Slice of the City Magazine - Autumn 2023

SLICE OF THE CITY

Come autumn it always feels good to catch the last slanting rays of summer wrapped up, ideally, in super-soft Chanel tweed (if, like us, you don’t own any, feel free to dream after a visit to the new V&A retrospective), or curled deep into the custom sofa in The Westbury’s new P.V. Doyle Suite. Or why not get out and about? In the art world we’re profiling Frieze London and Cork Street Galleries and, for kids, celebrating all things Halloween.

PARTNERS IN DRAMA

The Gate Theatre Dublin was founded in 1928 by actor and director, Micheál MacLiammóir and his actor partner, Hilton Edwards, to bring a unique programme of world theatre to the city; and has been Dublin’s most consistently innovative space ever since. Always an artist-led organisation, The Gate challenged convention from the start with a first season featuring seven productions from internationally renowned playwrights including Ibsen (Peer Gynt), Eugene O’Neill (The Hairy Ape) and Oscar Wilde (Salome). While the varied programme proved a draw, The Gate also launched many a stellar career, including that of James Mason, Orson Wells, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Michael Gambon. Today, under the creative leadership of the indefatigeable Róisín McBrinn, The Gate

continues to put on incredible work - such as its adaptation of The Great Gatsby, above, develops and supports emerging and established artists, produces new work and functions as a ‘world theatre’, ‘reinvigorating existing works from the Irish and International canon’. All very laudable, but for the visitor it’s the brilliant productions that keep them coming. So, building on The Doyle Collection’s long history as a supporter of the Arts, The Croke Park is delighted to be named official accommodation partner for The Gate. Most excitingly, we will be launching our 15-minute Dublin package, including tickets to The Gate’s Winter programme, headlined by the retelling of Peter Pan by iconic Dublin author, Roddy Doyle. doylecollection.com/hotels/thecroke-park-hotel

GIVING THANKS

Thanksgiving may traditionally be a family affair, but there’s no law you have to make yourself a martyr to the cooking. The Dupont Circle welcome families large, small, biological, chosen, and workplace to sample our delicious Thanksgiving menu, served in The Pembroke (right). doylecollection.com/hotels/ the-dupont-circle-hotel

Explore our portfolio of Irish family-owned luxury hotels superbly located in the centre of London, Dublin, Bristol, Washington DC and Cork

GET IN TOUCH

Website doylecollection.com

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ON THE COVER

Yellow Cube by Kit Line. See Frieze Art Fair and Emerging artists feature on p.12

Slice of the City is published on behalf of The Doyle Collection by Rivington Bye Ltd.

Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited. All details correct at the time of publication but may change.

For all editorial enquiries: enquire@rivingtonbye.com

At The Bristol we’re offering a chance to discover the cultural and maritime history of the city’s storied Harbourside Quarter with a two-hour private guided walking tour that is pleasingly followed with a glass of Champagne and delicious canapes for two in The River Lounge. https:// www.ghadiscovery.com/ doyle-collection/the-bristol/ experiences/stroll-and-sipin-bristol

CURATED CORK

Our special Curated Weekends in Cork are proving extremely popular. Especially the one with Sunday Times CLIMATE supplement editor and advocate for all things low impact, Jo Linehan. Find out more at doylecollection.com/cork

News & Views

WINE & DINE

September 27th sees us hosting a Winemakers Dinner at Wilde Restaurant, showcasing Rathfinny wines, alongside a five-course tasting menu. Rathfinny is the first grower and producer of sparkling wine to be awarded B Corp status and have distilled their South of England micro-climate and freedraining chalky soil into something extraordinary in barrel and bottle. The grapes are hand harvested, matured slowly and bunch pressed, and the process prefers minimal intervention, so it’s hard to explain their exceptional sparkling wines as anything less than an alchemy. Come, listen to Rathfinny Founder Mark Driver and experience the flavours. Booking is essential. Wilde.ie

Whether you’re coming from overseas to reconnect with your ancestral home (joining a starry list from Barak Obama to Mariah Carey, Robert DeNiro to Nicole Kidman), or simply finding out more about your Irish roots, enjoy a private consultation with a genealogist at the Cobh Heritage Centre, set in a refurbished Victorian Railway Station by the sea. https://www.ghadiscovery. com/doyle-collection/theriver-lee/experiences/irishheritage-experience-withcobh-heritage-centre

A LITERARY TEA

There’s something in the elegant Georgian garden squares surrounding The Bloomsbury, spawning as they did the fascinating history of literary titans, The Bloomsbury Set. There’s no single answer to the question ‘why here?’, but a private tour with your very own Blue Badge Guide paints a fascinating picture of a cultural movement that punched well above its weight. The tour is followed by The Bloomsbury Afternoon Tea created by Head Pastry Chef (and Afternoon Tea of the Year finalist) Chris Dodd. https://www.ghadiscovery.com/doyle-collection/the-bloomsbury/experiences/private-walking-tourand-afternoon-tea-in-the-coral-room

THE CROKE PARK

““Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman.”

Gabrielle

CHANEL

Fashion Manifesto

is this autumn’s No.1 exhibition at the V&A. We explore.

Coco Chanel’s early training as a seamstress meant that from the start she worked like a couturier, forever ripping seams and remodelling them to get every proportion just so…

Comfort has always been something of a dirty word in fashion, often seen as giving up on style. But Coco Chanel never made anything she wouldn’t wear herself, and when she cut her clothes to move with fluidity, naturally with the female body, comfort was a radical concept. Not to mention one that helped her fashion house endure for over a century. As the first UK exhibition to celebrate fashion designer and cultural icon, Coco Chanel, opens at the V&A, we take a look at her life, loves, work and penchant for many the bon mot.

“My life didn’t please me, so I invented my life.” Chanel’s start in life (born Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel in 1883 in a Saumur poorhouse to laundress, Jeanne Devolle, and Albert Chanel, her peddler paramour) was unlikely to please anyone. But few could have imagined the reinvention into a phenomenally successful businesswoman, an early female founder of a modern fashion house, a fiercely intelligent patron of the arts and the effortlessness with which she shattered the class ceiling in France and Britain, too.

Chanel always obfuscated her humble origins, but the early death of her mother and abandonment by Albert left her just 11 years old in a Catholic orphanage. The nuns were taskmasters but the orphanage gifted Chanel both an education and the ability to sew.

Upon leaving Aubazine in 1901, she found work as a tailor’s seamstress (immersing herself in the functionality and cut of menswear) by day, and a cabaret singer by night, dropping the ‘Gabrielle’ for ‘Coco’ along the way. While her singing voice was reportedly not up to much, her spirit and her style captivated one-time cavalry officer and (handily) textile heir, Étienne Balsan, and she became his mistress at 23.

“The most courageous act is to think for yourself. Aloud.” While the life Chanel was shaping may have started in a rather cliched way, she had absolutely no intention of following in the footsteps of the mistress she ousted, dancer and actress, Émilienne d’Alençon. What Chanel wanted was to work, so she had Balsan set her up in business; initially as a milliner.

Left Marie-Hélène Arnaud in a tweed suit from Chanel’s AutumnWinter 1959 collection with Chanel shoes and the now iconic quilted 2.55 Chanel handbag. Right In order for the garments to appear as relaxed as intended, the team at Palais Galleria in Paris selected a mannequin with an arched back and tested and re-tested, adjusting both slip and dress to within a millimetre to obtain the correct flow and drape. Far Right The exhibition was originally conceived to reveal Gabrielle Chanel’s development from the pleated silk dresses of the early twenties to the wool bouclé suits of the fifties and sixties.

After decades of being trussed up in corsetry, bodices, hoops, underskirts and overskirts – restricted, decorative, unable to move freely - women were crying out for something new. Taking on men’s work during the first world war and experiencing the freedom of overalls only exacerbated the feeling. And as a woman, Chanel instinctively understood.

It was in Deauville (holiday destination of the beau monde) that Chanel started her fashion house proper. Backed by a new lover, wealthy English polo player, ‘Boy’

“It is always better to be slightly underdressed”

Overleaf Dorothy and Little Bara (priest).

CREDITS: (VOGUE) © 1960 WILLIAM KLEIN / PATRIMOINE DE CHANEL, PARIS © CHANEL / PHOTOGRAPHY: NICHOLAS ALAN COPE

GABRIELLE CHANEL

JUSTINE PICARDIE

Capel, she became known for her effortless, body-skimming pieces, uniquely cut from jersey (at this time only used for men’s underwear). Her designs make women feel stylish, modern and emancipated, and saw them flocking to her boutique.

While Chanel was too instinctive a designer to have an actual fashion manifesto, the codes of her house were clear and consistent from the very start, allowing her the freedom to create first after first.

In the 1920s, black was the colour of mourning. But Chanel saw it as chic and invented the little black dress – to be revisited season after season and becoming the lynchpin of every stylish woman’s wardrobe.

Her pearls were fake and layered – seemingly contradicting her oft-quoted aphorism, “Elegance is refusal”, but designed to satirise wealth. And her iconic 2.55 handbag was the first shoulder bag for women, freeing their hands for more important endeavours. Created over 100 years ago (2021), Chanel No. 5 changed the face of fragrance. Gone

Far Left Hand-knitted wool costumes designed by Gabrielle Chanel for the ballet Le Train Bleu and below as worn by Lydia Sokolova, Anton Dolin, Bronislava Nijinska and Leon Woizikowsky after the first performance in London at the Coliseum Theatre, 1924

Left, top A red cotton velvet dress designed by Gabrielle Chanel in 1932

Left Gabrielle Chanel invented the concept of the modern boutique at 31 rue Cambon, Paris, where she was photographed by Roger Schall in 1937. Right One of Gabrielle Chanel’s best known designs, a braided wool tweed suit from her Autumn/Winter collection of 1964

were the timorous single notes of Rose and Lavender and soft romantic imagery. In their place, a complex fragrance for grownup women, co-created with French-Russian perfumier, Ernest Beaux. Inspired by a lab bottle (with the lid said to mirror the Place Vendôme), its packaging was an essay in beautiful functionality, and it was the first fragrance to feature its designer’s name, along with the crisp and modern ‘No. 5’.

Tweed was an unlikely addition to the female wardrobe – reserved as it was for men’s country tailoring. But, during a ten-year relationship with the Duke of Westminster, Chanel discovered the offduty sportswear of the English aristocracy - traditional tweeds for shooting and fishing in heather and mizzle and galloping through the countryside on horseback.

Naturally, Chanel put her own spin on it. Her tweeds were light and soft, cut into her flattering, practical skirt suits and snapped up by women all over the world. To this day tweed is a cornerstone of the house and reinvented for every season.

Gabrielle Chanel: Fashion Manifesto at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 16 September 2023 – 25 February 2024, is presented in collaboration with Palais Galleria in Paris, and Chanel and brings together more than 200 looks from public and private collections, as well as some rare pieces from the V&A’s own archive. Tickets will be almost impossible to secure. At The Kensington we have partnered with the V&A and are offering tickets to the show as well as hosting a series of talks with Justine Picardie, writer and Chanel expert, who will be celebrating the launch of a new edition of her bestselling biography of Coco Chanel to coincide with the exhibition.

“Coco Chanel’s vision was to allow women the same sartorial comfort, dignity and ease only previously available in men’s tailoring.”

CREDITS: © CHANEL / PHOTOGRAPHY: NICHOLAS ALAN COPE/ COURTESY OF VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON

“The most courageous act is to think for yourself. Aloud.”

GABRIELLE CHANEL

JUSTINE PICARDIE

HEAVEN’S ON THE 6TH FLOOR

The launch of the new P.V. Doyle Suite at The Westbury is redefining luxury for the 21st century traveller…

Previously known as The Presidential Suite, The Westbury’s sixth floor destination has long been one of Dublin’s finest accommodations - chosen by Heads of State, global politicos, captains of industry, sporting legends, musical icons and Hollywood’s finest - including the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Marlon Brando, Pavarotti, Pelé and David Bowie, to name but a few.

Despite this starry list the time had come for a full reimagination, renaming the space to commemorate Doyle Collection founder, P.V. Doyle, and embracing a new level of luxury in keeping with The Westbury’s place as an established member of The Leading Hotels of the World. Works from some of Ireland’s most celebrated artists adorn every wall, thoughtfully curated and complemented with finely crafted furniture and furnishings, while the jewel-like bar in the living/dining space, adds serious glamour to a place where supreme comfort is king.

In the words of Doyle Collection Chairman, Bernie Gallagher, “Light, elegant design touches create a sense of calm, an oasis above the bustling streets of Dublin. Plus our curated selection of antiques and artworks present themes of travel, exploration and discovery and it is these details which, I believe, make our guests feel truly at home when they stay with us..”

@westburydublin doylecollection.com/hotels/the-westbury-hotel

Overleaf Mid-century design (in shades of green and muted orange) is celebrated in the bespoke, handwoven rug, while the custom crystal chandelier, jewel-box like art-deco style bar, vintage Angelo Mangiarotti sculptural Italian marble coffee table and some seriously fine art add glamour to the space.

Left The art’s the star – two mono lithographs by Louis le Brocquy, and, above, just visible in the entry hall, his tapestry, Sol y sombra; adorning the back wall, Fount, a silkscreen on canvas by Patrick Scott. Top Behind the vast bed, a flexible space, perfect for working out, for use as a dressing room or even a bedroom (a murphy bed makes it ideal for little ones). Above The pristine Kolkata marble that lights up the large ensuite bathroom is sourced from a single Italian quarry.

Q WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU CROSS A VAMPIRE AND A SNOWMAN? A FROSTBITE

HORRIBLE

Q WHY DIDN’T THE SKELETON GO TO THE PARTY? A HE HAD NO BODY TO GO WITH

HALLOWEEN

Who knew the festival of all things spooky, scary and spidery had its origins in The Emerald Isle?

Ireland is famous for loads of things – it’s literally green, there’s dancing, music, books and poetry, the Giant’s Causeway, horse racing, shamrocks, pots of gold, peat, potatoes and a million other clichés. But Halloween?

In fact, it was the ancient Celts that first celebrated All Hallows Eve, believing the 31st October to be the day when the wall between the living and the dead was at its thinnest. To keep spooks at bay, bonfires were lit, sweets were eaten (not sure how this might protect anybody from ghouls and ghosts, though), and costumes would be worn to ward off evil spirits.

While Celts came from many parts of Europe it was those in Ireland that took the tradition to America. And where else but the US of A would Halloween become an event that, by 2022, saw people spending over 10 BILLION DOLLARS on fun, fancy dress and 266 MILLION kilos of sweets.

SPOOKY!!

Washington DC is one of the scariest places in the USA to celebrate. Staying at The Dupont Circle you’ll find all kinds of activities for kids and their adults, from graveyard tours to spookily dressed dog shows, pumpkin carving, Jack-O-lantern trails, witchy puppet shows, haunted labs (Science museum), Halloween on ice (watch out for ghouls and ghosts on skates), pumpkin races (on wheels), Boo at the Zoo

and miniature ‘eye spy trains’ to ‘Transylvania’.

If you’re at The Kensington , check for spooky tours of the haunted corridors of Hampton Court Palace and scary trails through the museums. From The Marylebone take the train to The Harry Potter Experience, for terrifying tours and there’s some serious boo! to be had at London Zoo, too. At The Bloomsbury you’re minutes from the British Museum, so check out their famously fearsome Egyptian mummy sleepovers for Young Friends, and local spooky walks and trails. Wherever you are, have a wander, look out for illuminated pumpkins on doorsteps and knock loudly. Also, obviously, ask your concierge. They love Halloween.

Q WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU DIVIDE THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF A JACK-O-LANTERN BY ITS DIAMETER? A PUMPKIN PI…

WORD SEARCH

Q WHY DO GHOSTS LIKE TO GO UP IN LIFTS? A BECAUSE THEY RAISE THEIR SPIRITS

colour & cutout werewolf mask

some days I’m EXTRA WITCHY

witch badge

See if you can find the spooky hidden words

CREEPY FACT

WORD LIST

BANSHEE

BAT CYCLOPS

DEMON

GHOST

GOBLIN

KRAKEN

MEDUSA

MONSTER

MUMMY

OGRE

PHANTOM

SHADOW

SNAKE

SPIDER

TROLL

VAMPIRE

WITCH

YETI

ZOMBIE

Your mind can sense someone staring at you even when you’re asleep. Which explains why you can wake up in the night for no apparent reason

AND, FRIEZE

It’s not often the dress ‘code’ (more guidance) for the art event of the season, magnet to collectors from all over the world, as well as global movers and shakers in arts and culture is, simply, sensible shoes, but at Frieze, you ignore it at your peril. With two large marquees in The Regent’s Park, a sculpture trail and 59 participating galleries all over London, including many in recently revitalised Cork Street, pedometers will reach new heights.

While Autumn’s Frieze Art Fair, this year celebrating its 20th year of drawing tens of thousands from all over the world, always pops up as a top place for ‘celebrity spotting’, it’s the art you’ll be gazing at. Aside from the opening party, which keeps the Evening Standard Insider photographer and online editors very busy, you’re much more likely, in the midst of an appreciative reverie, to feel the desire to turn to the stranger next to you and sigh in mutual appreciation only to discover they own a very familiar face. In such an eventuality, we recommend styling it out. After all, everybody’s there for the same noble purpose. Art.

While the Frieze Art Fair in the capital has become the art event of the year, it’s worth remembering that Frieze started as, and still is, a magazine. Launched in 1991, Frieze was the first magazine dedicated to contemporary art, especially the scene mushrooming in 1990s Britain. Dominated by enfants terribles, the Young British Artists (YBAs) – there was something of a DIY ethos, it was all big ideas with value measured in shock – despite the emergence, fuelled by Charles Saatchi’s more New York approach to art collecting, of some big fat cheques.

According to British Art Critic Jonathan Jones, “In the ‘90s the British Art scene was quite punky and raw. There were comparatively few commercial galleries in Britain. Then Frieze (art fair) came along and took it to this global level”. It was an innovation about which the YBAs themselves, while benefiting hugely from the sales, exhibited mixed feelings. As Damian Hirst was alleged to have said at the time, “The art world is full of scoundrels peddling rubbish to idiots”.

As Frieze celebrates its 20 th anniversary by welcoming thousands of global art connoisseurs to the capital, we take a look at one of the world’s most influential art fairs - barely minutes away from The Marylebone…

Today, the word most commonly used to describe Frieze is ‘influential’. Galleries grow their global reputations here and artists lucky enough to have a Frieze moment are made, as are millions by artists, dealers and collectors. Ultimately, though, Frieze has entirely transformed the British art scene and its place in the world. In 2023, the global art market is valued at $67.8 billion (Art Basel/UBS Global Art Market Report), with the UK (at 18%) ranking second behind the USA’s 45% market share. Divided between art and auction house sales, the lion’s share of the market is made from contemporary art, though US and European Old Masters continue to grow as a share.

Which is one reason why Frieze Masters was added to the Frieze mix in 2012. Frieze Masters covers six millennia of arts, from stuff you’ll see in museums to dinosaur skeletons. For 2023, Frieze Masters, led by Nathan Clements-Gillespie, partnered with 130 galleries to present everything from antiquities and Old Masters to rare and antiquarian books, Asian art, Medieval manuscripts, antique arms, even Renaissance pottery. Frieze Masters represents

a unique opportunity to see such an eclectic, expertly curated collection all in one place. And what a place.

Acres of marquee dominates The Regent’s Park, groaning with art. The experience isn’t one for the faint hearted and can take days to take it all in. While everything is for sale, prices are not displayed and works are selected with the serious collector in mind. Also, most pieces are headed for private ownership, so it’s an opportunity to view works that may never be seen in public again.

While Frieze Masters is always fascinating and Frieze Sculpture is the dog-friendly, free, in the park arm of the festival, Frieze London is absolutely the main event. And for its anniversary year, Director Eva Langret has conjured up some fascinating initiatives alongside a sensational selection of contemporary art, presented by over 160 galleries from 40 countries, together with works by this years’ recipient of the life-changing Frieze London Artist Award – Egyptian born, London-based multimedia artist, Adham Faramawy.

Artist-to-Artist is the latest iteration of Frieze’s well-established artist-led programming, with some of the world’s best-known selecting an emerging artist they wish to bring to global attention.

So, Simone Leigh presents Deborah Anzinger, Wolfgang Tillmans has nominated Mark Barker, Haegue Yang chose Ayoung Kim, and Olafur Liasson, Favian Knecht. Thai artist, Rirkrit Tiravanija showcases the late Wantanee Siripattananuntakul, Anthea Hamilton presents Carlos Villa and Tracey Emin CBE RA picked the visceral Vanessa Raw. And all are shown at the fair.

Elsewhere, new galleries feature in ‘Focus’, ‘Editions’ presents affordable prints from established artists, ‘Modern Women’ shares works by women dated 1880-1980, ‘Standout’ challenges traditional hierarchies of media in art, and ‘Studio’ focuses on the artist’s place of making – with a number of working artist’s studios, integrating archival images and objects essential to the creative process. Go, take it all in. Then head to Cork Street (via The Marylebone for a cocktail or afternoon tea) and visit all the small galleries. frieze.com/fairs/ f rieze-londoncorkstgalleries.com

ONES TO WATCH

Here are five emerging, collectible artists whose work is still within reachat least for now…

FRANCES PINNOCK A London-based artist with a practice encompassing drawing, sculpture and movement, translating thoughts around the body and space into objects worked, primarily, in leather. instagram @francespinnock

SHADI AL-ATALLAH Explores ‘connections between the Queer ballroom scene and folkloric dance traditions from African diasporic communities in the Arabian Peninsula’, plus it’s gorgeously figurative. Instagram @ramenate

JOSEPH MOBOLAJI AINA Graduate of the RCA, Joseph analyses the presentation of black culture within the western world surrounding the loss of ‘Blackness’ and identity crisis. jmartspace.com

BUYING AFFORDABLE CONTEMPORARY ART

KIT LINE Recognising the potential in discarded materials often found on the Thames foreshore, his artworks develop their story with an analytical feel, a sense of piecing together, like a puzzle in which colour highlights texture. Instagram @kit.line_sculpture kitlinesculpture.com

GINA SODEN Obsessed with abandoned structures and locations, Gina travels to secret sites throughout Europe to produce photographs exploring beauty, decay, nostalgia and neglect. Instagram @ginasodenartist

With works presented at Frieze fetching up to seven figures, to shop is much more the preserve of a preternaturally youthfullooking mid-lifer with a super-yacht tan and private jet luggage than of a regular traveller, even one well used to enjoying the finer things in life. Having said that, the commercial galleries affiliated with Frieze present much more of a spectrum spanning spaces from Harlesden to Hoxton and almost all of the price points, from an entirely affordable limited-edition print or ceramic pot, through to epic, expansive canvases suitable only for lofty interiors and the deepest of pockets. But buying from galleries isn’t the only way to invest in art. Despite a move, post pandemic, back towards purchasing art in person, for many years digital sales have grown steadily, both via online gallery spaces and, of course, on Instagram from artists direct to buyers. In addition, the capital is rarely without open studios and art fairs offering a huge number of works by a large variety of artists, introducing buyers to artists direct, making art accessible to those who prefer to avoid the faff that so often accompanies a wellrepresented artist on the rise.

OPEN STUDIOS

We’re huge fans of the open studio both for contemporary art and artisan crafts – they’re great for gift buying and finding interesting pieces to add to collections. There are so many in London you really are best off googling, but you can’t beat Cockpit Arts for craft @cockpitstudios, and for art, ACME (with studios all over London) @acme.art and Apt studios @ aptgallery

SOCIAL MEDIA

Influencing isn’t just shots of smoked mango and balsamic berry smoothies - art influencers have enabled followers to discover art digitally at their own pace. Here are some of the best.

govisually.com/blog/art-influencers-on-instagram

AFFORDABLE ART FAIRS

Affordable Art Fairs have changed the face of art buying, opening it to a wider audience and enabling many talented artists looking to connect directly with buyers. With so many different artists to choose from we recommend doing some research first then walking round with a completely open mind.

@ affordableartfairuk

Events & Happenings

Step out of your hotel and into our pick of this month’s most captivating events

The Bloomsbury

MIRROR, MIRROR

A world premiere on the London stage is always exciting but when it’s a brandnew play by Sam Holcroft, led by rising stars, Tanya Reynolds and Micheal Ward, anchored by the evergreen Jonny Lee Miller, directed by Jeremy Herrin and put on by the frankly always excellent Almeida Theatre, we defy it not to fly. Go! A Mirror

Almeida Theatre

15th Aug – 23rd Sept almeida.co.uk/whatson/a-mirror

FRIENDS REUNITED

Even musical refuseniks can’t deny the brilliance of the great and, sadly, late Stephen Sondheim. His passing in 2021 was commemorated by the cream of London’s luvvies, in a brilliant tribute conjured by Matthew Bourne. Too good to be a one-off, it’s been revived, recast for a longer run, and will grace the stage of the Gielgud Theatre.

Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends

Gielgud Theatre

16th Sept – 6th Jan gielgudtheatre.co.uk

TIME MACHINE

Born in Tokyo in 1943, Hiroshi Sugimoto is quite the Renaissance Man. Not only a photographer, he is also a renowned architect, sculptor and set designer. Influenced by Duchamp, Dada and Surrealism, Sugimoto is best known for his exploration of

black and white photography, using long exposures to give an epic sense of time captured. This Hayward Gallery retrospective will be extraordinary.

Time Machine

Hayward Gallery

11th Oct – 7th Jan southbankcentre.co.uk/whatson/art-exhibitions/hiroshisugimoto-time-machine

FOR THE YOUNG

Built in 1868 with profits from The Great Exhibition, The Bethnal Green Museum became the Museum of Childhood in 1974 and now, after a three -year reimagination, has been

renamed Young V&A and reopened in July 2023 as ‘a visionary interactive space dedicated to creativity, inspiration and play’, for kids aged 0 to 14 years. Visit for all this and its brilliant inaugural exhibition, Japan, Myths to Manga.

Japan Myths to Manga

Young V&A

Opens 14th Oct

vam.ac.uk/young

The Kensington

OPEN HOUSE

One of the most popular festivals in a city-lover’s

Museum, the Palais Galliera in Paris and premiered in 2020. While the clue is still in the name, the V&A presents Chanel’s philosophy in partnership with Palais Galliera (and supported by CHANEL) with the addition of some iconic pieces from the V&A’s own collection.

Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto

V&A South Kensington

16th Sept - 25th Feb vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/ gabrielle-chanelfashion-manifesto

REBEL YELL

To celebrate 30 years of BFC’s NEWGEN, the Design Museum has curated an exhibition to celebrate the radical talent of its recipients. Where Lee McQueen led, almost 300 designers followed – all supported by NEWGENand show highlights include Bjork’s swan Oscar frock, Sam Smith’s HARRI inflatable latex suit and works from rebel royalty spanning JW Anderson to Christopher Kane, Molly Goddard to Wales Bonner.

HUMAN CONDITION

It’s hard to believe we’re four decades on since Sarah Lucas arrived amidst the fearless, ferocious assurance of the

YBAs, and their trademark of having plenty to say and headline-grabbing ways of saying it. Today, Lucas’ drive and ferocity are undimmed and

energy crackles through her Tate Britain retrospective, but what really hits home is her love of humanity. It’s a must see.

Sarah Lucas

Tate Britain

28th Sept – 14th Jan 2024 tate.org.uk/whats-on/ tate-britain/sarah-lucas

The Marylebone

MOVIES AND SHAKERS

For eleven days every Autumn London transforms into a celebration of moviemaking. This year is the 67th BFI (British Film Institute) London Film Festival and the programme is as diverse, ground-breaking and entertaining as always, with screenings in theatres (and popup tents!) all over the capital, Q&As and talks featuring the very best up-and-coming filmmakers, alongside veterans of their craft. Go online, plan and book.

BFI London Film Festival

5th-16th Oct whatson.bfi.org.uk

calendar, London’s Open House Festival gives all comers the perfect opportunity to uncover the secrets of the city’s best-known buildings by choosing from a selection of walking tours guided by expert historians to unpick and evoke neighbourhoods that have evolved organically over hundreds of years.

Open House Festival

All over the city 6th-17th Sept open-city.org.uk/openhouse-festival-2023

FASHION MANIFESTO

Show of the season, Gabrielle Chanel, Fashion Manifesto was created by Paris Fashion

Rebel Design Museum

16th Sept - 11th Feb designmuseum.org/ exhibitions/rebel-30years-of-london-fashion

Left Discover The Black Friar as part of a pub walking tour during Open House Festival. Top Matty Bovan Dress from Rebel at The Design Museum

Right The extraordinary photography of Hiroshi Sugimoto at The Hayward.

Matty Bovan, Spring/Summer 2019. Model Fran Summers, Hat Stephen Jones for Matty Bovan, Dress Matty Bovan. Photo © Rebecca Maynes Hiroshi Sugimoto, Sea of Buddha 049 (Triptych), 1995, Lightning Fields 225, 2009 © Hiroshi Sugimoto, courtesy of the artist.

AND, FRIEZE

Frieze is ‘the world’s leading platform for modern and contemporary art, dedicated to artists, galleries, collectors and art lovers alike.’ With their bibles, Frieze magazine and Frieze Masters magazine, four international art fairs, a rolling programme of talks and their own Cork Street gallery, Frieze London is hosted under canvas in The Regent’s Park and galleries throughout the city.

Frieze London

The Regent’s Park 11th – 15th Oct frieze.com/fairs/frieze-london

LYONESSES

For us, the idea of seeing Kristin Scott Thomas and Lilly James reprising their Rebecca chemistry live on the London stage would be draw enough. But when we heard the description by brilliant writer Penelope Skinner of her comeback tale as a ‘flipped revenge tragedy about the person on whom revenge has been sworn’ we were absolutely intrigued. Ian Rickson directs.

Lyonesse

Harold Pinter Theatre

17th Oct – 23rd Dec haroldpintertheatre. co.uk/shows/lyonesse

IS THAT JAZZ?

Well, it’s a question we’ve all asked and one that is comprehensively answered by the brilliant London Jazz Festival, draw to some of the best performers from over the world, along, of course, with some excellent home-grown talent. With over 40 gigs, hosted at some of the capital’s very best music venues, you’ll be spoilt for choice.

London Jazz Festival

10th - 19th Nov efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk

Bristol

MURDER, MYSTERY, MUSICAL

No motives. No suspects. They don’t know anything… Who knew solving a murder could be so hard? This is the murder, mystery, musical tale of Kathy and Stella, hosts of Hull’s ‘least successful true-crime podcast’. But when their favourite author is killed, they are thrust into a whodunnit of their own! Can they crack the case before the killer strikes again…?

Kathy & Stella Solve a Murder

Bristol Old Vic 13th - 30th Sept bristololdvic.org.uk/whats-on/ kathy-and-stella-solvea-murder

SPIKED

Spike Island makes the most of its Dockyard setting in a former tea-packing warehouse

in an interconnected series of industrial spaces. It’s remit, an international contemporary art centre for the people of and visitors to Bristol, it’s the perfect setting for a major monographic exhibition celebrating five decades of the mythically magical, vibrant works of Colombian artist, Ofelia Rodríguez. Ofelia Rodríguez

Spike Island

30th Sept – 14th Jan spikeisland.org.uk/programme/ exhibitions/ofelia-rodriguez

STORY TIME

Britain’s most brilliant writers, creators and illustrators from the world of young people’s books are coming to the West Country, throughout the city of Bath. Just 11 minutes on the train from Bristol, and 40 by car, the golden stone spa

town, Bath, is always worth a visit, but especially so when the 100+ visiting authors include Sir Lenny Henry to Chris Riddle, Holly Jackson to Katherine Rundell.

Bath Children’s Literature Festival

All over the city

29th Sept – 8th Oct bathfestivals.org.uk/ childrens-literature

FESTIVAL OF FILM

Birthplace of Aardman, Bristol is the home of animation, and Encounters is the UK’s leading festival of short films, animation, and VR, providing a platform for new and emerging and established filmmakers to share their work, meet and expand their networks. Featuring a jam-packed programme of screenings, Q&As, events, masterclasses and workshops, and the opportunity to see something completely new.

Encounters Film Festival

Various Locations

27th Sept – 2nd Oct encounters.film

The Westbury

HAKUNA MATATA!

Based on the Disney classic, The Lion King musical has been playing to packed houses in New York and London for decades. The touring production has played in 100 cities in 20 countries over six continents and is coming back to the Bord Gáis Theatre for an other exciting six-week run.

The Lion King

Bord Gáis Theatre

28th Sept – 11th Nov bordgaisenergytheatre. ie/show/the-lion-king

IRONBOUND

As part of Dublin Theatre Festival, The Abbey Theatre presents Ironbound, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning Polish playwright, Martyna Majok, exploring the challenges faced by immigrants making a new life. The moving, darkly funny piece tells the story of Darja, a Polish woman finding her way in New Jersey and how her hopes and dreams are shaped by her experiences over 20 years and three relationships.

Ironbound Abbey Theatre

3rd Oct – 4th Nov abbeytheatre.ie/ whats-on/ironbound

SECOND BEST

With its first production an award winner, any outing for Martin McDonagh’s Hangmen is a draw, especially at The Gaiety Theatre. It’s the fictional story of Britain’s second-best hangman (and Oldham publican) who, as the play opens, is cursed on the gallows by a man declaring his innocence, and, as it unfolds, becomes subject, in his own pub, to the strange events and old rivalries that follow.

Hangmen

The Gaiety Theatre

19th Oct – 4th Nov gaietytheatre.ie events/hangmen

WOMEN BETWEEN WORLDS

For far too long known only as the wife of the renowned Irish artist Louis le Brocquy, Anne Madden is enjoying a renaissance, receiving accolades as her own work inspired by myth, nature,

archetypes of womanhood and all things chthonic comes into the spotlight. Find out more in this new exhibition at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA).

Anne Madden

IMMA

24th Aug – 21st Jan imma.ie/whats-on/annemadden-seven-paintings-2

The Croke Park

OPEN HOUSE

Left London Jazz Festival. Above Bath hosts 100 top writers at its terrific Children’s Literature Festival.

Right Death of Anne Lovett by Anne Madden at IMMA.

Hosted by the Irish Architecture Foundation, Open House Dublin is Ireland’s biggest architectural festival when some of the city’s most fascinating buildings are open to all. From foreign embassies to university buildings, private homes to usually off-limits public buildings, the festival also features talks and guided tours. Admission is free but you should book. Open House Dublin 7th - 15th Oct openhousedublin.com

SPOOKY!

For those of you who didn’t realise one Bram (Abraham) Stoker was Irish and born in Dublin, you’re not alone. Immortalised for his Gothic horror tale, Count Dracula, Stoker himself is celebrated every Halloween with spooky happenings, dark experiences and all manner of scary fun.

Bram Stoker Festival

Various locations

27th – 30th Oct bramstokerfestival.com

WHAT A DRAMA

Founded way back in 1957, The Dublin Theatre Festival is one of the world’s longest running, and the biggest date in Ireland’s theatrical calendar, bringing together artists, theatre-makers and audiences from all over for a celebration of Dublin and its vivid cultural landscape. In 2022 the event hosted 300 performances from nine countries across 20 venues drawing crowds of over 36,000.

Dublin Theatre Festival

28th Sep – 15th Oct dublintheatrefestival.ie

THE WRITTEN WORD

Punching well above its population weight, Ireland is closely associated with literature and the power of

the written word and this is celebrated every year in Dublin with a festival established in 2006 which has grown to incorporate history, poetry,

science, non-fiction and, of course, fiction, across multiple venues including libraries and bookstores, centred in The Printworks at Dublin Castle.

Dublin Book Festival

All over the city

8th - 12th Nov dublinbookfestival.com

The Dupont Circle

HOLIDAY

There’s always something worth watching on the Arena Stage.

Despite stiff competition from The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci and The Tina Turner Musical, our pick of the season is Holiday, a stage adaptation of the 1938 movie (starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn) telling the story of a self-made Wall Street lawyer and the contrasting expectations of him, his fiancé, her unconventional sister and her family.

Holiday Arena Stage

7th Oct – 6th Nov https://washington.org/visitdc/ghost-tours-washington-dc#

SIDE BY SIDE

Cabaret meets play in this celebration of the works of two of the enduring greats of the modern American Songbook, Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen. Long-time friends and one-time lovers, Mitchell and Cohen wrote some of the most powerful songs of the last half century and their ‘conversation’ in song, is beautifully brought to life by musicians, Robbie Schafer and Dannielle Werz. Both Sides Now Signature Theatre

1st – 13th Nov sigtheatre.org/events/202223/ both-sides-now-joni-mitchelland-leonard-cohen

BE AFRAID

It’s fall. Halloween is just around the corner. So, it must be time to take a scary tour of Washington. And when it comes to ghosts, ghouls, the paranormal and good, old-fashioned vampires, there’s a surprising amount of choice – with spine tingling retelling of terrifying tales. There are private tours, public tours, tours in graveyards and tours of historic Georgetown. Choose yours carefully.

Scary Tours

All around the city

Check website for dates and times https://washington.org/visitdc/ghost-tours-washington-dc

ALRIGHT, SPORT?

marvel at some extraordinary basketball. It’s a great day out. Check dates online commanders.com mlb.com/nationals nba.com/wizards

27th – 30th Oct guinnessjazzfestival.com

ALL EYES

Above The Washington Commandos in action in DC.

Left The world of Bram Stoker comes alive in Dublin.

Right Appreciate the quality of Irish film-making at The Cork International Film Festival.

The River Lee

ALL THAT JAZZ

Tis the season to watch sport, and DC offers some of the best in the country. The Washington Commanders (previously the Redskins) play incredible American Football (or ‘football’ as it’s known there), the Washington Nationals play baseball for trophies, and the Washington Wizards are the place to

Cork Jazz Festival hosts three days of large concerts and little sessions featuring some of the biggest names in jazz. For 2023 you’ll see stellar names from Macy Gray to Morcheeba, Corinne Bailey Rae to Gilles Peterson, while Cork City Hall is headlined by The (not so jazzy) Charlatans. Meanwhile,

The River Lee is hosting a roster of musical performances including our legendary Brass Brunches in The Mirror Room.

Cork Jazz Festival

Eight venues across the city

The Crawford Art Gallery is re-hanging its collection of portraits and for this exhibition the clue’s in the name as from each portrait the sitter looks the viewer unflinchingly in the eye returning their gaze from another time and place. The subjects are luminaries, both contemporary and from hundreds of years ago, but from each portrait, eyes lock.

All Eyes on Us Crawford Art Gallery 28th Oct – 28th Feb crawfordartgallery.ie/ exhibitions-upcoming

MOVIE TOWN

The 68th CIFF, this is Ireland’s first and largest film festival, showcasing the latest and best Irish and international

features and shorts, plus classic films in a themed retrospective, culinary cinema, Green Screen, Guilty Pleasures, as well as film strands for family, schools and mental wellbeing. Go! It’s always interesting.

Cork International Film Festival Venues around the city 9th – 19th Nov corkfilmfest.org

GO TO GAOL

With its beautifully restored interior, Cork City Gaol is a handsome stone fortress which was built in 1824 to house the city’s ‘disreputables’ before finally closing in 1923. Restoration was completed in the 1990s and today it is a museum telling human tales of a time long past. It’s a fascinating place and a real Cork must-visit.

Cork City Gaol

Open daily. Book a guided tour. corkcitygaol.com

24 HOURS

WEEKENDER IN WEST CORK

There’s so much to see near The River Lee. So, why not make a weekend of it?

FRIDAY 19:00 CHECK-IN

Cocktails on The River Terrace and dinner in The Grill Room. doylecollection.com/hotels/the-river-lee-hotel

SATURDAY 08.30 ROOM SERVICE!

Rise and shine. Savour some breakfast. Make for the car. Go West. Follow the coast road.

11.00 BLOWN AWAY

From the dramatic clifftops of Mizen Head the Atlantic Ocean views are stunning, while the beach at Barleycove Bay was formed by a tidal wave following a 1755 Lisbon earthquake. Today it’s just golden. Surf or swim.

13.30 DEEP SOUTH

A short drive takes you to Crookhaven - for a pint and a bite of good home cooking at Ireland’s Southernmost pub, O’Sullivans. osullivanscrookhaven.ie

15.30 SCHULLWARD HO!

Have a potter round the village, then head to the Schull Harbour Hotel, a 30-minute drive away. Check in. schullharbourhotel.ie

17.30 LEVIS CORNER HOUSE

Take a taxi to Ballydehob and start your evening at the absolute icon of an historic pub that is Levis. leviscornerhouse.com

19.30 RESTAURANT CHESTNUT

You might not expect a Michelin-starred tasting menu with wine pairings in a village with a population of under 300, but that’s what chef (son of a charcutier and pickler extraordinaire) Rob Krawczyk’s intimate little Ballydehob restaurant delivers. Obviously book ahead. restaurantchestnutwestcork.ie

SUNDAY 11.00 ROAD TRIP

On to a vibrant town on a bay, Clonakilty. From the Michael Collins Museum to a model railway, the town distillery to whale watching there’s so much to see.

14.30 LUNCH ON THE BAY

Whether you choose the farm-to-fork Irish roast, or its lauded seafood, lunch at Dunmore House is to be savoured. dunmorehousehotel.ie

16.30 INCHYDONEY BEACH

Just ten minutes’ walk takes you to one of Ireland’s most beautiful beaches, stretch your legs before driving back to The River Lee and a Martini in The River Club.

DUPONT CIRCLE, WASHINGTON DC. 1922

THEN

The Circle was included in the original ‘old city’ plans, mapped around 1791 by architect, Pierre Charles L’Enfant. City development was only partial until after the American Civil War when the arrival of waves of new residents made it essential. Development was driven in the 1870s by the rather infamous Alexander ‘Boss’ Shepherd who envisioned the

& NOW

Today, the Dupont Circle is one of DC’s most vibrant destinations, home to some of the city’s best stores (from clothing to food, art to books), restaurants, bars, galleries, while the fountain (heart of the circle) is the place, when the weather is fine, to meet, relax and people watch. A local Sunday morning treat is the weekly, year-

then ‘Pacific’ Circle as epicentre of a fashionable neighbourhood. Building commenced in earnest in 1882, when the Circle was formally re-named to commemorate Rear Admiral Samuel Francis DuPont. This image dates from 1922, by which time the great and the good of DC had flocked to build fancy mansions around the perimeter. The ‘Boss’ would have been delighted.

round Dupont Circle farmer’s market. Old Washington hasn’t moved on, just north of the circle one can walk ‘Embassy Row’ (take a tour), while those who work in the corridors of power can be found shooting the breeze (discreetly, we’re sure) in The Dupont Circle’s dining destination, The Pembroke (top left hand corner of the image).

DUPONT CIRCLE, WASHINGTON DC. 2022