TIL_6-10-17

CONTENTS 

Events 4 

Kew Gardens Autumn Season 

Pride at Night at the 

Houses of Parliament 

Music 8 

Royal Choral Society The Creation 

London Concert Choir perform Schubert 

Exhibitions 12 

Made London 

Wembley Stadium Tours 

Theatre 16 

Jane Eyre 

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 Olympic Park 

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Fish Island, London E3 2PA 

Telephone: 020 7434 1281 

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www.thisislondonmagazine.com 

Welcome to London 

Boo at the Zoo is coming to ZSL London Zoo promising a week of 

frightful fun this October half term, enchanting little monsters with 

an array of fang-tastic activities. 

New for this year, visitors can embark on an Extinction Trail, with 

avid explorers tasked with finding six extinct species hidden around the 

Zoo, to be in with a chance of winning a prize, or join a Ghost Tour of 

ZSL London Zoo, which will have the whole family howling with delight. 

Brave souls can attend Halloween Story Telling to listen to terrifying tales 

told by spooky storytellers and find out how nature bites back at 

Halloween-themed animal talks. 

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. 

VISITOR INFORMATION 

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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 

KEW’S ARTFUL AUTUMN 

This autumn, the Royal Botanic 

Gardens, Kew celebrates the season of 

fiery colour with a brand new festival, 

featuring a stunning exhibition 

showcasing the immersive art of 

Rebecca Louise Law (pictured) and 

intriguing botanical art by Lindsay 

Sekulowicz. In addition, there are two 

major sculptural exhibitions in the 

gardens, one of contemporary pieces 

curated by Handmade in Britain and the 

other a series of specially commissioned 

pieces inspired by Kew itself. 

FUNK IT UP THURSDAYS AT 

YAMAHA MUSIC LONDON 

Yamaha Music London is launching 

the search for London's funkiest music 

act. The flagship music store in Wardour 

Street will be getting funky on Thursdays 

with a series of four heats on 19 & 26 

October, 2 & 9 November, to find the 

freshest and funktastic talent around. 

Funky Thursdays are free live music 

evenings open from 18.00 - 20.00. 

THE TOXIC AVENGER THE MUSICAL 

Following a sold-out UK premiere at 

Southwark Playhouse, when it received 

6 Off West End Award nominations 

including Best Musical, acclaimed rock 

musical The Toxic Avenger The Musical 

has transferred to the Arts Theatre. 

The Toxic Avenger is the brainchild 

of the Tony Award-winning creative 

team behind the hit West End musical 

‘Memphis’, Joe DiPietro and David 

Bryan, an original founding member and 

keyboardist/vocalist for rock giants, 

Bon Jovi. 

Based on Lloyd Kaufman’s cult 1984 

comedy schlock-horror Troma film, it 

tells the story of the citizens of 

Tromaville, who are crying out for a 

hero. Enter nerdy Melvin Ferd the Third, 

an aspiring earth scientist, determined to 

clean up the state’s major toxic waste 

problem. 

Mark Anderson returns after starring 

to great acclaim as Melvin/Toxie in the 

original London production. Tickets 

from the box office on 020 7836 8463. 

DIWALI CELEBRATIONS IN 

TRAFALGAR SQUARE 

Trafalgar Square will be transformed 

with a colourful and vibrant mix of music, 

dance and live performance to mark 

London’s annual Diwali celebrations on 

15 October. Londoners and visitors to the 

capital are invited to attend the 

celebrations with activities for the whole 

family to enjoy. The free event is being 

organised to mark Diwali, the 'Festival of 

Lights', which is observed by Hindus, 

Sikhs and Jains in India and other 

countries around the world. 

ROB AND NICK CARTER OPEN NEW 

STUDIO SPACE RN AT 5A 

Rob and Nick are opening their new 

London exhibition and studio space 

RN at 5A, with their inaugural exhibition – 

Yoga Photograms. The images have been 

made in complete darkness, the nude 

model assuming a yoga position directly 

on a large piece of photographic paper. 

This process is as pure as photography 

can be, made by a single flash of light 

onto light-sensitive paper. Each work is 

unique and although photographic there 

is no camera, lens or negative used in the 

making of the work. They are all life size. 

RN at 5A is at 5A Bathurst Street, W2. 


THE KING OF KIMONO COMEDY 

KATSURA SUNSHINE: RAKUGO 

Katsura Sunshine, the first Western 

Rakugo Master, crosses cultures with 

centuries’ old storytelling and kimono 

comedy at the Leicester Square Theatre 

for 10 performances until 15 October, 

when the show will transfer to 

Off-Broadway in New York. 

With only a fan and a hand towel for 

props, his hilarious, fast-talking 

narrative is singularly Japanese and 

universally funny. Described as 'the 

funniest man in Japan', and a ‘one-man 

sitcom’, his storytelling (in English) 

engrosses eight to 80 year olds. He 

invites everyone to ‘Come for an hour of 

laughter and leave with a piece of Japan 

in your heart!’. 

A tall, blond-haired Canadian wearing 

a kimono and top hat, Sunshine is the 

first Westerner to have completed the 

three-year, intensive, 'live-in' 

apprenticeship in Osaka, to become a 

respected Rakugo Master and represent 

the 400-year-old classic Japanese art of 

comic storytelling. The apprentice slowly 

learns the craft through observation and 

imitation, attentive to the Master’s every 

waking hour including all the 

housekeeping chores. His master, 

Sanshi combined the first part of his 

name, ‘San’, meaning ‘Three’, with the 

Japanese word for ‘Shine’, and gave it 

the Japanese pronunciation of the 

English word ‘Sunshine’. 

Sunshine studied classics at the 

University of Toronto before going to 

Japan in 1999 to study Noh and Kabuki 

Theatre, at the same time continuing to 

write his own material and producing 

musical theatre. In 2008, he was 

accepted as an apprentice to the great 

Rakugo Master, Katsura Bunshi VI. 

He has performed in Singapore, the 

United States and Canada, London, 

Paris, Sydney, Adelaide, Canberra, Sri 

Lanka, and many other countries, as well 

as throughout Japan. 

Tickets are available online at 

www.leicestersquaretheatre.com or 

telephone 020 7734 2222. 

Katsura Sunshine will perform at the Leicester Square Theatre until 15 October. 

5 


6 

Kristina Kashtanova. 

PRIDE AT NIGHT AT THE HOUSES 

OF PARLIAMENT 

The Houses of Parliament ‘Pride at 

Night’ event on Friday 27 October 

includes tours that mark 50 years since 

the passing of the Sexual Offences Act 

1967. 

The tours highlight the significant 

part played by LGBT people in 

Parliament as leaders, legislators, 

activists, lobbyists and monarchs. They 

explore the struggle for civil rights from 

universal condemnation and 

victimisation to the freedoms and rights 

enjoyed today. 

The journey begins in Westminster 

Hall with tales of medieval kings before 

passing through St Stephen’s Hall and 

into Central Lobby. As the tour moves 

into the Lords Chamber and the 

Commons Chamber, narratives from 

sovereigns and members of both Houses 

are brought to life through the art and 

architecture of the Palace of 

Westminster. 

These guided tour experiences take 

place in the company of Visitor Assistant 

Guides and are designed for adults aged 

18 and over. Tickets should be booked 

in advance by calling 020 7219 4114. 

Each ticket includes a timed tour. 

SPECIAL AUTUMN SAILINGS 

FROM CITY CRUISES 

Big Ben, The London Eye, Tower 

Bridge and more – visitors can see the 

best views in London on a River Thames 

sightseeing cruise, with City Cruises’ 

boats departing every 40 minutes and 

tickets starting at £10. The all-weather 

sightseeing boats cruise up and down 

the River Thames every day of the week, 

all year round, from four piers in the 

heart of London: Westminster, London 

Eye, Tower, and Greenwich. There are a 

range of ticket types, from single trips to 

a hop-on, hop-off, 24,hour river pass. 

The Lord Mayor's Show has been a 

London Institution for over 800 years 

and marks the beginning of a new 

mayoral year. The pomp and pageantry 

of the Lord Mayor’s procession through 

the City of London culminates in a 

magnificent fireworks display across the 

river and there is no better vantage point 

to enjoy a clear view of the sky from the 

open river than on a 75 minute sailing 

with City Cruises. This year, the Lord 

Mayor’s Show is on Saturday 

11 November. 

On 27 January, 1956, the first RCA hit 

single, ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ by Elvis 

Presley made the UK charts. Elvis tribute 

artist Ben Thompson will perform as 

Elvis, singing his way up and down the 

Thames on 7, 21 and 28 October. In 

2016, Ben won the Ultimate Elvis Tribute 

Artist contest preliminary heat at the 

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City 

and won 2nd Prize during the final in 

Memphis during Elvis Week 2016 in the 

Ultimate contest. 

You can also enjoy jazz and dinner on 

the Thames on Friday evenings and hear 

a top ChiJazz quintet, featuring a singer, 

perform a popular set of tunes from 

mainstream swing and Latin jazz. 

These special autumn sailings are in 

addition to daily Lunch Cruises, 

Afternoon Tea, the romantic Sundowner 

and Showboat Dinner Cruise. 

For tickets, call 020 77 400 400 or 

visit www.citycruises.com 


Bloomsbury Festival 2016, Sing Out 

Store Street. Photo: Stuart Keegan. 

BALLETBOYZ PRESENT 

FOURTEEN DAYS 

The International Emmy Awardwinning, 

all-male dance company 

BalletBoyz return to Sadler’s Wells from 

10-14 October for the world premiere of 

their new show Fourteen Days. The new 

work from the recent Rose d’Or winners 

has been created by four internationally 

celebrated choreographers, alongside 

four eminent and completely different 

composers. It comprises four short 

pieces, and will run alongside their 

previously acclaimed Fallen. 

Choreographers Javier De Frutos, 

Craig Revel Horwood, Iván Pérez and 

Christopher Wheeldon have teamed up 

with composers Scott Walker, Charlotte 

Harding, Joby Talbot and Keaton 

Henson, with each pair given just 

fourteen days to work with the ensemble 

to create the new pieces. Playing with 

the concept of balance and imbalance, 

the result is an exciting and varied 

programme of dance and music in 

BalletBoyz’s inimitable style, performed 

live musicians. 

7 

BLOOMSBURY FESTIVAL 

Bloomsbury Festival is to present a 

trailblazing programme of science, 

literature, performance, music, poetry, 

theatre, dance, discussion and reflection, 

shining a light on the radical 

imaginations, institutions and 11,000 

residents of contemporary Bloomsbury. 

Taking place everywhere, from cultural 

centres and major institutions like 

Conway Hall and University College 

London to quirky indoor and outdoor 

spaces, over 150 mostly free events will 

pop-up across the lively cultural quarter. 

This year’s Festival’s theme is 

independence, a wide-ranging theme 

pertinent to Bloomsbury’s community: 

independent business and publishing, 

independent living and vitality, social, 

political, scientific and technical 

independence will be all be explored. 

2017 also observes independent related 

anniversaries, the 70th anniversary of The 

Indian Independence Act, one-hundred 

years since the Russian Revolution and 

fifty years since the partial 

decriminalisation of homosexuality, each of 

which features in this year’s programme. 

Bloomsbury Festival will take place 

from 18-22 October. Box office 

telephone 020 3108 1000. 

www.bloomsburyfestival.org.uk 


8 

Johan Persson. 

VAMOS CUBA! AT THE PEACOCK 

Vamos Cuba! the sizzling spectacular 

from celebrated Cuban choreographer 

Nilda Guerra returns to London for a run 

at Sadler’s Wells’ West End venue The 

Peacock, from 24 October-11 November. 

Set in the crazy chaos of Havana 

airport, the Sadler’s Wells Production is 

an exuberant mix of traditional and 

modern dance styles including salsa, 

rumba, cha-cha-cha and reggaeton, with 

a live band led by drummer Rodney 

Barreto and a cast of the hottest dancers 

Cuba has to offer. 

The show received its World Premiere 

at Sadler’s Wells last summer, and 

returns to the West End to bring some 

Cuban sunshine to autumn in London. 

The high-energy production exudes the 

joyous spirit of Havana and reveals 

contemporary Cuban culture through a 

mix of music, dance, and the stories of 

the characters waiting in Havana airport. 

Internationally established director 

and choreographer Nilda Guerra is the 

creator of the smash-hit Havana Rakatan. 

She began her professional career in 

1993 as a dancer at Havana’s Teatro 

Lírico. In 2001 she founded Ballet 

Rakatan, one of Cuba’s most prestigious 

dance companies, performing on world 

renowned stages including Sydney 

Opera House, New York City Center, Le 

Carre Theatre, Tokyo City Hall and Oslo 

Opera House among others. Havana 

Rakatan has been seen by more than 

200,000 people worldwide including six 

West End seasons at The Peacock. 

Born in Havana in 1984, Rodney 

Barreto has been a percussionist from a 

very young age and is widely regarded as 

one of the best drummers in Cuba. He has 

performed with Chucho Valdes, Isaac 

Delgado and Omara Portuondo and 

played on the 

soundtrack for the film 

Chico & Rita. His 

numerous awards 

include a Grammy 

Award in 2016 for the 

Chucho Valdez CD and 

DVD Live in Marciac 

and the Cubadisco 

Award for best record 

with Drums La Habana 

in 2010. 

Tickets telephone 

020 7863 8222. 

LONDON MOONLIGHT SYMPHONY 

ORCHESTRA AT ST PETER’S 

A classical concert showcasing Vocal 

and Orchestral performances by the 

London Moonlight Symphony Orchestra 

to raise funds for the 'Oracle Cancer 

Trust’, the UK’s leading Charity solely 

dedicated to funding research into 

head and neck cancer, will take place 

on 14 October (19.30) at St Peter's 

Church, Notting Hill. The programme 

includes works by famous composers in 

the opera world, including Mozart, 

Bellini, Verdi and Offenbach. 

The London Moonlight Symphony 

Orchestra is an ensemble composed of 

vocal and instrumental showcasing 

young artists and talented prize winners. 

Arianne Rooney will play French 

Horn, Isolda Da Costa Soares will sing 

Soprano with Elizaveta Tyun as Violin 

First Chair, and Matthew Hardy will 

conduct the performance. Canapés will 

be served during the interval, followed 

by a retirement collection for donations. 

St Peter's is a building of notable 

architectural quality, and is listed Grade 

II*. The interior of the building is very 

elaborate, with many of the pillars 

boasting gilded capitals. 

For tickets, visit the Event Brite 

website at www.eventbrite.co.uk 

Elizaveta Tyun.(Violin First Chair). 


ROYAL CHORAL SOCIETY PERFORM 

HAYDN: THE CREATION 

On an autumn evening what could be 

better than enjoying some glorious 

music in beautiful surroundings? On 

Saturday 21 October, the Royal Choral 

Society – one of the UK’s oldest and 

best-loved symphonic choirs – will be 

performing Haydn’s choral masterpiece, 

The Creation (Die Schöpfung) at Holy 

Trinity Church, Sloane Square. 

Inspired by Handel’s oratorios (heard 

on Haydn’s visits to London in the 

1790s), The Creation was a groundbreaking 

work in its time, remarkable for 

its ingenious and original use of the 

orchestra to describe the Book of 

Genesis. It is full of delight. Great 

whales, sunrise, the rolling seas – even 

leaping tigers – are evoked in a fantastic 

tapestry of sound in one of the greatest 

ever oratorios. 

Singing in the original German, the 

combined forces of the Royal Choral 

Society, the English Chamber Orchestra 

and a trio of top flight soloists all 

conducted by Richard Cooke, will deliver 

a dramatic, lively and truly heartwarming 

evening of music in the 

stunning surroundings of what John 

Betjeman called the ‘Cathedral of the 

Arts & Crafts Movement’. It’s an evening 

no music lover will want to miss. 

This concert is supporting CarersUK, 

the charity that makes life better for 

carers across the UK. 

The choir’s history reads like a 'Who’s 

Who' of the musical world. Former RCS 

conductors include Charles Gounod and 

Malcolm Sargent – the latter, described 

as ‘the finest British choral conductor of 

his generation’, had a 40-year 

association with the choir. The RCS has 

always had a wide repertoire; their 

performance of new works has been a 

feature, with Verdi and Dvorák 

conducting the choir in premières of 

their own works. 

Tickets can be reserved by 

telephoning the Cadogan Hall Box Office 

on 020 7730 4500, or visit the website 

at www.cadoganhall.com 

The Royal Choral Society (pictured) began its illustrious life as the Royal Albert Hall 

Choral Society, formed for the opening of the Royal Albert Hall in 1871. Its 

inaugural concert was held at the Royal Albert Hall on 8th May 1872. The choir’s 

name was shortened to The Royal Choral Society (with permission from Queen 

Victoria) shortly afterwards. 

9 


10 

QUINTESSENTIALS: 12 QUINTETS, 

6 CONCERTS BY SCHUBERT QUARTET 

The Schubert Ensemble's acclaimed 

Quintessentials series reaches its final 

pair of concerts in October, featuring 

four wonderful and contrasting piano 

quintets. Following the pattern of the 

series, popular quintets are programmed 

alongside more rarely performed works. 

Concert 5 on 12 October at 

Kings Place features Enescu's 

masterpiece, his haunting and 

richly textured quintet, a work 

of extraordinary colour and 

devastating impact, alongside 

Schumann's much loved 

quintet, full of warmth and 

sunshine. The series ends on 

Thursday 9 November with 

Concert 6, which pairs the 

rhythmic vitality and folkinspired 

colour of Martinu?'s 

Second Piano Quintet with the 

endlessly inventive Op. 81 

Quintet by Dvor?a?k, a seamless 

show of gorgeous melody and 

rich drama, unmatched in the 

chamber music repertoire. 

Each concert will begin 

with one of the Ensemble's 

popular Behind the Notes 

sessions, in which they will explore and 

illuminate both works, using live 

performance to strip down the music 

and reveal its inner workings. Part Two 

will be a performance of both quintets. 

Since its first concert in January 

1983, the Schubert Ensemble has 

become widely recognised as one of the 

world's leading exponents of music for 

piano and strings. The ensemble has 

performed in over 40 different countries, 

has over 80 commissions to its name, 

has recorded over 30 critically acclaimed 

CDs and is familiar to British audiences 

through regular broadcasts on BBC 

Radio 3. In 1998, the Ensemble's 

contribution to British musical life was 

recognised by the Royal Philharmonic 

Society when it presented the group with 

the Best Chamber Ensemble Award, for 

which it was shortlisted again in 2010. 

In the past few years, the Ensemble 

has enjoyed a busy international 

schedule, with performances in 

Bermuda, Canada, the Czech Republic, 

China, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, 

Romania, Spain, the United Arab 

Emirates, and the USA. 

The Ensemble has also released 

recordings for the Chandos label of 

works by Martinů, Fauré, Enescu and 

Dvořák, all of which have been widely 

praised. The Dvořák disc and the most 

recent of two Enescu discs were each 

chosen as CD of the month by the BBC 

Music Magazine. It has recently released 

a new recording of piano quartets by 

Chausson and Saint-Saëns which 

received a double 5-star review in BBC 

Music Magazine. 

Schubert Ensemble has decided to 

bring its 35-year career to a close at the 

end of June 2018. It will see out its final 

season in celebratory style, with around 

fifty concerts planned in the UK and 

abroad, including return visits to 

Romania and Luxembourg and two 

tours of the USA with their final concert 

at Wigmore Hall on 21 March 2018. 

Kings Place box office telephone 

020 7520 1490 or kingsplace.co.uk 

AGATHA CHRISTIE’S WITNESS 

FOR THE PROSECUTION 

The major new production of 

Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha 

Christie, opens on London’s South Bank 

this week. 

Catherine Steadman, best known for 

her role as Mabel Fox in Downton Abbey 

and nominated for an Olivier Award for 

her performance in Oppenheimer, will 

play the role of Romaine, while rising 

star Jack McMullen, whose recent work 

includes hard-hitting TV drama Little 

Boy Blue, Waterloo Road and Noel 

Clarke’s Brotherhood, will play Leonard 

Vole. 

Directed by Lucy Bailey, this gripping 

tale of justice, passion and betrayal will 

open in The Chamber on 6 October, a 

magnificent court room setting inside 

London County Hall. The audience will 

find themselves thrillingly placed in the 

thick of the action in this spectacular 

location. 

Leonard Vole is accused of murdering 

a widow to inherit her wealth. The stakes 

are high. Will Leonard survive the 

shocking witness testimony? Will he 

be able to convince the jury of his 

innocence and escape the hangman’s 

noose? 

Box Office telephone 0844 815 7141. 

www.witnesscountyhall.com 

Catherine Steadman as Romaine Vole 

in Witness for the Prosecution 

Photo: Idil Sukan 


FIVE GUYS NAMED MOE AT NEW 

MARBLE ARCH THEATRE 

The new Underbally production of 

Clarke Peters’ Olivier Award-winning 

and Tony-Award nominated musical, 

Five Guys Named Moe, has extended its 

run at The Marble Arch Theatre until 

Saturday 17 February, due to 

overwhelming popular demand. 

The brand new Marble Arch Theatre 

has been custom built for the 

production. The venue is designed to 

take audiences to an 1940s all-swinging 

New Orleans club, complete with 

festooned courtyard, bespoke cocktail 

bar, smoky corners and band-stand as a 

centrepiece. Performed in the round for 

the first time, theatregoers are able to 

take their seats at the cabaret tables in 

the Funky Butt Club and have drinks 

served directly to their tables for an upclose 

and personal musical experience 

all around them. 

First seen at the Theatre Royal 

Stratford East in 1990, Cameron 

Mackintosh brought it to the West End 

where it played for four years, 

subsequently playing on Broadway and 

around the world. Clarke Peters' (The 

Wire, Treme, Person of Interest, Porgy 

and Bess, The Ice Man Cometh) career 

defining musical features the irresistible 

hits of trailblazing ‘King of the Jukebox’ 

Louis Jordan, including Early In The 

Morning, Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My 

Baby, Choo Choo Ch’Boogie and 

Saturday Night Fish Fry. The soundtrack 

of soul, blues, gospel and early r 'n' b is 

performed live on stage by The Funky 

Butt Club Band. 

Cameron Mackintosh, Associate 

Producer said: ‘I'm so thrilled that the 

exhilarating new production of Five 

Guys is being enjoyed so much by a 

new young audience as well as fans of 

the original and that the run is extending 

into 2018 in this brilliant pop up New 

Orleans theatre – the joint is truly 

jumping thanks to these amazing Guys.’ 

For tickets, telephone the box office 

on 03333 444 167. 

Helen Maybanks. 

11 


12 

SCHUBERT MASTERPIECES FROM 

LONDON CONCERT CHOIR 

On 19 October, Mark Forkgen will 

conduct London Concert Choir and the 

Counterpoint ensemble in a concert of 

masterpieces by Schubert at London’s 

Cadogan Hall. 

This will be a rare opportunity to hear 

Schubert’s magnificent final Mass No. 6 

in E flat major, which was written in 

1828, only five months before his 

tragically early death. The setting is on a 

vast scale, principally choral, one 

notable exception being an exquisite trio 

for the two tenors and soprano. 

The orchestral colour is dominated 

by woodwinds, brass and timpani. 

Schubert’s own gift for melody is 

combined with the drama of Beethoven 

and some astonishing harmonies that 

were way ahead of their time, 

anticipating the work of later Romantic 

composers such as Brahms and 

Bruckner. The soloists in the Mass are 

Raphaela Papadakis (soprano), Amy 

Lyddon (mezzo soprano), Bradley Smith 

and James Way (tenors) and Laurence 

Williams (bass). 

Also in the programme is Schubert’s 

‘Unfinished’ Symphony, No. 8, which was 

begun six years earlier. There is evidence 

of his tortured soul in the darkness of the 

scoring and the poignant silences 

punctuated with moments of light. Why it 

was left unfinished is not clear, but its two 

movements are complete in themselves, 

as the sublime second movement resolves 

the tensions of the first. Perhaps this 

symphony has become almost too wellknown, 

but hearing it performed on 

Counterpoint’s original instruments 

should brush off some of the dust and 

restore its original impact. The concert 

will begin with Mendelssohn’s setting of 

the version by Luther of the Latin hymn 

Da nobis pacem, a graceful prayer for 

peace strongly influenced by the music of 

Bach. 

London Concert Choir has been a 

significant part of the London music 

scene ever since 1960. Under its Music 

Director Mark Forkgen the choir displays 

remarkable conviction and 

expressiveness in an unusually broad 

repertoire and regularly appears at all 

the major London concert venues as 

well as touring abroad. 

The Counterpoint ensemble, formed 

in 2000 to work with vocal groups, 

draws its players from the leading young 

period instrument specialists who live 

and work in London and perform with 

the leading British early music 

ensembles. 

Tickets at £12 to £30 are available 

from 020 7730 4500 or online at 

www.cadoganhall.com 

Cadogan Hall is a short walk from 

Sloane Square station, which is on the 

District and Circle Lines. 

PROJECT POLUNIN AT 

THE LONDON COLISEUM 

Ukrainian ballet star Sergei Polunin’s 

company, Project Polunin, will present a 

mixed programme of new and revived 

work at the London Coliseum from 

5 to 10 December. The programme will 

feature an international cast and creative 

team, including Polunin himself. At 19, 

Sergei Polunin was the youngest ever 

dancer to become a Principal with The 

Royal Ballet. After four years in the 

company, he went on to perform in 

Russia with the Stanislavsky Theatre and 

Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre. 

Earlier this year, Sergei's story was 

made the subject of documentary feature 

film Dancer produced by Gabrielle Tana. 

The documentary is book-ended with 

Sergei's Take Me To Church video, 

directed by David LaChapelle, which has 

now amassed nearly 20 million views. 

Later this year, Sergei will be seen in the 

new Kenneth Branagh film adaptation of 

Murder on the Orient Express, due for 

release in November. 

With Project Polunin, Sergei aims to 

create new dance and ballet works for 

both stage and film, through the 

collaboration between dancers, 

contemporary artists, musicians and 

choreographers from all creative 

backgrounds. Project Polunin will strive to 

make dance accessible to people of all 

ages and incomes, and to inspire, nurture 

and support young people to be more 

creative. It is produced in collaboration 

with David Banks and Gabrielle Tana. 

Sergei Polunin. 

Photo: David LaChapelle. 


BEN WATERS SET TO 'LIFT THE 

BLUES' AT CADOGAN HALL 

Ben Waters, Europe’s official 

‘Best Boogie Woogie Pianist’, is bringing 

his high energy Big Band plus special 

guests to the Cadogan Hall. Working 

with 'Lifting the Blues', a charity 

dedicated to destigmatising mental 

health through music, £10 from every 

ticket sold is being donated to the cause. 

With a career spanning 25 years, Ben 

has worked with some truly legendary 

musicians (The Rolling Stones, Sir Ray 

Davies, Chuck Berry, Dave Gilmour, Paul 

Weller, PJ Harvey) and entertained 

audiences at prestigious venues across 

the world. Jools Holland, Ben’s good 

friend and mentor, has described Ben as 

one of the greatest pianists of all time. 

Ben even played at Jools’ wedding. 

You can hear the influences of the 

early rock ‘n roll greats in the Big Band’s 

music. Ben has played both with Jerry 

Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry, as well as 

recording with one of the world’s finest 

musicians, Sir Ray Davies (who curated 

the Meltdown Festival for the 60th 

anniversary of the Royal Festival Hall 

and selected Ben’s band as one of his 

favourites). The Big Band will be playing 

the music of their heroes, such as Fats 

Domino, Amos Milburn and Louis 

Jordon. 

Supported by the Tom Waters Quartet 

with a special appearance of Lila 

Ammons of the famous Chicago boogie 

and jazz dynasty of Albert and Gene 

Ammons, this will be a sensational 

evening with both hot rock ‘n’ roll and 

cool jazz music from some of the finest 

musicians in the world. Tom Waters 

(who happens to be Ben's son) is a 

young alto Sax player who currently 

studies at the prestigious Purcell school 

for Young Musicians in Watford. His 

accomplished style of Jazz is way 

beyond his years, and he has been on 

the circuit with his dad's band since the 

tender age of 8. At only 16 years old, 

Tom has already toured the world 

playing regularly in Europe and much 

further afield. 

Ben Waters Big Band is to take the stage at Cadogan Hall on Saturday 21 October 

(19.30). Tickets are available at www.cadoganhall.com or by telephoning the 

box office on 020 7730 4500. 

13 


14 

Niza Huang Jewellery 

MADE LONDON 

Made London is one of the top selling events for designer 

craftsmen and women in Europe. This year, the fair will take 

place from the 19th to the 22nd of this month. 

Made London showcases the very 

best and most original handmade work 

from this country and beyond with 

makers themselves selling their highest 

quality contemporary craft and design 

direct to the public. 

Visitors are always impressed by the 

variety and originality of the craft and 

design on show and love exploring the 

venue. The Fair is an approachable and 

friendly event with a lovely laid-back 

atmosphere. 

Each year the organisers select a 

range of work from makers across all 

media; ceramics, glass, wood, precious 

metals, textiles, and more. They insist 

on exceptional work and choose 

designers already established in their 

field, as well as new and emerging 

talent. 

This year, mosaic artist Cleo Mussi 

will be taking over the Belfry Room to 

create a Rest and Reset space. Cleo is 

working on two brand new figures, Rhea 

and Demeter which will form part of this 

special exhibit along with Mitochondrial 

Eve, a Mother Earth figure holding 

Homunculus Babe and a Green Man 

entitled Nature Recycles Everything. The 

Belfry Room will become a haven, a 

place to unwind, surrounded by 

soothing sounds and incredible mosaic 

artworks. 

The Fair also enables the makers to 

meet the public to discuss inspirations, 

design processes and future projects, 

enabling maker/consumer relationships. 

Work can be bought at the event or 

commissions can be taken. 

Made London takes place at One 

Marylebone, a stunning Sir John Soane 

Church in central London. Directly 

opposite Great Portland Street tube 

station and next door to Regents Park, 

the building brings its own attraction; 

the majestic Soane Hall and the light 

filled gallery spaces all add to the 

interest of this show. 

For tickets, visit madelondonmarylebone.co.uk/buy-tickets 

Michele Oberdieck 

Ripples & Emerald 

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON 

EXCLUSIVE LONDON APPEARANCE 

Hillary Rodham Clinton makes her 

debut at Southbank Centre’s Royal 

Festival Hall for an evening event at 

London Literature Festival on 15 October 

to discuss her new book, What 

Happened, an autobiographical account 

describing her experience as the 

Democratic Party's nominee for 

President of the United States in the 

2016 election. 

The book reveals for the first time 

what Clinton was thinking and feeling 

during one of the most controversial and 

unpredictable presidential elections in 

history. Audience members can expect 

to hear Clinton speak candidly about 

how she has coped and what the 

experience has taught her about life. 

Hillary Rodham Clinton. 


NATIONAL THEATRE POSTERS 

National Theatre Posters, curated by 

design critic and writer Rick Poynor, has 

opened in the National Theatre’s Wolfson 

gallery, exploring poster design at the 

NT from 1963 to the present. 

Curated by Rick Poynor, Professor of 

Design and Visual Culture at the 

University of Reading, this exhibition 

explores the evolution of poster design 

at the National Theatre, showcasing 

many classic examples. From 1963 to 

the present day, each art director led the 

theatre’s graphic design studio in 

creating images for posters, 

programmes and now digital artwork. 

The exhibition features posters designed 

by Ken Briggs, Richard Bird, Michael 

Mayhew, Charlotte Wilkinson and 

current Creative Director Ollie Winser 

and the Graphic Design Studio. 

designs that encapsulate the inventiveness 

and energy of its productions. 

‘The NT’s first graphic designer, Ken 

Briggs, collaborated closely with the 

theatre for a decade. That set the pattern 

and the theatre went on to appoint a 

succession of designers – Richard Bird, 

Michael Mayhew, Charlotte Wilkinson 

and Ollie Winser – who have worked 

in-house on the posters and other 

graphics. Each designer has maintained 

a very high standard of creativity and the 

posters’ graphic styles have evolved to 

reflect the changing needs of the theatre 

and its audiences.’ 

Following the sell out run at the 

National Theatre this summer, extra 

dates have now been added for the 

return of Inua Ellams’ play Barber Shop 

Chronicles to the Dorfman this autumn. 

Richard III – Poster design Richard Bird 

and Michael Mayhew (1979). 

15 

Hedda Gabler - Poster design Ken 

Briggs and Associates (1970). 

The exhibition will include original 

posters, interviews with past and current 

Art or Creative Directors and will trace 

the changes in process, design and 

function over the past 50 years. 

Curator Rick Poynor said: ‘An exciting 

theatre poster manages to capture the 

essence of a play. It grabs your attention 

with something surprising and draws you 

in. The National Theatre has a long 

tradition of producing adventurous poster 


16 

Tom Jenkins: The Guardian. Grand National Steeplechase. 

THE 2017 WORLD PRESS PHOTO 

EXHIBITION 

The 2017 World Press Photo 

Exhibition returns to Southbank Centre’s 

Royal Festival Hall for the 21st year from 

3–20 November. 

The free exhibition brings together 

152 winning photographs from the 

annual World Press Photo Awards, 

showcasing some of the most powerful, 

emotional and often disturbing press 

images of the year. 

In its 60th year, the World Press Photo 

Awards continues to be the premier 

annual international competition for press 

photography and multimedia storytelling. 

This year’s winners were drawn from a 

bank of 80,408 images taken by 5,034 

photographers from 125 countries. 

The exhibition at Southbank Centre 

will be the only display in England; 

however the winning photographs travel 

together to 45 countries and are seen by 

more than four million people each year. 

The subjects of the images on display 

are widely varied including 

documentation from rallies protesting 

police brutality, reports from war-torn 

terrains and striking images selected 

from nature and sports editorial. 

The exhibition includes this year’s 

World Press Photo of the Year, An 

Assassination in Turkey, taken by Burhan 

Ozbilici for The Associated Press. 

Ozbilici’s photograph, which also won 

the first prize in the ‘Spot News’ stories 

category, depicts the assassination of 

Russian Ambassador Andrey Karlov by 

an off-duty Turkish police officer, Mevlüt 

Mert Altıntaş. 

This year, the jury awarded prizes to 

two photographers from the UK: Tom 

Jenkins from The Guardian and Mathieu 

Willcocks from MOAS. Jenkins won the 

first prize for the ‘Sports’ singles 

category with Grand National 

Steeplechase. His image, taken at the 

Grand National in Liverpool in 2016, 

captured a chaotic moment of a jockey 

mid-air whilst falling off his horse. 

French-born, UK-based Mathieu 

Willcocks won the third prize in the 

‘Spot News’ stories category with 

Mediterranean Migration. Willcocks’ 

image series documents the unsettling 

journeys of refugees in transit off the 

coast of Libya, struggling at sea and 

crammed into the hold of boats. 

With freedom of information, freedom 

of inquiry and freedom of speech being 

more important than ever, World Press 

Photo strives to promote quality visual 

journalism. The annual photo contest 

rewards photographers for the best 

pictures contributing to the past year of 

visual journalism. 

DOROTHY CIRCUS GALLERY 

OPENS IN NOTTING HILL 

Dorothy Circus Gallery is opening the 

doors of its British branch in Notting Hill 

13 October with a new exhibition. For 

this special occasion, the Gallery have 

prepared a celebration in the form of a 

Group Show, with a splendid reunion of 

its most important pop and surreal 

icons. These artists will collaborate with 

new international figures in a magical 

meeting in October. 

Pages from Mind Travellers Diaries is 

the name of the Group show. The title 

mirrors the Gallery’s restless mood and 

ideologies. That is the way it all started, 

with the idea of a journey toward the 

most remote corners of surrealism. It is 

a journey full of surprises and 

significant meetings of minds which 

have shaped the gallery’s identity. 

Joe Sorren: Coney Island Supper Club. 

With the aim of spreading its image 

around the world while absorbing new 

cultural concepts, the Gallery started its 

journey around Europe from Rome. 

Shifting from extremely bizarre and 

unusual tastes to the most refined 

tendencies, what could have been a 

better first destination for the Circus if 

not magnificent London – the city of 

extreme glamour and the dynamic centre 

of the fashion industry, which can 

suddenly turn into the elegant abode of 

the classy and refined afternoon tea. 

The first Group Exhibition in London 

will feature popular names in pop art, 

and surreal characters already present in 

the art scene. 

The Dorothy Circus Gallery will be at 

81 Ledbury Road, W11. The nearest tube 

station is Notting Hill Gate. 


wembleystadium.com/tours 

0800 169 9933 

TOURS DEPART DAILY: 10:00 – 15:00 

PRINTED TRANSLATION GUIDES AVAILABLE IN 9 LANGUAGES

18 

Craig Revel Horwood (Miss Hannigan) in Annie. Photo: Matt Crockett. 

CRAIG REVEL HORWOOD PLAYS 

MISS HANNIGAN IN ANNIE 

Craig Revel Horwood has joined the 

West End company of Annie to play the 

role of Miss Hannigan, as Nikolai 

Foster’s production extends booking at 

the Piccadilly Theatre to 18 February. 

Best known on television as a judge on 

the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, he will 

not play the role on Saturdays. 

Set in 1930s New York during The 

Great Depression, brave young Annie is 

forced to live a life of misery and 

torment at Miss Hannigan’s orphanage. 

Her luck changes when she is chosen to 

spend Christmas at the residence of 

famous billionaire, Oliver Warbucks. 

Meanwhile, spiteful Miss Hannigan has 

other ideas and hatches a plan to spoil 

Annie’s search for her true family... 

Foster’s production arrived in the 

West End 40 years after the original 

Broadway production opened in 1977 

and received seven Tony awards 

including the Best Musical, Best Score 

and Best Book. The much-loved score 

includes the classics It’s A Hard Knock 

Life, Tomorrow and Easy Street. 

Box Office telephone 0844 871 7630. 

JANE EYRE 

National Theatre 

‘It’s a girl!’ comes the cry as a small 

bundle of cloth is passed, parcel-like, 

from one cast member to another in the 

opening scene of ‘Jane Eyre’. Men and 

women run up the wide steel rungs of 

ladders and across sturdy wood 

platforms. The scenery for this 

acclaimed dramatisation of Charlotte 

Bronte’s famous novel may take the bare 

bones approach – but it works perfectly 

for such physical theatre. 

There is a great deal of running 

about. First the bundle of cloth is shaken 

out to become – a dress! And the dress 

is what defines the heroine, we feel. She 

animates the feminine in this tale of a 

poor, plain, obscure governess, who is 

harshly treated according to her gender 

as much as her (lack of) social status. 

Later there is running in unison – a 

coach and horses. Jane is on the move, 

firstly from her miserable home with her 

cold aunt and cruel cousins, then from 

her miserable school for orphans where 

beatings and recriminations are the 

order of the day. 

Nadia Clifford (Jane Eyre). 

Photo: Brinkhoff Mögenburg. 

Poor Jane. But she is feisty. She tells 

her aunt she cannot love her and will not 

call her aunt. She tells her employer, the 

handsome but peculiar Mr. Rochester, 

that he is wrong and she is morally 

superior to him. In the first half of the 

play, the tension builds towards a 

romantic crisis. In the second, Jane’s 

world explodes, since she appears on 

the brink of realising her secret desire – 

a union with Rochester – only to have 

that chance twitched away by the 

discovery of Rochester’s real wife, a 

crazy woman locked in the attic. 

The production, directed by Sally 

Cookson, hails from the Bristol Old Vic 

and the run at the National Theatre is 

part of a national tour. The company is 

terrific. Nadia Clifford – perhaps without 

face paint – appears plain and small on 

stage as well as coiled with rage. Tim 

Delap’s Rochester is heavily bearded and 

suitably scowling. Paul Mundell plays a 

few parts but he is most irresistible as 

the dog, throwing himself to the ground 

regularly and slapping it with his thick 

leather tail. 

Melanie Marshall, a hauntingly beautiful 

singer in a long scarlet dress, seems to 

represent Rochester’s first wife, but without 

any of the kicking, biting, lunatic behaviour 

you might expect. Instead she is absolutely 

calm and isolated from the action – make 

of that what you will. Is there some still, 

small part of Bertha which exists alongside 

her mad persona, that we ought to 

acknowledge? 

This is thought provoking stuff then, 

whether you have read the novel or not – 

and also hugely enjoyable, underpinned 

as it is by so much live music and 

carefully calibrated energy; in every 

sense, ‘Jane Eyre’ is a hit. 

Sue Webster 


20 

The Play That Goes Wrong, the Olivier 

Award-winning box office hit, today 

celebrates its third birthday in the West 

End with a new booking period until 

30 September 2018. 

PLAYS 

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) 

INK 

James Graham's new play transfers from the 

Almeida. The story behind the birth of 

Britain's popular and controversial newspaper. 

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 FERRYMAN 

In Jez Butterworth’s new major drama, multi 

award-winning actor, director and writer Paddy 

Considine is joined by Laura Donnelly and 

Genevieve O’Reilly. Directed by Sam Mendes. 

GIELGUD THEATRE 

Shaftesbury Avenue, W1 (0844 482 5130) 

VENUS IN FUR 

A major production of David Ives' dark comedy 

starring Natalie Dormer and David Oakes. 

HAYMARKET THEATRE 

Haymarket, SW1 (020 7930 8800) 

OSLO 

Bartlett Sher's acclaimed production of 

J.T. Rogers' new Tony Award-winning play. 

A darkly funny political thriller. 

HAROLD PINTER THEATRE 

Panton Street, SW1 (0844 871 7627) 

Royal National Theatre Plays in repertory 

OLIVIER THEATRE 

FOLLIES 

Tracie Bennett, Janie Dee and Imelda Staunton 

play the magnificent Follies in a dazzling new 

production of Stephen Sondheim’s legendary 

musical staged for the first time at the National. 

SAINT GEORGE AND THE DRAGON 

A new play by Rory Mullarkey – a folk tale for 

an uneasy nation. Into the story walks George: 

wandering knight, freedom fighter, enemy of 

tyrants the world over. 

LYTTELTON THEATRE 

JANE EYRE 

The classic story of the trailblazing Jane is as 

inspiring as ever. This bold and dynamic 

production uncovers one woman’s fight for 

freedom and fulfilment on her own terms. 

DORFMAN THEATRE 

BEGINNING 

Polly Findlay directs a new play by David 

Eldridge, an intimate look at the first fragile 

moments of risking your heart. 

NATIONAL THEATRE 

South Bank, SE1 (020 7452 3000) 

LABOUR OF LOVE 

James Graham's new comedy starring Martin 

Freeman and Sarah Lancashire. Set in the 

Labour Party's traditional northern heartlands, 

a clash of philosophy, culture and class. 

NOEL COWARD THEATRE 

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

DR SEUSS’S THE LORAX 

The return of David Greig's stage adaption 

returns to London for a special three week 

season. Opens 15 October. 

OLD VIC THEATRE 

The Cut, Waterloo, SE1 (0844 871 7628) 

HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED 

CHILD PARTS I & II 

A new stage play based on the Harry Potter 

franchise written by Jack Thorne, based on 

an original story by J.K Rowling. 

PALACE THEATRE 


DERREN BROWN 

Derren Brown's 'greatest hits' show 

Underground in London promises to be a 

spell-binding experience of magical genius 

and epic showmanship. Until 14 October. 

PLAYHOUSE THEATRE 

Northumberland Ave, WC2 (0844 871 7631) 

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) 

APOLOGIA 

Jamie Lloyd's production of Alexi Kaye 

Campbell's play, starring Stockard Channing. 

A witty, topical and passionate play about 

generations, secrets, and warring perspectives. 

TRAFALGAR STUDIOS 

Whitehall, SW1 (020 7492 1548) 

A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE 

Oscar Wilde's classic starring Eve Best and 

Anne Reid, directed by Dominic Dromgoole, 

– a brilliantly sharp comedy of the classes. 

Opens 16 October. 

WYNDHAM’S THEATRE 

Charing Cross Rd, WC2 (0844 482 512) 

HEISENBERG: THE UNCERTAINTY 

PRINCIPLE 

Marianne Elliott's West End Premiere of 

Simon Stephens' play starring Anne-Marie 

Duff and Kenneth Cranham. The inaugural 

production by Elliott & Harper Productions. 

WYNDHAM’S THEATRE 

Charing Cross Road, WC2 (0844 482 5120) 

Marianne Elliott by Alex Rumford. 


OSLO 

Lyttelton Theatre 

Broadway doesn’t often play host to 

contemporary American dramatists who 

have something of global importance to 

say. A notable exception, way back in 

1993, was Tony Kushner’s towering 

Angels in America which returns to 

Broadway next year in the National 

Theatre’s recently acclaimed revival. It is 

heartening, therefore, to welcome 

JT Rogers’s recent Tony Award winning 

Oslo, an epic factual thriller where the 

question isn’t whodunnit but ‘will they or 

won’t they do it?’. 

‘They’ are the Israelis and the 

Palestinians, and what’s being 

negotiated is the historic peace-process 

that took place in Oslo over a nine 

month period in 1993 culminating in 

September of that year in the Rose 

Garden of the White House in 

Washington D.C. when PLO leader 

Yasser Arafat shook the hand of Israel’s 

Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. 

The architects of this hitherto 

unthinkable event (and the play’s central 

protagonists) are Teje Rod-Larsen, a 

sociologist, and his wife Mona Juul who 

works for the foreign ministry. 

As a sociological experiment, the 

idealistic, extremely intelligent Terje 

wants to see whether an impossible 

political stalemate can be resolved 

through a subtle process of ‘gradualism’ 

rather than dogged totalism. ‘My model,’ 

he says ‘is rooted not in the 

organisational, but the personal.’ 

To this end he and his brilliantly 

diplomatic wife take a dangerous and 

potential career-ruining plunge by 

initiating clandestine ‘back channel’ 

peace talks between Israel and the PLO 

that climaxes in the historic albeit shortlived 

Oslo Accords. 

Unlike the usual, and usually abortive 

negotiations in which the Palestinians 

and the Israelis are incapable of 

anything approaching civility, Terje’s aim 

is to hold the talks on neutral ground, in 

strict privacy, behind locked doors, and 

with no mediators present. 

Lydia Leonard (Mona Juul) and Toby 

Stephens (Terje Rød-Larsen). 

Photo: Brinkhoff Mögenburg. 

Personalising the talks by stripping 

the occasion of its familiar tensions and 

creating a relaxed, unthreatening 

environment leavened with waffles 

supplied by his excellent Swedish cook 

and all the Johnny Walker Black Label 

whiskey they can drink, Terje is hopeful 

that a satisfactory rapprochement can be 

achieved. 

Even the setting is informal; Terje and 

his wife’s spacious country pile, 

(strikingly suggested by Michael 

Yeargan’s uncluttered set) 30 miles 

outside Oslo and surrounded by forests. 

With secrecy the first item on this 

potentially explosive agenda, Israel’s 

initial representatives are a pair of 

dishevelled, unassuming economics 

professors unlikely to draw attention to 

themselves. 

But after an awkward getting-toknow-you 

period, the PLO’s deeply 

suspicious finance minister, Ahmed 

Querei, demands a more high-profile 

presence and, with the arrival of Uri 

Savir, the deputy general of Israel’s 

foreign ministry, the talks become 

fruitful and even playful at times. 

In one of the best, most humanising 

scenes in the play, Ahmed and Uri, while 

out walking in the forest one evening, 

begin to bond. They discover they have 

several things in common, most 

notably that their daughters are both 

called Maya. 

It’s these personal connections and 

the attention to detail and character 

development that breathe life into a 

situation whose eventual outcome is 

well-known and, alas, on-going. What 

could so easily have been a rather dry 

trawl through an intriguing, but familiar 

piece of Middle East history emerges as 

a heartfelt human document in which the 

protagonists are as compelling as the 

situation. 

Bartlett Sher, who directed the play 

on Broadway, keeps it moving at a nifty 

pace making its three-hour running time 

seem half as long. There’s a kind of epic, 

Shakespearean grandeur to the staging, 

yet without loss of intimacy. It’s also 

extremely funny in parts, as when one of 

the characters does a caricatural 

impersonation of Arafat. 

The all-English cast is flawless. Toby 

Stephens as the urbane, idealistic host 

Terje Rod-Larsen draws a fine-line 

between manipulative self-importance, 

ruthlessness, and being the butt of much 

send-up humour; while Lydia Leonard 

as his efficient wife (who also serves as 

a narrator and scene-setter) is totally 

plausible as the cog that keeps the tricky 

and complex negotiations on track. 

In the showiest role, Philip Arditti as 

Uri Savir projects a forceful ego, an 

intelligence and an unassuageable 

commitment to his cause, qualities 

shared by Peter Polycarpou as Ahmed 

Qurei, the PLO’s passionate finance 

minister. That these two men became 

friends even after the Accord collapsed 

is reflective of the improbable but shortlived 

miracle that occurred in 1993 – 

the very essence, in fact, of what this 

fine play is all about. 

What a tragedy there is no happy 

ending. 

CLIVE HIRSCHHORN 

(The production transfers from the 

Lyttelton to the Harold Pinter Theatre 

from 2 October to 30 December.) 

21 


22 

An American in Paris. 

MUSICALS 

Tristram Kenton. 

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) 

EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE 

New musical starring John McCrea transfers 

to the West End following a sold-out run at 

Sheffield's Crucible Theatre. Opens 22 Nov. 

APOLLO THEATRE 


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) 

COMPANY 

Marianne Elliott directs a new production of 

Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Tony 

award-winning musical. For the first time, the 

lead role of Bobbi is re-imagined as a woman. 

GIELGUD THEATRE 

Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2 (0844 482 5130) 

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 


FIVE GUYS NAMED MOE 

Director Clarke Peters calls the show a 

'revusical, a 90-minute tribute to the black 

song-writer/saxophonist and rhythm and blues 

pioneer, Louis Jordan. 

MARBLE ARCH THEATRE 

Marble Arch, W1 (020 7400 1257) 

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) 

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) 

EVITA 

A major revival of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd 

Webber's legendary musical. 

PHOENIX THEATRE 

Charing Cross Road, WC2 (0844 871 7627) 

ANNIE 

Revival of the famous musical starring Craig 

Revel Horwood. A Depression-era rags-toriches 

story featuring the songs It's The Hard- 

Knock Life, Easy Street and Tomorrow. 

PICCADILLY THEATRE 

Denman Street, W1 (0844 871 7630) 

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 

Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2 (020 7492 0810) 

42nd STREET 

The song and dance, American dream fable of 

Broadway returns to the West End. The 

timeless tale of small town Peggy Sawyer’s 

rise from chorus line to Broadway star. 

THEATRE ROYAL 

Drury Lane, WC2 (020 7492 0810) 

Rosalie Craig (Bobbi) in Company. Photo: Dan Kennedy.

TIL_6-10-17

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