Into The Night – Penlee Lifeboat Click here for tickets On Saturday 19 December 1981, the Penlee lifeboat ‘Solomon Browne’, was launched in hurricane conditions to go to the aid of the coaster ‘Union Star’ that had engine failure and was being swept towards the southern coast of Cornwall. It was an attempted rescue which ranks with the greatest in the history of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Marking 40 years since the event, Into the Night has been adapted into a theatrical event by playwright and screen writer Frazer Flintham from the Cornish author Michael Sagar-Fenton’s book Penlee: The Loss of a Lifeboat. The author is himself a Penlee RNLI volunteer. This performance of Into the Night remembers the courage, dedication and heroism of the Penlee lifeboat crew. Author Frazer Flintham said: “It can be easy to forget that crew members on lifeboats in the UK are all volunteers. Electricians, teachers, builders – all willing to drop everything to go out into all weathers, and rescue people they’ve likely never met. I was drawn to this story for its humbling and very human reminder of what bravery can really mean.” Director Alastair Whatley said: “The story of the Penlee Lifeboat is one of the most awe-inspiring stories of ordinary people being thrust into unimaginable conditions and risking everything to save others. It’s a story that touches all who hear it and our hope is to share this incredible story all over the world.” Directed by Alastair Whatley, the cast includes Hubert Burton, Tom Chambers, Cornish actor Robert Duncan, Madeleine Knight, Robert Mountford, Cornish actresses Susan Penhaligon and Hazel Simmons, and Tim Treloar. 6–30 Jan £18 Everybody Rise: Signature Remembers Stephen Sondheim Click here to watch The Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, has long made a specialty of performances of the works of Stephen Sondheim. The previous Artistic Director, Eric Schaeffer, was a lifelong champion of Sondheim’s musicals and directed many of them for the Washington DC/Virginia/Maryland audience. Last week, members of those audiences gathered for an hour-long tribute concert, to hear 16 artists who appeared in Signature’s past productions of Sondheim’s musicals sing some of their personal favourite songs, on the company’s main stage, the MAX. There have been many tribute concerts in the past few weeks since Sondheim’s death, with many better-known singers, but none more heartfelt nor more familiar with his music than this one. Over the years, legions of actors, including these, honed their technique and depth of musical-theatre knowledge singing in Signature’s Sondheim shows. Fortunately for us, the Signature made special arrangements for this tribute concert to be filmed in hopes of sharing the show with a wider audience at a later time. Here it is. Everybody Rise: Signature Remembers Stephen Sondheim streams free for 72 hours beg. Jan 14 at 5PM ET Danish String Quartet - CalPerformances at Home Click here to register In this Cal Performances at Home streaming presentation, the excellent Danish String Quartet perform Schubert’s String Quartet in G major, from a live October 2021 performance. The San Francisco Chronicle wrote about that concert, “There’s a robust, heady kind of beauty at work in the playing of the Danish String Quartet…this formidable ensemble brings a wondrous blend of precision and full-bodied athleticism”. Tickets are free for this performance, but registration is required. Jan 13–19 We Love Vermeer – Rijksmuseum Click here to watch Can you believe that the paintings of Johannes Vermeer were virtually unknown until the middle of the 19th century? Today, as everyone knows, he is one of the most renowned and revered artists in the world. Pieter Roelofs, Head of Paintings and Sculpture at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, tells us why. Four perfect minutes with a man who can tell us details about paintings and painters we couldn’t possibly have known without studying what he has studied. In this video he shows us why Vermeer matters, what he saw, how he used light, above all about how he told us stories with his brush. He illuminates the little moments in Vermeer’s stories. Delicious. Saint-Saens anniversary concert – Wigmore Hall Click here to watch This great cellist, Stephen Isserlis, long a champion of the music of Camille Saint-Saens, performs, with the pianist Connie Shih, a wide-ranging programme commemorating the centenary of the composer’s death at the age of 86. In this programme, his works are complemented by those of his friends and associates, presenting a picture of musical France during his extended lifetime. In addition to Saint-Saens’ own compositions, covering his whole career, it includes works by Liszt, Faure and Reynaldo Hahn, and the irresistible Carmen Fantasy by Joseph Hollman. A Girl is a Half Formed Thing – Irish Rep Click here for tickets Based on Eimear McBride’s acclaimed novel of the same name, and adapted by Annie Ryan, A Girl is a Half-formed Thing follows the inner narrative of a girl, played by Jenn Murray, from birth until the age of twenty, with vivid intensity and originality. This character navigates the crushing Catholicism and hardship of her Irish childhood with astonishing resilience and intelligence. Directed by Nicola Murphy for New York’s Irish Rep. Jan 14-30 $25 for 48-hour on demand access Birdland – Fundraiser Click here to watch If you love jazz, as I do, you won’t be able to tear yourself away from this fabulous livestream in support of Birdland. The New York City jazz institution Birdland first opened in 1949 and was home to performances by many of jazz’s great names. It closed in 1964 but reopened in 1986 and has been going strong since then. Like many music venues across the country, Birdland is struggling during the time of coronavirus. Closed for months, it has now reopened and is trying hard to recoup the losses of the past two years so, of course, they’re raising money in the best way they can, by showcasing the music and musicians who love Birdland. This event, performed live last year, tapped into the talents of many of the star artists who appear often at Birdland. I love this venue, never miss it when I’m in New York, and, along with just about every other jazz fan in the Western World, I’d be heartbroken if it disappeared. Check out the stars who turned out to perform for this fundraiser. I couldn’t begin to list them but they include Leslie Odom, Veronica Swift, Elvis Costello, Wynton Marsalis, Bill Clinton, Sting, Billy Joel, and more, many more. It’s nearly four hours of great music. Don’t miss it. We just can’t lose Birdland.
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AuthorRuth Leon is a writer and critic specialising in music and theatre. Archives
May 2024
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