Penelope is mainly known as the wife of the ancient Greek hero Odysseus, a king and warrior who first spent ten years in the Trojan war and then another ten struggling to find his way home to Ithaca – monsters aimed to destroy him and gods tried to prevent his return home, aiming to keep … Continue reading Punkt Collective’s Penelope at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre in Kentish Town
In times of lunch & learns and al desko dining it is important for anyone employed to reclaim your lunch break – you are entitled to this to give your eyes a rest from screens, enjoy your food, get fresh air and not check your phone and to a certain degree you are also responsible … Continue reading Find a lunch time recital near you: Tuesdays at Wesley’s Chapel & Leysian Mission
I remember staying up all night as a teenager to read Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in one sitting as a teenager, a German translation admittedly and not the original text from 1886. The hypnotic narrative and tension made me regret years later still that Dr. Frankenstein’s fellow … Continue reading Chasing our memories through Lambeth: Fire Hazard Games’ Jekyll / Hyde
Constantly yearning for more dramatizations of Hans Christian Andersen’s oeuvre, I am blocking my calendar immediately when hearing that the London Dreamtime / Cunning Folk bunch does a personal favourite of his literary fairy tales, The Snow Queen. I have been to storytelling events by Vanessa Woolf and George Hoyle before; an evening walk by … Continue reading A London Dreamtime: The Snow Queen at the Union Chapel in Islington
Back at the Actor’s Centre at the Tristan Bates Theatre I am invited to the opening night of Syndrome, a new play by Tina Jay and directing debut of Jack Brett Anderson. Admittedly I know little about the Gulf War of the early 1990s and always thought of all soldiers’ trauma as terribly tragic, unjust … Continue reading Standing ovations for Syndrome at the Tristan Bates Theatre
Catford’s Broadway Theatre has been on my list of London venues yet to discover first-hand for a while – no wonder I am blown away by the unexpected size of this historic music hall and admire its art deco interior already in the box office. Here panto seasons are advertised on loud posters: The previous … Continue reading The Chinese New Year’s Extravaganza at The Broadway Theatre in Catford
Secretly I dream to be a location scout for pop-ups and all things show business – and love the transformation of the former King William IV pub in Elephant & Castle being transformed into the hosting grounds of Crooks 1926, a new immersive theatre experience based on the gangster scene in London’s East End of … Continue reading Immersive Theatre: We are a fair mob – Crooks 1926
Back at the Vault Festival I realise that many graffities and event-related art works have already been sprayed and tagged over since my visit earlier this month – the Leake Street tunnel under Waterloo Station is an ever morphing organ. I arrive well on time and can therefore venture out further into the labyrinth The … Continue reading The Vault Festival continues: Shybairn’s Talk Propa
Located just under Waterloo Station, I match anyone to find a venue in London better connected than The Vaults. But because train timetables are still not as reliable as in, say, Japan I arrive at the Vault’s front desk only exactly on time, am then directed through the purple-haired, crunchy wearing Vault Festival crowds and … Continue reading If you do not shout STOP, nothing will change – NUMB at the Vault festival
It’s an amazing feeling to buy musical tickets for someone to see a show with when this very someone has taken you to the cinema years ago to watch the film this show is based on. The massive impact of The Lion King was even felt by my primary school self in late 1994 while … Continue reading Hakuna Matata at the Lyceum Theatre – The Lion King is still stunning
