Page 46 - Media Coverage Book - 75th Aldeburgh Festival 2024

Somerset House excels at these roving explorations of cultural phenomena and I
suspect that with Cute, they’ll manage to have their sickly, pink-iced rainbow cake and
eat it, celebrating big-eyed appeal while subverting it too. Alongside archival material
from the Sanrio studio, figurines, accessories and pop videos will be works by artists
including Cosima von Bonin (the queen of the outsized plushy), cartoon-universe
stalwart Andy Holden, and Rachel Maclean, whose cute/ terrifying video turns
(complete with extreme prosthetics) come with a sideorder of dystopian nightmares.
Expect this to be the show that puts the “hell” into Hello Kitty. Hettie Judah

25 January – 14 April (somersethouse.org.uk)

Comedy

Olga Koch: Prawn Cocktail

In 2022, Koch’s show Just Friends recounted how a sexual quest led her to find love. In
her follow-up, Prawn Cocktail, a return to singledom compels her to confront her
insecurities and delve into the phenomenon of parasocial relationships, the subject of
her recently completed masters degree. There are detours into bisexuality, Magic
Mike, and how social media interacts with the rest of our lives. Koch radiates charisma
on stage and delivers this punchline-packed show, her most vulnerable to date, with

style. RH

Touring, 26 January – 22 March (rocknrolga.com)

Film

All of Us Strangers