Our pick of the fun-sounding theatre, opera, jazz, world music and art exhibitions opening this week
THEATRE: Simon Callow stars in a one-man show, Being Shakespeare, at the Trafalgar Studios from tomorrow; or from the same night, you can see Mustafa, about the reality of exorcism, at the Soho theatre; Beside The Sea in the Purcell Room at the Southbank Centre (part of the Southbank Centre’s WOW – Women of the World festival); or Farewell To The Theatre at the Hampstead Theatre. It’s a world premiere of a play by Richard Nelsom, about the director/producer/playwright/actor Harley Granville-Barker rediscovering his love of theatre.
From Thursday, Mike Leigh’s seminal 70s comedy, Abigail’s Party, opens at the Menier Chocolate Factory. It stars Jill Halfpenny, Joe Absolom and Natalie Casey, and looks like being a goodie. Also opening on Thursday is Going Dark at the Young Vic: an immersive production from Sound&Fury asking questions of the universe.
OPERA: This week’s opera pick is The Barber Of Seville, sung in English by the ETO, at the Hackney Empire on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Tickets cost between £10 and £32 – a bargain considering what other opera tickets sometimes cost.
JAZZ: Ayanna Witter-Johnson, or just Ayanna, is a young cellist and singer who doesn't fit into any particular mould but makes fantastic, soulful music. She's perhaps described as a British Esperanza Spalding, the Grammy Award-winning bassist and vocalist, and you can see if that comparison stands up at her gig at The Forge tomorrow night.
WORLD: Amjad Ali Khan is a master of the sarod, an Indian stringed instrument. A legend of Indian classical music, Khan has a major residency starting at the Wigmore Hall on Friday.
ART/EXHIBITIONS: From Thursday, you can see Louise Bourgeois: The Return of the Repressed at the Freud Museum: original documents from the artist’s psychoanalytic writings on display alongside drawings and sculptures. Thursday is also the opening day for Titanic Remembered at the Royal Museums Greenwich, and the Portrait of London exhibition at the Wandsworth Museum.
From Friday, Marilyn opens at the Getty Images Gallery near Oxford Street. Or head to any of the White Cube Galleries across London, and you can see Gilbert & George’s latest show, called London Pictures, featuring the duo and an array of newspaper headlines.
Finally, on Saturday, Johan Zoffany RA: Society Observed opens at the Royal Academy of Arts.
Anything we’ve missed that you’re really looking forward to seeing this week? Let us know in the comments below.
We have listings for ongoing shows at London’s top museums on our Museums and Galleries page.
