‘, ECL-4( 71) 71-'

• .;-.

ARTS 4 ,Tr-2 Ts 1. Apit

eis • 1

A monthly selection of forthcoming events recommended by The Spectator's regular critics

THEATRE

The Churchill Play, Barbican (638 8891). Howard Brenton revises and revives his 1974 state-of-the-nation play, designed to persuade audiences to believe that H-blocks might just come to the'mainland as civil liberties are eroded. It had a charge in 1974; worth seeing if it still does. Barry Kyle directs.

Orpheus Descending, Haymarket (930 9832). Peter Hall's inaugural production with his own new company of Tennessee Williams's play about a young man who causes havoc in a conventional community in the South. Strong cast includes Vanessa Redgrave.

The Illusion, Lyric Studio, Hammersmith (741 2311). Corneille's 1636 tragi-comedy, the first professional production in this country by the enterprising Actors Touring Company.

The Woman in White, Greenwich (858 7755). Adaptation of Wilkie Collins's famous novel, the first great mystery thriller in the language. Cast includes the lovely Helena Bonham Carter.

Christopher Edwards

CRAFTS

Animeubles: The furniture of Gerard Rigot, York City Art Gallery and touring. Selling exhibition by this talented French furniture-maker whose work incorporates tigers, mermaids and flamingoes. French Bloomsbury.

Christmas 88, Contemporary Applied Art, 43 Earlham Street, till 24 December. A good selection of ceramics, glass, furniture and jewellery.

Ian Auld, 1 Gateway Arcade, Upper Street, Ni. Small shop full of beauty — West African and other artefacts. Best visited on Wednesday and Saturday.

Winter, Judd Street Gallery, WC1. Quilts and toys selected by Rosemary Hill; third in a series of well conceived seasonal craft shows. Tanya Harrod

EXHIBITIONS

Peter Greenham, Newcastle Polytechnic. One of Britain's finest, indersung painting talents Interiors and landscapes with the gentle master's touch.

Panoramania, Barbican Centre. The world through 3600 — panoramas and their relatives.

A Journey Through Wales Gerald Cambrensis, Mostyn Art Gallery, Llandudno. Special suites of prints by leading artists commemorating 800th anniversary of 600-mile trek round Wales by the above Gerald and Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury.

Starting a Collection, Warwick Arts Trust, 33 Warwick Square, SW1. Abstract works by a dozen young hopefuls at the outset of their careers. An inexpensive opportunity to encourage by buying. Giles Auty

OPERA

Guillaume Tell, La Scala, Milan, 7 December. The season opens with Luca Ronconi's new production of Rossini's last opera, conducted by Riccardo Muti. Chris Merritt, Lelia Cuberli and Giorgio Zancanaro sing the leading roles.

Rigoletto, Covent Garden (240 1066), 8 December. Nuria Espert's new production, designed by Ezio Frigerio. Brent Ellis, June Anderson and Neil Shicoff head the cast, and the conductor is Michael Boder.

Sue Blane's costume designs for 'Christmas Eve'

Christmas Eve, Coliseum (836 3161), 14 December. David Pountney's production of Rimsky- Korsakov's fairy-tale opera based on Gogol. Albert Rosen conducts, Sue Blanc is the designer, and the cast includes Cathryn Pope and Edmund Barham. Rodney Milnes

DANCE

Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet, Sadlers Wells Theatre (278 8916), 13-31 December. Repertory includes The Snow Queen, Giselle, Petrushka and Concerto Barocco, the revival of Geoffrey Cauley's Lazarus and the premiere of Lynn Seymour's Bastet.

Cinderella, Royal Opera House (240 1066), from 14 December, and The Nutcracker, London Festival Ballet, Festival Hall (928 3191), from 26 December.

Deirdre McMahon

MUSIC

The London Sinfonietta will contribute two concerts to the South Bank's Messiaen at 80 series on 13 and 17 December at 7.45 in the Queen Elizabeth Hall. The first will contain Des Canyons aux Etoiles, the second Couleurs de la Cite Celeste. Both will be conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Three Christmas concerts stand out: the English Chamber Orchestra and the Choir of King's College Cambridge will appear at the Barbican Centre on the 17th to perform Berlioz's L'enfance du Christ. The King's Singers will appear at the Barbican with the ,SO on the 21st and 22nd with some Christmas favourites. The Finzi singers will give an 'Almost Christmas Concert' on the 19th in the Purcell Room, dedicated to 20th-century British choral music.

Peter Phillips

CINEMA

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (PG). State-of-the-art animation, directed by Robert Zemekis; Bob Hoskins, familiar cartoon characters and lots of technical wizardry in a thrillerish plot set in Los Angeles. Not for small children. A must for cartoon enthusiasts, but others may fail to see the charm.

Les Parents Terribles (15). Jean Cocteau's masterwork from 1948, revived in a new print. Highly melodramatic adaptation of stage play; passion, energy and striking ensemble acting.

In the new year, Souvenir (15). Christopher Plununer, Christopher Cazenove in Geoffrey Reeve's adaption of David Hughes's highly praised novel The Pork Butcher.

Hilary Mantel

POP MUSIC

Bryan Ferry, London Palladium, 15, 16 December. A curious venue for the coolest man in the galaxy— will Jimmy Tarbuck be there? Expect style, reserve, precision.

Squeeze, Brixton Academy, 23 December. One-off show for Difford and Tilbrook's group, no doubt showcasing new material from their next album due in the spring. Still criminally underrated by virtually everyone, but building up a repertoire of a depth only Elvis Costello can rival.

Marcus Beriunann

SALE-ROOMS

Antiquities this month: The Birth of Writing at Christie's on the 13th has some of the oldest examples of cuneiform writing ever to come on the market. Christie's are billing it as the finest sale of its kind this century. Sotheby's have some fine Chinese antiquities on the same

day. Peter Watson

GARDENS

For more than 30 years, Margaret Mee has been making Amazon journeys to paint the flowers of the rainforests. Sixty of her astonishing watercolours, depicting mostly rare or previously unknown species, are on show until 31 March 1989 at the Gallery in the Royal Botanic