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Love is all you need: The Island @cervantesthtr

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A drama set on the seventh floor of a non-descript hospital waiting room may not be everyone's idea of a great night at the theatre. But love and all other forms of the human condition are dissected in Juan Carlos Rubio's The Island. Translated by Tim Gutteridge, it feels like everything is up for grabs. What is love? Is it a bond between two women with a fifteen-year age gap? Is it the love between a mother and her son with a severe unknown disability? A wonderful life full of health and happiness is not always an option on the menu, and the choices may become a bit less palatable. Throughout a series of sometimes banal conversations, what comes out is a story of two women with lives that are separate and together. And while the piece becomes darker on one level as it progresses, it never ceases to fascinate and draw further insights into the couples. It's currently playing at the Cervantes Theatre .  A couple waits in a hospital waiting room for the outcome of an accident

Scenes from Trafalgar Square Wednesday 19:30 - All quiet after a day of euphoria of London winning the 2012 Olympics. The big regeneration project for the east end will now commence...

There is a sense this result puts it up the French, who after Chirac's comments on British cuisine, are perceived as the obstacle to ending world poverty (while they insist on the EU common agricultural policy).

After Live 8 - for Britain at least - ending world poverty is a prime concern, even if it isn't such a priority elsewhere. The French shouldn't complain too much. With the new Eurostar links in place by 2012 travel to London from Paris will be even quicker than it is now... Posted by Picasa

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Opera and full frontal nudity: Rigoletto

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Fantasies: Afterglow @Swkplay

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Play ball: Damn Yankees @LandorTheatre

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