The King's Speech

I implore you to go and see The King’s Speech. The film hit our screens on January 7^th - it has already been tipped to be the film of 2011, and the year has barely started! I managed to get tickets for the first day, and sat with the excited crowd – which incidentally was enormously varied in age. It is an illuminating account of our Queen’s father, and his noble journey to the throne, succeeding despite his crippling speech impediment, an incredible true story. Stephen Fry calls the film ‘flawless, funny and very moving’, and all the major newspapers have awarded it 5 stars. The film already has seven Golden Globe nominations, including Best Picture.

Colin Firth has come a long way since frolicking as prim Mr Darcy in Bridget Jones’ Diary. He gave an inspiring performance in Tom Ford’s debut ‘A Single Man’, and now a Golden Globe worthy show in The King’s Speech. He has a quiet charm as the monarch, and is painfully moving as the embarrassed man who is desperately trying to cope with an unfair stammer. Last week Firth was presented with an actor achievement award in Palm Springs by fellow actor Helen Mirren who appropriately won an Oscar for playing The Queen, King George VI’s daughter.

Helena Bonham-Carter fills the screen with supportive smiles as the then Queen. It is strange to see her as an upstanding citizen after seeing her as the large-headed tyrant in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland but once I got used to the idea, I was impressed by her great versatility. I recognised one of the adorable royal children (Princess Margaret) to be Ramona Marquez from TV programme Outnumbered.

Geoffrey Rush warms the heart with his portrayal of Lionel Logue, the unorthodox speech therapist who helps the King (Bertie) find his voice. A great struggle, but through unlikely techniques and endearing challenges Lionel makes Bertie’s all important speech possible and begins a lasting friendship.

The King’s Speech is a real lesson in our country’s history as well as being a highly intelligent and witty motion picture.

Madama Butterfly (or Bangkok Butterfly) at The King's Head Theatre

With some experience of London’s newest, littlest opera company, I knew not to expect the obvious when I rocked up to the press night of Madama Butterfly at the King's Head. The opera is often heralded as Puccini’s best, though it has never been my favourite. The narrative is less gripping and the music less alluring than Tosca, in my opinion anyway. The little theatre was full to the brim, we were warned when entering that we may have to squeeze up to make room for late audience members (the seats are benches so it’s easy to shuffle along). It was good to see the venue full, and definitely created a buzz for the first night.

OperaUpClose once again shows that this genre doesn’t have to be stuffy and grand, taking classic repertoire and giving it a drastic modern makeover. The libretto has been translated into a new, funnier version by Adam Spreadbury-Maher (designer) and Ben Cooper (producer). The concept is hard to swallow initially, Butterfly is a 15 year old ladyboy in Thailand, and arrives onstage with her entourage – suitably called Gaga, Whitney, Britney and Beyonce! After a short disco party with some rich Americans, she is married to the smarmy Pinkerton. Having wooed her he then leaves her for three years promising to come back but in fact returns only to show her his new bride. And as Butterfly poignantly puts it, ‘how can she compete with a real woman’. Completely bizarre and yet strangely affecting.

Margaret Cooper is glorious as Butterfly, she soars with ease though the sorrowful top notes and seems to relish the melodies (Puccini has given most of the good ones to her!) She has a quiet energy that comes through in her endearing characterisation of the lonely young girl. Pinkerton is less impressive and seems to struggle with some of the trickier passages, it sounded as if he was perhaps suffering from a bit of winter flu. Alison Dunne is absolutely wonderful as Butterfly’s loyal maid, Suzuki. She embraces the Thai culture so naturally I felt totally convinced that she was a Thai maid.

I always look forward to the little child at the end of this opera, though in this production the human is replaced by a rather terrifying puppet. With all the other surprises I guess I shouldn’t have been alarmed, but I found the whole idea rather distracting, especially as the puppet requires three actresses to move it, crowding the tiny stage.

All in all a daring production showcasing some vibrant young talent. With such reasonable prices there is no excuse not to check out The King’s Head Theatre.

Madama Butterfly continues until 23 January 2011.

Dior Illustrated and Matthew Williamson exhibitions at Somerset House

Dior Illustrated is the latest offering on show at Somerset House, in a space previously used for the Margiela show which I enjoyed there a few months back. This is not a fashion show, or a show of clothes, although there are a few on display. Instead this exhibition celebrates the work of Rene Gruau, specifically his brilliant illustrations for Dior. Here we can see examples of how a book cover can alter the way we perceive things, especially in a business as fickle as fashion.

John Galliano importantly said of the artist:

‘To be inspired by Dior is to be inspired by Rene Gruau. His sketches capture the silhouette and spirit of Dior and a new era of fashion and femininity. His illustrations are timeless, ever youthful, ever faithful to the moment he saw; they capture the energy, the sophistication and daring of Dior, and equally are tokens of an enduring friendship.’

Gruau and Dior were great friends and this connection can be seen through the work shown, produced through bouncing off each others creativity, but with a central shared vision. There are certain themes that recur throughout the exhibition: flowers, attitude, line and silhouette. I found this show quite discreet and quietly relaxing to look round. The dainty pictures are hung in one large hall so it is easy to wander calmly without the pressure of a crowd behind you.

The work on display is simple and beautiful, though a little repetitive. Most of the pictures are drawn for the advertising of Dior’s perfumes, seductive and passionate, luring you into buying the scent. There are also some comical drawings for the men’s range, poking fun with risque nudity and suggestive poses.

The final part shows the work of other contemporary artists taking on Gruau’s main motifs. For me this rather ruined the exhibition, the pictures are verging on tacky, completely different in mood to the elegant Dior drawings and don’t fit with the show at all. Why curators feel they must modernise exhibitions baffles me.

As a bonus, afterwards I spent twenty minutes looking at the free Matthew Williamson show. A bijou exhibition celebrating the English Fashion designer's significant influence on the fashion world. It is nicely arranged and consists mostly of bright photographs taken from his first catwalk show or from magazine shoots. Definitely worth a peek.

Dior Illustrated continued until 9 January, Matthew Williamson is on until 30 January.

The Master Builder at The Almeida

There is nothing light hearted about the Almeida Theatre, at least that is the way it seems for Travis Preston’s dark production of The Master Builder. The play is one of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen's lesser known works, unsurprising when you witness the spooky nature of the piece.

The lead Halvard Solness (Stephen Dillane) seems annoyingly perplexed throughout the performance. He is a proud architect or “master builder”, determined to stay at the top of his profession and unwilling to let the younger generation interfere, terrified they might overtake him, and discard his knowledge. Living a gloomy life with a depressed wife and bored companions he feels he has sacrificed happiness for his career. All is interrupted when a girl bursts in, enquiring about the castle she was apparently promised by Solness when they met ten years earlier.

Gemma Arterton, glows as the young Hilde Wangel. Fresh from playing the title role in the film, Tamara Drewe, she is full of life and sexy allure. Her hair twisted into a messy pony tair and wearing revealing rags she is the forbidden fruit for Solness. She prances about the sand covered stage cajoling the older man with her passionate optimism and immature ideals. Eventually encouraging him to climb a great tower, from where he falls to his death.

It is perhaps Anastasia Hille as the grieving wife, Aline Solness, who is most moving to watch. She stands out as a sane character in the muddle of wild dreamers. Her modest, sober performance further emphasises the mayhem all around her.

I didn’t care much for the play, but found the performances engaging, and left the theatre wondering about the mad symbolism that floods much of the narrative.

Hot on the Highstreet Week 33

You may have seen pictures of attractive couples dotted about the city, on the sides of taxis and buses. ‘The Kooples’ have been around for quite a while now, and I thought it was about time to check out what these funky adverts are all about. This rock’n’roll company has been going for two years, a French brand that has the same backing as Comptoir des Cotonniers womenswear chain. The clever advertising campaign comes as three new shops open here in the UK, with more apparently on the way.

The his and hers hipster style is a much yearned for idea on the London highstreet. The Kooples offer both boys and girls clothes and some lovely accessories. Characterised by body hugging dresses, skinny jeans and chic leather detailing, but also with a wide range of pretty basics - everything you need for that rockstar lifestyle.

I was particularly struck by the leopard print scarf that has an uncanny resemblance to the very desirable McQueen accessory. The McQueen skull scarves are usually priced at £220, unless you are lucky enough to get one for a fraction of the price tag at the sample sale (like I did). The Kooples item is now in the sale, reduced from £100 to a staggering £60. The scarf comes in two colour options: dark grey and cherry and is made from 100% wool – guaranteeing maximum warmth. I’m impressed with how generous they are; it’s always nice to have a scarf that can double up as a blanket if needs be.

You can find The Kooples in King's Road, Carnaby Street, St Christopher's Place and Selfridges in London. thekooples.co.uk

Arbutus Restaurant

Arbutus is a modest restaurant with an understated elegance and a relaxed atmosphere. It opened in 2006 to rave reviews, and is the brainchild of Anthony Demetre and Will Smith. Located amongst the grime of Soho’s Frith Street, tucked away towards the Tottenham Court Road end. You eat in a plain oblong room, neatly arranged, painted in muted colours with low-key decor.

Arbutus is a strange name for a restaurant, don’t you think? Rather unappetising, but in fact an ‘arbutus’ is a tree from the Mediterranean. They serve modern European food with a strong French influence, and guarantee an uncompromised high standard at reasonable prices. I have been to my fair share of Michelin starred eateries (Arbutus was awarded its star in January 2007) and can confirm that these prices are impressively low by comparison. As is often the case, Arbutus offers a cheaper lunch menu to lure people in during their less busy times. With three courses priced at just £16.95 and surprisingly available at weekends as well as Monday to Friday, this is a particularly generous option.

We went during the Christmas period, when I had a rare weekday free. After considering all the choices I decided to decline the fixed lunch menu, and instead opted for two courses from the a la carte: main and dessert. Given the choice between starter and pudding, the latter always wins. Here’s what we had:

Mains:

Saddle of rabbit, caramelised endive, shoulder cottage pie (£17.95)

Grilled Bavette of beef (28 day aged), gratin dauphinois, red wine sauce (£17.95)

Desserts:

Clafoutis of William pears, vanilla ice cream (£6.95)

Cold chocolate fondant, chocolate wafer, salted caramel ice cream (£6.95)

My beef was delicious, and I was relieved to find they weren’t precious about my request to have it medium to well cooked, rather than the usual medium. It came with caramelised vegetables and a separate little steaming pot of gratin – a wonderfully creamy potato dish topped with cheese. The portions are generous; I found it a bit of a challenge to get through all the meat, but felt it was too good to leave any. The rabbit was nice, although aesthetically not as tempting as the beef. The cottage pie was a particular success, made with the lamb shoulder it was tender and full of flavour.

Thanks to the lack of starter I was completely ready for sweet when it came to our table. Very simply displayed, no foam, no spun sugar, no fuss, I was a little disappointed. A clafoutis is a baked french dessert; usually black cherries are arranged in a buttered dish covered with a thick flan-like batter. However mine was made with pears and had a delicate hint of almond, which the waiter later informed me was from almond flowers. It was near perfect, which unfortunately meant I had to share rather a lot of it with my companion. It arrived warm and each mouthful melted with juicy delight. The chocolate fondant was good too; I usually avoid chocolate desserts as they tend to be too heavy and rich for me, but this was definitely an exception. More of a mousse than cake it was light and scrumptious, paired well with the salty ice-cream.

The bill for two came to well under £60 (no alcohol, but including service charge), an amount which one can easily spend in a chain like Pizza Express, and very reasonable for a Michelin awarded restaurant. It was a lovely meal, I am looking forward to returning to Arbutus.

Giant Robot Restaurant in Clerkenwell

Giant Robot is one of the hip huddle of cafes and restaurants in Clerkenwell. I went the other weekend for an early supper. Through the dark, snow laced streets it is quite tricky to find, but eventually I spotted the bright lettered sign, and was relieved to get inside to try out their food.

Giant Robot is a bar-café-deli-diner. There are few options on the menu, but what they do offer they promise to make well. We had a few pasta dishes: hearty beef meatballs with tomato sauce and spaghetti, and I had roast butternut squash and ricotta tortelloni with walnut, broccoli and pecorino (see image above). The food was lukewarm in temperature, but rich in flavour. Alongside our mains we tried the fried potatoes with bacon and onion, this was disappointingly greasy, and unfortunately there were no side salads available.

I had my eye on the puddings from the start... especially the ice-cream sandwich. Once it came to ordering dessert though, they had run out of the ice-cream sandwich and the indulgent cheesecake, so I sadly went without. To drink I tried one of the robot juices, which was delicious and refreshing – pineapple, orange and apple. I have heard the cocktails are really delicious at the Giant Robot, so next time I will definitely have one of those.

It was surprising to see this diner almost completely empty, especially on a weekend. It is the kind of joint that needs a crowd to create the atmosphere, and I think this lack of hubbub made our visit less exciting than perhaps it could have been.

If Clerkenwell is too far to travel, there is another branch called Tiny Robot located in Westbourne.

The V&A: Shadow Catchers and Diaghilev: The Ballet Russes

A few days ago I walked up the big steps to the V&A, after weeks of promising myself I would go “this weekend”. Surprisingly there were tickets available for Shadow Catchers and the Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes shows, so I bought tickets to both. With nearly two hours I assumed there would be plenty of time to explore all the work. After an hour however I’d barely finished the first exhibition and rushed to start the Diaghilev, a show touted as a must-see.

Shadow Catchers investigates the mystery and magic of camera-less photography, showing the work of five international artists – Floris Neusűss, Pierre Cordier, Garry Fabian Miller, Susan Derges and Adam Fuss. Each use different processes and techniques to catch shadows for their art. Often this is dependent on light and natural encounters, manipulating what they find to create beautiful and imaginative works.

It is particularly illuminating to watch the film in which each of the artists has about three minutes to describe their work and influences. A great deal of the work on display appears abstract, accidental patterns captured just for a fleeting moment (like a conventional photograph) but with an added fragility – these images are completely original because they are not made from negatives. Neusűss has dedicated his career to extending the practice and study of the photogram. His work often deals with opposites, stark contrasts that focus the attention on form. My favourite artist of the selection was Susan Derges who reveals hidden forces of nature in her work. Derges’ images are mesmerising, but with a natural serenity. I loved her “Vessel No.3” that showed the tiniest adorable little frogs amidst a wonderful stillness.

Diaghilev is an epic show that you need at least an hour and a half to look round. Serge Pavolovich Diaghilev (1872-1929) was regarded as many things: dictator, devil, sorcerer, charmer, but above all he was a lover of art, music and dance. Through much dedication and driving ambition he created the radical dance company – the Ballet Russes, a groundbreaking troupe that pushed the boundaries in a such a way that their work continues to influence cultural activity today.

As an individual, Diaghilev remains elusive but through his work with Ballet Russes we slowly discover more about the man and his life. I was struck by the detail the V&A have gone to, exploring every facet of the ballet company and surrounding art and music that you soon realise are vital to its success. I adore costumes and was thrilled to see the outrageous dancing outfits displayed throughout the show. How they danced in such heavy ornate clothes is astounding, and there are clips of film to show the original performances alongside the decorative costumes.

Music is a big part of this exhibition, Diaghilev chose unexpected contemporary music for his ballets, more than half of which he commissioned himself. Satie, Poulenc and Stravinsky all wrote for Diaghilev and his dancers. Erik Satie said about the great man “Diaghilev’s a likeable man, but awful”. Stravinsky rose in fame through association with Diaghilev, both representing the Russian national style. In 1913 Diaghilev’s company performed Stravinsky’s specially commissioned ‘The Rite of Spring’, a particularly disorientating piece of music. It was a revolutionary statement that made others notice this shocking masterpiece, and since then over 200 versions of 'The Rite of Spring’ have been choreographed.

There were five main choreographers for the Ballet Russes, including Diaghilev’s lover Vaslav Nijinsky who was an utterly brilliant lead in many of their productions. All the choreographers were adapting or rejecting traditional ballet to create a new original style of dance that was constantly evolving.

For the sets, Diaghilev had the best up and coming artists on board. And often he would enlist the help of his friends, such as Coco Chanel, to help find potential patrons to help with the insanely large production costs. The influence of Cubism was vital to Diaghilev’s later shows. The bold forms and theatricality of the Ballet Russes suited the Cubist and Art Deco aesthetic perfectly. An amazing enormous cloth hangs in the V&A, an enlarged version of a tiny Picasso painting.

When he died in 1929, Diaghilev left behind an astonishing legacy of music, dance and art. The V&A explores every aspect of this legacy in a stunning show that will surely be remembered as one of the great exhibitions of 2010.

Diaghilev continues until 9 January 2011, Shadow Catchers until 20 February 2011, visit V&A website here.

Momo bar

Momo is definitely the most authentic Moroccan bar I have been to outside of Morocco itself. I visited Marrakesh a few years ago, and was charmed by the relaxed manner and delicious teas... so was delighted to be introduced to Momo.

There is an instant aroma and atmosphere when you walk in. Bright lanterns hang sparkling from the ceiling, little holes in the walls contain mysterious relics and souvenirs from the country, and comfy pretty cushions are scattered on the seats. A popular venue with celebs this bar is always bustling and we were lucky to grab the last empty table. We were warmly welcomed by smiling faces and a loud rhythmic Moroccan soundtrack. The amazing music was infectious and small children were getting up to dance with the waitresses. It was lovely to watch and feel part of.

The restaurant and bar/cafe were started up by Parisian-Algerian restaurateur Mazouz who arrived in London in 1995 looking for somewhere that felt homely for him. Failing to find anywhere suitable he opened up Momo Restaurant on Heddon Street, which back then was a deserted alley behind Regent Street. Heddon Street is quite transformed now, with lively restaurants and bars in operation every night, my favourite restaurant Piccolinos is next to Momo.

Momo is renowned for its special mint tea and fabulous cocktails; we tried both. The tea comes in a polished silver teapot, steaming and poured into a special patterned glass. It is sweet and soothing, a perfect break from the cold. The cocktail I chose was just as exotic as the surroundings, with whole strawberries in it I’m sure I got one of my five a day.

If you are brave enough to sit on the heated outdoor terrace, you can use the shisha too. Melon and strawberry shisha can be smoked from the real ‘nagile’. I was excited to discover that much of the tearoom is available to purchase. Antique Maghrebi lanterns, tea sets, glassware, and even the music is for sale, so you can take a little bit of Momo away with you.

Hot on the Highstreet Week 32

I want to share one of my stocking presents with you. Father Christmas was clever enough to get me some seriously stylish socks this year.

I've been aware of crazy designer Betsey Johnson for a while and seen one of her fashion shows on TV – her vision is all about fun, quirky patterns and outlandish colour combinations. Betsey’s clothing lines are characterised by her outrageous prom type dresses, lots of netting, sequins and studs, evening dresses, mini dresses, day dresses and of course, little black dresses.

Along with the frocks Betsey offers some spectacular jewellery and accessories, many of which are now in the whopping sale. I was given three pairs of the Betsey Johnson socks for Christmas, all completely different but equally brilliant. A spotted pair with a rose sewn on to each, a funky neon leopard print pair, and a psychedelic pink and black Marilyn Monroe design pair. The website shows just a few from the extensive range you can see in the Covent Garden shop.

These socks are made from soft cotton, and are warm to wear. Prices vary depending on the style, from £10-£15. They are too pretty to hide under trousers – I am looking forward to spring when I will be trying out the bare legs, socks and heels look, showing them off for the world to admire.

You can buy Betsey’s socks online at Urban Outfitters, or visit the Covent Garden shop where you can pick and choose your favourite pair.