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Friday: FOG at the Finborough
A mass outing from the Raise the Roof Theatre Appreciation Society to the Finborough, to see the penultimate performance of FOG, a new play by Tash Fairbanks and Toby Wharton. You might wonder why I would bother to review something that has just closed. Well for the simple reason that a) it was brilliant, and…
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Baroque Confection at the Cinema
After the disaster that was Castor & Pollux, I was very keen to see The Enchanted Island, an exquisite confection of Baroque greatest hits set to a new libretto by Jeremy Sams, who knows a thing or two about translation and adaptation. Sadly I can’t afford a transatlantic trip to the Met to see this…
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Brittle Bright Young Things
Last night we fought freezing temperatures, planned engineering works closing off three possible routes, and failed signals on the DLR to get to the wonderfully named St-Sepulchre-without-Newgate, for an evening of Ivor Novello songs with the Oxbridge Opera Company. I wouldn’t have gone if it hadn’t been brought to my attention by Simon Dyer (Bass-Baritone),…
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Earthquakes at the Circus
My writing compadre at WooA Joan Taylor-Rowan’s first novel The Birdskin Shoes is now available to purchase on Amazon – Kindle edition. “A wonderful tale about love and redemption set in a Mexican Circus. Joan Taylor-Rowan writes with great freshness and assurance, and her descriptions of the ‘cirqueros’ and circus life are pitch perfect.…
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Welcome Yule
The to do list is getting smaller. Presents bought and wrapped. √ First batch of mince pies cooked and eaten.√ Cards written and posted or delivered.√ Christmas concert sung√ Carols sung and money raised for Crisis√ Someone else’s carol singing event attended.√ Family visits lined up.√ Christmas tree bought.√ Decorate tree√ Gather winter fuel.√ Still…
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music is taking over my life
Haven’t written anything here (or anywhere else much) for a while, and I blame that pesky singing lark. It has taken over. We are rehearsing Ramirez’s Navidad Nuestra, carols and RTR stuff for Blackheath Halls on the 16th December, end of term concert for Raise the Roof at the Horniman Museum TODAY!!!! 2.30pm, and a…
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Etruscan Smiles at the Estorick Collection
The Estorick’s collected twentieth century Italian art, a period and region I thought I knew nothing about, but there are a couple of Modiglianis, the piercing turquoise gaze and pursed lips of Doctor Francois Brabander standing out in a room of more muted pictures. I did find myself thinking oh yeah Modigliani and moving on.…
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Days Out by Bus at the Estorick Collection
The second of our forays into North London on the lovely Overground; appropriate, since we were heading to an exhibition strong on leisure journeys by public transport. I didn’t know the Estorick Collection existed until A’s walking buddy J handed her a leaflet about their current exhibition of Edward McKnight Kauffer posters, The Poster King. …
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Fast and Furious Figaro
Puzzle Piece Opera’s Figaro in 50 minutes, is the latest in a series of 50 minute operas they have performed and my second Figaro in a week, but it was worth the journey, and what a journey! Figaro transported to the office at top speed. How do you get through the Marriage of Figaro in…
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Spooky Serenade
Spent Saturday afternoon at a singing workshop run by Stephen Taberner of the Spooky Men’s Chorale. There were about eighty of us, a high proportion affiliated to Raise the Roof in its various guises, other people I recognised from Sing for Water, and many complete strangers. We started with a physical warm up and relax…
Cherry Potts, Writer 