On paper, Hadestown really shouldn’t work. A broodingly melancholy musical based on Greek myth via modern industrial and socioeconomic concerns, with a fusion steampunk and New Orleans setting, a meandering plot and distinct lack of catchy show tunes? And yet… The packed crowd exuberantly cheered as each character came on, and their delirious delight sustained … Read more
London ticket prices, eh? At least for £395 you get to gawp at two Hollywood stars in Plaza Suite, with Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick on high form in a sub-par play just down the road (which is sadly not paved for most of us with precious metals). In this wildly radical, techtastic reboot … Read more
Don’t be fooled by the pink spangly costumes and cheesy grins. This gloriously written tragicomedy with sensational performances across the board is a piercing elegy to the ties that don’t just bind but suffocate down the years. Set in the ‘public front room’ of the clapped-out Blackpool Sea View motel during the sweltering summer of … Read more
In director Reinaldo Marcus Green’s reverential biopic of Bob Marley, the reggae singer travels to late 1970s’ London with his entourage to begin work on a new album. “I wanna make a record that can shake up the place,” he vows, having recently survived an assassination attempt in Kingston, Jamaica. Bob Marley: One Love doesn’t … Read more
Bieito has always looked for ways to challenge orthodoxy and present a new vision of an opera, but a good director’s job is to add touches to an opera that adds to it or delivers its message more strikingly rather than changing it. The first noticeable innovation in this production is that it is not … Read more
The hysteria was palpable in North London last night, the faithful and early believers gathered at the altar of the latest music sensation. When the slim figure in a peach silk, shirt, wide trousers and fantastic black and white tassled loafers (yes, I want them) finally appeared, the screams blew the roof. Old and young … Read more
Few things will make me audibly gasp in the middle of a crowded restaurant, but after swatching the new LYS Higher Standards Glow Blush Stick, I couldn’t help but loudly share my delighted surprise with my fellow Sant Ambroeus patrons. It was during the breakfast rush and I was meeting with LYS Beauty founder Tisha … Read more
Jonathan Kent’s stunning production of Puccini’s Tosca was first seen at the Royal Opera House in 2006 and this is already its 14th revival. The music and the dramatic plot make Tosca one of the greatest of all operas and Kent’s staging cannot be bettered. George Bernard Shaw described opera as “when a tenor and … Read more
When I first saw this adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s highly acclaimed novel two years ago, I could admire the appropriate clunkiness of Danish composer Poul Ruders’ music and the excellence of the singing, but I did not enjoy it. This time, I liked it far more, partly because I knew what I was letting myself … Read more
India 1st innings Total 58 for –1, from 21.3 overs. Batting Runs Balls 4s 6s SR Jaiswal not out; 35 runs, 77 balls, 5 fours, 0 sixes, and a strike rate of 45.45 Sharma (c) c Pope b Bashir; 14 runs, 41 balls, 0 fours, 0 sixes, and a strike rate of 34.15 Gill not … Read more
