Culture Corner: Your regular City arts round-up
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As we look forward to the City reopening for business, we’re ready to start up our Culture Corner series again, pointing you in the direction of the best arts and culture within the Square Mile and championing the role of the arts within the business community.
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So much is made possible when culture, arts and business collide. It is at this intersection that we focus a lot of our projects and work and we believe that having artists on boards, on residencies in companies and in studios within businesses leads to innovation, wellbeing and quantifiable profitability.
Supporting the creative industries, and specifically artists, makes business sense, furthering the benefits of creativity across society. There are many ways to do this and each month I’ll bring a new perspective to this column. I look forward to you joining our #artistsonboards revolution.
Whats on?
Music
We’ve got you covered in the month of May, from comedy to quartets, rockstars and raconteurs.
Things are slowly unfurling with socially distanced concerts, gigs and performances opening up. Woop woop! This is such happy news, for the re-opening of society but also unleashing the economic potential of the creative world which has been so catastrophically hit over the last year. If you’re interested to understand more about the economic impact the last year has had for the creative industries you can read this report.
Legendary singer songwriter Paul Weller takes to the Barbican stage for his first live gig in two years on 15 May! With the backing of the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a performance curated and arranged by the multi-talented Jules Buckley and with special guests to be announced. For tickets to watch online click here.
The LSO has its first socially distanced live performance on 18 May at 3.30pm. ‘Innocence, experience and simply fabulous sounds’. A beautiful programme of Britten, Fauré & Dvořák. For tickets book here.
Nishla Smith, jazz singer and writer is driven by a desire to tell stories. Hear her on 19 May at 1pm performing with Tom Harries on piano.
This performance will be broadcast live as part of the City Music Foundation free lunchtime concert series from The Great Hall at St Bartholomew’s Hospital. There will also be a limited in-person audience (the first of the series!) abiding by all Covid guidelines in place at the time. Reserve your tickets online here.
Fidelio Orchestra Cafe reopens its London Live music season with a variety of top artists and delicious food and wine at affordable prices… see you there! Concerts restart on 18 May with the Consone Quartet performing in this beautifully curated, intimate space at 7.30pm and is followed by an optional three-course dinner.
Concert tickets are from £15 (the offer for under 30s is a 50% discount using the code UNDER30, aimed at making classical music more accessible.
• Tuesday 18 May – Consone Quartet
• Wednesday 19 May – pianist Patrick Hemmerlé
• Wednesday 26 May – Maxwell Quartet and clarinettist Anthony Friend
For tickets click here.
Comedy
Laughter is the best medicine which we all need more of… Opening 17 May with the NextUp Relaunch Party!, six stand up comics will be kickstarting the Pleasance’s new comedy season, including Priya Hall, Aisling Bea, MC Thanyia Moore and much, much more!
“We are delighted to be opening again,” says director Anthony Alderson. “Whilst we’re not at full capacity, I have no doubt the atmosphere will be electric. We have some really great shows in this season, the venue has been fully adapted to be covid safe, with an at table service from the bar for both food and drinks too. I can’t wait to be in a theatre space watching great work again.”
You won’t want to miss this: dust off your calendar, then click here for tickets and more info.
Theatre
Street Theatre, a new performing arts company, brings some of the capitals most talented performers to your doorstep. Street Theatre aims to support the Performing Arts community whilst making performances such as classical music, dance and acting more accessible to culture seeking Londoners.
Performers include some of the most talented names in the business, including Georgina Castle, West End actress who has performed in Mamma Mia! and Dirty Dancing musicals, Opera singer Peter Edge who performed in La Boheme with Hampstead Garden Opera, talented Soprano Natasha Jouhl who has graced both the Royal Opera House and Glyndebourne and Araminta Wraith who was with the Scottish Ballet.