Culture in the City

While it is very easy to get to London from Brighton it seems there are fewer and fewer reasons to leave. For example the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery is currently hosting an exhibition of Jeff Koons work, the first showing in England outside of Tate.

But there are also things coming to Brighton before they go to London, for example this weekend I am going to see a new production of Noel Coward's Relative Values starring Patricia Hodge, Caroline Quentin and Rory Brenner at the Theatre Royal Brighton. While I'm looking forward to seeing this I have to confess I'm even more excited about seeing Jeeves & Wooster later in the year. I've been a fan of the books and the TV series for as long as I can remember so it will be interesting to see how it will have been adapted for the stage.

Matthew Macfadyen (Jeeves) and Stephen Mangan (Wooster) in Perfect Nonsense Photo by Uli Weber

 

Being such a fan I may have been wary about seeing anyone other than Fry & Laurie in the roles, however I think Stephen Mangan and Matthew Macfadyen will both be excellent. Anyone who has seen Macfadyen in Death at a Funeral will know he plays the straight man very well, and Mangan often seems to be the lovable buffoon.This production will only go to Richmond and Brighton before it's West End run - so see it in Brighton and then feel smug when everyone starts trying to get tickets for it in the West End ;)

While nothing beats the thrill of the live performance sometimes - wether it's time, money or energy - it's not always possible to see these shows or exhbitions live. Which is why I love the new trend for cinemas to start screening theatre shows and behind the scenes looks at exhibitions. For example tonight I am going to see Twelth Night filmed at the Globe starring Stephen Fry as Malvolio. In the coming weeks the Duke's at Komedia will also be showing the National Theatre's Macbeth; The Globe's Taming of the Shrew and the Victoria & Albert Museum's David Bowie exhibition.

So there is really no excuse not to enjoy a bit of culture by the sea. Let us know what takes your fancy...

Charlotte