The Encounter: time-travelling magic
I’ve written before about my, shall we say, complicated relationship with the theatre. I take the approach once described by Sir Michael Parkinson: “I have never sat in a theatre without wishing I were in a cinema instead.” Except…sometimes. This was one of the sometimes. Tempted by a friend who promised that it would appeal […]
Lang Lang and Liberace
Went to see Lang Lang last night, the renowned Chinese pianist who, it seems, divides opinion. A rather sniffy review in The Telegraph was typical of Lang Lang detractors: style over substance, too much of a showman, etc. One comment online amused me: “Lang Lang needs to remind himself that he is a Pianist (sic) and […]
Impossible: where have the women disappeared to?
Impossible (Noel Coward Theatre, London) is one of those show about which you wonder, “Why has this not been seen before?” An ensemble magic show featuring multiple performers doing different kinds of tricks, from huge illusions (yes, a car vanishes, a helicopter appears) to card and coin tricks. It was packed, the audience loved it, and […]
The Audience and its audience
My mind wanders easily in the theatre. I think it’s the fakery of the whole thing, the spare sets, the imagined actors waiting n the wings, mouthing their lines, the sound of footsteps on wood when it’s supposed to be gravel… everything, really. And then I start to drift off. Mainly I’m wondering what I’ll […]
