Art, Theatre, Music & Shows

Woe to the hypocritical holy men, Christ warned, 'Because you are like to whitened sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead men's bones, and of all filthiness.' The celebrated actor Mark Rylance is currently appearing as just such an impostor in Tartuffe, Molière's hilarious satire against religious hypocrisy. With characteristic brio, he plays Pastor Blake, an oi... Read More

The Gesualdo Six thrilled the Proms audience at the Albert Hall in a late-night Prom last Wednesday. The sweet-voiced singers sang sacred songs medieval and early modern, along with a new creation from their director Owain Park which itself had venerable roots. Dressed in dark suits and white shirts, the six men were generally still, occasionally changing position or leaving the stage momentarily.... Read More

Learn traditional songs sung by pilgrims and join in a mini-pilgrimage from Farm Street to Spanish Place singing these songs on the way. Pilgrims sang these songs in different times and places, reflecting their experience of pilgrimage. We will use these songs to connect with the experience of pilgrimage in our own lives. No prior musical experience is needed, the sessions are open to all. Learn... Read More

Winston Churchill was a great statesman, soldier, and writer. He had many interests and hobbies including painting which became a vital part of his life during World War I. 'Painting is complete as a distraction," he explained, "I know of nothing which, without exhausting the body, more entirely absorbs the mind.' The Wallace Collection, London, displays nearly 60 of his works in this absorbing ex... Read More

Anyone fortunate enough to be at the Greenbelt festival this weekend will be able to see the British premiere of Francesco, a most moving play with music based on the 'Little Flowers of St Francis, in this the beloved saint's 800th anniversary year. I was fortunate to see a special preview of the piece, written and composed by Daniel Zappi, performed for Palestine in London in June. Superbly direc... Read More

A striking photographic exhibition that reveals the people and stories behind familiar images of the Holy Land is coming to the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary and St Dominic, St Dominic's Priory, Haverstock Hill, from Friday 4 to Sunday 13 September 2026. 50 Faces of the Holy Land features intimate black-and-white portraits by photographer Marcin Mazur. The project brings together Israeli and Pa... Read More

A powerful artwork honouring hundreds of children killed in Gaza has won the public vote at this year's National Eisteddfod art exhibition. The Josef Herman Award - The People's Choice was awarded to Diane Williams from Ynys Môn for the emotional work - a child's nightdress embroidered with the names of 300 children who did not attain the age of one in Gaza - displayed at Y Lle Celf, the National... Read More

The Players of St Peter's, based in St Saviour's Church, Chalk Farm, will be holding auditions for their forthcoming December production of scenes from Medieval Mystery Plays on Thursday, 20th and Monday, 24th August, at 7pm. If you want to take part but can't come on either of those dates, please email to discuss an alternative arrangement. The audition pieces are on the Players' website: https:... Read More

Justin Butcher is playing in his beautiful and profoundly moving one-man play Scaramouche Jones at the Edinburgh Fringe in a celebratory silver anniversary run. He plays a centenarian holy fool who has witnessed atrocity and inhumanity throughout his life, with seven cataclysmic moments evoking the seven sorrows of Mary. Yet he manages to pour a balm upon the world with life-affirming comedy and c... Read More

A dancing Omer Meir Wellber conducted the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, one of Europe's leading orchestras, with brio, acuity and panache at the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall last Friday. Wellber, a former Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted the DKam, as it is affectionately nicknamed, from the harpsichord for Haydn's Symphony No. 44 in E minor. Not for Wellber ... Read More

Genius? Madman? Saint? The story of Antoni Gaudí, internationally renowned visionary architect responsible for Barcelona's towering Sagrada Familia, is told in this new production at the Haldane Theatre, Surgeons Quarter, Nicolson St, EH8 9DW, Edinburgh from 7-15 August. Written and directed by Stephen Callaghan, this revised version of the 2014 sell-out Fringe play marks the centenary of Ga... Read More

The Sinfonia of London, under the baton of its brilliant conductor John Wilson, brought the house down with its delivery of Respighi's 'Roman Trilogy' at the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall last Friday It was a thrill to witness one of the world's greatest orchestras bring to life Respighi's rhapsodic evocation of the Eternal City in all its colour and variety, from the spiritual to the festive... Read More

The first major UK exhibition to explore the legacy of Mary Magdalene through historic and contemporary art is to be staged by the National Gallery at three locations across the north of England in 2027. Partnering with the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, the Millennium Gallery in Sheffield and The Auckland Palace in Bishop Auckland, this exhibition will explore the making of Mary Magdalene, lo... Read More

The first night of the Proms, 'the World's greatest classical music festival', at the Royal Albert Hall, had a heavenly send-off last Friday with Finzi's 'ceremonial ode' for St Cecilia, the (albeit legendary) patron saint of music, closing the scheduled works of the evening. Cecilia is figured as the divine source of musical inspiration and the ode celebrates English composers as diverse as the C... Read More