Review: What Maisie Knew August 23, 2013 FILM WHAT MAISIE KNEW Cert 12A Four Stars Maisie is six years old and already more emotionally mature than her flaky, dysfunctional parents. Her saucer eyes are wise – and sad – beyond her years. We stumble with her from scene to scene, placed in her shoes, trying to work out exactly what [...]
Theatre review: The Picture of Dorian Gray August 22, 2013 THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY | ★★☆☆☆ | thealchemicorder.com The location of The Alchemic Order’s production of The Picture of Dorian Gray is so secret I almost couldn’t find it. Eventually, on ringing the bell of an unassuming Greenwich townhouse, I was greeted by a moustachioed man in Victorian butler’s attire, who ushered me into [...]
Where to drink August 22, 2013 If the Notting Hill Carnival isn’t your cup of tea, there are plenty of interesting venues across London at which to drink away the bank holiday. In Fitzrovia, for instance, the perennially popular Sanderson is keeping its courtyard terrace fresh with an especially a la mode pop-up. Named Sanderson Green, it’s serving laid-back, haute fast [...]
An era-spanning masterpiece August 15, 2013 THEATRE THE PRIDE Trafalgar Studios | By Xenobe Purvis Four Stars ALEXI Kaye Campbell’s award-winning The Pride gets a powerful revival as part of Jamie Lloyd’s Trafalgar Transformed season at Trafalgar Studios. The play’s protagonists Oliver, Philip and Sylvia exist in two time periods, the 1950s and now, and respond to the social pressures encountered [...]
Where to Drink: King’s Cross: London’s new cocktail capital August 15, 2013 WHETHER it’s down to the two hour shuttle to Paris or the imminent Google HQ arrival, the costly regeneration of King’s Cross means it is quickly becoming a terminus for more than just passengers, especially with its glut of new cocktail joints. Following on from Booking Station, Gilbert Scott Bar, VOC and Shrimpy’s, it boasts [...]
Review: Only God Forgives August 1, 2013 FILM ONLY GOD FORGIVES Cert 18 | By Steve Dinneen Three stars SO, ONLY God Forgives… Owwwwkaaaaaaay… Nicholas Winding Refn’s blood-soaked Bangkok revenge movie makes his previous film, Drive, look like a kids movie about a plucky stuntman. It’s essentially a collection of stylish, exquisitely orchestrated but disjointed scenes portraying a level of graphic violence [...]
Bankers as trapeze artists, central planners and markets July 30, 2013 THERE are three ways we can organise banking. The first, which I don’t recommend, is to adopt the pre-2008 model; the second is the current approach, which seeks to micro-manage everything and which will also fail; and the third would be to allow genuine market discipline to be reinstated. Under the first approach, there [...]
The year’s most spectacular theatrical extravaganza July 28, 2013 THEATRE THE DROWNED MAN Temple Studios | By Steve Dinneen Five Stars Punchdrunk theatre company has been flying the flag for immersive theatre for over a decade, joining the likes of Shunt and Secret Cinema in dragging the genre from niche installations in trendy basements to marquee productions that charge £50 a ticket. Unlike some [...]
Where to Drink July 28, 2013 TOAST the arrival of the Royal Baby at one of London’s new bars and clubs. Ascend to the rarefied heights of Aqua Shard, where it’s claimed a generous amount of space for its standalone lounge bar. Situated in a three storey atrium with immense windows bathing the room in light, it’s the perfect place to [...]
Review: Timber! July 18, 2013 THEATRE TIMBER! Southbank Centre | By Alex Dymoke Three Stars CIRQUE Alfonse isn’t afraid to eschew the conventions of family entertainment. Its new show Timber! features Michael Jackson-style baby dangling, worryingly inept axe juggling and lots and lots of drinking. The bottles may not contain real booze, but the show is as much [...]