Tasting rare 16-year-old beef at Meatopia food festival September 7, 2022 Thick wafts of smoke cover me in the sweet smell of resin and meat. The translucent shapes of the fumes drift skywards from more than a dozen barbecue grills. I’m at Meatopia on the top floor of Regency-era warehouse Tobacco Dock, a fitting name for the sight I see around me. Halfway along the top [...]
The best things to do in London this September and October September 2, 2022 Massive new musicals, snooping around some of the best private houses in the capital, eating with Tom Kerridge and making the most out of those final long late-summer evenings. There are still so many things to do in London this September, including three more festivals before the summer calls it quits. Here’s the best of [...]
I, Joan, The Globe, review: Trans lead makes London theatre history with gripping performance September 2, 2022 Gay men had it in the 1980s and 1990s when two landmark plays, Angels In America and The Normal Heart, humanised the tragedies of the AIDS crisis on major theatre stages. And now I, Joan, a new adaptation of the story of Joan of Arc, feels similarly like a crucial and history-making piece of theatre [...]
Al Mare restaurant review: Forget La Dolche Vita, there’s an ideal Italian escape in SW1 August 31, 2022 Living and working in the Square Mile, I rarely venture too far west, but when I do I get all the rush of a foreign holiday. There’s the expansive feel of the grand parklands and the glamorous feel of the hotels with air-conditioned lobbies. Then there’s the contrasting intimacy of the red brick mansions on [...]
The man who helped Tom Cruise act at 7Gs in Top Gun: Maverick August 26, 2022 Top Gun: Maverick has ascended like a graceful jet to become the sixth highest grossing film in US history. Quite some doing given it was only released three months ago. A mixture of cynicism and wonder drove people back to the cinema: the promise of Tom Cruise flying in real fighter jets at hundreds of [...]
Beast review: A surprisingly straight story of man vs lion, and actually good August 26, 2022 Let’s tackle the elephant – or should that be the lion? – in the room. The concept of new Idris Elba film Beast is flatly ridiculous. It features a deadly serious scene in which Elba fights a lion with his bare hands. It’s about a man-munching lion skulking around South Africa tearing limbs off locals [...]
Five million pounds of Banksy art is now free to see in the City August 25, 2022 Walking into the Banksy exhibition at the new Red Eight Gallery at The Royal Exchange, the first artwork you’ll see is Morons, a depiction of an auction room upon which Banksy has scrawled: “I can’t believe you morons buy this shit.” Let’s just get this out of the way first: it’s blazingly ironic to host [...]
Two Ukrainian Plays, Finborough Theatre, review: Haunting tales from Ukraine August 20, 2022 Some proceeds from Two Ukrainian Plays are donated toThe Voices of Children Charitable Foundation, a Ukrainian charity that provides urgently needed psychological and psychosocial support to children affected by the war in Ukraine. You can donate using this link above. The capital’s artistic organisations have been collaborating, producing and devising Ukrainian-themed work ever since Russia made [...]
Cruise review, Apollo Theatre: As fresh and relevant as It’s A Sin August 18, 2022 Cruise is one of only a handful of West End openings this August, so thank goodness it’s a hit. A lucky few were already privy to how good Cruise is, with the show making headlines in May 2021 when it opened as the first post-pandemic West End production. “I knew that a solo show would [...]
Musicians share pasta horror stories ahead of London’s first pasta festival August 17, 2022 Horrifying combinations, guests alerting dinner party hosts to chemical smells wafting from the kitchen and, yep, tomato ketchup. Italy is known as the food capital of the world but their most prized export is often butchered on these shores. Ahead of London’s first ever pasta festival, taking place this weekend, we’ve spoken to three of [...]