Royal Wed TIL

The Wedding of HRH Prince Henry of Wales 

and Ms Meghan Markle 

St George's Chapel, Windsor, 19 May 2018

Welcome to London 

3 

CONTENTS 

Events 4 

The Wedding of Prince Harry and 

Ms Meghan Markle 

RHS Chelsea Flower Show 

Royal Day Out at ZSL London Zoo 

Music 8 

Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov 

Classical Opera Southbank Début 

Innovation Month at Yamaha 

Exhibitions 16 

Immersive Trip to The Regent’s Park 

25O Years of the Summer Exhibition 

Theatre 20 

Peter Pan Opens at Regent’s Park 

The Moderate Soprano 

Kinky Boots Extends Booking Period 

Proprietor Julie Jones 

Publishing Consultant Terry Mansfield CBE 

Associate Publisher Beth Jones 

Editorial Clive Hirschhorn Sue Webster 

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to West, every part of London has something 

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spirit of community you always find here. Through the good times and the bad, the 

people of London always come together. We will see that again this month as 

people join together to celebrate a very special occasion – the marriage of Prince 

Harry to Meghan Markle. 

London can always be relied upon to put on a great show, but nothing 

compares to a Royal Wedding. Visitors are flying in from all around the world to 

take part. Hundreds and thousands of well-wishers will line the route of the carriage 

in Windsor. Throughout the city, Londoners will be holding street parties to 

celebrate the occasion in style. This is a special time to visit. You are going to see 

this incredible city at its very best. 

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PA Images 

THE WEDDING OF PRINCE HARRY 

AND MEGHAN MARKLE 

The Wedding of HRH Prince Henry of 

Wales and Ms Meghan Markle will take 

place at St George's Chapel, Windsor on 

Saturday 19 May. The service will begin 

at St George's Chapel at midday and will 

be conducted by the Dean of Windsor, 

The Rt Revd. David Conner. The Most 

Revd. and Rt Hon. Justin Welby, 

Archbishop of Canterbury, will officiate 

as the couple make their marriage vows. 

At 13.00, following the service, the 

couple will travel around Windsor in a 

horse-drawn carriage, providing an 

opportunity for members of the public to 

see them and join in with the celebrations. 

The Carriage Procession will leave from 

St George's Chapel, Windsor via Castle 

Hill and process through Windsor Town 

along the High Street, Sheet Street, 

Kings Road and Albert Road, returning 

to Windsor Castle along the Long Walk. 

Regiments and units that hold a special 

relationship with Prince Harry will provide 

ceremonial support. Members of the 

Household Cavalry will form a staircase 

party at St George’s Chapel and a 

Captain’s Escort of the Household Cavalry 

Mounted Regiment will lead the 

procession. Prince Harry joined The Blues 

and Royals in April 2006 and served with 

the Household Cavalry Regiment, 

undertaking two tours of Afghanistan, 

rising to the rank of Captain. 

Prince Harry’s brother The Duke of 

Cambridge will be Best Man, supporting 

his brother at St George's Chapel. 

Prince Harry served as Best Man to 

The Duke of Cambridge at his wedding 

to Miss Catherine Middleton in 2011. 

Both Prince Harry and Ms. Markle 

have taken a great deal of interest and 

care in choosing the music for their 

Service, which will include a number of 

well-known hymns and choral works. 

Founded in 1348, the Choir of 

St George’s Chapel comprises up to 

23 boy choristers from St George’s 

School and twelve Lay Clerks. 

19-year-old cellist, Sheku Kanneh- 

Mason won BBC Young Musician 2016 

and made his BBC Proms debut the 

following year. Last June, Prince Harry 

saw Sheku play at an event in support of 

the work of Antiguan charity the Halo 

Foundation. Also part of the ceremony, 

founded and directed by conductor Karen 

Gibson, The Kingdom Choir is a Christian 

gospel group based in the South-East of 

England. The Orchestra, conducted by 

Christopher Warren-Green, will be 

musicians from the BBC National 

Orchestra of Wales, the English Chamber 

Orchestra and the Philharmonia. 

An American pastry chef who is 

based in London will create the wedding 

cake. Claire Ptak opened the Violet 

Bakery in 2010, with a focus on high 

quality, seasonal and organic ingredients. 

Floral designer Philippa Craddock 

has been chosen to arrange the church 

flowers for the wedding. The floral 

displays will be created using locally 

sourced seasonal foliage taken from the 

gardens and parkland of The Crown 

Estate and Windsor Great Park. 

Enjoy London at its splendid best! 

St George’s Chapel, Windsor. 


6 

Her Majesty The Queen views a floral 

tribute for Her 90th Birthday, designed 

by florist Veevers Carter. 

Photo: Luke MacGregor. 

RHS CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW 

CELEBRATES THE ROYAL WEDDING 

There will be plenty at RHS Chelsea 

Flower Show to celebrate Prince Harry 

and Meghan Markle’s big day, from 

specially named plants to gorgeous 

displays fit for royalty. 

London-based florist and 

horticulturalist Kitten Grayson will be 

creating a glorious bower of trees to 

welcome visitors through the London 

Gate entrance. In celebration of the 

Royal Wedding, the exhibit will feature a 

splendid English oak and a beautiful 

Californian cedar beset with woodland 

flowers. Growing up each side of the 

gate, the two trees will meet in the 

middle to create a canopy that 

represents the magnificent baobab tree, 

the tree of life native to Botswana. 

Peeping through the foliage, visitors 

may spot a Botswanan springbok – a 

playful reminder of the country held dear 

to Harry and Meghan as well as nature’s 

ability to delight and intrigue. 

‘A Royal Celebration by Hillier’ will 

welcome visitors to the Great Pavilion at 

this year’s show. Visitors will discover a 

variety of regally-themed plants which 

have been specially chosen by Hillier 

and Sarah Eberle that take on a bridal 

theme with lots of white florals selected. 

Colour is added to the scheme with 

flowers selected for their regal names; 

some of the stars include Lavendula 

Regal Splendour, Cotinus Royal Purple, 

Agapanthus Bridal Bouquet, Lavendula 

Tiara, as well as Hydrangea Kanmara 

Champagne. 

Having announced that white garden 

roses, peonies and foxgloves are Prince 

Harry and Meghan Markle’s choice of 

flowers for their wedding day, you can 

be sure that the Great Pavilion exhibitors 

will have a floral display fit for a prince. 

Thorncroft Clematis will present a 

display with ‘A Royal Celebration’ theme, 

introducing Clematis Prince William, 

with purply-red flower buds open to 

handsome semi-nodding tulip-shaped 

flowers, with mauve margins and deep 

lavender interiors. It makes the perfect 

companion to their Clematis Princess 

Kate (‘Zoprika’) for a double celebration. 

HARRY AND MEGHANS HAVE A 

ROYAL DAY OUT AT ZSL LONDON ZOO 

As royal fans worldwide prepare to 

celebrate the wedding of Prince Harry 

and Meghan Markle, ZSL London Zoo is 

offering a free day out at the Zoo to mark 

the special occasion, to any lucky 

couple who both share their names. 

On Saturday 19 May, while Prince 

Harry and Miss Markle say I do, any 

visitors lucky enough to share their 

names with the royal pair can enjoy a 

free day out at ZSL London Zoo. 

While exploring the world-famous 

Zoo, Harrys and Meghans can pop in 

and visit the real Meghan’s namesake – 

an okapi born earlier this year, who was 

named in celebration of the couple’s 

engagement. They can also visit Harry 

the Humboldt penguin, who lives on 

Penguin Beach. 

Meghan and mum Oni enjoy sunshine 

at ZSL London Zoo. 

As Meghan walks down the aisle to 

become part of the Royal Family, lucky 

couples who share their name can enjoy 

their own Royal day out, exploring the 

Zoo’s Land of the Lions, opened by Her 

Majesty The Queen in 2016 and Tiger 

Territory, opened by HRH The Duke of 

Edinburgh in 2013. 

From baby two-toed sloths to 

Humboldt penguins, visitors can get up 

close and personal to more than 19,000 

animals at the central London Zoo, 

making it a great day out for all ages. 


ROYAL WEDDING ROCK ‘N’ ROLL TEA 

SERVICE AND ROYAL COCKTAILS 

Hard Rock Cafe London is set to 

celebrate Prince Harry and Meghan 

Markle’s Royal Wedding in style with a 

very special Royal Wedding Rock ‘n’ Roll 

Tea Service combined with four limited 

edition rockin’ Royal Tea Cocktails. The 

exclusive offer will run from 14 – 20 May 

at Hard Rock Cafe London, a stone’s throw 

from the Royal couple’s future residence – 

Kensington Palace. 

Diners will be dining like Royalty as 

they tuck into their 3-tier tea service. This 

includes Hard Rock signature sliders, 

classic scones with Cornish clotted cream 

and strawberry jam plus a selection of 

delectable mini cakes, one of which is 

inspired by the flavours of the Royal 

wedding cake! Four special Royal Tea 

cocktails will also be available, an 

Espresso Martini and Strawberry Rosé 

Punch featuring a special printed image 

celebrating the Royal Wedding, and a 

Queen’s Park Swizzle and G & Tea. 

With more than 40 years as London’s 

Ambassadors of Rock, Hard Rock Cafe 

London offers food, entertainment, and 

culture under one roof. Explore London’s 

only rock n’ roll museum, The Vault, a 

treasure trove featuring the most valuable 

pieces of music memorabilia from across 

the globe. Tucked away in an old Coutts 

Bank, The Vault was once used to protect 

the Queen’s coffers. A visit to Hard Rock 

Cafe London is an inspired cultural and 

culinary experience. 

(B)OLD: NEW FESTIVAL OF AGE AND 

CREATIVITY AT SOUTHBANK CENTRE 

Dame Cleo Laine will be joining the 

line-up for a new festival Soutbank Centre 

celebrating age and creativity, (B)old. One 

of the world’s most original and loved jazz 

singers steps out on stage for An Evening 

With Dame Cleo Laine, an intimate 

evening looking at her extraordinary 

career, with vibrant conversation, music 

and song with her band and a special 

guest appearance from Jacqui Dankworth, 

on Friday 18 May at Southbank Centre’s 

Royal Festival Hall. 

Dame Cleo Laine has a longstanding 

history with Southbank Centre, having 

first performed in the Royal Festival Hall 

in 1953 with the National Jazz Federation 

and her late husband Johnny Dankworth‘s 

Orchestra. The golden couple of British 

music continued to perform at all of 

Southbank Centre’s music venues 

throughout their dazzling careers 

including their first performance at Queen 

Elizabeth Hall on 4 March 1967, just three 

days after the venue was officially opened. 

Renowned as a jazz singer, and famous 

for her fascinating voice with its 

extraordinary subtlety of colour and range, 

Dame Cleo has also performed opera, 

lieder, and popular musicals alongside 

many straight acting roles. 

(B)old, features a week of exciting 

programming from Monday 14 – Sunday 

20 May, championing new and 

established artists aged 65 years and over, 

taking place across Southbank Centre’s 

17 acre site including the newly reopened 

Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room. 

(B)old explores and challenges cultural 

perspectives of age and the role it plays in 

arts and society, as well as the impact of 

creating and experiencing art at a later 

age. The new festival offers something for 

all ages and showcases work from artists 

across dance, music, theatre, visual art 

and literature. The programme features 

free events and activities, and an array of 

engaging workshops, talks and debates 

bringing the idea of ‘age’ into discussion. 

For more information and tickets, 

telephone 020 3879 9555. 

Dame Cleo Laine. 

Photo: Sven Arnstein. 

OPERA NORTH'S KISS ME, KATE AT 

THE LONDON COLISEUM 

An outstanding cast has been 

assembed for the return of Opera North’s 

award-winning production of Cole Porter’s 

classic musical comedy, Kiss Me, Kate, 

which arrives at the London Coliseum for 

a two-week run from 20 June. Cole 

Porter’s riotously inventive homage to the 

sparkling wit of Shakespeare, Kiss Me, 

Kate is an irresistible celebration of the joy 

and madness of working in theatre. 

On the opening night of a musical 

version of The Taming of the Shrew in 

1940s Baltimore, the tempestuous love 

lives of actor-manager Fred Graham and 

his leading lady (and ex-wife) Lilli Vanessi 

are set to collide. Throw in Fred’s current 

paramour Lois Lane and her gambler 

boyfriend Bill – plus a couple of guntoting 

gangsters who somehow get caught 

up in the show – and the stage is set for a 

funny and farcical battle of the sexes! 

Opera North: Kiss Me Kate. 

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OPERA STARS ANNA NETREBKO 

AND YUSIF EYVAZOV IN CONCERT 

For one night only on 23 May, two of 

the world’s greatest opera stars Anna 

Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov will perform 

some of the most beloved arias and 

songs in concert with the Royal 

Philharmonic Concert Orchestra at the 

Royal Albert Hall (19.30). The concert 

will be conducted by Maestro Jader 

Bignamini. 

Anna Netrebko has redefined the 

meaning of being an opera star. Today’s 

reigning prima donna, her distinctively 

beautiful voice, abundant charisma and 

arresting stage presence makes an 

indelible impression in every role she 

portrays. 

Talking about the forthcoming concert 

at the Royal Albert Hall, Netrebko says: 

‘We designed the programme to be full 

of our most favourite arias and pieces 

that have special meaning for us. I’ll be 

singing Marfa's aria from Rimsky- 

Korsakov's The Tsar's Bride, a beautiful 

solo. Also, the programme includes 

duets from Andrea Chénier, Otello and 

Tosca, Verdi, Puccini and many others 

we love.’ 

Together with her husband Yusif 

Eyvazov, they make a breathtaking 

partnership on stage. He describes the 

programme for the Royal Albert Hall not 

only to be unique and interesting for 

experienced classical opera amateurs, 

but also for people who have been to 

classical concerts before but limited 

experience in listening to opera: ‘It’s 

going to be a full value mix of arias, 

crossovers and classical songs.’ 

While working on the programme, 

both aimed to focus on arias which are 

well-known and at the same time have a 

very high level of complexity and require 

top level of proficiency and effort. Hailed 

as one of the most thrilling tenors 

singing today, critics have praised Yusif 

Eyvazov as an ‘exciting opera singer 

whose pure human voice is trained to 

do exceptional things’. 

Being asked about a difference 

between the audience in the UK and 

elsewhere, the couple explain that the 

audience is the same anywhere: ‘If your 

singing touched their soul and mind, 

people react gratefully and applaud. 

We’ve been performing in many counties 

around the world, every time our 

performances were appreciated with 

long applause. After the opening night 

of Macbeth in March we were amazed 

by the public clapping in a 

synchronised manner which happens 

very rarely. The Royal Opera House 

representatives said they had never seen 

this happen before.’ 

The Royal Albert Hall is a short walk 

from South Kensington station. For 

tickets, telephone the Box Office on 

020 7589 8212. 

Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov. 

CIRCOLOMBIA BRINGS EXPLOSIVE 

LATIN CIRCUS TO UNDERBELLY 

Rounding off a hugely successful 

global tour, critically acclaimed 

Circolombia comes to London from 

24 May to headline the Underbelly 

Southbank Festival. 

Audiences will witness the explosive 

power of fourteen performers, deliver 

some of the most technically challenging 

circus skills including; the Russian Bar, 

‘teeth hang’ the jaw dropping aerial act 

and unconceivable frontal perch as 

mindboggling risk is taken live on stage. 

Coupled with original music and 

electrifying singers, Circolombia 

delivers world-class, gravity defying 

performances that will have audiences 

shaking their heads in disbelief and 

dancing in the aisles to the beat-heavy 

soundscape. The electrifying troupe 

bring their unique and visceral 

performance style inspired by 

Colombia’s diverse communities to 

every spectacular performance. 

Tickets at www.underbellyfestival.com 


10 

Peter Pan, Regent's Park Open Air 

Theatre (2015). Photo: Tristram Kenton. 

PETER PAN OPENS AT REGENT’S 

PARK OPEN AIR THEATRE 

A revival of their 2015 Olivier Awardnominated 

production, Peter Pan, 

launches the 2018 season on on 17 May 

at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in the 

final year of the First World War 

Centenary Commemorations. 

For the wounded soldiers of WW1, 

imagination is their only escape. Yet as 

they’re transported to the fantastical 

lagoons and pirate ships of Never Land, 

allegories of the war they’ve left behind 

are ever present. George Llewelyn 

Davies, later killed in action in 1915, 

was one of the children who inspired 

J. M. Barrie to create the iconic 

character of Peter Pan. Remembering 

him, and a generation of Lost Boys, the 

production enchanted young and old 

alike during its original, critically 

acclaimed run. 

Directed by Open Air Theatre Artistic 

Director Timothy Sheader (Jesus Christ 

Superstar, To Kill a Mockingbird, 

Running Wild) and Liam Steel (Lord of 

the Flies, Into The Woods), with set 

design is by Jon Bausor who recently 

won the UK Theatre Award for The 

Grinning Man (Bristol Old Vic). 

Other productions in the 2018 season 

at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre 

include Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of 

the Screw (22–30 June), in a coproduction 

with English National Opera; 

Shakespeare’s As You Like It (6 July – 

28 July); Dinosaur World Live for ages 

3+ (15 Aug – 9 Sept) and Little Shop of 

Horrors (3 Aug – 15 Sept), based on the 

film by Roger Corman with screenplay 

by Charles Griffith. 

MOREoutdoor events at Regent’s Park 

include The Guilty Feminist (15 July); Joe 

Lycett (22 July); Jimmy Carr (12 Aug); 

Simon Amstell (19 Aug) and The Luna 

Cinema present outdoor screenings of 

Spice World (26 Aug), The Greatest 

Showman (2 Sept) and Alien (9 Sept). 

Box Office tel: 0844 826 4242. 

CHESS RETURNS TO LONDON 

The first West End production of 

Chess since 1986, starring Michael Ball 

as Anatoly, Alexandra Burke as Svetlana, 

Cedric Neal as The Arbiter, Tim Howar 

as Freddie, Cassidy Janson as Florence 

and Phillip Browne as Molokov, is 

playing at the London Coliseum for a 

5 week season. 

This is the fourth production in 

collaboration with English National 

Opera by Michael Linnit and Michael 

Grade, who brought Sunset Boulevard, 

Carousel and Sweeney Todd to the 

London Coliseum, the home of ENO. 

Michael Linnit and Michael Grade also 

produced 42nd Street, currently playing 

at Theatre Royal Drury Lane. 

CHESS was written in 1984 by ABBA 

songwriters Benny Andersson and Björn 

Ulvaeus, and Tim Rice (Jesus Christ 

Superstar, The Lion King, Evita), and the 

original London production starred 

Elaine Paige, Murray Head and Tommy 

Korberg. That production, which ran for 

three years at the Prince Edward Theatre, 

followed a highly successful recording 

featuring the same stars, and included 

the international hit singles I Know Him 

So Well and One Night In Bangkok. 

Other well-known songs from the score 

include Anthem, Someone Else’s Story, 

Heaven Help my Heart and Pity The Child. 

CHESS tells a story of love and 

political intrigue, set against the 

background of the Cold War in the late 

1970s/early 1980s, in which 

superpowers attempt to manipulate an 

international chess championship for 

political ends. Two of the world’s 

greatest chess masters, one American, 

one Russian, are in danger of becoming 

the pawns of their governments as their 

battle for the world title gets under way. 

Simultaneously their lives are thrown 

into further confusion by a Hungarian 

refugee, a remarkable woman who 

becomes the centre of their emotional 

triangle. This mirrors the heightened 

passions of the political struggles that 

threaten to destroy lives and loves. 

The return of the sensational score 

to the London stage is an important 

musical theatre landmark. 

Tim Howar in Chess. Photo: BrinkhoffMogenburg. 


FORMER EASTENDERS STARS MAKES 

WEST END DEBUT IN WICKED 

Former EastEnders star David Witts is 

returning from three years in LA to make 

his West End debut as ‘Fiyero’ in 

WICKED, the hit musical that tells the 

incredible untold story of the Witches of 

Oz, from Monday 23 July. 

David Witts starred as ‘Joey Branning’ 

in the BBC serial drama EastEnders, for 

which he won ‘Best Newcomer’ at the 

2013 National Television Awards. For 

American television, he has most recently 

been a series regular in Recovery Road 

(for ABC/Freeform) and I Ship It (for the 

CW Network). 

Michael McCabe, Executive Producer 

(UK) of WICKED said: ‘We are delighted 

that David Witts is returning to the UK to 

star as Fiyero in Wicked. David has 

proved himself to be an accomplished 

and popular actor on both stage and 

screen since his award-winning debut as 

‘Joey Branning’ in EastEnders back in 

2012, and he has all the qualities to be 

a fantastic Fiyero’. 

Based on the acclaimed, best-selling 

novel by Gregory Maguire that 

ingeniously re-imagines the stories and 

characters created by L Frank Baum in 

‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’, WICKED 

tells the story of an unlikely but 

profound friendship between two sorcery 

students. Their extraordinary adventures 

in Oz will ultimately see them fulfil their 

destinies as Glinda The Good and the 

Wicked Witch of the West. 

Box office telephone 0844 871 3001. 

NORTHERN LIGHTS SYMPHONY 

ORCHESTRA AND ADAM JOHNSON 

Multi prize-winning pianist Adam 

Johnson was a Scholar and Junior Fellow 

at The Royal Northern College of Music 

UK, performing under the baton of Kent 

Nagano, Martyn Brabbins and George 

Hurst, making his Concerto debut aged 15 

playing Mozart Piano Concerto No. 15 in 

Pavlovsk Palace, St. Petersburg, 

conducting from the piano. He furthered 

his piano studies with Professor Peter 

Feuchtwanger who has described him as 

in possession of ‘an excellent technique 

and full of fantasy’. 

Unique among the outstanding artists of 

his generation, Johnson is as equally at 

home conducting opera as he is fulfilling 

the role of soloist in concerto repertoire, 

playing chamber music, or directing his 

own large-scale compositions. 

In 2008, he completed a Master’s 

Degree in Conducting at The RNCM under 

the direction of Sir Mark Elder C.B.E, and 

was awarded the Ricordi Operatic 

Conducting Prize 2007. 

Adam is currently the Artistic Director 

and Principal Conductor of The Ńorthern 

Lights Symphony Ørchestra. They will 

perform Beethoven’s ‘Emperor’ Piano 

Concerto No.5 and Symphony No.7 at 

St Martin in the Fields on Tuesday 22 May. 

Box Office telephone 020 7766 1100. 

SJSS YOUNG ARTIST MATHILDE 

MILWIDSKY WORLD PREMIERE 

On 31 May at St John’s Smith 

Square, award-winning 23 year old 

British violinist, Mathilde Milwidsky, will 

perform an evening recital with 

acclaimed pianist Huw Watkins as part 

of her place on the St John’s Smith 

Square Young Artist Scheme, including 

the world premiere of a specially 

commissioned piece by Sally Beamish. 

The programme highlights another 

female composer – Clara Schumann – 

whose under-performed and searingly 

beautiful Three Romances Op. 22 will 

follow on from Sally’s piece. 

Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 8, Elgar’s 

majestic Violin Sonata and Ravel’s 

Tzigane will finish the programme. 

INNOVATION MONTH AT YAMAHA 

MUSIC LONDON 

Innovation has always been at the 

heart of music – and not just in the 

creation of new melodies, arrangements 

and solos. Even the most traditional of 

today's musical instruments were a 

revelation when first created, allowing 

for brand new timbres and new forms of 

musicianship. 

Yamaha continues to push those 

boundaries, from new technologies 

which transform traditional instruments, 

to ground-breaking synthesis engines 

and effects which allow us to create 

previously unimaginable sounds. 

Visitors to Yamaha Music London, 

the world-famous music shop at 

152-160 Wardour Street during May, 

will be able to have a closer look at 

some of Yamaha’s most exciting 

innovations. From traditional pianos 

which, at the press of a button, can 

sound like a full symphonic orchestra, 

to electric violins, whose tone, in 

conjunction with effects systems, can 

be entirely transformed. 

The Future of the Electric Guitar, on 

12 & 19 May, uses the remarkable 

Yamaha TransAcoustic technology, 

where the body of the guitar resonates 

not only with the acoustic vibration of 

the air and strings, but also with the 

sound of detailed reverb or chorus. The 

effect is jaw-dropping. 

www.yamahamusiclondon.com 

Trans-Acoustic guitar. 

11 


12 

Regula Mühlemann. Photo: Shirley Suarez Padilla. 

IAN PAGE AND CLASSICAL OPERA 

MAKE SOUTHBANK CENTRE DEBUT 

Ian Page and Classical Opera continue 

their ground-breaking MOZART 250 series 

with performances of Mozart’s La finta 

semplice, written 250 years ago when the 

composer was aged twelve. A concert 

performance at Birmingham Town Hall will 

be followed by two performances, on 6 & 8 

June, of a ‘concert staging’ at the newly 

refurbished Queen Elizabeth Hall 

(Southbank Centre). 

Page conducts and directs an 

international cast headed by Swiss soprano 

Regula Mühlemann, making her UK début 

in the title role of Rosina alongside Chiara 

Skerath, Sophie Rennert, Alessandro 

Fisher, Thomas Elwin, Lukas Jakobski and 

Božidar Smiljani. Swiss-Belgian soprano 

Chiara Skerath made a triumphant UK 

début with Ian Page and The Mozartists at 

Wigmore Hall in January, and both she and 

Austrian mezzo-soprano Sophie Rennert 

Ian Page. 

Photo: Benjamin Ealovega. 

are making their UK opera débuts. Tenors 

Alessandro Fisher and Thomas Elwin both 

became Classical Opera Associate Artists 

in 2017. Elwin performed with the 

ensemble at Cadogan Hall in March 2018 

in a performance of Haydn’s Applausus and 

Fisher sings the role of Bastien in the 

company’s forthcoming recording of 

Bastien und Bastienne. 

Leopold Mozart, 30 January 1768: 

‘I have decided all at once to chance 

something quite extraordinary; namely, he 

shall write an opera for the theatre – and 

what do you think, what kind of uproar has 

arisen privately among the composers? – 

what? – today one should see a Gluck and 

tomorrow a twelve-year-old boy sitting at 

the keyboard and conducting his opera?’ 

Written when Mozart was just twelve, 

La finta semplice is based on a comedy by 

Carlo Goldoni and is the composer’s first 

full-length opera. The opera was written in 

Vienna following a comment by the 

Emperor – Joseph II – who suggested that 

Mozart should compose an Italian comic 

opera for the city. Vienna’s musicians 

(including Antonio Salieri) were far from 

happy at the prospect of being upstaged by 

a twelve-year-old composer, though, and 

the opera’s première was constantly pushed 

back. After it proved impossible to get the 

opera performed in Vienna, the Mozarts 

travelled back to Salzburg, where the opera 

is thought to have been performed the 

following year. 

Classical Opera have built up an 

enviable reputation for their concert 

performances in recent years. 

PRINCE HARRY CAPTAIN GENERAL 

OF HER MAJESTY’S ROYAL MARINES 

In December 2017, Prince Harry was 

appointed Captain General Royal 

Marines, succeeding the role from The 

Duke of Edinburgh. The Duke's 

association with the Royal Marines dates 

back 64 years to 2nd June 1953, when 

he was appointed Captain General in 

succession to the late King George VI. 

The Massed Bands of the Royal 

Marines will perform their worldrenowned 

Beating Retreat on London's 

Horse Guards Parade on 30 and 31 May. 

This magnificent pageant of military 

music, precision drill and colour dates 

back to the 16th century and is regarded 

as a piece of living history. During the 

event, as well as the ceremony of 

Beating Retreat, visitors will witness the 

traditional Naval Ceremonial Sunset on 

the hallowed ground of Horse Guards 

Parade. All proceeds from this popular 

event will go to The Royal Navy and 

Royal Marines Charity. 

10th SIR EDMUND HILLARY 

MEMORIAL LECTURE AT RGS 

Sir Ranulph Fiennes is an inspiring 

speaker who delivers engaging and 

thought-provoking speeches on all 

aspects of his many expeditions. He 

leaves his audience energised and 

spellbound. 

There will be a very special 

opportunity to hear ‘the world’s greatest 

living explorer’ share his experiences 

and adventures about life on the edge as 

he presents the 10th Sir Edmund Hillary 

Memorial Lecture at the Royal 

Geographical Society on 23 May. 

The Himalayan Trust UK will also use 

the opportunity to give the audience an 

insight into its valuable education and 

health work in Nepal and its ‘Build Back 

Better’ campaign following the 

devastating earthquake of 2015. 

Sir Ranulph Fiennes is attempting to 

become the first person to cross both 

polar ice caps and climb the highest 

mountains on each continent in aid of 

Marie Curie. This ‘Global Reach 

Challenge’ brings together Sir Ranulph’s 

lifetime of exploration. 


14 

Franc Ashman and Hattie Ladbury 

in Nine Night. Photo: Helen Murray. 

TKTS – OFFICIAL LONDON THEATRE TICKET BOOTH IN LEICESTER SQUARE 

If you are visting London and looking for things to do this May, make your first 

stop the TKTS booth, based at the Clocktower in Leicester Square. The Official 

London Theatre Ticket Booth is famous for its excellent on the day deals and wide 

range of London shows available to buy in person. Whether you’re looking for a 

musical, play, opera or ballet, the friendly team, made up of genuine theatre fans, 

can offer advice on buying tickets 7 days a week! Best of all, because the booth is 

run by the Society of London Theatre any profits made are reinvested straight back 

into supporting the theatre industry. 

NINE NIGHT Dorfman 

Traditionally, the nine night is an 

elaborate and poignant gathering to offer 

emotional support to the bereaved and say 

farewell to the deceased, but in Natasha 

Gordon’s lively, funny and ultimately 

touching debut play it is, instead, all set to 

cause recent grandmother Lorraine a 

whole load of stress as the family descend 

to commemorate the death of her own 

mother, Gloria. 

When the play begins, Gloria – one of 

the Windrush generation – is just about 

hanging on, unseen upstairs in her 

London house. Lorraine (Franc Ashman) 

has given up her job to care for her in 

her final days, but her businessman 

brother Robert (Oliver Alvin-Wilson) and 

interfering Aunt Maggie (an absolute 

hoot in Cecilia Noble’s scene-stealing 

performance, dismissing any possibility 

of cremation with an emphatic ‘we don’t 

cook our people’ and regularly calling 

on Jesus) both want their say when it 

comes to saying a final goodbye. 

Gordon leaves several plot strands 

unexplored, but family disagreements, 

Caribbean customs and rituals and 

changes over the generations are all 

exposed here, including the grieving 

reluctance of British born Lorraine to let 

the spirit of their mother pass, and the 

emotional outburst of Michelle 

Greenidge’s Trudy, the eldest daughter 

left behind in Jamaica. 

Gloria may be dead and gone, but her 

descendants live on and Roy Alexander 

Weise’s entertaining, emotional, 

powerfully acted and timely production, 

currently only scheduled for a short run, 

definitely deserves an afterlife. 

Louise Kingsley 

WORLD PREMIERE OF NIGHTFALL 

AT THE BRIDGE THEATRE 

Barney Norris’ Nightfall, directed by 

Laurie Sansom and starring Ophelia 

Lovibond (Lou), Ukweli Roach (Pete), 

Claire Skinner (Jenny) and Sion Daniel 

Young (Ryan) continues at the Bridge 

Theatre booking until 26 May. For this 

world premiere, Nightfall has designs by 

Rae Smith, lighting by Chris Davey and 

sound by Christopher Shutt with music 

composed by Gareth Williams. 

On a farm outside Winchester, Ryan 

struggles to make a living off the land. 

His sister Lou has returned home after 

the death of their father to support 

Jenny, their formidable mother. Not so 

long ago, when a neighbour's Labrador 

strayed onto the farm, their dad reached 

for his shotgun. Now, when Lou's 

boyfriend Pete reappears, flush with 

money from his job at an oil refinery, 

Jenny fights to hold her children to the 

life she planned for them. 

Box Office telephone 0333 320 0051. 

LAST CHANCE TO SEE GORE VIDAL’S 

POLITICAL THRILLER THE BEST MAN 

After opening to critical acclaim and 

extending its West End run, audiences 

have just two weeks left to catch Gore 

Vidal’s sharp political drama The Best 

Man, before it closes on 26 May at the 

Playhouse Theatre. 

Astonishingly, The Best Man, which 

was written and produced nearly 60 years 

ago, is just as politically pertinent as the 

day it was written. Martin Shaw is William 

Russell, esteemed ex-Secretary of State 

and US presidential candidate, with 

something of a philandering reputation. 

Jeff Fahey is Joseph Cantwell, an 

ambitious populist newcomer, opposing 

Russell for the party nomination. Running 

neck and neck, the only thing that might 

separate the candidates are endorsements 

from a respected Ex-President (Jack 

Shepherd) and party big-wig (Maureen 

Lipman). But where does compromise 

end and corruption begin? The play 

mirrors the all-too-often unscrupulous 

world of politics. 


16 

TAKE AN ‘IMMERSIVE’ TRIP TO THE 

REGENT’S PARK SORTING OFFICE 

Visitors are invited to make a free 

‘interactive’ visit to a pop-up WW1 mail 

sorting office in The Regent’s Park – 

evoking the giant wooden building 

called the ‘Home Depot’ that handled all 

the mail from the front line 100 years 

ago. Two free public events, hosted by 

The Royal Parks charity and The Royal 

Parks Guild on 12 and 19 May, invite 

the public to discover this vital role 

played by London’s Royal Parks during 

wartime Britain. 

The visits are part of a series of 

activities hosted by The Royal Parks, 

together with The Royal Parks Guild, to 

mark the centenary of the Great War and 

the involvement of the parks. 

During the war, soldiers and their 

families sent over two billion letters and 

140 million parcels. Every single item of 

post sent to members of the British 

Army went through the Home Depot at 

The Regent’s Park. It was sorted by 

thousands of postal workers – many of 

whom were women – and sent on to 

soldiers across the world. 

The sorting office was believed to be 

the largest wooden building in the 

world – initially it covered four acres of 

The Regent’s Park and was then 

extended, increasing its area to just 

over five acres. 

Now one hundred years on, visitors 

can join an immersive experience, 

bringing to life the story of the 2,500 

people who worked there to make sure 

soldiers' mail was delivered safely, 

securely and quickly, even work a shift, 

as part of an interactive session led by 

The Postal Museum. 

There is a First World War outdoor 

exhibition showing how the Post Office 

kept the war going and how jammy buns 

kept them going. 

And there’s a chance to write a 

postcard to a soldier, a postwoman, your 

great-grandparents, or a parks gardener 

to tell them what you think about the 

First World War. 

The First World War project runs until 

December 2019, with a host of events 

being organised in the Royal Parks over 

the next two years. Further information 

at ww1@royalparks.org.uk 

THE GREAT SPECTACLE: 250 YEARS 

OF THE SUMMER EXHIBITION 

The Royal Academy’s Summer 

Exhibition is the world’s longest running 

annual exhibition of contemporary art and 

has been held each year without 

interruption since 1769. Staged to 

coincide with the 2018 Summer 

Exhibition, The Great Spectacle will tell 

the story of the annual show by featuring 

highlights from the past 250 years. 

The exhibition will include over 80 

paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints 

from the first Summer Exhibition through 

to the present day by artists such as Sir 

Joshua Reynolds, Angelica Kauffman, 

Elizabeth Butler, Thomas Gainsborough, 

Thomas Lawrence, John Constable, 

J.M.W. Turner, John Everett Millais, Sir 

Frederic Leighton, John Singer Sargent, 

Peter Blake, Tracey Emin, Zaha Hadid, 

Sir Michael Craig-Martin, David Hockney 

and Wolfgang Tillmans, amongst others. 

Since 1769, the Summer Exhibition 

has played a central role within London’s 

art world. This great spectacle, dominated 

by the famously crowded and collage-like 

arrangement of pictures across the RA’s 

walls, has captured the interest of millions 

of visitors. In the eighteenth and 

nineteenth centuries, the exhibition 

provided the main forum within which 

artists and architects could showcase their 

individual practice and compete with their 

rivals for popular and critical acclaim. 

Today, the exhibition continues to feature 

works by distinguished painters, sculptors, 

printmakers, photographers and architects 

as well as up-and-coming artists. 

The Great Spectacle will focus on 

moments in which the Summer 

Exhibition made an especially significant 

impact within the British and European 

art world, and on pictures that 

experienced particular success or failure 

within the exhibition space. 


Linda McCartney (1941–1998): The Beatles at Brian Epstein’s home in Belgravia at the launch of 

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. London, 1967. Bromide print. © 1967 Paul McCartney. 

GIFT FROM PAUL MCCARTNEY TO 

NEW V&A PHOTOGRAPHY CENTRE 

The V&A has announced a major gift 

of 63 photographs by Linda McCartney, 

from Paul McCartney and his family. The 

photographs trace Linda McCartney’s 

career across four decades, from the 

1960s to the 1990s. The collection 

encompasses portraits of music legends 

The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and 

Jimi Hendrix, as well as pictures of flora 

and fauna, and intimate personal 

portraits, including the McCartney family 

on holiday. The gift marks the first time 

that a selection of Linda McCartney’s 

original Polaroids have ever been made 

available to the public. 

Linda McCartney embraced myriad 

photographic processes and techniques, 

and the gift includes lithographs, 

bromide prints, cyanotype prints, 

platinum prints, photogravures, hand 

painted prints, contact sheets and 

Polaroids. This significant gift 

dramatically increases the V&A’s existing 

Linda McCartney holdings, which 

include Self Portrait in Francis Bacon’s 

Studio and Horse in Landscape, as well 

as two portraits of Yoko Ono. These 

pictures join the National Collection of 

the Art of Photography, held at the V&A. 

Linda McCartney’s approach to 

photography was instinctive, believing it 

to be much more than a technical skill. 

She was inspired by the photographs of 

Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange, and 

the way in which she believed they 

captured the character of each subject. 

She took this approach in her own 

photography, especially in her portraits 

of rock and roll musicians. Linda was 

keen to go beyond the public persona, 

to get under the skin of her famous 

sitters, and capture ‘every blemish, every 

bit of beauty, every emotion’. 

A selection of Linda McCartney’s 

photographs will go on display in the 

V&A’s Photography Centre on 12 October. 

LINDA KITSON TO SHOWCASE THE 

CITY OF LONDON IN IPAD DESIGNS 

The City Centre in partnership with 

the City of London Corporation will host 

an exclusive new series of works by 

artist Linda Kitson from 18 May to 

1 August. Linda Kitson, who is best 

known for her work as an official war 

artist during the Falklands conflict, has 

created a vivid collection of iPad 

drawings capturing the Square Mile’s 

dynamic skyline, with up to 50 works set 

to be displayed in full technicolour 

throughout The City Centre gallery. 

The City Centre will be the City’s ‘hub’ 

during the London Festival of 

Architecture from 1–30 June, with this 

year’s theme being ‘identity’. The show of 

new work by Linda Kitson will explore 

the development of key sites across the 

eastern city cluster and will include 

locations such as Bishopsgate, 

Leadenhall, Liverpool Street, Lime 

Street, St Mary Axe and Broadgate. 

The City’s built environment has 

undergone some dramatic transformations, 

an evolution that can be seen across the 

entire history of the City of London. The 

exhibition captures this change, through 

the buildings, people and the construction. 

The City Centre is at 80 Basinghall 

Street, EC2. Open Monday to Saturday 

from 10.00–17:00. 

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 

17

18 

THE LONDON PHOTOGRAPH FAIR – 

SPECIAL EDITION 

The London Photograph Fair, the 

UK's only established vintage 

photograph fair, is to present its Special 

Edition, to be held on 19 and 20 May at 

The Great Hall, King’s College London, 

adjacent to Somerset House. 

The London Photograph Fair Special 

Edition coincides with Photo London 

next door at Somerset House. The 

London Photograph Fair is the 

marketplace for great finds in Vintage 

Photography. 

This third annual Special Edition sees 

fifteen established international dealers 

brought together, selling unique and 

original works from the dawn of 

photography in the 1840's through the 

19th and 20th Centuries.19th Century 

pioneers will be seen alongside Modern 

Masters from the 1920’s, rubbing 

shoulders with rare daguerreotypes and 

1960's film and fashion images. 

The Special Edition is a must-see 

event for anyone with an interest in 

photography and its history, providing 

an unbeatable opportunity for new and 

experienced collectors alike to see and 

buy a broad spectrum of original vintage 

and historic photographs. 

THE AMERICAN BAR RELAUNCHES 

AT THE STAFFORD LONDON 

This month, The Stafford London is 

relaunching the hotel’s much-loved 

American Bar. Following a beautiful 

refurbishment, Culinary Director Ben 

Tish will introduce an exciting menu that 

showcases the Mediterranean flavours 

for which he is known. There will also be 

an innovative new cocktail list inspired 

by the local St James’s area. 

The American Bar at The Stafford 

London is one of the few remaining 

BATEAUX WINDSOR EXTRA CRUISES 

Royal wedding watchers heading for Windsor can enjoy all the pomp and ceremony 

of the occasion from a unique vantage point – the River Thames. On the afternoons 

of 18 and 19 May, Bateaux Windsor is offering extra cruises on its vessel, Melody, 

past Windsor Castle, Eton College, Windsor Racecourse and Romney Lock. 

‘American’ cocktail bars that became a 

familiar site in London and Paris during 

the 1920s and 30s. Its lively atmosphere, 

intimate corners, quality service and oldschool 

glamour have made it a favourite 

meeting place for both hotel guests and 

visitors for over a century. Furthermore, 

retaining the wonderful history of the 

room, the space will remain adorned with 

signed photographs from the hotel’s 

famous patrons. 

Bar Manager Benoit Provost, who has 

been at The Stafford for 25 years, has 

overseen the new Journey Through 

St James’s cocktail list that tells the 

secret stories of the hotel and the 

secluded streets that surround it, 

including the new QM which combines 

Tanqueray No. Ten, Brillet pear liqueur, 

Bénédictine and Dubonnet, the tipple of 

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. 

Created by Ben Tish, the new menu at 

the American Bar has been inspired by 

the food of Italy and Spain, with a dishes 

perfect for a light bite or a decadent feast 

shared with friends. British charcuterie 

from Cannon & Cannon and freshly 

made sandwiches will be served 

alongside snacks such as spring pea 

croquettes with truffle aioli and chorizo 

and piquillo skewers with marjoram. 

The Stafford London will be screening 

the Wedding in The American Bar, The 

Lounge, and The Game Bird restaurant. 


FREE RIVER TRAVEL ON 19 MAY 

FOR ‘HARRYS AND MEGHANS’ 

To celebrate Prince Harry and 

Meghan Markle’s big day, MBNA 

Thames Clippers is offering free river 

travel to everyone who shares a first 

name with either of the happy couple. 

Anyone called Harry or Meghan 

should simply visit an MBNA Thames 

Clippers ticket office on 19 May to enjoy 

the breath-taking views of the capital 

with a free River Roamer ticket which 

enables unlimited hop-on-hop-off travel 

between 17 piers for the day. To make 

the day even more regal, guests can 

disembark at Tower Pier to view the 

Crown Jewels, or head to Greenwich 

Pier to visit the nearby Royal Park to see 

The Queen’s House, a 17th century villa. 

Route maps, timetables and tickets at 

www.mbnathamesclippers.com 

ABBA: SUPER TROUPERS EXTENDED 

AT SOUTHBANK CENTRE 

Due to popular demand, ABBA: Super 

Troupers – the acclaimed immersive 

exhibition at London's Southbank 

Centre – will be extended beyond its 

original end date to 29 July. The 

exhibition recreates the extraordinary 

rise to worldwide fame and lasting 

legacy of ABBA (Agnetha Fältskog, Björn 

Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni- 

Frid Lyngstad), set against the shifting 

socio-economic and political conditions 

of the time. 

Björn Ulvaeus opens ABBA: Super 

Troupers at Southbank Centre. 

Photo: Victori Frankowski. 

CHELSEA FC STADIUM TOURS 

OF STAMFORD BRIDGE 

For visitors to London, a tour of 

Stamford Bridge is not to be missed. 

Home of the Blues, it’s a fun, informative 

and unforgettable experience enjoyed by 

sports fans of all ages from all over the 

world. The guided hour-long tour will 

take you behind the scenes at one of the 

world’s greatest football clubs, giving 

visitors access to areas normally 

reserved for players and officials. 

Along the way, you will visit various 

stands in the stadium, the press room, 

home and away dressing rooms, the 

tunnel and dug-out areas. All tours 

include entry to the Museum, giving the 

chance to see how Chelsea has evolved 

on and off the pitch over the years. 

Chelsea pride themselves on having 

guides who are both knowledgeable and 

enthusiastic about the club and it's their 

passion that make the tours a truly 

memorable experience. 

Whilst at the Stadium, have lunch at 

Chelsea's very own Frankie's Sports Bar 

& Diner as part of the Tour and Lunch 

package. Frankie's is an American style 

sports bar, with 12 big screens. The 

menu includes American favourites, 

including pizza, burgers and New York 

cheesecake. You can enjoy all your 

favourite sports while enjoying lunch after 

a tour around Stamford Bridge. 

A combined Tour and Lunch package 

includes a full stadium tour, entrance to 

the Chelsea FC Museum and a twocourse 

lunch from a set menu in 

Frankie's Sports Bar & Diner. Other 

options are available, including the 

Ex-Players Tour, where you will be 

guided by an ex-Chelsea player. There 

will be an opportunity to ask as many 

questions as you like, as well as grab 

autographs and pictures. 

For further information, visit the 

website at www.chelseafc.com 

Chelsea lift the Premier League Trophy 

2016/2017. 

Photos: Getty Images 

19 


20 

The Company of Absolute Hell. Photo: Johan Persson. 

ABSOLUTE HELL National Theatre 

Since much of London’s Soho has 

been sanitised – the strip joints and sex 

shops mostly replaced by chic property 

developments and the seedy ne’er do 

wells drifted off the streets onto the 

internet – it is potentially fascinating to 

see a slice of life there in 1945. Rodney 

Ackland’s play is set in a private members’ 

club, La Vie en Rose. It has a huge cast of 

characters, each one an embodiment of a 

curious sort of ennui. 

The tone of the piece is rather at odds 

with what you might expect. In the 

background are a few horny American GIs 

intent on having a good time, but at the 

forefront of Ackland’s drama is a washedup 

writer, Hugh, who subsists on triple 

whiskies he can rarely afford to pay for 

and the faint hope that a film company will 

buy one of his scripts. He needs cash to 

appease the gay lover who berates him 

mercilessly on the phone; but he also 

lends cash to a drunken artist whose 

plight is only slightly worse than his own. 

There is a general impecuniousness 

which makes us wonder how the owner of 

the club, the scarlet silk-clad Christine, 

stays afloat when so few club members 

can afford either their dues or their booze. 

Christine is miserable because her 

American boyfriend has returned home to 

his wife, and sexual relief seems to elude 

her at present. Hugh is miserable not 

merely because his boyfriend leaves him 

for a woman, but because his career has, 

in his view, been destroyed by a vicious 

critic with just one cutting review. 

The reviewer, a plump, lisping 

intellectual with walking stick and an 

orange wig, gets her comeuppance later 

as she slumps lifeless in a club chair and 

in this, at least, we see some plot 

development. Other characters merely act 

out their Bohemian natures for our 

edification. Is it really possible that the 

beautiful Elizabeth, for example, disdains 

to hear news of her German friend who 

has died after being liberated from a 

concentration camp, because it would be 

‘upsetting’? Is the way film producer 

Maurice belittles and insults his camp 

assistant in public normal for the times, or 

is he a psychopath in a suit? After three 

hours of dialogue – all expertly delivered 

as we have come to expect from the 

National – it is still hard to know whether 

this hellish underworld is authentic period 

drama or something refracted through the 

author’s slightly bitter lens. Only one thing 

remains certain: it will put you off drinking 

for weeks. 

Sue Webster 

NEW CAST FOR HARRY POTTER 

AND THE CURSED CHILD 

The third West End cast of Harry 

Potter and the Cursed Child will start 

performances at the Palace Theatre on 

23 May. Joining the company are Jamie 

Ballard who will play Harry Potter, Susie 

Trayling as Ginny Potter and Joe Idris- 

Robertsas their son Albus Potter. 

Jonathan Case joins to play Scorpius 

Malfoy. Thomas Aldridge continues as 

Ron Weasley, Rakie Ayola as Hermione 

Granger and Helen Aluko as their 

daughter Rose Granger-Weasley. James 

Howard also continues as Draco Malfoy. 

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is 

the eighth story in the Harry Potter 

series and the first official Harry Potter 

story to be presented on stage. The 

critically acclaimed production received 

its world premiere in June 2016 at the 

Palace Theatre in London. Subsequently 

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has 

won twenty-four major theatre awards 

including the Evening Standard Best 

Play Award as well as a record-breaking 

nine Oliver Awards – including Best New 

Play and Best Director – most awarded 

play in the history of the Oliviers. 

It was always difficult being Harry 

Potter and it isn’t much easier now that 

he is an overworked employee of the 

Ministry of Magic, a husband and father 

of three school-age children. While 

Harry grapples with a past that refuses to 

stay where it belongs, his youngest son 

Albus must struggle with the weight of a 

family legacy he never wanted. As past 

and present fuse ominously, both father 

and son learn the uncomfortable truth: 

sometimes, darkness comes from 

unexpected places. 

The Friday Forty takes place each 

week at 13.00 when 40 tickets are 

released for every performance the 

following week. 


22 

THE MODERATE SOPRANO 

Duke of Yorks 

The question about The Moderate 

Soprano, David Hare’s uncharacteristic, 

ultimately elegiac play about the birth of 

the Glyndebourne Festival in the Sussex 

Downs, is: to whom will it appeal? Opera 

aficionados will already be familiar with 

many of the facts relating to the 

founding of this uniquely British 

pastime, while those who couldn’t care 

less – well, couldn’t care less. 

For the uninitiated, Glyndebourne was 

the brainchild of John Christie (Roger 

Allam), a World War One veteran who, 

having inherited the Glyndebourne 

Estate and the grounds that went with it, 

decided, with his wife Audrey Mildway 

(Nancy Carroll), a soprano who toured 

with the Carl Rosa Opera Company, to 

annexe their country pile to an opera 

house of their own design. 

But they couldn’t do it alone and in 

1934 recruited a trio of European 

emigres who, fleeing the escalating Nazi 

scourge, helped the Christies realise 

their impossible dream. 

First on board was the eminent 

conductor Fritz Busch (Paul Jesson) 

who turned down an offer from Goering 

to become the chief conductor of the 

prestigious Bayreuth Festival. Next was 

the celebrated opera producer Carl Ebert 

(Anthony Calf) accompanied by his 

charismatic young assistant Rudolf Bing 

(Jacob Fortune-Lloyd) who, years later, 

would take charge of the Edinburgh 

Festival before going on to become the 

powerful artistic director of the 

Metropolitan Opera in New York. 

What, initially, these three 

extraordinarily talented men forfeited 

their burgeoining European careers for, 

was a very small theatre that 

accommodated a mere 311 seats, a tiny 

orchestra pit and, as Ebert was quick to 

point out, a stage ‘no bigger than a 

church hall’, a narrow proscenium, no 

wing room, no tower to fly the scenery, 

and just two small dressing rooms – 

one for the men and one for the women. 

Nancy Carroll and Roger Allam in The 

Moderate Soprano. Photo: Johan Persson. 

Very early in the play when Christie 

informs Ebert that the inaugural 

presentation is to be Wagner’s epic 

Parsifal, Ebert wryly remarks: ‘Only if 

you put the audience on the stage and 

the action in the auditorium.’ 

Hare entertainingly dramatises the 

inevitable teething problems experienced 

by the creative team, whose first 

production, far more appropriate to this 

‘jewel box’ of an opera house than 

Parsifal, was The Marriage of Figaro, 

prompting Christie to remark of Mozart 

‘He may be great but is he any good?’. 

It gets a laugh but did Christie really say 

this or is it pure invention on Hare’s 

behalf? Either way it’s an ironic 

statement considering that it was Mozart 

who gave Glyndebourne its clout. 

Easier to believe is Christie’s 

ignorance of just how serious the Nazi 

threat was in 1934, and an early scene in 

which he meets Busch for the first time 

paints a picture of a rather self-absorbed 

dreamer out of touch with world events 

both politically and artistically. 

What eventually broadens the play’s 

appeal is the touching love story at its 

core between Christie and Audrey whom 

he married at the age of 48 and with 

whom he had two children (hardly 

mentioned in the play). 

Audrey, who initially pursued a 

musical career of her own was, as the 

title suggests, only moderately talented. 

Her voice was small, but not 

unappealing and, as it turned out, 

perfectly suited the intimacy of 

Glyndebourne where she appeared in 

several Mozart operas. 

The wholly reciprocated love she 

shared with her husband, her soothing 

influence on him, her ability to disagree 

without openly challenging him and the 

pervasive common sense with which she 

juggled her life and her career, are 

beautifully delineated both in the writing 

and in Nancy Carroll’s luminous 

performance. Her final scene just before 

her death in 1952 is truly wrenching. 

Allam is excellent, too, as a man who 

was made Captain in the first world war, 

then turned a fantasy into a fact while 

learning how to do so on the job. But he 

was not without his flaws and even the 

flashes of arrogance and privilege with 

which Allam peppers his performance 

hardly prepares us for Christie’s cruel 

abrupt dismissal of Ebert after 25 years 

and 41 productions when the running of 

the opera house was handed over to his 

son George. 

Though their German accents are less 

than authentic, Calf and Jesson bring 

real authority to their characters; while 

Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as the man who 

became one of the opera world’s most 

celebrated artistic directors, has all the 

requisite leadership qualities the role 

demands. 

With practically no music in evidence, 

the rarefied world of Glyndebourne and 

everything its name evokes is vividly 

conjured by director Jeremy Herrin and 

his set-designer Paule Constable. 

Caviar for the general; perhaps a tad 

less enticing for the rest. 

CLIVE HIRSCHHORN 


24 

PLAYS 

NIGHTFALL 

World premiere of Barney Norris’ play. One 

family struggling in the heart of the country 

looks for a star to steer by as they try to plot a 

route out of the dark they’ve been pitched into. 

BRIDGE THEATRE 

One Tower Bridge, SE1 (0843 208 1846) 

THE COMEDY ABOUT A BANK ROBBERY 

One enormous diamond, eight incompetent 

crooks and a snoozing security guard. What 

could possibly go right? 

CRITERION THEATRE 

Piccadilly Circus, (020 7492 0810) 

THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG 

A Polytechnic amateur drama group are 

putting on a 1920s murder mystery and 

everything that can go wrong... does! 

DUCHESS THEATRE 

Catherine Street, WC2 (0330 333 4810) 

THE MODERATE SOPRANO 

John Christie's admiration for the works of 

Wagner leads him to embark on the 

construction of an opera house on his estate 

at Glyndebourne. 

DUKE OF YORK’S THEATRE 

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

THE WOMAN IN BLACK 

An innocent outsider, a suspicious rural 

community, a gothic house and a misty marsh 

are the ingredients of this Victorian ghost story. 

FORTUNE THEATRE 

Russell Street, WC2 (0844 871 7626) 

THE FERRYMAN 

In Jez Butterworth’s new major drama, multi 

award-winning actor, director and writer Paddy 

Considine is joined by Rosalie Craig and Owen 

McDonnell. Directed by Sam Mendes. 

GIELGUD THEATRE 

Shaftesbury Avenue, W1 (0844 482 5130) 

CONSENT 

Nina Raine's new play transfers to the West 

End from the National Theatre. A powerful, 

painful and funny play that sifts the evidence 

from every side and puts justice in the dock. 

HAROLD PINTER THEATRE 

Panton Street, SW1 (0844 871 7627) 

Royal National Theatre Plays in repertory 

OLIVIER THEATRE 

MACBETH 

Shakespeare’s most intense and terrifying 

tragedy is directed by Rufus Norris. Rory 

Kinnear and Anne-Marie Duff play Macbeth 

and Lady Macbeth. 

TRANSLATIONS 

Brian Friel’s modern classic is a powerful 

account of nationhood, which sees the 

turbulent relationship between England and 

Ireland play out in one quiet community. 

LYTTELTON THEATRE 

ABSOLUTE HELL 

Rodney Ackland’s provocative play was 

condemned as ‘a libel on the British people’ 

when first performed in 1952. Now it emerges 

as an intoxicating plunge into post-war Soho. 

DORFMAN THEATRE 

NINE NIGHT 

Natasha Gordon’s debut play is a touching 

and funny exploration of the rituals of family. 

NATIONAL THEATRE 

South Bank, SE1 (020 7452 3000) 

QUIZ 

A fictional imagination based on real events 

which took place in 2001 following an 

episode of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? 

NOEL COWARD THEATRE 

St. Martin’s Lane, WC2 (0844 482 5140) 

MOOD MUSIC 

World premiere of Joe Penhall's new play 

about the drama and the psychodrama of 

making music. 

OLD VIC 

The Cut, Waterloo, SE1 (020 7400 1257) 

HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED 

CHILD PARTS I & II 

Stage play based on the Harry Potter franchise 

written by Jack Thorne, based on an original 

story by J.K Rowling. 

PALACE THEATRE 


FAULTY TOWERS DINING EXPERIENCE 

Inspired by one of Britain's greatest ever 

comedy series, this 2 hour interactive 

production is set in a restaurant where you the 

audience are the diners. 

RADISSON BLU EDWARDIAN 

Bloomsbury Street, (020 7764 0523) 

PETER PAN 

Imagination takes flight in this darkly comic 

tale, yet in an ever changing world, without a 

mother's love, what place is there for a boy who 

wouldn't grow up? 

REGENT’S PARK OPEN AIR THEATRE 

Inner Circle, NW1 (0844 826 4242) 

THE MOUSETRAP 

Agatha Christie’s whodunnit is the longest 

running play of its kind in the history of the 

British theatre. 

ST MARTIN’S THEATRE 

West Street, WC2 (0844 499 1515) 

TARTUFFE 

Christopher Hampton's modern updated, and 

dual-language, production of Moliere's 

comedy. 

THEATRE ROYAL HAYMARKET 

Haymarket SW1 (020 7930 8800) 

AN IDEAL HUSBAND 

A major revival of Oscar Wilde's classic 

starring Edward Fox, Freddie Fox and Frances 

Barber. A stylish critique of politicians and 

social morality. 

VAUDEVILLE THEATRE 

Strand, WC2 (020 7400 1257) 

RED 

John Logan's play is a moving account of Mark 

Rothko, one of the greatest artists of the 20th 

century whose struggle to accept his growing 

riches and praise became his undoing. 

WYNDHAM’S THEATRE 

Charing Cross Road, WC2 (0844 482 5120) 

Andrew Polec as Strat and Christina 

Bennington as Raven in Bat Out of Hell. 

Photos: Specular. 

MUSICALS 

KINKY BOOTS 

Inspired by a true story and based on the 

Miramax film, the show tells the story of 

Charlie Price who has reluctantly inherited his 

father's Northampton shoe factory. 

ADELPHI THEATRE 

Strand, WC2 (020 3725 7060) 

WICKED 

Hit Broadway story of how a clever, 

misunderstood girl with emerald green skin 

and a girl who is beautiful and popular turn 

into the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda 

the Good Witch in the Land of Oz. 

APOLLO VICTORIA THEATRE 

Wilton Road, SW1 (0844 826 8000) 


EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE 

New musical starring John McCrea transfers 

to the West End following a sold-out run at 

Sheffield's Crucible Theatre. 

APOLLO THEATRE 


25 

MATILDA 

Critically acclaimed Royal Shakespeare 

Company production of Roald Dahl’s book, 

directed by Matthew Warchus. 

CAMBRIDGE THEATRE 

Earlham Street, WC2 (0844 800 1110) 

BAT OUT OF HELL 

Following an acclaimed extended season last 

summer, Jay Scheib's stage musical, written 

by Jim Steinman and featuring Meat Loaf's 

greatest hits, returns to the West End. 

DOMINION THEATRE 

Tottenham Court Road, W1 (0845 200 7982) 

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA 

Long running epic romance by Andrew Lloyd 

Webber, set behind the scenes of a Paris 

opera house where a deformed phantom 

stalks his prey. 

HER MAJESTY’S THEATRE 

Haymarket, SW1 (0844 412 2707) 

CHESS 

Major revival of the Tim Rice, Benny Andersson 

and Björn Ulvaeus musical starring Michael 

Ball, Alexandra Burke and Murray Head. 

LONDON COLISEUM 

St Martin’s Lane, WC2 (020 7845 9300) 

THE LION KING 

Disney‘s phenomenally successful animated 

film is transformed into a spectacular stage 

musical, a superb evening of visual delight. 

LYCEUM THEATRE 

Wellington Street, WC2 (0844 871 3000) 

THRILLER – LIVE 

High octane show celebrating the career of the 

King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Over two 

hours of the non-stop hit songs that marked 

his legendary live performances. 

LYRIC THEATRE 

Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2 (0330 333 4812) 

SCHOOL OF ROCK 

Andrew Lloyd Webber's new stage musical 

with lyrics by Glenn Slater and book by Julian 

Fellowes, adapted from the film. 

NEW LONDON THEATRE 

Drury Lane, WC2 (020 7492 0810) 

MAMMA MIA! 

Hit musical based on the songs of ABBA, set 

around the story of a mother and daughter on 

the eve of the daughter’s wedding. 

NOVELLO THEATRE 

Aldwych, WC2 (0844 482 5170) 

KINKY BOOTS EXTENDS BOOKING TO JANUARY 2019 

Kinky Boots, the winner of every major Best Musical award, has a cast change from 

Monday 4 June, when Oliver Tompsett will play Charlie, Natalie McQueen will play 

Lauren, and Simon-Anthony Rhoden will continue as Lola. The show has played 

over a thousand performances at London’s Adelphi Theatre and has opened a new 

booking period until Saturday 5 January 2019. Box Office: 020 7087 7754. 

CHICAGO 

The dazzling multi-award-winning tale of 

nightclub singer Roxie Hart, her cell-block 

rival Velma Kelly and the smooth-talking 

lawyer Billy Flynn. Starring Cuba Gooding Jr. 

PHOENIX THEATRE 

Charing Cross Road, WC2 (0844 871 7627) 

STRICTLY BALLROOM 

New stage musical based on Baz Luhrmann's 

1992 film The inspiring story of Scott 

Hastings, championship ballroom dancer who 

defies the rules and follows his heart. 

PICCADILLY THEATRE 

Denman Street, W1 (0844 871 7630) 

ALADDIN 

The classic hit film has been brought to 

thrilling life on stage by Disney, featuring all 

the songs 

from the Academy Award winning score. 

PRINCE EDWARD THEATRE 

Old Compton Street, W1 (0844 482 5151) 

BOOK OF MORMON 

Broadway musical takes shots at everything 

from organised religion to consumerism, state 

of the economy and the musical theatre genre. 

PRINCE OF WALES THEATRE 

Coventry Street, W1 (0844 482 5115) 

LES MISERABLES 

A spectacularly staged version of Victor Hugo’s 

epic novel about an escaped convict’s 

search for redemption in Revolutionary France. 

QUEEN’S THEATRE 


DREAMGIRLS 

Set in the USA during the late 1960s and 

early 1970s, it follows a young female singing 

trio as they become music superstars. 

SAVOY THEATRE 

Strand, WC2 (020 7492 0810) 

MOTOWN THE MUSICAL 

Featuring all the much loved classics from 

Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, and the Jackson 5, 

the show tells the story behind the hits. 

SHAFTESBURY THEATRE 


42ND STREET 

The song and dance, American dream fable, 

where af small town girl, Peggy Sawyer’s rise 

from chorus line to Broadway star. 

THEATRE ROYAL 

Drury Lane, WC2 (020 7492 0810) 

HAMILTON 

Lin-Manuel Miranda's multi award-winning 

musical, based on Ron Chernow's biography 

of one of the American Founding Fathers, 

Alexander Hamilton. 

VICTORIA PALACE THEATRE 

Victoria Street, SW1 (0844 248 5000) 


26 

THEMED COCKTAILS AT THE 

TRAFALGAR DINING ROOMS 

With the Royal Wedding less than a 

week away, embrace the wedding fever at 

The Trafalgar Dining Rooms where a 

carefully curated selection of Royal 

Wedding themed cocktails awaits. 

If you want to sparkle like Ms Markle, 

then the Markle Sparkle might just be for 

you. Blending the finest East London 

Liqueur Co. Vodka with mandarin and 

lavender liqueur, as well as citric acid 

and pineapple syrup, the drink is double 

shaken and garnished with lavender gold 

dust. Alternatively, if you want your 

ginger fix now that Harry’s off the 

market, then The Ginger might be more 

your style. The Ginger blends 

Chairman’s Spiced Rum with homemade 

ginger syrup, lime juice, Antica Formula 

Vermouth and Cacao Blanc Liquer to 

produce a cocktail that will have your 

taste buds tingling. To top it off, the 

cocktail is served over crushed ice with 

candied ginger so you’ll leave with your 

ginger cravings well and truly satisfied. 

If you want to toast the newly-weds in 

style, The Trafalgar Dining Rooms, one 

of London’s most centrally situated 

restaurants, is the place to do so. 

ROYAL WEDDING AFTERNOON TEA 

Visitors to London will be able to 

celebrate the marriage of HRH Prince 

Harry to Meghan Markle with The Arch 

London’s perfectly patriotic Royal 

Wedding Afternoon Tea. 

The five-star hotel has devised an 

exclusive luxurious afternoon tea fit for a 

Duke or Duchess. The Afternoon Tea 

features an array of beautifully decorated 

and visually appealing wedding themed 

sweet treats, including: Bride-To-Be 

Wedding Dress ginger flavoured 

biscuits; The Groom – a suited and 

booted bavarois panacotta and crumble 

complete with a top hat; a Royal Crown 

made with a lemon tart base and 

elderflower and rose mousse with 

golden meringue embellishment; His & 

Hers peanut butter chocolate delices; 

and, decorated with an American flag as 

a nod to the Two Nations, are the 

profiterole croustillants filled with a soft 

centre of raspberry crèmeux. 

The Afternoon tea is served with 

The Arch London’s usual savouries and 

sandwiches, and homemade warm 

scones with jam and clotted cream. 

The Royal Wedding Afternoon Tea is 

priced at £28 per person or £39 with a 

glass of Tattinger Brut Reserve. The 

afternoon tea is served daily from noon 

until 19.00 and can be enjoyed in the 

hotel’s stunning Martini Library, stylish 

Hunter 486 restaurant or chic Salon de 

Champagne lounge. 

The Arch London is also offering a 

Royal Wedding package throughout the 

month of May. Priced at £3900/$5500, it 

includes a two night stay in a twobedroom 

suite, plus a Best of British 

three-course dinner, a Champagne 

breakfast, Royal Wedding Afternoon Tea, 

a tour of Windsor Castle, a Fortnum & 

Mason voucher, and airport transfers. 

For reservations, call 020 7724 4700. 

Royal Wedding Afternoon Tea at 

The Arch London. 

BAGLIONI HOTEL LONDON TEA TIME 

FOR CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW 

To celebrate this year’s Chelsea 

Flower Show, Baglioni Hotel London is 

partnering with iconic fragrance brand 

Acqua di Parma, creating a unique 

Afternoon Tea inspired by the fresh and 

elegant, citrus-based Colonia, that has 

been seducing customers for over 100 

years. 

Alongside a selection of scones and 

sandwiches with an Italian twist, the 

Acqua di Parma Afternoon Tea will 

feature colourful treats inspired by the 

Colonia’s ingredients and its complex 

bouquet, which include citrus fruit from 

Sicily, lavender, bergamot, verbena and 

Bulgarian rose. 

Baglioni Hotel London’s Chef Alberto 

Rossetti, born and raised in Parma 

himself, has created Colonia Lemon 

Cake, Lavender Meringue and Bergamot 

Cream, Floral Verbena and Lime Zest 

Panna Cotta with Rose Coulis, Violets of 

Parma and Sicilian Cannoli with 

Candied orange.

Royal Wed TIL

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