Hallyu! The Korean Wave ★★★★★ Victoria & Albert Museum | Sep 24, 2022 - June 25, 2023


Out of the carnage of war and the challenge of dictatorship, Korea has emerged as a major influencer in the world of technology and culture. This important exhibition traces the story of Korea's extraordinary leap into modernity and global leadership in these areas. It is a beautifully curated look at the phenomenon that is Korean music, fashion, film and television. From PSY's Gangnam Style, through the wildly popular K-Pop groups, to films like Parasite and Minari, and the incredibly successful television program, Squid Game, Korean cultural productions have become ubiquitous. This exhibition seeks to cover a lot of ground, including Korea's trend-setting impact on fashion and grooming, and it does a splendid job. There are diverting interactive experiences, plus some thoughtful insight into how Korea's new-found influence on world culture is impacting a society steeped in traditional values. The ppali-ppali ('quick-quick') ethos of the new Korea has inevitably caused disruption in a society that prides itself on its respect and reverence for its past. For fans of all things Korean this will be a delightful experience, and for those less familiar with this fount of national creativity, this exhibition will provide the perfect introduction.

Rated: ★★★★★

Reviewed by J.C.
Image: PSY performs Gangnam Style, on TODAY, 2012, New York, USA. Courtesy of Jason Decrow, Invision, AP, Shutterstock

When, Where, Getting there:
Map & Location: Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL, UK

Most Popular

St. Martin in-the-fields: Lunchtime Concerts ★★★★ FREE

Image
Maybe the best musical value in London. The lunchtime concerts at St. Martin's are always a wonderful way to escape the hustle and bustle that is London and the sensory overload that is Trafalgar Square. This is a beautiful setting with great acoustics, and a church pew hard enough to make sure you don't nod off. Reviewed by J.C.  Our score:    ☆☆☆☆  WHEN, WHERE, GETTING THERE: Mon & Fri: 1 pm - 1:45 pm ( occasionally Tues & Thurs)  St. Martin in-the-fields, Trafalgar Square Nearest tube: Charing Cross https://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/whats-on
Full Details »

Power of Sail – A Moral Thriller ★★★★ Menier Chocolate Factory | Mar 20 - May 12, 2024

Image
The bon mot that academic politics are so vicious precisely because the stakes are so small has various attributions, and its history of apparently being "borrowed" is not without some irony. Set in the context of a debate about free speech, Paul Grellong has written a piece that is less a moral thriller and more of a satire. It is really about the pettiness and lack of principle involved in navigating one's way through the choppy seas of academia. The play doesn't really do much to advance the debate about finding the line between hate speech and free speech, but it is a clinical dissection of the mendacity and petty ambition that infects the environment of those who are supposedly charged with exploring and refining that important distinction. Apparently under the rubric of free speech, Harvard professor Charles Nichols (Julian Ovenden) has invited a well-known white supremacist to participate in a panel at the university. The students are outraged and the dean is ...
Full Details »

Sweetmeats ★★★ Bush Theatre | Feb 7 - Mar 21, 2026

Image
When two South Asian elders meet at a diabetes management course, romance is the last thing on the agenda. Yet in Karim Khan’s charming romantic comedy, love proves to be the sweetest item on offer. Diabetes becomes more than a medical condition. It serves as a metaphor for grief, while food stands in for the affection missing from the lives of Hema and Liaquat, both widowed and unsure whether love can return. Hema has created a combative persona, fortifying herself against further hurt. Liaquat, by contrast, is burdened by regret, haunted by feelings he never voiced. They bond over their shared weakness for sweets and the resultant diabetes, but their differences are pronounced. She is Indian and he is Pakistani. Even so, what unites them gradually outweighs what divides them. The political message is clear without being laboured. Performed by Shobu Kapoor and Rehan Sheikh, Hema and Liaquat are instantly recognisable and deeply sympathetic. We root for them to take the risk and find h...
Full Details »

White Christmas ★★★★ The Mill at Sonning | Nov 27, 2024 - Jan 25, 2025

Image
It's official! Christmas is here. With a traditional buffet meal and their always enjoyable holiday show, The Mill at Sonning has kicked off the season! White Christmas with its satisfyingly predictable story is all about the music and the dancing, and Director Jonathan O'Boyle does a brilliant job of taking a small stage and capturing the essence of a big film musical. The tale of two GIs who, following the war, become a famous double act, and who then team up with a pair of singing sisters to put on a show which will save the Vermont inn owned by their former commander, is as sweet as maple syrup. It certainly takes us back to a simpler, more optimistic time in America, and there's not a hint of irony anywhere. In this iteration of the classic, the cast dance up a storm with some terrific choreography from Gary Lloyd, and celebrate Irving Berlin's great song classics such as "White Christmas," "Blue Skies" and "Count Your Blessings." The...
Full Details »

If. Destroyed. Still. True. ★★★ The Hope Theatre | Apr 26 - May 14, 2022

Image
"You can't go home again." If. Destroyed. Still. True. is a familiar story of friends separated by time and the decisions to follow different paths in life. Jack Condon presents two young men who have bonded in youth but who become separated and increasingly lost to one another as they grow up. John, played by Condon, fears change and clings to the familiar even as he recognises how it limits his life. In the end, he retreats to a world of nostalgia, alcohol and anger. Best friend, James, played by Theo Ancient, manages to negotiate the path of social mobility but is riddled by guilt about what he has left behind. Both actors bring a resonant truth to their performances, and Condon is especially convincing as the partially self-aware, awkwardly articulate John. While Whitney Kehinde rings true as Charlotte, James' girlfriend, it is a role that is only partially developed. We are left guessing at her backstory, and her character serves only to bring into focus the fra...
Full Details »

Les Liaisons Dangereuses ★★★ National Theatre | Mar 21 - Jun 6, 2026

Image
Spoilt, rich people whose sole occupation is scheming to destroy the lives of the naïve and gullible. No, this is not a dramatised version of the Epstein files. Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ eighteenth-century epistolary novel, depicting amoral aristocrats on the brink of the French Revolution, has inspired many incarnations, yet it continues to shock and, at times, to delight. Christopher Hampton’s stage adaptation, first presented in 1985, streamlines the narrative, focusing on the rivalry and tangled emotional connection between the two master manipulators: the Marquise de Merteuil, played by Lesley Manville, and the Vicomte de Valmont, portrayed by Aidan Turner. Together they engage in a vicious game, with Valmont attempting to seduce both the innocent Cécile de Volanges and the devout Madame de Tourvel. It is wickedly entertaining material, and it proves just as intriguing in this context as it does in the well-known teen film, Cruel Intentions . There are, however, some issues with...
Full Details »

Emmeline: The Suffragette Movement ★★★★★ The Cockpit | November 3 - 14, 2021

Image
Emmeline is Beatrice Hyde's confidently written debut play about the Suffragette movement and the family at its heart – the Pankhursts. The writing goes behind the usual well rehearsed stories and delves into the lives of a mother and her daughters. Georgie Rhys uses her superb voice to dominate proceedings as Emmeline. This is a tortured woman dedicated to her cause but also striving to be a caring parent. The large cast also features strong performances by Charlie Hansen as Sylvia and Lily-Fleur Bradbury as Christabel. However, it is the actual presentation of the play which is truly remarkable. Time and again, there are incredible visual moments as director, Anastasia Revi, creates breathtaking images, including a stunning depiction of a protest where the campaigners are brutally beaten by the police. The women are then imprisoned: the metaphor of placing their heads in bird cages struck us as a simple but inspired idea. The force feeding of one woman is terrifyingly realistic ...
Full Details »

Lost Origin, Hoxton Docks ★★★★★ | Nov 21 - Dec 4, 2021

Image
So, there's this evil distributor of forbidden goods on the dark web and we've got to stop him! Lost Origin is a novel experience for a group of friends or a family outing. Working together, teams of six sneak into a warehouse and take on what appears to be the daunting challenge of catching the bad guy, but it turns out there may be darker forces at work – perhaps, a supernatural element to this quest. It's all a fun-filled change from the usual movie night or pub get-together. Lost Origin offers a great mixture of interactive role playing and an enhanced virtual reality experience known as mixed and augmented reality that is utterly captivating. The Magic Leap One device completely lived up to its billing and provided an unforgettable opportunity to savour the wonders of this new technology. For us, it was also nice that this aspect of the experience was allowed to delight and enthral, without being lessened by any attempts to shock or horrify participants with jumpscar...
Full Details »

American Psycho ★★★★★ Almeida Theatre | Jan 22 - Mar 14, 2026

Image
The novel and film American Psycho were a satire on the superficiality and materialism of young financial professionals in New York City in the 1980s. The musical adaptation premiered at the Almeida Theatre in 2013 under its then new artistic director, Rupert Goold, and it now returns as his final production before leaving the post. With a second Trump term underway, this story of over-polished surfaces concealing a psychotic killer utterly devoid of values takes on a renewed and deeply ironic resonance. It is easy to read the central character, Patrick Bateman, as representative of America itself. References to Trump and other cultural icons within the 1980s setting enrich the parody and prompt the audience's knowing laughter which is sharpened by hindsight. The values of the Reagan era can be seen as inevitably leading to the current state of American politics. The production is beautifully choreographed by Lynne Page and superbly acted throughout. Arty Froushan is suitably slim...
Full Details »

The Rivals ★★★ Orange Tree Theatre | Until January 24, 2026

Image
This latest version of The Rivals is one part Richard Brinsley Sheridan and his eighteenth-century social satire, one part P. G. Wodehouse and the Roaring Twenties, plus a dash of topical humour such as references to the television series Survivor . It is not a mocktail that will be to everyone's taste, but it is clearly a labour of love for director Tom Littler. This attempt to reimagine Sheridan’s comedy of manners and modernise its references frequently succeeds, yet it also produces some awkward moments. Elements such as the anachronism of a duel set in the 1920s or the unnecessary aside about nudity in a bathroom scene are jarring and forced. Indeed, too often, the drive to provoke laughter at any cost appears to dominate the production, resulting in moments that feel strained and tonally uneven. This approach undermines the original and intelligent concept of relocating Sheridan’s play to a period whose literature was often similarly dismissed as superficial but which was al...
Full Details »

The City Life Magazine | Reviews & Ratings