To celebrate the Diamond Jubilee, Grosvenor House’s next Literati book club event will be hosted TOMORROW by acclaimed Royal writer and broadcaster Hugo Vickers. Vickers will discuss The Queen and the Coronation, celebrating the life and reign of a much-loved monarch on the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne.
Taking the traditional book club idea one step further, Grosvenor House has collaborated with a number of leading authors for the Literati book club. Rather than just bringing people together to discuss a book, Literati hosts a regular stream of authors who lead a discussion of their books.
Diamond Jubilee Literati book club with Hugo Vickers - Thursday 17th May
6.30pm for a 6.45pm start
Tickets priced at £20 which includes a copy of one Hugo Vickers’s books to take away as a souvenir
Welcome drinks and canapés.
To book a place or to find all the latest information on upcoming Literati events held at Grosvenor House, please visit the Literati Book Club website, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call +44 (0) 207 499 6363.
By Lussorian’s roving reporter - Toby Rose
The legendary alternative film festival arrived at London’s 02 from its snowy mountaintop USA perch. And it was graced with royalty. Hollywood royalty in the shape of Robert Redford, and the House of Windsor version – HRH the Prince of Wales.
“Sundance London marked our first time hosting an event in the UK, and we are grateful to all our supporters and collaborators for the reception we received. These four days have seen features, documentaries and live events with insightful filmmakers and musicians, as well as passionate audiences in attendance.” Said Robert Redford, President & Founder of Sundance Institute,
Musically themed, the festival showcased the vital contribution of the musical score to the cinema experience. And it was not just theory. The Q and A with Robert Redford was hosted by Nick Hornby, whose novels include High Fidelity which is a tribute to the music fan. His fellow guest was soundtrack legend T Bone Burnett who is known for his atmospheric musicial scores notably for the Coen Brothers, O Brother.
Sharing the stage with the Hollywood legends was the band, the Guillemots. In tribute to the star guest of the evening and founder of Sundance they performed a choppy up-tempo version of ‘Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head’ - the signature theme of ‘Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid. Very fitting.
Other musos in attendance included musical siblings Martha and Rufus Wainwright. The singer once created an entire stage show around an homage to Judy Garland. You don’t get more Tinsel Town than that!
The festival closed with an intimate performance by Rufus and Martha Wainwright following the World Premiere of Sing Me The Songs That Say I Love You ~ A Concert for Kate McGarrigle, Lian Lunson’s film about the music of their mother, folk singer Kate McGarrigle
Sundance in London brought to a local audience many of the highlights of this year’s Sundance in Utah. One of the big favourites was ‘Queen of Versailles’ which told of the story of a billionaire brought low by the credit crunch. The documentary told the bitter sweet story of how his lavish plans to create a Versailles style home turned to dust.
On a more serious note was ‘Chasing Ice’ a dramatic documentary about the pioneering work of photographer James Balog who charted the retreating glaciers of Greenland, Iceland and Alaska. His efforts to position to motion capture cameras in some of the wildest and most beautiful locations in the world were breathtaking. Aside from this dramatic landscape there was the personal courage of James Balog who was battling with a knee injury.
Sundance was a showcase of the cream of the Sundance crop. A welcome and exciting arrival on the festival circuit.
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So much more than just a ‘steakhouse’, JW Steakhouse within luxury hotel Grosvenor House, sets the standard for steaks in London. We have written about the BEST steaks in London before, but now we want to focus on JW Steakhouses other qualities.
The bourbon bar has a huge cocktail list and even has its own Jack Daniels Single Barrel whisky. The bar just got better though, with the re-introduction of Champagne Thursdays.
Truly, a luxury champagne night in London!
The Bourbon Bar will launch a new calendar of Champagne soirées, allowing discerning guests the opportunity to discover different vintages of the hotel’s new pouring brand Pommery, at a reduced price, every Thursday evening between 3rd May and 21st June.
Each week will see Pommery Brut as the constant Champagne, as well as featured vintages of the week which will include Pommery Cuvee Louise 1999 and Pommery Grand Cru Magnum 1992.
The Champagnes featured are:
May 3rd Pommery Grand Cru 2004 - £38
May 10th Pommery Grand Cru 2002 - £42
May 17th Pommery Grand Cru 2000 - £45
May 24th Pommery Cuvee Louise 1999 - £78
May 31st Pommery Grand Cru Magnum 1999 - £82
June 7th Pommery Grand Cru Magnum 1998 - £85
June 14th Pommery Grand Cru Magnum 1992 - £89
June 21st Pommery Cuvee Louise Jeroboam 1990 - £365
Pommery Brut will be available every Thursday from 3rd May to 21st June at a very reasonable £25.
The Bourbon Bar at JW Steakhouse has already attracted a loyal following, favouring its sleek design, light and airy feel, terrace overlooking Hyde Park, and of course its innovative cocktails mixed by the experienced bar team. After sharing a bottle of Champagne together with the company of good friends, JW Steakhouse will be delighted to serve up the best American steaks this side of the pond.
By Lussorian’s roving reporter Toby Rose
The Oliviers got bigger and better this year and symbolic of this was the move to the prestige premises of the Covent Garden Opera House.
A giant red carpet, winding up the street, was truly star studded, and once again under the banner of headline sponsor Mastercard. Big names including Barbara Windsor to Tye Daley of Cagney and Lacey fame stopped for snappers, TV interviews and autograph hunters alike. The air might have been chill but the glamour shone through.
Barbara Windsor with Lussorian’s Toby Rose
And the anticipation was high, as this year has been a stellar year for London Theatre. As James Earl Jones was to note when he presented the Best Director to Matilda’s Matthew Warchus. The was a time when the question was if a show had ‘legs’ - which meant could it pay the rent for a theatre run.
Now, he said, the question posed is whether a London show has the ‘wings’ to fly to over for a Broadway transfer. There is an air of confidence in this booming sector of Britain, which has posted its eighth successive year of breaking box office records.
Julian Bird, Chief Executive of the Society of London Theatres, revealed that the 2012 Oliviers were the biggest ever. Not only that but the event itself was something of a record breaker “possibly the biggest one nighter anyone has done, ever. We had about 450 people on stage” he told The Guardian.
The Crazy For You Posse
Among those on stage were the world-class winners of this year’s crop of gongs. Including Best Musical Revival for Crazy For You at the Regents Park Open Air Theatre. It also received an Olivier for costumes, which were on fine display when the cast took to the stage to perform a number to rapturous applause.
Collecting her second Olivier was Ruth Wilson for Anna Christie and also back for a prize was Sheridan Smith who won for Best Supporting Performance in Flare Path. The hot star – who last year won for her outstanding role in Legally Blonde – was not in able to attend in person. None other than her director Trevor Nunn read out her acceptance speech modestly omitting the, no doubt, gushing thank you reserved for him.
Later at the party Sheridan’s mother, mentioned in the speech and wildly cheering from the circle, explained how she was taking care of Miss Smith’s three dogs.
The eagerly anticipated Mastercard Best New Play Award went to a true quality piece, Collaborators at the Cottesloe at the National Theatre. And another high point was appearance of Ronan Keating singing the Bacharach classic I’ll Never Fall In Love. He was then joined on stage by Kimberly Walsh, for a sweet duet.
But in a night, which saw two barnstorming productions going head to head One ManTwo Guvnors and Matilda - it was to be the endearing charm of the Roald Dahl musical which was to emerge the decisive winner with 7 Oliviers.
Billy Elliot showcased the talents of a brace of young lads in tutus, the audience at the Royal Opera got to see the young ladies who made the title role in Matilda their own. They bounced on stage and sang a song from the show. Hearts melted and their performance heralded an evening, which was to see Matilda scoop the lion’s share of Oliviers. The inventive charm of the musical swept all before it.
Dame Elaine Page channelling Evita
The evening culminated with the presentation of a Lifetime Achievement Award to Sir Tim Rice and to give fine voice to his peerless achievements in theatre was Dame Elaine Page, who sang a rousing Evita. The performance left the Royal Opera House in no doubt as to the legacy of one of giants of musical theatre.
The big beast of London’s theatre land marvelled and whooped as The Lion King cast invaded the auditorium to bid farewell Oliviers 2012 in high spirited style. In yet colourful sign off tribute to the talent of the night’s Lifetime Achievement recipient Sir Tim Rice who had just been congratulated on the big video screen by two of Britain‘s biggest showbiz beasts Sir Elton John and Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber. Proving that when it comes to Theatre land, London remains King of the Jungle.
