Gregory Porter review — this old-school, jazzy entertainment is hard to beat
'We're honoured to be in the house with these beautiful people,' he announced during the appropriately named Revival: this opening song was pure soul revivalism, like Otis Redding at a supper club. 'Every song is ultimately about love,' he said before If Love Is Overrated, but he wasn't talking about the tangled realities of relationships. He
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The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- The Herald Scotland
Horrid Henry and the wives he cut off in their prime
In other words, it's a bit like watching a River City re-run on BBC iPlayer. History is also similar to River City as it's populated by very bad people doing very bad things for very good reasons. Mark Shaw teaches the subject (History, not River City) and knows a thing or two about ancient times. He once worked in a Californian school where the curriculum was focused, understandably, on America's glittering (and often grizzly) past. Occasionally Mark grew weary of reciting tales about George Washington's wooden teeth, and for the sake of variety would throw into the mix the odd anecdote celebrating Brittania's gloriously gory backstory. Most students were enthralled when Mark told them about Henry VIII and the tragic fate of his six wives. Though one girl was visibly appalled at the behaviour of England's much married monarch, and couldn't stop herself from shouting out: 'That Henry VIII… I didn't realise he was such a diva.' Lot of bottle While studying at Edinburgh Uni, Karen Lawson had a part-time job as a waitress in an Italian restaurant. A rude drunk once staggered into the premises, flopped down at a table and demanded a bottle of wine. 'What year?' asked Karen. 'I better get it this year,' slurred the drunk, 'or there'll be trouble.' Road to ruin While learning to drive, reader Bill Fry had a wise instructor who educated him in the ways of motoring. This chap once said to Bill: 'If you don't swear while you're driving, that just means you aren't concentrating on what's happening on the road.' Bedtime story The teenage son of Patricia Smith was vacationing in Ibiza with buddies. While the other lads soaked up rays at the beach, or knocked back drinks with fancy-schmancy names at the bar, Patricia's son spent most of his time snoozing peacefully in his air-conditioned room. This behaviour did not go unnoticed, leading his pals to reward him with the entirely suitable moniker… half-man half-mattress. Jobbing along It's been years since Paul Wright retired from a career working in a Glasgow office, though he still misses that feeling of self-worth a job gives a chap. He recalls one boss rewarding him with a memorable 'compliment', when he said to Paul: 'I go to you when I can't go to my go-to guy.' The hardest word 'I don't apologise for anything,' says reader Sue Cunningham. 'I'm sorry, that's just the way I am.'
Times
2 days ago
- Times
London City Ballet review — a witty and wonderful programme
The resurrection of London City Ballet nearly 30 years after the company's closure was one of the success stories of 2024. Relaunched last summer by the erstwhile dancer Christopher Marney, this international touring company is clearly on a roll in its mission to honour the past while looking to the future. Momentum, the umbrella title for LCB's second programme of revivals of rarely seen dances alongside new commissions, is hearteningly apt. The tour, which I caught at the Theatre Royal in Bath, stretches into November and encompasses Birmingham, Oxford and York, two separate visits to London (at Sadler's Wells and the Royal Opera House, respectively) as well as trips to France and Spain. • Read more dance reviews, guides and interviews You couldn't ask for a better curtain-raiser than George Balanchine's Haieff Divertimento. Named after Alexei Haieff, to whose lyrical and lively music it's set, this brief 'black and white' ballet dates from 1947 and was for decades deemed to have been lost. Incredibly, this is its UK premiere. Divided into five scenes marked by the kind of courtly yet stylish quirkiness that was key to Balanchine's art, the work is an excellent company showcase. All ten dancers have a chance to shine, but none more so than the sparklingly saucy Jimin Kim, most ably partnered by Alejandro Virelles. Balanchine's beautiful bauble is followed by a pair of darker chamber ballets, each of which focuses on duets. Premiered at the Royal Ballet in 2009 and set to Liszt, Consolations and Liebestraum was an early sign of the considerable talent of the choreographer Liam Scarlett. Charting the deterioration of a relationship through the interactions of three couples, his dance possesses great emotional intelligence. The shift from playful serenity to troubled melancholy is impressively modulated, leading to a lump-in-throat finale for the guest star Alina Cojocaru and Joseph Taylor. Joseph Taylor and Alina Cojocaru performed Consolations and Liebestraum ASH Soft Shore is by Florent Melac, premier danseur at the Paris Opera Ballet. Created for two couples, one of which is same-sex, and set to Beethoven, this new work suffers a bit by its tonal similarity to the Scarlett. Overloaded with steps and movement, it sometimes seems more like a strenuously physical exercise than the deep expression of human feeling it was meant to be. It is, however, very capably danced. The bill culminates with Alexei Ratmansky's vibrant take on Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Ten wonderfully deadpan dancers, Cojocaru among them, romp their way through a series of breakneck scenes that capture the music's grandeur and drive via a deft balance of drama, melodrama and humour. The digital backdrop of geometric watercolours by Kandinsky is neatly echoed in Adeline André's costumes. The overall effect is witty and, like London City Ballet itself, more than a little dazzling.★★★★☆ 105min Touring to Nov 22, Follow @timesculture to read the latest reviews
The Guardian
2 days ago
- The Guardian
The Traitors Prom review – iconic show's greatest hits turn the melodrama up to 11
Even the Royal Albert Hall's public announcement system was getting into the spirit of things. 'Traitors and faithful, this is your five-minute warning. Please take your seats. The concert begins in five minutes.' In the hall references to iconic moments of the TV show upped the ante. Three large screens played montages from the series, and a familiar-looking round table stood in the centre of the promming arena. Twelve dancers dressed alternately in the distinctive traitor cloaks and masks, or as the more cartoonish characters of the tasks (It-referencing clowns, lurching scarecrows trailing straw from a particularly nightmarish Wizard of Oz), stalked through the auditorium. The stage too was packed with the massed ranks of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Chorus and the BBC Singers, all led by Irish conductor Karen Ní Bhroin, making a confident proms debut. Master of ceremonies for the first ever Traitors Prom was its much-loved presenter Claudia Winkleman – knitwear and fingerless gloves understandably missing on a humid July afternoon but clad in an elegant black velvet jacket, eyeliner and fringe intact. She arrived on stage heralded by a piper and a palpable sense of excitement. The reality TV show – basically wink murder in a gorgeously furnished highlands castle – has been one of the BBC's greatest successes in recent years. Its soundtrack, which features slowed down covers of chart hits, big on gothic menace, slow of beat, is an integral part of its atmosphere, with the occasional piece of classical music part of the mix (Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky – so long as the melodrama can be turned up to 11). 'With its themes of betrayal and treachery and intrigue, the Traitors fits classical music like a glove,' said Proms director Sam Jackson at the season's launch in April. In the event however, the classical content was slight, touched only glancingly on betrayal, and was careful not to overstay its welcome, while over-orchestrated cover versions of songs by the likes of Billie Eilish (Bad Guy), Oliva Rodrigo (vampire) and Imagine Dragons (Believer) and Sam Watts' Traitors theme tune dominated the programme. The BBCSSO and Ní Bhroin proved their versatility as they moved from the stodge of Hidden Citizens' Nothing Is as it Seems to whirling colours of Saint-Saëns's Danse macabre; tenor Andrés Presno was impassioned and sparklingly clear in Cavaradossi's heartbreaking aria E lucevan le stelle from Puccini's Tosca, the opening clarinet solo particularly beautiful. During Dance of the Clowns from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker ballet eight performers in fright wigs and boiler suits jerked as if electrocuted at the front of the Albert Hall stage. Singers Hayla and Andrea Lykke, sharing pop performing duties, have powerful voices but in the hall lyrics were lost and both gave curiously uninvolved performances to each of their three numbers. Darrell Smith brought more energy to Believer and Sophie Ellis-Bextor's Murder on the Dancefloor, which closed the show on a high energy note. Luckily, a handful of ex-contestants were on hand – their tongues firmly in their cheeks – to keep things fun. Minah and Linda were on stage to reminisce briefly with Claudia, Alexander, whose backwards singing (you had to be there) was one of series 3's best moments, was 'discovered' in the ranks of the BBC Symphony Chorus. The concert's finale featured, of course, the unmasking of a traitor. Series 2 winner, Harry Clark, was found sitting at the Royal Albert Hall's organ. 'I'm the best traitor in the Proms,' he shouted, echoing his famous victory cry, twirling his cape. Available to listen again on BBC Sounds until 13 October. The concert was filmed for TV, transmission date to be announced.
