Recommendations
Time to go out
The critics
GARDENS Anyone who thinks that flower shows can only flourish in remote villages, might like to know that the Corporation of London holds an annual competitive show in the majestic setting of the Guildhall, in Gre- sham Street. There are a great many class- es for dahlias, chrysanthemums and roses, as you might expect, but also grapes, mel- ons and capsicums, not to mention wine, cakes, handicrafts and flower arrange- ments. The show will be open on 5 and 6 September (12 noon to 6.30 p.m. on Tues- day; 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Wednesday) for a small entrance fee. Ursula Buchan OPERA Carmen, London Coliseum, from 13 September. ENO opens its season with a new production of Bizet's masterpiece. Louise Winter is the cause of all the fuss this time, and Robert Brubaker sings the hapless Don Jose. Sian Edwards conducts, Jonathan Miller directs. Box office: 0171 632 8300.
Arianna, Royal Opera House, from 15 September. Premire of Alexander Goehr's new opera, based on the text that inspired Monteverdi's famous 'Lament° d' Arian- na.' The cast includes the excellent Ameri- can mezzo Susan Graham. Box office: 0171 304 4000. Rupert Christiansen POP MUSIC Barenaked Ladies, Royal Festival Hall, 9 September. Droll young Canadian group (all male) who have spent far too much time listening to The Beautiful South and other melodic British pop groups. This means an unfashionable and so far unlu- crative dedication to tunes, and accordingly energetic live shows. Perfect for the Festi- val Hall, then. . . Marcus Berkmann CINEMA The Big Sleep (PG', selected cinemas) — Bogie, Bacall and an incomprehensible plot on which even this spanking new print sheds little light. Howard Hawks's 1946 original is superior in some respects to the Michael Winner remake.
Smiles of a Summer Night (PG', MGM Swiss Centre) — Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler turned this movie into their three-quarter time musical, A Little Night Music, but Bergman's 55 original has its own merits. A cool view of sexual dalliance on a weekend in the country, it glitters in black-and-white. Mark Steyn EXHIBITIONS The Passionate Art of Utamaro. Kitagawa Utamaro presented a side of Japan differ- ent from either the warlike, or the pacific and industrious with which we are familiar — the sensuous Bohemia of the Ulciyo-E — or Floating World. British Museum, London, WC1, Part 1 until 24 September, Part 11 26 September - 22 October. Con- currently, the .Mercury Gallery will be showing pictures of the Floating World by Utamaro's successor and closest rival among master of the woodblock print, Uta- gawa Hiroshige. Mercury Gallery, 26 Cork Street, London W1, 13 September-14 October.
Mrs Jordan — The Duchess of Drury Lane. Admirers of Claire Tomalin's remarkable biography will want to see this show, which will include portraits, busts, caricatures and memorabilia of the 18th- century actress. Kenwood House, Hamp- stead, 7 September -3 December.
Spectator/Alfred Dunhill Cartoon Exhibi- tion, Alfred Dunhill, 30 Duke Street, St James's, SW1, 21 September - 7 October. Favourites from the magazine.
Martin Gayford CRAFTS
Primavera: 50 years of the pioneer gallery of craft and design. Shipley Art Gallery, Prince Consort Road, Gateshead, 16 September - 12 November. In fact, Primavera was a shop, but an extraordinary one in which the best mass produced textiles, folk art and studio ceramics could be found immediate- ly after the war. This fascinating exhibition gives a snap-shot of the best design of the 50s and 60s and is a tribute to the remark- able taste of Primavera's founder Henry Rothschild. The show moves to the Fitzvvilliam, Cambridge, in the New Year.
Tanya Harrod DANCE Stomp kick off a season of blokes in boots with their heavy metal jig, pounding every kitchen utensil, including the sink, into a pulp. Royal Festival Hall, Box office: 0171 928 8800.
Tap Dogs follow with Testosterone Tap from down under — a rythmic workout that keeps the audience panting with lust and laughter. Sadler's Wells from 19 September - October 7. Box office 0171 278 8916. Jan Parry THEATRE Henry V, (RSC, Barbican, 0171 638 8891), 5 September. This Matthew Warchus/lain Glen epic is a highly intelligent first world war rethink of Agincourt.
Wild Oats, (National Lyttelton, 0171 928 2252), 7 September. Deception, greed, duplicity, corruption, everything that made backstage life worthwhile in 1790 as the National takes over the great RSC redis- covery of 20 years ago. Sheridan Morley
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