This marvellous production demonstrates beyond doubt that the depth of talent we have in London is astonishing. Sedos (the Stock Exchange Dramatic and Operatic Society, founded in 1905) have put together a show of West End quality. The self-confidence, versatility and sheer joy of performing shown by every cast member is inspiring and uplifting. With very limited resources they turn minuses into pluses, overcome every challenge with aplomb and deliver entertainment with an unmatched joie de … [Read more...]
About John OBrien
Measure for Measure at The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
An exhilarating evening at the uniquely atmospheric Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. Watching Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure here is the closest one can get to actually being at the playback in the London of 1604. For this experience in time travel, we should be grateful to the American Sam Wanamaker who battled against all the odds to get this replica built. This intimate galleried auditorium, magically lit by real candles, with the musicians in the top gallery playing period instruments, is the … [Read more...]
Nell Gwynn by Jessica Swale at The National Archives, Kew
I was met and greeted at the bar by Junis Olmscheid, one of those remarkable women that run so many of our voluntary associations. Junis makes the costumes, does the wigs and makeup, designs and constructs the sets and props. Showing me around the photographic exhibition to mark the 50th anniversary of the Q2 players she explained that the Q stands for Kew and the 2 records that two previous am-dram societies were merged to form the present Q2. Priced out of their previous home St Luke’s, The … [Read more...]
Romeo and Juliet at The Royal Opera House | Review
When the announcer welcomed the audience to the first post-pandemic ballet at Covent Garden last night the response from a packed house, was electric. It was the collective expression of relief and joy after 18 months of isolation. And what a show to welcome us back. Romeo and Juliet is one of the greatest in the repertoire. Combining the plot of Shakespeare, the music of Prokofiev, the choreography of MacMillan, the set designs of Georgiadis and the conducting of Kessels it would be … [Read more...]
ENO The Marriage of Figaro at the London Coliseum | Review
Another smash hit from WAM! Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) the eighteenth-century superstar of classical music who started composing aged 5, was dead by 35 but had by then written over 600 works including four of the greatest operas of all time: The Marriage of Figaro (1786), Don Giovanni (1787), Cosi fan tutte (1790) and The Magic Flute (1791). The Marriage of Figaro is a comic masterpiece that delights at every turn. It is Four Weddings and a Funeral without the funeral. A cross between A … [Read more...]
Love, Loss & Chianti at Riverside Studios | Review
As a Londoner born and bred I like to visit new arts venues and marvel at the extraordinary transformations that are happening all over this great city. The new Riverside Studios which opened in October 2019 take up the entire ground floor of a residential apartment block facing the Thames fifty metres from Hammersmith Bridge. A large foyer doubles as an art gallery, leading off are two theatres, two cinemas, a cafe, a restaurant, a free cloakroom and plenty of toilets. A wonderful addition to … [Read more...]
Madam Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini at the London Coliseum | Review
It’s no accident that Puccini wrote Madam Butterfly in 1905. Japan had announced itself on the world stage by defeating Russia. It was the first Asian nation to win a war against a modern industrialized power. It was an event that undermined lazy assumptions of white racial superiority. Puccini’s opera can be seen as a landmark in the dialogue between 'the West' and Japan. However, it was to be America, not Russia that proved most influential in shaping modern Japan. Puccini captures this macro … [Read more...]