Arts Ahead: 10-17 June

By Zoe Craig Last edited 189 months ago
Arts Ahead: 10-17 June
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Arts Ahead is back with all the info you need to keep culturally up-to-date in the capital this week...

Watch out for the start of London Sculpture Week on Friday. If bronze, limestone and marble are your things, pop along to galleries throughout the Mayfair area for a celebration of all things sculptured; from 14th-century Tibetan art to young London-based sculptor Piers Secunda, who creates sculptural works entirely out of paint. At school, it would've been called "a mess".

Plus, don't forget we're in the middle of the ace, after-hours amazingness that is Lates (1 Jun-4 Jul). There's so much going on, we really can't talk about it all in detail here. But if you're the type to swoon at the thought of dressing up in Regency costume and taking part in a Jane Austen Quiz at the V&A, or get twitchy fingers at the chance to take part in an artist-led drawing session at the National, or your sex machine starts revving at the thought of a one-off James Brown tribute at the Barbican, then check out all that London's late scene has to offer.

If all this late-night arting around isn't your thing, make your way to Bernie Spain Gardens on Sunday. Celebrating Sanctuary marks the 10th year of Refugee Week, showcasing the work of established and emerging musicians, dancers, artists and storytellers from London's refugee community. It's going to be pretty special.

For something really new, head to London's newest museum, the Musical Museum in Brentford High Street. It officially opened last night after a few months' "bedding down" (we're not sure either) and features the world's most impressive collection of automatic instruments. Wurlitzer fans will be in their element.

Last Chance!

Ralph Fiennes and Tamsin Grieg (her out of Green Wing and Love Soup) will finish their fun in God of Carnage at the Gielgud on Saturday, and the Telectroscope at More London will disappear (we imagine) on Sunday.

Theatreland

Theatreland has gone into overdrive on (celeb) casting news in the last couple of weeks, much to the disappointment of Jonathan Miller. We've got Sanjeev Bhaskar, from The Kumars At No. 42 and Goodness Gracious Me, being crowned King Arthur in Spamalot from 23 June; Adam Cooper, Gary Wilmot, Roy Hudd and more in the Wizard of Oz from 23 July; David "Dr. Who" Tennant is tackling Hamlet at the Novello for the RSC in December, with the fabulous Patrick Stewart as Claudius... Are our theatres becoming over-run with "slebs"?

Well, "celebrity" didn't help Gone With The Wind, which is closing on Saturday after just 79 performances [insert "blown out" gag here]. This Londonista thought Darius was actually rather good in an otherwise flawed show. Neither have "big names" helped Cabaret, which also announced it's closing next week (21 Jun). If you've seen Alistair McGowan's Emcee, let us know what you thought.

Last Updated 10 June 2008