Culture, Crafts and Cuisine in Western Japan

My first impression of Kanazawa was monumental. Outside the central station, where most visitors arrive, is the Tsuzumi-mon gate, an enormous wooden structure fit for a giant. It is based on the tsuzumi drums used in Noh theatre and is an apt introduction to a city where traditional Japanese culture is flourishing. Kanazawa is a city on the west coast of Honshu, Japan’s main island, and is known as Little Kyoto for its well-preserved Edo-period districts. The city is home to beautiful shrines and temples, museums and gardens.  Along with its history as the gold leaf-producing area of Japan, Kanazawa also has outstanding seafood.

CUISINE

It is a truth travellers recognise that if you want to eat well in a city, ask local people which restaurants they frequent. We were staying the night in a restored machiya (traditional Japanese townhouse) and asked the concierge where he liked to eat sushi, for which the city is renowned throughout Japan.  He made a call to the chef/owner of his go-to sushi restaurant and gave instructions to the driver of the cab we hailed. We drove across town and were deposited outside the unprepossessing door of Ebisu Sushi. Somewhat hesitantly, we peered inside, where the chef, Keiichi Wajima, indicated that we sit at the two spaces left at the bar counter. He was an ebullient man who spent the night creating beautiful sushi to a great jazz soundtrack. In my experience, sushi chefs are often on the more serious side, but this chef openly enjoyed himself.  We ordered a sushi set and sat back to watch the magic which is the best part of small sushi eateries where the preparation of the meal takes place in front of you. Chef Wajima generously prepared more items than the menu indicated we should receive, and by the end of the meal comprising an array of omakase sushi, an enormous bottle of sake was presented with shots on the house. It was one of the best evenings out during a three-week trip, and the bill was very reasonable.

We were in such good spirits when we finally left that we opted to walk across the city to our accommodation, which took a good hour. Our route took us through the Higashi Chaya geisha district which was very quiet at night and a completely different atmosphere from daytime when it is popular with tourists and walking tours. We strolled on through the centre of town with its long commercial streets filled with the big brands and large hotels. Veering off down some alleys, we discovered the vibrant nightlife of Kanazawa with small eateries and bars bursting with people.

The following night we ate sushi again, at a restaurant I had read about. This was far more expensive and upmarket, with a formal and slightly austere atmosphere and very good quality food.  I was impressed to find a female sushi chef at the helm of this family-run restaurant that had been in Kanazawa for 71 years. She explained that she was one of only three sushi chefs in this city where sushi restaurants abound.

Our seafood journey continued when we were invited on a tour of Omicho Market, which dates back to the Edo Period. Being a Sunday, the covered market was packed with shoppers, stocking up on fish, fruit and vegetables. We strolled from stall to stall admiring local produce and sampling loach skewers, enormous creamy oysters and nodoguro, a local deep-sea white fish, served as a nigiri that is flame-seared to caramelise its buttery fat.

 We visited a sake shop that sells sake exclusively from Ishikawa, the local prefecture, where there are 36 breweries, many of which are small family businesses.  When I suggested I would like to eat kaisendon for lunch, our host guided us to a small eatery in the back of the market that I would not have found myself. It was packed in the late morning – in Japan, lunch is served from 11.30. What a feast we enjoyed. Kasidendon is a warm rice bowl dish topped with shellfish. This is one of the signature dishes of Kanazawa and is not to be missed.

Eating kaisendon at Omisho market is as close as you can get to the freshest shellfish in the city; the port is eight kilometres from the market. We ate every last morsel. I have eaten in several Japanese fish markets, and these are the places to seek out if you are after top-quality seafood, often at more reasonable prices than in the upmarket restaurants in the city that are supplied by the markets.

GARDENS

Kanazawa has terrific food, but it also has much else besides, with an impressive range of gardens. Chief amongst these is the Kenrokuen Garden, which is considered one of the top gardens in Japan.

Japanese gardens are judged on six criteria and Kenrokuen combines all of these features – spaciousness, panoramas, seclusion, water features, artifice, and antiquity. The garden is really a park and encompasses islands, waterfalls, streams, a stone pagoda, bridges and lanterns, monuments, centuries-old Japanese pine trees, ponds, and views over the city. It also houses the shigure-tei teahouse, which dates back to 1774 and where visitors can enjoy a bowl of matcha tea and wagashi (traditional Japanese sweets) while overlooking a pond. Kenrokuen was a beautiful space in which to stroll on a hot and humid day. It was also the perfect spot to stop for a gold leaf ice cream from one of the cafes in the park. Kanazawa has long been the gold leaf centre of Japan, where gold leaf was used on the screens that adorned castles, temples and Buddha images.  Still today, gold leaf is in demand. Although it doesn’t have any discernible taste, it was fun to eat an ice cream covered in gold leaf, which gave it that wow factor.

Alongside Kenrokuen is Kanazawa Castle, which is also located within a park. Visitors can walk around the remaining gates, keep and walls of the castle built here in 1580. Nearby is the stunning – and smaller – Gyokusen’an Garden which visitors can see while enjoying matcha tea and wagashi at the beautiful teahouse that overlooks it. This is one of the joys of visiting Japan; even if you are not a garden enthusiast, the beauty and variety of the Japanese gardens is breathtaking, and I find extra pleasure in the meditative taking of tea while drinking in, simultaneously, the bitterness of matcha with the sublime beauty of nature. Kanazawa is especially well endowed with gardens that make a visit to the city worth a place on your itinerary.

MUSEUMS

Kanazawa has a wealth of museums covering a wide range of interests from Noh theatre to local history, samurai to crafts.

My favourite museum was the 21^st Century Museum of Contemporary Art. The museum has become very popular with TikTokkers who come to make content about one particular installation. Titled The Swimming Pool, this artwork is created by Leandro Erlich, an Argentinian-born artist whose illusory works are displayed internationally. His installations are great fun and photogenic too. I discovered that, as a result of its popularity, there is a ticketing system for The Swimming Pool, with timed slots released each day online at 9 am.

The artwork in the museum is mainly displayed in subterranean rooms, while above ground the building is designed as a glass circle that overlooks a large, circular lawn. Dotted around the lawn are sculptures to walk into, sit on and interact with by artists including Anish Kapoor, James Turrell and Olafur Eliasson. On a very hot and humid day, we appreciated the air-conditioned, elegantly minimalist café restaurant where we recovered from the heat with iced lattes while gazing out over the sculpture garden.

One of the most beautiful museums I have ever seen is the tiny D.T. Suzuki Museum. He was a Buddhist philosopher who introduced Zen Buddhism to the West, and indoor visitors can learn about his work.  The minimalist Zen-like museum, designed by architect Yoshio Taniguchi, is a white box that sits on a Water Mirror Garden, surrounded by trees in the forest park outside the walls. It is a place of contemplation, with benches around the water garden, and arriving in the early morning, we were able to get a sense of the tranquillity that this space provides.

We enjoyed a visit to the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art that showcases the craft traditions of the prefecture (region) in which Kanazawa is located. We discovered the local pottery style called Kutani-yaki (and later visited a pottery that has been making it for centuries), as well as a display on how gold leaf is produced, with Kanazawa producing 98% of Japanese gold leaf. There are also displays of traditional dyeing techniques, parasol making, basket weaving, woodturning, and exquisite lacquerware.

EDO-PERIOD DISTRICTS

During the Edo period (1603 – 1868), Kanazawa was ruled by the Maeda clan, a powerful samurai family who ruled their domain from Kanazawa Castle. They used their wealth to invest in and develop the cultural aspects of the city, as well as establish gardens such as Kenrokuen.

Kanazawa’s geisha districts were initially established in the 1800s. The modern city boasts two preserved geisha neighbourhoods as well as a samurai district dating back to the Edo Period. In the largest of the geisha areas, Higashi Chaya, we strolled the small streets lined with dark-wooden machiya (traditional townhouses) now filled with boutiques, cafes, and restaurants. This is a very popular tourist area, so visitors are well advised to walk these streets early in the morning so as to admire the traditional architecture and atmosphere before the walking tour parties arrive.  

I particularly enjoyed a visit to the Ochiya Shima museum, traditionally a teahouse where customers were entertained by geisha and drank sake. Built in 1820, it remains largely as it was back in Japan’s feudal Edo Period. We enjoyed a bowl of matcha with wagashi (traditional Japanese sweets) while seated on cushions overlooking the small internal garden.   There are some  34 fully trained geisha (called geigi in Kanazawa), and visitors can book to participate in an evening of dinner, games, conversation and a music and dance performance.  

Another traditional geisha area is the small Nishi Chaya district, a street filled with dark wooden latticed, traditional buildings transformed into boutiques, restaurants and cafes. Geisha still work here, and walking along one quiet afternoon, I heard the sound of a shamisen drifting out of one of the houses. Occupying the top floor of one of these traditional buildings is the Salon de Thé, where we had a terrific afternoon tea experience, sampling the confectionery from the Amanatto Kawamura sweet shop below. Here, we found a fascinating collection of beans that have been candied. It is the first time I have eaten candied chickpeas, butter beans, soy, and red beans. We also enjoyed a superb parfait made with local ingredients including matcha ice cream, a range of the beans, rice flour wafers and sable, and white runner bean cream scented with orange.  

Close to the commercial centre of Kanazawa, we found the Nagamachi samurai district where, during the Edo Period, the samurai who served the feudal lord were housed. The samurai were private armies of the feudal lords (daimyo) and became a social class of their own. Although the Disneyfied depiction of the samurai is of warmongers, they had a strict social and military set of ethics, were literate and spawned many writers, and they enjoyed and cultivated the arts, including the tea ceremony. In that period, Kanazawa Castle was the centre of the city, with the merchants and the samurai living around the castle precincts. This district now gives visitors insight into how the samurai lived, with narrow cobbled stone lanes lined with high yellow mud walls behind which there are some museums set in traditional samurai homes. At the Nomura Family Samurai House, we were able to see up close samurai suits of armour, ink paintings and beautiful screens, household artefacts and a tea room which overlooks the stunning courtyard garden with streams, traditional stone lanterns, a pond and koi fish.

FACT BOX

In Kanazawa House

We were hosted by In Kanazawa House, an organisation/ cultural hub that specialises in authentic cultural and culinary experiences for international travellers.  The cultural hub is based in a beautifully restored machiya in a residential neighbourhood of Kanazawa. Here, they curate deep, local access to cultural activities in Kanazawa encompassing a range of tours, hands-on experiences and workshops. These include culinary tours – visiting the Omicho market and cooking classes, cultural tours including local crafts, geisha evenings, tea ceremony, music workshops, and visits to artisan workshops. You can learn samurai martial arts, participate in cycling tours, as well as guided tours of the city.  On a tour of the carefully restored In Kanazawa House machiya, we found an artist in residence, exhibition spaces and a large demonstration kitchen where a British couple were sitting at a very long wooden table, having a private cookery lesson with a Japanese cook who was about to serve their lunch.

The President, Shigehiko Yamada, spoke passionately to us about his involvement with efforts to preserve the old traditional houses (machiya), many of which have fallen into disrepair and are disappearing. Kanazawa now has one of the largest collections of preserved machiya in Japan. Once restored, they are either turned into accommodation, galleries, cafes and cultural centres. We spent a night at SAIK, which has four private rooms and a shared kitchenette and lounge area. Our room had four bunk beds, along with a contemporary bathroom, a private lounge and a small terrace. It was fitted out in traditional Japanese style and would be a fun experience for families as well.  It was a great alternative to staying in a hotel as it gave us a real sense of Japanese traditional culture and how merchants and artisans lived in an earlier period of the city’s history.  SAIK is located a short walk from the Nishi Chaya geisha district and a 15-minute walk into the centre of town.

Top Tip: Kanazawa has a loop bus that stops at most of the must-see sights and museums before returning to the station. It is an affordable and very convenient way to get around Kanazawa, especially for those in town for a day trip. There is so much to do, see and eat in this city that I would recommend at least a couple of days to allow time for sightseeing as well as engaging in some of the hands-on experiences that make a visit to Kanazawa extra special.

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Furniture and Food that’s a million miles from Ikea.

How do you differentiate in the world of luxury? July’s restaurant of the month, RH London, might just be on to something. Visit their newest destination in Burlington Gardens – a stunning gallery, showroom and restaurants, and you’ll enjoy a few hours of immersive decadence.

For a start, there’s the address. 7 Burlington Gardens is a Grade II* listed Palladian mansion, originally an aristocratic townhouse built between 1721 and 1723 for the Duke of Queensberry, then a bank, then the flagship store for Abercrombie and Fitch – and now, the home of RH in London. Discreet and yet unashamedly luxurious, it’s tucked away at the back of the Royal Academy.

It’s worth going when the galleries and showrooms are open (before 7 pm), if only to imagine the life you should be living. Walk through the magnificent rooms and dream of a bedroom large enough to swallow up one of the vast wooden-framed four-posters. Lust after the gilded light fittings, the massive mirrors and the splendid artwork. Pinch yourself and make for one of the restaurants at RH London, where you can enjoy a couple of hours dining in the same surroundings. Everything on show is for sale, but there are no price tags visible.

As Alain Wertheimer, the chairman of Chanel, said,

‘We’re in the business of selling pleasure. We don’t sell handbags or haute couture. We sell dreams.’

RH has adapted that ethos to interiors, using exceptional buildings to sell an aspirational lifestyle rather than simply furniture.. Their first location opened in Chicago, and they now have show houses and galleries across the States, including one in New York that is a guest house, one in Montecito and one in Newport Beach with an Ocean Grill. In Europe, there are more show houses – Paris, Brussels, Madrid, Munich and Düsseldorf. There are even private yachts available to charter.

RH England is in the Cotswolds – based in the restored Aynho Park estate, a 400-year-old Grade I-listed country house, in part designed by Sir John Soane, near Banbury on the Oxfordshire/Northamptonshire borders. There you will find a landscaped park, the work of “Capability” Brown, while the interiors have been carefully managed so that the principal reception rooms contain art, antiques and RH furniture, while the former service areas and wings accommodate showrooms, design studios and restaurants. RH London follows the same model, with splendid galleries throughout the building and a magnificent ground-floor restaurant complemented by ‘The Perch’, a stunningly romantic rooftop restaurant and bar designed by Anoushka Hempel.

Back to reality, the food and drink on the menu at RH London is unashamedly American. There’s a short cocktail list, a selection of wines, beers and non-alcoholic drinks and food that is perfect for sharing. There’s something for everyone, from the luxury (and price tag) of caviar and wagyu to the reasonably priced burgers and rotisserie chicken options (a whole chicken for £45, which comes with roasted potatoes and jus, for example).

We went along a few days after RH London opened. Booking online, there were only limited time slots available, but when we arrived it was obvious that there was a deliberate policy to stagger the dining capacity. When we met our server for the evening, she told us that she had been flown over from Newport Beach for a few weeks to help with the opening. That played out over time; we watched her and others being shadowed by newer members of the team. And we saw the more experienced staff stepping in from time to time as necessary. We learnt from Emily that this was all part of a venue opening strategy. The tables were indeed limited – to somewhere between 20 and 30% of capacity. She told us that over the next weeks and months, the restaurants would gradually open up more seating, but only when they were confident that the highest level of service could be delivered from the floor staff and the kitchen. It was refreshing that we were seated scattered through the restaurant rather than all in one section – for us, space to relax and enjoy the evening – so often not the case when restaurants fill up section by section so that one area is crowded before another is opened out.

Cocktails to start were delicious. My companion, a martini aficionado, raved about her Pear Martini (Pear vodka, apple and lime) while I loved my decadent, foaming Pomme Royal with seedlip, lemon, apple and chai. Well priced for this part of London, cocktails are between £16 and £20, while my alcohol free glass was just £12.

We ordered dishes from the menu to share for starters and then a main course each. Our original order was kindly ‘enhanced’ by the team, who noticed that we were writing and taking photos. When we explained that we were hoping that RH London would be a worthy restaurant of the month, they insisted on bringing us some of their signature dishes…a treat that had us staggering out of the restaurant at the end!

Grilled shrimp arrived with a beautiful char, tail-on for easier eating and dowsed in lemon, butter, garlic and Calabrian chilli. It’s a simple enough dish but needs careful preparation to make sure the shrimp (prawns to Brits!) aren’t overcooked. These were deliciously plump with just the right amount of heat from the chilli.

Mini lobster rolls come from the ‘Caviar Selection’ of the menu and as such are something of a treat. Definitely worth the indulgence, these perfect little mouthfuls have a toasted brioche shell holding a buttery lobster filling, all topped off with generous dollops of Petrossian Imperial Kaluga Caviar and Creme Fraiche.

Along the same lines, a perfectly ripe, well-flavoured grilled avocado half came with more Petrossian Imperial Kaluga Caviar and Creme Fraiche. For those trying to eat a healthy diet, this wouldn’t be a bad way to start the meal!

A more substantial and perfect-for-sharing starter came in the form of crispy artichokes with potatoes and rosemary aioli. Once again, beautifully cooked to the perfect crisp, this was a delicious, well-seasoned and flavoured dish.

For main courses at RH London, there is a range of options including signature sandwiches (that includes a lobster roll, a steak sandwich and a burger), salads, grilled seafood and a ‘from the land’ section with tempting-sounding options including Petite Filet (200g) with grilled asparagus and a sauce or truffle risotto with fresh truffles and 24-month Parmigiano Reggiano. There’s a level of detail in all of this – good quality Parmesan, Wagyu beef options, and the ‘right’ lettuce for your Caesar salad. Nothing complicated, just quality in everything on the menu.

We opted for the bavette steak frites with a peppercorn sauce, and a half rotisserie chicken with roasted potatoes.

Bavette steak is notoriously tricky to grill. It’s a thin and lean cut of beef that can easily become tough. Cooked properly, though, as was the case here, it’s deliciously flavoured and tender without being overly soft. My companion loved the char and said that it was just the right level of pinkness for her. A generous portion of frites and a delicious peppercorn sauce rounded off the dish.

My half rotisserie chicken was one of the bargain dishes on the menu. For £25, I was served more chicken than I could possibly eat with a generous helping of roasted baby potatoes, and plenty of rosemary and garlic-infused jus to keep the dish moist. We shared a ‘Gem’ salad with plenty of little gem lettuce, radish, feta, avocado and the sort of buttermilk herb dressing that you really don’t find often outside of the USA.

Now, at this point, I was ready to quit. But, in the interests of research, we did pick a couple of dessert options, both recommended by our servers at RH London!

The obvious choice: a lemon sorbet came beautifully presented in a frozen lemon shell. It was light, refreshing and the perfect way to end the meal for me.

Rather more surprisingly, the banana split or Bananas Foster was also light and delicious. Topping the banana with a brulee-type caramel rather than drowning it in sauce was a winning trick, and the ice-cream and whipped cream mixture was utterly delicious.

After we’d finished eating and rounded off the meal with a coffee, we were taken upstairs to the RH London rooftop restaurant, bar and lounge area. The Perch, as it’s called, was designed for RH London by Anoushka Hempel. It’s a stunning, vibrant green space with parasols and pretty tables. Only a few days into the opening, and they’ve already had their first marriage proposal up there – it’s that kind of place. Meanwhile, the bar area indoors is comfortable and relaxing. I could imagine sharing a few small plates, then spending the evening with friends there. We talked a bit with our guide about the importance of service and the front-of-house role, and he explained that there was an extensive interview process for all jobs at the RH group – three interviews in total, all of which had to result in a ‘Hell Yeah’ affirmation that the candidate had the right persona for RH.

As Restaurant of the Month, RH London is interesting. The food is great, but in a no-fuss kind of way. What makes the experience special is a level of attention to detail throughout, an attitude and ambience that shines through and the most glamorous of surroundings to enjoy all of that. It’s Old Money style – no flashy labels, but nothing out of place. IIf you’ve dined in a good American restaurant, you’ll recognise that distinctive style of hospitality – warm, attentive and quietly efficient. Whether RH London can maintain that standard once the opening support team has returned home remains to be seen, but based on this first visit, they’ve made an impressive start.

What remains to be seen is how the RH London ethos aligns with a very different tipping culture in the UK. I’ve always wondered whether the difference in the US comes from the very, very low basic wages of serving staff there – with income made up from personal tips, which are de rigueur in most American restaurants. Here, restaurants tend to add a service charge routinely, and additional tips are nothing like as high or as common!

RH London
7 Burlington Gardens
Mayfair
London
W1S 3ES

Telephone: 020 4646 8444

Looking for more new openings? Check last month’s restaurant of the month, Vesper, for a different take in a different part of London.

What else is new this month other than RH London?

The Mary Wollstonecraft (Stoke Newington) opened on 1 July. Named after the pioneering writer and philosopher, this restored neighbourhood pub combines independent beers with an elevated menu of modern British pub dishes and a large garden that’s ideal for summer dining.

Langosteria London at The OWO also opened on 1 July. The acclaimed Milan seafood restaurant has finally made its UK debut, bringing glamorous Italian seafood, an extensive raw bar and one of the capital’s most luxurious new dining rooms. We can’t wait to try this one out.

Johnny Boy’s (Stoke Newington) opened on 3 July. From Julian Denis, the founder of Facing Heaven, it’s a laid-back neighbourhood restaurant inspired by the food culture of Los Angeles, with dishes including breakfast burritos, chilaquiles, crab tostadas and patty melts.

Roost (Forest Gate) opened on 4 July. This neighbourhood restaurant specialises in Algerian-spiced rotisserie chicken cooked over charcoal, with a concise menu that puts the emphasis on bold flavours and excellent ingredients.

We also hear that Michelin-Starred SOLA has moved to Notting Hill To Join MATER1A, Victor Garvia’s other restaurant.

The post RH London – Restaurant of the Month appeared first on London Unattached.

Last Updated on July 24, 2026

Much-loved 90s Scottish cult classic movie about heroin addiction gets a slightly baffling musical makeover

Thirty years ago back in my provincial hometown, I sat down in the local movie theatre to watch Trainspotting.  The subject matter (heroin addiction) did not sound like something that I would ordinarily be interested in, but everyone was talking about it and the posters looked anarchic and intriguing. I remember the opening sequence hitting me like a sonic boom.  No slow intro music or cinematic niceties here – you were plunged headlong into an adrenaline-fuelled sprint, and one of the most iconic monologues in film. I was blown away. Thirty years on, the seminal and much-loved film (originally a book and already spawned both a stage adaptation and an “immersive experience”) has now been redeveloped as a stage musical, Trainspotting: The Musical, which promises to “transport you back to the 90s”.

The musical adaptation of Trainspotting has been done in co-operation with the book’s author Irvine Welsh, drawing on source material from both his original 1993 novel Trainspotting as well as subsequent prequels and sequels like Skagboys and Trainspotting T2.  Welsh himself battled heroin addiction in the early 1980s while living in London and Edinburgh and used scribbled notes documenting his own experiences as the basis for the first book. The book’s depictions are so accurate that reportedly junkies would approach Welsh after its publication complaining that he had written “their” book.  The other interesting feature of the novel is that it is written phonetically in the Scots dialect of Welsh’s native Leith, a maritime neighbourhood of Edinburgh.  Welsh’s involvement has meant that, despite the “musicalification”, the essential grittiness and themes of both the book and the film are retained in the new production. The musical has also not attempted to tone down the Scots dialect or broad Scottish accents, anchoring Trainspotting firmly in Edinburgh.

For the uninitiated, the story is set in the economically depressed working-class area of Leith, Edinburgh, in the 1990s. There is a diminishing number of jobs and opportunities; Scotland is “colonised by” the English and all the money and opportunities seem to be concentrated in the south, far from the daily reality of the characters. Parents lament their children’s lack of work ethic and success, and fret over them falling into drug addiction, crime or prison – or dying in the British Army in a conflict that they feel is not Scotland’s.  Their offspring entertain themselves with football, heroin, petty crime and violence as they face their increasingly bleak future.  

The story centres on five principal characters.  Mark “Rentboy” Renton (Lewis Kidd) is the main protagonist through whose eyes and narration we experience the story.  He is clever, cynical and the most self-aware of the group. Simon “Sickboy” Williamson (Sheridan Townsley) is suave but amoral and manipulative, always on the lookout for the next scam to make money. Daniel “Spud” Murphy (Kieran Andrew) is the goofiest, kindest and most naïve of the group – easily exploited but often also protected by his friends. Francis “Franco” Begbie (Frankie O’Connor) is an unpredictable and violent psychopath addicted to alcohol rather than heroin: charming one minute, he turns on friends and strangers alike at the drop of a hat. Tommy (Finlay Paul) is the most clean-cut of the group, loving music, his girlfriend and football and never taking drugs, until his girlfriend leaves him.

Trainspotting: The Musical features all five of the above characters but also dials down or fleshes out the roles of some supporting characters that will be familiar from the film. Renton’s girlfriend Kelly (Diane in the movie, played on stage by Yana Harris), who in the film challenges him to change, is downgraded to a nagging voice of complaint here.  Renton’s parents (played by Rebecca McKinnis and Gordon Cooper) and Spud’s mother  (Ashley J Russell) have greatly expanded roles in the musical version and are used to provide social context and highlight the wider impact of heroin and poverty on families.

The film’s soundtrack was a huge part of its iconic status and enduring appeal – few can forget the explosive opening sequence featuring Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life” or the closing credits rolling to Underworld’s “Born Slippy”.  The musical version of Trainspotting isn’t a jukebox version of the film but has gone down a middle way of retaining  some of the favourites from the film; plus some era-defining music from the 90s and original new songs from genres including urban house, northern soul, blues, disco and rock ballads.  The show wisely opens and closes with the classics – “Lust for Life” and Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day”.  As with all musicals, there are moments when people burst into song for no good reason, but somehow in a musical based on heroin addiction this is even more incongruous than usual. While the 90s additions “Bittersweet Symphony” and “Drop Dead Gorgeous” work well and enhance the narrative, the original additions, unfortunately, left me cold for the most part, seldom adding much to the story and mostly musically forgettable.  The exception is “C**ts in the Country”, a rhythmically aggressive, politically charged country & western style hoedown about rural respectability versus urban deprivation with razor sharp lyrics courtesy of Stephen McGuinness and Welsh himself.

Casting is excellent, and for the most part, fans of the film will not be disappointed – everyone (except perhaps Tommy) very much looks the part.  Standout performances are from Frankie O’Connor (whose Begbie is articulate as well as perfectly explosive and menacing ) and Kieran Andrew (whose Spud is a dead ringer for the role that Ewen Bremner made famous on film, down to his endearing but socially awkward mannerisms).  In fact, director and movement director Caroline Jay Ranger deserves special mention for the excellent physical performances that she has elicited, especially from Kieran, as well as Lewis, who writhes in convincing agony as Renton during his cold-turkey withdrawal. Sheridan Townsley (who was a terrific lead in Sing Street last year) plays Sickboy with just the right amount of swagger, and in a cast where very few voices are really up to the challenge, he stands out as the strongest male vocal performance. Ashley Russell’s solo number is the strongest among the female voices – but apart from these two and the cast ensemble numbers, overall vocals are not a selling point. The set is very basic, relying mostly on projections and two movable walls as well as a collection of chairs/tables that the cast move around to switch between the social club, a drug den bedroom, a train and a hotel room.  I did like that the excellent live band and backing vocalists were visible through a glass door as part of the set. Costumes are also excellent and authentically 1990s with skinny jeans aplenty and check shirts tied around waists.

I was less keen on the inherent (but not unexpected) silliness of a story about hopelessness and heroin having songs shoehorned into it, most of which did nothing but reduce the time available for plot or character development. At one point, Renton unnecessarily breaks into song while Spud breaks the fourth wall and asks, “What is even going on right now? Why are you singing?” – a question that much of the audience was also asking at this point.  I also get that Welsh wanted to underscore the story’s continued relevance by expanding on the contemporary themes of wealth disparity and youth unemployment, but there is not enough flesh on the narrative bones for this to open the eyes of a fresh audience to such debate; and it takes too much time and focus away from the original story to please the existing fan base. I did enjoy the foray into northern soul when the group take a trip to Blackpool by train, and the scene where Tommy descends into addiction to “Bittersweet Symphony” is excellent.  But the idea of staging the angry rant of “C**ts in the Country” as a yee-haw country music hoedown was frankly bizarre in the middle of drug-addled 1990s Leith.

Probably the biggest issues for me were the pacing/chronology and the lack of emotional heft. On pacing, the entire production seemed to gallop so fast from one song or iconic film scene/line to the next that it would have been exceedingly hard to follow the narrative arc if you were not already familiar with the book or the film (potentially also not helped by the dialect and heavy accents).  The contextualising of the socio-economic issues and the illustrating of the knock-on effects of addiction take up so much stage time that it often felt like iconic film lines were worked into scenes where they did not quite fit (Renton’s “it’s shite being Scottish” monologue or Sickboy’s Sean Connery accent), or were presented almost as an in-joke with so little context that new audiences might not really get it (Spud’s iconic dirty sheets scene).  The baby scene and the closing scene, which is such a pivotal moment in the film where Renton finally realises he has outgrown his crew, are both galloped through in the blink of an eye. It feels like the fan favourite lines and scenes are presented as a series of snippets, mostly without context, ticked off on a tick list rather than being fully integrated into the story.  And then there is the problem that much of the anger, despair and emotional weight of the film is totally lost in this production. Everything seems a bit sanitised, from the violence to the drug-taking.  The shock value of the subject material and gratuitous swearing has dissipated over the past 30 years and needs to be replaced by some emotional depth on stage – but this was not forthcoming.  Whereas Renton’s monologue above was spat out with real anger and articulate venom in the film, here it is cantered through with a half smirk, the words rushed over and lost before they can make any emotional impact.

Overall it’s not bad, and I think the young cast (many of whom were not yet born when the film came out) give it their all. But it feels like a production still in final rehearsals with some wrinkles still needing to be ironed out in terms of pacing and coherent narrative arc. Judging by the audience on press night, it certainly pleased the fans of the original film, and it was definitely a pleasure to hear some of my favourite film lines spoken live on the London stage – but I am not sure what audiences without prior context or knowledge of the book or film will make of it. As somebody on Reddit has already said, if the book was the father, the film was the son and the play was the grandson, the musical is the step-cousin: distantly related and no heir to its greatness.

I left the original film on a high, having laughed, cried, felt revulsion, and fallen in love with Sickboy (!): as if I had been on a 90-minute rollercoaster ride of emotion. I left Trainspotting: the Musical feeling bemused and slightly baffled by what I had just seen, admittedly having enjoyed wallowing in a bit of 90s nostalgia – but not emotionally moved in any way. The story’s central themes of extreme wealth disparity, lack of youth opportunities, and the subtle addictions that almost every one of us succumbs to (drugs, alcohol, food, social media, TV binges) are arguably even more relevant today than they were 30 years ago.  I’m just not sure that a musical version of the story was the best way to remind us of their ongoing relevance.

Trainspotting is on at the Theatre Royal Haymarket from 15 July till 5 September before it goes on a national tour. The runtime is 2h30m including an interval, and tickets can be booked here, starting from £30.

Trainspotting
Theatre Royal Haymarket
Haymarket
London
SW1Y 4HT

Box office tel: 020 7930 8800
E-mail: customerservices@trh.co.uk

Looking for more theatre productions? Check out our West End theatre previews for the summer and autumn of 2026

The post Trainspotting: The Musical (Theatre Royal Haymarket) appeared first on London Unattached.

Last Updated on July 26, 2026

A New High-Octane Work for the Young Dancers of Shechter II

Part rave, part ritual, relentlessly physical and danced to loud, throbbing music, Hofesh Shechter’s In the Brain is a high-energy, pulsating work, the kind that we’ve come to expect from this choreographer, showing many of his characteristic tropes, yet somehow fresh and newly engaging – hypnotic, even.

In The Brain started life as a shorter piece, CAVE, which Shechter created for The Martha Graham Dance Company four years ago; he has now developed it into a one-hour work for Shechter II, his junior company, or, to use Shechter’s own definition, his professional development programme for exceptional, emerging artists aged 18-25.  Picked out of literally 1,000 + applicants, the current cohort of four women and four men are outstanding performers, all completely attuned to Shechter’s style, all endowed with tremendous talent and seemingly inexhaustible stamina.

In The Brain opens in darkness, your senses engaged only by a low rumble that evolves into the sound of water burbling underground. Gradually, dusky lighting outlines a cave within which a seemingly amorphous mass quivers.   Slowly you discern eight bodies, struggling to emerge from the group; and as the sound score becomes thumping music, they emerge, full individuals, but still connected to the collective.  They are dressed individually by Osnat Kelner, in slightly outlandish costumes that range from a sequinned evening top over an elegant pleated skirt to a plain, shapeless, off-white robe and a lot else in between.

Tom Visser’s expert and hugely effective lighting design creates a variety of settings, all hazy, all crepuscular, as if the freedom the dancers now feel to move were still confined to an underground space – or a club.  Light changes respond to cues in the loud, percussive and repetitive music, composed by Shechter with additions by Âme, the dialogue between lighting and sound establishing its own subliminal dance.

Shechter’s choreography drinks from a variety of sources, including Jewish folk dances.  At intervals the dancers hold hands with arms raised at shoulder level to form a line, hopping rhythmically as they lift alternate legs forward. Often, too, they look up to heaven, arms spread out, as if pleading with god, or berating him for untold ills.

From contemporary dance, Shechter lifts the abdominal contract/release that determines much of his movement and is particularly effective here, for example, in the sequence where all the dancers lie down on their backs and arch upwards, their bodies creating the shape of waves.

And this time around, too, Shechter makes a light, though unmistakable, reference to the collective challenges of hip hop, when his dancers form a semi-circle into which individuals take turns to show off their own individual prowess in short exhibition solos that mimic the improv of street dance.

As in previous pieces, Shechter uses blackouts to move dancers from one formation to an unexpected one, as when a sequence of energetic dance disappears from sight only to reappear elsewhere on stage as a static line.

The overall feel is still, always, very much Shechter, his unique way of combining the euphoria that comes from abandoning yourself to powerful movement with the impeccable discipline of collective dance.    As the piece builds up,  there are orgiastic sequences of absolute outward freedom; then the dancers appear to fall into a deep interior trance.  There is darkness, both physical and of the soul, yet there are also explosions of joy.  

It’s dance as release, and it’s strangely contagious, partly because of the effect of the repetitive beat of the music, but principally because the dancers’ total immersion in their performance really draws you in.

We know what to expect from Shechter, and yet the appeal of his unique brand of dance, so emphatically presented by his hand-picked dancers, never fades.  On press night, the packed Queen Elizabeth Hall afforded In The Brain an enthusiastic and well-deserved standing ovation.

Hofesh Shechter; In the Brain is at the Queen Elizabeth Hall 22 – 25 July at 7.30 pm. Sat mat at 2.30 pm
Dur.: 55 mins no interval Tickets £22 to £46 (+booking fee)

Queen Elizabeth Hall
Southbank Centre
Belvedere Road
London SE1 8XX.

Check our London Dance Previews for more to see in the next few months

The post Hofesh Shechter: In the Brain appeared first on London Unattached.

Last Updated on July 23, 2026

A Summer of Classics in London and Beyond.

For more than 130 years, the BBC Proms has been one of the highlights of the classical music calendar. Founded in 1895 by impresario Robert Newman and conductor Sir Henry Wood, the original Promenade Concerts were designed to bring great music to the widest possible audience, with inexpensive standing (‘promming’) tickets allowing the audience to wander around the arena. Today, it has grown into the world’s largest classical music festival. Since the BBC assumed responsibility for the Proms in 1927, it has welcomed the world’s finest orchestras, conductors and soloists while continuing to balance beloved classics with new commissions and contemporary music, making it a celebration of both the rich traditions and the evolving future of classical performance.

Growing up, I remember the Last Night of the Proms as an annual highlight – along with the Eurovision Song Contest, it was something that I was allowed to stay up and watch. But it wasn’t until I left home and found myself with very little money but living in London that I really discovered the joy of The Proms. It was, and still is, an affordable way to see some fabulous classical concerts. But more than that, it’s a season that encourages discovery. A series of concerts that Londoners can just turn up for – and take a chance. There’s a party atmosphere thanks to the indefatigable Prommers. There’s nothing quite like standing in the arena looking up at the ceiling of mushrooms as the music sweeps over and around you.

This year, as always, there’s an impressive succession of international stars and major orchestras. There’s something of a focus on the USA, a celebration of the 250th anniversary of American independence. Rather than simply programming familiar favourites, the festival explores the extraordinary breadth of American musical life, from Aaron Copland and George Gershwin to some of today’s most exciting composers. Two of the world’s leading US ensembles – the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel and, making its Proms debut, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra with Yannick Nézet-Séguin – are among the season’s headline visitors. There are also special concerts to celebrate the centenaries of jazz legends Miles Davis and Sarah Vaughan and pay tribute to Paul Simon and Marvin Gaye. The result is a strand that reflects not only America’s rich musical heritage but also its continuing influence across classical music, jazz and popular culture.

The season also offers plenty of variety. Antonio Pappano conducts Berlioz’s monumental Grande Messe des morts, one of the largest works in the choral canon, while Berlioz remains a recurring thread with La Damnation de Faust performed by Les Siècles on period instruments. Martha Argerich, still one of the world’s most compelling pianists, appears with the Munich Philharmonic in Beethoven’s Second Piano Concerto, and the closing weekend features the Mahler Academy Orchestra performing Mahler’s Ninth Symphony on period instruments – a rare opportunity to hear the composer’s late masterpiece in historically informed style. Throughout the remaining weeks, the Proms continues with an eclectic blend of familiar masterworks, contemporary premieres and adventurous programming.

My first Prom of 2026 was last night’s Mahler 6 (The Tragic), preceded by Stele (opus 33) from the Hungarian composer György Kurtág. Stele means ‘Tombstone ‘, and the work was written in memory of András Mihály, another Hungarian composer and musician who died in 1993. Just thirteen minutes long, the work somehow creates a vast, mournful soundscape. The BBC Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Sakari Oramo, their chief conductor, produced an astonishingly delicate, precise and nuanced performance of this complex three-movement work.

The main work of the evening, Mahler’s sixth symphony, is a remarkable 83-minute work, in four movements. Composed during one of the happiest periods of the composer’s life, the work is nevertheless known as the “Tragic” Symphony – a journey from determined confidence to an overwhelming and ambiguous conclusion. Its finale famously includes the mighty hammer blows that Mahler described as representing devastating blows of fate, although he later removed the third hammer stroke before publication. Whether or not the symphony foreshadows the personal tragedies that would soon befall the composer has long been debated, but there is no question about its emotional impact. Monumental in scale yet intensely personal, the Sixth demands huge forces, exceptional stamina from its performers and complete concentration from its audience, making every live performance an event.

The Royal Albert Hall lends itself well to this kind of work with a distinctive acoustic, especially when the house is full (as it was last night). And, the BBC Symphony Orchestra were on form with some excellent playing from the woodwind, horns and percussion in particular. Sakari Oramo opted for the original format of the work with the scherzo following the first movement.

The symphony opens with one of Mahler’s most arresting inspirations: a relentless march driven by pounding timpani and lower strings, creating an atmosphere of grim determination from the outset. This martial energy is repeatedly interrupted by one of the composer’s most radiant themes, often associated with his wife, Alma. Mahler constantly shifts between these contrasting worlds, juxtaposing military precision with soaring Romanticism and moments of almost pastoral calm, complete with the distant sound of cowbells that evoke an idyllic Alpine landscape.

In performances that place the Scherzo immediately after the opening movement, the audience gets no chance to relax. The driving march rhythms of the first movement are transformed into something darker and more sardonic, as familiar ideas reappear in distorted, unsettling forms. Only then does the lyrical Andante provide a moment of respite.

The vast finale is one of Mahler’s greatest orchestral achievements, unfolding as an epic struggle between hope and despair. Moments of radiant lyricism and apparent triumph repeatedly emerge, only to be swept aside by music of increasing violence and intensity. It is most famous for the ‘hammer blows of fate’. The symphony ends not in heroic victory but in a bleak, uncompromising collapse, making the Sixth one of the few major symphonies of its era to reject the conventional journey from darkness to light.

Mahler’s Tragic Sixth is a work that brings out the strengths of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, with fine section soloists, impeccable ensemble and under the baton of Sakari Oramo, unmistakable precision and drive. Mahler’s desire for four harps would have been fitting in this setting and perhaps a little more romanticism in the interpretation. But it was a fine performance. Want to hear it for yourself? BBC Sounds broadcasts all of the Proms for around 80 days – click through for the link for the Mahler 6 BBC Prom

Meanwhile, if you want to go to the Proms yourself, the festival runs from 17th July to 12 September 2026, with many performances at the Royal Albert Hall and others at venues around the UK. Find out more

Royal Albert Hall
Kensington Gore,
South Kensington,
London SW7 2AP

If you want to catch Ariadne auf Naxos, which we recently reviewed at Glyndebourne, their production will be on stage as part of the Proms on Wednesday 19th August 2026.

The post BBC Proms 2026 – Mahler’s Tragic Sixth. appeared first on London Unattached.

Last Updated on July 23, 2026

An exceptional and luxurious afternoon tea

The Langham has been serving afternoon tea since 1865 and, based on our recent visit to try out their latest themed tea, long may they continue to do so. This summer they are offering a Strawberry Afternoon Tea (available until 2 August) in their glamorous Palm Court. The hotel has teamed up with fourth-generation strawberry growers J Myatt and Co Ltd at Mockbeggar Farm in Kent, where they are ripened naturally on the vine.

The first item to arrive on our table was a mini crate of perfectly ripe Kentish strawberries alongside a pot of thick crème fraiche to dip them in. This was a surprising and refreshing way to begin our tea.

Tea at the Palm Court can, of course, be taken “teetotal” or there’s the option to add a glass (or two) of bubbles. We felt compelled to go for the Champagne and our spirits were soon lifted by glasses of chilled and sparkling Laurent-Perrier La Cuvée Brut.

Next up were the savouries, a plate of four finger sandwiches and a tiny tart. Sometimes variations on classics can be pointless, but all the tweaks worked here. Top marks to the chef for converting my companion to cucumber sandwiches after a lifetime of disappointment. The Langham’s luxurious version mixed elderflower and Champagne-pickled cucumber with Stracciatella and Kohlrabi. Meanwhile, the Aged Sirloin sandwich was made even more delicious by the addition of black truffle, golden carrot, mascarpone, Parmesan and sorrel. I could go on. We are talking about superior sandwich-making here.

There is a long list of leaf teas by Jing to choose from but sadly no Lapsang Souchong. In its absence I decided to try the Darjeeling Second Flush, which the tea menu described as containing notes of Grape, Alpine Flowers and, irresistibly on this occasion, Strawberry Leaf. It was light and refreshing. My companion picked his usual favourite, the Earl Grey, gentle on the bergamot.

We both loved the traditional tea service at The Langham, the fine bone china and weighty, highly polished silver tea pots. Best of all, halfway through proceedings our waiter swept everything away and brought us a second pot of tea each and fresh cups and saucers.

A lifetime of exposure to British teatime meant that we were both expecting the scones to follow the sandwiches. The Palm Court way of doing things is sweets then scones. We decided to go with the flow and were pleased to report that a change of order in no way spoiled our afternoon.

A beautiful array of dainty desserts arrived on a classic cake stand and alongside them the pièce de resistance: a Sharing Cake. My companion’s dessert fork dived straight into the Pavlova by Brigitte. “I’m destroying it,” were his exact words. Well done to Brigitte for producing this delicious concoction of whipped cocoa nib Namelaka, Vanuatu 66% cremeux wedged in between walls of crunchy light meringues.

All thoughts of pacing ourselves had been abandoned by this point, and we quickly moved on to the trio of treats on the cake stand. My favourite was the Like a Bellini, a riff on the famous cocktail combining a peach compote with a topping of Laurent Perrier foam. A close second, and my companion’s top choice, was called the Intensely Vanilla and it really was a full-on vanilla experience: Madagascan vanilla ganache, soaked sponge and mascarpone vanilla cream all sitting on an excellent almond sable. Perfectly apt and also enjoyable was the Made in Kent: crunchy biscuit topped with more of Myatt’s perfectly ripe strawberries.

There was still no sign of the scones. Instead, a delicious surprise appeared: two small cones of richly flavoured strawberry ice cream, clearly freshly made.

Our sympathetic waiter suggested we take a well-deserved break and instructed us to put our hands up when we felt ready for our scones. I didn’t time our breather, but once we’d rebuilt our appetites and could resist no longer, we summoned the scones. At the Palm Court they arrived warm under a dramatic heavy silver cloche. They were, of course, lovely.

The Palm Court at The Langham is a smart and extremely comfortable place to while away an afternoon. There are no windows onto the outside world, so one can easily lose track of time and the real world, while eating course after course of teatime treats and sipping Champagne, all accompanied by music from the grand piano. The service is impeccable too. Afternoon tea at the Langham costs £85 or £100 with the addition of a glass of Champagne. Highly recommended.

Afternoon at the Palm Court at The Langham

The Langham, London

1c Portland Place, Regent Street, London W1B 1JA

Telephone: 020 7636 1000

Looking for something in a different part of London? For those near Victoria, we recommend The Goring Afternoon Tea

The post Strawberry Afternoon Tea – The Langham appeared first on London Unattached.

Last Updated on July 22, 2026

Seasonal Japanese cuisine

If you are yearning for a familiar taste of Japan or are new to this unique cuisine, book a table at Roketsu, where you will find yourself steeped in the atmosphere, food, and respect for craft, design and culture that typifies the best Japanese restaurants. Enjoying every mouthful of my lunch, I half expected that I would step out afterwards onto the streets of Kyoto rather than a hot London afternoon.

Roketsu is a kappo-style restaurant that serves kaiseki meals, usually served at the counter. Kappo translates as ‘cut and cook’ and is a combination of the formality of the haute cuisine, kaiseki meal with its set, multicourse menu, with the informality of sitting at the counter, watching the cooking and engaging with the chef who explains the dishes. Unlike an omakase meal where the chef serves a selection of sushi and tempura, the kappo menu at Roketsu is a five-course affair served at lunch and dinner, with a wider range of cooking methods.  Roketsu also offers a range of very good-value, shorter set menus at the lunch service. These lunch sets include sushi, sashimi or a combination of the two, chicken or salmon teriyaki, prawn or vegetable tempura, pork katsu, or grilled fish. Each set includes rice, miso soup, and pickled vegetables.  There is also an à la carte menu.

Roketsu opened some five years ago and appointed a new head chef, Toshimasa Tanahashi, in September 2025. One of the thrills of sitting at the counter and watching the culinary theatrics – albeit that in Japanese restaurants this embraces a Zen-like quality – is engaging with the chef who presents the dishes, explains what you are eating and, in our case, ended up chatting about Nagoya, from whence he hails and where we recently visited.

At first glance, the interior of Roketsu looks much like many Japanese eateries in London – a long wooden counter where diners sit and watch the sushi chefs creating their meals. However, Roketsu’s interior was designed by master carpenters from Nakamura Sotoji Komuten, a Kyoto-based construction company known for sukiya-zukuri architecture, which incorporates the aesthetic of the traditional teahouse into contemporary settings. This gives Roketsu a refined and authentic ambience. The stunning seven-metre-long counter was crafted from a single slab of 300-year-old hinoki cypress. Handcrafted in Kyoto, the interior of Roketsu was brought to London, where the craftsmen themselves assembled it. While diners may not be aware of these details, the attention to Japanese craft and culture is striking on entering the restaurant. No detail has been overlooked. Behind the chefs is a beautiful wood-panelled wall on which hangs a framed calligraphic artwork, which is kanji for Roketsu, and was crafted by renowned Japanese calligrapher Shu-oh! Yamazaki, who bridges traditional and contemporary art.

This carries over into the food itself. As is the case in most Japanese restaurants, there are a couple of chefs prepping the sashimi, another the sushi, and yet another behind the binchōtan charcoal grill. The rest of the food is cooked in the kitchen behind. The menu incorporated dishes that were simmered, fried, grilled, and served raw. Both the ingredients used and the crockery on which the dishes were presented were seasonal. In Japan, such exquisite attention is paid to the seasons that some restaurants change their menus every few weeks according to what is in peak condition. It being summer when I visited Roketsu, many dishes were served on plates with floral themes, and the colours of the food reflected the season too. I am sure that the crockery is brought over from Japan, as every plate was typical of the tinware, ceramics and lacquerware that you will find there, and this added to the experience of cultural authenticity.

Although we did not have the full drinks pairing which is available with the kappo menu, my husband began with a glass of white wine while I enjoyed a sparkling tea, which was lightly smoky and paired well with Japanese food. The menu began with two small plates. The first was spinach goma-ae (goma means sesame seeds and ae means to dress), which was simmered spinach with sesame sauce. This looked very pretty served on a gorgeous silver plate shaped like a flower. The spinach was shaped into a small pyramid, strewn with toasted sesame seeds, and sat atop a delicate sesame sauce. It was garnished with a sprig of tiny pink flowers. Fresh and delicious.

The second small plate was yellowtail with yuzu. This yellowtail sashimi was served with cauliflower purée and yuzu ponzu. Here, we were presented with beautiful, handcrafted ceramic bowls containing four slices of yellowtail, each with a silver edge, folded elegantly in a sauce made with dashi stock with kombu and bonito, yuzu, and honey, balancing the salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami flavours. The cauliflower purée had been added with a pipette onto the edges of the fish slices, and there were delicate pink flowers and a miniature nasturtium leaf. This looked the epitome of summer, was so refreshing, floral and aromatic. Beautiful at any time and particularly so in the heat of summer.

The tempura course was a seasonal vegetable tempura which brought four vegetables in a light batter. There were Japanese sweet potato, pumpkin, Japanese mushroom and aubergine. These were served with a tempura dipping sauce (known as tentsuyu) made from dashi, soy and mirin. The tempura was light and accompanied by a well-balanced sauce. This course was served on a striking footed platter painted with a floral motif.

For the main course, there was a choice of guinea fowl, fish of the day, or A5 Wagyu beef. Although I have never eaten guinea fowl in a Japanese restaurant, I could not resist the seabass grilled over binchōtan charcoal. This was another beautifully seasonal dish, a symphony of greens supporting the square fillet of seabass with its scored, crispy skin. Perfectly cooked. The fish sat above the vegetables – sliced asparagus tips (both white and green), sugar snap peas and tenderstem broccoli – which were artfully perched above an emerald green watercress sauce. To complete this summer plate, there was a dusting of the finest spinach powder. The sauce was verdant and deeply flavoursome, the vegetables retained some crunch, and the fish was sweet and firm.

My husband chose the A5 Wagyu beef, also grilled. We recently feasted on Hida Beef in Takayama, which is considered to be amongst the best Wagyu in Japan. I can report that the Wagyu served at Roketsu hails from Kyushu and was superb. It could not have been more meltingly tender and was served with a melange of colourful vegetables including baby carrot, a slice of grilled red pepper and a maitake mushroom. The flavour of the meat was enhanced by the soy and mirin marinade, and there was a yuzu oroshi (grated daikon radish mixed with yuzu) in which to dip the meat. This is an excellent accompaniment to complement the rich flavours of the meat.

With these marvellous main course dishes, my husband was served a glass of chilled Sant’ Andrea Vigne Marina Coppi, Barbera 2023, while I thoroughly enjoyed my Yuzu spritz – made with Yuzu juice, sugar to balance the acidity, and sparkling water. It was like the most sophisticated homemade lemonade, although with the particular flavour profile that makes yuzu such a superior citrus fruit.

Next on the menu was the omakase sushi course. Omakase means ‘I leave it up to you’ and is always the best way to enjoy sushi in Japanese restaurants, as the chef knows what is best that day. Here, there were three pieces of nigiri, a maki roll, and miso soup. Simply presented, the nigiri were small tablets of rice topped with voluptuous slices of Spanish medium fatty tuna, Cornish sea bass, and Scottish salmon. The three colours looked like paints on an artist’s palette. The maki roll was fatty tuna and spring onion, which was very richly flavoured. Although the menu said that the soup was red miso, the chef explained that he mixes both red and white miso. My recent trip to Nagoya brought me in contact with the local red miso, which is even more packed with flavour than the other types of miso. The sushi course at Roketsu was of such quality that I could – and will – happily return for a sushi set lunch.

Dessert was another summery dish of note. Monaka ice cream was a crisp rice wafer filled with matcha ice cream, chocolate, and red beans. The wafer had an imprint of Mount Fuji, which was a lovely touch, and it was shaped like a giant clam, completely enclosing the filling. Inside, there was a fabulous flavour exchange between the green matcha ice cream, the brown chocolate and the azuki, the sweet red bean paste that is ubiquitous in Japanese baking and desserts. This most refreshing end to the meal was served on a tiny lacquerware plate with a motif of small flowers.

As if this was not enough, the chef presented us with a final flourish. A delicate porcelain dish, shaped like a flower, held in its centre a quenelle of shiso leaf ice cream and two red, lacquered spoons. This epitomised everything about Japanese cuisine – flavour, seasonality of ingredients and presentation, utter beauty in its simplicity, behind which lies technical excellence and cultural significance. The ice cream tasted like the essence of shiso, which is a peppery Japanese herb which has flavours of both basil and mint, and seemed to me like a mint tea in ice cream form, the perfect end to this excellent menu.

The Japanese approach to eating is that you eat until you are 80 % full. While I was probably tipping over the 80% from this meal, the food was all light, fresh, beautiful on the eye, and represented an array of different cooking methods, textures, and colours of summer. If I had eaten this meal in Japan, I would have been very happy. Eating it in London made me supremely happy. I recommend Roketsu wholeheartedly.

Roketsu, 12 New Quebec Street, London W1H 7RW

Tel: 020 31491227

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A Short Hop on LeShuttle and You’re in France

I still find it quite remarkable that you can drive onto a train in the UK and be in France just 35 minutes later. When I fancy a trip abroad but only have a weekend or a couple of days to spare, I don’t want to spend half my time travelling. That’s why LeShuttle’s Flexiplus service from Folkestone to Calais is such a brilliant option.

Simply drive your car onto the train and, before you know it, you’re on French soil. Better still, LeShuttle Flexiplus includes priority boarding, so the whole journey is quick, seamless and completely stress-free, while giving you the freedom to explore France at your own pace.

We arrived at LeShuttle Folkestone with plenty of time to enjoy the Flexiplus lounge, located after Border Controls, before taking advantage of priority boarding. The lounge offers complimentary refreshments, with breakfast including rolls, pastries, cereals, porridge, yoghurt and fresh fruit, followed later by an excellent selection of sandwiches, wraps, freshly made salads, crisps and sweet treats. There are plenty of options, including children’s, vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free choices. You’re also given a grab-and-go bag to fill with snacks and drinks for the journey. I highly recommend the madeleines; after all, you’re off to France!

Boarding LeShuttle is super slick, with the team guiding you onto the train, where you simply stay in your car for the short journey across the Channel.

Le Touquet-Paris-Plage

We arrived in Calais in no time and enjoyed an easy one-hour drive along well-maintained French roads to Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, a chic seaside town on France’s Opal Coast. Sometimes dubbed the ‘Monaco of the North’, the elegant resort has a distinctly glamorous feel. It’s also a favourite retreat of French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, who have a holiday home here. Brigitte grew up in the town, where her family, the Trogneux, is well known for their long-established chocolate business.

Developed as a resort in the late 19th century, Le Touquet became a fashionable holiday destination for Parisians and British visitors because of its proximity to the Channel ports.

Today, it’s equally popular, with a stunning, wide sandy beach, eclectic Belle Époque and Art Deco architecture, and vast pine forests, perfect for walking, cycling, and horse riding.

The lively town centre in particular, Rue Saint-Jean, is packed with boutiques, cafés and restaurants, alongside a covered market and a busy calendar of events. Sitting at a pavement café with a beer or coffee in hand and the sun shining is one of those perfect cross-Channel moments.

Where to stay – Novotel Thalassa Le Touquet

We had the ideal Le Touquet beach experience, staying at the four-star Novotel Thalassa Le Touquet, which is set right on the beach and has a free outdoor car park. This contemporary hotel has a fabulous pool, spa and excellent wellness facilities for those looking to really chill out.

Our simply furnished, modern room had everything we needed, including a desk, a shower room, free Wi-Fi, a flat-screen TV, and tea- and coffee-making facilities. Best of all was the balcony, looking out over the sand dunes to the sea. Waking to the sound of the waves, with the sea air drifting through the open doors, was simply blissful. After just one night, I’d already fallen for the joys of a distinctly French seaside escape.

Maison Mer is the hotel’s on-site restaurant, where we enjoyed a good breakfast. It serves local French cuisine, and if you’re staying on a Friday night, you can tuck into its popular seafood buffet.
Things to do in Le Touquet

The hotel has direct beach access, where soft sand and neat rows of colourful retro beach huts create the perfect seaside scene. There’s plenty to do, from sand yachting (char à voile) and kitesurfing to windsurfing, catamaran sailing and a children’s play area.

I loved walking along the promenade into town, admiring the eclectic architecture before strolling down Rue Saint-Jean, which is lined with chic boutiques, perfect if you’re in the mood for a spot of shopping! One of my favourite things to do in France, though, is to grab a coffee at a pavement café and watch the world go by.

Art lovers should also visit Villa Monéjan, Emmanuel Macron’s former holiday home, now a contemporary art gallery. As well as enjoying the exhibition, it’s quite fascinating to look around the house and imagine it as the place where the Macron family once spent their holidays. If you have the time and fancy exploring a little further, you could rent a bicycle and head into the surrounding pine forests.

There are plenty of bars to choose from, but when in Le Touquet, it’s especially nice to hang out beside the sea. Early evening, we headed to La Plage des Pirates, a beach bar right on the sand, for an apéritif while watching the sun set over the sea.

We enjoyed an excellent three-course meal at Le Village Suisse, a lovely family-run restaurant overlooking the pine park that serves refined French-Italian cuisine.

We headed back to the UK the following day after a relaxing morning on the beach and a final wander around town. En route to Calais, I recommend stopping at a French supermarket to stock up on local treats. Wine is considerably cheaper than in the UK, so we made the most of having the car.

The beauty of a LeShuttle Flexiplus ticket is its flexibility. Simply choose your travel day, then turn up at Le Shuttle and board the next available train. Services run so frequently that the journey feels wonderfully stress-free, and access to the lounge makes it even more enjoyable. If you’re travelling with friends and sharing one car, the additional cost is spread between you, making Flexiplus particularly good value for a weekend break. LeShuttle made it easy to make the most of our short break in Le Touquet, one of France’s most elegant seaside towns.

Folkestone terminal / Sat Nav: Eurotunnel Le Shuttle, Ashford Road, Folkestone CT18 8XX.

UK booking line: +44 (0) 3443 35 35 35
FlexiPlus booking line: +44 (0) 3443 35 33
Le Shuttle
Le Shuttle FlexiPlus
Novotel Thalassa Le Touquet, Front de Mer, Avenue Louison Bobet, 62520 Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, France. 

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Last Updated on July 20, 2026

A Glowing Centenary Performance by the UK’s Premier Ballet School

What a year 1926 was! It witnessed the births of Sir Peter Wright, dancer, choreographer and director extraordinaire, Glen Tetley, the American choreographer who first married classical ballet and contemporary dance, and (not forgetting naturalist and UK national treasure David Attenborough and Queen Elizabeth II) it also witnessed the creation of the Royal Ballet School by the visionary Ninette de Valois.  All had an incalculable impact on their respective fields;  and the Royal Ballet School’s crucial role in forming generations of outstanding ballet dancers was there for all to see in this year’s Summer Performance, a worthy celebration of its centenary.

Held at Royal Ballet and Opera, just across the street from The Royal Ballet Upper School, the three-hour-long performance showcased the very best of the school: talent, showmanship, impeccable discipline.  No wonder director Iain MacKay, himself a product of the school, was visibly bursting with pride in his brief, but passionate and highly emotional front curtain speech, where he praised the students, who were “brave enough to pursue a dream”, for their “patience, discipline and good old-fashioned hard work.”

The performance started with Act III of Swan Lake in Sir Peter Wright’s immaculate production for Birmingham Royal Ballet, which we will be able to see in its entirety when BRB brings it to London in the Autumn.   It brought to the fore an impressive group of soloists, with the famous Black Swan pas de deux split between two pairs: Sophie Schulten and Ivan Malaguti danced the pas de deux with tremendous confidence and mutual understanding, and Samantha Striplin and Fabrizzio Ulloa Cornejo danced the solos and coda.

All impressed, but Ulloa Cornejo was particularly thrilling, because he made every step tell the story of a man in the grip of overwhelming infatuation.  The four dancers are part of the graduating group of 30, all of whom have secured employment, be it with The Royal Ballet or with a variety of companies worldwide.

There followed a number of shorter pieces, performed by students from the earlier years at White Lodge all the way through the pre-professional cohort.   Kristen McNally’s Proceedings, for the younger years 7, 8 and 9, marshalled large groups of youngsters, each and every one going beyond the steps to put on a performance.   

David Bintley’s Beauchamp’s Garden, a neo-classical piece for corps de ballet and two lead couples – Emma Lucano and Ivan Malaguti and Alecsia Maria Lazarescu and Millán de Benito – highlighted musicality and harmonious lines.

Cathy Marston’s A Line in Reflection, an extract from which had been presented at the Next Generation Festival, was set in a ballet studio, and brought to the stage former Royal Ballet principal Deborah, now Baroness, Bull, seeing in the students’ endeavours echoes of her days as an aspiring ballet student. 

Of particular interest was Checkmate, a 1937 piece by de Valois herself, now sadly rarely seen.  Set to a score by Arthur Bliss, and danced against a geometric backdrop reminiscent of a Kandinsky painting, it reflects expressionist influences and was performed with aplomb by a group of young red pawns, four older Knights and vibrant soloists Wendel Vieira Teles dos Santos as the Red Knight and Anna Nouvenne as the perfidious Black Queen.

After the interval there were three especially commissioned pieces: Of Strength and Grace, on music by Grieg, which featured choreographer Andrew McNicol’s characteristically flowing, unbroken movement, and was danced by years 10 and 11; Jessica Lang’s The First Voice, a contemporary piece about love, loss and loneliness, set to Ninette de Valois’s own poems read on voiceover by ballet luminaries Kevin O’Hare, Monica Mason and Darcey Bussell, with music by Beethoven.  This required a change of mood and an ability to use the body to convey concepts – the students did it full justice.

Christopher Wheeldon’s Christening Suite was a buoyant, neo-classical piece of pure dance, at times reminiscent of Balanchine’s Symphony in C. Set for a principal couple, Sophia Koo and Millán de Benito, and four demi-soloists, alongside a corps of 12 couples, it was difficult and demanding, but the dancers sailed through it.

Finally, the moment that always gives me goosebumps: the Grand Defilé, where the stage is flooded with the full complement of the year’s Royal Ballet School students.

I left the RBO with soaring soul and the conviction that British ballet couldn’t be in better hands.  Happy Birthday, Royal Ballet School, and here’s to the next 100 years.

The Royal Ballet School Performance was at RBO on 18 July at 12 noon.
Duration: 3 hours, including two intervals

RBO
Bow Street
London WC2E 9DD

Check out our London Dance Previews – July to December 2026

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Last Updated on July 20, 2026

The Serious Business of Comedy

It’s a sign of a great production when the audience leaves with a stronger understanding of the composer’s intentions than any synopsis could provide. That was certainly the case with last night’s Ariadne auf Naxos, a spellbinding new production from Laurent Pelly. While the idea of a play within a play is hardly new, Strauss and his librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal take the concept much further. Their opera presents the audience with the unlikely fusion of two entirely different theatrical worlds: opera seria and opera buffa. The result is a dazzling work that unites tragedy and comedy to offer a surprisingly acute commentary on society.

The prologue is set in the opulent home of a wealthy patron, where we discover that the evening’s entertainment is little more than an interlude between dinner and fireworks. There isn’t time to present the solemn opera and the lighter comic entertainment one after the other, so the patron decrees that the two companies must perform simultaneously. The tragedians and the commedia dell’arte troupe may have little in common artistically, but they share the same employer.

On paper, it sounds almost absurd. The story of Ariadne is only a small episode in the wider myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Ariadne, daughter of the King of Crete, helps Theseus escape the Labyrinth by giving him a ball of thread to retrace his steps after slaying the Minotaur, her half-brother. In return, she asks him to take her to Athens, only to be abandoned on the island of Naxos. There she is discovered by the god Dionysus (Bacchus in the Roman tradition), who falls in love with her and makes her his wife. As a wedding gift, Zeus grants Ariadne immortality. This poignant episode forms the opera seria at the heart of Strauss’s work.

For an audience really there for a meal and after-dinner fireworks, however, such lofty mythology might prove rather earnest. The alternative entertainment is a lively troupe of commedia dell’arte performers whose wit, dancing and irreverence continually intrude upon Ariadne’s grief. It is an inspired premise that, in less imaginative hands, could easily descend into confusion.

Simple yet versatile sets, evocative lighting that helps to tell the story rather than distract from it, and timeless costumes add much to Pelly’s production. Set designer Massimo Trocanetti and lighting designer Marco Giusti are making their Glyndebourne debuts with Ariadne auf Naxos. The costume design by Laurent Pelly himself continues the theme. Every character is instantly recognisable, while every dramatic turning point is subtly illuminated without ever drawing attention to the production’s mechanics. Just as Strauss’s vocal writing blends seamlessly into the orchestral fabric, the design enhances the story, highlighting its nuances.

Musically, Ariadne auf Naxos is a sublime work. In the prologue, we discover that the integrity of the opera is about to be sacrificed. Neither the serious singers, Prima Donna/Ariadne (Rachel Willis-Sørensen) and Tenor/Bacchus (David Butt Philip), nor the commedia dell’arte troupe led by a wickedly flirtatious Zerbinetta (Alina Wunderlin) are happy with the idea, but it’s the Composer, a trouser role sung by Samantha Hankey, that is most anguished. Some of the most beautiful orchestral music underpins the Composer’s soaring, lyrical phrases as he is forced to accept the compromise, coming to realise that both art and love can transcend such artificial divisions. Hankey’s Sein wir wieder gut was stunningly emotive and a tear-jerking moment.

After the long interval, Glyndebourne’s patrons return to watch ‘The Opera’. Pelly’s Naxos is a barren, rocky outcrop. Three nymphs (Anna Denisova, Ekaterina Chayka-Rubenstein and Eirin Rognerud) watch over Ariadne, their shimmering vocals complemented by ethereal orchestration with harp and woodwind. She awakes, despairing over her fate and still besotted by Theseus. Strauss gives Ariadne long, broad vocal lines of extraordinary richness and Willis-Sørensen excelled in this role with brilliant dynamic control, a mellifluous lyricism and yet with all the power needed for this late romantic work. Es gibt ein Reich was another handkerchief moment for me.

Against this expansive musical landscape, Zerbinetta and her troupe of mischievous comedians punctuate the soundscape. If any Glyndebourne patron happened to be nodding off, then the constant interruptions from the merry group of dancers and singers supported by some lively cabaret-style music would certainly jolt them back to life.

And then there’s Zerbinetta’s show-stopping aria, Großmächtige Prinzessin. Running to almost twelve minutes, it is far more than a dazzling vocal display. Strauss uses its breathtaking coloratura to embody a woman whose playful philosophy that every broken heart can love again provides the foil to Ariadne’s unwavering devotion. In its blend of technical brilliance and psychological insight, it is one of the opera’s defining moments.

Although Zerbinetta is an entertainer, there’s a serious message here if, as was the case at Glyndebourne last night, it’s delivered well. In a virtuosic number, Alina Wunderlin performed impeccably, earning the evening’s most enthusiastic ovations, which somehow preserved the musical line throughout. With sensitive and beautifully aligned accompaniment from the orchestra, this was indeed the showpiece number of the opera.

Ariadne is left on stage with the nymphs convinced that she is destined for the underworld. Finally, Bacchus arrives on stage. Following Großmächtige Prinzessin would defeat many tenors, but David Butt Philip’s ringing, heroic opening immediately re-established the opera’s mythic scale. Perfectly matched vocally, Butt Philip and Willis-Sørensen crowned the evening with a radiant final duet in which earthly suffering gives way to transcendence, leaving the audience with a thrilling reminder that Strauss’s greatest triumph is to persuade us that comedy and tragedy, far from being opposites, are simply different paths to the same emotional truth.

In the pit, Glyndebourne Music Director Robin Ticciati conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra impeccably with stunning solos from members of the orchestra and excellent ensemble playing. This was the best of the summer opera productions I’ve seen this year and one which is highly recommended.

Ariadne Auf Naxos

Glyndebourne,
Lewes,
East Sussex,
BN8 5UU

Dates from 22 July to 29 August 2026.

Check our previews for more summer opera productions in 2026

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