‘Looking at the works of Russian composers carefully’ Culture and conflict: ever dancing an uneasy waltz. Yet a cleverly comprised program can celebrate the best of a composer while also placing them in the wider geographic and historic concept. Contextualise contextualise contextualise… ….and doesn’t that sound fun? Helpfully the music, along with being informative happens to also be divine. Are ...

‘Experience a large fraction of the wonder of London’s Theatreland’ January is dull, drab, and depressing, isn’t it? How about bringing the sunshine with a dose of musicals? Performed by drag queens? Topple down to the Soho Theatre and see Le Gateau Chocolat (George Ikediashi) and Jonny Woo (Jonathan Wooster) mutilate the popular genre, in the best way possible. Preaching ...

‘Awkward, unhinged and unimaginably good’ On an ice-laminated night, when the world – or at least the London transport system – is in full freefall, we trundled our way to Hackney Wick to be warmed by the princess of the experimental theatre world, Lucy McCormick. I say warmed, but I think we were boiled like the apocryphal frog blissfully smiling ...

‘One to watch’ Did you know that up until this time Shoreditch has somehow struggled along without a natural wine bar? Scandalous, I know. The eco-wing of the vino movement has been sweeping the capital, and now Jasper Delamothe has turned his 2000-square-foot space into a dark monument to the low intervention method. Well, it would be more accurate to ...

‘The girls run through various covers, interject with blue humour and plenty of crotch grabbing’ This excellent show will grab you by the….vocal cords, and swing on till Christmas! These queens have been everywhere; locally gracing the Udderbelly Festival in the summer, now settling in to the Arts Theatre for a three night residency. They’re like Britney or Gaga in Vegas – only ...

‘The desperation for cross-genre exploration leaves little room for us the audience’ Grupo de Rua by Bruno Beltrão  In 1996 Bruno Beltrão (only 16) created Grupo de Rua with his friend Rodrigo Bernardi. The only thing I created at 16 was an emotional collage to my “platonic” best friend, never mind I digress. Little did these teenagers know the highs ...

‘What Blackbird has is THE voice’ Preferring to paddle in the bluer side of the musical pool, the bubbling Jazz jacuzzi of this metaphor always intimidated me. An artificial aura of “cool” rippling out from its denizens. Although Lady Blackbird supported by DoomCannon hasn’t completely changed my mind on that front, they has pried open my reluctant eyes somewhat. EFG London jazz ...

‘Tragic tale full of heart and beauty’  An image that stays with you from Cette Maison is a mother and a daughter staring at a stretched canvas of a tropical island scene, birds and the sounds of the sea swelling in the background. Two people watching a screen as we sit in the Brixton Ritzy watching them on another, larger one. ...

‘An evening is a glimpse into a country in the grips of great change’ Only a few times in my career as a music reviewer have I experienced the Barbican shucking off its cool yet relatively formal façade and getting downNdirty. One was a 24-hour concert, where any sense of decorum flittered away by about the 7th hour. The second time was ...

‘A statement of belief in the future’ Clouds of Chanel perfume, clacking pearls, with plenty of room to swing a…..arabesque. Welcome to the gleaming columns of the Royal Academy of Dance. Admits this polite cacophony New English Ballet Theatre marks both Remembrance Day and simultaneously celebrates 12 years of existence. Peeking in at dance lessons in the rooms surrounding the school’s ...