The Prickle

REVIEW: There's something poignant about hearing "There's A Place For Us" as the #RonnieScotts #ClassicalAllStars round out their debut in a new space designed to accommodate music of all kinds #UpstairsAtRonnies @officialronnies theprickle.org/portfolio/ronn…

REVIEW: On world tour to mark its 15th anniversary, OVO is Cirque du Soleil at its absolute finest. Dazzling costumes, magnificent sets and jaw-dropping feats... while all the performers are insects, investigating a giant egg #OVO #smartartsreviews wp.me/p4xzQr-2Ok

REVIEW: This year’s Snow White pantomime at Woking delivers heaps of family-friendly fun, packed with colour, energy, and some truly hilarious moments — actress Lesley Joseph and comedian Aaron James have the audience howling #Woking #smartartsreviews wp.me/p4xzQr-2Oe

REVIEW: If you fancy a dance party on a Saturday night or a relentlessly varied sound world, @tuneyards are still very much one of the best bands in the bizness @LondonJazzFest @southbankcentre #WeAreJazz theprickle.org/portfolio/tune…

REVIEW: If the #Hiromi #Sonicwonder space ship is taking off from a venue near you, it’s definitely worthwhile being on board — strap in @LondonJazzFest @BarbicanCentre #WeAreJazz theprickle.org/portfolio/hiro…

REVIEW: @tayloreigsti + @beccastevensbsb collab is the pinnacle of the performance and the embodiment of what good festivals are about: contrasting artists showing an audience what they’re all about and having a good time to boot @LondonJazzFest #WeAreJazz theprickle.org/portfolio/tayl…

REVIEW: Emerging out into a crisp London evening on the @southbankcentre we could not help but think of Eliot’s invocation of the still-sparkling river: “sweet Thames, run softly till I end my song” @LondonJazzFest #WeAreJazz theprickle.org/portfolio/adri…

REVIEW: The thesis of the new @christhile album and tour may well be summarized as “Bach will make it better” — the multiple encores and standing-ovations suggest that the London Jazz Festival audience agrees with the premise @LondonJazzFest #WeAreJazz theprickle.org/portfolio/chri…

REVIEW: “I’m still here” was @jacquidankworth's line to sing on this occasion. But year after year, Jazz Voice after Jazz Voice, festival after festival, this is a unifying, eternal, mesmerizing mantra for all who keep it going @southbankcentre #wearejazz theprickle.org/portfolio/open…

REVIEW: "it's been a crazy couple of years we've been living through" and in Soundtrack to the Apocalypse @sowetokinch has demonstrated once more a flare for asking ambitious questions and offering equally ambitious answers ft. @londonsymphony #wearejazz theprickle.org/portfolio/sowe…

REVIEW: For this Shostakovich Prom, Jonathon Heyward stepped in last-minute with remarkable poise and buckets of gusto. Leading the celebrated Chineke! Orchestra, he delivered a gripping performance from the get-go #BBCProms #smartartsreviews wp.me/p4xzQr-2MY

REVIEW: Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (1934) at the BBC Proms was a truly electrifying experience, with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra under John Storgårds delivering a thrilling performance #Shostakovich #BBCProms #smartartsreviews wp.me/p4xzQr-2MQ

REVIEW: Mahler's Third, a monumental work in five movements, filled the Royal Albert Hall with 284 musicians. Conductor Ryan Bancroft was able to master the music and the sheer size of the forces on stage including BBC NOW #BBCProms #smartartreviews wp.me/p4xzQr-2MI

REVIEW: The Royal Albert Hall hosted an ambitious BBC Symphony Orchestra programme under Josep Pons, pairing late-Romantic colour with muscular modernism: Dukas’s shimmering impressionism to Rachmaninov’s virtuoso variations #BBCProms #smartartsreviews wp.me/p4xzQr-2MC

REVIEW: Known as one of Mahler’s more elusive works, the BBC Philharmonic handled the shifting moods and contrasting textures with clarity and conviction, in Mahler’s Seventh at Prom number 5, under conductor John Storgårds #BBCProms #smartartsreviews wp.me/p4xzQr-2M8

REVIEW: In The Rocky Horror Show UK tour, Jason Donovan plays Frank-N-Furter as a kind of Norma Desmond figure — this is how it should always have been played. A visually and sonically stunning event @rockyhorroruk #rockyhorror #smartartsreviews wp.me/p4xzQr-2M1

REVIEW: Celebrating 100 years of Pierre Boulez, the Barbican also showcased works from two of the UK’s most original contemporary voices; performed by Ensemble intercontemporain, the group founded by Boulez nearly 50 years ago #smartartsreviews wp.me/p4xzQr-2LV

REVIEW: In another inspired showcase of the Barbican’s dedication to presenting global musical excellence, Fatoumata Diawara delivered a performance that was powerful, deeply emotional, and uplifting #London #FatoumataDiawara #smartartsreviews wp.me/p4xzQr-2LO

REVIEW: While the 2025 @jazzdotorg Essentially Ellington competition winner may have been one school (the very brilliant Memphis Central High School), the winner over the past 30 years has been and continues to be jazz. Go jazz #smartartsreviews theprickle.org/portfolio/esse…

REVIEW: Conducted by Gianandrea Noseda, the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) delivers a powerful evening of music — from celebration to deep emotional drama, with Nicola Benedetti, Shostakovich and James MacMillan #Barbican #LSO #smartartsreviews wp.me/p4xzQr-2Lr