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Display Review : Curtain Up at the Victoria and Albert Museum – 9th February to 31st August 2016
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Olivier Awards in April 2016, The Victoria and Albert Museum present a display entitled Curtain Up which showcases material from multi-award-winning productions such as The Phantom of the Opera, A Chorus Line and Wolf Hall.
The display was created by acclaimed stage designer Tom Piper who invites visitors to glimpse behind the scenes explore the extraordinary story of the world’s two greatest theatrical cities, London’s West End and New York’s Broadway.
(c) Victoria and Albert Museum, London
On display are objects drawn from the extensive collections of the V&A and The Library for the Performing Arts supplemented with key loans from private collections. Visitors will be able to see original costume designs from The Phantom of the Opera, A Chorus Line, The Producers, Chicago and the Lion King.
Other highlights include Joey from War Horse and costumes from Romeo and Juliet, worn by Rudolf Nureyev and The Audience, worn by Dame Helen Mirren.
Although visitors will be dazzled by the costumes, the display considers the behind the scenes aspect of the shows. There is plenty of material on script-writing, production, direction, design (lighting, sound, set, and costume), music and choreography.
The display also features set models, scripts, photographs and film from past productions such as Carousel, Arcadia, and Sunday In The Park With George, including footage from the V&A’s National Video Archive of Performance (NVAP) and The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts’ Theatre on Film and Tape Archive (TOFT), New York.
This display is organised by the Victoria and Albert Museum and The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. The display will transfer to The Library for the Performing Arts in New York from 19 October 2016 – June 2017.
Curtain Up is a wonderfully entertaining display that compliments the extensive V&A collection Theatre and Performance collection that is located next to the new display and is also well worth a visit. London is one of the great theatrical cities and the wide range of material pays homage to the numerous awarding winning productions that began in the West End. One of the delights of the display is the material from behind the scenes that gives some insight into the creative process that underpins these type of productions.
Visiting London Guide Rating – Highly Recommended
Visitor Information
Free Admission
9 February – 31 August 2016
Theatre & Performance, Room 104
Daily 10.00 –17.30
Friday 10.00 –21.30
If you would like further information, visit the Victoria and Albert website here
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Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at the National Theatre – From 26 January 2016
The play is set in Chicago in the 1920s. In a recording studio on the city’s South Side, a battle of wills is raging.
Ma Rainey, Mother of the Blues, uses every trick in the book to fight her record producers for control of her music. Hardened by years of ill-treatment and bad deals, she’s determined that ‘Black Bottom’, the song that bears her name, will be recorded her way.
But Levee, the band’s swaggering young trumpet player, plans to catapult the band into the jazz age. His ambition puts them all in danger.
Inspired by the real-life Blues legend and infused with her music, August Wilson’s play speaks powerfully of a struggle for self-determination against overwhelming odds.
Sharon D Clarke plays Ma Rainey
For more information or book tickets, visit the National Theatre website here
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Since our launch in January 2014 , we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
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London Department Stores – Selfridges
Selfridges
Location – 400 Oxford Street, London,W1H 6HB
Selfridges is a large department store on Oxford Street, it is the second largest store in the UK, Harrods being the largest.
Selfridges was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge who was born in 1856 in Wisconsin, in 1879 he started work for Marshall Field and Company a famous Chicago retailer. In a rags to riches story he started as an errand boy before working his way up the ladder, he married into a wealthy Chicago family and amassed a fortune which he used to build his London store.
Using American building methods the store opened in 1909. Harry Selfridge bought over a number of American retail methods and added a few of his own, he is credited for putting the perfume counter at the front of the store which was copied by stores around the world.
He also believed shopping should be fun so used the store to highlight technologies of the day for example Louis Blériot’s monoplane of 1909 was exhibited at Selfridges, and the first public demonstration of television was by John Logie Baird from the first floor of Selfridges from 1 to 27 April 1925.
In the 20s and 30s the roof with its terraced gardens, cafes, a mini golf course was a popular meeting place. After the war these were closed down but have recently been revived.
Up to the Great Depression, Harry Selfridge retail wise could do no wrong, however in the years leading up to the Second World War he began to get in debt, partially attributed to his lavish life style. He was ousted from the Selfridges board in the 1941 and died practically penniless in Putney in 1947.
Selfridges is known for its wide range of luxury goods, numerous designer clothes, a extensive food hall and has a number of restaurants and bars.
General Opening Hours
MONDAY 9.30 – 21.00
TUESDAY 9.30 – 21.00
WEDNESDAY 9.30 – 21.00
THURSDAY 9.30 – 21.00
FRIDAY 9.30 – 21.00
SATURDAY 9.30 – 21.00
SUNDAY 11.30 – 18.15*
London Visitors 