Page 89 - Media Coverage Book - 75th Aldeburgh Festival 2024
P. 89
Robbie Williams performing in 2023 (Photo: Gus Stewart/Redferns)
Robbie, it seems, is back – it’s up to you to watch his eponymous Netflix documentary
to figure out how reluctantly. Now grey-haired and worldly-wise, the former noughties
heartthrob and once-in-a-generation male entertainer seems like he’s grown up a great
deal, but if his recent run of stadium shows is anything to go by, he’s still got the old
manic energy that incites shrieking, pint throwing and arm-in-arm group singing
among the crowd. His headline show at London’s BST Hyde Park festival, which may
well include “Angels” just as the sun is going down, is likely to be nothing short of
euphoric. EBo
6 July
Dance
London City Ballet
Once upon a time, London City Ballet played a major part in the UK’s dance scene and
had none other than Diana, Princess of Wales as its patron. Sadly, this resident
company of Sadler’s Wells shut down in 1996. But now, happily, they are back and
kicking things off with a UK tour, starting at Theatre Royal Bath, of two works: Ballade,
a classic bit of Kenneth MacMillan performed by three men and one woman,
exploring the tense relationship dynamic therein, and – most excitingly – a new
commission from the Olivier Award-winning Arielle Smith, very much a rising star in
the choreographic world. RW
Touring, 17 – 20 July (londoncityballet.com)
September
Books
A Yard of Sky by Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe and Richard Ratcliffe
The world knows Nazanin’s story. We watched on as news reports relayed how she had
been boarding a flight from Tehran in April 2016, with her baby daughter, when she
was unexpectedly detained. We saw her finally brought home to the UK six years later.
But we could never really understand what it is like for a family to go through this,
and A Yard of Sky gives us that true account for the first time, told alongside Nazanin’s
husband Richard. AB
26 September (Chatto & Windus, £25)
