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When The Fern Blooms – Operavision Click here to watch Amid the blizzard of cancellations of Russian performers by arts organisations throughout the Western world, this week, of all weeks, it seems appropriate to remind ourselves that art exists everywhere and must be nurtured, perhaps especially in times of conflict. This Ukrainian opera, When the Fern Blooms, premiered at the Lviv National Opera in 2017. Unique in its genre, this impressive performance, directed by Vasyl Vovkun, combines millennia-old Ukrainian folk traditions with an expressive musical language, choral singing and contemporary choreography set against spectacular scenery. The Lviv National Opera Orchestra, Lviv National Opera Ballet and Lviv National Opera Chorus are conducted by Volodymyr Sirenko. It stars Nina Matviienko and Mykhailo Malafii. Judi Dench - National Theatre Platform Click here to watch While I was looking for something else on the National Theatre website this week, I came across this interview. It’s one of the Platform interviews that the National organises during runs so that the public can meet the actors and directors and find out what they’re like without the costumes, makeup and make-believe. And without the plays. Some are anodyne interviews which you could read or watch at any time when they’re promoting the current play. Ho-hum questions and equally, ho-hum answers. Some, though, are gems. This Platform is an interview with Dame Judi Dench, ascerbic, witty, down-to-earth and often side-splittingly funny. You wonder how someone whose career has been such an unbroken triumph, who also had a good marriage, who has been lauded to the skies and who has played so many different people, has managed to keep her balance, her sense of humour, and her insights into the theatre and the world so fresh and so real. She’s a revelation. The Pillowman – Martin McDonagh Click here for tickets The Pillowman, Martin McDonagh’s play about the place of art in society, is set in a totalitarian police state. Katurian, a writer, is best-known for his extremely dark and gruesome stories which seem to mirror real life, and has been called in for questioning in connection with the bizarre murders of three children. The police officers use excessive force in their interrogation in an attempt to wrest a confession. Katurian insists that he is innocent but when he hears that his brother Michal has confessed to the murders and implicated Katurian, he resigns himself to being executed. His only interest then is in his struggle to save his stories, his art, from destruction. The play contains both narrations and reenactments of several of Katurian's stories, including the autobiographical "The Writer and the Writer's Brother", which tells how Katurian developed his disturbed imagination by hearing the sounds of Michal being tortured by their parents. The play received the Olivier for Best New Play, the NY Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best New Foreign Play, and two Tonys for production. It was nominated for the Evening Standard Award for Best New Play. This is a wonderful play and well worth your time but, be aware, it's strong stuff. The Paul Taylor Dance Company in Paris Click here for tickets These two ballets from the celebrated choreographer Paul Taylor, who died in 2018, aren’t new but I hadn’t seen them for many years and this excellent recent production made in Paris has only confirmed them for me as masterworks. Brandenburgs, set to Bach, of course, was first performed in 1988, and Beloved Renegade, made in 2008, is set to the music of Francis Poulenc. Paul Taylor was an American dancer and choreographer, one of the last members of the third generation of America's modern dance artists. He founded the Paul Taylor Dance Company in 1954 in New York City and it has always been one of my favourite companies. Under Michael Novak, it continues beyond Taylor with careful, stylish recreations of his work. Here are two of them. Classical Vienna – Melbourne Chamber Orch Click here for tickets This sounds like it’s going to be a terrific concert, all the way from Melbourne, Australia, although we’re intended to magic ourselves to Vienna, the European capital of music making for hundreds of years. The Melbourne Chamber Orchestra is playing music by four composers who lived and worked in Vienna at the same time, and even played in a quartet together in the 1780s. The two expert tour guides for our musical travels through space and time are pianist Stefan Cassomenos who will take us to visit exquisite, rarely-heard concertos by Mozart & Haydn; and Zoe Black, one of Australia’s leading violinists and directors, will guest-direct the Australian premieres of dramatic symphonies by Vanhal & Dittersdorf. This is really imaginative music-making, worth doing the sums to work out what time 2.30pm in Melbourne is wherever you are (it’s 3.30am GMT). However, if you’re not a nightowl, all digital tickets come with 72-hour viewing starting from the morning after the concert. Simply log in and go to your My Tickets folder in the top menu to watch the recording. Mar 5 at 2.30pm Digital Ticket: $20 (direct to artist) plus $4 charge. Penetration – Stream Theatre Click here for tickets Penetration by Carolyn Lloyd-Davies, is a socially provocative piece of theatre. Based on true events, the play follows the stories of Anna, a rape complainant, and Sean, the defendant, with insight and sensitivity. Anna’s manipulative and coercive boyfriend James, adds an additional overtone to the play, as does the perspective of Felicity, Sean’s mother, who is convinced of his innocence. This multi-layered play aims to jolt the audience into exploring parameters of consent, focusing on the impact of toxic coercive relationships, the power of social media and the need for healthy sexual boundaries especially when alcohol or drugs blur the lines. The play deliberately takes no specific moral or legal stand point, forcing you to question long-held beliefs and inherent prejudice. A socially provocative play, which is of particular significance in the light of recent shocking reports about the low incidence of convictions for rape and sexual assault in the UK. The producers have put an age guidance of 16+ on this play because it contains sexual content, swearing and references to rape. On the other hand, The Spectator wrote, “Every teenager and student in the country should see this play. This is a script to raise whirlwinds.” Sammy Davis Jr – Mr Bojangles Click here to watch Recently, when a talented kid told me that his ambition was to be an ‘all-round entertainer’. I thought about the most all-round of all-round entertainers the world has ever seen and perhaps the most talented – the great Sammy Davis Jr. Sammy could do everything and did do everything, brilliantly. As an aide memoire, just in case you’ve forgotten how special he was, here he is, in concert in Germany, in 1985, singing one of his signature songs, dancing a bit and telling a story in song so clearly and skillfully that you can actually see the man he’s singing about. Now that was an all-round entertainer.
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AuthorRuth Leon is a writer and critic specialising in music and theatre. Archives
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