Ahh, August. Welcome. With your hot, steamy nights and your strangely off-putting rainshowers…
Pretty much everyone in the artworld is elsewhere at the moment. Edinburgh has briefly stolen London’s thunder. Unless you want to Fringe it up in Camden (which we highly recommend), there are only a handful of new things kicking off this week to tell you about. Here’s our highlights.
London Shows Opening: Be There First
From tonight, you can see the Mariinsky Ballet dance at the Royal Opera House performing their Don Quixote. It’s only on for two days, so get in there quick!
If you miss that, but you still fancy a bit of Spanish dance, check out Napoletango at the London Coliseum from Thursday: a dance musical about the Incoronato family, a travelling troupe of 20 entertainers, known in Naples for their special art and passion for tango. It's a mix of Neapolitan music and renowned tango songs, supposed to appeal to all the senses, as it smells like Italian cooking too!
Elsewhere in theatre, you can see one of two Double Features at the National from tomorrow: four shows, four writers new to the National, it all looks rather exciting. If you’d rather be outside, but are still looking for that London theatre fix, try Around the World in Eighty Days (for kids) and Bertold Brecht's The Mother (for the rest) at the Scoop from Thursday.
Another tip for the kids: Roary The Racing Car is at Richmond Theatre on Friday.
Looking for some art to inspire you this week? Check out Sean Smith’s Frontlines photography exhibition at Kings Place: he’s an incredible war photographer who’s covered all the major conflicts in the last few years.
London Shows Closing: Last Chance To See
Shows closing on Saturday include Lay Me Down Softly at the Tricycle Theatre, Lend Me A Tenor at the Gielgud Theatre, Mongrel Island at the Soho Theatre, Swan Lake at the Royal Opera House, and The Village Bike at the Royal Court.
