In the Wings
Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe returns to the London stage in a 50th anniversary production of Sir Tom Stoppard’s dazzling Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead at the Old Vic.
The mind-bending situation comedy, which stars the off-stage antics of Hamlet’s two unfortunate friends, launched Stoppard’s stellar career – he’s now widely regarded as Britain’s greatest living playwright – and debuted in London at the Old Vic in 1966.
With a household name as Rosencrantz and seasoned stage performer Joshua McGuire as Guildenstern tackling this brilliantly funny play by a national treasure, it looks set to be the firecracker production of the season. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead runs from 25 February to 29 April.
Clear as a Bell
A key member of the Bloomsbury Group, Vanessa Bell, the sister of Virginia Woolf, is often overshadowed by her famous sibling and infamous love affairs, but the first major solo exhibition of her work, which opens at Dulwich Picture Gallery on 8 February 2017, promises to bring the focus back to the art. Featuring around 100 oil paintings, in addition to fabrics, works on paper, photographs and related archival material, the exhibition will celebrate Bell’s pioneering work in portraiture, still life and landscape, particularly her experimental art in the 1910s. Abstract glimpses of the British landscape such as Studland Beach or the screen Tents and Figures, taken from a sketch Bell drew in Norfolk, appear alongside two of her striking self-portraits.
Night at the Museum
For an unforgettable winter’s evening, head to Sir John Soane’s Museum, an atmospheric treasure trove that has been preserved just as it was at the time of the architect’s death 180 years ago. On the first Tuesday evening of each month, visitors can wander through the former home of the man who built the Bank of England and Dulwich Picture Gallery in candlelight. It’s a remarkable collection, featuring antiquities, sculptures and paintings – including work by Hogarth, Turner and Canaletto and more than 30,000 architectural drawings. In addition to its regular Tuesday lates, the museum offers other special after-hours events usually in candlelight and with cocktails on offer.
Take Them to the Tower
With centuries of turbulent, era-defining history having taken place between its walls, it is no wonder the Tower of London is the UK’s most visited heritage attraction. This winter a trip to the Tower can be an even more evocative experience with a unique after-hours evening tour. On Sundays until March, Yeoman Warders – better known as Beefeaters – will walk you through some of the iconic site’s gruesome sights, such as Traitors’ Gate, the Scaffold and the Bloody Towers, while regaling spooky stories of past residents, royal gossip and the secrets kept within its ancient walls. Tours take place at 7pm on selected Sundays until 2 April, and last an hour and a half.
