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8. Entertainment. Going out (Theatre, Cinema, Discotheque)

 

Entertainment in London

        London has the enormous, multi-layered variety of entertainment that only the great cities of the world can provide, and as always, the city’s historical backdrop adds depth to the experience. While few things could be more contemporary than dancing the night away in style at a famed disco such as Stringfellows or Heaven, you could also choose to spend the evening picturing the ghosts of long-dead Hamlets pacing ancient boards in the shadow of one of the living legends that grace the West End theatres today.

        There’s a healthy, innovative fringe theatre scene too, plus world-class ballet and opera in fabled venues such as Sadler’s Wells, the Royal Opera House and the Coliseum. In London you’ll be able to hear the best music, ranging from classical jazz and rock to rhythm and blues, while dedicated movie buffs can choose from hundreds of different films each night, both in large, multi-screen complexes and excellent small independent cinemas. Sports fans can watch a game of cricket at Lords, cheer on oarsmen on the Thames or eat strawberries and cream at Wimbledon.

        Should you be feeling adventurous and sporty yourself, you could try going for a horse ride along Rotten Row in Hyde Part. There are festivals, celebrations and sports to attend, and there’s plenty for children to do, too – in fact, there’s plenty for everyone to do. Whatever you want, you’ll be sure to find it on offer in London; it’s just a question of knowing where to look.

London’s Theatres

        London offers an extraordinary range of theatrical entertainment – this is one of the world’s great stages, and, at its best, standards of quality are extremely high. Despite their legendary reputation for reserve, the British are passionate about theatre and London’s theatres reflect every nuance of this passion. You can stroll along a street of West End theatres and find a somber Samuel Beckett, Brecht or Chekhov play showing next door to some absurdly frothy farce like No Sex Please, We’re British! Amid such diversity there is always something to appeal to everyone.

West End Theatre

        There is a district glamour to the West End theatres. Perhaps it is the glittering lights of the foyer and the impressively ornate interiors, or maybe it is their hallowed reputations – but whatever it is, the old theatres retain a magic all of their own.

        The West End billboards always feature a generous sprinkling of world-famous performers such as Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, John Malkovich, Richard Harris and Peter O’Toole.

        The major commercial theatres cluster along Shaftesbury Avenue and the Haymarket and around Covent Garden and Charing Cross Road. Unlike the national theatres survive only on profits; and do not receive any state subsidy. They rely on an army of ever-hopeful “angels”(financial backers) and producers to keep the old traditions alive.

        Many theatres are historical landmarks, such as the classic Theatre Royal Drury Lane, established in 1663, and the elegant Theatre Royal Haymarket – both superb examples of early 19^th century buildings. Another to note is the Palace with its terracotta exterior and imposing position right on Cambridge Circus.

National Theatre

        The Royal National Theatre is based in the South Bank Centre. Here, the large, open-staged Olivier, the proscenium-staged Lyttelton and the small, flexible Cottesloe offer a range of size and style, making it possible to produce every kind of theatre from large, extravagant works to miniature masterpieces. The complex is also a lively social center. Enjoy a drink with your friends before your play begins; watch the crowds and the river drift by; wander around the many free art exhibitions; relax during the free early evening concerts in the foyer or browse through the theatre bookshop.

        The Royal Shakespeare Company, Britain’s national theatre company, has its London home at the Barbican Centre. While this unique company centers its work mainly on Shakespeare’s many plays its repertoire also includes some classic Greek tragedies, gems of the Restoration theatre and a multitude of modern works.

        Vast productions of superb quality are staged in the magnificent Barbican Theatre, and smaller performances can be seen on the more intimate stage of The Pit, which is contained in the same complex. The centre’s layout is known to be somewhat confusing so go a little early to ensure you arrive before the performance. Use any spare time to enjoy the free art and craft exhibitions in the foyer, often complementary to the plays being staged at the time, and the free musical entertainments which range from classical opera to chamber music, samba to the sound of the big brass band.

        The Barbican can also supply information about RSC productions at their theatres in Stratford-upon-Avon.

 

Opera, Classical and Contemporary Music

 

        Until recently, opera enjoyed a somewhat elitist reputation. However, televised concerts and free outdoor concerts in Hyde Park and the Piazza, Covent Garden, have greatly increased its popularity. London is home to five world-class orchestras and a veritable host of smaller music companies and contemporary music ensembles; it also houses three permanent opera companies and numerous smaller opera groups and leads the world with its period orchestras. It is a major center for the classical recording industry, which helps to support a large community of musicians and singers. Mainstream, obscure, traditional and innovative music are to be found in profusion. Time Out magazine has the most comprehensive listings of the classical music on offer around the capital.

 

The Royal Opera House

        The first theatre in Covent Garden was built in 1732, and staged plays as well as concerts. However, like its neighbour the Theatre Royal, it proved prone to fire and was destroyed in 1808 and again in 1856. The present opera house was designed by E.M.Barry (son of the architect of the Houses of Parliament). John Flaxman’s portico frieze, of tragedy and comedy, survived from the previous building of 1809.

        The Opera House has had both high and low points during its history. In 1892, the first British performance of Wagner’s Ring was conducted here by Gustav Mahler. Later, during World War I, the opera house was used as a storehouse by the government.

        The siting of a fine opera house next to a busy produce market was exploited by George Bernard Shaw in 1913 for his Pygmalion, on which the musical My Fair Lady is based. The building is now the home of the Royal Opera and Royal Ballet Companies – the best tickets cost over L100 and are hard to acquire. Recently some performances have been relayed on giant screens to huge, non-paying audiences in the Piazza.

 

 

Royal Opera House

(Floral Street)

        The building, with its opulent, elaborate red, white and gold interior, is very glamorous as it looks, and is, expensive. It is the home of the Royal Opera, but very often visiting opera and ballet companies also perform here. Many productions are shared with foreign opera houses, so if you are a visitor to England check out that you haven’t already seen the same production at home. Works are always performed in the original language, but English translations are flashed up above the stage.

        Seats are usually booked well in advance. Particularly if major stars such as Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti or Kiri Te Kanawa are performing. The sound is best in the seats center of stage, right in the front. Tickets range from about L5 to L200 or more for a world-class star. The cheapest seats tend to be bought first, although a number of these tickets are reserved for sale on the day. Standing passes can often be obtained right up to the time of performance. Standby information is available on the day of the performance, and there are often concessions on tickets. It is also worthwhile queuing for last-minute returns.

 

London Coliseum

        London’s largest theatre and one of its most elaborate, this flamboyant building, topped with a large globe, was designed in 1904 by Frank Matcham and was equipped with London’s first revolving stage. It was also the first theatre in Europe to have lifts and has a capacity of over 2,500. Once a famous variety house, it had a brief spell as a cinema in 1961-8. Today it is the home of the English National Opera, and well worth venturing into if only for a peep at the largely unaltered Edwardian interior with its gilded cherubs and heavy scarlet curtains.

        The Coliseum, has rather faded décor for English National Opera (ENO), but the musical standards are extremely high. The company trains its own singers for its productions and they rehearse in the setting in which they will perform. ENO productions of the classics are nearly all sung in English. The productions are often adventurous and critics have been known to complain that the clarity of the storyline is impaired. The audiences tend to be younger than at the Royal Opera House, the seats are much cheaper and there is less corporate entertaining. The cheapest seats are infamous for being real backbreakers.

 

Sadler’s Wells

(Rosebery Ave.)

        Less glamorous, expensive and central than the other opera houses, Sadler’s Wells does not have its own company but it provides a useful venue for many visiting companies. Among these, three have a regular season here, each presenting two works: the D’Oyly Carte company, formed in 1875 specifically to perform works by Gilbert and Sullivan, has its season in April and May; Opera 80 with a cast of 22 singers and an orchestra of 27, offers opera in English at a reasonable price in the last two weeks of May; and the British Youth Opera performs here each year in early September.

 

South Bank Centre

        The South Bank Centre houses the Royal Festival Hall (RFH), the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Purcell Room. There are nightly performances, mostly of classical music, interspersed with opera, ballet and modern dance seasons, jazz, festivals of contemporary and ethnic music and other one-off events running throughout the year. The largest concert hall on the South Bank is the RFH, which is ideal for the major national and international orchestras and large-scale choral works. The Purcell Room is comparatively small and tends to host string quartets and contemporary music in addition to many debut recitals of young artists. The Queen Elizabeth Hall lies somewhere in between. It stages medium-sized ensembles whose audiences, while too large for the Purcell Room, would not fill the Festival Hall. Jazz and ethnic music are performed here and the very innovative and often controversial Opera Factory makes several appearances throughout the year. It performs a range of modern interpretations of the classics, and often also commissions and performs new works. The acoustics are very poor throughout the complex.

        The London Philharmonic Orchestra is resident at the South Bank. The Royal Philharmonic, the Philharmonia and the BBC Symphony Orchestra are frequent visitors, along with leading ensembles and soloists such as Shura Cherkassky, Stephen Kovacevich and Anne-Sofie von Otter.

        The Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, the London Festival Orchestra, Opera Factory, the London Classical Players and the London Mozart Players all have regular seasons. There are also frequent foyer concerts, and throughout the summer the center is well worth visiting as musical events take place on the terraces when the weather permits.

 

Royal Albert Hall

        The beautiful Royal Albert Hall is the venue for a wide variety of events from fashion and pop shows to wrestling. However, from mid-July to mid-September it is devoted solely to the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, the “Proms’. Organized by the BBC, the season features the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, which performs some modern symphonic music as well as classics. Visiting orchestras from around the United Kingdom and world-wide, such as the City of Birmingham Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, make up a very varied programme. Tickets for the Proms can be bought on the day of performance but long queues build up early in the day so experienced Promenaders take cushions to sit on. Tickets sell out weeks ahead for the “Last Night of the Proms”, which has become a national institution. The audience wave flags and sing. Some people may consider it an evening of nationalistic fervour, although the majority just like singing the traditional Land of Hope and Glory without giving much thought to the jingoistic words.

 

Barbican Concert Hall

(Silk Street)

        This stark concrete building is the permanent home of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), which concentrates on the work of one composer each season. The LSO Summer Pops features an impressive line-up of stars from stage, television, film and the recording world, which in the past has included famous artists such as Victor Borge and the jazz singer Barbara Cook.

        The English National Opera makes regular appearances, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra has a spring season. The Barbican is also renowned for its concerts of contemporary music: the BBC Symphony Orchestra holds an annual festival of 20^th-century composers here and the London Sinfonietta, which specializes in modern music performs most of its London concerts at the same venue. There are free foyer concerts too.

 

 

 

Dance

 

        London-based dance companies present a range of styles from classical ballet to mime, jazz, experimental and ethnic dance. London is also host to visiting companies as diverse as the classic Bolshoi Ballet and innovative Jaleo Flamenco. Most dance companies (with the exception of the resident ballets) have short seasons that seldom last longer than a fortnight and often less than a week – check the listings magazines for details. Theatres that regularly feature dance are the Royal Opera House, the London Coliseum, Sadler’s Wells and The Place Theatre. There are also performances at the South Bank Centre and other arts centers throughout the city.

 

Ballet

        The Royal Opera House and the London Coliseum in St Martin’s Lane are by far the best venues for classical ballet; providing the stage for foreign companies when they visit London. The Opera House is home to the Royal Ballet, which usually invites major international guest artists to take up residence. Book well in advance for classics such as Swan Lake and Giselle. The company also has an unusual repertoire of modern ballet; triple bills provide a mixture of new and old and seats are normally readily available.

        The English National Ballet holds its summer season at the London Coliseum. It has a similar repertoire to the Royal Ballet and stages some very popular productions.

        Visiting companies also perform at Sadler’s Wells, where the London City Ballet has its annual season during December and January. This company has a mainly classical repertoire.

 

Contemporary

        A plethora of new and young companies is flourishing in London, each with its own distinctive style. Sadler’s Wells is one of the main venues, with short seasons featuring visiting and local companies. Attached to Sadler’s Wells is the Lilian Baylis Studio, a venue for smaller and often more experimental productions.

        The Palace Theatre is the home of contemporary and ethnic dance companies and has a year-round programme of performances from these and visiting dancers. The London Contemporary Dance Theatre, the largest of Britain’s contemporary dance companies, is based here.

        The Island Theatre was designed as a theatre/cinema and has only recently been used for dance. During the summer, Rambert Dance performs its season of works by internationally acclaimed choreographers. Rambert has another short season and runs a week of choreographic workshops in April at the Riverside Studios. Other venues that are sometimes used include the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) and the Shaw Theatre as well as a new East End venue, the Chisenhale Dance Space, a center for small and independent companies currently regarded as on the experimental fringe of contemporary dance.

 

Ethnic

        There is a constant stream of visiting groups coming to perform traditional dance from all over the world. Both Sadler’s Wells and the Riverside Studios are major venues, while classical ethnic dance companies, including Indian and Far Eastern, have seasons at the South Bank Centre, often in the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

 

Dance Festivals

        There are two major contemporary dance festivals each year in London, featuring many different companies. Spring Loaded runs from February to April, while Dance Umbrella runs from early October to early November. The listings magazines carry all details.

        Other smaller festivals include Almeida Dance, from the end of April to the first week of May at the Almeida Theatre, and The Turning World, a festival running in April and May offering dance from all over the world.

 

Rock, Pop, Jazz and Ethnic Music

 

        You will find the whole range of popular music being strummed and hummed, howled, growled or synthesized in London. There may be as many as 80 listed concerts on an ordinary weeknight, featuring rock, reggae, soul, folk, country, jazz, Latin and world music. In addition to the gigs, there are music festivals in the summer at parks, pubs, halls and stadiums throughout the capital.

Major Venues

        The largest venues in London are host to an extraordinary variety of music. Stars who are guaranteed to fill thousands of seats play Wembley Stadium in the summer when the football season is over. In winter, the pop idols tend to prefer the cavernous indoor Wembley Arena, the Hammersmith Odeon, or, if they take themselves rather seriously, the Royal Albert Hall.

        The Brixton Academy and the Town and County Club are next in prominence and size. Each can take well over 1,000 people, and for many Londoners these former cinemas are the capital’s best venues, with seating upstairs, large dance-floors downstairs and accessible bars.

 

 

 

Rock and Pop

        Indie music is one of the mainstays of London’s live music scene. It has also now encompassed goth rock, where pallid fans in black clothing gaze at bands playing ponderous power chords (Kentish Town’s Bull and Gate and the Powerhaus in Islington are the places foe this). The newer Manchester Sound, popular with latter-day psychedelics (try the Astoria in the West End and the National Ballroom Kilburn, among many others).The Marquee in Charing Cross Road has long been a major rock and pop venue. The Grand in Clapham, a former music hall, has recently been renovated as a rock venue, run by the same management as the Mean Fiddler in Harlesden, one of the best of the mid-sized venues.

        London is the home of pub-rock, which is an odd blend of rhythm and blues, heavy rock and punk that has been developing since the 1960s. The Station Tavern in West London hosts many of the best pub-rock bands around; and while there’s usually no entrance charge, drinks are surcharged. The Sir George Robey near Finsbury Park and dozens of other pubs across the city follow suit.

        New bands have a popular showcase at the Rock Garden in Covent Garden most nights of the week, while Borderline, near to Leicester Square, is known to be often frequented by record company talent scouts.

        Subterania in Ladbroke Grove holds new songwriter nights, often with some session musicians backing. The Camden Palace is very good value for money, especially on  Tuesdays, with the finest indie pop both before and after live performances from up-and-coming indie bands.

 

        *blues –a type of US jazz music with a slow sad sound. African Americans created in the southern states to express the sadness of their experience. The music developed into rhythm and blues and then rock-and-roll and soul.

        *indie (indie music) – certain kinds of pop and rock music in Britain, produced by small, independent record companies and played by groups with a relatively small but very enthusiastic number of fans. The expression was first used in the early 1980s, when a number of these companies were established. Indie music has its own ‘chart’ (=list of the most popular records), which is published regularly in some music papers.

        *reggae – a type of rop music that began in Jamaica in the 1960s and is now well known in Britain, the US and other countries. Reggae songs often have a Rastafarian message, and the musicians often wear their hair in long tight curls called ‘dreadlocks’. Famous reggae groups have included Bob Marley and the Waiters, Aswad, and Burning Spear.

        *rock (also rock and roll) – a type of modern popular music with a strong beat, played with electric guitars, drums, etc. It developed in the 1960s from rock-and-roll. Famous rock groups include the Rolling Stones, Genesis and KISS. Rock later developed into forms such as folk rock and heavy metal.

        *folk rock – a type of rock music in which groups with electric instruments perform traditional folk songs with a strong beat, sometimes also using traditional instruments such as flutes and violins. Folk rock was popular in Britain and America in the 1960s and 1970s. Many folk-rock songs by singers such as Bob Dylan contained social and political comments about life in that period, such as protests against the Vietnam War.

        *country music – a type of popular American music and combines the traditional music of the US West and the South. These two types included cowboy songs and hillbilly music. There are more US radio stations playing country music than for any other type of music. The home of country music is Nashville, Tennesse, with its Grand Ole Opry, a US radio programme that has broadcast country music on Saturdays nights since 1925. It has been running longer than any other radio programme in the world. Roy Acuff was one of the first stars of the show, but all the most famous country singers and musicians have appeared on it.

        *soul music – a type of emotional African-American music that developed out of gospel and rhythm and blues in the 1950s and 1960s. The most famous form of soul music was Motown – the popular US name for Detroit, Michigan, because it is the ‘motor towns’, i.e. the center of the US car industry. Motown Records, established in 1959, became famous for this type of music, sometimes called the Motown sound. Its recording stars included the ‘Supremes’ and Steve Wonder. Other well-known soul singers include James Brown, Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Roberta Flack. Harlem has been called ‘Soul City’.

 

Jazz

 

        Jazz is one of the greatest forms of music originating in the US. The names of its stars, who are mostly African Americans, are known around the world. Most people have heard of stars like Ella Fitzgerald, 'Count' Basie, 'Duke' Ellington and Louis Armstrong. Wynton Marsalis, who plays in the traditional style, is the best-known jazz musician today.

        Jazz was begun in the South by African Americans. Many of its rhythms came from the work songs and spirituals (= religious songs) of black slaves. New Orleans street bands first made jazz popular. Early forms of jazz created at the beginning of the 20th century were ragtime and the blues. Ragtime musicians included the singer 'Jelly Roll' Morton and the composer and piano player Scott Joplin. Famous blues singers included Bessie Smith and later Billie Holiday. Dixieland developed from ragtime and the blues and made a feature of improvisation (= making up the music as it is being played), especially on the trumpet and saxophone. Dixieland stars included Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet.

        In the 1920s many African Americans moved north, taking jazz with them, and Chicago and New York became centres for the music. This was the beginning of the big band era. In the 1930s swing music came into fashion and people danced to jazz. Radio and the new recording industry helped to make it even more popular. The big bands were led by Basie, Ellington, Woody Herman, Glenn Miller and 'the King of Swing' Benny Goodman. In the 1940s there were new styles such as bebop, developed by 'Dizzy' Gillespie, Charlie 'Bird' Parker and Thelonious Monk. Freer forms like progressive jazz developed in the 1950s with stars including Stan Getz and Dave Brubeck. Cool jazz followed in the 1960s, led by Getz and Miles Davis. More recent styles have included funky jazz, jazz-rock and hip-hop jazz. Many jazz clubs, like the Cotton Club, have now closed but others, like Preservation Hall in New Orleans, and Birdland in Manhattan, remain.