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Iron Maidens: Iron Fantasy at Soho Theatre

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Two women chase the elusive six-pack in Iron Fantasy, only to embark on an unexpected journey exploring what it truly means to be strong in today’s world. In a culture that demands visible strength and power, they subject themselves to lifting, protein powder-guzzling, and raw-egg drinking. Interestingly, consuming raw eggs elicited many squeamish reactions from members of the audience. None has obviously been to Cabaret to see Sally Bowles guzzle prairie oysters. But in the search for the attributes that make someone strong, a little more is revealed about being a young woman in the modern world. And that strength comes from a number of ways. It’s currently playing at the Soho Theatre .  It’s part performance, part musical, and part interviews, as writer-performers Shamira Turner and Eugénie Pastor, who make up the theatre performance duo She Goat, don a variety of silly costumes and play a range of musical instruments on their journey researching strength, fighting, and pumping i...

Exhibition: Michelangelo Drawings


British Museum
Originally uploaded by Pauly_.

I found myself at the British Museum at 10pm Saturday evening (finally) catching the phenomenally successful exhibition of 90 or so of the drawings Michelangelo made in his lifetime. Studies for his painting of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel were a significant part of the exhibition. The exhibition brought together three separate collections and provided a rare insight into the great artist.

To cope with demand the Museum remained open until midnight every Saturday in June. It was great idea to see it late as there weren't the tourists or the pushy pensioners who must have all been in bed by then. Pushy pensioners are a problem at every exhibition. I guess they figure they survived the war so they are not going to let some thirty-something block their view so they prod you and push you until you get out of their way. It was still crowded but it was a much more considerate crowd. Here's hoping they continue to do this for future blockbuster shows.

The exhibition finishes today and was completely sold out. The book accompanying the exhibition however is excellent and an electronic version is on the site.

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