Queen Victoria was born in Kensington Palace, Princess Diana lived here with her sons, and Prince William and Catherine have now taken up residence here with their children. But Kensington Palace is more than a royal residence, it’s also one of London’s greatest historical treasures and it’s baroque doors are open to the public. Let’s
This week marks the 150th anniversary of Charles Dickens’ death. The celebrated author shares his London secrets with me and tells me how Queen Victoria is a big fan of his acting. Dick – do you mind if I call you Dick? I do. But you may call me Boz. What is your go-to pub?
My love affair with Kew Gardens began in the rain. It was one of those typical British summertime days, one which promised soggy jeans and the inevitable squelching through mud. A picnic was off the menu and so was lazing around in the summery aroma of freshly-cut grass. We had already committed to an afternoon
Bankside was once a cacophonous pleasure zone with brothels, bear-baiting, gaming dens and four Tudor theatres: The Globe, The Rose, the Swan and the Hope. Shakespeare and Dickens lived here. Samuel Pepys watched the Great Fire light up the London sky from here in 1666. So, if you’re visiting London, make sure you visit Bankside
Phoebe Waller-Bridge is the Girl with the Golden Pen. She tickled us with her sassy baddie, Villanelle, from ‘Killing Eve,’ and is currently co-writing the screenplay for the new Bond film, ‘No Time to Die.’ Last night, she thrilled the audience with the return of her one-woman show, Fleabag, at the Wyndham theatre, which she
Merci Amélie the Musical for bringing some much-needed sunshine to a bleak and midwintery London. The petite French girl that we fell in love with in the 2001 film is treading the boards at The Other Palace in a production that’s a billet doux to Paris and is as enchanting as it is heartwarming. The
Be still my beating heart! Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre, last seen in its playful glory in early seventeenth century Bankside, has come to life in a theatrical pop-up in the glorious gardens of Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. And what a sight it is to behold. Complete with bustling Elizabethan village with medieval minstrels and ‘ye olde
Shirley Valentine probably needs no introduction. She’s 37 years old in the making, having begun her life as a play at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool in 1986. She then hit stardom in that film with the enchanting Pauline Collins in 1989. Shirley Valentine’s latest incarnation, though, is with Sheridan Smith who is gloriously funny,
When I saw Tyrone Huntley in Leave to Remain at the Lyric Hammersmith earlier this year, I knew a star was in the ascendant, although the Evening Standard already knew that when they awarded him the ES Theatre Award. He’s now sprinted from stage into the director’s seat in a razzle-dazzle production of Ain’t Misbehavin’
David Pountney is a genius. The British-Polish director has transformed one of the repertoire’s most difficult and eccentric operas into a madcap, merry work of art, bursting with colour, humour and silliness. I was both intrigued by and slightly dreading The Excursions of Mr Brouček at Grange Park Opera. I ended up with quite a