Coming home from the office, Japanese salaryman Edo finds out that his family are being held hostage by an escaped criminal. And so begins a twisted tale of satire and vengeance…
The Beewas originally staged at the Soho Theatre in 2006 before returning to Japan and winning all the major theatre awards there. It is now back in London again in between stints in New York and Hong Kong and its easy to see why the Japanese audiences took this play to their hearts. Hideki Noda and Colin Teevan’s play may be based on Yasutaka Tsutui’s short story Mushiriai (Plucking At Each Other) but the plot feels like the unholy love child of Quentin Tarantino and Michael Winner.
There’s much to commend The Bee, especially to people who don’t normally go to see plays. There are some beautifully theatrical touches like the way three actors and the few props are constantly being re-purposed into new characters and objects; Mr Noda plays the hostagetaker’s wife while Kathryn Williams as never-less-than-enthralling Edo, a man driven to ever more desperate measures.
Fans of flicks from the Land of the Rising Sun like Audition or Battle Royale will recognise how the initially commonplace setup becomes a steep descent into the more barbaric aspects of human nature. We think, though, that the writers looked West for inspiration: while the first half is a triumph of slapstick comedy and media satire, the latter half, with its themes of bloody vengeance and vigilantism, comes across as a Michael Winner wet dream – surely it can be no coincidence that The Bee is set in 1974, the year that Deathwish was released? – with a Tarantinoesque attitude to brutal logic. Compared to this, Titus Andronicus is a sunny day at the seaside.
The Bee continues at the Soho Theatre until 11 February. More information can be garnered here.
The world?s biggest celebration of Russian culture outside of Russia itself will take place this month in London from the 19th to 26th. A second year in a row for the London Maslenitsa Festival, the event will bring venues across the city to life with a week of performances, food, exhibitions and more.
The Maslenitsa celebration is a centuries-old tradition to bid do svidaniya to winter, and marks the last feast before Lent in the Russian Orthodox calendar. Think of it like Shrove Tuesday, just bigger, longer and obviously Russian. As with Shrove Tuesday, the traditional Maslenitsa meal is the pancake (blinis), but served with a Russian twist. Instead of the usual lemon and sugar, Maslenitsa pancakes, or blinis, are traditionally served with caviar and vodka.
Highlights of the London Maslenitsa Festival include a fashion show from leading and up-and-coming Russian designers at the Victoria and Albert Museum, a children?s production performed by the renowned Moscow State Gogol Theatre at Shaftesbury Theatre, and masterclasses with celebrity Russian chefs exploring authentic Russian cuisine.
The climax of the festival will be on the Sunday the 26th, the actual date of Maslenitsa, from 1pm to 7pm when Trafalgar Square will be transformed into a bustling bazaar offering traditional Russian foods, handicrafts and souvenirs and original art. At the same time performances from some of Russia?s most acclaimed dance, theatre, folk, pop and jazz artists will entertain the audience from the festival?s main stage.
A list of Trafalgar Square performances will include traditional acts such as Folk State Academic Pyatnizky Choir and Siberian folk music and dance ensemble Ülger ? one of Russian?s most famous groups and experts in the art of throat singing. More contemporary acts will include Russian pop-group Balagan Limited, pop-star Valery Syutkin, legendary rock band Chaif and prize-winning vocal ensemble A?Capella ExpreSSS.
The London Maslenitsa Festival will take place at the same time as Maslenitsa festivals across Russia including official state celebrations in Moscow?s Red Square. During festivities on the 26th, attendees at Trafalgar Square will able to exchange traditional Russian Maslenitsa greetings with Muscovites at Red Square via giant video screens that will connect both festivals taking place a thousand miles apart.
Anyone dreading traffic chaos during the Olympics can breathe a (very slight) sigh of relief with the news that the dedicated VIP lanes could be opened up to the public after all.
City Hall announced that the controversial routes, which will allow the ?Games Family? ? officials, sponsors, VIPs and media ? fast movement between key venues during the games, will be made available to private users when Olympic traffic is scarce. A meeting between TfL and Games organisers came to the agreement that mobile traffic signs will alert regular road-users of changes if the dedicated lanes are expected to free up.
This announcement from the Mayor?s camp comes after a pile up of transport concerns in anticipation of the Olympics, which has resulted in Boris slumping behind Ken in the mayoral election race. Boris may be worrying that he will be booted out of the VIP lanes too, if he cannot provide some relief from the ?car-mageddon? expected if Tube strikes materialize and the Olympic Route Network remains out of the public?s reach.
One piece of good transport news might be just the ticket to launch him back into the lead ? but this is not it. An official from the Olympic organising committee, LOCOG, admitted the traffic relief will be limited, with most lanes ?highly unlikely? to be opened up during the games. Routes will remain very busy throughout with ?official? traffic which, organisers revealed, will include the chairman of McDonalds as well as Seb Coe and Usain Bolt.
If Boris fails to iron out the transport problems by 3 May, he might find himself stuck in the congested pleb-lanes with the rest of us. Londoners will have to pray that Boris? stock drops even lower, forcing the white-haired warrior to bring out the emergency measures. Regent Street monorail anyone?
Book, poetry and spoken word events in London this week
Wednesday: Alex Walker performs extracts from Louis Aragon’s A Wave of Dreams, at Housmans (7pm, £3).
Lunchtime Doodles by Dan Lucas launches at The Book Club (7pm, free) with DJs and paper for your own doodles.
Kate Grenville talks about Sarah Thornhill, her sequel to The Secret River, at the Southbank Centre (7.45pm, £8).
Over in the Poetry Library there’s a book launch for St Brigid’s Day with Carcanet poets Moya Cannon, Sasha Dugdale and Olivia McCannon, introduced by David Constantine (8pm, free).
Thursday:Gemma Seltzer is at Dulwich Books talking about speaking to strangers in London, with poetry from Tom Chivers (7pm, free).
Granta 118 launches at Foyles (6.30pm, free but email to reserve a place). This issue takes the theme of exit strategies and has work from Aleksandar Hemon, Claire Messud, John Barth and Susan Minot.
While away your lunch hour today and tomorrow with storytelling from Nell Phoenix at Selfridges (11am-1pm, free).
Author of Born Liars, Ian Leslie, hosts a discussion on lying, appropriately, at the School of Life (7pm, £20.50).
Poet Salena Godden, English PEN director Lisa Appignanesi and screenwriter John Foster are getting some dark romance at Salon XIV (8pm, £10).
Newsnight economics editor Paul Mason heads to the Southbank Centre to explain why it’s kicking off everywhere (7pm, £10).
Storyteller Vanessa Woolf and folk singer Nigel of Bermondsey look over the Cuming Museum‘s Edward Lovett collection (6pm, free).
George Craig and Dan Gunn talk about Samuel Beckett’s letters at the London Review Bookshop (7pm, £7).
Nathan Penlington and Christian Watson join Bang Said the Gun for some stand up poetry (8pm, £5).
Friday: Alixe Bovey takes a look at the illustrations on medieval manuscripts at the British Library (6.30pm, £7.50 / £5).
An exhibition of Syrian poet Adonis’s work launches at the Mosaic Rooms with the poet himself and Khaled Mattawa (7pm, £8 / £5).
Kat Francois hosts a night of Intimates poetry SLAM at the Poetry Cafe (8pm, £5 / £3).
Leah Fritz, Hannah Lowe, Marie-Elizabeth Mali and Lorraine Mariner all perform at the Camden Poetry Series, in aid of Cold Weather Shelter for the Homeless (6.30pm, £5 / £4).
Rachel Rose Reid takes the storytelling reins at Selfridges (11am-2pm, free).
Sophia Blackwell, North Morgan and Bobby Nayyar talk about writing and austerity at the Whitechapel Ideas Store (3pm).
Competition winners from Poetry Space read at the Poetry Cafe from 7pm (free).
Sunday: There’s a full day of events for small people from Jewish Book Week: Andy Stanton, creator of the Mr Gum series, is doing crazy things from 10am (£5), catch a film of Where the Wild Things Are animations and from other Maurice Sendak stories (11.30am, £4), join the Golem box workshop (11.30am, £5) or see what James Mayhew keeps in his magic suitcase (12pm, free), play with Jewish poetry (12.45pm, £5), quiz the children’s literature expert Daniel Hahn in the Book Clinic (1pm, free), hear Vanessa Woolf tell the tale of the Golem of Wapping (2pm, £5), and Francesca Beard rounds things off with some rip roaring poetry (3.30pm, £5).
Nell Phoenix is back on storytelling duty at Selfridges (12-2pm, free).
Jumoke Fashola presents Life Stories at Pizza Express Dean Street, with jazz and special guest guest HKB Finn (8pm, £15).
Monday: Poet Sean O’Brien gives the Sebald Lecture at Kings Place, following readings from the annual translation prizes (7pm, £9.50).
Polari is graced by the talents of Tiffany Murray, Faarea Masud, Catherine Hall, Jack Scott, Vicky Ryder and Max Wallis at the Southbank Centre (7.45pm, £5).
Foyles and the Museum of London join forces to mark the MoL’s Dickens exhibition with a Bleak House book club (6.30pm, free).
Alwyn Marriage, Michael Swan, Ann Kelley, Robert Stein, Ann Segrave, Christopher North, Joan McGavin and Graham High all read at Coffee House Poetry (8pm, £7 / £6).
Helen Oswald and Melinda Walker do a bit More Poetry at The Coffee Shop near Liverpool Street (7.45pm, £1).
Exiled Writers Ink host work about being persecuted for religious belief from Adnan al-Sayegh, Pete Godismo and Yvonne Green, at the Poetry Cafe (7.30pm, £4 / £2).
Tuesday: Laurie Penny is at Housmans discussing the issues raised in her recent books (think feminism, protest, youth politics) from 7pm (£3).
Poet in the City host their regular drop-in at Waterstones Piccadilly (please book).
Head down to the Poetry Cafe to test out your own words at their open mic night Poetry Unplugged, hosted by Niall O’Sullivan (7.30pm, £5 / £4).
Follow@LondonistLit for our pick of that day?s literary events
Four men have admitted to planning an attack on the London Stock Exchange. Mohammed Chowdhury, Shah Rahman, Gurukanth Desai and Abdul Miah pleaded guilty at Woolwich Crown Court. Five other men have also pleaded guilty to further terrorism offences.
Members of the group, from Stoke, Cardiff and London, conspired to send five nail bombs to targets across London. A supposed hit list, found at the Isle of Dogs home of Chowdhury, contained the addresses of Boris Johnson and two rabbis, as well as the American Embassy and the Stock Exchange.
Security services arrested the men after close surveillance. The men are not thought to have acquired any explosives or other harmful materials. They will be sentenced next week. The Telegraph seems to have more details than most reports.
Photo of the inside of the London Stock Exchange by Tanya Nagar in the Londonist Flickr pool.
The New England Patriots will be taking on the New York Giants on Sunday
Has there ever been a sport that looks after armchair fans as well as American football? Big fellas slamming in to one another, speed, skill, cheerleaders, all American showmanship, pop stars performing at half time, wardrobe malfunctions and watered down, tasteless beer (ok, perhaps not the last one then).
Super Bowl XLVI (46) is almost upon us and an estimated global audience of over 90 million people will be tuning in on Sunday night to watch the New York Giants battling the New England Patriots for the right to lift the Vince Lombardi trophy and be crowned champions.
With the game being played in Indianapolis and tickets selling for eye watering amounts, it’s probably a fair assumption that you won’t be jetting over the Atlantic to be in the crowd. So if you fancy heading out on Sunday night until the wee small hours to watch the best sporting action America has to offer, here’s a round-up of some of the best Super Bowl events happening around London. Hut hut, 29, 48, hut!”
IndigO2 (The O2) The official Super Bowl party for NFLUK, Super Bash has been going for years and is immensely popular — which is probably the reason it’s sold out. But if you’re lucky enough to already have a ticket, then you’re in for a good time, with cheerleaders, classic American food and punters in fancy dress.
What to look out for: Cheerleaders, ‘American fare’, four free Budweiser drink vouchers, (Pepsi and Gatorade for those driving/needing to get up to do a day’s graft on Monday).
Clapham Grand (Clapham Junction) Do you get sick of standing at the back of a crowded bar squinting at a tiny screen? Not so here, where you’ll be able to gawp/scream obcenities at the 24 foot screen as well as the many plasmas adorning the walls. This night-club venue (and now home to the infamous ‘The Church‘) should pull in a big crowd so if its a party atmospere you want, this may well be the place for you.
What to look out for: Larger-than-life-size players on the massive screen, American beers, hotdogs and cheerleaders (not neccesarily in that order).
Costs: Standard admission £10 with the first 100 through the door enjoying a free beer. VIP £20 for a table (minimum of 8 people) which includes a hotdog and beer upon arrival. More info here.
Famous Three Kings (also known as ‘F3K’)
This sports-mad boozer, located next to West Kensington tube, is one of London’s stalwarts when it comes to televised sports. It is, therefore, no surprise that it will stay open into the early hours of Monday morning to screen America’s premium sporting event. Tickets can be bought in advance, which secures you a seat and a free beer, or bought on the door (which does not secure you either of the aforementioned seats or free beers).
What to look out for: Swathes of fellow sports fans cheering on the Giants/Patriots (delete as appropriate), beer, staff and punters who are into their sport.
Costs: £10 in advance with guarenteed seat and free beer, £5 on the door. More info here.
Bar Kick (Shoreditch)
A venue that is probably better known for its foosball tables, Bar Kick has shown the Superbowl a few years in a row, and again hosts another party for 2012.
What to look out for: Super Bowl without the tackiness, table football at the end of each quarter and a slightly more discerning crowd.
The Social (W1)
If you fancy watching the Super Bowl AND raising money for a worthwhile charity, then you could do worse than to head to The Social off Great Portland Street for their party, in aid of the charity Shelter. As the venue usually hosts gigs, expect the audio to be deafening!
What to look out for: DJs before kick-off and the half-time show by Madonna being pumped vigorisly through The Social’s ample sound system (metophorically).
Sports Cafe (Picidilly)
If you were to ask 100 random people to name a bar showing the Super Bowl, the words ‘Sports’ and ‘Cafe’ would crop up pretty often. With so many screens that you literally can’t help but see the game, there’s no chance that an idiot wearing a jester hat will be stuck between you and the goggle box.
What to look out for: TVs, lots of them. Random sporting memoribilia on the walls.
Roadtrip (Shoreditch)
This rock and roll bar situated in the heart of Old Street is not only showing the game, but is also serving up its usual range of American cuisine to satiate you in to the early hours of Monday morning.
What to look out for: …or should we say what to listen out for? The venue has surround sound so you can hear those tackles come crunching in from all over the pitch.
Head to the Grant Museum of Zoology at UCL from today, and you can see an exhibition of art by animals.
Firmly planted in the “London really does have it all” category, this new show is displaying art by elephants and apes from around the world. One highlight is a painting of a flowerpot by the elephant Boon Me, who we’re told used to be a logging elephant in Thailand. (Presumably before he got his calling to don a beret and spend hours with his head on one side, brush in trunk, staring at blank canvases.)
Other pieces have been created by orang-utans, gorillas and chimps. Their handiwork is on show alongside animal specimens and historical documentation. The exhibition raises the question of whether animals can make art, and why some animal creations are considered valuable, while others are dismissed as meaningless.
Jack Ashby, Manager of the Grant Museum of Zoology, says, “Whether this is actually art is the big question. While individual elephants are trained to always paint the same thing, art produced by apes is a lot more creative and is almost undistinguishable from abstract art by humans that use similar techniques.”
Co-curator Will Tuck says, “Although it is fairly clear that any notion of art by animals is essentially anthropomorphic it starts to raise very interesting questions about the nature of human art.”
Indeed, interest in animal art occurred at the same time as the Abstract Expressionist movement in human art in the 1950s.
Which makes us wonder if the Grant Museum hasn’t missed a trick: why not display the animal art alongside some priceless abstract human art, and get visitors to guess at the particular “animal” talent behind each.
Art by Animals is part of the excellent Humanimals Season at the UCL Grant Museum of Zoology, Rockefeller Building, University College London, University Street, London, WC1 and runs until 9 March: Monday to Fridays between 1 and 5pm. There’s a special Saturday opening 11am to 4pm on 10 March. Admission is free. Visit www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/whats-on/grant_listings for more information.
At first glance, Seoul Bakery might not stand out from the other similarly downtrodden Korean eateries lined up in the shadow of Centre Point ?behind? Tottenham Court Road Station. Maybe a little, for its more more colourful signage and window displays, but that’s about it. Once inside, however, the bakery’s cosy vibe, simple menu and tasty dishes should win you over to the realisation that this sweet little place is a bit of a one-off wonder.
And if you happen to discover that you’re as much of a fan as many of Seoul Bakery’s customers, find some empty wall or table space?or more likely somewhere to stick a post-it note?to scrawl out a happy message like so many of the regulars have already done. Cutesy scribblings and doodles adorn much of the surface space here ? adding to the K-pop piped-through atmosphere and the super friendly smiles of the staff while complementing Seoul Bakery’s otherwise minimalist trappings.
So what winning-over menu items persuade Londoners to deface Seoul Bakery’s walls and furniture? A fresh and healthy order of bibimbab is worthy of repeat visits and making a graffito note of. Options include vegetable, beef, tuna, chicken and tuna kimchi and range in price from £3.50 to £5. For a particularly filling meal add £1.49 to the price and get the ?bibimbab set? which includes a cup of miso soup and kimchi or barley tea. Zanchi gooksoo, ?Korean festival thin noodles with vegetables? for £4.99 is another ample and homey choice, particularly when it’s dreary out. Add beef, tunam kimchi or chicken to your gooksoo for just a quid more. Another noteworthy mentionable is the moreish and fiery kimchi fried rice, which costs about a fiver.
Thirsty? The ?best seller? iced green tea latte (£2.50 out/£2.65 in) is a yummy chilled out slupper. Warm honey plum tea soothes for about £1.50. And, yes, as the name implies, there are baked goods available. Cheap and pretty good, green tea cakes or choco-pies are a nice way to round out a lunch if you still have some room.
A bit of a hidden gem and a brilliant spot for spur-of-the-moment budget bites of impressive size, Seoul Bakery is located at 55 St Giles High Street, WC2H 8LH. There doesn’t seem to be any official web presence for Seoul Bakery, but all the review sites and blog posts are vastly positive. Reach Seoul Bakery by phone at 07763 278681.
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