Bellringers at Hampstead Theatre runs between 27 September to 2 November 2024. London Mums‘ Rating: 3/5.
Real-life bellringers Daniel, Me, Paula, Susan, Evie, Fiona and Sarah
Well I’m a real bellringer and I’m very aware it’s a bit niche. I only know of one other literary work which delves into our world, The Nine Taylors, a murder mystery. So my band and I were super…
A Silk Road Oasis: Life in Ancient Dunhuang at the British Library, 27 September 2024 – 23 February 2025. 5/5 stars, allow 1-1.5 hours. This one-room exhibition offers a sometimes charming, sometimes brutal insight into life in Dunhuang, China, in the first millennium AD.
This one-room exhibition offers a sometimes charming, sometimes brutal insight into life in Dunhuang, China, in…
Discos for Grown Ups, 240 dance evenings around the country, book on Eventbrite. 4/5 stars
🙂 Live DJ
The DJ played a selection of dance hits from the 70s, 80s and 90s, to please the diverse age groups, mums and daughters, lovers and groups on mate-nights like us. The slight problem with that, according to my friend, Susan, was the 70s melodies came out sounding wishy-washy next to the drubby…
Totoro on the big screen, a perfect outing for a rainy day. The animé Titan Hayao Miyazaki has produced dozens of big hitters, but Totoro is often considered his greatest. Totoro has the cult status of Winnie-the-Pooh here.
A common theme in his movies is a childish sense of awe at the majesty of nature and the importance of respecting it. He expresses nostalgia for a pre-industrial 1950s Japan…
5/5 stars: Sublimely Ridiculous. SH!TFACED SHAKESPEARE at Leicester Square Theatre may first appear a dummit – down stunt to ensnare the Shakespeare-virgins, and my companion this evening was a perfect road-tester; a proud petrol-head who avoids Shakespeare like the pox. We look forward to hearing what he has to say.
Historically, drunk-on-duty actors may well have been the norm in Tudor…
Wanna dance, but gotta get back for the babysitter? Discos for Grown-ups is the perfect solution, starting early, ending early, and playing all those hits that rocked you as a teen.
With 47k+ bookings logged on eventbrite and 150 shows in 2024, London Mums will be sending in a team of die-hard disco Divas to find out what all the fuss is about. In case you can’t make it, there’s…
People Places and Things is a hard-hitting exploration of addiction from all viewpoints: the addict, the counsellor and the family. I learnt a lot about addiction in general, how it’s a toxic combo of low self-esteem and self-glorification. I suspect every member of the audience did, since we are all harbouring some kind of compulsive behaviour to make life enjoyable. I’m watching the…
The 1885 Singers – Mozart and Dvorak Masses for Mother’s Day. What an unusual combo, a rarely-heard early Mozart piece followed by a more mature Dvorak work, both technically difficult and sung beautifully. I didn’t know either of them, but there’s no question of ‘Will I like the pieces?’ – the 1885 Singers deliver a delightful evening every time.
One mum nailed…
The House with Chicken Legs, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank, till 30 December.9+. By Les Enfants Terribles.
This is an original combo of: Panto meets Russia meets Grief. Does it work, though?
The Panto
The acting was larger-than-life, with the Baba and Yaga matriarchs carrying the comedy very well. The heroine Marinka began to grate with her over-earnest wide-eyed, chin-jutting…
Cinderella at the Lyric Hammersmith, 18 November 2023 – 6 January 2024. Our 16 year old and her 2 guests, 16 and 5, all loved it: 4/5 stars. The Lyric always does a great panto, so just book every year, it’s bound to be a hit with the kids AND keep the adults amused.
The Characters and Acting
Cinders was a comic fusion of passive ‘Woe is Me’ archetypes and feisty…