Philadelphia Orchestra, Nézet-Séguin, Royal Festival Hall
The venerable and venerated Philadelphia Orchestra swept into London bearing gifts and mixed messages from Nico Muhly. Actually that was the title of his crowd-pleasing opener for the orchestra – Mixed Messages (UK Premiere) – and for…
High Society, Old Vic
It took 30 years for High Society to make its laborious transition from screen to stage. There are good reasons for that. The indelible impression left by the movie and its star Grace Kelly was undoubtedly the…
The Pirates of Penzance, London Coliseum
Let it never be said that English National Opera hasn’t done its bit for Gilbert and Sullivan – but the fact that only one its several stagings has achieved recognition and longevity surely says something about the…
Sweeney Todd, London Coliseum
Review for this week’s edition of The Spectator… Attend the tale… http://www.spectator.co.uk/arts/theatre/9486232/sweeney-todd-eno-review-blunt-and-bloody/… [Read More]
Beautiful, Aldwych Theatre
Musicals stand or fall on their books; docu-musicals are defined by them. Even a bunch of great songs won’t entirely carry an evening on Broadway or in the West End and it’s certainly no coincidence that Marshall…
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle, Barbican
Simon Rattle’s Sibelian journey has been long and fruitful and has taken him all the way from Birmingham to Berlin and more particularly the revered Philharmonic where the spaces between the notes now resonate in extraordinary ways…
A Little Night Music, Palace Theatre
Can it really be 40 years since Sondheim’s waltzy, nostalgia-flecked, fancy first intoxicated our senses with its promise of indiscretion and insatiable desire? But that’s the thing, isn’t it – every Sondheim piece feels brand new on…
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Playhouse Theatre
It’s true that there is something wildly, garishly, theatrical about Pedro Almodóvar’s films – none more so than this rampant farce – but it’s equally true that their sensibility is far removed from what the English might…
The Grand Tour, Finborough Theatre
Everything about this little-known and largely forgotten show – including the title – suggests epic. Multiple locations, ambitious concept, big ideas. But like so much of Jerry Herman’s work – and the received wisdom on it is…
Assassins, Menier Chocolate Factory
Santa Claus does make it to the Menier Chocolate Factory this Christmas but his name is Sam Byck and he plans to fly a 747 into the White House and “incinerate Dick Nixon”. So not the Christmas…