You’ve watched all seven seasons, and read the books. There’s a whole year to wait till the concluding season eight. Never fear, you can check out the Game of Thrones touring exhibition all summer in Paris. If you are one of the millions of fans of the series based on George RR Martin’s books, this … Continue reading “Winter is Coming… for the Summer”
In 2018, Britain is celebrating the centenary of a major milestone in the suffragette movement’s fight to obtain votes for women, which was led by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters Sylvia and Christabel. Emmeline Pankhurst’s great-granddaughter, Dr Helen Pankhurst, is giving two talks in Paris: “From ‘Votes for Women’ to ‘Time’s Up’, Reflections on feminism … Continue reading “Votes for Women: Helen Pankhurst Lecture in Paris”
Jean Rhys (1890-1979) lived and wrote about her extraordinary life in the West Indies, London and Paris before producing her masterpiece, Wide Sargasso Sea, a prequel to Jane Eyre, telling the story of Bertha Mason, the Creole wife Mr Rochester married for her fortune, and who in Jane Eyre is portrayed as the madwoman in … Continue reading “Celebrating Author Jean Rhys”
Montpellier will see the French première of an extraordinary new dance and theatre piece about the experience of Indian soldiers in World War I on 26 and 27 June. XENOS is the latest creation by British-Bangladeshi dancer and choreographer Akram Khan. The title is ancient Greek for “stranger” or “foreigner” and the piece draws both … Continue reading “War Dance”
Dragons loom large in a lot of children’s literature, from Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter, as well as How To Train Your Dragon and Eragon. The theme of dragons sparked the imagination of thousands of British children, who created designs for giant dragon sculptures on view in London’s Kew Gardens this summer. There … Continue reading “To Find a Dragon”
It was a surprise bestseller about a forgotten piece of World War Two history with an improbable title. Now The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is coming to a screen near you. It tells the story of the Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands — the only part of the British Isles to … Continue reading “Guernsey, a Book Club and German Occupation”
Star Wars fans face a two-year gap between 2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi and the still-untitled Episode IX. But five months after The Last Jedi, the next standalone Star Wars movie: Solo: A Star Wars Story had its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival before opening in France on May 23 and in the … Continue reading “My Name is Solo”
A one-man theatre piece at the Irish Cultural Centre in Paris is a gentle meander through Irish life. Somewhat reminiscent of Harold Bloom’s walk around Dublin in Ulysses, The Man in the Woman’s Shoes features a man walking the roads of Ireland. The one-man show was written and is played by Mikel Murfi and is … Continue reading “One Man and His Shoes”
Two films present a modern take on the Western, through the eyes of a British and a Chinese director, and centring on the relationships between horses, a 15-year-old boy and a Native American cowboy. Lean on Pete tells the story of a 15-year-old boy searching for a home and a race horse destined for the … Continue reading “The Western Re-invented”
Mary Cassatt was doubly unusual within the school of Impressionism: as a woman and an American. An exhibition in Paris puts the spotlight on this lesser-known member of Degas’ school, and free class visits are available in English. Cassatt was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1844, into a family that had made a fortune in … Continue reading “Mary Cassatt: An American Impressionist”