Break Out Culture With Ed Vaizey by Country and Town House

We’ll be back on Sunday 10 th January. Happy Christmas to all our listeners.

We’re hoping to go to:

Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker directed by Peter Wright

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Till 3 rd January

Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Match Girl directed and choreographed by Arthur Pita

Sadler’s Wells, Rosebery Avenue, London

Thursday 17 th till Sunday 27 th December

We’re watching:

Sadler’s Wells Global Gala on YouTube till 5th January

We’re hoping to visit:

Pallant House Gallery, Chichester

Christmas Greetings by Modern British Artists

Till 6 th January

Degas to Picasso: International Modern Masters

Till 18 th April

Richard Hamilton: Respective

Till 18 th April

We’re tuning into:

The Self-Isolation Choir’s Christmas at Home Concert

December 20 th

Edited and Produced by Alex Graham

Nicole Farhi on her new show ‘Couples’, Jude Christian on adapting Dick Whittington for the National Theatre and three American artists at Gazelli Art House.

We’re visiting:

‘Couples’ by Nicole Farhi at the Fine Art Society Ltd.

25 Carnaby Street (entrance in Marlborough Court), W1 Till 23 rd December

https://www.thefineartsociety.com/exhibitions/119-nicole-farhi-couples/

Claudia Hart: An Imaginary Ruin till 17 th January

Jann Haworth: Mannequin Defectors till 9 th January

Perle Fine: The Cool Series till 9 th January

All at Gazelli Art House, Dover Street, London W1

https://gazelliarthouse.com

We’re booking for:

Dick Whittington at The National Theatre

From 11 th December till 23 rd January

https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/dick-whittington

Edited and Produced by Alex Graham

Gered Mankowitz talks about that photograph of Jimi Hendrix, photographing the Stones, and many more. Plus Love and War, a new podcast about gay love in the trenches to celebrate 100 years since Wilfred Owen’s first book of poetry was published.

We’re buying:

Goin’ Home with The Rolling Stones ’66, Photographs by Gered Mankowtiz

Published by Reel Art Press £19.95

www.reelartpress.com

We’re listening to Love and War:

A podcast by Kevin Childs with Sam Fairbrother as Wilfred Owen and more

https://play.acast.com/s/love-and-war/loveandwar

We’re watching:

Icon: Music Through the Lens

6 x one-hour programmes

Sky Arts at 10.10 pm on Fridays

Produced and Edited by Alex Graham

Charles Spencer on his book The White Ship, 900 years after the ship sank, three exhibitions at Hauser & Wirth Somerset and the Hay Digital Winter Weekend.

We’re reading:

The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream by Charles Spencer, published by William Collins, £25

We’re Visiting:

Hauser and Wirth, Somerset – Oudolf Field, Roth Bar & Grill and Durslade Farm Shop are open to the local community. See Hauserwirth.com for details.

Nicole Eisenman ‘Where I Was, It Shall Be’ is online at https://www.hauserwirth.com/hauser-wirth-exhibitions/29133-nicole-eisenman

Lee Lozano is online at https://www.hauserwirth.com/hauser-wirth-exhibitions/29131-lee-lozano-in-somerset

Make Gallery exhibition Gathering open online from 21st November https://www.hauserwirth.com/hauser-wirth-exhibitions/30396-gathering

We’re tuning into:

The Hay Winter Digital Weekend

https://www.hayfestival.com/winter-weekend/home

We’re watching:

The Crown on Netflix

Small Axe: Mangrove, directed by Steve McQueen on BBC i-player

All of Us on Amazon Prime

Edited and Produced by Alex Graham

How to sing your way to Christmas in isolation and Matthew Parris talks about his new book on trauma and genius

We’re joining:

The Self-Isolation Choir and their Christmas at Home Concert on 20 th December

https://www.theselfisolationchoir.com

We’re reading

Fracture: Stories of How Great Lives Take Root in Trauma, by Matthew Parris, published by

Profile Books, £16.99

We’re going online to

The Stratford Literary Winter Weekend Festival

Friday 20 th November to Wednesday 25 th November

Matthew Parris talks about his book at 8pm Friday 20th November (available until 11pm

25th November)

stratlitfest.co.uk.

We’re watching:

A one-time live reading of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, directed by Jenny Hall and starring

Geraldine James and Rebecca Hall

November 19 th at 7.30 on Zoom

Tickets from http://www.ticketsource.co.uk/the-tempest-shake-festival

We’re buying

Portraits of NHS Heroes compiled by Tom Croft, published by Bloomsbury, £25

All royalties and £2.50 of every sale goes to NHS Charities Together

 https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/portraits-for-nhs-heroes-9781448218004/

 Books are My Bag Reader Awards Winners

Reader’s Choice Book of the Year : Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell (Tinder Press)

Fiction: The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton, Raven Books, Bloomsbury

Non-Fiction: by Dara McAnulty (Little Toller Books)

Poetry: Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright: An Animal Poem for Every Day of the Year by Britta

Teckentrup and Fiona Waters (Nosy Crow)

Young Adult Fiction: Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron (Bloomsbury)

Children’s Fiction: The Highland Falcon Thief by M.G. Leonard & Sam Sedgman, illustrated

by Elisa Paganelli (Macmillan Children’s Books)

Breakthrough Author: Jean Menzies author of Greek Myths (DK)

Edited and Produced by Alex Graham

Gyles Brandreth cheers up lockdown by lifting the lid on all the stories and gossip since theatres began. Art gallerist Johnny Messum tells us how Messums keeps opening new galleries and thriving during lockdown. And we lift the lid on our TV habits.

We’re revelling in:

The Oxford Book of Theatrical Anecdotes by Gyles Brandreth

We’ve voted for our favourite books and now we’re going to watch who wins:

(https://www.youtube.com/user/welovebookshops).

Awards Ceremony hosted by Grace Dent to be screened on Tuesday November 10 th at 5.30 pm – see website above for details

We’re watching:

The Undoing on Now TV

Roadkill on BBC iPlayer

Better Things on BBC iPlayer

The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix

Adult Material on More 4

We’re visiting (virtually):

James Dodds ‘The Work of Human Hands’ till 29 th November

https://messumswiltshire.com/exhibitions/exhibition-james-dodds-the-work-of-human-hands/

Jørgen Haugen Sørensen: ‘A Dark Story in White’

https://messumswiltshire.com/exhibitions/exhibition-jorgen-haugen-sorensen-a-dark-story-in-white/

We’re tuning into the Messums Conversation with Rebecca Wragg Sykes, Author of Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art, on Wednesday 18 th November at 6.30 pm

https://messumswiltshire.com/exhibitions/online-talk-neanderthals/

See all other Conversations at https://messumswiltshire.com

Produced and Edited by Alex Graham

NOTE: This Episode was recorded before Saturday’s lockdown announcement.

We talk to Nicholas Hytner about the The Bridge Theatre’s Christmas season and hear from art dealer and TV sleuth Philip Mould about Pioneers, his exhibition celebrating 500 years of British women in art. Plus we chat to Kojo Marfo about a new pop-up on Carnaby Street to celebrate black business and creativity

We’re going shopping at 56B Carnaby Street…

… to visit 21 Youth Street, My Runway Group’s pop-up store for emerging black businesses and talent

https://www.carnaby.co.uk/news-and-events/21-youth-street/

SEE WEBSITE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON OPENING DATES

We’re booking:

Fake News by Osman Baig

https://bridgetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/fake-news/

NEW DATES TBC

Comedian Simon Amstell’s Work in Progress

https://bridgetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/simon-amstell-work-in-progress/

NEW DATES TBC

We’re booking:

A Christmas Carol starring Simon Russell Beale at The Bridge Theatre

https://bridgetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/a-christmas-carol/

NEW OPENING DATE TBC

We’re dropping into:

Pioneers: Celebrating 500 Years of Women in Art at Philip Mould & Co., 18-19 Pall Mall

https://philipmould.com/exhibitions/23-pioneers-500-years-of-women-in-british-art/

SEE WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS

We’re tuning into:

Art in Isolation with Philip Mould

https://philipmould.com/news/40-art-in-isolation-all-episodes-series-catch-up

Edited and Produced by Alex Graham

Andrew Lloyd Webber is feeling great after receiving the Covid-19 vaccination and is upbeat about the future of London’s theatres. He’s looking forward to spring when his new Cinderella hits the stage and Theatre Royal Drury Lane opens again, restored to all its former glory, with Disney’s Frozen.

We’re booking:

Cinderella at the Gillian Lynne Theatre

Written by Andrew Lloyd Webber with Emerald Fennell

Set to open in April or May

https://andrewlloydwebberscinderella.com

Disney’s Frozen at Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Due to open Spring 2021

https://lwtheatres.co.uk/whats-on/frozen-musical/

Edited and Produced by Alex Graham

Plymouth’s dazzling new art space, plus making black female academics visible and spying on Jonathan Yeo painting Jamie Oliver

Dr. Nicola Rollock tell us about commissioning Bill Knight to photograph Britain’s 45 black female professors for an exhibition on London’s South Bank. We talk Jo Loosemore, curator at Plymouth’s new art space, The Box, about a new exhibition turning myths about the Mayflower on their head and artist Jonathan Yeo welcomes everyone into his studio – via his futuristic new app.

We’re visiting;

Jonathan Yeo’s virtual studio

Jonathanyeo.com

We’re breaking out to:

Mayflower 400: Legend & Legacy, until September 2021

The Box, Plymouth

Theboxplymouth.com

Book tickets here https://www.theboxplymouth.com/

Phenomenal Women, until November 8th

The Queen’s Walk, South Bank

https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/art-exhibitions/phenomenal-

women?eventId=860260

We’re lobbying academic institutions about the need for more black female professors by tweeting

@ukri_News 

@UKRI_CEO  

@UniversitiesUK

@RussellGroup 

@AdvanceHE

Produced and Edited by Alex Graham

Renowned TV journalist John Tusa spills the beans on what goes on behind the doors of Britain’s art institution. Anthony Biggs, Creative Director of The Playground Theatre in Notting Hill, tells us how a small community theatre can flourish and Amanda Bradley, Curator of Love, Art, Loss, tells about the complicated love life of the great artist Stanley Spencer.

We’re visiting:

Love, Art, Loss: The Wives of Stanley Spencer at the Stanley Spencer Gallery in Cookham

The show runs till Autumn 2021

Stanleyspencer.org.uk

We’re reading:

On Board by John Tusa

We’re booking the Playground Theatre

www.theplaygroundtheatre.london

Blue Electric : An Opera

https://theplaygroundtheatre.london/events/blue-electric-an-opera/

Bowjangles – dates TBC

We’re registering to be part of The Playground Readers

https://theplaygroundtheatre.london/events/playground-readers/

Produced and Edited by Alex Graham