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6 JAN - 12 JAN
The sun rises in the East a little higher every day, and this week its gaze reaches London. Aspiring Asian film buffs note: a bonafide classic, a cult-ural oddity, and a new contender wash away the dizzy, half-remembered circus that was the holi-daze. Find solace in the slow pans, dapper colours, and ebbing cadenzas of visual expression that these films bring. Life isn't a hurricane — it's partly cloudy with chances of drizzle. Pack an umbrella, and spread it. |
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ART
Liz Rideal
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| when: | Tue 6 Jan (11am-8pm) |
| where: | The Poetry Library, Royal Festival Hall (Level 5, Belvedere Road, SE1, 020.7960.4242)
Tube: Waterloo |
| price: |  FREE |
| links: |
Event Info | Liz Rideal |
| | Liz Rideal is a British fine artist, as well as the inspiration for a poem by Bill Berkson called "Tango". Rideal has created paintings, sculptures, photographs, and prints since the early '80s that focus on the natural and, at times, vegetable worlds. Poetry has always been a strong influence on her work — the title of her first exhibition in 1982, Bagatelles Végétales, came from a surrealist poem written by Michel Leiris, and her latest show, Mandrake Tango, employs words and plants as source and media. It's appropriate, then, that the Poetry Library organised tonight's examination of her work and its relationship to poetry. The results are delicately beautiful, coloured, and haunting. This isn't big-scale, in-your-face contemporary art, but poetry in visual form. (FG)
 
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FILM
The Life of O-Haru (1952)
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| when: | Tue 6 Jan (1, 5:35 & 8:20pm) |
| where: | Renoir Cinema (Brunswick Square, WC1, 020.7837.8402)
Tube: Russell Square |
| price: | £7.50 |
| links: |
Event Info |
| | Kenji Mizoguchi's 1952 masterpiece, a classic of Japanese cinema, is set in 17th-century feudal Japan. O-Haru is a courtesan who is exiled due to her unwillingness to renounce her love for a commoner, played with grace and powerful reserve by Toshiro Mifune — the film is essentially a ruminative flashback charting her fall from grace. Kinuyo Tanaka's performance in the title role is a masterclass in empathetic acting, and the film as a whole represents the full force of Mizoguchi's technical and social concerns. (DM)
NB: This film shows daily (1, 5:35 & 8:20pm) until Thur 8 Jan.
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| | Quite possibly the most perfect place for post-NYE exertion drinks, Bartok, neatly named after the Hungarian composer, is an amazingly relaxed and quite decadent place — surprising for London's only bar venue devoted to classical music. Bartok's Wednesday Cadenza night has garnered a steady following, even though it's a world away from every other nearby watery-beer-and-rock Camden venue. These weeklies are hosted by DJ Eddie Rhoades, who ensures that things remain contemporary; classical here also encompasses world, jazz, and modern compositions. Expect several live guest sets throughout the night, featuring anyone from guitarists to vocalists to violinists. (SR)
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THEATRE
Honeymoon Suite
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| when: | Thur 8 Jan (7:30pm) |
| where: | Royal Court Theatre (Sloane Square, SW1, 020.7565.5000)
Tube: Sloane Square |
| price: | £7.50-27.50 |
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Event Info |
| | Honeymoon Suite, a play about love and marriage that opens tonight, supposes that Romeo and Juliet avoided their cursed fates, dwelling in a mundane domestica instead. Richard Bean's third play at the Royal Court updates literature's most famous love story to a honeymoon suite in Bridlington, and adds a nice dose of murder, miscarriage, and the maudlin. This performance stars John Alderton, most recently seen in Calendar Girls, and Holby City's Liam Garrigan. Be sure to visit the bar downstairs before the performance, as it's one of London's hidden gems. (FG)
NB: Honeymoon Suite runs until Sat 7 Feb.
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FILM
The Alcohol Years (2000)
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| when: | Thur 8 Jan (9:30pm) |
| where: | ICA (The Mall, SW1, 020.7930.3647) Tube: Charing Cross, Piccadilly Circus |
| price: | £6.50 |
| links: |
Event Info |
| | Many people look back on their youthful years and remember only blurry patches of hedonistic excess. Few make a film about it. Carol Morley's autobiographical documentary, The Alcohol Years (2000), charts her return to Manchester, which she left in 1987 in a haze of sex and drugs. It re-creates the city in the height of its Thatcherist, dark creative years, just before the wave of pills and acid house took over. Shorts by this innovative filmmaker screen alongside the 80-minute documentary. (FG)
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| | What marks Sofia Coppola's second directorial effort is her slavish pursuit of perfection: the gorgeously framed shots of Tokyo and its surrounding countryside, the just-so soundtrack featuring the likes of Kevin Shields and Air, and even the impeccable sheer-pink panties that comprise the film's first image. But what really makes Lost in Translation is the messy, raw loneliness that runs right beneath that veneer. Peppered with visual jokes and small, sad smiles, this chaste love story between a has-been American actor (Bill Murray) and a not-yet-been bored young wife (Scarlett Johansson), both temporarily stranded light-years from home, is a lovely cinematic haiku, fleshed out by Murray's rueful, comedic grace. (LR)
NB: This film shows until Sun 18 Jan.
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MUSIC: Soul
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
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| when: | Fri 9 Jan (7pm) |
| where: | Jazz Café (5 Parkway, NW1, 020.7916.6060)
Tube: Camden Town |
| price: | £18 / £15 advance |
| links: |
Sharon Jones | Jazz Café |
| | The crowning jewel of the Daptone label, Sharon Jones blesses us with two nights in London, of which this is the first. Inspiring weak-kneed devotion from an addicted fanbase, New York-based Jones is a purist of funk and soul, and a singer of intense charisma. Backed by the superb Dap-Kings, who all seem to be in love with her and who are responsible for much of the instrumental majesty of the peerless Desco catalogue, this is a revue band of rare energy with a compendious, intimate knowledge of how funk and soul should be performed. (DM)
NB: This event also takes place on Sat 10 Jan (7 & 11pm).
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MUSIC: Hip Hop
Ty
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| when: | Fri 9 Jan (11pm) |
| where: | Jazz Café (5 Parkway, NW1, 020.7916.6060)
Tube: Camden Town |
| price: | £10 / £8.50 advance |
| links: |
Event Info | Ty |
| | Ty kicks off his monthlong Friday night residency at the Jazz Café this week. He's fast becoming one of UK hip hop's major names, and his aptly titled second album for Big Dada, Upwards, proves that his production and lyrics are getting better each time around. His style is positive, intelligent, funny, and very British — there's no bling-bling posturing here. Ty's also gaining a good rep as a performance poet in the capital, but these gigs should be heavy on the music. Look for some guests to join the fray. (FG)
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CONFERENCE
Trafalgar Square and the Fourth Plinth
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| when: | Sat 10 Jan (10:30am-1pm) |
| where: | Sainsbury Wing, National Gallery (Trafalgar Square, WC2, 020.7747.2885)
Tube: Leicester Square, Charing Cross |
| price: | £12 |
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Event Info |
| | Six months after the newly pedestrianised Trafalgar Square opened, the vexed question of what should be placed on the vacant plinth remains. Sounding like an Indiana Jones film, this half-day conference focuses on the Square's
imperial history — when it was much more than a focus for pigeons and New Year celebrations. The conference also tackles the role of public art in London and how different the final statue will undoubtedly be from the military ones currently in situ. Speakers include Nigerian artist Sokari Douglas Camp, Roger Hargreaves, curator of the National Portrait Gallery's Circling the Square exhibition, and architect and author of Trafalgar Square Emblem of Empire, Rodney Mace. (SR)
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FILM
Chungking Express (1994)
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| when: | Sat 10 Jan (6:30pm) |
| where: | British Museum, BP Lecture Theatre (Great Russell Street, WC1, 020.7323.8430)
Tube: Holborn, Tottenham Court Road |
| price: | £30 for membership / £4 for guests of members |
| links: |
Event Info |
| | The British Museum kicks off its new film club with Chungking Express, an unusual, funny, and beautifully directed story of policemen in love. It's also Wong Kar-Wai's best-known feature, and one of the first movies to really take Hong Kong away from its b-movie kung fu rep and into international art houses. Other goodies to come in this monthly dose include Touch of Evil, Andrei Rublev, and Dr. Strangelove. Screenings are for members only, though you can bring a friend once you join. (FG)
NB: £30 membership covers admission to all 12 films of the series at no extra cost.
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MUSIC: No Wave
KaitO
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| when: | Sat 10 Jan (9pm) |
| where: | ICA Theatre (The Mall, SW1, 020.7930.3647)
Tube: Charing Cross, Piccadilly Circus |
| price: | £8 / £7 concessions |
| links: |
Event Info | KaitO |
| | Post-punk sass has fared shockingly well in the current crop of year-end album lists. Brighton's KaitO have found themselves alongside the Rapture and the Strokes for 2003 plaudits thanks to Band Red, their skronky no-wave sermon. Singer/guitarist Niki Colk channels the energy of a depth charge, and her catty vocals — breathy one minute and shrieking the next — render her the ultimate rock-star dream date — though her skinny tie may not sit well with the fashionistas (you know who you are). Dance your legwarmers off to KaitO's crunchy guitars, snappy percussion, experimental noise toys, and ecstatic pop hooks. (LB)
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| | Just as the Beatles embodied Merseybeat and the Sex Pistols punk, Dizzee Rascal has become the global face of grime, earning glossy spreads in magazines worldwide and even an above-the-fold feature in The New York Times. His Mercury Prize-winning 2003 debut, Boy in Da Corner, shows why: sparse Playstation jaggies and bottom-feeding bass burps ride shotgun to cutting couplets about breakups, make-ups, and shake-ups. Isn't it great when the hype's true-blue? Dizzee supports Justin Timberlake, he of the yoghurt-smooth, booty-baiting croon and recent pop hits "Rock Your Body" and "Cry Me a River". (YS)
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COMEDY
Mark Thomas
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| when: | Mon 12 Jan (8pm) |
| where: | Soho Theatre (21 Dean Street, W1, 020.7478.0100)
Tube: Tottenham Court Road, Leicester Square |
| price: | £10 |
| links: |
Event Info | Mark Thomas |
| | Although well-established on terrestrial television, Mark Thomas is rarely away from live performance. His 2003 UK tour was a success with both critics and audiences, merging apposite political material with musings on fatherhood and brilliant character comedy. On-screen, Thomas occasionally misses his target, often haranguing junior workers as emblems of their companies' values. Onstage though, he's arch, inspired, and achingly funny, making the first night of a brand-new show unmissable. (ND)
NB: Mark Thomas also plays Tue Jan 13, Mon Jan 19, and Tue 20 Jan.
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MUSIC: Jazz
Jimmy Scott and the Jazz Expressions
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| when: | Mon 12 Jan (9:45pm-2am) |
| where: | Ronnie Scott's (47 Frith Street, W1, 020.7439.0747)
Tube: Leicester Square, Tottenham Court Road |
| price: | £15 |
| links: |
Event Info | Jimmy Scott |
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"Little" Jimmy Scott is 78, and with more jazz pedigree than you can shake a trombone at. Nick Cave recently hired the Cleveland-based crooner to sing at his wedding, but Scott's career began in the late '40s with the Lionel Hampton band, when he hung out with Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday. "Crying" Johnnie Ray stole his act in the '50s, and Scott spent many of his prime years boozing, singing at retirement homes, and working as a janitor before a new recording career blossomed in 1992 with the fabulous All the Way. Scott is a great vocal stylist with intense emotional capabilities in his old voice — here's a chance to see one of the greats up close. (DM)
NB: Jimmy Scott and the Jazz Expressions are playing daily until Sat 24 Jan (Mon-Sat: 9:45pm-2am).
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THEATRE
Hurricane
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| when: | Mon 12 Jan - Sat 7 Feb (Mon-Sat: 9:15pm) |
| where: | Soho Theatre (21 Dean Street, W1, 020.7478.0100)
Tube: Tottenham Court Road, Leicester Square |
| price: | £15 |
| links: |
Event Info | Tickets |
| | The story of Alex "Hurricane" Higgins is one of glory, fame, problems, and pain. The World Snooker champion of 1972 and 1982 endeared himself to the public with his disregard for authority, rewriting of rules, and outrageous, unparalleled talent. He was the George Best of the game — the Belfast kid that had it all and gave it up so easily. Hurricane is a one-man show portraying Higgins' highs and lows, performed by Richard Dormer (Best Actor winner at the Stage Edinburgh Fringe Awards). Extraordinary story, extraordinary play. (ND)
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PERFORMANCE
Cirque du Soleil: Dralion
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| when: | Fri 9 Jan - Fri 13 Feb (schedule) |
| where: | Royal Albert Hall (Kensington Gore, SW7, 020.7589.8212)
Tube: South Kensington, High Street Kensington |
| price: | £15-52.50 |
| links: |
Event Info |
| | Cirque du Soleil returns to one of London's grandest venues, the Royal Albert Hall, for the European premiere of its dazzling new show. Taking its name from the dragon to represent the East and the lion to represent the West, Dralion fuses the traditions of the ancient Chinese circus with Cirque du Soleil's trademark avant-garde approach. Artists from ten countries perform aerial tricks, contortions, clowning, and juggling that re-imagine these familiar acts and, through incredible physical dexterity and often unearthly skill, transport you to a dreamlike state where the impossible takes place before your very eyes. (LH)
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PHOTOGRAPHY
Citigroup Photography Prize
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| when: | Now until Thur 4 Mar (Mon-Sat: 11am-6pm, Sun: 12-6pm) |
| where: | The Photographers' Gallery (5 & 8 Great Newport Street, WC2, 020.7831.1772)
Tube: Leicester Square |
| price: | FREE |
| links: |
Event Info |
| | The four shortlisted photographers for the £20,000 Citigroup Photography Prize 2004, now in its eighth year, are Americans Robert Adams and Joel Sternfeld, South African David Goldblatt, and our own Peter Fraser. Mixing reportage on social issues from around the world with a more purely aesthetic sense of the medium's potential, the quartet are perhaps less well-known in non-photographic circles than previous recipients of the prize, yet their work over the last 30 years forms a cornerstone of recent photographic practice and approach. The winner is announced on 4 March. (DM)
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| CD REVIEW: King Geedorah, Take Me to Your Leader |
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Ninja Tune
Released June 2003
£11.99 (Amazon)
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Having released albums under more aliases than an undercover operative, MF Doom (aka Metal Fingers, Metal Faced Villain, or Viktor Vaughn) may be in the throes of a serious identity crisis, but his alter egos consistently converge upon one villainous mission: to destroy rap. On Take Me to Your Leader, the self-proclaimed super-villain descends to earth as King Geedorah, producing, mixing, and mastering a unique hip hop album of almost cinematic scope. With his alien eye, MF uses simple yet penetrating lyrics to express his shrewd |
| observations on earthly plights, all set to an inspired mix of vintage jazz samples and old school beats. The end result is characteristically MF — confident, masterfully creative, and downright funky hip hop worthy of a reigning king. (ELM) |
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| INTERACTIVE MAG: This is a Magazine |
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For the unwitting uninitiated, the highly visual Milan-based publication This is a Magazine seems designed to teach its readers everything that's wrong with the print medium. Its editors cheekily insist that it can be copied and downloaded, as long as its contents remain in their original format. Each issue is a self-contained piece of art ironically designed in a folio style — essentially an online object lesson in nonlinear media perfectly blending text, image, and usability into an entirely new browsing experience. Arranged and issued in compendiums, the 400-plus pages of the latest issue are part of the chaos series, sure to confound those who insist on messy tools such as printing presses to get their daily media dose. (JF)
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| STREAMS: dublab |
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A rose is a nose is a pose in clothes that glows and it goes a little something like this (hit it!). A stream is a beam that screams, "go team!" Team dublab that is: the tasty nougat found under the couch cushion while fort-building. The sugar sludge at the bottom of your morning mug of coffee. The laundry day XL Cosby sweater your significant other must never know. Which is to say, misters and sisters, that this week's dublab is fat and phat with beats and beets and timely and thymely and concocted just for you and ewe. Baa! (YS)
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| CREDITS |
| Header Design: |
| Miso soup | Erick Martin | | |
| Staff: |
| Moo goo gai pan | Sascha Lewis | | Karei | Mark Mangan | | Turtle soup | David Milner | | Inari | Yancey Strickler | | |
ABOUT US
flavorpill LONDON is a free weekly mailer covering music, arts, and cultural events in London. All listings are pure editorial, never paid advertisements. No money is accepted from venues, artists, or promoters. Read more about us, then spread it...
FEEDBACK
Here's your chance to tell us what's on your mind. Any and all feedback is encouraged — comments, questions, ideas, or rants.
EVENT SUBMISSIONS
To let us know about an upcoming event that you think belongs here, please email us at events. |
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| Contributors: |
| Chicken teriyaki | Shiraz Randeria | | Rogan josh | Kieran Wyatt | | Vegetable maki | Francesca Gavin | | Drunken noodles | Jocelyn K. Glei | | Vindaloo | Nick Doherty | | Broth dumplings | Lisa Rosman | | Chicken bhuna | Elizabeth L. McDonald | | Makajiki | Sander-Martijn Milks | | Lucy Liu | Anjuli Ayer | | Kanpachi | Frosty | | Pad Thai | Emily A. Welsch | | Panang curry | Jen Bachman | | Kow neow | Caroline Cohen | | Tom yum goong | Kim Hjelmgaard | | Thai crab cakes | Nick Clarke |
| Tekka-maki | David Morrow | | Peanut sauce | Lavina E. Lee | | Beef in garlic sauce | Lisa Butterworth | | Toro | Aaron Warshaw | | Spring roll | Angus Macdonald | | Pad si eew | Peter Stepek | | Egg drop soup | Cristy Turner | | Curry shrimp | Paul Laster |
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THEATRE WRITER WANTED
We're on the lookout for people interested in spreading
their knowledge of London's theatre and performing arts scenes. If this is you, please
email us at writer.
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