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No country for old women: Old Ladies - at Finborough Theatre

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The day after seeing The Old Ladies at the Finborough Theatre , I was describing the play to someone in great detail: about three old ladies who lived in a rickety house in southern England in 1935. Based on Hugh Walpole’s novel and adapted by Rodney Ackland, it is the sort of story with enough believability, humour and mild thriller to stick in your mind. Perhaps it is the lure of this dark, forboding tale of a life without money, to be alone and to be old, that makes you feel attracted to this poverty porn. But then again, given the state of the world, the cost of living, an ageing population, or just the fact that it’s a dog-eat-dog world, it might as well be an every little old lady-for-herself, too. It’s a well-acted and staged piece that moves at a brisk pace, so there isn’t much time to think about it too much. And in the intimate (or should that be claustrophobic?) space of the Finborough, there’s nowhere to avert your eyes. Even if you wanted to.  The scene is a grim Cathe...

Previewing wandering around Holland Park at night: The Dwindling House

For some, catching Britten's The Turn of the Screw would be enough tense entertainment for an evening.

But this week in Holland Park there is also the opportunity to see the opera and then embark on an eerie theatrical promenade piece, The Dwindling House of Holland.

The piece will explore the tangled history of the Holland family. After catching the opera you then proceed (possibly with a sensible drink to calm the nerves) under the cover of darkness through Holland Park with the cast, who evoke visions and sinister tales of the dwindling families of Holland Park.




A coproduction between Investec Opera Holland Park and ImmerCity, who are developing a reputation for being able to frighten the wits out of people with their immersive theatre experiences.

Special packages exist to see both the opera and the ghost walk which runs on 5,9,10 and 12 July, or you can just catch the walk itself...

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