationship. 

To add some glamour and spice to 

the fast encroaching boredom of their 

existences, they invite an assortment of 

debauchees with varying sexual 

proclivities and appetites. There’s 

Dolores (Donna McKechnie) an overthe-hill 

diva whose glory years are a 

mere memory, Kate (Victoria Hamilton- 

Barritt)Queenie’s bitchy rival-cum-best 

friend, Kate’s current sexual playmate 

Black (Simon Thoms), a lesbian called 

Madelaine True (Tiffany Graves), a pair 

of incestuous brothers who could be 

twins (Genesis Lynea and Gloria 

Obianyo), Jackie (Dex Lee) a wealthy 

ingenue who’ll sleep with anyone who’ll 

have her, and two Jewish entrepreneurs, 

Gold (Sebastian Torkia) and Goldberg 

(Steven Serlin) who don’t know what 

they’ve let themselves in for. 

What audiences have let themselves 

in for is an evening in which fifteen 

characters (or should I say caricatures 

for they all resemble cartoon figures that 

could have come from the pen of the 

famous jazz-age artist John Held Jr) are 

in desperate search of a plot. 

Even the Lovell Telescope would have 

difficulty finding a story line in the book 

provided by Michael John La Chiusa 

(who also wrote the music and lyrics) 

and George C. Wolfe, with whom the 

project originated. 

In fact, given that the show is little 

more than a collection of song-anddance 

routines – with each of the 

characters enjoying a moment or two in 

the spotlight – the whole thing might 

have worked much more effectively as a 

jazz ballet, the spoken word dispensed 

with entirely. 

That said, Drew McOnie’s staging is 

certainly livelier than the Broadway 

original I saw seventeen years ago, the 

dancing more energetic and the 

performances more committed. Ruffelle 

(who memorably created the role of 

Eponine in Les Miserable) is in terrific 

vocal form as Queenie, and Owen-Jones 

equally persuasive as her jealous lover. 

It’s also great to see Donna McKechnie, 

Cassie in the original Broadway 

production of A Chorus Line, strutting 

her stuff once again. 

Indeed, all the performances as well 

as the orchestra under its pianist/ 

conductor Theo Jamieson are first class. 

So is Soutra Gilmour’s set and Richard 

Howell’s lighting. 

Physically the show’s a knockout. But 

with no plot to bind it together, not a 

single character to root for or even to 

care about, nor a score whose tunes 

earworm their way into the memory, 

what you’re left with is plenty of energy 

but zero involvement. 

CLIVE HIRSCHHORN 

LIMEHOUSE 

Donmar until 15 April 

The Labour party is in turmoil, the 

Conservatives are in power with a 

woman at the helm, and Britain’s 

relationship with Europe is in flux – no 

we’re not talking 2017, but a Sunday 

morning back in 1981 when three 

disgruntled Labour politicians met in 

secret at the East London Limehouse 

home of a fourth – former Foreign 

Secretary and qualified doctor David 

Owen. 

In playwright Steve Waters’ 

fictionalised account of what might have 

happened on the day that the somewhat 

short-lived Social Democratic Party 

came into being, Owens’ wife – 

American literary agent Deborah (a 

soothing Nathalie Armin) plays a crucial 

role – suggesting the meeting in the 

comfort of their family kitchen and 

pouring oil over troubled waters when 

the heated debate over the possible 

united political future of Roy Jenkins, 

Shirley Williams and Bill Rodgers comes 

too close to collapse. 

As the clock ticks and a macaroni 

cheese brunch is prepared, the so-called 

‘Gang of Four’ put forward the 

arguments for and against creating a 

new party, with the hot-headed, 

egotistical Owen (Tom Goodman-Hill) 

being kept in check by his spouse, the 

down to earth Rodgers (Paul Chahidi) 

and the astute Williams (excellent Debra 

Gillett) pledging to each other to stay 

united, and Roger Allam’s pompous 

Jenkins pontificating at length despite 

the urgency of the situation and a (here 

humorously portrayed) problem with 

articulating his ‘r’s . 

Even if you know little about British 

politics, the personal dynamics behind 

the formation of a breakaway party prove 

fascinating – and, if you were around at 

the time, Polly Findlay’s finely cast 

production will serve as a reminder of 

an era long before the influence of 

Twitter and the internet came into being. 

Louise Kingsley 


THAMES TALL SHIP CRUISE 

This Easter weekend, 12-16 April, a fleet of During the evenings the sight is even more 

30+ Tall Ships returns to London. During spectacular, with a fireworks display on the 

the second edition of the Royal Greenwich Thames. For a special treat get a VIP-cruise 

Tall Ships Festival you can sail on the River ticket including full dinner, views of Tower 

Thames on one of our historic Tall Ships. Bridge and fireworks. The highlight of the event 

is the spectacular Parade of Sail on 16 April. 

London is a city best seen from the River. Up to 5 departures per day (11 am, 2 pm, 5 pm, 

Imagine your Tall Ship sailing in front of the 6.30 pm and 8 pm). Prices start at £ 44.50. 

palatial Old Royal Naval College and Cutty Sark, 

crossing the Prime Meridian at Greenwich and 

slowly passing the commercial heartland of 

Canary Warf. During the cruise you will get to 

experience the majesty of over 30 Tall Ships up 

close on the river. 

THAMES TALL SHIP CRUiSE. FOR TICKETS GO TO: WWW.SAILROYALGREENWICH.CO.UK

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