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The Hackney Empire is presenting, even by its own prolific standards, a busy and varied October in its Main Hall, and here are just a few of the attractions.
 On 12 October English Touring Opera perform Handel’s opera Teseo, featuring the enchantress Medea and described as ‘a gripping opera drama of sorcery and desperate love’. In Italian with English surtitles. The following evening sees the ETO return with an English language version of Haydn’s finest opera, Country Matters, a ‘pacy Regency romp’ written in 1773. On 16 October the BBC Concert Orchestra, in association with Harlem Gospel Ensemble, London Community Choir and Michael Terry Singers, perform a BBC Gospel Concert, featuring tributes to Paul Robeson, Marian Anderson Mahalia Jackson etc. This is followed by the Gospel According to Broadway from 18 to 20 October.
The ETO return on the 25th of the month with a new opera Bridgetower, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in Britain and telling the story of Bridgetower, the 18th century black virtuoso violinist and composer and friend of Beethoven. On 28 October Shirley Caesar, the Quuen of Gospel, is accompanied by Tye Tibbett. Running from 29 October to 3 November is The Unexpected Guest, presented by the Agatha Christie Theatre Company and described as Christie’s ‘most mischievous and chilling whodunnits’. For times, prices and booking enquiries, phone 020 8985 2424 or visit www.hackneyempire.co.uk.
There is also plenty going on at the Arcola Theatre. Meetings, a play by Mustapha Matura, runs from 2 until 20 October and is the story of a wealthy black businessman in 1980s Trinidad who rediscovers his traditional culture and roots and rejects his affluent Western lifestyle. A ‘search for identity, torn between heritage and globalisation’. From 17 October till 17 November the theatre presents Kenufa, by Gabriel Preisovva and adapted by Timberlake Wertenbaker. The play was written in 1890 and is concerned with love, betrayal, violence, murder and forgiveness. In the theatre’s Studio 2 from 23 October to 10 November there is Jizo, by Hisashi Inoue, a postwar drama set in Hiroshima three years after the atomic bomb. Studio 3 presents Africa Mine: Music and Movement on Sunday 7 October. Enjoy and discuss African music, film and politics. Phone 020 7503 1646 or visit www.arcolatheatre.com.
The Rio Cinema is showing the following movies during October:
5-18 October: Control (15), directed by Anton Corbijn,starring Sam Riley, Samantha Morton, Alexandra Maria Lara, Toby Kebbell. The story of Ian Curtis, the enigmatic singer/songwriter of Joy Division whose troubled personal and professional life ended in suicide at the age of 23.
19-25 October: The Counterfeiters (15), directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky and starringKarl Markovics, August Diehl, David Striesow, Martin Brambach. The true story of the largest counterfeiting operation in history, set up by the Nazis to undermine the economic foundations of Britain and.America
26 October-8 November: Eastern Promises (18), directed by David Cronenberg and starring Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel, Sinead Cusack. A gripping thriller set in a murky London underworld in which morality, family allegiances and loyalties are continually being redefined.
Visit the Rio website to find out about Black History Month running from 6-21 October. This is a programme of films with accompanying talks and performances exploring black culture and history including the bicentenary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, black music, art and politics. The Ghanian Film Festival also runs from 27 October to 4 November.
For the fourth year running, the BFI London Film Festival is bringing films beyond central London to local cinemas across the capital. The Rio is one of these venues and will be screening two films: 21 October, 1.30pm : Dol: The Valley of Tambourines (15) (Autonomous Region of Kurdistan/France/Germany) the exquisitely shot tale of a groom on-the-run through the Kurdish mountains; and later that day at 3.45pm: Tuya’s Marriage (15), the story of one woman's struggle to support her family, set against the backdrop of a disappearing way of life in Mongolia. Phone 020 7241 9410 or visit www.riocinema.org.uk to find out more and about the Rio’s other activities. |
