Jamie Cullum Picnics, Diamond Despot, Bolshoi: London Weekend
"Gainsbourg"
Optimum Releasing Distributors via Bloomberg
Laetitia Casta and Eric Elmosnino in the movie "Gainsbourg." The film portrays the relationship between Brigitte Bardot and Serge Gainsbourg.
Laetitia Casta and Eric Elmosnino in the movie "Gainsbourg." The film portrays the relationship between Brigitte Bardot and Serge Gainsbourg. Source: Optimum Releasing Distributors via Bloomberg
"Welcome to Thebes"
National Theatre via Bloomberg
A child soldier in camouflage is featured on the poster for ''Welcome to Thebes." The play, a transposition of Greek myth to modern-day Liberia, is currently at London's National Theatre.
A child soldier in camouflage is featured on the poster for ''Welcome to Thebes." The play, a transposition of Greek myth to modern-day Liberia, is currently at London's National Theatre. Source: National Theatre via Bloomberg
"Saint Francis of Assisi with Angels"
National Gallery via Bloomberg
"Saint Francis of Assisi with Angels" by Sandro Botticelli. The work is on show in "Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries" at the National Gallery London through Sept 12.
"Saint Francis of Assisi with Angels" by Sandro Botticelli. The work is on show in "Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries" at the National Gallery London through Sept 12. Source: National Gallery via Bloomberg
"An Old Man in an Armchair"
National Gallery via Bloomberg
"An Old Man in an Armchair" (1650s) attributed to a follower of Rembrandt. The work is on show in "Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries" at the National Gallery London through Sept 12.
"An Old Man in an Armchair" (1650s) attributed to a follower of Rembrandt. The work is on show in "Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries" at the National Gallery London through Sept 12. Source: National Gallery via Bloomberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Timothy White/Peter Thompson PR via Bloomberg
Whoopi Goldberg as Mother Superior in the musical "Sister Act" at the London Palladium. Goldberg was the heroine of the 1992 movie of the same name, and now takes on the role of the mother superior.
Whoopi Goldberg as Mother Superior in the musical "Sister Act" at the London Palladium. Goldberg was the heroine of the 1992 movie of the same name, and now takes on the role of the mother superior. Photographer: Timothy White/Peter Thompson PR via Bloomberg
"Allegory" by an unknown artist. The work is on show in "Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries" at the National Gallery London through Sept 12. Source: National Gallery via Bloomberg
"The Sunset" by Giorgione. The work is on show in "Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries" at the National Gallery London through Sept 12. Source: National Gallery via Bloomberg
As the war crimes trial of Liberia’s former despot Charles Taylor continues in The Hague, bringing that curious parade of entertainers and diamond experts, the country takes center stage in a new London play.
“Welcome to Thebes” transposes Greek myth to a modern-day African country, bringing in camouflage, automatic rifles, cell phones. Characters talk in slang, though they have mythological names, like Eurydice, who presides over the war-torn Thebes and was inspired by Liberia’s current President Ellen Johnson- Sirleaf.
Richard Eyre directed this new play by Moira Buffini. Information: http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk
Saturday
“Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries” in the National Gallery lays out the many instances when the museum was taken for a ride -- acquiring what it thought were works by Holbein and Botticelli.
A small, separate show is devoted to the early 20th-century British painter Frederick Cayley Robinson, who painted fresco- like canvases for Middlesex Hospital called “Acts of Mercy” -- depictions of the home front during World War I.
“Close Examination” ends Sept. 12 and Frederick Cayley Robinson on Oct. 17. Information: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk or +44-20-7747-2885.
Saturday Night
Jamie Cullum brings his blend of jazz and pop to Kenwood House in Hampstead. His music fits just fine with stately homes and a Carluccio’s picnic available for 45 pounds ($70.38) including a bottle of wine. Saturday’s concert follows a show at Blenheim Palace and comes before his BBC Proms appearance with the Heritage Orchestra on Aug. 26.
Information: http://www.jamiecullum.com/.
Still hungry? For a drink or traditional British pub fare, the Spaniards Inn is near Kenwood House. This Hampstead Heath establishment traces its history to 1585 and counts Lord Byron and other writers among its customers over the years. It even gets a mention in Charles Dickens’s “Pickwick Papers.” Information: http://thespaniardshampstead.co.uk/ or +44-20-8731-8406.
Saturday is also the last chance to see the Bolshoi Opera’s production of “Eugene Onegin” with Vasily Ladiuk as the spoiled dandy who rejects a country girl only to regret his cruelty years later. Information: http://www.roh.org.uk or call +44-20-7304-4000.
Sunday
Playing in movie theaters across London is “Gainsbourg,” about the Jewish boy who grew up in wartime Paris and later became one of France’s greatest singer-songwriters and the consort of Jane Birkin of the famous bag.
He’s played by Eric Elmosnino, who has Serge Gainsbourg’s big ears, aquiline nose and slight frame.
(Farah Nayeri writes for Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are her own.)
To contact the writer on the story: Farah Nayeri in London at farahn@bloomberg.net.
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