The lovely flowers and card with beautiful messages, which I was given by my colleagues yesterday. Today is the first day of the rest of my life. That's such a cliche, I know, but this expression describes so accurately how I'm feeling today. After a night out with my (now former!) colleagues … [Read more...]
Interview with Swanlake Reloaded Director Fredrik Rydman
Since its premiere in 1895, Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake has been an inspiration for generations of choreographers and directors. Now Sweden’s Fredrik Rydman brings Swan Lake Reloaded - where Tchaikovsky meets Street Dance - to the London Coliseum for seven performances only from 6 – 10 August … [Read more...]
Lenny Henry in Fences
On Tuesday when I saw Lenny Henry talk about his latest play, Fences, on BBC London News, I immediately wanted to go and see it. I love him and I also love the post-war era of the Great American Play, though I'd never seen any of August Wilson's plays. Later that same afternoon something remarkable … [Read more...]
Dr Glas in London
I'd been looking forward to seeing this dark Swedish play by Hjalmar Söderberg since I interviewed Krister Henriksson in London last autumn. Henriksson, who is better known to UK audiences for starring in the Swedish detective series as the morose Wallander, has been playing Dr Glas to great … [Read more...]
A Chorus of Disapproval
Nigel Harman, Rob Brydon and Ashley Jensen.Photo Uli WeberToday't blog is over at my theatre review site, Strindberg's Daughter, where I'm writing about a play I saw at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London yesterday, A Chorus of Disapproval. Hop and skip over there and let me know if you agree with … [Read more...]
Swedish Wallander comes to London’s West End
The lovely Krister Henriksson.Photo: Baldur Bragason / Yellow BirdI've been a fan of Krister Henriksson long before he became the Swedish Wallander, but it's in this role of the moody detective created by Henning Mankell that the actor is best known here in the UK.This is about to change.I met … [Read more...]
My Nights Out At London Theatre
Jussi Kangas: Pyynikki Summer Theatre, Tuntematon Sotilas 12.7.1961(Tampere Museum picture archive)One of my real passions in life is theatre. Ever since I was a little girl and my mother dragged me and my sister to the summer theatre in Tampere (a revolving stage in Pyynikki which is still going … [Read more...]
London Life: Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
Eve Best as Beatrice in Much Ado About Noting at The Globe. Picture: The GuardianI'm sure most tourists who come to London go and visit the lovingly rebuilt Globe Theatre when in town. I am, therefore, quite ashamed that until yesterday I hadn't even been inside this important landmark of British … [Read more...]
Strindberg’s Daughter – my new blog
Me posing as Strindberg's DaughterFor my birthday a few days ago I decided to give myself a rather unusual present: a new blog. For some time I've been writing theatre reviews here but thought that they deserved their own place in the blogosphere. Strindberg's Daughter was born!Those of you who've … [Read more...]
Strindberg’s Apartment at The New Diorama Theatre
The New Diorama Theatre is a small 80 seat venue in central London, a mere hop and skip away from Great Portland Street and Regent's Park tube stations. It's a busy area on a weekday, but on a Saturday evening this side of Euston Road was deserted. The offices and a few cafes catering for the nine … [Read more...]
