Chimerica @ The Pinter Theatre

Chimerica @ The Pinter Theatre. Photographers search for 'tank man' with a few twists, brilliant staging & smart script. A top play. 9+/10

West Side Story @ Sadler's Wells

West Side Story @sadler's Wells. Tremendous. Sublime music & lyrics, international ensemble and big stage set make this a grt night out 9/10

Liane Carroll @ St. Gabriels

Liane Carroll @ st.gabriels ch hall. Wow. Wonderful jazz singer and pianist. Google her. Another grt Aldersbrook community arts night 9/10.

The Pride @ Trafalgar Studios

#ThePride @TrafalgarStudios. Tourists & gavin/stacey fans may be alarmed by what they saw, but all applauded a well acted gay love play 8/10

A Dolls House @ Duke of Yorks

#Adollshouse @DukeofYorks. My 1st Ibsen play. Apparently this one has been used by Relate for training purposes. Strong female lead. 8-/10.

Tania Edwards @ Pleasance Bunker

14. Tania Edwards: The Art of War @ The Pleasance Bunker. Bright, gentle, witty, cosy end to #edfringe 2013 for Mr & Mrs T. Many thanks 7/10

Confessions of Gordon Brown @ Pleasance Coutyard

13 Confessions of Gordon Brown@The Pleasance Courtyard. Excellent portrayal of Brown as a troubled, angry, paranoid PM. Fact or fiction?8/10

Ninhaya @ Assembly Hall

12 Nirbhaya @the Assembly Hall. Public outcry over a fatal indian rape prompted these brave first hand accounts of vile physical abuse 8+/10

Motherland @ Summerhall

11. Motherland @ Summerhall. 2 hrs of abstract dance, music and song. Young girls passage into modern womanhood & the influences on it 9/10

John Gordillo @ Assembly

10 John Gordillo @ Assembly Room. Ldn comic. Almost a good set about businesses crude attempt to create a personal relationship with us 5/10

Matt Forde @ Pleasance Dome

9 Matt Forde@The Pleasance Dome Politico activist & commentator recalls encounters with his heroes & villains & asks us to get involved 7/10

On the Beach @ Pleasance Dome

8. On the beach @ The Pleasance Dome. Witty and detailed observations & reminiscences prompted by a lunchtime walk on Weymouth beach. 8/10.

Best of the Fringe @ Pleasance Cabaret

7. Best of the Fringe @pleasance Cabaret. 4 acts & a compere give a taste of their shows. Very very good. Particularly Dayne Rathbone. 8+/10

Aliens Love Underpants @ Pleasance Courtyard

6. Aliens Love Underpants@Pleasance Courtyard. Aimed at under 7s. Part of a Nick Brooke Prod national tour & my wife does their accts! 10/10

Hal Cruttenden @ The Gilded Balloon

5. Hal Cruttenden @the Gilded Balloon. Std stand up. Good social commentary & laugh out loud material. Intelligent champagne socialist 7+/10

Edward Aczel @ Underbelly

4. Edward Aczel @ Underbelly Belly Dance. Not as side splitting as 2 yrs ago. Deadpan off the wall flipchart & video analysis of life. 7/10

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Dan Cook @ Pleasance That

3. Dan Cook @ The Pleasance That. Youthful, eccentric, funny, quick paced, high energy, fringe fun. One to look out for the future. 6+/10.

Ellish O'Carroll @ Pleasance Beyond

2. Eilish O'Carroll @ Pleasance Beyond. Another family biog in the long shadow of a religious upbringing. Funny, touching, up lifting. 8/10

Daniel Cainer @ Gilded Balloon

1. Daniel Cainer @Gilded Balloon. Jewish ballads trace Daniels family history. Tailors, ill fitting toupe's, infidelity & drugs. Oy vey 7/10

Relatively Speaking @ The Wyndhams Theatre

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	Matthew Taylor (@matthewtaylorx)
04/08/2013 09:37 Relatively Speaking@The Wyndhams. Play that got Ayckbourn going. Soon to be engaged girl tries to sort her sugar daddy past. Cue farce. 8/10

Four hander with Felicity Kendal and Kara Tointon drawing in two generations of audience, possibly for the same reason. Both good in their own right but Kendals experience showed with her better stage presence and delivery. 

Just like there is supposed to be one original joke there is also just one original farce. Having recently seen the very good Private Lives and not too long before that the excellent Magistrate and before that....and before that...one could conclude that all farce is based on a small number of characters and one big misunderstanding?  

In this case a concealed affair leading to mistaken parental identity. 

The first scene was a little laboured, but I was assured by the person in the seat next to me, glory shine upon her, that this was necessary to set the story up. Now I understand that setting the comic traps  and bating the hooks for our funny bones is needed but I am sure it could be done in a less wooden staccato way and with more humour along the way. 

Once we get to scene two and Felicity Kendal joins the play the pace picks up and the fun begins. Wave upon wave of misunderstanding build and soon we are drawn hook, line and sinker into the turbulent surf of Ayckbourns plot. 

Ok. Ok. Too much fish. 

Jonathan Coy and Max Bennett are the husband of Kendal and soon to be fiancé of Tointon. Coy and Bennett had their moments when script and performance came together perfectly, but you were left with the impression that Kendal could make more of an average line (script not fishing) than Coy (actor not carp), Bennett or Tointon. 

A funny, light hearted, play, better in my view to Privates Lives. A farce that did what it said on the tin. Not Ronseal. Sardines!

The Audience @ Stratford Picture House

	Matthew Taylor (@matthewtaylorx)
22/07/2013 07:40 The Audience @stratford Picture Hse. Fact & fiction. Real events & imagined humdrum used to recreate Queen & PMx7 private wkly meetings 9/10

A Season in the Congo @ The Young Vic

	Matthew Taylor (@matthewtaylorx)
08/07/2013 09:20 A Season in the Congo@TheYoungVic. Belgian missionaries, Sierra Leone & Egypt meant play (4 mths in 60s DRC) held interest but too long 7/10

First visit to the Young Vic. Great versatile venue. Nice restaurant. Friendly staff. 

My own family history (maternal grandfather was a british baptist missionary in the Belgian Congo), my work (where I have and am offering support to the Sierra Leonian Parliament), the recent Arab Spring and even more recent Egyptian 'coup' meant I was always going to find this play about the first few months of the Congo's independence interesting and personally engaging. 

However without those connections this  play failed to truly entertain. It could have been sharper and therefore shorter. The director and writer could have done better. The cast, acted, danced and sang well and the set, blended former opulence with years of tropical decay perfectly. The audience in the stalls sat in an empty swimming pool on plastic patio furniture. The play was punctuated with 39 steps esque props. Life size puppets, vultures, model plane and a moving, manual, micro conveyor belt of belgian exodus....Glad I went. Lots to think about. 

Private Lives @ The Gielgud Theatre

	Matthew Taylor (@matthewtaylorx)
05/07/2013 06:45 Private Lives @ Gielgud Theatre. Transferred from Chichester Fest it did not quite hit all the farce buttons for me. Still entertaining 7/10

Fences @ The Duchess Theatre

	Matthew Taylor (@matthewtaylorx)
21/06/2013 07:43 Fences @ The Duchess. Lenny Henry 9+/10. 2nd preview of this play so there is time to make Act 2 as good as Act 1 before opening night. 8/10

Very good first half in which Lenny Henry shows what a fine actor he is. The character he plays - a proud, failed baseball player, now dustman in ?30s US where race still defined life prospects - is full of life, passion and fun, but with a darker authoritarian side that demands the obedience and respect of his children. The first half was captivating and the on stage chemistry between Henry and his wife, and Henry and his co-worker Bono is wonderful. When it is their turn to take centre stage after Henry's demise in Act 2 they are left wanting - possibly because of the script or perhaps the staging. 9+/10 for Henry? It could so easily have been 10/10 but there are micro moments when a mannerism, a look, an intonation reveals the Henry we know going back to New Faces, Tiswas and Stand-up and you wait for a Katanga to slip out. This is so unfair. Many thoroughbred actors build successful careers on being themselves and being expected to be themselves in whatever role they take. Lenny has broken free from this and does not want to trade on past winning formulas. This is bold and brave and is paying off. New scores have just come in. Lenny Henry 10+/10!

The Green Music Fair @ Valentines Mansion

@matthewtaylorx) The Green Fair @ Valentines Mansions. Warm rain & a picnic. Good music from 10 String Fever & the charming trio Riverbird.net 8/10

The Who @ The O2

The Who @ The O2. Quadrophenia 8/10 Singalong a Who 9+/10 Rogers voice still in good nick & Petes windmill arm still goes round.Overall 9/10

Sitwells @ Renishaw Hall

	Matthew Taylor (@matthewtaylorx)
06/06/2013 17:37 The Sitwells @ Renishaw Hall with Lincoln Arts Society. Lovely grounds and lived in hall. Industrial wealth allows high art lifestyle. 9-/10

Village at the top of the world @ Stratford Picture House

Village at the top of the world@ Stratford Picture Hse. Documentary about 58 inuits & the shutting of the state funded fish smoke house 8/10

To Kill a Mocking Bird @ The Regents Park Theatre

@matthewtaylorx: To Kill a Mocking Bird @ Regents Park Theatre. Racial prejudice & growing up in small south US town. Black man falsely accused of rape. 9/10

George Bellows @ The Royal Academy

@matthewtaylorx: George Bellows @ The Royal Academy. Early C19/20 US artist who died in his 40s. Confident, simple style covered boxing, WWI  & NY docks. 7/10

This House @ NT Live

This House @ NT Live. Last performance of play broadcast live to the UK. 32 yr old playwrights insight into 70s age of slim majorities 9/10.

La Boheme @ The Collosium

	Matthew Taylor (@matthewtaylorx)
15/05/2013 18:32 La Boheme@The ENO. Nice pint of London Pride before & strawberry ice cream at the interval. Oh the opera. It never engaged: forgettable 4/10

Legendary Count Basie Big Band @ Ronnie Scotts

	Matthew Taylor (@matthewtaylorx)
13/05/2013 00:04 Count Basie Big Band @ Ronnie Scotts. Great band & atmosphere. Stand out performer for me: the pianist, but all were VG. Singer superb 8+/10

Othello @ The National Theatre

	Matthew Taylor (@matthewtaylorx)
12/05/2013 11:04 Othello @ The National. Clever Basra style army camp set. Love & lust leads to the innocent & guiltys demise. Gripping 3 1/2 hr drama. 9/10

Billy Smarts Circus @ Wanstead Flats

	Matthew Taylor (@matthewtaylorx)
04/05/2013 16:49 Billy Smarts Circus@Wanstead. Everything you want from a traditional (no animals) circus. Expertise, humour, music & daring. Brilliant. 9/10

Gutted @ Theatre Royal Stratford

	Matthew Taylor (@matthewtaylorx)
04/05/2013 09:23 Gutted @theatre Royal Stratford. Foul mouthed expose of a family's dark secret & its lasting consequences on them. Strong cast & script 8/10

Moby Dick @ The Arcola

	Matthew Taylor (@matthewtaylorx)
04/05/2013 07:47 Moby Dick @the Arcola. Excellent all male reduction of this mighty tome about the single minded search for a mighty beast. Fun theatre. 8/10

Great Expectations @ The Vaudeville

	Matthew Taylor (@matthewtaylorx)
17/03/2013 18:05 Great Expectations @ The Vaudeville. Surreal recreation of Dickens classic. Clever, atmospheric, single set staging. Older actors best. 7/10

Keith Tyson @ The Royal Academy

	Matthew Taylor (@matthewtaylorx)
16/03/2013 13:46 Keith Tyson @ The Pace Gallery (RAA). Small free exhibition of modern multi layered oil paintings. Galactic bin bags best of the bunch 6+/10

Wilko Johnson @ Koko Club

	Matthew Taylor (@matthewtaylorx)
07/03/2013 09:15 Wilko Johnson @ Koko (aka camden palace) 1of3 farewell gigs from the shuffling, lunging, guitar chopping terminally ill Feelgood hero. 9/10

Schwitters @ Tate Britain

	Matthew Taylor (@matthewtaylorx)
07/03/2013 09:10 Schwitters@Tate Britain. All hail the pritstick. Interesting life provides narrative to an accomplished artists diversion into collage. 6/10

Redbridge Brass @ St.Gabriel's

Redbridge Brass @ St.Gabriel's. Opera & Film night, PA spoilt vocals. Pieces on the short side. Big sound from hi std hard working band 7/10

One Touch of Venus @ Ye Olde Rose & Crown Theatre.

One Touch of Venus@YeOldeRose&CrownTheatre. Weill&Nash musical. Greek Statue falls for NY barber. Young cast give their all to hi std. 7+/10

The Sunshine Boys @ The Savoy Theatre (2nd May 2012)

The Sunshine Boys @ The Savoy Theatre.  Did it live up to my expectations, not quite.  Danny Davito superb, Richard Griffiths less so, the nurse BRILLIANT. 8/10

Brimstone & Treacle @ The Arcola (4th May 2012)

Brimstone & Treacle @ The Arcola. Dennis Potter  tests our emotions in this intimate play. The Arcola goes from  strength to strength. 8/10

Lincoln Film Club @ Bishop Grotesque College (13th April 2012)

Lincoln Film Club @ Bishop Grotesque College (now uni). Subtitled Italian film.  Bored married 50+ Italian male seeks romance.  Warm and funny.  7+/10

The Duchess of Malfi @ The Old Vic (11th April 2012)

The Duchess of Malfi @ The Old Vic. Starring Ruth Best (possibly best known as the dr. in Nurse Jackie) gives a very good performance in this tragic love story. 8/10

She Stoops to Conquer @ NT Live (29th March 2012)

She Stoops to Conquer @ NT Live Stratford Picture House & Lincoln Odeon. Excellent, v funny & well attended. Me & Row in London. Val, Mum & Dad in Lincoln. 9/10

Cockney night @ Aces (23rd March 2012)

Cockney night @ ACES. Chaz & Dave style band and local AmDram music hall knees up. 7/10

The Effect @ The Cottesloe

The Effect @ The Cottesloe. Billy Piper & Johnjo O'Neil, drug trial volunteers, bond & taunt each other in thought provoking 4 hander 8/10

Anjin @ Sadlers Wells

Anjin @ Sadlers Well. True story of C17th William Adams, shipwrecked in Japan, & his rise within a noble feudal samurai waring society 5/10.

Strictly Come Dancing: The Live Tour @ The O2

Strictly Come Dancing: The Live Tour@ The O2. Surreal kitsch. Grows on you. Dancing excellent/very good or comic. 7+/10. Band & singers 9/10

Les Miserables @ Stratford Picture House

Les Miserables @ Stratford Picture House. Absorbing and commendable film based on stage show songs and original Victor Hugo book. 7+/10

Late afternoon Sunday showing with only about 20 to 30 in the auditorium. Had not seen stage show or read the book so comment above based on others remarks. Went for Chinese buffet after the film. Very very poor. 2/10

Silent Opera @ Trinity Quay

Silent Opera @ Trinity Quay. Boat from The Eye past O2 to warehouse on river. Watch full performance of L'Orfeo with headphones. Great. 9/10

Well. This is the highlight of my arts year so far. Looking for something unconventional, high quality and entertaining go to this.

Our ticket included a Thames clipper transfer from Festival Pier in the centre of London along the Thames past the illuminated city, canary wharf, greenwich and the O2. Our destination was a warehouse at Trinity Buoy Wharf.

So what is silent opera? Opera singers miked up sing with the assistance of a small live band but the benefit of a full orchestras recording as backing. All three are mixed and broadcast wirelessly to the audience who listen using headsets. That in itself was novel enough but the staging of this montevierdi classic made it more so. With the audience in the performance space the action takes place all around you. They even manage to move the audience through three imaginative sets and and allow them to decide the fete of L'Orfeo at the end.

Quartermaine's Terms @ Wyndham theatre

Quartermaine's Terms@ The Wyndham. Set in a 60s EFL school staff room. Rowan Atkinson makes a humorous & gentle return to the West End 7+/10

Very good cast with strong performances all round. Rowan is clearly the main attraction for this new play. For those expecting Mr Bean they will be disappointed. The play has some Bean moments and it seems based on the performance tonight that much of the character is just Rowan being himself. Anyway not enough Mr Bean perhaps to stop a few members of the audience leaving at the interval. The play does not open until next week. One suspects for these preview performances that a lot of tickets have been given to those working in the industry and its easy for them to leave if they know they have a ready supply of free tickets to all the best shows. My wife and I paid almost £120 to see it. Not including programme and interval drinks.

4 act play with one interval. The Wyndhams is a great theatre although the royal circle bar is too small for the numbers wanting to use it

Old Times @ Pinter Theatre

Old Times @ Pinter Theatre. Very well acted 3 hander. Married couple & friend reflect on today and their past. Engaging & baffling. 6+/10

Pinter well known for his challenging story lines reinforces his reputation in this minimalist one act play set in the sitting room and bedroom of a 70s house by the sea. A married couple dart between reflecting on their marriage today and the friendship that the wife had with her friend not seen for 20 years.

Rufus Sewell's performance is particularly strong as was Kristin Scott Thomas. Lia Williams who played the wife in the show I saw had less opportunity to shine in her quiet broody role. Kristin and Lia will swap parts each night (a la Frankenstein at the NT) and promise to do it with the flip of a coin for some shows in the future a few minutes before the show. Innovative and scary. I would pay to see the roles reversed, but what show would you book! Might be a dramatic box office mistake.

This is the first Pinter play to be performed at the renamed Comedy theatre.

The Magistrate @ The National Theatre

The Magistrate @ The National Theatre. Period farce based on a lie about a ladies age & the mayhem that ensues. Good cast and clever set. 8/10

The Pre-Raphaelites @ Tate Britain

The Pre-Raphaelites@Tate Britain. Last days of this exhibition so busy. Interesting departure from & reaction to art trends of the time 6/10

Acoustic Zone @ RAFA

Acoustic Zone @ RAFA. Great sets from 3 piece River Bird at this mthly event. Simple musicality to a high standard from this new group. 7/10

This small private RAF association club with Maldon real ale is little more than a converted family home with built in bar, glitter ball and small stage in the front room window bay. The Acoustic Zone which is part of the Redbridge Green Fair uses the club to host this monthly event. Two acts on the bill tonight. River Bird - charming female brazilian lead singer with great vocals, male spanish keyboard and vocals and male english electric guitar. River Bird alternated between their own material and old soul classics. Preferred their own material. Check out riverbird. net. Del Brown also on the bill. Highlight was when his daughter (7 or 8 years old) accompanied him on mouth organ.

The singing loins @ the rose and crown walthamstow

Punk meets folk. Lively guest band at this quirky full to capacity folk open mike night. 7/10.

The loins using folk instruments - mandolin, squeeze box, banjo, double bass, acoustic guitar, tambourine and scissors (yes scissors) create a folky sound with traces of hank wangford, ian drury and the pogues. The song about the demise of paper silhouette cutters in the face of modern photography was my highlight.

The rose and crown appear (it
was my first visit) to be committed to developing live entertainment. Good for them.

Quartet @ Stratford Picture House

Feel good film about an old folks home or opera stars. 7/10

Uncle Vanya - Vaudeville theatre

A disappointing production relying on Chekovs provenance to carry it. 5/10