Exeter Hall: Musical Mavericks
Once the site of the magnificent Exeter Hall, this location was a vibrant hub for non-sectarian meetings and musical performances, drawing notable figures like Berlioz
Tag: West End
The Cato Street Conspiracy and the Great Reform Act: Catalysts for Democratic Evolution in 19th-century Britain
The Boiling Point of Public Unrest: Spa Fields, 1816 Let’s set the scene. The year is 1816, and London is a city awash in social
The New National Portrait Gallery
The New National Portrait Gallery On 22 June 2023, the National Portrait Gallery will reopen its doors to the public for the first time since
Two Hidden Gardens in Bloomsbury
Deep within the heartbeat of London’s West End, away from the well-trodden tourist paths, lies a secret garden, waiting to be discovered. The Phoenix Garden,
Viscount Brentford’s Crusade
William Joynson-Hicks, 1st Viscount Brentford, was a prominent Conservative politician in the United Kingdom during the 1920s. As Home Secretary between 1924 and 1929, he
The Carpet Quarrel-suffering for great art: Gilbert and Sullivan
We don’t get time on my Classical Composers of the West End tour to delve into the reason behind this seemingly silly but famous quarrel
A Hidden Icon: Ivor Novello
Many people have heard the name but few today know anything about him. Ivor Novello became one of the most popular and successful entertainers of
British Composers in Short Supply
Recently, when out on my Classical Composers in the West End walk, I was asked, ‘So how come the United Kingdom did not produce so
The Mousetrap and Agatha Christie
On this day in 1952 Agatha Christie’s play “The Mousetrap” opened in London at the Ambassadors Theatre and has played at the St Martin’s Theatre
Victorian Actor William Terriss
The Adelphi Theatre, smack bang in the middle of London’s theatreland, holds many secrets; one of which is what happened to the leading actor of