Something to look forward to...
You'll thank me after Christmas
I’m aware that this is an expensive time of year, even if, like my immediate family, you are moderately parsimonious when it comes to presents (my mother’s ancestors moved from Scotland to Australia some three or four generations ago, but there remains a strong Presbyterian suspicion of lavishness lingering in our DNA).
However, once the pleasant fog of Christmas has lifted, and the chill of dry January has begun to seep into your bones, everyone wants something to look forward to. So like this post so that you can return to it, because here is a starter pack of things that have caught my eye in London in the first couple of months of the year, to book once your bank balance starts to look a bit healthier (or, in the case of Streetcar, right now, and I’m not kidding).
Film
London Short Film Festival
The perfect event for mid-January, when your powers of concentration remain compromised after the festive season. Each screening is only an hour or so long, if that, and you’ll often get to see loads of films at each one. From an evening of docs on the financialisation of cities, to an hour on the rich musical heritage of Deptford and New Cross; from an exploration of horror and fantasy in the depiction of the erotic to a night of Alien Aesthetics, cosmic glamour, genderfluid and pluralistic futures and extraterrestrial matters, there’s absolutely something for everyone.
Various venues, January 17-26
Music
The Four Seasons with Daniel Pioro
People are snooty about Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (is that because of Nigel Kennedy? Or just because absolutely everyone likes it?) but I think it’s an out and out banger. Especially, I suspect, in the hands of the brilliant violinist Daniel Pioro, who will be playing a new version of it with the Manchester Camerata and, for some reason, Stephen Fry (not sure what he’s doing) to launch their new recording of the piece.
King’s Place, January 18
Theatre
Oedipus
No not that one. Admittedly this new version of Sophocles’ play by Ella Hickson has big boots to fill after Robert Icke’s triumphant West End production with Mark Strong and Lesley Manville (on at the Wyndham’s until January 4, though good luck getting tickets without selling a kidney), but Hickson is a very exciting writer, and the show boasts its own stars, Rami Malek and Indira Varma, which should help it do good business.
Old Vic, January 21 to March 29
Theatre
Elektra
OK another Greek tragedy isn’t going to cheer you up, but Captain Marvel herself, Brie Larson, makes her West End debut in director Daniel Fish’s new version of yet another stonking Sophocles’ play, this time all about revenge, in a translation by the genius Anne Carson.
Duke of York's, January 24 to April 12
Comedy
Amy Gledhill: Make Me Look Fit on the Poster
The cheerful Hull-born comedian (and co-host of the Single Ladies in Your Area podcast) won Best Show at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards this year with this hour about body image, and is bringing it to London for a decent length run at the end of January. Irrestistible.
Soho Theatre, January 27 to February 8
Opera
Aida
Robert Carsen’s five-star production of Verdi’s grand clash of the personal and the political drags the ancient tale into a contemporary world, framing power struggles and toxic romantic jealousies in a modern, totalitarian state. The music is, of course, knockout, and the singing should be superb, with Anna Pirozzi as Aida, alongside Riccardo Massi, Ekaterina Semenchuk and Amartuvshin Enkhbat.
Royal Opera House, January 28 to February 12
Theatre
Play On!
Yes, it’s a jazz musical based extremely loosely on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, set in 1940s Harlem, where a talented young songwriter, Vy, goes gender-undercover to get in with the right people in a man’s world. Because why the hell not. Sounds like a delight, and the music will be fab.
Lyric Hammersmith, January 28 to February 22
Music
LPO/Canellakis with Benjamin Grosvenor
The brilliant British classical pianist Benjamin Grosvenor joins the London Philharmonic Orchestra to play Mozart’s virtuoso Piano Concerto Number 21, which will be worth the ticket price alone, but there’s also a bit of my chilly Finnish fave, Sibelius.
Royal Festival Hall, January 29
Exhibition
At Home: Alice Neel in the Queer World
The incisive portraitist Alice Neel lived a fascinating, and somewhat rackety life, but now sits firmly in the canon of great 20th century American painters. This show, curated by the writer Hilton Als, focuses on her paintings of people from queer communities and those within their circle - politicians, writers, performers and artists, as well as friends and neighbours.
Victoria Miro, January 30 to March 8
Theatre
A Streetcar Named Desire
Yes, the totally sold out ‘Paul Mescal Streetcar’ is back, presumably as some kind of palate cleanser after the sheer scale of Gladiator II (also it’ll be nice for him to get a chance to do some prolonged acting, which Ridley Scott didn’t seem keen on for some reason). All the original (superb) leads - Patsy Ferran, Anjana Vasan and Dwayne Walcott, in addition to Mescal - are back for three weeks only before heading to New York. Book, book, BOOK.
Noël Coward Theatre, February 3-22
Exhibition
Noah Davis
Though he died tragically young at 32 from a rare cancer, the African American painter Noah Davis made quite an impact. As well as co-founding The Underground Museum, to give free access to world-class art for the people of Arlington Heights, LA, he was a prolific portrayer of Black life, in both realistic and dreamlike forms. Britain’s first institutional survey of his work, the show will bring together more than 50 works spanning painting, sculpture and works on paper.
Barbican Art Gallery, February 6 to May 11
Gig
Cyndi Lauper Farewell Tour
Wanna have fun? Girls? This is the place for both, I suspect. It’ll be a hoot. That’s all you need to know.
O2, February 11
Exhibition
Mickalene Thomas: All About Love
The American artist Mickalene Thomas makes vibrant, large-scale portraits of Black women at rest, reclaiming space and representation in art history. Her major show at the Hayward runs at the gallery alongside Danger Came Smiling, the first London retrospective of the British feminist artist Linder, famed chiefly for her funny and furious photomontages.
Hayward Gallery, February 11 to May 5
Theatre
Richard II
I mean, God knows if you can get tickets now after the release of Wicked Part One, but yes, this is the Jonathan Bailey Richard II. It’s directed by Sir Nicholas Hytner and though I may be making assumptions, I slightly expect it to lean into the suggestions of the king’s homosexuality that are sort of barely latent in the play, in an interesting way. It’s a great role.
Bridge Theatre, February 10 to May 10
Music
ROBESON with Davóne Tines and The Truth
Described as “a classical Americana Electro-Gospel acid trip”, this new show (receiving its UK premiere) by the bass-baritone Davóne Tines is a personal portrait of the great American singer, actor, campaigner and activist Paul Robeson, exploring his legacy, his inner torment and his exceptional voice, in a very unorthodox evening which sounds completely enthralling.
Barbican, February 15
Dance
Crystal Pite: Light of Passage
The Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite’s award-winning work Light of Passage brings her distinctive style to bear on themes of safe passage, displacement, community and mortality. Set to the Polish composer Henryk Gorecki’s affecting Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, it celebrates the power of human connection. Which seems apt right now.
Royal Opera House, February 20 to March 12
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This is a really useful survey, Nancy, thank you. And please take a look at my Theatrewise Substack which is an eqivalent survey of the arts online.