Want to see more culture this year?
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If this was your new year’s resolution (and it’s an admirable one, even though I never make resolutions because I sort of think the post-festive doldrums is the last place from which I can clearly see what I need in my life), then WELCOME/WELCOME BACK, The London Culture Edit is here for you.
Though the first full week of January probably isn’t the greatest week to start (a lot of stuff has just finished, and a lot is yet to begin), there are a few things still on for which you can get tickets and have a great time. There’s a short list below (ignoring hot stuff that is irredeemably sold out), for those of you especially keen to act on your newfound determination before apathy sets in.
And to stave that off still further, The London Culture Edit has a new special offer - 20% off a year’s subscription, which means that as well as these free Monday posts, you get the full Thursday bulletin, covering what I’ve seen (and what I thought of it), what else is on at the moment, what’s coming up soon and what’s looming further ahead. Here’s an unlocked bulletin from a month or so ago, to give you an idea of what it contains.
Gratifyingly, since I started The London Culture Edit, lots of people have told me that they have booked/seen things that they wouldn’t have got to or considered - or even known about - otherwise, as a direct result of reading it, which is exactly what I wanted.
If that sounds like something that could enrich your life, sign up here, the 20% discount offer lasts until January 31. There’s also the option of a monthly subscription at that link, if you’d rather be a bit more circumspect. It is January after all.
Some things you can still see this week
The Great Mughals: Art, Architecture and Opulence
Opulence hardly covers it with this incredible exhibition of outrageously beautiful objects, created during the reigns of three successive Mughal emperors (Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan) in India, between about 1560-1610. Revealing a golden age of creativity and art, it sure does glitter. Just wow. V&A, to May 5
The Importance of Being Earnest
Don’t shout, I know Earnest is sold out, BUT at 1pm on Friday (January 10 - and every Friday) the theatre releases £10 Friday Rush seats and standing tickets for performances taking place the following week (in this case, between January 13 to 18). It’s a fucking hoot, one of the most joyous experiences I’ve had in the theatre. National Theatre, to January 25
Listen to my and the Nicks’ review of The Importance of Being Earnest, and of Ballet Shoes (below) on The London Theatre Review podcast. You can find that and all episodes of the LTR here, or wherever you get your podcasts. New season starts January 19
Electric Dreams: Art and Technology Before the Internet
I really enjoyed this engaging exhibition, which looks at the work of artists who were exploring the uses and meanings of technology before Skynet went live. Punctuated with “ooooh” moments and infused with the energy of experimentation and discovery, it’s good for kids too, because there are things that move and toot and flashing lights. I reviewed it for the Standard, you can read that here. Tate Modern, to June 1
Ballet Shoes
Kendall Feaver and Katy Rudd’s glorious reinvention of Noel Streatfield’s children’s classic, about four orphans and a motley crew of marvellously singular adults bringing each other up in the house of an absent and eccentric paleontologist, is just gorgeous. Funny, clever, moving, spectacular - and it contains tantalising glimpses of two fictional stage productions that I would pay good money to see. National Theatre, to February 22
Twelfth Night
This late 1940s-set production of Shakespeare’s comedy of cross-dressing and cruelty has had excellent reviews, and stars, remarkably, the 85-year-old Oliver Ford Davies as the pitifully duped Malvolio, his age only sharpening the viciousness of his tormentors. Tom Littler, directing, seems to have elevated the role of the fool, Feste, quite considerably, to good effect - I’m hoping to catch it before it closes. Orange Tree Theatre, to January 25
Joan Snyder: Body and Soul
This mini-retrospective of work by the American painter Joan Snyder, 84, is an excellent opportunity to get a handle on her work, which sort of hurtles between figuration and abstraction, often in the same painting. Thick paint, bold colours, give-a-shit textures and a lifetime of experience and emotion make for a thrilling ride. Thaddeus Ropac, to February 5
A Very Naughty Christmas
If for some reason you’re not sick to death of Christmas then this very silly, very filthy, adults-only musical burlesque show from Australia might be just what you want. There’s no plot, it’s more a sequence of skits and songs, and to give you an idea, Tommie Connor would turn in his grave at the X-rated rendition of his grating classic I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. Daft, fun, festive. Southwark Playhouse Elephant, to January 11
Bill Bailey: Thoughtifier
He’s not to everyone’s taste but Bill Bailey absolutely commands a stage, and (especially after his Strictly triumph) he can command a sizeable audience too, hence a significant run at this really quite large theatre. Bailey’s a fairly gentle comic, and sometimes the songs are not necessarily what you want to be happening in the moment, but if you’re even moderately a fan this show will send you out smiling. And there’s a laser harp (yes, harp, not sharp) finale, which is almost certainly unique in the West End. Theatre Royal Haymarket, to February 15
Cinderella
Not a panto. There are a few tickets left for Frederick Ashton’s swoony classic at the Royal Ballet, the first full-length show that he choreographed for the then-new company, set to Prokofiev’s exquisite score. It’s absurdly stunning, with sets by Tom Pye (My Neighbour Totoro), costumes by Alexandra Byrne (Elizabeth: The Golden Age) and illusions by Chris Fisher (Harry Potter and The Cursed Child). And that doesn’t even take into account the dancing. Royal Opera House, to January 18
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The RSC’s production, now at the Barbican, goes heavy on the dreamworld with plenty of surreal touches (if the indications of bestiality weren’t weird enough for you) and Mathew Baynton, of Ghosts and Horrible Histories fame, is an excellent, actually funny Bottom (not a given). Properly magical. Barbican, to January 18
La Bohème
My tiny hand is bloody frozen right now too, it being so cold in my flat, so I feel a particular affinity with the tubercular heroine of Puccini’s grand weepie, which tells a tragic if slightly implausible love story amid the poverty of 19th century Paris, in winter. The music’s great, the singing will be fab. There are only a few tickets, mind. Royal Opera House, to January 17
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