Having travelled across the world, this remarkable ‘performative installation’ returns to its original home at Ambika P3, Marylebone Road. The massive monolithic interior of the former concrete testing facility has once again been transformed to become Goebbels’ cavernous laboratory of sound and light. Stifter’s Dinge defies definition: it is at once a theatrical performance, a visual spectacle, a musical sculpture – and yet it is none of these things exclusively.

A towering structure blinking with LEDs supports five pianos which appear to play themselves, singing out short melodies which combine and blend with the clanking and clunking of other components in the installation. Bodies of water bubble and ripple with the reverberations of sound; a thin mist hovers across the scene. Lights flash and dance across the space, casting abstract patterns on vast gauze screens that lower themselves from the ceiling at various intervals. Phantom-like voices hauntingly play out over projected images of idealised landscape paintings. At times meditative, at times unsettling, the experience is totally mesmerizing.

The title of the work translates as ‘Stifter’s Things’, after nineteenth-century writer Adalbert Stifter who was (in)famous for his fastidious, vividly detailed descriptions of nature: part of his attempt to close the gap between the ambiguity of language and the reality of experience. Goebbels uses similar tactics of immersion in his ‘no-man show’. The contemporary composer created this piece for instruments, not their players; and as the only human presence in the room, the audience is made to focus on the objects themselves which appear to perform autonomously.

This is a project to experience, not one to read about. Stifter was right – sometimes language just doesn’t have the capacity to adequately describe nature (or a multi-faceted, sensory-immersive installation). Artangel never fail to deliver the cutting-edge of cool – the newest addition to their list of weird and wonderful projects is no exception and should not be missed. (Words: Florence Ritter) 

Heiner Goebbels: Stifter’s Dinge, in its new drop-in 4 hour long format The Unguided Tour, runs until 18th November. For more info, click HERE.  A series of the original performances run between 13th-18th November.

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Performer and playwright Michaela Coel gives us Tracey, a 14-year-old girl, initially all vicious, hilarious put-downs and sly detachment, which she gradually strips away (literally, in one scene – Tracey’s first sexual experience) to lay bare the emotions of growing up. The language is sharp, fresh, confident, and rises effortlessly into poetry. As for Coel, she has a gift for capturing a character in a slouch, a swagger or a smile. The openness and ease of her performance immediately sets up a relationship of trust with the audience, and with her, we are safe to venture more difficult or sensitive areas – male violence, teenage sexuality. One only hopes that the Bush’s new artistic outlook will persuade artists such as Coel to stay in theatre a while longer before disappearing off into film and TV stardom.

If the opening evening is anything to go by, there’ll be plenty of reasons to keep coming back to the Bush Theatre’s Radar Festival over the next three weeks. With people like these shaping contemporary theatre, it’s in safe hands. (Words: Ben Hadley) 

Radar Festival runs from November 7th – November 22nd at the Bush Theatre, 7 Uxbridge Road,
London,
W12 8LJ. For more info, visit www.bushtheatre.co.uk

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Described as a “live interactive stand-up documentary”, it follows the story of how performer Nathan Penlington found somebody’s childhood diary and decided to track down the writer. What makes it a little different from your usual theatric experience is that at each step of the way, the audience is given the power to decide what happens next. With the option to partake in electronic voting (could this be the first X Factor/ theatre mashup?) what this means is that there are theoretically over 1500 possible routes that the story can take – think of it as truly democratic storytelling. If it’s anything like my experiences, you’ll be locked in a room with a murderous clown in the first fifteen minutes, but if nothing else, you can guarantee that this is one show where every night will be truly different. (Words: Charlotte Lydia) 

Choose Your Own Documentary runs from 6-10 November at the Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX

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If you’ve got a couple of hours: Head to the museums, obviously. There’s the Science, Natural History and theV&A (currently showing an exhibition dedicated to Grace Kelly’s wardrobe for all you fashionistas) , or you could visit The Royal Albert Hall, not so much for the classical gigs (unless that’s your thing, not mine), but for the front of house and backstage tours (£8-£12) or the FREE photography exhibitions. There’s also the Serpentine Gallery, which, if you choose to chill in Kensington Gardens, is located smack-bam in the middle, and it’s another freebie.

Foodwise, I’ve heard good things about 1880 at The Bentley Hotel (the Thrifty be warned; 5 Star!), The Bombay Brasserie (Indian) and Bumpkin (English). And it’d be silly to not mention the Hummingbird Bakery and their FANTASTICAL cupcakes. Red Velvet y’all!

Don’t Even: BUY ANYTHING FROM FOOD & WINE. I’m not trying to run peeps out of business, but to try to sell me a 500ml bottle of water for one-pound and change is NOT THE ONE. In fact, it’s is quintessential FOOLISNESS. Please, take yourself to 297 Brompton Road; they call it TESCO METRO….

Further info: www.south-kensington.com

Do you live/work/play in South Kensington and have any area recommendations? Leave your tips below in the comments section! 

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