Listings: December–January 2012

EXHIBITIONS
 
Giorgio Morandi: Lines of Poetry
Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, 16 January to 7 April 2013.
In 2013 the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art celebrates its 15th anniversary. To inaugurate this special year the museum is organising a career-spanning exhibition of around eighty prints, paintings and drawings by Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964). Lines of Poetry focuses on works on paper, including a large section devoted to the artist’s etchings. Also included in the show are a number of watercolours, works that are rarely seen in the UK, making this exhibition a truly unmissable occasion for any admirer of Morandi. 
Manet: Portraying Life
Royal Academy, 26 Jan – 14 Apr 2013
Including over 50 paintings spanning the career of the enigmatic Edouard Manet (1832-1883), this exhibition examines the relationship between Manet’s portrait painting and his scenes of modern life. Thematic groupings will explore Manet’s world and the landscape of late 19th Century Parisian society through depictions of his family, fellow artists, literary, theatrical and political figures.


Entertainment
 
Get Into London Theatre
Booking opens 11 December 2012 for performances 1 January – 15 February 2013.
Theatres all over the capital will soon be offering cut-price deals as part of Get Into London Theatre, the annual ticket scheme that allows the public to see some of the best shows in London for a fraction of the normal cost. Productions ranging from plays to musicals and opera to ballet will offer tickets from as little as £10 so everyone has the chance to experience the magic of London theatre. There is a host of shows to choose from including Jersey Boys, Mamma Mia! and One Man, Two Guvnors, alongside new-comers Loserville, Goodnight Mister Tom and Scrooge The Musical. Fans of opera and dance can enjoy Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty, Midnight Tango and The Mikado, plus there are lots of family-friendly shows taking part such as Room On The Broom, Sooty In Space and The Snowman. It’s not just West End theatres taking part but a range of venues including the National Theatre, Sadler’s Wells and the Barbican. 
 
Cirque du Soleil’s KOOZA
Royal Albert Hall, from 5 January 2013
Since its premiere in April of 2007, KOOZA has captivated close to 4 million spectators. Written and directed by David Shiner, KOOZA is a return to the origins of Cirque du Soleil, combining two circus traditions – acrobatic performance and the art of clowning. The show presents an unprecedented approach to the high wire and a breath-taking wheel of death – an act that Cirque du Soleil has never before presented under the big top. 
 
Quatermaine’s Terms
Wyndham’s Theatre, from 23 January 2013
Rowan Atkinson will star as the well-meaning but hopeless teacher St John Quartermaine in the first major West End revival of Simon Gray’s play ‘Quartermaine’s Terms’. Set in the 1960s in an English language school for foreigners, this tragicomic play is a humorous but ultimately moving account of several years in the lives of seven teachers.

In the Beginning was the End
Somerset House, 28 January – 30 March 2013
Acclaimed site-responsive theatre company dreamthinkspeak return to Somerset House with a new large-scale production, inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, The Book of Revelation and the world of Mechatronics. Take a journey through the maze-like underground passages and unseen spaces of Somerset House and King’s College – into a world of calamitous accidents and divine revelations. 
 
The Captain of Köpenick

National Theatre, previews from 29 January, in repertoire until 4 April 2013.
Antony Sher plays the title role in The Captain of Köpenick, directed by Adrian Noble. Released after fifteen years in prison, petty criminal Wilhelm Voight wanders 1910 Berlin in desperate, hazardous pursuit of identity papers. Luck changes when he picks up an abandoned military uniform in a fancy-dress shop and finds the city ready to obey his every command. A nation heads blindly towards war as the misfit takes on the state in Ron Hutchinson’s savagely funny new version of Carl Zuckmayer’s play, first staged in Germany in 1931.

Flames of Desire
Peacock Theatre, 30 January – 24 February 2013
Argentina’s hottest dance company, Tango Fire, returns to the UK with their critically acclaimed show, Flames of Desire, as part of its second international tour. Flames of Desire takes the audience on a journey through the history of tango – tracing its roots in the dance halls of Buenos Aires before moving through the decades to showcase tango’s growing popularity as a contemporary dance form. The show features ten sensational dancers, including five world tango champions, with choreography by lead dancer German Cornejo, accompanied by the company’s quartet of brilliant musicians. Quarteto Fuego, the company’s resident music group, provides the live music on the traditional instruments of tango.


SHOPPING, RESTAURANTS & NIGHTLIFE
 
Exclusive Burns Night Supper at Marco
25 January 2013
The stylish Marco restaurant in South West London will be hosting a star-studded Burns Night in January 2013. The first time the restaurant has run a dedicated Burns Night, guests can enjoy a four course fine dining version of a traditional Burns Night feast in luxury surroundings. The menu, which has a Marco twist on the classic Scottish dishes, features smoked salmon, haggis, neeps and tatties, slow braised short rib beef and a whisky trifle dessert. Burns Night tickets are available for just £49 per person and include a four course dinner, half a bottle of wine per person, whisky toast, entertainment and special guest appearances. 
 
New Winter Club Sandwich
901 Restaurant, Andaz Liverpool Street Hotel, 1 January – 31 March 2013
Food designer Linda Monique has collaborated with the Andaz Liverpool Street’s pastry chef, Joseph Wagenaar, to develop the new, seasonal Winter Club Sandwich – available for a limited time only. Designed exclusively for the hotel by Monique, this latest creation is a sweet take on a savoury hotel classic, using seasonal flavours to perfectly complement each other: spiced poached pears, slow roasted apples, caramel curd, Earl Grey tea mayonnaise, lemon ‘fried egg’ and cinnamon fries. Whether guests feel like a sweet afternoon tea pick-me-up with a glass of champagne or a lavish pudding, the Winter Club Sandwich is a new alternative to traditional London afternoon teas.

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