Each year the RA Schools offer 15 early-career artists the opportunity to study on its full-time, no-fee, three-year programme. The course, as old as the Academy itself, was founded in 1769 and boasts a plethora of art-world giants in its alumni – JMW Turner, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Michael Armitage and Rebecca Ackroyd, to name but a few.

This year, however, is a little different. The graduating artists have undertaken the programme plus an additional year (2020/21) – allowing them to make up for time lost due to COVID-19. However, this lack of studio time doesn’t seem to have constrained their work as the exhibition sees a whole range of mediums including performance, photography, installation, painting and moving images.

The exhibition exists in the in-between spaces; long corridors leading to dark installations, boiler rooms filled with concrete sculptures, and empty pigeon holes used to hang canvases. Here, the graduates have reconsidered space. They are experimental, playful, and sometimes excessively conceptual – perhaps the only logical outcome of studying through two years of lockdowns?

In one of the first rooms, Luke Samuel’s minimalist paintings stretch the length of the space – they are solid but delicate. The block tones against the whitewashed wall anchor the viewer’s eye to them immediately. Conversely, Kobby Adi’s The removal of all visible and obscured plaster casts, with the promise of being returned, 2022, also catches your eye. Or perhaps that should be, doesn’t catch your eye, as the work is about the absence of these objects – the residual traces still on the wall, showing their outlines. These works are intriguing, they leave you wanting to know more. 

However, a little further on, Rebecca K. Halliwell-Sutton’s multi-media practice stops you in your tracks. Through ions and stratus i, ii, & iii, 2022 sees three aluminum sculptures projected from the walls on curved steel rods. The large 3D works seem weightless, almost like stingrays floating in water. In contrast, on the other side of the space is a small room with a padded bench containing the work Infinite Loop, 2022. Inside, a speaker plays a poem recited in a women’s soft northern accent – it is calming, like a long phone call with a relative. Halliwell-Sutton’s work often explores intergenerational connection through time, bodies and place. Here, the works are powerful, emotive, subtle. 

The RA Schools show is showing in the studios of the Royal Academy every Tues – Sun, 10am – 6pm, until 3 July 2022. It is free with no booking required.

Photo of Artist Rebecca K Halliwell Sutton’s piece by Amy Melling (see biog below)

For more info: www.royalacademy.org.uk

Reviewed by Amy Melling – Amy is a Curator and Creative Producer whose practice is centred around community-led arts projects. Her current research is focused on curatorial methods for exhibiting artworks outside. Amy has a keen interest in the arts and recently completed an MA in Curating and Collections at Chelsea College of Arts, UAL.

‘Darkie Armo Girl’, a one-woman show both written and performed by Karine Bedrossian, offers an intense and intimate glimpse into the life of its creator. The play takes the form of a theatricalized memoir chronicling Karine’s life, accompanied by the retrospective analysis of the present-day Karine, who acts as our narrator. It begins by relating the recent history of Karine’s family – the Armenian genocide, her parents’ relocation to the U.K. – then chronologically excavates Karine’s development into adulthood. Karine paints a complex picture of her younger self; from the age of seven, she is already fiercely intelligent, proud, somewhat naïve, and very deeply hurt. As she grows up, she suffers multiple traumas at the hands of those around her: discriminatory school children, neglectful parents and abusive men. Despite her outspoken and glamorous façade, present-day Karine helps us to understand that our protagonist is in constant battle with a destructive urge to self-sabotage; and that despite her many friends, she feels incredibly alone.

There are plenty of themes in this real-life story that hint at wider political issues permeating contemporary society: for example, Karine’s narrative touches on racialized prejudice, the sexualization of teenage girls, and the kinds of male power abuses that are institutionalised within the entertainment industry. Karine’s story, in fact, could be a case study of intersectional oppression, exemplifying the complex and varied experiences that a woman of colour in the entertainment world grows to expect. However, Karine’s piece is not explicitly political; although her narrative gestures to the ongoing exploitation of marginalised women, the play is often couched in this one personal story.

For someone like Karine, who has suffered such dislocation and disempowerment at the hands of the institutionally powerful, the act of writing and staging a show that illustrates her own side of the story is potent. This isn’t the sort of story often prioritized by mainstream theatre. ‘Darkie Armo Girl’ is the form through which Karine chooses to reclaim her narrative by recalling the events that have shaped her life in the language that she chooses. This is a woman who refuses to be silenced; instead, she uses her myriad talents in the performing arts to tell her story, strikingly solo, on an intimately small stage.

There were a few artistic choices made by Karine and her team that I didn’t quite agree with; I thought that her allusions to specific triggering topics were sometimes blasé and require greater sensitivity. I believe, too, that Karine slipped into self-victimization at times, without interrogating the privileges that she does enjoy. Regardless, it was clear that for Karine, relating her personal memoir through the medium of theatre provided a therapeutic intervention through which she was able to reassert stolen agency; and none of my criticisms can undermine this. In choosing the stage, she allows – indeed, compels – a live audience to witness her survival; so that, together, audience and actor emerge stronger and wiser at the play’s end.

Ticket info: finboroughtheatre.co.uk

Karine Bedrossian: Photo credit Stuart Ray

Sophia Sheera is a writer interested in migration, cultural citizenship, displacement and queerness with a focus on Central Asia and Northern India. Sophia is inspired by talking to the people whose stories are sidetracked by sensationalist headlines, and as such aspires to share those counter-narratives through political journalism.

During the most isolating periods of the pandemic, bands reacted in different ways. Some bands collaborated via Zoom, or lived and worked, even recorded together in isolation. Toronto’s Deliluh, until this point in time a four-piece, suddenly became a duo. Bassist Erik Jude and drummer Erika Wharton-Shukster parted ways with the band, leaving Julius Pederson and vocalist Kyle Knapp with all the instrumental duties. The pair have spent much of this time in Europe.

Although Deliluh has done a lot of touring in the last year – including slots supporting Squid on their North American tour and Black Country, New Road – this headline tour of the UK, France, and the Netherlands is the first run to support the release of their new album, Fault Lines. Before the pandemic, the four-piece were a kind of post-rock, post-punk hybrid. Clean, drop-tuned guitars slugged under Knapp’s vocals. The records, for all their left-fieldness, sounded live.

I never saw Deliluh live before the pandemic, but at Hackney’s Moth Club, the inverse effect is observed. All the sounds are made live: distorted lap steel guitars, layered synthesisers, distant saxophones. But the overall product is as if a studio has been completely set up on stage – if you had told me that Erik and Erika left the band to make more room for equipment, I would almost believe it. The precision with which Knapp and Pederson meticulously recreate the sounds of Fault Lines is truly remarkable. And the duo’s fluency in dynamic control differentiated them from most live shows (i.e. compression on, volume up). Sometimes a whole song would be quiet and sparse, such as ‘X-Neighbourhood’, tensely pedalled by nothing but Knapp’s vocals and a repeating synth note, punctured occasionally by contrasting moments of thoughtful harmonic movement. Knapp’s saxophone solo at the end slotted into the spacey ether in an extremely satisfying way.

The irony of describing it as studio-esque is that on stage, Knapp cannot sing and play the saxophone at the same time. But at no point on the record do they co-occur either. While the form of Deliluh has shifted from ‘band’ to perhaps ‘project’, and their sound is more avant-garde than rock, the impression is still that they work within the new constraints of two people, rather than against them. What they may want to consider, however, is variation. At moments of intense performance meditation my attention drifted off towards the thought of work on Monday. Nevertheless, the pandemic story of Deliluh has been more curious than most. It’s hard to say what direction they will take next; we can be certain, though, that it will be interesting.

Photo credit: Tin Angel records

Cian Kinsella is a Classics teacher and part-time pub quizmaster living in London who is primarily interested in music but is also interested in theatre, literature, and visual arts. He is particularly intrigued by the relationship between art, criticism, and the capital forces always at play. Furthermore, he believes that subjectivity – which is ultimately at the heart of all artistic and cultural criticism – should not be concealed, but probed and perhaps even celebrated. Who decides what we like? How do they construct widely held beliefs about what is good? These are two of the questions Cian looks to address.

As the house lights go down, a disclaimer is projected onto the screen on stage; the play you are about to see is not the play advertised…the true story we are about to tell is under embargo by the Home Office…the Royal Court Theatre has changed names to protect themselves.

‘That Is Not Who I Am’ begins from the moment you book a ticket – sold as a show by new playwright Dave Davidson exploring one man’s experience of online identity theft, the promotional copy reads “​​Did the real him ever exist in the first place?”. It’s not until you’re sitting in the theatre that you realise, he didn’t. In fact, Dave Davidson didn’t ever exist either. What is actually performed is ‘Rapture’, a new production written by Olivier Award-winning playwright Lucy Kirkwood. 

‘Rapture’ tells the story of Celeste and Noah Quilter (Siena Kelly and Jake Davies); an activist couple who attempt to dismantle the government. The production follows their relationship from its beginnings, a blind date where they are soon discussing chemtrails and 9/11 theories. They’re half-joking, mocking each other for being crazy. As the production progresses we see them marry, switch jobs, and have a baby – all while becoming increasingly politically active; disillusioned and distrusting. 

Naomi Dawson’s set is clever – a cross-section of the couple’s house, spun by stagehands as the actors move from room to room. Here, we see the couple in their intimate moments – the conversations behind closed doors. The writer, Lucy Kirkwood also appears as a character, played by Priyanga Burford. Burford enters the stage, with script in hand, often – recounting her research into the case; this reddit thread said…, one eye-witness saw…, before moving to one side and watching the actors continue with the scene.

‘Rapture’ will make you question everything. Cleverly, this play about conspiracy theories becomes a conspiracy theory in its own right – positioning itself just enough on the rational side to make you unsure if it’s true or not. As you leave, you’ll find yourself googling ‘the quilters’, and ‘activist couple killed by government’. 

However, when you find it’s not true, it’s a little disappointing – maybe it’s because the Royal Court isn’t as radical as you’d believed in those first ten minutes? Or maybe it’s when you realise we’re not really on the edge of a political revolution? That said, the production is affecting. It’s not immediate and gut-wrenching like some of the Royal Court’s previous shows, but it’s persistent and niggling. Your mind will drift back to it in the everyday – as you tap on to the tube, checkout at a self-service, or withdraw cash from an atm.

‘That Is Not Who I Am’ is running at the Royal Court Theatre until 16th July, tickets are available here

Photo credit: Manuel Harlan

Reviewed by Amy Melling – Amy is a Curator and Creative Producer whose practice is centred around community-led arts projects. Her current research is focused on curatorial methods for exhibiting artworks outside. Amy has a keen interest in the arts and recently completed an MA in Curating and Collections at Chelsea College of Arts, UAL.

Despite finding more success as one half of the marginally more polished sounding Xeno & Oaklander, Martial Canterel – the trochaic alter-ego of Brooklyn adoptee Sean McBride – antedates the former by about two years. McBride didn’t even meet Liz Wendelbo, Xeno & Oaklander’s other half, until 2004, while the first Martial Canterel performance was in 2002. As I’m sitting listening to a Spotify queue alternating each artist, they are at once unified and completely different. The synth sounds are quite similar; both projects are danceable. Yet Canterel’s tunes are more restless and more anxious, which is an accomplishment given the anxiety and restlessness of Xeno & Oaklander. (It’s difficult to resist the urge to describe Canterel as ‘icy’ or ‘cold’.) Drum machines and square analogue synth textures play under McBride’s ghostly vocals, which are heavily indebted to Ian Curtis.

Canterel’s performance at the Shacklewell Arms was quite the intrigue: if you’ve been in the business for 20 years and you’re playing a venue this small yet that infamous, you’re either an utter flop or something of a legend. Fortunately, he is the latter. McBride steered quite clear of the broad appeal, stomping 125bpm, and instead charged ahead at a higher tempo. For this reason, the setlist was vaguely less trendy than Xeno & Oaklander’s sound (or does that just make it cooler?).

Instantly, two sets from aeons past appeared in my mind: John Maus in 2016 and Molchat Doma in February 2020, mere weeks before lockdowns struck the United Kingdom. While there are parallels between all these artists, this was felt more in the crowd than in the show. There is a kind of righteous physical movement in response to this high-tempo, high-energy music. It’s a bit too fast to ‘vibe’ to, but not so fast you can’t just instinctively move. The intensity of such a natural reaction is impressive when juxtaposed with such relatively artificial sounds. Indeed, Canterel himself was hunched over a small desk of synths and switches. But he had his own kinds of dance moves. In a metaphorical, rather than literal, sense, they were like someone being restrained fighting desperately against their restriction. In place of actual restraint was his desk, which demanded his constant focus. But in spite of this McBride rocked back and forth with the beat to what degree he could.

Martial Canterel is anything but a flop. We lucky few who were there had a ball. And no one half-assed it, which is more than what can be said for many a show. I’m curious to see how this will translate when, or if, the synth-smith moves to larger venues. It’s certainly within his remit, but I can’t say with certainty if it’s the aim.

Photo Credit: Lena Shkoda

Cian Kinsella is a Classics teacher and part-time pub quizmaster living in London who is primarily interested in music but is also interested in theatre, literature, and visual arts. He is particularly intrigued by the relationship between art, criticism, and the capital forces always at play. Furthermore, he believes that subjectivity – which is ultimately at the heart of all artistic and cultural criticism – should not be concealed, but probed and perhaps even celebrated. Who decides what we like? How do they construct widely held beliefs about what is good? These are two of the questions Cian looks to address.

Four Corners Gallery, in the heart of Bethnal Green, is a hidden gem amidst East London’s cultural scene. The gallery exhibits radical photography and film, produced for and by the local community. June 9^th saw the opening night of Four Corners’ latest exhibition, which focuses on the daily experiences and political resistance of the Bengali community in and around Brick Lane during the 1970s. Paul Trevor’s photography is viscerally moving, eliciting the sheer volume and strength of the British-Bengali community that took to the streets in order to protest white British racism. Trevor’s work constitutes a valuable archive of political defiance, highlighting the agency of one of London’s most underprivileged and under-resourced communities despite everyday derogation.

The exhibition is but one part of a wider project, a partnership between Four Corners and the Swadhinata Trust, that has been documenting Bengali activism in the East End over the last 18 months. The oral histories, short films and podcasts produced by this collaborative effort will be permanently lodged at the Bishopsgate Institute. Even in attending the exhibition’s opening night, it was clear to me that the shockwaves cultivated by this project will far exceed the intimate space of the Four Corners gallery. I was overwhelmed by the feeling that in viewing Trevor’s work, I was actually being offered a glimpse into a suppressed and undercelebrated history. From the perspective of a second-generation South Asian immigrant like myself, the personal stories hinted at in Trevor’s photographs are intensely humbling and indeed inextricable from family histories like mine. Racism and discrimination were and are deeply entrenched in the lives of South Asian immigrants who came to Britain in the twentieth-century; and yet here, in these photos, there is a dynamism throbbing across the multitudes that have gathered. Of course, there is grief and anger in the slogans raised above the crowd; but there is also an incredible, palpitating pride.

South Asian immigrants are often depicted as a model minority group: we work hard, play by the rules, and assimilate without fuss. This is not the story told by this exhibition. After 24-year-old Altab Ali was murdered by three white youths near Brick Lane, thousands of Bengalis marched behind his hearse from Whitechapel to Hyde Park to Downing Street. Banners profess the intentions of the Bengali Youth Movement Against Racism to ensure that Ali’s murderers be held accountable. The campaign did not falter throughout the summer of ’78, despite the violent efforts of the National Front to curb the movement. By 1980, the National Front was actually forced to move its headquarters from nearby Hoxton.  That year, 16 separate Bengali youth movements formed a coalition called the Federation of Bangladeshi Youth Organisations. By 1982, the first few Bengalis were elected to local council.

My experience of the exhibition is inextricable from the scenes I witnessed on the opening night. Many of the men and women in Trevor’s photographs came for the evening party in the gallery; some had not seen each other for the forty years that have passed since the Battle of Brick Lane. Locals were identifying themselves in the huge black-and-white photographs, getting teenage grandchildren to take pictures of them standing proud next to images of their younger selves. In conversations with some of the Bengali people who partook in the demonstrations of ’78, many professed that they had no idea, back then, that their movement would go down in the annals of history. They had simply, one man told me, had enough.

Brick Lane: The Turning Point is on at Four Corners until 10 September. It is free and no booking is required. https://www.fourcornersfilm.co.uk/whats-on/brick-lane-1978-the-turning-point-1

Image by Paul Trevor. Outside Bethnal Green police station, London, 17 July 1978.
Sit down protest, demanding the release of two arrested demonstrators.

Sophia Sheera is a writer interested in migration, cultural citizenship, displacement and queerness with a focus on Central Asia and Northern India. Sophia is inspired by talking to the people whose stories are sidetracked by sensationalist headlines, and as such aspires to share those counter-narratives through political journalism.

Manchester, 1981. We are in the still room of a small failing hotel, a place of little ambition where the only form of escapism comes from watching the Diana and Charles wedding on TV. And yet, the 17-year-old waitress Janice (Kate James) wants something more. She knows that she is destined to bigger things, and is waiting for her O levels results to know if she can ever achieve her dreams. Funny, energetic and touching, “The Still Room” at Park Theatre depicts the tragicomedy of young women imprisoned by the norms of their social class and gender.

The whole narrative centres around the interactions of the waiting staff of the hotel in between shifts, or while they are running around carrying plates, shouting orders and cleaning cutlery. Despite it being a “still room”, the energy is very much alive, and every scene incorporates at least some form of action. The loud and opinionated Janice is the most chaotic element of the kitchen, and the rest of the staff often teases her about her eccentricity. Even her best friend Karen (Larner Wallace Taylor), who in opposition is calm and a little dull, struggles to understand why her friend would want to leave town. The biggest concern of the two friends, however, seems to be about sex and how to lose their virginity. Sex is the only form of emancipation the girls can really dream of and is a central point of the play that keeps coming up, which is quite realistic for a play about conversations between curious teenagers.

Everything changes when the beautiful and elegant Diane (Zoe Brough) starts working in the kitchen to pay for her holiday in Greece. Janice can’t help but compare herself to a girl who is her polar opposite and start holding a grudge as the general attention pivots toward this new waitress. The dynamic between the two girls is well explored, and despite being a little stereotypical, the duality and opposition between the characters were established very interestingly. The most striking image of the whole play was the scene where Diane accidentally burns her ankle and lies on the floor surrounded by the staff, while Janice is having sex for the first time in the kitchen. The simultaneous panting and screams of the two girls blurred the line between pain and pleasure and cleverly played with contrasts, although the scene was slightly too crude and shocking.

The performances were all extremely convincing and energetic, and Kate James carried the whole play from start to end with undying energy and an extremely touching final monologue. Zoe Brough worked amazingly as the protagonist’s opposite, and embodied Dian’s grace and elegance to perfection. Larner Wallace Taylor as Karen had a slouched and snarky attitude that was very suited for comedic relief. The rest of the cast included Chris Simmons as Kevin the manager, a clownish character with a baggy suit that was a little too enthusiastic about the girls; Jane Slavin as Bernice, an overworked middle-aged waitress; and Jack Colgrave Hirst as Dean, a cocky waiter with an arrogant and flirty attitude.

Writer Sally Rogers wrote the play after her own experience in service as a teenager, where not only was sex extremely present and was all that existed but young girls were constrained to what was expected of them on many levels. “The still room” tells the story of a girl who tries to set herself free from these expectations, but is already tragically caught in the net with no possibility to escape. Get your tickets for the play at www.parktheatre.co.uk

Photo credit: Multitude media

Reviewed by Céline Galletti – Celine is a volunteer writer for Abundant Art. Originally from France and Italy, she follows her passion for writing and art by studying Comparative Literature at UCL, London. As an international student living in London, she is determined to fully experience and understand the city’s vibrant arts scene, and be a part of its creative storm.

This Jubilee, Sadlers Wells offered us a peek into Hungarian culture through a beautiful evening of historical dance and music in ‘Liszt Mosaics’. A transcendence of time and tradition, the show was a spectacle that mixed folklore with more modern elements and showed that Hungarian dance culture is far from being stuck in the past. A mosaic of 400 different traditional dances, mixed with modern creativity and compelling live music, crafted an experience that played with history and modernity and offered innovation through tradition.

The first half of the show served as an introduction to the core history and folklore of Hungarian dance, and how it influenced classical music. The scenes followed a certain dramaturgy and narrative and followed the tradition of telling stories through dance, resulting in a rather theatrical experience. The live music was amazingly performed by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra conducted by Oleg Caetani and added a touch of immersivity and grandeur to the whole experience. The music was a central part of the performance and felt like a guiding force that gave movement to the dancers. However, the cheers and smiles of the dancers were also one of the most captivating aspects of the show and transmitted a rather contagious good mood.

But despite the traditional costumes and choreographies, the show clearly wanted to innovate and launch itself into modernity. In the second half of the performance, centuries of music got mixed together through instrumental and song to celebrate one of Hungary’s most famous composers, Franz Liszt. The choreographies were split into three pillars that explored three different aspects, different “mosaics” of the artist: Liszt the Hungarian, Liszt the priest and Liszt the virtuoso. This structured fragmentation allowed for a truly educational experience for anyone in the English audience who is not familiar with the composer or with Hungarian folklore.

Overall, the evening was a truly immersive experience, a mosaic of history, the present, music, tradition, and innovation. This premiere in the London scene will hopefully be followed by many more in the UK. Check out this event and more at Sadler Wells at: www.sadlerswells.com

Photo credit: Hungarian State Folk Ensemble

Reviewed by Céline Galletti – Celine is a volunteer writer for Abundant Art. Originally from France and Italy, she follows her passion for writing and art by studying Comparative Literature at UCL, London. As an international student living in London, she is determined to fully experience and understand the city’s vibrant arts scene, and be a part of its creative storm.

“The Concrete Jungle Book” is a vibrant and surprising new take on Kipling’s classic, a somehow grim retelling of the childhood tale through rap, hip-hop and physical performances. Writer and Director Dominic Garfield plays with the original story to offer a completely new experience that projects us into the harsh reality of street life, a significantly different type of jungle. At a time when youth homelessness is peaking in the UK, this musical finds a way to hit all the right spots by being realistic and raising questions whilst still keeping a colourful and high-energy vibe. HighRise Theatre has worked on this musical with Centrepoint, UK’s first youth homelessness charity, integrating no less than 32 young people in the project.

In this “grown-up” version of the tale, we follow Mo (Lauryn Louise), a 16-year-old who escapes her youth centre and has to explore the harsh realities of city life. Her adventure is mainly determined by the people she will encounter on her path: a snake veteran, monkey gangs, an imposing orangutan… The “bear of the streets” Baloo (Lesley Rietta Cobbina), one of the rare positive figures she encounters, teaches her the survival code of the city and decides to protect her. Meanwhile, her carer Bagheera (Joseph RA Lindsay) runs after her in the hopes of bringing her back home. All the performances are delivered with an animalistic physicality that mimics the behaviours of the various animals, giving an energetic and chaotic aspect to the whole musical. In addition to their impressively physical acting, the actors all delivered in terms of singing, rapping and acting, balancing emotional scenes and lighter moments with brio.

The set design (Ethan Cheek) of the graffiti-covered stage was particularly spot-on, and the use of creative additions such as neon lights and incense created a visually remarkable experience. The musical aspect of the show was also memorable, as the story navigated in a universe of rhymes, rap, reggae, hip-hop, grime and dance. The opening performance was enough to set the tone for the rest of the show and catch the audience’s interest from the first few minutes.

The musical offers a coming-of-age story with authenticity and passion and doesn’t lose itself in metaphors when representing the harsh reality of street life. It manages to build a realistic and compelling universe that vibrates with energy and young talents.

Reviewed by Céline Galletti – Celine is a volunteer writer for Abundant Art. Originally from France and Italy, she follows her passion for writing and art by studying Comparative Literature at UCL, London. As an international student living in London, she is determined to fully experience and understand the city’s vibrant arts scene, and be a part of its creative storm.