Culture Digest
2001: A Space Odyssey Live
Stanley Kubrick’s masterful sci-fi Oscar-winner is 50 years old this year. The Philharmonia Orchestra and Voice will perform live its remarkable soundtrack, which includes works by Richard Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra (surely the most iconic opening music ever), Johann Strauss’ The Blue Danube and György Ligeti’s Lux Aeterna. André de Ridder conducts.
28 April, Southbank Centre, London
Rodin and the Art of Ancient Greece
This exhibition draws on the British Museum’s unrivalled collection of Grecian sculpture, which Rodin himself saw when he visited London for the first time in 1881. Instantly taken with the style, they inspired Rodin’s iconic sculptures including The Thinker and The Kiss, both of which feature here alongside many others on loan from the Musée Rodin in Paris.
Until July 29, British Museum, London
Nightfall
Barney Norris’ new work looks at life and loss on a family farm in rural Winchester. Just 31, this is Norris’ most prestigious collaboration yet with the Bridge Theatre, currently in its inaugural season. Ophelia Lovibond, Ukweli Roach, Claire Skinner, and Sion Daniel Young star, and Laurie Sansom directs.
1 – 26 May, Bridge Theatre, London
Los Angeles Philharmonic/Dudamel: Salonen, Varèse, Shostakovich
Gustav ‘The Dude’ Dudamel conducts this performance of two key works by 20th century composers: Shostakovich’s 5th Symphony (the premiere of which received a half-hour ovation), and Varèse’s Amériques. For LA Phil Conductor and composer, Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Pollux gets its European premiere to open the programme.
2 May, Barbican Centre, London
Effigies of Wickedness (Songs banned by the Nazis)
English National Opera and the Gate Theatre collaborate to present this degenerate cabaret of cacophony, featuring music from Brecht, Weill, and Schoenberg. Expect freakish, sneering, unsettling sounds that the Nazis deemed debased, here sung in English.
3 May to 9 June, Gate Theatre, London
4.48 Psychosis
After a critically-acclaimed debut in 2018, Philip Venebles’ opera based on Sarah Kane’s play of the same name gets a second outing in the co-production between the Royal Opera House and Lyric Hammersmith. Winner of the Achievement in Opera Award at the 2016 Theatre Awards, and an Olivier Award nominee, it is a dark and harrowing tale, with a small helping of humour and warmth along the way.
Until 4 May, Lyric Hammersmith, London
Hofesh Shechter: SHOW
This three act performance exhibits the celebrated Israeli choreographer’s fearless, energetic approach to this menacing display of circus. Reality is skewed and turned upside down in SHOW, which debuted to great acclaim at the Nederlans Dans Theater in 2016.
Tectonics
Glasgow’s annual new music festival returns for its sixth iteration, curated by Ilan Volkov and Alasdair Campbell. This year the most innovative performers and improvisors will come from Japan, Lithuania, France, Sweden, Norway, and USA, as well as many home-grown artists.
5 – 6 May, City Halls, Glasgow
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Based on the 2008 historic novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, this film follows writer Juliet Ashton in 1946 as she tours England to promote her new book. Becoming intrigued about the name of the Society, Ashton travels to Guernsey and discovers the harrowing story of a mother captured by Germans and her abandoned child, Kit. Lily James leads the cast.
Cinemas nationwide
Salome
Opera’s bloodiest biblical tale tours the North for a concert performances with Jennifer Holloway in the title role, and Sir Richard Armstrong on the podium. Based on Oscar Wilde’s Salomé, it includes some of Richard Strauss’ most sensual music, including the ‘Dance of the Seven Veils’.
Until 16 May, Leeds, Perth, Coventry, Gateshead, Liverpool, Hull