The Phillipe Genty Company brings its fantastic vision of theatre to the Mercat de les Flors. Actors, dancers and puppets share protagonism, amid huge surreal sets, to create a spectacle that owes less to conventional storytelling and more to dreams. Frenchman Phillipe Genty, who began as a puppet specialist, started developing this style of performance in collaboration with English choreographer Mary Underwood in the 1970s. The current show ‘Passatgers Clandestins’, as it’s called locally, is on a European tour.
December 31, 2009
December 29, 2009
December 27, 2009
James Grant
The former Love & Money frontman returns with tracks from his new solo album, My Thrawn Glory.
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December 25, 2009
December 24, 2009
Soft Skull Press
Since 1992, Soft Skull Press has been a guerrilla printing operation run out of the official commercial copy centre Kinkos by Sander Hicks. The self-declared ‘CIA of Anti-Imperialism’, the members of Soft Skull publish avant-garde histories, pop culture analysis, graphic designs, poetry and fiction. As you might guess, they haven’t been shy about weighing on the 2000 presidential election. The group convenes for a party with music and poetry and fiction readings.
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December 19, 2009
December 18, 2009
Elizabeth Morse Genius Children’s Garden
Youngsters who complain that ‘plants are boring’ may change their minds at this new $2.45 million garden. Everything is oversized and designed around a giant meandering vine. Each of its major parts teaches lessons about the birth, growth and reproduction of plants. Children can climb onto a seven-foot seed and peer into small windows to view the precious and fragile beginnings of a new plant. The grand opening on August 26, between 11am and 4pm, is guaranteed to be popular.
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December 17, 2009
Miu Miu
Florence’s designer fashion shopping scene is definately looking up. The latest addition to the city’s glossy ‘alta moda’ stores is Miu Miu, Prada’s young line. Just off Piazza della Repubblica and next door to the new Savoy Hotel, the shop is displaying an enticing collection of autumn ready-to-wear for men and women – snappy leather jackets, double breasted pea coats, sleek trousers and tailored skirts in autumnal red, camel, cream and grey. There are also the bags and accessories that Prada is famed for, and some wonderful 1940s-style peep-toe shoes.
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December 16, 2009
L’Astor
Chef Eric Lecerf is an extremely talented young chef, and in the five years since he launched this hotel dining room it’s become one of the finest contemporary tables in town. Lecerf serves one of the best midday bargains in town, a 298F menu that includes a starter, main course, cheese, dessert, wine, mineral water and coffee, impeccably served and impeccably cooked. A recent lunch was a tour de force that left us very impressed, from a sublime navarin d’agneau to gossamer slices of dried granny smith apple served with a creamy tea-flavoured custard for dessert.
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December 14, 2009
Martyn Bennett + Scuba Z
The versatile multi-instrumental Bennett still foregrounds his beloved bagpipes but is straying further and further into dance territory these days.
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