21 June 2018 250th Summer Exhibition The Royal Academy (12 June – 19 August) By William Morton 20,000 works were submitted for inclusion in the Exhibition; around 1,350 were accepted. The job of selection was accordingly formidable. This year the coordinator of the hanging committee was Grayson Perry who has produced an entertaining exhibition as… Continue reading Issue 159: 2018 06 21: 250th Summer Exhibition
Article Category: Review
Issue 158: 2018 06 14: A Winter’s Tale
14 June 2018 A Winter’s Tale For a summer evening. By Lynda Goetz If one were to go by the title alone, A Winter’s Tale would not seem the obvious play to stage as an open air summer production. However, for those who know the play, it is of course an excellent choice. This is… Continue reading Issue 158: 2018 06 14: A Winter’s Tale
Issue 158: 2018 06 14: The Tower
07 June 2018 “The Tower” Andrew O’Hagan’s examination of the Grenfell Tower disaster. By J R Thomas The Tower is an extraordinary piece of investigative journalism, written by the novelist and essayist, Andrew O’Hagan. It is the result of O’Hagan’s detailed examination of what happened before, during, and after the disastrous and heartbreaking fire in Grenfell… Continue reading Issue 158: 2018 06 14: The Tower
Issue 158: 2018 06 14: Julie
14 June 2018 Julie (a play by Polly Stenham) the National Theatre reviewed by Adam McCormack Star rating: *** Poor little rich girl Julie is a deeply troubled soul. Tortured by the suicide of her mother, neglected by her extremely wealthy workaholic father and dumped by her boyfriend. With this amount of baggage it is… Continue reading Issue 158: 2018 06 14: Julie
Issue 158: 2018 06 14: Monogamy
14 June 2018 Monogamy (a play by Torben Betts) The Park Theatre reviewed by Adam McCormack Star Rating: **** Caroline Mortimer is a woman that apparently has it all. A celebrity TV chef (the nation’s second favorite domestic goddess), married with 3 children (including a son who has just graduated with a first from Oxford),… Continue reading Issue 158: 2018 06 14: Monogamy
Issue 157: 2018 06 07: My Name is Lucy Barton
07 June 2018 My Name is Lucy Barton The Bridge Theatre reviewed by Adam McCormack Star rating: **** Turning a novel into a stage production is not easy. Nuances, thoughts and emotions that can be effectively expressed in prose are difficult to replicate in drama. This difficulty is enhanced further if the production is a… Continue reading Issue 157: 2018 06 07: My Name is Lucy Barton
Issue 157: 2018 06 07: Building The Wall
07 June 2018 Building The Wall A play by Robert Schenkkan at the Park Theatre Reviewed by John Watson *** The acting by Angela Griffin and Trevor White is first class. The dialogue is well written in a courtroom drama sort of way, and yet there is something a little unsatisfactory about this production. The… Continue reading Issue 157: 2018 06 07: Building The Wall
Issue 155: 2018 05 24: Monet & Architecture
24 May 2018 Monet & Architecture The National Gallery (9th April – 29th July) By William Morton The title of this exhibition is a bit misleading. It leads one to think that it will only be studies of great buildings such as Rouen Cathedral. A more accurate title, if somewhat prosaic, would be ‘Monet’s paintings… Continue reading Issue 155: 2018 05 24: Monet & Architecture
Issue 150: 2018 04 19: Education, Education…
19 April 2018 Education, Education, Education. (A play by The Wardrobe Ensemble) at Shoreditch Town Hall. Reviewed by Adam McCormack Star rating: *** It is 1997 and eighteen years of Tory government have come to an end. For many in teaching the New Labour policy of putting education as the first three priorities of their… Continue reading Issue 150: 2018 04 19: Education, Education…
Issue 150: 2018 04 19: Picasso 1932
19 April 2018 Picasso 1932 Love, Fame, Tragedy (at Tate Modern, 8 March – 9 September) By William Morton It is common to think of artists as poverty-stricken, but of course it is not true in the case of artists such as Picasso who find success in their own lifetime. By 1932, he had left… Continue reading Issue 150: 2018 04 19: Picasso 1932
Issue 149: 2018 04 12: The Mikado
12 April 2018 The Mikado at The King’s Head, Islington. Reviewed by John Watson ***** The Mikado is always fun, but the current production at the Kings Head Theatre, Islington, absolutely sparkles. Gilbert and Sullivan works well in a small theatre, the replacement of an orchestra by a piano being more than compensated for by… Continue reading Issue 149: 2018 04 12: The Mikado
Issue 149: 2018 04 12: Julius Caesar
12 April 2018 Julius Caesar The Bridge Theatre reviewed by Adam McCormack Star rating: **** Putting Shakespeare into a modern environment doesn’t always work. The National’s recent As You Like It with its “Wolf of Wall Street” approach and the woeful current Macbeth that is set in an overly bleak dystopian future spring to mind. … Continue reading Issue 149: 2018 04 12: Julius Caesar
Issue 149: 2018 04 12: Pressure, by David Haig
12 April 2018 Pressure, a play by David Haig The Park Theatre reviewed by Adam McCormack Star rating: ***** It is June 1944 and, following some 18 months of preparation, the Allied Forces are ready to invade France. All is in place, and the timing regarding tides and a full moon look perfect, but what… Continue reading Issue 149: 2018 04 12: Pressure, by David Haig
