Kit Benjamin
18 Oct
Reviews 
Review: PRIMAL MATTER at Old Truman Brewery
By Kit Benjamin Tuesday, October 18 2016, 07:44
Greek choreographer Dimitris Papaioannou is best known internationally as the creator of the opening and closing ceremonies for the Athens Olympics of 2004. Now, London dance festival Dance Umbrella presents a revival of his piece for two male performers, Primal Matter, originally conceived and performed in 2012 and, apparently, constantly developed since then.
27 Sep
Reviews
Review KENNY MORGAN at Arcola Theatre
By Kit Benjamin Tuesday, September 27 2016, 11:31
I can’t remember when I last saw anything by Terence Rattigan. I suppose I had mentally consigned his work to the world of am-dram and school plays and thought of it as old fashioned; a bit too comfortable, like a well-worn sofa. The restoration of interest in Rattigan in recent years had largely passed me by, and I didn’t catch the latest (well-received) revival of The Deep Blue Sea at The National. Which brings me to Kenny Morgan.
14 Jun
Reviews
Review: Tristan and Isolde at English National Opera
By Kit Benjamin Tuesday, June 14 2016, 10:12
Arguably one of the most important pieces of music of the nineteenth century (harmony was never the same again), Wagner’s Tristan And Isolde makes demands on all involved in it, including the audience. There is hardly any physical action on stage, making it a director’s nightmare, the singers are required to have massive vocal and dynamic range as well as the stamina of a long distance runner and the orchestral forces required are huge. And it’s over five hours long. Oh, and Wagner demanded that an entirely new instrument be invented for its performance – a wooden trumpet (ENO has managed to lay its hands on one for this production, and it’s a surprisingly effective thing).
06 Jun
Reviews
Review: 1984 at Saddlers Wells
By Kit Benjamin Monday, June 6 2016, 09:40
1984 is one of those novels that everyone thinks they’ve read, perhaps because we are constantly reminded, by commentators from across the political spectrum, how Big Brother is always watching us, whether Big Brother is the spooks, the marketers or the EU. So, despite being nearly70 years old, it’s a tale that always seems contemporary and politically relevant.
14 Mar
Reviews
Review: AKHNATEN at English National Opera
By Kit Benjamin Monday, March 14 2016, 10:34
Akhnaten is the third opera in Philip Glass’s “Portrait Trilogy” which consists of three operas describing in more or less abstract terms the lives of individuals whose thinking could be said to have changed the world, the other two pieces being Einstein On The Beach (1975) and Satyagraha (about Ghandi, 1979).
« previous articles - page 3 of 4 - next articles »