Culture Digest – 16th March

My Golden Days

Arnauld Desplechin’s prequel to his 1996 film My Sex Life… or How I Got into an Argument was victorious at Cannes in 2015, and makes for bewitching viewing.  A series of flashbacks cover Paul Dédalus’s childhood in Roubaix, his troubled parents, a school tip to the USSR, and Esther, the love of his life.  Quentin Dolmaire and Lou Roy-Lecollinet are charming young leads.

Until 2 April, Institut Français, London

Another Kind of Life

This exhibition examines the work of 20 photographers from 1950 to the present, and traces themes of counterculture, subculture, and minority across the world.  Covering the photographic gamut including portraiture, documentary reportage, and street images, the work of Mary Ellen Mark, Paz Errazuris, and Pieter Hugo amongst others puts the spotlight on the outsider.

Until 27 May, Barbican Centre, London

The Square

Ruben Östlund’s satirical drama won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, and follows the personal and professional crises of an art curator and the launch of his controversial new installation in a trendy gallery in Stockholm.

Starring Claes Bang, Elizabeth Moss, Dominic West, and Terry Notary

Cinemas nationwide

Bernstein Centenary

2018 marks the centenary of the American composer’s birth, and this all-Bernstein programme from the Royal Ballet promises to encapsulate his eclectic influences.  Wayne McGregor has created a new ballet set to Bernstein’s remarkable Chichester Psalms, and Christopher Wheeldon has choreographed to Serenade (after Plato’s Symposium).  The programme centres around The Age of Anxiety by Liam Scarlett, in its first revival since 2014.

17 March to 9 April, Royal Opera House, London

London Handel Festival

This annual festival, headed up by renowned Handelian Laurence Cummings, takes ‘Handel in London’ as its theme.  The festival centres around St George’s, Hanover Square, where Handel was himself a parishioner whilst he lived on Brook Street.  Highlights include Tim Mead in the titular role in Giulio Cesare, and Acis and Galatea with Nick Pritchard.

17 March to 16 April, venues across London

Barbican OpenFest

This new weekend festival is part of Nicholas Kenyon’s ‘Culture Mile’, which looks to position the City as the ‘beating heart’ of London. Head first for Beech Street tunnel, which will be transformed into a stunning sound and light installation, and then enjoy Just Jam Reloaded, Less than Thirteen, and much more.

17-18 March, Barbican Centre, London

Black Men Walking

Written by rapper Testament and directed by Dawn Walton, this work is part of Revolution Mix, a nationwide movement telling stories of black British history.  It follows three men on their monthly walk in Lancashire, as they encounter two thousand years’ worth of ancestry.

21 March to 7 April, Royal Court

Ariadne auf Naxos

Richard Strauss’s opera flits between slapstick comedy and beautifully lyrical music, as high and low art vie for attention.  Director and designer Antony McDonald returns to Scottish Opera following his highly successful Rusalka of 2016, and the cast included Sir Thomas Allen, Mardi Byers, and Kor-Jan Dusseljee.

22-28 March, Theatre Royal, Glasgow and 5-7 April, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Dunedin Consort: Bach’s Matthew Passion

Scotland’s finest period instrument ensemble, led by the inimitable John Butt—the greatest Bachian of his generation—perform this, the ‘great’ Passion.  Scored for double choir and double orchestra, it moves with staggering grace and beauty from the depths of despair to hope and consolation.  Telling the story of Christ’s final days will be seasoned Evangelist Nicholas Mulroy.

23 March, The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh and 25 March, Wigmore Hall, London