Morning:
11°c
London faces a wave of bus and Tube strikes that could cause chaos for millions of passengers as unions walkout over pay and conditions
More...
An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
2012
Theatre
The show has suddenly become quite wonderful, and the galvanising factor is the terrific stage debut of Melanie C
Blood Brothers
Music
The British pop music industry may be eating itself but if Muse are the pick of what it can offer the world in 2010 then British music is in rude health indeed
Muse
I was smitten by both Gilberts enormous luxuriant moustache and the intelligence and nuance of this highly entertaining play
I totally recommend Babbo to anyone who is looking for really good and traditional Italian food
Always been a fan but never seen them live. I was ecstatic to be part of this epic event. WOW!
London,
Fiona Maddocks's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Phelim McDermott.
Cast: English National Opera, Alan Oke (M K Gandhi), Elena Xanthoudakis (Miss Schlesen), Ashley Holland (Mr Kallenbach), James Gower (Parsi Rustomji/Lord Krishna), Julian Crouch (assoc dir/des), Janis Kelly (Mrs Naidoo), Anne Marie Gibbons (Kasturbai), Jean Rigby (Mrs Alexander), Robert Poulton (Prince Arjuna), Johannes Debus (cond)
Description: Director Phelim McDermott and associate director and set designer Julian Crouch present the London stage premiere of Philip Glass' account of the early life of Mahatma Gandhi, the second in the composer's trilogy of operas centered on men who changed the world. Johannes Debus takes the baton.
Trains: Tube: Leicester Square/Charing Cross 
, Tube / Bus: 3, 6, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 23, 24, 29, 53, 77a, 88, 91, 139 
Phone: 0871911 0200
Website: www.eno.org
Email: access@eno.org
Satyagraha: Alan Oke is superb as Gandhi
Forget narrative. Philip Glass's Satyagraha (1980) asks you to abandon yourself to theatre of contemplation. Resist its spell and look for story and soap values and you will be bewildered and irritated, as clearly some were at the first night of ENO's faultless new production by Phelim McDermott and Improbable, designed by Julian Crouch.
Such mulishness is a shame, because Glass is a creative force of generosity and originality. Ever since his explosion onto the American music scene in the 1970s, his pulsating, oscillating harmonies and glowing melodies have ravished some and infuriated others. Yet his music was a catalyst for change, and three decades on remains a strong, unmistakable voice.
Satyagraha, sung in Sanskrit, explores nonviolent resistance. The human fulcrum is Gandhi, superbly realised by Alan Oke, who gathers dignity inch by inch as indignity is thrust upon him. Cast and chorus gave their all. Johannes Debus, conducting, steered the orchestra with impassioned clarity.
At times in this long evening, tiredness induced ragged detail, for this music demands fierce concentration. Whoever thinks it featureless should try playing it.
The guiding visual metaphor is the newspaper, transformed variously into screens, banners and staggeringly effective puppets - silent papier-m‚chè giants more than six metres high. And in a stroke of pure genius, rolls of Sellotape are stretched into a quivering stave across the wide stage, then gathered like sticky insect wings. Such magical tableaux create an event field on which the music meditates.
Enthusiastic applause showed that the doubters are well in retreat.
In repertory until 1 May. Information: 0870 145 0200, www.eno.org
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
