Bill Viola / Michelangelo: Life, Death, Rebirth, Royal Academy of Arts - ★★★ - Until March 31, 2019


Is this an exhibition, a conversation or even a meditation? Actually it’s all three. In the darkened main rooms of the Royal Academy we navigate - sometimes awkwardly - past Bill Viola’s large video screens and Michelangelo’s drawings. The parallels with being in a cathedral are clear. And the subject matter is suitably heavyweight: essentially, the cycle of life. Viola frequently employs diptych and triptych formats. Water features a lot, usually suggesting ritual or redemption. The intention is to provide an immersive experience: would the content work as well scaled down? Veils in one piece offer relief from the hard-edged technology elsewhere. Michelangelo’s drawings are on a much smaller scale and require closer examination. They were made late in his career and if the themes of mortality and transcendence weren’t obvious enough, the curator hammers them home for us. Some of the draughtsmanship is breathtaking: how were such effects achieved using chalk? Occasionally (heretical idea) it’s a bit naff! The ‘Taddei Tondo’ sculpture of the Virgin and Child displays a very human bond but also Christ’s mortality. It is this duality of the physical and the spiritual that connects both artists. A stimulating dialogue between very different approaches, if a rather gloomy one.

 Reviewed by A.L.
 Our Score:  ☆☆☆ 

 WHEN, WHERE, GETTING THERE:
Until March 31, 2019
Daily: 10 am - 6 pm (last admission: 5:30 pm)
Fri: 10 am - 10 pm (last admission: 9:30 pm)
Royal Academy, Main Galleries, Burlington House
Nearest tube: Piccadilly Circus
https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/bill-viola-michelangelo
Map & Location: Burlington House, Piccadilly, Mayfair, London W1J 0BD, UK

Most Popular

Being Mr. Wickham ★★★★★ The Original Theatre Company (online) | Apr 30 - May 1, 2021

Image
"What ever happened to...?" In this quite wonderful one-man show we catch up on the life of George Wickham, the charming scoundrel from Pride and Prejudice . George is turning sixty and reflects on his life. There are moments of self awareness, lots of self-justification and more than a little self-deception. How seriously one judges the man or how much his claims to have lived fully and survived charm you depends on the viewer. Adrian Lukis brilliantly creates a complex character who beguiles and bemuses. This is tour-de-force of acting and it is very ably supported by a strong script from Lukis and his collaborator, Catherine Curzon. Guy Unsworth deftly directs the production and Libby Watson's design is terrific. So many filmed stage productions seem unsatisfying and wooden because they are neither films nor theatre. But here, the piece successfully navigates the challenge, employing techniques from both genres and creating a hybrid that finally works. The lighting, se
Full Details »

Safe ★★★★ Hackney Empire (online) | From April 19, 2021 - FREE

Image
Using the real stories of gay and trans youth associated with The Albert Kennedy Trust, Alexis Gregory has created a compelling piece of theatre. Safe immerses us in the challenges these young people face and humanises the grim statistic that one quarter of homeless and at-risk individuals identify as LGBTQ+. Each of the actors captures the strength it takes to come to terms with the complexity of self-acceptance in what is often a very hostile social environment. Taofique Folarin brings alive the struggles of being gay in a traditional Nigerian family, and May Kelly evokes empathy and compassion as she describes her self-medication with alcohol in order to cope with her sexual identity. Elijah Ferreira radiates positivity and hope as a trans gay man despite the challenges he faces. Mary Malone also inspires with her gritty presentation of a child bounced among foster homes who still grows into a strong trans woman. The intimacy of the documentary's almost confessional form someti
Full Details »

Sir John Soane's Museum: Guided Tour ★★★★★ FREE

Image
This is one of our favourite museums in London. The quirky and crammed home of John Soane, architect of the Bank of England. It has some wonderful treasures, including Hogarth's "The Election" and "The Rake's Progress." The sarcophagus of Seti I is in the basement along with the parlour of his imaginary friend, Brother John. Don't miss the opening of the display walls in the gallery now done on the hour and half hour. Also, try to be there for the free Private Apartments tour, limited to 8 people and requiring  sign up on site. Reviewed by J.C.  Our Score:    ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆   WHEN, WHERE, GETTING THERE: Wed - Sun: 10 am - 5 pm (l ast entry at 4:30 pm) Closed: Dec 24, 25, 26, 31 & Jan 1 Private Apartments Tours: 1:15 pm & 2:00 pm Sir John Soane's museum, Lincoln's Inn Fields Nearest tube: Holborn https://www.soane.org
Full Details »

Henry V ★★★ Guilford Shakespeare Company (online) | April 22 - 25, 2021

Image
Guildford Shakespeare Company and director Caroline Devlin are nothing if not ambitious. Henry V is a huge undertaking and to cram all this action not just within a theatre's “wooden O,” but to further complicate matters by using just 5 actors, each working in isolation on Zoom, courts disaster. Furthermore, reducing the running time to less than 75 minutes demands massive cuts to the text which render several scenes difficult to follow. The character of Chorus is divided between all five actors drawing parallels to Greek drama, but we didn't find this particularly helpful given the fact that the performers had to play so many different parts throughout the play. Gavin Fowler shone in the role of King Henry and delivered his wonderful speeches beautifully, whether he was rabble-rousing before Harfleur or musing on how the decisive battle of Agincourt might be remembered. It would be good to see Fowler in a fully staged production. The battles themselves were as exciting as con
Full Details »

Soft Sessions Live In Concert ★★★★ Soft Sound London (online) | Apr 23 - May 2, 2021

Image
What is music to you? Six young West End stars share their feelings about their art. They both tell us and show us what music means to them. These are some wonderful duets and solos which are bound to charm. Indeed, the musical stylings by these consummate young artists are quite masterful. There is an intimacy and informality in the performances which are delightful and insightful. The songs focus on relationships and evoke the challenges of the time we have been living through. There's a lot here to like here, but our personal favourites were the duets "Hide and Seek" by Courtney Stapleton and Eloise Davies and the lovely "Runnin' (Lose it All)" sung by Danielle Fiamanya. The decision to present the concert in one take did not really add to the experience and often led to some unnecessary and rather distracting shots. Nevertheless, for some good lockdown entertainment this is a concert that definitely delivers while inviting us behind the scenes to meet
Full Details »

Remembering the Oscars ★★★★ (online) | Mar 27 - Apr 17, 2021

Image
Remembering the Oscars is a spectacularly presented dance show which resembles a lavish box of chocolates where each individual bonbon melts on the tongue, but one must take care not to overindulge. At just one hour they have got it about right with just enough different flavours to excite the palate. After an introductory montage which whisks us through about a dozen songs from Oscar winning films in double quick time, we arrive at the show proper. Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara dance with tremendous style and pizzazz and are seen to great advantage in several beautiful duets choreographed by Gareth Walker. Sequences from Evita , Chicago and All That Jazz stand out and include excellent use of a dancing ensemble. Vocalists Janine Johnson and Giovanni Spanó sing expressively and enhance the musical textures. Highlights of the show include a smouldering tango from Scent of a Woman which brings a little welcome spice to the proceedings. The show is backed by specially chosen p
Full Details »

General Secretary ★★★ Thick 'n' Fast (online) | Apr 8 - 24, 2021

Image
Cassie Symes and Georgina Thomas are both the writers and performers of General Secretary , a satire on world domination. The premise is that the UN decides all recent attempts to run the world successfully have failed so it will choose two random young women to take over leadership. It is a pity that there are so few laugh-out-loud moments; this isn't helped by the lack of a live audience. Frequent cutting to a parody of a news broadcast works well and Symes and Thomas are excellent in the various roles they assign to themselves. We particularly liked the “Techy Bois” and felt that they could actually survive as comedy characters in their own right. As the show develops it becomes increasingly evident that the new regime is a parody of the Communist takeover of Russia with the bickering leaders channeling Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin. There are moments when a scatter-gun approach seems to be in operation, making the piece feel a little like a work-in-progress. However, Symes and Thom
Full Details »

Camden Fringe: Shards, The Camden People's Theatre - ★★★★★ - August 15 - 18, 2019

Image
In physics, as in relationships, sometimes things need to collide and even be broken to discover the particle that holds them together. This is a refreshingly intelligent play about intelligent people. It does not make the mistake of seeking drama in the extraordinary or bizarre, but plumbs the complexity present in the everyday world. Whether it is on the macro-level of the universe or on the micro-level of people trying to understand themselves and to form relationships, there is ample challenge and wonder to be found. We see the steps, missteps and collisions that occur among four people before a rhythm is discovered and the swing dance of relationships can be mastered. Karim Dedda as Matt creates a convincingly caring and questing nurse and Vanessa Toral Diaz's Maya is a completely credible physician. She beautifully captures the manner of a slightly distant, but nevertheless vulnerable professional. Robert Dukes' Viktor is nuanced and does not fall into simple parody of
Full Details »

Grimm Tales for Fragile Times and Broken People ★★★★★ Creation Theatre (online) | Until March 13, 2021

Image
Creation Theatre's Grimm Tales for Fragile Times and Broken People is by turns eerily beautiful, terrifying, or just creepy. Mashing together several tales gathered by the Brothers Grimm, director Gari Jones and the actors Kofi Dennis, Dharmesh Patel, Natasha Rickman, Graeme Rose and Annabelle Terry take us on an incredibly surreal journey through the gruesome world the Grimms created. With violence and cruelty throughout, this is most certainly not a show for young children; it does, however, display all the amazing invention this company is renowned for. Living as we do in the lonely isolation of lockdown, tales of loss and death seem unlikely topics for entertainment but the treatment here is so mesmerising that we are drawn into this bizarre world and wait aghast for the next horrific piece of the action. Probably the best known story is Hansel and Gretel , and when we finally meet the witch in her Gingerbread House she is a wonderfully frightening monster hiding behind diapha
Full Details »

Testament ★★★★ Via Brooklyn Theatre Co. (online) | Mar 27 - Apr 24, 2021

Image
Testament by Tristan Bernays is a treatment of three Bible stories relocating them to modern-day America. There is, perhaps, a somewhat evangelical feel to the production which comprises two monologues separated by a duologue, but one does not need to be a Christian to appreciate the quality of the writing and acting. We hear the stories of Isaac, Lot, and one of the criminals crucified with Jesus. Bernays' eloquent use of language creates striking images and the theme of shared humanity is well depicted, allowing the stories to meld seamlessly into their new settings. Lot's daughters are extremely well characterised by Cori Hundt and Jessica Giannone. Biko Eisen-Martin as the criminal who is confronted by Jesus and rejects salvation in the afterlife may have the hardest task but he masters it. The most instantly appealing performance comes from Doron JéPaul Mitchell as Isaac, the son of Abraham; his heartfelt and softly spoken monologue poignantly hits the mark. Music and reli
Full Details »

The City Life Magazine | Reviews & Ratings