Thursday night was spent at the Catapult Club in throbbing New Cross, a musical hotbed of south London (it seems every band comes from Peckham, Brockley, New Cross, etc these days) watching a jazz improv evening. It might be the best night out in south London these days with storming performances from a range of young and old.
Friday night was spent at the Apollo Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in the West End watching David Mamet's new play A Life in Theatre starring Captain Pickard (don't you hate type casting Patrick Stewart) and Pacey (Joshua Jackson) from Dawson's Creek. This was lightweight but enjoyable (especially if you are a woman keen to see Pacey in self-described 'tighty-whiteys') as the actors took us from backstage to the stage in a variety of segments. Probably was better suited for a smaller venue and features a melodramatic finale out-of-step with the rest of the script.
Saturday, and I mean all day Saturday, was spent in a marathon 5-and-a-half hour staging at the Royal Opera house of Wagner's Die Walküre, the second installement of his epic Ring trilogy. You either love it or hate it (I take the former perspective) but you can't dislike the fantasticlly renovated venue and the wonedrful English habit of bringing wine and dinner into the great hall and sprawling over steps and floor during interludes (the second a full hour in length) to sip Chianti and nibble Brillo.
Sunday concluded with the annual orchestral/choral presentation of Bach's St Michael's Passion at Royal Festival Hall. Said the elderly woman in front of us after hearing we had attended Wagner the night before: "Well at least you have redeemed yourself!"
So all in all Thierry Henry's lone strike through a resolute Bayern back-4 nips Woltan's lighting of the ring of fire for most cultured moment of a week that could be any week in the most fantastic of cities. As Oscar Wilde (or was it Samuel Johnson, I am never sure) said: "If you are bored of London you are bored of life".
Here's three sample tips of upcoming events you cannot miss if you reside in one of the villages, for if you prefer as Benjamin Disraeli said: "London is a roost for every bird".
- Theatre of the New Ear - A live double bill of readings of screenplays, accompanied by music and sound effects featuring Joel and Ethan Coen's Sawbones and Charlie Kaufman's Hope Leaves the Theatre. Performers include Meryl Streep, Steve Buscemi, Hope Davies and Philip Seymour Hoffman. (Royal Festival Hall, 13 May, 2005)
- Otello - A rare opportunity to see Ben Heppner & Renee Fleming together on this side of the Atlantic. (Royal Opera House, 28 June, 1,4,7,10,16 July, 2005)
- Legends of Hip-Hop - Live DJs spin, beatboxers box the beat, and lockdancers hold headspins. Experience the cultural phenomena of breakdancing first-hand with the best in the world. (Queen Elizabeth Hall, 25,26,27,28,29,30 March, 2005)
