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Welcome to London<br />
3<br />
CONTENTS<br />
Events 4<br />
Peter Rabbit Themed <strong>Easter</strong> at Kew<br />
Superhero Takeover at ZSL London Zoo<br />
The Passion of Jesus in Trafalgar Square<br />
Music 8<br />
Royal Choral Society’s 142nd Messiah<br />
Hertfordshire Chorus perform Britten<br />
English Chamber Orchestra<br />
Exhibitions 12<br />
The Arsenal Museum and Stadium Tour<br />
Wonderlab at the Science Museum<br />
Theatre 16<br />
The Best Man<br />
Faulty Towers The Dining Experience<br />
Proprietor Julie Jones<br />
Publishing Consultant Terry Mansfield CBE<br />
Associate Publisher Beth Jones<br />
Editorial Clive Hirschhorn Sue Webster<br />
© This is London Magazine Limited<br />
This is London at the Olympic Park<br />
Stour Space, 7 Roach Road,<br />
Fish Island, London E3 2PA<br />
Telephone: 020 7434 1281<br />
www.til.com<br />
www.thisislondonmagazine.com<br />
As British Summer Time now hits the UK,<br />
there is no better time to visit and<br />
experience London, one of the most<br />
exciting, vibrant and historical cities in the<br />
world. On behalf of London’s West End<br />
Theatre community, I am delighted to<br />
welcome you to one of the greatest and<br />
most multi culturally diverse capitals – a<br />
city which brings together young and old,<br />
modern and traditional, government and<br />
business, leisure and culture.<br />
What a super time to bring the family into London to see the famous sites,<br />
from the Tower Of London and help defend the Tower in a live historical<br />
re-enactment and help the heroic guards defend the mighty castle against its<br />
enemies; to Kensington Palace, now home to our youngest Royals and a new<br />
and interesting exhibition on Queen Mary and her grand garden designs and<br />
possibly create your own palace garden to take home.<br />
Theatre in London is going through an amazing time, with several new shows<br />
about to open. From the massive new epic monster hit BAT OUT OF HELL –<br />
The Musical at the Dominion Theatre, to the new bio musical TINA based on<br />
the true life story of the legend that is Tina Turner, or even take in Strictly<br />
Ballroom, based on the film of the same name. These join the mega hits of<br />
Mamma Mia!, Wicked, Lion King and not to mention Hamilton, which opened<br />
here in December 2017.<br />
Whatever you do this <strong>Easter</strong>, please find the time to read this fascinating and<br />
most interesting magazine, which will help and guide you through the life of<br />
London and what there is to do this <strong>Easter</strong>. On behalf of us all, please come<br />
and spoil yourself in the most captivating and historical city in the world.<br />
Julian Stoneman<br />
Theatre Producer & General Manager<br />
Whilst every care is taken in the preparation of this<br />
magazine and in the handling of all the material<br />
supplied, neither the Publishers nor their agents<br />
accept responsibility for any damage, errors or<br />
omissions, however these may be caused.<br />
VISITOR INFORMATION<br />
Emergencies 999 Police Ambulance Fire<br />
24 Hour Casualty 020 8746 8000<br />
Dentistry 0808 155 3256<br />
Victim Support 0845 30 30 900<br />
Visit London 020 7234 5833<br />
Heathrow Airport 0844 335 1801<br />
Gatwick Airport 0844 892 0322<br />
Taxis 020 7272 5471<br />
Dry Cleaner 7491 3426 Florist 7831 6776<br />
Optician 7581 6336 Watches 7493 5916<br />
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<br />
Thomas Alexander Photography.<br />
HM THE QUEEN VISITS THE NEW<br />
ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS<br />
On Tuesday 20 March, the Royal<br />
Academy of Arts welcomed its Royal<br />
Patron, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,<br />
to mark the completion of its major<br />
redevelopment. Touring and officially<br />
opening the Burlington Gardens building<br />
ahead of the public opening of the new<br />
Royal Academy on 19 May, The Queen<br />
met those involved in the design and<br />
construction process, which has been<br />
completed in the Royal Academy's 250th<br />
anniversary year.<br />
The Queen entered the Royal<br />
Academy through the refurbished<br />
Burlington Gardens entrance and was<br />
led on a tour by the President of the<br />
Royal Academy, Christopher Le Brun.<br />
Her Majesty viewed the new Gabrielle<br />
Jungels-Winkler Galleries and unveiled<br />
the first painting to be hung in the new<br />
spaces, Self-portrait of Sir Joshua<br />
Reynolds, P.R.A (c.1780), painted by the<br />
RA’s founding President.<br />
During the course of her visit, The<br />
Queen also viewed the RA’s exhibition,<br />
Charles I: King and Collector, an<br />
exhibition which includes over 80 works<br />
generously lent by Her Majesty from the<br />
Royal Collection. Charles I: King and<br />
Collector reunites 140 works of art<br />
acquired and commissioned during the<br />
reign of Charles I (1600-1649), for the<br />
first time since the seventeenth century.<br />
PETER RABBIT THEMED EASTER<br />
FESTIVAL AT KEW GARDENS<br />
Join Peter Rabbit and all his furry<br />
friends on a botanical bunny adventure<br />
this <strong>Easter</strong> at the Royal Botanic Gardens,<br />
Kew, in partnership with Penguin<br />
Ventures (part of Penguin Random<br />
House). Visitors can expect an exciting<br />
activity-packed day out with games,<br />
crafts and storytelling inspired by<br />
Beatrix Potter’s iconic tales.<br />
Children will be delighted by the<br />
exquisite illustrated world of Peter<br />
Rabbit set against the stunning<br />
landscape of Kew Gardens. Spring will<br />
be well and truly underway and the<br />
Gardens will be filled with the dazzling<br />
colours of blooming crocuses, daffodils<br />
and magnolias. The <strong>Easter</strong> extravaganza<br />
will encourage people to find out what<br />
Peter and his friends can eat, how fruits<br />
and vegetables grow and what research<br />
Kew is conducting on edible plants<br />
behind the scenes.<br />
Peter Rabbit.<br />
Beatrix Potter © Frederick Warne & Co., <strong>2018</strong><br />
Benjamin Bunny.<br />
At the gates, visitors will receive their<br />
very own copy of Mr McGregor’s garden<br />
notebook so they can follow a Peter<br />
Rabbit trail to the festival hub in Kew’s<br />
beautiful Secluded Garden. Life-sized<br />
selfie boards of Peter and other<br />
characters along the way will offer<br />
families the chance to take fun souvenir<br />
snaps.<br />
In the festival hub, children and<br />
adults will be able to get stuck into all<br />
sorts of games, craft activities and<br />
workshops. Children can try building a<br />
warren to make a home fit for Peter and<br />
his family, or play giant food card games<br />
with their friends. At Mr McGregor’s<br />
potting shed, visitors will find the<br />
hilarious veggie consequences<br />
workshop offering the chance to create<br />
incredible monster vegetable prints to<br />
take home.<br />
Elsewhere, youngsters can choose<br />
which Peter Rabbit character they’d like<br />
to be for the day and make fuzzy bunny<br />
ears to match. Kids will also be able to<br />
plant their very own seeds pots, to take<br />
home and nurture.<br />
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Photo: Tony Bates Photo: ZSL London Zoo<br />
SUPERHERO TAKEOVER AT<br />
ZSL LONDON ZOO<br />
This <strong>Easter</strong>, ZSL London Zoo is<br />
inviting visitors to discover the<br />
incredible world of animal superheroes<br />
and their powers – with a new<br />
experience for the whole family to enjoy.<br />
As part of ZSL’s <strong>2018</strong> Superhero<br />
Takeover, from 30 March to 15 April,<br />
kids will be able to embark on a selfguided<br />
Superpowers Trail around the<br />
Zoo, discovering real life animals with<br />
heroic superskills.<br />
Jae Jae and Melati the Sumatran Tigers.<br />
Find out why lemurs let off stink<br />
bombs, or discover how the mysterious<br />
axolotl regrows its limbs; try to fade into<br />
the background using a tiger’s<br />
camouflage, or pit yourself against one<br />
of the world’s strongest species – the<br />
leafcutter ant. Children of all ages will be<br />
given a special comic book packed with<br />
fun activities to guide them on this new<br />
animal adventure, which has interactive<br />
activities at each stop, before heading to<br />
Superhero HQ to complete their mission<br />
with some super-themed games.<br />
Dress up with Capes of Confusion,<br />
where pulling on different capes will<br />
help you hide from predators, float like a<br />
butterfly in search of ultraviolet flowers<br />
in Rainbow Rabble, or invite the whole<br />
family to help you Snag a Snack by<br />
catching sticky insects in your very own<br />
web!<br />
Once youngsters have earned<br />
superhero status they can spend the rest<br />
of the day exploring the world-famous<br />
London Zoo, discovering even more<br />
about the 19,000 super-animals who call<br />
it home. ZSL’s <strong>2018</strong> Superhero Takeove<br />
is a year-long celebration of incredible<br />
wildlife and the ZSL superheroes<br />
working to protect animals both at home<br />
and around the world.<br />
For further information or to book<br />
visit www.zsl.org<br />
THE PASSION OF JESUS IN<br />
TRAFALGAR SQUARE<br />
On Good Friday, 30 March, the<br />
renowned Wintershall Players return to<br />
the heart of London with their aweinspiring<br />
full-scale re-enactment of The<br />
Passion of Jesus, performed in the<br />
shadow of the National Gallery.<br />
The Passion premiered in 1993 on the<br />
Wintershall Estate in Surrey and since<br />
then has become a highly anticipated<br />
<strong>Easter</strong> fixture, both in Guildford and in<br />
Central London.<br />
The story commemorating the day<br />
Jesus is believed to have been arrested,<br />
tried and crucified by the Romans, two<br />
days before miraculously rising from the<br />
dead on <strong>Easter</strong> Sunday, is brought to life<br />
by a cast of over a hundred, all in<br />
resplendent costumes, along with<br />
horses, doves and donkeys.<br />
Featuring realistic scenes and a heart<br />
moving crucifixion and resurrection,<br />
The Passion of Jesus is an unforgettable<br />
<strong>Easter</strong> experience. The performances<br />
now attract more than 20,000 people to<br />
Trafalgar Square on Good Friday.<br />
Director Ashley Herman, and<br />
producer Charlotte de Klee, both<br />
appeared in the very first Passion<br />
production in 1993 as Narrator and<br />
Miriam and have been associated with it<br />
ever since. The actor and artist James<br />
Burke-Dunsmore has performed as<br />
Jesus on stage for more than 60<br />
different productions to over a quarter of<br />
a million people, and <strong>2018</strong> marks his<br />
21st year performing in the role.<br />
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PIANO DAY: NEIL COWLEY AT<br />
THE BARBICAN<br />
The Barbican is presenting a free,<br />
lunchtime performance by contemporary<br />
pianist Neil Cowley to celebrate the<br />
annual worldwide event, Piano Day on<br />
Thursday 29 March.<br />
Cowley has performed with Brand<br />
New Heavies, Zero 7, as a solo artist and<br />
as part of Neil Cowley Trio – the group<br />
that took home 2007’s Best Album title<br />
at the BBC Jazz Awards for their record<br />
Displaced (Hide Inside Records, 2006).<br />
Grace, from their most recent album, has<br />
been streamed over 16 million times on<br />
Spotify.<br />
Classically trained Cowley has<br />
recently announced that the Trio is on<br />
hiatus whilst he launches a new solo<br />
project, which debuted at the Barbican in<br />
early March <strong>2018</strong> supporting Roy Ayers.<br />
This concert precedes further Piano<br />
Day celebrations taking place at Milton<br />
Court Concert Hall that evening, a triple<br />
billing featuring performances by<br />
Poppy Ackroyd, Marina Baranova and<br />
Florian Christl.<br />
WOMEN’S MARATHON<br />
TRAILBLAZER KATHRINE SWITZER<br />
Kathrine Switzer (USA), a true<br />
trailblazer for women’s sport, will<br />
compete in the Virgin Money London<br />
Marathon for the first time in <strong>2018</strong> – the<br />
year in which the UK has been<br />
celebrating equality for women.<br />
Switzer was the first woman to<br />
challenge the all-male tradition of<br />
marathon running when she became the<br />
first woman to enter and officially race<br />
the Boston Marathon in 1967.<br />
Women were barred from running the<br />
26.2-mile distance at this time and<br />
Switzer, who entered using just her<br />
initials, became known worldwide when<br />
a race official tried, but failed, to forcibly<br />
remove her from the competition.<br />
Switzer finished the race and in doing<br />
so proved to the world that women could<br />
race the 26.2 mile distance and paved<br />
the way for every woman who has run a<br />
marathon since.<br />
CHELSEA FC STADIUM TOURS<br />
OF STAMFORD BRIDGE<br />
For visitors to London, a tour of<br />
Stamford Bridge is not to be missed.<br />
Home of the Blues, it’s a fun, informative<br />
and unforgettable experience enjoyed by<br />
sports fans of all ages from all over the<br />
world. The guided hour-long tour will<br />
take you behind the scenes at one of the<br />
world’s greatest football clubs, giving<br />
visitors access to areas normally<br />
reserved for players and officials.<br />
Along the way you will visit various<br />
stands in the stadium, the press room,<br />
home and away dressing rooms, the<br />
tunnel and dug-out areas. All tours<br />
include entry to the Museum, giving the<br />
chance to see how Chelsea has evolved<br />
on and off the pitch over the years.<br />
Chelsea pride themselves on having<br />
guides who are both knowledgeable and<br />
enthusiastic about the club and it's their<br />
passion that make the tours a truly<br />
memorable experience.<br />
Whilst at the Stadium, have lunch at<br />
Chelsea's very own Frankie's Sports Bar<br />
& Diner as part of the Tour and Lunch<br />
package. Frankie's is an American style<br />
sports bar, with 12 big screens. The<br />
menu includes American favourites,<br />
including pizza, burgers and New York<br />
cheesecake. You can enjoy all your<br />
favourite sports while enjoying lunch after<br />
a tour around Stamford Bridge.<br />
A combined Tour and Lunch package<br />
includes a full stadium tour, entrance to<br />
the Chelsea FC Museum and a twocourse<br />
lunch from a set menu in<br />
Frankie's Sports Bar & Diner. Other<br />
options are available, including the<br />
Ex-Players Tour, where you will be<br />
guided by an ex-Chelsea player. There<br />
will be an opportunity to ask as many<br />
questions as you like, as well as grab<br />
autographs and pictures.<br />
For further information, visit the<br />
website at www.chelseafc.com<br />
Chelsea lift the Premier League Trophy<br />
2016/2017.<br />
Photos: Getty Images<br />
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7
8<br />
DISCOVER THE SECRETS BEHIND<br />
THE GOBLET OF FIRE<br />
Starting this <strong>Easter</strong>, visitors are<br />
invited to discover behind-the-scenes<br />
secrets of Harry Potter and the Goblet of<br />
Fire as Warner Bros. Studio Tour<br />
London launches a special feature<br />
dedicated entirely to the fourth<br />
instalment of the magical film series,<br />
revealing secrets behind the characters,<br />
costumes and props that made it so<br />
special.<br />
As part of the feature, The Goblet of<br />
Fire will be returned to the Great Hall for<br />
the first time since filming wrapped in<br />
2010. Every visitor to the Great Hall will<br />
see a live Special Effects demonstration<br />
showing how the Triwizard Champions’<br />
parchments were expelled from the<br />
Photos: Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter<br />
Goblet, even receiving a souvenir<br />
parchment to remember their visit.<br />
During filming, two versions of the<br />
Goblet of Fire were created for different<br />
purposes.<br />
The original goblet was hand-carved<br />
by Head Propmaker, Pierre Bohanna,<br />
from a single piece of wood chosen for<br />
its twists, knots and splits to give it an<br />
organic, ancient quality. A mould of this<br />
was then taken for the Special Effects<br />
version that was rigged to propel the<br />
parchments of the four Triwizard<br />
Champions. Visitors to the Studio Tour<br />
will see both versions of the Goblet of<br />
Fire up-close as part of the feature.<br />
The Studio Tour’s Goblet of Fire<br />
exhibition will run from Friday<br />
30 March. Telephone 0345 084 0900.<br />
REGENT’S PARK OPEN AIR<br />
THEATRE EVENTS FOR <strong>2018</strong><br />
Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre have<br />
announced their full programme of<br />
MOREoutdoor events to complete their<br />
<strong>2018</strong> season. Joining the already<br />
announced (and sold-out) Joe Lycett,<br />
the one-off comedy and film events all<br />
take place on Sunday evenings.<br />
The Luna Cinema returns to the<br />
Open Air Theatre with three nights of<br />
classic cinema under the stars. As the<br />
Spice Girls announce their forth-coming<br />
reunion, ‘Spice Up Your Life’ this<br />
summer with a screening of their iconic<br />
1997 movie, Spice World. Packed with<br />
famous faces, the girls zip around<br />
London in their double decker bus to a<br />
playlist of Spice Girl favourites, including<br />
‘Stop’, ‘2 Become 1’ and ‘Wannabe’.<br />
The Greatest Showman is this year's<br />
movie musical. Based on the life of<br />
P T Barnum and starring Hugh Jackman<br />
and Zac Efron, the film's incredible score<br />
includes ‘This Is Me’, which has already<br />
won the Golden Globe for Best Original<br />
Song. Following this, experience a true<br />
cinematic masterpiece back on the big<br />
screen, with a special screening of<br />
Ridley Scott's Alien. Starring Sigourney<br />
Weaver in the career defining role of<br />
Ripley, Alien set the sci-fi benchmark<br />
and has inspired countless films since.<br />
To accompany MOREoutdoor events,<br />
there is a choice of pre-event dining<br />
options, including The Regent’s Park<br />
Burger served from The Grill, Picnics<br />
and Luxury Hampers for Two. The Gin<br />
Experience for Two, includes reserved<br />
seating before the event, ingredients for<br />
two double Sacred Gin G&Ts each, and<br />
a selection of smoked almonds and<br />
pitted Nocellara and Kalamata olives.<br />
The <strong>2018</strong> season at Regent’s Park<br />
Open Air Theatre also includes Peter<br />
Pan (17 May – 15 June), Benjamin<br />
Britten’s opera The Turn of the Screw, in<br />
a co-production with English National<br />
Opera (22 – 30 June), As You Like It<br />
(6 – 28 July), Dinosaur World Live for<br />
ages 3+ (14 Aug. – 9 Sept.) and Little<br />
Shop of Horrors (3 Aug. – 15 Sept).<br />
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JIM STEINMAN’S AWARD-WINNING<br />
BAT OUT OF HELL – THE MUSICAL<br />
The <strong>2018</strong> West End run of Jim<br />
Steinman’s Bat Out Of Hell – The<br />
Musical, winner of the Evening Standard<br />
Radio 2 Audience Award for Best<br />
Musical 2017, will begin at the<br />
Dominion Theatre on 2 April, with a Gala<br />
Night on Thursday 19 April.<br />
The cast will be led by Andrew Polec,<br />
winner of the Joe Allen Best West End<br />
Debut in the Stage Debut Awards 2017,<br />
as Strat and Christina Bennington as<br />
Raven, with Rob Fowler as Falco and<br />
Sharon Sexton as Sloane.<br />
Bat Out Of Hell – The Musical wowed<br />
critics and public alike when it played<br />
limited seasons at Manchester Opera<br />
House, London Coliseum and Toronto’s<br />
Ed Mirvish Theatre in 2017, and has<br />
been seen by nearly 500,000 people so<br />
far. Bat Out Of Hell became one of the<br />
best-selling albums in history, selling<br />
over 50 million copies worldwide. 16<br />
years later, Steinman scored again with<br />
Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell, which<br />
contained the massive hit I Would Do<br />
Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That).<br />
For the stage musical, the legendary<br />
and award-winning Jim Steinman has<br />
incorporated iconic songs from the Bat<br />
Out Of Hell albums, including You Took<br />
The Words Right Out Of My Mouth, Bat<br />
Out Of Hell, I Would Do Anything For<br />
Love (But I Won’t Do That) and Two Out<br />
Of Three Ain’t Bad, as well as two<br />
previously unreleased songs, What Part<br />
of My Body Hurts the Most and Not<br />
Allowed to Love.<br />
Jim Steinman’s Bat Out Of Hell – The<br />
Musical is a romantic adventure about<br />
rebellious youth and passionate love, set<br />
against the backdrop of a postcataclysmic<br />
city adrift from the<br />
mainland. Strat, the forever young leader<br />
of The Lost, has fallen for Raven,<br />
daughter of Falco, the tyrannical, ruler of<br />
Obsidian.<br />
Dominion Theatre Box Office<br />
telephone 0845 200 7982 or visit the<br />
website www.BatOutOfHellMusical.com<br />
Patrick Sullivan as Blake, Andrew Polec as Strat & Giovanni Spano as Ledoux<br />
in Bat Out of Hell at the Dominion Theatre.<br />
Photo: Specular<br />
9<br />
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10<br />
The Royal Choral Society outside the Royal Albert Hall.<br />
ROYAL CHORAL SOCIETY’S 142ND<br />
GOOD FRIDAY MESSIAH<br />
There is no better way to kick off the<br />
<strong>Easter</strong> weekend than revelling in the<br />
joyous, moving music of Handel’s choral<br />
masterpiece, Messiah. This year sees the<br />
Royal Choral Society’s 142nd annual<br />
Good Friday afternoon performance at<br />
the Royal Albert Hal on 30 March at<br />
14.30; it’s an event that forms an<br />
important part of London’s <strong>Easter</strong><br />
celebrations.<br />
The Royal Choral Society was formed<br />
for the opening of the Royal Albert Hall<br />
in 1871, and the choir performed<br />
Messiah in its first season in 1872 but is<br />
was in 1876 the great <strong>Easter</strong> tradition of<br />
singing Messiah every Good Friday<br />
afternoon at the Royal Albert Hall began.<br />
It is thought that this choir has sung this<br />
profound spiritual epic more times than<br />
any other choral ensemble; estimated to<br />
be around 280 performances. Messiah is<br />
the perfect musical choice for<br />
Passiontide, with the moving and<br />
uplifting music illustrating Christ’s<br />
passion, redemption and resurrection.<br />
Messiah contains one of the greatest<br />
Photo: Kevin Day.<br />
choruses in the choral repertoire – the<br />
‘Hallelujah Chorus’. It is thought that<br />
when King George II first heard the<br />
Hallelujah he stood up on his feet, and<br />
ever since, when the opening bars of<br />
this chorus are played, the audience<br />
rises to its feet: this is quite a sight in<br />
the sumptuous interior of a packed<br />
Royal Albert Hall on Good Friday<br />
afternoon.<br />
From the earliest days, the finest<br />
orchestras, conductors and soloists have<br />
joined the RCS at the Royal Albert Hall<br />
on Good Friday and this year is no<br />
exception with the Royal Philharmonic<br />
Orchestra, soprano Anna Devin mezzosoprano<br />
Madeleine Shaw, tenor Rufus<br />
Müller and bass Dominic Sedgwick all<br />
joining the choir under the baton of<br />
conductor Richard Cooke.<br />
Be part of this great <strong>Easter</strong> tradition<br />
on Good Friday afternoon and enjoy<br />
Handel’s magnificent oratorio in one of<br />
the world’s greatest concert halls.<br />
Tickets available from the website at<br />
www.royalalberthall.com or telephone<br />
0845 401 5045. For further information<br />
go to www.royalchoralsociety.co.uk<br />
FRIENDS FOR ALL AT THE<br />
ROUNDHOUSE<br />
Poet Simon Mole will be bringing<br />
Friends For All, his interactive spoken<br />
word performance for families, to The<br />
Roundhouse, London, on Sunday 24<br />
June as part of his <strong>2018</strong> Spring Tour.<br />
The performance is part of The Last<br />
Word Festival, celebrating fearless<br />
storytelling.<br />
Friends For All is a story about<br />
having the confidence to be yourself and<br />
stand up for what you believe in and<br />
features rapping, dancing and far-out<br />
video projections for ages 5-11 and their<br />
grown-ups. 8 year old Lexi doesn’t make<br />
friends as easily as some. If only her<br />
school would allow a non-school<br />
uniform day then she could be herself<br />
and find others like her. Inspired by<br />
Grandad’s hippy stories from the<br />
swinging 60s, she decides to fight the<br />
powers that be, namely her class teacher,<br />
Mr Marsh, and the class bully, Suzy.<br />
Poet and rapper Simon Mole<br />
performs in this humorous and moving<br />
piece, co-created with theatre maker<br />
Peader Kirk. The show features Simon<br />
Mole’s trademark poetry, rap and<br />
storytelling style alongside original<br />
video projections courtesy of Andrew<br />
Crofts, an original sound track<br />
composed by Jonny Wharton and<br />
lighting design by Phil Clarke.<br />
Photo Stephen Beeny.<br />
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Wicked is partnering with Great Ormond Street Hospital for <strong>2018</strong>. Photo Troy Johnston<br />
WICKED PARTNERS WITH<br />
GREAT ORMOND STREET HOSPITAL<br />
WICKED, the award-winning musical<br />
that tells the incredible untold story of<br />
the Witches of Oz has announced a new<br />
charity partnership with Great Ormond<br />
Street Hospital Children’s Charity.<br />
For more than a decade, the London<br />
production of Wicked has been<br />
supporting and championing the<br />
remarkable work of many UK charities<br />
through its philanthropic programme,<br />
WICKED: FOR GOOD. In <strong>2018</strong>, Great<br />
Ormond Street Hospital Children’s<br />
Charity joins this charitable endeavour,<br />
which also includes the Anti-Bullying<br />
Alliance, the National Literacy Trust and<br />
the Woodland Trust.<br />
Wicked, which is now in its 12th year<br />
at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre, will<br />
be fundraising for Great Ormond Street<br />
Hospital Children’s Charity in multiple<br />
ways, including opt-in donations on the<br />
ticket booking system and bucket<br />
collections. Cast members will also visit<br />
the hospital to help entertain children<br />
during their treatment, as well as<br />
attending the special patient parties<br />
organised by GOSH Charity.<br />
Great Ormond Street Hospital for<br />
Children NHS Trust is one of the world’s<br />
leading children’s hospitals. The hospital<br />
has always depended on charitable<br />
support to give seriously ill children the<br />
best chance to fulfil their potential.<br />
Michael McCabe, Executive Producer<br />
(UK) of WICKED said: ‘Wicked has been<br />
proud to champion the remarkable work<br />
of many UK charities for more than a<br />
decade through our ‘For Good’<br />
philanthropic programme. We are<br />
incredibly proud to now announce a<br />
new year-long fundraising commitment<br />
in support of the extraordinary Great<br />
Ormond Street Hospital by raising<br />
money for GOSH Children’s Charity. It is<br />
a privilege for us to be able to<br />
collaborate with them and support their<br />
vital and inspirational work.’<br />
For tickets, telephone 0844 871 3001.<br />
CRYSTAL PALACE FESTIVAL<br />
After a spectacular event in June<br />
2017, the Crystal Palace<br />
Festival returns this summer<br />
to thrill Londoners again with<br />
one of the biggest free cultural<br />
events in south London. The<br />
arts and culture festival has<br />
been lauded for its excellence<br />
in programming and its<br />
friendly atmosphere and<br />
organisers are stepping things<br />
up even more for <strong>2018</strong>.<br />
Festival events will take<br />
place across the Crystal<br />
Palace area from 11–17 June<br />
with the free Crystal Palace<br />
park event taking place on<br />
6 June, headlined by the<br />
Stereo MCs. This Grade II listed heritage<br />
park has been the scene of many a free<br />
concert, and the bowl has a long history<br />
of legendary gigs from the very<br />
beginning in 1967 when Pink Floyd<br />
performed all the way up to the famous<br />
Bob Marley concert in 1980 and 1990<br />
with The Cure and Pixies.<br />
With 28,500 visitors to the 2017<br />
event in the park, organisers are<br />
expecting even bigger crowds on<br />
16 June as they return with an<br />
impressive line up of music, spoken<br />
word, theatre, visual arts, family and<br />
community activities and of course<br />
amazing food and drink.<br />
Festival director Noreen Meehan said<br />
‘We are passionate about bringing music<br />
and the arts back to Crystal Palace Park<br />
so we are really excited about securing<br />
such great headliners, Stereo MC’s and<br />
Polarbear. 2017 was an amazing year for<br />
us with the line up and the move to<br />
Crystal Palace Park proving so popular.<br />
We are looking to build on that success<br />
so we have been working on hard on<br />
creating some new content for our<br />
audience to enjoy. For example the<br />
Village Green will feature all that’s<br />
amazing about our active community<br />
with fantastic choirs and bands from the<br />
Crystal Palace area.’<br />
The festival has been made possible<br />
by funding from Arts Council England,<br />
Croydon Council and Bromley Council.<br />
Stereo MCs<br />
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HERTFORDSHIRE CHORUS PERFORM<br />
BRITTEN AND MICHAEL HURD<br />
Shipwreck! Attempted cannibalism!<br />
Whale attack! Violence at church<br />
conferences! ... and the backstory of<br />
Santa Claus! Britten’s Saint Nicolas is<br />
about the life of the patron saint of<br />
children, seamen, voyagers, and<br />
scholars. It chronicles several of the<br />
saint’s most celebrated life events.<br />
Britten’s music paints a dramatically<br />
bold portrait of the saint’s character, and<br />
captures both the innocence and<br />
reverence of the memories of Saint<br />
Nicolas.<br />
The concert also features the music of<br />
Michael Hurd, which is less well known<br />
but very rewarding: Music’s Praise is a<br />
choral setting of texts by William<br />
Shakespeare, Alexander Pope, Robert<br />
Herrick, and William Strode. The<br />
Phoenix and the Turtle(dove) is a setting<br />
of William Shakespeare’s metaphysical<br />
poem for mezzo-soprano and chorus.<br />
Jonah-Man Jazz is a highly entertaining<br />
and memorable ‘pop’ cantata based upon<br />
the Biblical story of Jonah and the<br />
whale, and has introduced a whole<br />
generation of children to the pleasures<br />
of singing.<br />
Conductor and composer Jonathan<br />
Willcocks wrote: ‘Unlike many<br />
contemporary composers, Michael Hurd<br />
writes music that is immediately<br />
attractive both to performers and<br />
audience’. This concert will also launch<br />
a recording of Michael Hurd’s choral<br />
music on the Lyrita label.<br />
Hertfordshire Chorus, directed by<br />
David Temple MBE, is one of finest large<br />
choirs in the UK, renowned both for the<br />
quality of their classical choral music<br />
and for commissioning and performing<br />
new works by contemporary composers.<br />
The performance will be at St John’s<br />
Smith Square on 14 April at 19.30.<br />
Tickets are available by telephone on<br />
020 7222 1061 or from www.sjss.org.uk<br />
St John’s Smith Square is a short<br />
walk from Westminster station, which is<br />
on the Jubilee Line.<br />
The Hertfordshire Chorus.<br />
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14<br />
Stephanie Gonley.<br />
ENGLISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA<br />
LONDON SEASON<br />
Following a sold-out European tour<br />
culminating in a performance at the<br />
Musikverein in Vienna, the English<br />
Chamber Orchestra (ECO) are back in<br />
London to continue their 2017/<strong>2018</strong><br />
London Season with two Spring<br />
concerts at Cadogan Hall (Sloane<br />
Square) on either side of the <strong>Easter</strong><br />
weekend featuring top soloists Christian<br />
Zacharias and Stephanie Gonley.<br />
German master-pianist Christian<br />
Zacharias, who has devoted a lifetime to<br />
the music of Mozart, directs the ECO<br />
and performs as soloist in an all-Mozart<br />
programme on 29 March at 19.30. The<br />
programme includes the majestic Prague<br />
symphony and two sublime arias for<br />
soprano – music that Mozart said<br />
should fit a singer’s voice ‘like a welltailored<br />
suit’. First, though, Zacharias<br />
stars as both soloist and director in<br />
Mozart’s 25th Piano Concerto exactly as<br />
the composer himself would have done<br />
back in 1786. The ECO will be joined by<br />
Croatian mezzo-soprano Renata<br />
Pokupic, whose ‘velvety voice’ has<br />
graced the stage of opera houses<br />
worldwide including London’s Royal<br />
Opera House Covent Garden.<br />
The second concert, on 3 April at<br />
19.30, showcases the ‘rapturous’ playing<br />
of the ECO’s leader, Stephanie Gonley,<br />
who will perform as soloist in<br />
Beethoven’s Romances for Violin and<br />
Orchestra and Vivaldi’s wonderfully<br />
evocative Four Seasons. The birdsong of<br />
Spring, the downpours of Summer, the<br />
fireside serenity of Winter: everyone has<br />
got their own favourite piece of this<br />
ever-popular work, but there’s still<br />
nothing to beat the sensation of hearing<br />
these concertos performed live – and<br />
feeling all that energy at first hand. The<br />
concert opens with Dvorak’s beautifully<br />
‘sunny’ Serenade for Strings, inspired by<br />
the folksongs and dances of the<br />
composer’s native Bohemia. Stephanie<br />
has appeared as soloist with many<br />
leading orchestras in the UK and abroad,<br />
including the London Philharmonic<br />
Orchestra, Philharmonia, BBC<br />
Symphony Orchestra, the Academy of<br />
St. Martin in the Fields, the Scottish<br />
Chamber Orchestra, the Chamber<br />
Orchestra of Europe, the Australian<br />
Chamber Orchestra and the Hong Kong<br />
Philharmonic to name but a few!<br />
The ECO has long been an integral<br />
part of the UK’s orchestral heritage, with<br />
almost 60 years of music-making across<br />
the globe and the most extensive<br />
discography of any chamber orchestra<br />
worldwide. The illustrious history of the<br />
orchestra features many major musical<br />
figures including Benjamin Britten, Slava<br />
Rostropovich, Pinchas Zukerman and<br />
Daniel Barenboim. The orchestra has<br />
recorded many successful film<br />
soundtracks including Dario Marianelli’s<br />
prizewinning scores for Atonement and<br />
Pride and Prejudice, and several James<br />
Bond soundtracks. The ECO also<br />
features with soprano Renée Fleming on<br />
the soundtrack of the recent Oscarnominated<br />
film ‘Three Billboards outside<br />
Ebbing, Missouri’.<br />
Cadogan Hall is two minutes' walk<br />
from Sloane Square tube station (Circle<br />
Line), in the heart of Chelsea and close<br />
to many shops, bars and restaurants.<br />
For tickets, call 020 7730 4500.<br />
RETURN OF OPERA NORTH IN<br />
KISS ME, KATE<br />
Opera North’s award-winning<br />
production of Cole Porter’s classic<br />
musical comedy, Kiss Me, Kate, returns<br />
to the London Coliseum for a two-week<br />
run in June.<br />
Cole Porter’s riotously inventive<br />
homage to the sparkling wit of<br />
Shakespeare, Kiss Me, Kate is an<br />
irresistible celebration of the joy and<br />
madness of working in theatre.<br />
On the opening night of a musical<br />
version of The Taming of the Shrew in<br />
1940s Baltimore, the tempestuous love<br />
lives of actor-manager Fred Graham and<br />
his leading lady (and ex-wife) Lilli<br />
Vanessi are set to collide. Throw in<br />
Fred’s current paramour Lois Lane and<br />
her gambler boyfriend Bill – plus a<br />
couple of gun-toting gangsters who<br />
somehow get caught up in the show –<br />
and the stage is set for a funny and<br />
farcical battle of the sexes.<br />
Richard Mantle, General Director,<br />
Opera North comments: ‘Kiss Me, Kate<br />
is a real treat of a show, boasting what is<br />
probably Cole Porter’s richest, most<br />
accomplished theatrical score. It’s<br />
serious fun, and Opera North’s landmark<br />
production approaches it with the<br />
respect it demands, benefiting from<br />
David Charles Abell’s critical edition of<br />
the score and recognising the huge<br />
range of musical and dramatic skills that<br />
it calls for.’<br />
Photo: Guy Farrow<br />
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EGGSCLUSIVE EGGS HIDDEN AT<br />
HISTORIC SITES<br />
Six ‘eggsclusive’ eggs designed by<br />
top children’s illustrators will be up for<br />
grabs at English Heritage properties<br />
across the country this <strong>Easter</strong>, as it<br />
continues the tradition dating back to the<br />
Middle Ages when kings exchanged<br />
decorated eggs.<br />
Illustrators, including J. K. Rowling<br />
illustrator Olivia Lomenech Gill and Julia<br />
Donaldson’s favourite artist Lydia Monks,<br />
have teamed up with English Heritage this<br />
<strong>Easter</strong> to create eggs inspired by the<br />
charity’s over 400 historic properties,<br />
including Roman Forts, medieval castles<br />
and grand stately homes. From knights<br />
and Norman conquerors to princesses,<br />
mythical beasts and ancient fossils, each<br />
illustrator has created a unique design<br />
telling the story of English history, myth<br />
and legend.<br />
Young visitors to <strong>Easter</strong> Adventure<br />
Quests at English Heritage sites over the<br />
<strong>Easter</strong> weekend should search high and<br />
low for a special chicken token hidden in<br />
the undergrowth. Those who find a token<br />
will win one of the beautiful ‘eggsclusive’<br />
eggs placed at six random sites across<br />
the country, from Battle Abbey in East<br />
Sussex to Beeston Castle in Cheshire.<br />
Dr Michael Carter, Properties Historian<br />
at English Heritage, said: ‘Decorated eggs<br />
have been recorded as gifts as early as<br />
1290 when King Edward I purchased 450<br />
to be lavishly coloured and covered in<br />
gold leaf for his courtiers, and in the early<br />
16th century, Henry VIII received a silvermounted<br />
egg as an <strong>Easter</strong> gift from the<br />
Pope in Rome. Our lucky winners will be<br />
in good company!’<br />
Often interpreted as a symbol of rebirth<br />
and new life, various traditions and<br />
superstitions have sprung up around the<br />
egg at <strong>Easter</strong>. Eggs laid on Good Friday<br />
were said to turn into diamonds if they<br />
were kept for 100 years, some thought<br />
that eggs cooked on Good Friday and<br />
eaten on <strong>Easter</strong> would promote fertility<br />
and prevent sudden death, and it became<br />
the custom to have eggs blessed before<br />
you ate them.<br />
The <strong>Easter</strong> Adventure Quest (Friday<br />
30 March – Monday 2 April) will be<br />
hosted at over 20 sites around the<br />
country, including: Audley End House<br />
and Gardens in Essex, Belsay Hall,<br />
Castle and Gardens in Northumberland,<br />
Eltham Palace and Gardens in London,<br />
Whitby Abbey in North Yorkshire and<br />
Kenilworth Castle and Elizabethan<br />
Garden in Warwickshire.<br />
THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS:<br />
EASTER SCREENINGS<br />
Following a summer season at the<br />
London Palladium, The Wind in the<br />
Willows: The New Musical is set to<br />
delight audiences of all ages, as it is<br />
screened in cinemas across the UK and<br />
Ireland over the <strong>Easter</strong> period.<br />
The multi-camera production of the<br />
much-loved musical adventure will be<br />
screened in surround sound and in<br />
breathtaking high definition, bringing<br />
one of the highlights of London’s West<br />
End to local multiplexes and giving<br />
everyone the best seat in the house.<br />
Captured live from the London<br />
Palladium, The Wind in the Willows<br />
stars Rufus Hound as the amazing<br />
Mr Toad, Simon Lipkin as Ratty, Craig<br />
Mather as Mole, Neil McDermott as<br />
Chief Weasel, Denise Welch as Mrs<br />
Otter, Gary Wilmot as Badger and the<br />
entire West End company.<br />
Based on Kenneth Grahame’s<br />
treasured novel, The Wind in the<br />
Willows was brought to the stage by<br />
producer Jamie Hendry in a new musical<br />
adaptation with book by Academy<br />
Award-winning screenwriter and<br />
Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes.<br />
Audiences will join Ratty, Badger,<br />
Mole and the impulsive Toad as they<br />
embark on a series of riotous adventures<br />
spiralling from Toad's insatiable need for<br />
speed. The production features eyepoppingly<br />
beautiful design, exuberant<br />
choreography, a gloriously British score,<br />
comedy, heart and thrills, sure to delight<br />
families across the country.<br />
Participating cinemas and booking at<br />
www.willowsmusical.com<br />
Marc Brenner.<br />
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THE ULTIMATE<br />
FOOTBALL EXPERIENCE<br />
GO BEHIND THE SCENES AT STAMFORD BRIDGE<br />
To book please call 0371 811 1955,<br />
email tours@chelseafc.com<br />
or visit chelseafc.com/stadium-tours<br />
For full terms and conditions, please visit www.chelseafc.com<br />
02138
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THE ARSENAL MUSEUM AND<br />
STADIUM TOURS<br />
The Arsenal Museum at Emirates<br />
Stadium was re-opened last year<br />
following a complete renovation. Founded<br />
in 1886, Arsenal has an impressive<br />
history from the club’s time at Woolwich,<br />
Highbury and Emirates Stadium and the<br />
refurbished museum offers visitors the<br />
chance to take in a number of exciting<br />
exhibits.<br />
Many of the items on display were<br />
donated by former players who hold a<br />
special place in Arsenal’s history.<br />
Highlights include Jens Lehmann’s<br />
goalkeeper gloves that he wore for every<br />
league match of the unbeaten Invincibles<br />
season in 2003/4. The museum also<br />
features two impressive video theatres<br />
and twenty major displays based on<br />
Arsenal's proud history, from its formation<br />
in 1886 to the present day. These displays<br />
include a selection of iconic shirts<br />
including those worn by Alex James in<br />
1936 FA Cup Final and the 2015 FA Cup<br />
Final shirt signed by the winning squad.<br />
New to the tour are state of the art<br />
audio guide handsets. The handsets are<br />
fully interactive touch screen handsets<br />
with larger viewing screens that make the<br />
whole experience more enjoyable for the<br />
tour visitor and include the new ‘Shirt<br />
Cam’ feature.<br />
‘Shirt Cam’ allows visitors to hold the<br />
handset in front of a players shirt and<br />
reveal stats about the player plus a<br />
highlights video of the player in action on<br />
the pitch. Guests are now also able to<br />
explore Arsène Wenger Office as part of<br />
their stadium tour. They can see the inner<br />
sanctum that is used by the Manager<br />
before and after games at Emirates<br />
Stadium. Tours are open 7 days a week,<br />
Monday – Saturday 9.30 – 18.00 and<br />
Sunday 10.00 – 16.00, the last entry is<br />
one hour before closing time.<br />
Pablo Picasso: Le Rêve (The Dream) 1932.<br />
Private collection.<br />
© Succession Picasso/DACS London, 2017<br />
PICASSO’S ‘LOVE, FAME,<br />
TRAGEDY’ AT TATE MODERN<br />
This stunning and important<br />
exhibition covers Picasso’s prodigious<br />
output in the year 1932, when he had<br />
just turned 50, as well as some works<br />
that were exhibited in the major<br />
retrospective of his work held in the<br />
same year. He was not yet half-way<br />
through his career. The exhibition also<br />
introduces the visitor to Picasso’s large<br />
dilapidated country house in Boisgeloup<br />
where he created many of these<br />
paintings and sculptures.<br />
1932 was a seminal year for Picasso,<br />
his ‘year of wonders’: his paintings<br />
revealed a new level of sensuality and he<br />
cemented his status as one of the most<br />
influential artists of the 20th century. He<br />
was conducting a passionate and<br />
clandestine affair with the much younger<br />
Marie-Therese Walter.<br />
According to the gallery’s director,<br />
Frances Morris, the highlight of this<br />
exhibition – featuring 100 of his works –<br />
are the three reclining nudes of Marie-<br />
Therese, seen together for the first time<br />
in 85 years. They were painted in just<br />
ten days and are referred to as ‘sensual,<br />
seductive and beautiful’ by Ms Morris.<br />
Picasso notoriously had lots of lovers<br />
and the works depicting those women<br />
are among his most highly-regarded<br />
paintings.<br />
As is usual for such an exhibition,<br />
these works come from far and wide and<br />
many private collections: particularly<br />
beautiful is ‘Girl before a mirror’ owned<br />
by and normally displayed at MoMA in<br />
New York. Although many people feel<br />
that they know Picasso as an artist, it is<br />
unlikely that the visitor will have<br />
experienced him in quite the way they<br />
will in this enjoyable and highlyrecommended<br />
exhibition.<br />
Jackie Hawken<br />
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EASTER HOLIDAY FUN AT THE PARK<br />
Warmer weather and longer days<br />
make it easier to scramble your way<br />
around the Queen Elizabeth Olympic<br />
Park this <strong>Easter</strong>. Visitors will be spoilt<br />
for choice with plenty of things to do at<br />
the Park – whatever your age or interest.<br />
Start the holidays on a high at The<br />
ArcelorMittal Orbit. The adventure starts<br />
with a journey up to the viewing<br />
platform, hovering 80 metres above the<br />
ground for stunning skyline views of<br />
London. Or, if you’re craving that shellshocked<br />
feeling, upgrade your ticket and<br />
descent back down to Earth in The Slide<br />
at ArcelorMittal Orbit. The exhilarating<br />
ride takes you through 12 twists, loops<br />
and curves in the 178 meter long tunnel,<br />
which makes it both the highest and<br />
longest tunnel slide in the world!<br />
Taking place throughout the entire<br />
<strong>Easter</strong> holidays (and beyond!), the<br />
popular funfair will take over Stratford<br />
Waterfront from 30 March to 7 May.<br />
Bringing a collection of exciting and<br />
adrenaline-fuelled rides, children can<br />
prepare for hours of energy-filled fun<br />
with dodgems, jumping frogs and<br />
carousels galore.<br />
Visitors to the Park could also take<br />
the family to the London Aquatics Centre<br />
and duck, jump, run and dive off the<br />
large inflatable obstacle course at the<br />
Aqua Splash and Extreme Aqua Splash<br />
sessions.<br />
The popular boat tours and swan<br />
pedalos will also return on 30 March.<br />
Relax and unwind on a guided boat tour<br />
along the river than runs through the<br />
Park and learn more about the beautiful<br />
landscape and iconic venues in the Park.<br />
Or, let loose on the swan pedalos and<br />
entertain yourself on the river.<br />
There are hundreds of acres of<br />
beautiful parklands at the Park, which<br />
you can explore on trails and in the<br />
playgrounds.<br />
And, the sporty ones amongst us<br />
who want to relive the 2012 Games can<br />
measure themselves up against the<br />
world’s best athletes on the London<br />
2012 walkway.<br />
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ELECTION ARTIST CORNELIA<br />
PARKER UNVEILS NEW ARTWORKS<br />
The UK’s first ever female Election<br />
Artist, Cornelia Parker OBE RA, has<br />
produced a collection of artworks for the<br />
Parliamentary Art Collection which are<br />
intended to reflect the tone and mood of<br />
the snap General Election of 2017. The<br />
artworks consist of two films, entitled<br />
Left Right & Centre and Election<br />
Abstract and a series of fourteen<br />
photographic prints selected from her<br />
Instagram feed and taken while she was<br />
following the campaign trail.<br />
During the election campaign,<br />
Cornelia Parker observed first hand<br />
events across the United Kingdom<br />
including hustings, manifesto launches,<br />
protests, marches and televised debates.<br />
On her travels she met with voters and<br />
candidates, witnessed an election count<br />
and attended the State Opening of<br />
Parliament.<br />
Left Right & Centre is an eight<br />
minute film featuring the newspapers<br />
subscribed to by the House of<br />
Commons during the 2017 General<br />
Election campaign period and the<br />
eventful months that followed. The<br />
newspapers and their headlines chart the<br />
polarised opinions across the political<br />
spectrum. Cornelia Parker created the<br />
work in the House of Commons<br />
Chamber using a drone to film in the<br />
dark at night and the light of the<br />
following day.<br />
Election Abstract is a three-minute<br />
film which animates a fast-paced ‘torrent’<br />
of over a thousand still and moving<br />
images captured by Cornelia Parker<br />
during the election, including the wider<br />
events which occurred during this time,<br />
such as terrorist atrocities in Manchester<br />
and London and Grenfell Tower disaster.<br />
Cornelia Parker’s election artworks<br />
will be on public display in Westminster<br />
Hall until Wednesday 11 April. Tickets<br />
are free of charge and available to book<br />
by calling 020 7219 4114 or in person<br />
from the Ticket Office at the front of<br />
Portcullis House on Victoria Embankment.<br />
www.parliament.uk/visiting/<br />
THINK LIKE A SCIENTIST AT<br />
WONDERLAB<br />
Opened in 2016 at the Science<br />
Museum, Wonderlab: The Statoil Gallery<br />
is its most ambitious interactive gallery<br />
ever, inviting visitors to think like a<br />
scientist.<br />
The gallery features unique exhibits,<br />
specially-commissioned artworks,<br />
explosive demonstrations and immersive<br />
experiences led by the Museum's<br />
talented team of science communicators,<br />
Explainers, to inspire visitors of all ages<br />
to wonder at the science and<br />
mathematics that shape our lives.<br />
The Museum’s goal is to see 200,000<br />
young people in school groups visit the<br />
gallery free of charge each year, twice as<br />
many as the previous interactive gallery<br />
could accommodate. Other visitors can<br />
able to buy an annual pass from £13,<br />
allowing unlimited entry to the gallery<br />
for 12 months, or a day ticket from £8.<br />
With over 50 mind-blowing exhibits<br />
across seven zones, visitors to the<br />
gallery can explore the incredible<br />
phenomena that occur around us every<br />
day, with topics as diverse as sound,<br />
forces, light, electricity, maths, matter<br />
and space. Wonderlab is also home to<br />
three live demonstration areas and a<br />
120-capacity showspace inspired by the<br />
Royal Institution’s world-renowned<br />
Faraday Theatre.<br />
© Plastiques Photography, courtesy of the Science Museum Group.<br />
Amongst the gallery’s many<br />
highlights, visitors can ride on a giant<br />
rotating model of the solar system to<br />
learn why we have seasons, experience<br />
forces on a giant friction slide, and take<br />
part in live science shows full of<br />
electricity, rockets, space and more.<br />
Science Museum Group Director,<br />
Ian Blatchford, said: ‘The Science<br />
Museum Group’s core purpose is to<br />
ignite curiosity in our visitors. We’re<br />
confident we will do this in spades with<br />
Wonderlab: The Statoil Gallery – a<br />
perfect mix of curatorial flair, scientific<br />
clout and joyous imagination.’<br />
The Museum has also created a short<br />
film celebrating the power of a child’s<br />
wonder, featuring the inspirational voice<br />
of Sir David Attenborough. Meanwhile,<br />
taking the gallery’s lead and inviting the<br />
public to share their wonders are a<br />
number of famous faces including<br />
Sir Patrick Stewart, Pharrell Williams,<br />
Professor Brian Cox, Lauren Laverne,<br />
Theo James, NASA’s Charlie Bolden and<br />
Olympians Jonny and Alistair Brownlee.<br />
The gallery is designed by awardwinning<br />
practice ‘muf’ architecture/art,<br />
which is renowned for working with<br />
artists on innovative projects celebrating<br />
the social and playful aspects of public<br />
spaces. Tickets are available to book<br />
now; sciencemuseum.org.uk/wonderlab<br />
or on 020 7942 4000.<br />
21<br />
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
22<br />
Pigeons Paula Bronstein/Getty Images<br />
RED, WHITE AND BLUE AT<br />
GETTY IMAGES GALLERY<br />
Getty Images this week opens Red,<br />
Blue, White: Global Colours, a moving<br />
new exhibition showcasing nearly 60<br />
limited-edition photographs from over 30<br />
of the world’s leading photojournalists.<br />
The exhibition predominantly features<br />
colours evocative of the national identity<br />
in many Western countries – red, blue,<br />
white. The motif plays with the mutability<br />
of political symbols and the tension,<br />
particularly acute in this historical<br />
moment, between nationalism and<br />
internationalism.<br />
The exhibition also marks the launch of<br />
the Reportage Collection of prints, which,<br />
like its namesake division within Getty<br />
Images’ editorial department, showcases<br />
in-depth photojournalism. It includes<br />
images from renowned photojournalist<br />
John Moore, who has made careerdefining<br />
work documenting Latin<br />
American migration to the United States,<br />
alongside powerful images from Paula<br />
Bronstein’s journey capturing Afghan<br />
society throughout two decades of war.<br />
Also on display are more light-hearted,<br />
but no-less-captivating images of<br />
Bollywood behind-the-scenes, Eton’s<br />
enduring traditions and Africa’s emerging<br />
fashion industry, products of in-depth<br />
journalism from photographers who have<br />
immersed themselves in these worlds for<br />
years.<br />
Jay Davies, Managing Editor of<br />
Reportage at Getty Images, said: ‘The<br />
Reportage Collection features the work of<br />
photographers who commit to a story,<br />
whether it’s that of an individual or an<br />
issue, a community or a country. These<br />
images represent not just a moment in<br />
time but the photographer’s longtime<br />
familiarity with his or her subject.’<br />
The Getty Images Reportage Collection<br />
features contemporary documentary<br />
photography from Getty Images staff and<br />
contributors. The subject matter is varied,<br />
geographically diverse and embodies the<br />
in-depth storytelling.<br />
Getty Images Gallery is situated at<br />
46 Eastcastle Street, W1W 8DX.<br />
www.gettyimages.co.uk<br />
EASTER HISTORY LESSON AT<br />
ST KATHARINE DOCKS<br />
Visitors will have a whole host of<br />
reasons to head down to St Katharine<br />
Docks this <strong>Easter</strong>, as Central London’s<br />
only marina springs to life with a fresh<br />
exciting event. A truly memorable <strong>Easter</strong><br />
experience is on offer at the St Katharine<br />
Docks newly-refurbished marina as<br />
tourists, children and parents are invited<br />
to scout around the Central Basin to find<br />
special St Katharine Docks patterned<br />
eggs, which will be affixed to notable<br />
areas of the central basin such as the<br />
Telford Bridge and near the Coranarium.<br />
Once found, participants will draw their<br />
own version of the Egg Patterns using<br />
<strong>Easter</strong> egg colouring-in sheets.<br />
Participants and those joining in can<br />
collect the <strong>Easter</strong> egg colouring-in sheets<br />
and a ‘Hunt Pack’ that will consist of<br />
crayons and activity sheet printed in bold<br />
colours. The pack is where participants<br />
will draw their versions of<br />
St Katharine Docks’ egg patterns upon<br />
finding the hidden designs. The event<br />
follows the SKD190 story, as St Katharine<br />
Docks have designed an <strong>Easter</strong> egg hunt<br />
that celebrates the fact that the Docks is<br />
190 years old. Numerous locations and<br />
notable areas will be decorated with the<br />
illustrated eggs representing the Docks’<br />
historic character as the designs depict<br />
elements of the Docks historic imports<br />
and past.<br />
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
24<br />
THE BEST MAN Playhouse Theatre<br />
Gore Vidal’s The Best Man is a political<br />
slug-fest that goes the distance. In one<br />
corner we have former Secretary of State<br />
William Russell (Martin Shaw), in the<br />
other Senator Joseph Cantwell (Jeff<br />
Fahey). Refereeing the bout – whose prize<br />
is the US Presidential nomination – is<br />
elderly, ailing ex-President Arthur<br />
Hockstader (Jack Shepherd) a cynic who<br />
clearly relishes the cut-and-thrust to<br />
which every such nomination is prone.<br />
Russell, a sharply intelligent Harvard<br />
graduate with an aura of culture and<br />
sophistication about him would, on<br />
paper at any rate, appear to be a shoe-in<br />
for the job. But his character is not<br />
without its blemishes. He’s a part-time<br />
philanderer locked into a shaky marriage<br />
with a long-suffering, marginalised,<br />
grin-and-beat-it wife (Glynis Barber).<br />
Cantwell, on the other hand, is an<br />
uncultivated, self-made, bigoted,<br />
ruthlessly ambitious, morally deficient<br />
Southener who took on the New York<br />
mafia and won. He has a doting wife<br />
called Mabel (Honeysuckle Weeks), and,<br />
on the surface at least, a happily married<br />
family man.<br />
Politics, however, is a dirty game and<br />
punching below the belt par for the<br />
familiar course. Each candidate has<br />
Honeysuckle Weeks, Maureen Lipman and Glynis Barber<br />
in The Best Man. Photo: Pamela Raith.<br />
something damaging on the other:<br />
Cantwell is well-aware that Russell’s<br />
past includes a mental breakdown; while<br />
a homosexual liaison Cantwell was once<br />
alleged to have had at a military<br />
academy has recently been brought to<br />
Russell’s attention.<br />
While there is no doubt that Cantwell<br />
will do whatever it takes to secure the<br />
nomination, Russell’s integrity blanches<br />
at bully-boy tactics until his realistic<br />
campaign manager (Philip Cumbus)<br />
persuades him otherwise. Who is the<br />
best man – and will he win?<br />
Vidal, a Democrat and no stranger to<br />
the American political system having<br />
unsuccessfully stood (twice) for office,<br />
was very much in his comfort zone when<br />
he wrote The Best Man in 1960. And<br />
although 58 years is a long time in<br />
politics, not very much has changed in<br />
the race to the White House -– as the<br />
play (never before staged in Britain) all<br />
too presciently recognises.<br />
What has changed, though, is the<br />
theatre. Formulaic, well-structured<br />
Broadway plays are, today, an<br />
endangered species. And with TV shows<br />
such as The West Wing and House of<br />
Cards upping the ante where the<br />
machinations of power politics are<br />
concerned, contemporary audiences<br />
might find Vidal’s insider take on the<br />
genre a tad cosy. Yet there’s a great deal<br />
to enjoy in director Simon Evans’ slick,<br />
well-acted production.<br />
Sharing many of Vidal’s urbane<br />
qualities, Russell is very much the hero<br />
of the piece and Cantwell the villain.<br />
(‘a Frankenstein monster’, as Russell<br />
describes him.) That said, it is the latter,<br />
more colourful character who has the<br />
showier part and Jeff Fahey makes a<br />
virtue of his vices. Shaw, on the other<br />
hand, has the harder task: how to make<br />
the blander Russell equally engaging<br />
and not as dry as some of his dialogue<br />
indicates. He succeeds admirably,<br />
bringing a light touch and an understated<br />
authority to the role.<br />
In a welcome return to the West End,<br />
veteran Jack Shepherd as the canny,<br />
seen-it-all-before Hockstader pilfers<br />
every scene he’s in. Even politically<br />
incorrect lines such as ‘women voters<br />
have no more sense than a bunch of<br />
geese’, cannot detract from the<br />
flashiness of the role or the enjoyment<br />
audiences partake in it.<br />
In terms of their material, the women<br />
are less well served. Though both the<br />
wives are under-written, Barber subtly<br />
dispenses a veneer of loyalty and marital<br />
harmony that cannot disguise the<br />
character’s underlying unhappiness;<br />
while Weeks convincingly taps into<br />
Mabel’s vapid sexuality. But it is<br />
Maureen Lipman as a committee woman<br />
specialising in dispensing advice to the<br />
candidates and their spouses on the best<br />
way to snatch the female vote, who<br />
makes the most with the least in her two<br />
scene-stealing appearances.<br />
With a few prop changes, Michael<br />
Taylor’s excellent set – a hotel suite in<br />
Philadelphia – serves both the candidates.<br />
Not a knockout but a win on points.<br />
CLIVE HIRSCHHORN<br />
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
Offi cial London Theatre<br />
WickedTheMusical.co.uk • #WickedUK<br />
© WLPL<br />
APOLLO VICTORIA THEATRE • SW1V 1LG • VICTORIA
26<br />
Photos: Charlotte Murphy.<br />
Matthew Bugg (Harry Brown) in Miss<br />
Nightingale Rehearsals.<br />
WEST END PREMIERE OF NEW<br />
BRITISH MUSICAL MISS NIGHTINGALE<br />
The new British musical, Miss<br />
Nightingale, will make its West End<br />
debut at the Hippodrome Casino in<br />
Leicester Square, for a limited sevenweek<br />
run in their 180-seat theatre, from<br />
21 March – 6 May. This original show,<br />
set in 1940s London during World War<br />
Two, is created and written by Matthew<br />
Bugg and features 16 original songs,<br />
from innuendo-laden Music Hall style<br />
numbers to tender ballads and complex<br />
trios and quartets, which wonderfully<br />
capture the soaring spirit and biting wit<br />
of the 40s.<br />
An intimate underground cabaret club<br />
opens in the heart of London. A saucy<br />
new star shines under the spotlight. Two<br />
men struggle to bring their illicit love<br />
out of the shadows. The war-torn capital<br />
has never been so revealing. Welcome to<br />
the Glitz of the Blitz; where showgirls,<br />
secrets and scandal abound. A world<br />
where aristocrats jostle with blackmarket<br />
spivs, songwriters take to the<br />
streets and nothing is quite as it seems.<br />
Maggie Brown, an aspiring singer<br />
and her best friend George Nowodny, a<br />
songwriter and Jewish refugee, perform<br />
a dazzling act at the newest nightclub in<br />
town, owned by wealthy socialite and<br />
RAF war-hero, Sir Frank Worthington-<br />
Blythe. Maggie’s beau Tom Connor,<br />
paves the way for the sexy and<br />
charismatic ‘Miss Nightingale’ to be<br />
born, and the musical duo quickly find<br />
themselves with a West End hit.<br />
However, what the leading lady doesn’t<br />
know, is that George and Sir Frank are<br />
hiding a secret and as Miss<br />
Nightingale’s success grows, so does a<br />
forbidden love between the two men.<br />
From the moment the audience arrive<br />
at the Hippodrome Casino’s beautifully<br />
intimate theatre, they will be taken back<br />
in time to the hilarious and heartwarming<br />
world of the wartime West End.<br />
Themed food and drink will be served at<br />
cabaret tables and the audience will be<br />
able to immerse themselves in WW2 life<br />
during the days of air-raids, rationing<br />
and the Great British stiff upper lip.<br />
This new musical is performed by a<br />
cast of six actor-musicians, led by<br />
Lauren Chinery in the title role,<br />
alongside Oliver Mawdsley as Frank,<br />
Matthew Floyd Jones as George, Adam<br />
Langstaff as Tom, Tobias Oliver as<br />
Clifford (pictured below) and Matthew<br />
Bugg himself, in the role of Harry.<br />
Since it was first staged in 2011 at<br />
The Lowry Studio, Salford, Miss<br />
Nightingale has completed five sold-out<br />
UK tours and a headline season at The<br />
Vaults in 2017. Tickets: 020 7769 8888.<br />
NEW 2AM CLUB NIGHT OPENS ON<br />
LONDON’S SOUTH BANK<br />
Concrete Lates is a new monthly latenight<br />
club night launched as Southbank<br />
Centre’s iconic music venues Queen<br />
Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room reopen<br />
following two years of extensive<br />
restoration and redesign. Now the latestopening<br />
regular gigs and DJ night on<br />
the South Bank, Concrete Lates will<br />
feature cutting-edge electronic music<br />
from a blend of new artists and<br />
established names, with a particular<br />
focus on female talent.<br />
Bringing club culture to the heart of<br />
London’s South Bank, this new night will<br />
take place within the historic Queen<br />
Elizabeth Hall foyers which have been<br />
reconfigured to accommodate a 1000-<br />
capacity gigs space overlooking the<br />
River Thames.<br />
The inaugural Concrete Lates on<br />
Friday 13 April presents an evening of<br />
international techno inspired by the<br />
current Andreas Gursky retrospective at<br />
Southbank Centre’s Hayward Gallery.<br />
Produced in collaboration with Boiler<br />
Room and inspired by German artist<br />
Gursky’s love of the genre, visitors hear<br />
sets from rising female techno stars Pan<br />
Daijing and JASSS, and a live<br />
performance from Bristol-based duo<br />
Giant Swan. The evening also features<br />
one-off late-night entry into the Hayward<br />
Gallery (until 1am), where a newly<br />
commissioned ambient mix by Pan<br />
Daijing accompanies the artwork on<br />
display.<br />
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
28<br />
SUMMER AND SMOKE Almeida<br />
Some wag once wrote that men and<br />
women want different things: men want<br />
women and women want men. The hero<br />
and heroine of Tennessee Williams’<br />
Summer and Smoke illustrate a variation<br />
on that theme: he wants her body and<br />
she wants his soul.<br />
She is Alma Winemiller (Patsy<br />
Ferran), an uptight, idealistic, neurotic,<br />
sexually repressed minister’s daughter;<br />
he is John Buchanan (Matthew<br />
Needham) a dissolute, promiscuous<br />
young doctor who lives next door to her.<br />
The setting is a small town in the<br />
Deep South, it is summer and the year is<br />
1916. There is no plot of any<br />
consequence, and the fulcrum on which<br />
the play pivots is Alma’s frustrating<br />
attempts to imbue John, whom she has<br />
loved since childhood, with a spiritual<br />
and moral awareness of which he is<br />
completely devoid. He, in turn, is<br />
equally frustrated in his attempts to<br />
educate her about life and sex. At one<br />
point, to rub her nose in reality, he<br />
shows her a graphic anatomy chart<br />
including reproductive organs. Alma is<br />
not convinced; what’s not shown, she<br />
points out, is the soul.<br />
Yet, through a process of theatrical<br />
osmosis, Alma morphs into John, and<br />
he into Alma. The play ends with John,<br />
having found a younger marriageable<br />
woman, discovering spiritual peace of<br />
mind; while Alma, totally against her<br />
puritanical upbringing, offers herself to<br />
him physically. Or, as she puts it: ‘the<br />
tables have turned with a vengeance.’<br />
But it’s too late for both of them.<br />
Initially, the fear Alma and John have<br />
in capitulating to each other’s desires,<br />
provides the play with its much-needed<br />
conflict. It’s a fascinating clash between<br />
the sacred and the profane, allowing<br />
Williams to dissect two sides of the<br />
human condition. And he does so with<br />
some wonderful lyrical flourishes, some<br />
heavy-handed symbolism (Alma’s name,<br />
we’re incessantly told, is Spanish for<br />
‘soul’) and even some blatant melodrama<br />
involving a murder.<br />
When Summer and Smoke premiered<br />
on Broadway in 1948 in a production<br />
Williams hated, it received mainly<br />
adverse reviews, one critic calling it ‘a<br />
pretentious and amateurish bore’. A<br />
1952 off-Broadway revival redressed the<br />
critical balance and although the play<br />
falls short of the perfection of The Glass<br />
Menagerie or A Streetcar Named Desire<br />
(both of which preceded it), it’s certainly<br />
worth reviving.<br />
Though Williams was very specific<br />
about the set he required, director<br />
Rebecca Frecknall and her designer Tom<br />
Scutt have ignored his wishes<br />
completely. Gone are any sense of<br />
period and location – especially the<br />
play’s symbolic Angel Fountain which<br />
provides the village with its pure<br />
drinking water. Visual realism is<br />
KEEPING IT TRADITIONAL AT<br />
FORTNUM & MASON<br />
Oh so tasteful in every sense,<br />
Piccadilly’s Fortnum & Mason is one of<br />
London’s oldest food emporiums. This<br />
<strong>Easter</strong>, the 300-year-old bastion of<br />
traditional good taste, will be staging a<br />
series of <strong>Easter</strong> events to complement its<br />
wonderful <strong>Easter</strong> shopping experiences.<br />
There will be two arts and craft<br />
workshops featuring <strong>Easter</strong> Bonnet<br />
making on Saturday 24 March and<br />
ceramic Egg Decorating on Sunday<br />
25 March. While for special treat,<br />
Fortnum’s <strong>Easter</strong> Afternoon Tea is served<br />
in the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon.<br />
abandoned and, in an emphatic<br />
reference to the work of directors John<br />
Doyle and Ivo von Hove, chairs take the<br />
place of props, everyone goes barefoot<br />
and the vast expanse of blue sky<br />
Williams demands in his text has been<br />
replaced by a pit-like empty space<br />
framed by nine upright pianos on which<br />
are perched working metronomes.<br />
With no distracting scenic<br />
impediments, the pain, the longing and<br />
the anguish at the heart of the play<br />
certainly resonate. At the same time,<br />
there were moments I felt I was watching<br />
a rehearsal on a bare stage<br />
If the production and some of the<br />
emendations and additions to the script<br />
could be considered controversial,<br />
Ferran’s Alma is a triumph. Though a tad<br />
idiomatic and over histrionic at times, it<br />
has the potential, as the run progresses,<br />
to develop into a truly outstanding<br />
performance. Her gradual sexual<br />
awakening (albeit too late for the<br />
happiness she yearns) to the resignation<br />
of her fate as she surrenders her<br />
virginity to a young travelling salesman,<br />
is sensitively calibrated and will break<br />
your heart.<br />
As is usual with Tennessee Williams,<br />
the male protagonist is harder to cast.<br />
Matthew Needham is personable enough<br />
as Buchanan (do the jeans he wears<br />
throughout have to be quite so<br />
unflatteringly baggy?) but for maximum<br />
effect you need the charisma of a young<br />
Marlon Brando or Paul Newman. An<br />
impossible ask.<br />
Multi-casting in the smaller roles<br />
further and deliberately alienates the play<br />
from any sense of realism. Anjana Vasan<br />
plays an indistinguishable quartet of<br />
young women, Nancy Crane is Alma’s<br />
demented mother as well as a local<br />
gossip, and Forbes Masson, doubles as<br />
both John and Alma’s father.<br />
While I still haven’t seen a truly<br />
brilliant production of this problematic<br />
play, I doubt whether I’ll see a better<br />
Alma than Patsy Ferran.<br />
CLIVE HIRSCHHORN<br />
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
FAULTY TOWERS THE DINING<br />
EXPERIENCE<br />
Faulty Towers The Dining Experience<br />
is the 5-star immersive theatre show<br />
that’s 70% improvised and wins acclaim<br />
internationally. Served a 3-course meal<br />
by Basil, Sybil and Manuel, audiences<br />
are promised plenty of laughs and<br />
interaction so it’s ideal for comedy and<br />
theatre fans, as well as anyone who<br />
simply fancies an unforgettable meal and<br />
plenty of laughs. This true blend of<br />
ingenious comedy and unique theatrical<br />
script is a multi-sensory treat where<br />
chaos and fun reign right from the start.<br />
The show is now booking six shows a<br />
week for the whole of <strong>2018</strong> at a new<br />
venue in London’s West End. In a move<br />
designed to allow greater flexibility in<br />
performance space and a more theatrical<br />
feel, the show now appears in the 4-star<br />
Radisson Blu Edwardian Bloomsbury<br />
Street Hotel. Faulty Towers The Dining<br />
Experience is a loving tribute to Fawlty<br />
Towers, the BBC TV series written by<br />
John Cleese and Connie Booth.<br />
A resident feature of London’s<br />
comedy scene since 2012, the show<br />
ranks consistently high in TripAdvisor’s<br />
top London Theatre listings and holds<br />
TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence for<br />
2015, 2016 and 2017. It had its 20th<br />
birthday last year and continues to tour<br />
the world in <strong>2018</strong>.<br />
For tickets, telephone the box office<br />
on 0845 154 4145.<br />
UNDERBELLY LINE-UP FOR 10th<br />
YEAR ON SOUTHBANK<br />
Now preparing for a 10th year on the<br />
Southbank and having smashed through<br />
the million-tickets-sold barrier last year,<br />
Underbelly Festival Southbank <strong>2018</strong> has<br />
an impressive array of talent on display<br />
by the Thames between April and<br />
September.<br />
Among the outstanding comedic<br />
talent set to descend on the South Bank<br />
are Underbelly Festival legend turned<br />
Vegas superstar Piff the Magic Dragon,<br />
one of the sharpest young observational<br />
comic talents in the business Alex<br />
Edelman, dark and twisted sketch<br />
masters Late Night Gimp Fight, kings of<br />
musical variety shenanigans The Horne<br />
Section and Prime Minister turned drag<br />
diva Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho.<br />
These brilliant performers join<br />
comedy heavyweights Nina Conti, Ruby<br />
Wax, Stephen K Amos and Gina Yashere,<br />
as part of a programme of over 130<br />
shows spanning every imaginable genre.<br />
Other shows cover the full spectrum<br />
of performing arts, with the<br />
scintillatingly sensual House of<br />
Burlesque Revue, the fiery talents of<br />
Aurora Galore and the man whose voice<br />
creates musical movements, Shlomo,<br />
while, for those not content with the role<br />
of audience-member, Underbelly Festival<br />
Southbank will also be playing host to<br />
cult alternative club nights including<br />
group singalong Massaoke, a brilliant<br />
Silent Disco in the Spiegeltent and the<br />
legendary Club Briefs – the immersive<br />
clubbing spectacular from the<br />
undisputed Kweens of boylesque.<br />
This year, London’s original, biggest<br />
and best pop-up arts festival will be<br />
marking a decade of excellence by<br />
welcoming four headlining circus shows<br />
from four different continents to coincide<br />
with the 250th anniversary of the<br />
artform, mere yards from where Philip<br />
Astley first took to the Ring in Waterloo<br />
in 1768. African acrobatic spectacular<br />
Circus Abyssinia swings in from<br />
Ethiopia, before sodden slapstick circus<br />
SOAP slides in from Germany, Latin<br />
circus-concert sizzler Circolombia<br />
brings a taste of South America, and<br />
Circa premiere their latest masterpiece<br />
from Down Under, Peepshow.<br />
29<br />
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30<br />
The London cast of Kinky Boots.<br />
KINKY BOOTS CELEBRATES ITS<br />
1000TH PERFORMANCE<br />
Kinky Boots, the winner of every<br />
major Best Musical award, has recently<br />
celebrated its1000th performance and<br />
has now received its 1,000,000th<br />
customer in the West End. The<br />
production has also announced the<br />
opening of a new booking period, with<br />
tickets now available until 30 June.<br />
Kinky Boots at the Adelphi Theatre<br />
has become a favourite with UK<br />
theatregoers having won three Olivier<br />
Awards for Best New Musical, Best<br />
Costume Design and Best Actor in a<br />
Musical for Matt Henry who previously<br />
played Lola. Kinky Boots also won the<br />
London Evening Standard BBC Radio 2<br />
Audience Award for Best Musical as well<br />
as three WhatsOnStage Awards.<br />
Inspired by true events, Kinky Boots<br />
takes the audience from a gentlemen’s<br />
shoe factory in Northampton to the<br />
glamorous catwalks of Milan. Charlie<br />
Price (David Hunter) is struggling to live<br />
up to his father’s expectations and<br />
continue the family business of Price &<br />
Son. With the factory’s future hanging in<br />
the balance, help arrives in the unlikely<br />
but spectacular form of Lola (Simon-<br />
Anthony Rhoden), a fabulous performer<br />
in need of some sturdy new stilettos.<br />
For tickets, telephone 020 7087 7754<br />
Photo by Matt Crockett<br />
WORLD PREMIERE OF TRIOPERAS:<br />
TURANDOT, BUTTERFLY & CARMEN<br />
For the first time ever, three of the<br />
world’s most famous female-led operas<br />
have been dramatically revised with their<br />
stories told through the eyes of composer<br />
and interpreter, Pamela Tan–Nicholson,<br />
for the world premiere of TriOperas, in<br />
celebration of the 100th anniversary of the<br />
UK’s women’s suffrage. This radical new<br />
show, inspired by three of the best<br />
known female characters in opera,<br />
Turandot, Madam Butterfly and Carmen,<br />
opens at the Peacock Theatre on 23<br />
May, for a limited season until 1 July.<br />
TriOperas portrays the three women as<br />
reluctant heroines generations ahead of<br />
their time. Turandot is a cross-dressing<br />
daredevil warrior-princess, Madame<br />
Butterfly is an ambitious and proud<br />
Japanese geisha, and Carmen, the freespirited<br />
Spanish gypsy party girl. This<br />
innovative production, which challenges<br />
conventional depictions of the female<br />
protagonists, features a glorious fusion of<br />
classical music, musical theatre, circus,<br />
martial arts and dance.<br />
Uniquely, TriOperas has been<br />
designed for all female cast members to<br />
rotate roles in the three operas. Nine<br />
multi-talented female performers from a<br />
variety of artistic disciplines and<br />
backgrounds feature in the production –<br />
Sianna Bruce, Keedie Green, Sara<br />
Hamilton, Lucy Kay, Martina Mennell,<br />
Sarah Naudi, Shoreina Pereira, Katie<br />
Shalka and Chiarra Vinci.<br />
TriOperas merges opera singing with<br />
punk, rap, rock and hip-hop and a<br />
display of acrobatics, kung-fu, puppetry,<br />
breakdancing, tap, ballet, salsa, Chinese<br />
lion wushu and parkour. Stories are<br />
brought to life by a stellar production<br />
team, including choreographers such as<br />
Royal Ballet Principal Steven McRae,<br />
Sadler’s Wells' Breakin’ Convention<br />
Director Jonzi D, Masters Siow and Tang<br />
from Kun Seng Keng Lion and Dragon<br />
Dance Association.<br />
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THE WOMAN IN BLACK<br />
An innocent outsider, a suspicious rural<br />
community, a gothic house and a misty marsh<br />
are the ingredients of this Victorian ghost story.<br />
FORTUNE THEATRE<br />
Russell Street, WC2 (0844 871 7626)<br />
THE FERRYMAN<br />
In Jez Butterworth’s new major drama, multi<br />
award-winning actor, director and writer Paddy<br />
Considine is joined by Rosalie Craig and Owen<br />
McDonnell. Directed by Sam Mendes.<br />
GIELGUD THEATRE<br />
Shaftesbury Avenue, W1 (0844 482 5130)<br />
QUIZ<br />
A fictional imagination based on real events<br />
which took place in 2001 following an<br />
episode of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?<br />
NOEL COWARD THEATRE<br />
St. Martin’s Lane, WC2 (0844 482 5140)<br />
HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED<br />
CHILD PARTS I & II<br />
A new stage play based on the Harry Potter<br />
franchise written by Jack Thorne, based on<br />
an original story by J.K Rowling.<br />
PALACE THEATRE<br />
Shaftesbury Avenue, W1 (0330 333 4813)<br />
The Play That Goes Wrong West End recently<br />
celebrated its third birthday at the Duchess<br />
Theatre, and is currently booking through to<br />
7 April 2019.<br />
PLAYS<br />
JULIUS CAESAR<br />
Caesar returns in triumph to Rome and the<br />
people pour out of their homes to celebrate.<br />
Alarmed by the autocrat’s popularity, the<br />
educated élite conspire to bring him down.<br />
After his assassination, civil war erupts on the<br />
streets of the capital.<br />
BRIDGE THEATRE<br />
One Tower Bridge, SE1 (0843 208 1846)<br />
THE COMEDY ABOUT A BANK ROBBERY<br />
One enormous diamond, eight incompetent<br />
crooks and a snoozing security guard. What<br />
could possibly go right?<br />
CRITERION THEATRE<br />
Piccadilly Circus, (020 7492 0810)<br />
THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG<br />
A Polytechnic amateur drama group are<br />
putting on a 1920s murder mystery and<br />
everything that can go wrong... does!<br />
DUCHESS THEATRE<br />
Catherine Street, WC2 (0330 333 4810)<br />
MARY STUART<br />
Schiller’s political tragedy is set behind the<br />
scenes of some of British history’s most<br />
crucial days. Playing both Elizabeth I and<br />
Mary Stuart, Juliet Stevenson and Lia<br />
Williams trade the play’s central roles, decided<br />
at each performance by the toss of a coin.<br />
DUKE OF YORK’S THEATRE<br />
St Martin’s Lane, WC2 (020 7492 1552)<br />
THE BIRTHDAY PARTY<br />
Ian Rickson directs a major new revival of<br />
Harold Pinter’s brilliantly mysterious darkcomic<br />
masterpiece. Stars Zoe Wanamaker,<br />
Toby Jones and Stephen Mangan.<br />
HAROLD PINTER THEATRE<br />
Panton Street, SW1 (0844 871 7627)<br />
Royal National Theatre<br />
Plays in repertory<br />
OLIVIER THEATRE<br />
AMADEUS<br />
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a rowdy young<br />
prodigy, arrives in Vienna determined to make<br />
a splash. Awestruck by his genius, court<br />
composer Antonio Salieri has the power to<br />
promote his talent or destroy it.<br />
MACBETH<br />
Shakespeare’s most intense and terrifying<br />
tragedy is directed by Rufus Norris. Rory<br />
Kinnear and Anne-Marie Duff play Macbeth<br />
and Lady Macbeth.<br />
LYTTELTON THEATRE<br />
NETWORK<br />
Lee Hall and Ivo Van Hove bring Paddy<br />
Chayefsky’s iconic film to the stage for the<br />
first time. A dystopian media landscape where<br />
opinion trumps fact. Bryan Cranston plays the<br />
role of Howard Beale.<br />
PINOCCHIO<br />
On a quest to be truly alive, Pinocchio leaves<br />
Geppetto’s workshop with Jiminy Cricket in<br />
tow. Their electrifying adventure takes them<br />
from alpine forests to bottom of the ocean.<br />
DORFMAN THEATRE<br />
THE GREAT WAVE<br />
Set in Japan and North Korea, Francis Turnly’s<br />
epic new thriller is directed by Indhu<br />
Rubasingham.<br />
NATIONAL THEATRE<br />
South Bank, SE1 (020 7452 3000)<br />
THE BEST MAN<br />
Martin Shaw leads the cast in the timely<br />
UK premiere of Gore Vidal’s award winning<br />
political thriller about ambition, political<br />
scandal, ruthlessness, and the race for the<br />
White House.<br />
PLAYHOUSE THEATRE<br />
Northumberland Ave., WC2 (0844 871 7631)<br />
FAULTY TOWERS DINING EXPERIENCE<br />
Inspired by one of Britain's greatest ever<br />
comedy series, this 2 hour interactive<br />
production is set in a restaurant where you the<br />
audience are the diners.<br />
RADISSON BLU EDWARDIAN<br />
Bloomsbury Street, (020 7764 0523)<br />
THE MOUSETRAP<br />
Agatha Christie’s whodunnit is the longest<br />
running play of its kind in the history of the<br />
British theatre.<br />
ST MARTIN’S THEATRE<br />
West Street, WC2 (0844 499 1515)<br />
FROZEN<br />
A major production of Bryony Lavery’s play<br />
about retribution, remorse and redemption,<br />
which explores the interwoven lives of three<br />
strangers as they try to make sense of the<br />
unimaginable.<br />
THEATRE ROYAL HAYMARKET<br />
Haymarket SW1 (020 7930 8800)<br />
Royal Shakespeare Company production<br />
of Matilda The Musical.<br />
Photo: Manuel Harlan.<br />
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LADY WINDERMERE’S FAN<br />
Following Dominic Dromgoole’s engaging<br />
revival of Oscar Wilde’s masterpiece, awardwinning<br />
director Kathy Burke has brought<br />
together a talented comedic cast.<br />
VAUDEVILLE THEATRE<br />
Strand, WC2 (020 7400 1257)<br />
LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT<br />
Jeremy Irons and Lesley Manville reprise their<br />
roles in Richard Eyre’s acclaimed production<br />
of Eugene O’Neill’s Pulitzer prize-winning<br />
masterpiece<br />
WYNDHAM’S THEATRE<br />
Charing Cross Road, WC2 (0844 482 5120)<br />
MUSICALS<br />
KINKY BOOTS<br />
Inspired by a true story and based on the<br />
Miramax film, the show tells the story of<br />
Charlie Price who has reluctantly inherited his<br />
father's Northampton shoe factory.<br />
ADELPHI THEATRE<br />
Strand, WC2 (020 3725 7060)<br />
WICKED<br />
Hit Broadway story of how a clever,<br />
misunderstood girl with emerald green skin<br />
and a girl who is beautiful and popular turn<br />
into the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda<br />
the Good Witch in the Land of Oz.<br />
APOLLO VICTORIA THEATRE<br />
Wilton Road, SW1 (0844 826 8000)<br />
EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE<br />
New musical starring John McCrea transfers<br />
to the West End following a sold-out run at<br />
Sheffield's Crucible Theatre.<br />
APOLLO THEATRE<br />
Shaftesbury Avenue, W1 (020 7851 2711)<br />
MA<strong>TIL</strong>DA<br />
Critically acclaimed Royal Shakespeare<br />
Company production of Roald Dahl’s book,<br />
directed by Matthew Warchus.<br />
CAMBRIDGE THEATRE<br />
Earlham Street, WC2 (0844 800 1110)<br />
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA<br />
Long running epic romance by Andrew Lloyd<br />
Webber, set behind the scenes of a Paris<br />
opera house where a deformed phantom<br />
stalks his prey.<br />
HER MAJESTY’S THEATRE<br />
Haymarket, SW1 (0844 412 2707)<br />
THE LION KING<br />
Disney‘s phenomenally successful animated<br />
film is transformed into a spectacular stage<br />
musical, a superb evening of visual delight.<br />
LYCEUM THEATRE<br />
Wellington Street, WC2 (0844 871 3000)<br />
THRILLER – LIVE<br />
High octane show celebrating the career of the<br />
King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Over two<br />
hours of the non-stop hit songs that marked<br />
his legendary live performances.<br />
LYRIC THEATRE<br />
Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2 (0330 333 4812)<br />
SCHOOL OF ROCK<br />
Andrew Lloyd Webber's new stage musical<br />
with lyrics by Glenn Slater and book by Julian<br />
Fellowes, adapted from the film.<br />
NEW LONDON THEATRE<br />
Drury Lane, WC2 (020 7492 0810)<br />
MAMMA MIA!<br />
Hit musical based on the songs of ABBA, set<br />
around the story of a mother and daughter on<br />
the eve of the daughter’s wedding.<br />
NOVELLO THEATRE<br />
Aldwych, WC2 (0844 482 5170)<br />
CHICAGO<br />
The dazzling multi-award-winning tale of<br />
nightclub singer Roxie Hart, her cell-block<br />
rival Velma Kelly and the smooth-talking<br />
lawyer Billy Flynn. Starring Cuba Gooding Jr.<br />
PHOENIX THEATRE<br />
Charing Cross Road, WC2 (0844 871 7627)<br />
ALADDIN<br />
The classic hit film has been brought to<br />
thrilling life on stage by Disney, featuring all<br />
the songs<br />
from the Academy Award winning score.<br />
PRINCE EDWARD THEATRE<br />
Old Compton Street, W1 (0844 482 5151)<br />
BOOK OF MORMON<br />
Broadway musical takes shots at everything<br />
from organised religion to consumerism, state<br />
of the economy and the musical theatre genre.<br />
PRINCE OF WALES THEATRE<br />
Coventry Street, W1 (0844 482 5115)<br />
LES MISERABLES<br />
A spectacularly staged version of Victor Hugo’s<br />
epic novel about an escaped convict’s<br />
search for redemption in Revolutionary France.<br />
QUEEN’S THEATRE<br />
Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2 (0844 482 5160)<br />
DREAMGIRLS<br />
Set in the USA during the late 1960s and<br />
early 1970s, it follows a young female singing<br />
trio as they become music superstars.<br />
SAVOY THEATRE<br />
Strand, WC2 (020 7492 0810)<br />
MOTOWN THE MUSICAL<br />
Featuring all the much loved classics from<br />
Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, and the Jackson 5,<br />
the show tells the story behind the hits.<br />
SHAFTESBURY THEATRE<br />
Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2 (020 7492 0810)<br />
42ND STREET<br />
The song and dance, American dream fable,<br />
where af small town girl, Peggy Sawyer’s rise<br />
from chorus line to Broadway star.<br />
THEATRE ROYAL<br />
Drury Lane, WC2 (020 7492 0810)<br />
THE GRINNING MAN<br />
A new musical adaptation of Victor Hugo's<br />
1869 novel The Laughing Man, about a<br />
travelling sideshow freak whose face has been<br />
carved with a permanent smile.<br />
TRAFALGAR STUDIO<br />
Whitehall, SW1 (0844 871 7632)<br />
HAMILTON<br />
Lin-Manuel Miranda's multi award-winning<br />
musical, based on Ron Chernow's biography<br />
of one of the American Founding Fathers,<br />
Alexander Hamilton.<br />
VICTORIA PALACE THEATRE<br />
Victoria Street, SW1 (0844 248 5000)<br />
The Lioin King. Photo: Disney.<br />
33<br />
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34<br />
AN EGG-CITING EASTER AT<br />
THE ARCH LONDON<br />
Treat yourself or your little chicks to a<br />
fun getaway at one of London’s best<br />
boutique hotels, The Arch London, this<br />
<strong>Easter</strong>. The luxurious Georgian<br />
townhouse is tucked away on a calm<br />
residential street in Marylebone making<br />
it the perfect place for a lavish break in<br />
the heart of London.<br />
The Arch London will be serving an<br />
egg-tra special <strong>Easter</strong> Afternoon Tea<br />
featuring classic scones and sandwiches<br />
as well as sweet treats including: triple<br />
chocolate and maraschino cherry tart,<br />
white chocolate and lemon curd Swiss<br />
roll, chocolate and blood orange tea<br />
cake, and milk chocolate and tonka bean<br />
mousse with peanut brittle.<br />
The egg-stravagent <strong>Easter</strong> menu will<br />
be served in its stylish restaurant Hunter<br />
486. The menu will feature a variety of<br />
delightful dishes including rare grilled<br />
salmon salad with Jersey Royals,<br />
asparagus, quail eggs and fennel<br />
mayonnaise; roast leg of English lamb,<br />
char grilled purple broccoli, gratin<br />
potatoes and rosemary jus; asparagus<br />
and ricotta ravioli with warm tomato and<br />
herb dressing; Yorkshire rhubarb cheese<br />
cake with rhubarb sorbet; and raspberry<br />
and pistachio trifle. Priced at £35 per<br />
person, the three-course menu will be<br />
available from 30 March until 2 April for<br />
lunch and dinner.<br />
Taking advantage of its unrivalled<br />
location and child-friendly amenities,<br />
The Arch London offers the ultimate<br />
family package starting at £390 per<br />
night. During their stay young children<br />
will dine complementary with their<br />
parents at Hunter 486. Each morning the<br />
whole family can also enjoy a<br />
complimentary English breakfast.<br />
JOANNA BELL STEPS ABOARD<br />
BATEAUX LONDON<br />
One of Britain’s most experienced<br />
chefs is to take the helm at Bateaux<br />
London. In a career spanning more than<br />
25 years, Joanna Bell has catered for<br />
HM The Queen and the Royal Family,<br />
created dishes for several star-studded<br />
The BRITs ceremonies and led the<br />
catering teams at a string of prestigious<br />
events. Now, Joanna, who opened her<br />
first restaurant at just 19, is embarking<br />
on a new challenge – as head chef at<br />
the Thames’ leading restaurant cruise<br />
company.<br />
Bateaux London, at Victoria<br />
Embankment and its sister business,<br />
Bateaux Windsor, operate a range of<br />
scheduled lunch and dining cruises on<br />
their vessels, Harmony and Symphony at<br />
London and Melody, at Windsor.<br />
The vessels can also be privately<br />
hired for events such as networking<br />
receptions, gala dinners and award<br />
ceremonies and each has a private<br />
dining room for smaller scale events and<br />
business lunches.<br />
In her new role, Joanna will be<br />
charged with devising and creating new<br />
menus, working with the on-board team<br />
of chefs, the front of house staff and the<br />
captain and crew and taking the lead on<br />
wide variety of compliance,<br />
administrative and culinary duties.<br />
The position is the latest in an<br />
impressive roll call of high profile<br />
appointments for the South African-born<br />
chef whose career began with the launch<br />
of her own restaurant, Bellami’s, in<br />
South Africa in 1991.<br />
She has created the menus and<br />
overseen the catering at events such as<br />
Royal Ascot, RHS Chelsea and Hampton<br />
Court Flower Shows and even for the<br />
entire French village at the London<br />
Olympics 2012.<br />
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