World Shakespeare Festival 2012

Part of the 2012 Cultural Olympics and led by the Royal Shakespeare Company, companies from around the world will bring their take on Shakespear to the UK, starting 23. April on London at the Globe Theatre with Troilus and Cressida. Find out more here.

At any given moment

found here via here

Whether it should read 'power' or rather 'possibility', is something I am not quite sure about, though. Discuss :-)

And coming back to last nights play: it was certainly a mixture of possibilities and (lack in ) power. Very intense 70 min, a 2 person play with simple yet compelling effects to highlight the different choices and possibilities in this relationship. 

Oh, the possibilities

We will go to the Royal Court Theatre tonight to see 'Constellations' by Nick Payne which is all about "One relationship. Infinite possibilities". I will let you know if this is either totally uplifting or utterly depressing .... (And find out more about the theatre here and here)

found here

Sweet Mathilda

We went to see Mathilda (by Roald Dahl) with the kids this weekend - really well done adaptation from the book.  The kids were fantastic and we were amazed not only by their great dancing and singing but also by their stamina. They are after all only between 8 and 12 to 14 years old. The music is refreshingly less 'modern musical' and more a touch old fashioned which is rather nice. All in all the birthday boy (who turned 50) as well as the kids enjoyed it immensely.

greyorgreen

On the way, on Long Acre, we passed this enticing shop - Sugar Sin - and got some treats for the interval - lovely smell in there.

greyorgreen

Wilton's Music Hall

Ever been to Wilton's Music Hall? It's the oldest music Hall in the country, a crumbling old building with a very ambitious program. I once went to see an inspired production of Bizet's Carmen with South African township singers. The atmosphere of the building is fantastic. Tomorrow they will host a celebration of W.G. Max Sebald with Ian Bostridge, A.S. Byatt and others. There is a Christmas Magic Show on Thursday and in January the outstanding Kronos Quartett will be on stage (but sadly this event is already sold out).

Cookies ...

greyorgreen

Yep, it's time to start baking - a pastime during Advent (or before for those you cannot wait!) in German speaking countries. Families will come back to old favorites and family receipts. We have friends who easily bake around 10 different types and give them away as presents (if the kids don't raid the larder, that is). We started baking last weekend, but then again, pre Christmas activities are in full flow. The first Bazaar took place today, one more to go and then there will be 3 Christmas carol concerts, two nativity plays, , Slava's Snow Show (very poetic, dreamlike and white ) and hopefully some mulled wine.

P.S. Here is the receipt for the above cookies. With the dark and light dough you can invent all sorts of shapes and forms .... great for kids!

Schwarz Weiss Gebaeck

375 g flour

175 g sugar

1 Ts Vanilla essence

250 g butter, soft

knead it all together

divide the dough in two

add 2 Tbls cacao 

2 Tbls sugar 

1 Tsp milk

knead

and put both parts in the fridge for at least 30 min

Then you can roll out the two parts, lay them on top of each other, roll to make a sausage and cut into 5mm thick pieces, or go and be inventive! (a chessboard maybe, for Grandpa?). In the oven at 200C, ca. 8-10 min. Enjoy!

Slava's Snow Show

For your diary

I had a snoop around the more off beaten events coming up soon and found some very promising stuff indeed:

Cerberus Theatre present Max Frisch's Count Oederland at the White Bear Theatre in Lambeth. Check out the review here  and hurry, last show is on the 19th November.

See Dance at the Jerwood Space:  Rough Cuts with Darren Ellis on the 2 December.

Or go and check out London's newest Exhibition space: Two Temple Space and its inaugural show about William Morris (till 29th January 2012) I found out about it on Jane's blog. Thanks!

found here

Royal Court

Went to see the Faith Machine by Alexi Kaye Campbell at the Royal Court. To put it in one sentence, it's about ideologies, believes and faith and the loss of it, religion, consumerism, capitalism and love. Sounds a lot, which it was  (the play even brushed Alzheimer), but although 2 1/2 hours long, there was hardly any length, some very good dialogues, some very good monologues, some stereotyping (intentional?!) and it was thought provoking and entertaining.

via

The theatre is dedicated to new and innovative work by British and foreign writers. Risky is what they like and the audience can also easily take a risk with ticket prices not more than 10£ on a Monday. And all this right in the middle of Sloane Square, the epicentre of Posh London. Fantastic.

Summer in the City Part I

Here are my suggestions for a good start into the London Summer

Enjoy some Music on a Summer Evening

or Summer Music and Dining at the Courtyard at 51 till the 13 August

(and much more Music at the Proms of course from 15. July till 10th September)

Then there is the Festival Watch this Space with free outdoor  theatre, music, dance and circus at the National Theatre

I love watching a film outside:

on a  Rooftop Cinema in Hoxton  (and more information here),

or check out Nomad Cinema with screenings in Battersea Park, Fulham Palace, Opera Holland Park. I think we will be watching ET in Richmond Park on 1 September, just the right setting!

A Beach is still the highlight of every summer. And I might have found an Urban beach - the Big Dip on Clapham Common. A very new venture, so I have no idea what it will be like, but they promise a pool and a beach. On till the 17. July. Check it out here.

A  good old-fashioned fair in Barnes on the 9th July

An Urban Physics Garden on 100 Union Street till the 15 August

A walk or cycle along the London canals, the Towpath Cafe on Regents Canal

found here

Go and stroll around Hampstead, stopping at the very British Coffee Shop.

ENJOY!

Bookworm

I am a bookworm, in our family we all are actually. We have books lying around everywhere and could do with some of these:

the Liesmichl (translates roughly as 'Readme')

found here

or some of these scattered around the house, with your favourite book on the rooftop and a drink inside:

found here via shoebox

And we will definitely try to get tickets for Eoin Colfer's one-man show at the Southbank on 2 June. He is the author of the Artemis Fowl spy/agent/fairy/criminal/very-bright-kid/gnome series, and if he is only half as witty as his books, it should be a very funny evening for all of us (suitable for ages nine and over).

The weekend looks rather rainy, our BBQ will have to wait and we will cuddle up with a few good reads instead.

Have a very happy weekend!

'The Double Bass' at the New End Theatre, Hampstead

The German writer Patrick Suesskind is probably best known for his book 'Perfume' which was also made into a film, though he had his breakthrough in 1981 with the play Der Kontrabaß (The Double Bass).
The play is a highly amusing and entirely accurate monologue of a tragi-comical musician about the trials of playing the double-bass. He has however as many problems with his instrument as he has with his role in the orchestra and in his private life:

It's more of an obstacle than a musical instrument. [...] It stands around the whole time, you know ... there was this uncle of mine who was always ill, and he always complained there was no one looking after him. The double-bass is just like that. If you have friends round, it always hogs the limelight. No one will talk about anything else. And if you're wanting to be alone with a woman, it stands there, looming over you.

I saw the play first some time ago with a group of fellow musicians and afterwards we just could not stop telling each other how very well the author had described the orchestral world. It is probably even funnier if you are not a musician, because if you are, you will find yourself sadly agreeing with a lot of the (not always complementary) comments and observations on stage. This monodram offers comedy, social analysis and brilliant observations of a world not known to many, but which reflects our own social cosmos only too well.

The 'musician in crisis' with Christopher Hunter as the double bass player will be on stage at the New End Theatre from 6 to 24 April 2011.