The Inheritance, the Young Vic

Earlier in the week I saw George Benjamin's Lessons of Love and Violence, a contemporary loosely based on Christopher Marlowe's Edward II. A couple of days later, I saw The Inheritance, a play by Matthew Lopez which was loosely based on E M Forster's Howards End. Set in the present, with flash backs to the AIDS epidemic in New York during the 80s.

Lopez was very clever in mapping the interactions between the characters in The Inheritance onto Howards End. No, it wasn't a direct retelling. But the mapping re-created the emotions of young love, heated political debate, compassion, intense passion, and resignation. Samuel H. Levine who played Adam / Leo was outstanding - especially where he met his own likeness (Leo meeting Adam) and how they had a conversation. Andrew Burnap's Toby was intense, with his past gradually catching up with him. Kyle Soller as Eric Glass was the pivot in the play (the equivalent of Margaret Schlegel in Howards End) - where he was confronting and reflecting what has happening around him.

Oh boy, it was a 6.5 hour long play - but one wouldn't know as the dialogues had momentum and there was never a dull moment. One felt emotionally drained yet hopeful at the end. I wonder whether it'd ever make it to the big screen?

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Eugene Onegin

I did not think much of the last Eugene Onegin in the 90s - a bit too baren - too literal. The latest production which I saw tonight at the Royal Opera has improved quite a lot. For a start, we had Dmitri Hvorostovksy and Amanda Roocroft singing Onegin and Tatyana respectively - two strong well matched voices that sparked off a reasonable amount of passion between the two! The production was exciting too - with a believably real "river" running on stage. It's not often you get Tatyana jumping into the river and splashing about on stage. Then there was the frozen river with Moscow in the background - there was almost real ice skating on stage just before the Imperial Ball scene. Much fun. Very enjoyable.

Generous afternoon tea at the Portrait Restaurant

Very few people know there is a restaurant at the National Portrait Gallery with roof top view. Even fewer know they serve a afternoon tea. I was treated to afternoon tea there on Friday. The place was buzzing with late tea-drinkers and early cocktail-quaffers. We settled on their classic afternoon tea set which arrived as below: The sandwiches were freshly made with lovely soft bread - there was a selection of egg mayo, cheese and chutney, ham and mustard and tuna paste. All very tasty. It even came with a honey-mustard dressed salad. Then there were the scones - they were twice the normal size and warm to the touch and one would feed two easily. Sitting behind the huge scones were two slices of victoria sponge cake with inch-think icing - they were soft to the touch and moist when you bite into them. All very yummy.

L'atelier de Joel Robuchon, London

The restaurant is one week old, but Joel Robuchon's latest venture L'atelier in Covent Garden already feels like an institution. My fellow diners felt at home and lively conversations could be heard around us. Effectively combining the eating styles of Japanese Sushi bar, Spanish tapas and French haute cuisine could be a tall order. Yet L'atelier has risen to the challenge. The Menu Découverture turned out to be an exciting and balanced menu - and one has to give them credit for serving this 7 course meal in 90 minutes without feeling rushed. What was enjoyable? Everything was lovely, but particularly the Scottish scallops - just lightly cooked and dressed in seaweed scented butter. What was not enjoyable? Worry about the rest of London descending to West Street.

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