Here's What Heather Is Booking This Year
EVENTS
Spirited Away
London Coliseum
Earlier this month, I finally got around to watching the Barbican and RSC’s much-lauded adaptation of the Studio Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro – and it was just as heart-warming and beautifully rendered as the film I grew up with. Now, I’ve got my eye set on the forthcoming stage production of Studio Ghibli’s Oscar-winning film Spirited Away. Performed in Japanese with English translation visible from all seats, Hayao Miyazaki’s much-loved classic is being re-imagined for the stage, with the original Japanese cast performing alongside what I’m hoping will be wildly imaginative puppets, dazzling set and costume designs, and a live orchestra playing the original film score. I can’t wait.
30th April-24th August
Visit LondonColiseum.org
Wide Awake
This fresh festival finally arrived in London in 2021 after a false start in 2020. I’ve been to all three editions so far and think it’s one of the best in the capital, so – in a time when the live music industry is under immense financial pressure – I was pleased to see it’s coming back to Brockwell Park for round four. The line-up dives deep into underground scenes across a host of sub-cultures including left-field indie, post punk, electronica, techno and jazz. This year’s highlights include the awesome Slowdive, Young Fathers and The New Eves. I’ll be returning to Brockwell Park the following weekend for something a little different – the inimitable Mighty Hoopla, which is a joyful celebration of all things LGBTQ+.
27th May
Visit WideAwakeLondon.co.uk
Standing at the Sky’s Edge
Gillian Lynne Theatre
I meant to see this when it was on at the National Theatre, but it was sold out, so I was excited to hear this multi-award-winning new musical will soon transfer to the West End. Standing at the Sky’s Edge was written as a love letter to Sheffield, charting the hopes and dreams of three generations over the course of six tumultuous decades, navigating universal themes of love, loss and survival. For this production, legendary singer-songwriter Richard Hawley has created music based on the original, beautiful, hilarious and gut-wrenching book by Chris Bush. I look forward to learning a bit more about the history of modern Britain through their stories of a landmark housing estate.
From 8th February
Visit SkysEdgeMusical.com
London Tide
National Theatre
Another iconic musician bringing their talent to the boards this year is PJ Harvey. She’s written the soundtrack to London Tide, a modern take on a Charles Dickens classic adapted by Ben Power (The Lehman Trilogy) and directed by Ian Rickson (Translations). In London, two young women confront an uncertain future. In Limehouse, Lizzie Hexam struggles to break free of the river and its dark secrets. On the other side of town, Bella Wilfer mourns a lost marriage. The appearance of the mysterious John Rokesmith has the potential to change their lives for ever. Will they sink or swim?
10th April-22nd June
Visit NationalTheatre.org.uk
ART
Naomi
V&A
The V&A’s standout summer exhibition is dedicated to Naomi Campbell. Through the work of leading global designers and photographers, it charts her rise through the fashion world to become one of the world’s most famous faces. It celebrates her collaborations, friendships with designers, activism and far-reaching cultural impact. If this is anything like the museum’s Gabrielle Chanel exhibition, it will sell out.
From 22nd June
Visit VAM.ac.uk
Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind
Tate Modern
Apparently, this is the biggest UK exhibition to celebrate the influential work of Yoko Ono, the trailblazer of early conceptual and participatory art, film and performance, the celebrated musician and the campaigner for world peace. Spanning seven decades of her work, the show features radical works created during her five-year stay in London from 1966, including pieces inspired by her husband and long-time collaborator, John Lennon.
15th February-1st September
Visit Tate.org.uk
The Last Caravaggio
National Gallery
Caravaggio was a bit of an enigma to me until I went to Rome two years ago, saw some of his paintings in the flesh, and became an admirer. Now, his final painting will be arriving in London this spring – the first time it’s been in the capital for 20 years. He painted 'The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula' in Naples in 1610. Two months later, he died in mysterious circumstances. But his later years produced some of his most striking works – and this one is right at the heart of the story. Tickets are on sale now – and I’d get moving if you’re keen.
18th April-21st July
Visit NationalGallery.org.uk
David Hockney: Love Life
Charleston
Much of Sussex is associated with the Bloomsbury group. Charleston in the pretty village of Firle is the former home of artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, and is now a museum and art gallery. Its current show brings a chance to experience rarely seen early drawings by one of the most popular and recognisable artists of our time, David Hockney. From a box of matches on a table to bunches of spring onions and leeks, these works exemplify his ability to find beauty in the more intimate and seemingly ordinary aspects of life, encapsulating his love for life and his profound connection with the world around him. Made over 60 years ago, these drawings still resonate with the way of life established at Charleston, in which art and experimental thinking are at the centre of everyday life.
Until 14th April
Visit Charleston.org.uk
Tropical Modernism: Architecture and Independence
V&A
Tropical Modernism was an architectural style developed in the hot, humid conditions of West Africa in the 1940s. After independence, India and Ghana adopted the style as a symbol of modernity and progressiveness, distinct from colonial culture. This upcoming exhibition will include models, drawings, letters, photographs and archival ephemera documenting the key figures and moments of the architectural movement, and there’s also a half-hour film installation displayed on three screens. If, like me, you’re a fan of the mid-century modern look, this one’s for us.
From 2nd March
Visit VAM.ac.uk
Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John & David Furnish Collection
V&A
I make no apologies for featuring the V&A a third time: for 2024, the museum has one of the best runs of shows I can remember. This one will feature an unparalleled selection of the world's leading photographers, telling the story of modern and contemporary photography across subjects such as fashion, celebrity, reportage and the male body. Featuring loans from the private collection of Sir Elton John and David Furnish, it will showcase over 300 rare prints from over 140 photographers – the majority of which will be on public display for the first time. Look out for works by Robert Mapplethorpe, Cindy Sherman, William Eggleston, Diane Arbus, Sally Mann, Zanele Muholi and Ai Weiwei.
From 18th May
Visit VAM.ac.uk
The World of Tim Burton
Design Museum
As a teen goth in the early 2000s, Tim Burton was one of my heroes. A master of the comically grotesque, the film maker (Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas) will be celebrated at the Design Museum later this year. The exhibition promises to invite visitors into his world, showing his skills as an illustrator, painter, photographer and author, as well as exploring some of the key collaborations which helped shape his career. Drawing from Burton’s personal archive and representing his creative output from childhood to the present day, the exhibition includes drawings, paintings, photographs, sketchbooks, props, sculptural installations, storyboards and set designs.
From 25th October
Visit DesignMuseum.org
FILM
Dune: Part 2
Last year’s SAG-Afra strikes robbed us of a Christmas release date for Dune: Part 2. Thankfully, it’s set to arrive in 2024. The saga continues as award-winning filmmaker Denis Villeneuve presents the next chapter of Frank Herbert’s celebrated novel Dune. The follow-up will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavours to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.
Visit Picturehouses.com
The Iron Claw
The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White is joined by Zac Efron, Harris Dickinson, Maura Tierney, Stanley Simons, Holt McCallany and Lily James in The Iron Claw, a film I’ve been excited about for months. It tells the true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s. Through tragedy and triumph, under the shadow of their domineering father and coach, the brothers seek larger-than-life immortality on the biggest stage in sports – and, if the trailer is anything to go by, their quest plays out against one of the best 80s soundtracks I’ve heard in ages.
Visit Picturehouses.com
Challengers
I’m a big fan of director Luca Guadagnino’s work, so I can’t wait for Challengers. It stars Zendaya as Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy turned coach, and a force of nature who makes no apologies for her game on and off the court. Married to a champion on a losing streak (Mike Faist, my standout actor in West Side Story), Tashi’s strategy for her husband’s redemption takes a surprising turn when he must face off against the washed-up Patrick (Josh O’Connor, God’s Own Country, The Crown) – his former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend. As their pasts and presents collide, and tensions run high, Tashi must ask herself – what will it cost to win?
Visit Picturehouses.com
For more cultural ideas, follow Heather at @SteeleHeatherrr
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