Things to do in London: March edition
The best events in London next month: fantastic festivals for classical music and modern women, David Tennant plays a sex addict and Masterchef's Monica Galetti opens a new restaurant
David Tennant as you've never seen him before
David Tennant stars as Don Juan in this inventive retelling of the life of the Byronic Lothario, Don Juan in Soho. Based on Moliere's original comedy from 1665. The action in Patrick Marber's script is relocated to London's seedy theatreland. This is the first revival of the play, which debuted in 2006, and Tennant takes over from Rhys Ifans to play the much-coveted, or perhaps mostly covetous, role.
Read more ...Who could ever learn to love a beast?
Beauty and the Beast, Disney's live-action remake starring Emma Watson has a lot of hype to live up to. So far, glimpses have shown Watson playing Belle as an inventor and proto-feminist, even as her romantic interest looks as monstrous as ever. If the plot strays too far from the Disney's 1991 animated original it's beastly blasphemy. But staying too close to the animation seems a bit worthy. We can't wait to see.
Read more ...Spring is in the air at Sadler's Wells
We've waited nine years for this interpretation of The Rite of Spring to return to the UK. The English National Ballet is one of only to troupes in the world who are permitted to perform Pina Bausch's version, where the stage is famously covered in soil and the dancers perform barefoot upon it. Watch the ritual sacrifice of a dancer to appease the gods... only at Sadler's Wells.
Read more ...Five Centuries of Style at Chatsworth House
This is the year you venture out of London. Visit Bakewell, where Chatsworth House, long the seat of celebrity families including the Mitford sisters and Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire is displaying the wardrobes of some of its most famous residents. It's a clothes exhibition tagged with plenty of famous names on the labels: see coronation robes alongside Dior couture and fancy dress costumes by Inigo Jones. Part of a long partnership with Gucci, the collection is curated by Hamish Bowles, editor-at-large at American Vogue.
Read more ...A postcard portfolio at the Deustche Borse Photography Prize
This special prize, for a living person of any nationality who has made a significant contribution to European photography, is sponsored by Deustche Borse, the Franfurt-based equity firm. The prize is always shown at London's Photography Gallery. This year, Sophie Calle, Dana Lixenberg, Awoiska van der Molen, and Taiyo Onorato and Nico Krebs are the shortlisted artists for the 2017 prize. Our favourite to win is Sophie Calle. Then again, van der Molen's black and white landscapes are unspeakably beautiful and Lixenberg's sensitive portfolio of poverty in LA is 22 years in the making. All the photographers, in short, are worth your examination.
Read more ...Love Classical at the Royal Albert Hall featuring Nigel Kennedy and Lang Lang
A big, loud and colourful festival of classical music, Love Classical at the Royal Albert Hall sees Nigel Kennedy and Lang Lang top the bill and hosts plenty of events, big and small, in the name of orchestral music. One of the world's most celebrated living pianists, the charming and immensely modest Lang Lang performs on 13 and 15 March with a programme of popular romantic music from Debussy, Lizst and Albeniz, There's also an exciting concert performed in the Royal Albert Hall's underground loading bay, by the London Contemporary Orchestra.
Read more ...WOW: Women of the World festival 2017
It launched in 2011, but this year the Southbank Centre's annual Women of the World Festival feels more important than ever. Celebrated women such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Sandi Toksvig will speak. There are mentoring sessions and immersive theatre, too, including an interactive performance about the act of purchasing sex. Fascinating and relevant to all, the WOW festival is timed to coincide with International Women's Day, 8 March.
Read more ...Monica Galetti's masterful new restaurant, Mere
The Masterchef regular, chef Monica Galetti (previously senior sous chef at Michel Roux junior's double-starred La Gavroche) is opening her hotly-anticipated Fitzrovia restaurant this month on lovely Charlotte Street. Called Mere, you can book ahead for a table for lunch or dinner. Galetti is Samoan-born and hails form New Zealand. Her restaurant's name is pronounced like 'Mary'- and is Samoan for 'mother'.
Read more ...An American in Paris comes to London
Based on the Oscar-winning 1951 film, where Gene Kelly danced his socks off, An American in Paris premiered in 2015 on Broadway. We've waited a full two years for it to come to London. A ballet-cum-musical based on the Gershwins' brilliant score, Jerry, a fledgling American painter falls for Lise the ballerina- only to find his friend's seen her first. The big ballet number at the end is reason enough to see the whole production, but there's also lovely songs- "I Got Rhythm" and "S'Wonderful"- making for a joy-filled stage show.
Read more ...Performance Art goes big at Tate Live
The Tate Modern has a programme of performance art that is set to make the public totally rethink the genre.The BMW Tate Live exhibition Ten Days, Six Nights has ten days of performance, film music and dance. Most are held in the underground Tanks rooms. The concrete chambers, formerly oil storage rooms, are ripe for exploration. There are also six late-openings with evening events, including immersive live cinema based on the Sri Lankan myth of elephant graveyards.
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