Attractions

VARIETY SHOW REVIEW: A Christmas Gaiety at the Royal Albert Hall

A Christmas Gaiety: A one off ‘Queer Orchestral Extravaganza’. Well, what AM I getting myself into. The mind boggles, all these drag queens bouncing off each other. I told my family and my son sent me an Insta link to one of them, Cheddar Gorgeous. The OUTFITS. Yes, I’m putting caps everywhere, because explosive is how it will be, and how I’m feeling about it. I invited my…
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Celebrity Interviews

Chatting with star mum Anna Williamson about Relationships

,As part of an ongoing series of uplifting lifestyle talks hosted by Coppa Club, Putney, London Mums Magazine‘ editor Monica Costa and I were able to meet and chat with well-known speaker Anna Williamson a couple of weeks ago. Yes, the famous dating agent in Celebs Go Dating! She came beautifully turned out in a soft leather burgundy mini-dress and 10” high silver stiletto heels. Her hair…
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Movies

FILM REVIEW: Living starring Bill Nighy

English hierarchy and convention in the 50s are beautifully represented in all their stultifying glory in this slow-moving, painful but funny drama, about a Departmental Manager at the London County Council, coping with loss in the traditional manner, by repressing all his emotions. All the cliches of post-war middle-class British society are covered: bowler hats, punctuality, understatement…
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Movies

Film review: Black Panther Wakanda Forever

Considering that it was an impossible task replacing the irreplaceable Chadwick Boseman, who portrayed Black Panther, director and co-writer Ryan Coogler did justice to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with his Wakanda Forever. The movie is an emotional tribute to the late actor who was a wonderful super-hero. Our London Mums‘ editor Monica Costa met him at the first Black Panther‘s…
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Attractions

Royal Opera House Ballet: 'Mayerling' at a cinema near you

Mayerling at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and in a cinema near you. Ballet as you’ve never seen it before, with classically trained dancers properly acting out the story thanks to modern choreography by the great Kenneth Macmillan. Out with the cardboard cut-outs, out with the repetitive Russian symmetry, out with the synchronised swim in tutus. Ryoichi Hirano and Sarah Lamb in…
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Movies

Film review: The Banshees of Inisherin starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson

The Banshees of Inisherin starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson is a black comedy about a very badly managed falling out.When BFF (Best Friends Forever) becomes BFNM (No More), it is painful for all concerned. It doesn’t help that the story takes place on the suffocating little fictional Irish isle of Inisherin where the only privacy is to be found by escaping to The…
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Great Indoors

THEATRE REVIEW: 'Good' by C.P. Taylor at the Harold Pinter Theatre until 24 December 2022

Good by C.P. Taylor is at the Harold Pinter Theatre until 24 December 2022. A deceptively simple title. It’s the journey of one lecturer from being pretty decent to becoming a holocaust supporter. His personal rationale, torn between disbelief and herd instinct, is an exploration of how Germany allowed it, collectively. We’ve all looked at end-stage Alzheimer’s sufferers and thought, ‘We…
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Activities

FREE HOBBIES: Learn to 'ring' (church bells) at Putney

Quirky, totally, but think: Do you love music, uplifting music, but can’t play an instrument and would love to be part of a small group which teaches you how to ring a welcome peal for a bride, a babe or a dearly departed one ? Ringers have also been faithfully celebrating and commemorating every great event since the WW1 Armistice, including more recently, the passing of Queen Elizabeth II…
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Attractions

Royal Opera House: 'La Boheme' at a cinema near you

La Boheme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and in a cinema near you. God not opera you’re thinking… All mountainous women and no action. Well, not any more, it isn’t. Rather, it’s young singers, who act properly, in edgy sets with humour thrown in. Boheme (1893-5) has a touch of the Dickens, in that it is a gritty social commentary, mocking all strata of society…
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Movies

Baltic Film Festival review: Sisters by Linda Olte at Riverside Studios

Isn’t London the richest place to be for culture? If you know where to look, you can find anything. Last weekend a stream of films from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were on the menu at the Baltic Film Festival at Riverside Studios. Next week, who knows what delights. London Mums‘ editor Monica Costa and I caught the final screening in this festival. The story Anastasia (13)…
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