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New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Theatre
A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
Cock
Restaurants
Kitchen W8 is a bargain for this area, if such sophistication is what you crave
Kitchen W8
Too long and drawn out but very entertaining with excellent special effects
This is a peculiar play and does not work for me. Some of it is very funny but there are real flaws
Alex has a strong powerful voice and was faultless, she is far better now than she was on the X-Factor
London,
Jane Cornwell's rating
Reader rating
Millenniun man: Folk-rock hero Richard Thompson on a musical journey through time
Choosing the best songs of the past millennium is some task. There must be something by Abba. A Cole Porter classic. A Kinks tune, perhaps. But how about Ja Nuls Hom Pris, penned by Richard the Lionheart? Or Henry Purcell’s operatic aria When I Am Laid In Earth? Or even the Renaissance toe-tapper So Ben Mi Ca Bon Tempo, sung in colloquial Italian? Three minute wonders, all.
“We’re leaving no genre unturned,” said folk-rock hero Richard Thompson, putting down the hurdy gurdy he’d been wielding and strapping on his acoustic guitar.
And off we went on a journey from ballad to madrigal, sea shanty to folk anthem, musical hall to Gilbert and Sullivan. The latter’s When A Man Goes to Woo A Fair Maid proved an ideal vehicle for Thompson’s nuanced baritone. The guitar god’s voice, it turns out, is nearly as remarkable as his finger picking.
Thompson has been doing this show on and off since 2004, but this one — part of a UK tour back at the Barbican on February 3 — still came with a few surprises. A respectful rendition of the ballad False Knight On The Road was better than Steeleye Span’s version, just as Thompson had promised. “We’re shameless up here,” he joked, flanked by musicians and vocalists Deborah Dobkin and Judith Owen, who sang a handful of numbers to varying effect.
Thematic images flashed up on a giant video screen as Thompson turned each composition into music for guitar, keyboards and percussion and made them his own.
The 20th century half of the show featured a subtle, textured cover of Abba’s Money Money Money and a fabulous take on Nelly Furtado’s Maneater that segued hilariously to early church music and verses sung in Latin.
Hooray, rejoiced the video screen at the end.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
