Reviews

  • On The Bab (Restaurant)
    Posted in: Food & Dining, Reviews

    Clubbers and bar types who love the hip Shoreditch scene will inevitably have noticed an establishment on Old Street which has constant queues jamming up the pavement. Must be some really happening celebrity DJ, right? Or perhaps some extended happy hour serving amazing cocktails and free shots? No, it’s actually a restaurant. The On The […]

  • Making Jamaica: Photography from the 1890s (Exhibition)
    Posted in: Galleries & Museums, Photos, Reviews, Shows & Exhibitions

    In recent years Shoreditch’s Autograph ABP has made a name for itself as one of London’s go-to galleries for exhibitions featuring work of cultural and historic significance. This current display of archive photographs from late nineteenth century Jamaica show how the post-emancipation nation for the first time sought to capitalise on its climate and unspoilt […]

  • Adam & Eve…and Steve (Musical)
    Posted in: Drama & Theatre, Reviews

    It’s just as well in previous incarnations the Kings Head Theatre, the first pub theatre since Shakespeare’s day, was once used as a boxing ring because the near fisticuffs that follow when Adam is being fought over by Eve and his camp ‘best friend forever’ Steve, might have called for a return to the pugilistic […]

  • Raw (Film)
    Posted in: Movies & TV Shows, Reviews

    Never mind the subtitles, this French-Belgian horror-thriller has given the Anglo-American dominance of the genre a welcome shot in the arm. Starring Garance Marillier as Justine a coming of age veterinary student from a strict vegetarian family, the meat issue is never far from the surface and you soon come to realise meat is definitely […]

  • Michelangelo & Sebastiano (Exhibition)
    Posted in: Galleries & Museums, Reviews

    Michelangelo was already scaling the heights of High Renaissance painting and sculpture and engaged in a rivalry with Raphael when he met Sebastiano in Rome in 1511 and took him under his tutelage. They met while Michelangelo was working on the Sistine Chapel vaults 1508-1512, establishing the Mannerist style which would dominate Italian art. The […]

  • Bright Young Tings (Exhibition)
    Posted in: Drama & Theatre, Reviews, Shows & Exhibitions

    This photographic exhibition at the National Theatre, South Bank covers the 1979-1982 period when the UK’s black theatre was seeking a distinct voice from the African-American productions that dominated in the decades preceding. The archive of 35mm black and white rehearsal photos are the work of Michael Mayhew whose account of the period and his […]

  • The Little Basket 2017: New Malaysian Writing (Book)
    Posted in: Books, Reviews

    Fixi London launched this anthology at the London Book Fair 14-16 March bringing a taste of South-East Asian creative talent to the capital. The varied work includes short stories, essays, poetry even a comic section setting it apart from your average anthology. The publishers admit to having a wide remit, claiming “we let the authors […]

  • Exit from Aden: New Works by ALO (Exhibition)
    Posted in: Galleries & Museums, Reviews

    Three years after his Hail to the Loser debut show at the Saatchi, Italian artist ALO returns bearing the fruits of an urban expressionist style developed from street art and studio work. Now based in London since 2011, this journey also took him to Paris where, no doubt, the inspiration for A French Gypsy Lady […]

  • The Yacht London (Restaurant)
    Posted in: Food & Dining, Reviews

    With the first few weeks of spring and the midday sun making even the Thames sparkle, river restaurants will have that seasonal pull on London diners and tourists alike. The Yacht London, a 1927 luxury steamship yacht, has retained its elegant, deco charm despite the recent £1million makeover that is immediately noticeable as you approach […]

  • A Cure For Wellness (Film)
    Posted in: Movies & TV Shows, Reviews

    It’s certainly one of the strangest films you’ll see this year and will make you think twice about booking a weekend spa getaway at a stately gothic retreat in the Swiss Alps (as you do!). This genre-bridging sci-fi, psychological thriller-horror will also have you scratching your head long after you exit the cinema and fill […]