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Wine time: The Frogs - Southwark Playhouse

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For a show called The Frogs, there isn’t much amphibian activity in the piece. But being a show with music by Stephen Sondheim, you could be mistaken for thinking it’s a critical theatrical piece. But like Sondheim’s final musical playing at the National Theatre, while it may not be a musical that fills you with provocative thoughts, it’s a fast-paced romp through hell and back to save the world for the sake of arts. With rousing choruses, thrilling choreography and plenty of cheap laughs, what more can you want from the theatre? It’s currently playing at the Southwark Playhouse (Borough) . There isn’t much to the plot, except that Dionysus (Dan Buckley), disillusioned by the state of a divided world, and his sidekick and slave, Xanthias (Kevin McHale), cross the river Styx to the underworld to find a great writer who they can return to the world to teach the world about life. He has his mind set on bringing back George Bernard Shaw until he hears the poetry of Shakespeare.  This v...
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Art: Sara Shamma's Q and Mother and Child

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Syrian-born Sara Shamma's Q at the Royal College of Art is an opportunity to see her work of 10 individual paintings that put together make up a frieze of 16.5 metres that explores the subject of herd mentality and that popular British pastime of queuing. But it is not queuing for the trivial or inane (which is popular in London) but when queuing could be a matter of life or death. Shamma is attempting to capture the change in mentality and behaviour that people at war and under threat experience. Moving from one end of the frieze to the other, images pop out against the flat background using a variety of different techniques to great dramatic effect. Beauty gives way to weariness and death. The lines of people queuing evoke dehumanisation and desperation. Syria is constantly in the news but here the atrocities are second to the dehumanising impact of war. Shamma recently fled Damascus due to the conflict, leaving behind her home and studio and now lives and works in Lebano...
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Feel it, smell it: Leather Forever

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Burlington Gardens is the home for an intriguing and beautiful exhibition by Hermès called Leather Forever . It celebrates the art of making products with leather along with showcasing some of the beautiful products made by the company over its 175 years. There is the opportunity to feel and smell different leathers and watch the craftmanship in action working with the material. With a mix of lighting effects and different set pieces to compliment their range of products, it is at times an interactive experience and there is even a moment when you can be caught in a leather curtain. A lovely diversion that will have you wanting to head to the gift shop... If you know there is one just around the corner ... The Leather Forever exhibition is open from 10am to 6pm daily and admission is free. It runs through to 27 May.
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Art: Venetia Norris and drawings inspired by Fenton House

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Hampstead's Fenton House is currently exhibiting a collection of drawings by London artist Venetia Norris . Norris has taken inspiration from the civilised and beautiful walled gardens of Fenton house and created a series of intricate and detailed drawings of plants and floral arrangements. An individual or pair of plants are captured in extraordinary detail and shading. And the images are a mix of pencil or ink interrupted by occasional lines of gold or silver-leaf (as illustrated opposite). A reflective evening at Fenton House. It runs until 1 July 2012. Be sure to explore the other rooms of this 17th century merchants house (and the the views of London from the roof) to see the impressive collection of early keyboard instruments and porcelain. Also to coincide with Open Squares Weekend and Fenton’s Summer Tea Party, Norris will be holding a number of 30-45-minute drawing workshops on 4th and 9th June 2012 (these will be held at 11.30am, 12.30pm, 2.30pm and 3.30pm on both day...
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