Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 30/09/2026First Aid Kit, Royal Albert hall last night. Fabulous orchestral arrangements sounding so lush, beautifully performed across two sets, the sort of gig where you lose yourself for 2 hours less 020
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Catarina & the Beauty of Killing Fascists A provocative story of violence, complicity & resistance, with the most chilling bile delivered as polished, reasonable, popularist rhetoric Do previous disruptions mean the audience response could ever be spontaneous or just what we think is expected? 3/5 001
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 24/09/2026A Month in the Country at the Donmar, the classic story of wanting what you can't have, the fantasy of another life and the hope you cling to despite it all, plus a few gags, 3/5 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Man to Man at the Royal Court. Phenomenal. 5/5 and right up there with the best I've seen this year. Tilda Swinton is incredible. A life, and an identity, completely transformed. Extraordinary 122
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 17/09/2026Don Giovanni at the Royal Ballet & Opera, what a rotter Loved the visual language: the projected names, the ghosts of the past haunting the back of the stage. Beautifully matched by the comic, seductive, dark and chilling singing Brilliant, 4/5 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 06/09/2026The Story at the National. Really enjoyed this. Fast-paced, stylish and thoughtful. Actions, consequences and outcomes, with plenty of untied loose ends that were never resolved. A solid 3/5 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 06/09/2026How the Other Half Loves at the Old Vic. Absolutely hilarious, a cracking night out. Three couples, one room, endless misunderstandings & some wonderfully horrendous relationships Superb staging: the timing, choreography & dinner party scene was perfection. Funny, clever & beautifully observed 4/5 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 06/09/2026Electra/Persona at the National was breathtaking. Brilliant acting and an extraordinary, stripped-back, intimate production. I loved the ambiguity, how identities gradually blurred to the point they merged. Fascinating, unsettling and utterly absorbing 5/5 Best of the year, superb 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Abigail's Party at the Pinter, love how the observations on social climbing and 'the done thing' has aged so well; and what a gorgeous set too 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 02/09/2026Magnificent acting and spectacular design, but the fractured timeline meant I spent so much time working out where, and when, that it left little space for the drama itself. A generous 2.5/5. 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 13/08/2026War Horse at the National, still an extraordinary piece of theatre. At times perhaps a little sentimental and one-dimensional, but visually and technically it was something else. 3/5 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 13/08/2026Pride at the National was one of the best of the year. Funny, moving, poignant, gloriously camp with feathers, sequins, glitter and fabulous costumes, superb 5/5 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 18/07/2026Pulp does PowerPoint interspersed with some music. Somehow it's 30 years since last seeing them 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 13/07/2026Super production of the Misanthrope at the National fascinating how the gender reversal brought a fresh perspective, loved thar slightly bonkers ending too, 3/5 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 13/07/2026The Guilty at the Donmar is incredible, beautiful lit and staged, that journey across the control spectrum and that ending! 5/5 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 13/07/2026loved tristan and isolde at the barbican last night. doing it as a concert performance without sets or costumes completely intensified the whole thing. the lso and the vocals brought all the imagery to life so beautifully. 4/5 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 11/07/2026Delightful production of La Fille du régiment at Covent Garden, the relationship between Marie and the Regiment, Marie's beautiful and haunting farewell and that gorgeous Act 2 tableau between them. A thing of beauty, 4/5 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 09/07/2026Absolutely loved Cyrano de Bergerac, such word play and rhetoric! The imagery - the young Cyrano and the missed opportunities & regret. The fractured tree and fractured relationships and the devastation as words fail and he's unable to say what he's been circling all this time, 4/5 020
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 27/06/2026Beautifully tender & exquisitely performed Venus & Adonis at the Barbican The imbalance of their relationship crystallised in the tiniest gestures, like Adonis banishing Venus’s hand with a slap as it moved up his thigh You feel her unrequited love and Simon Russell Beale's wonderful narration. 5/5 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 22/06/2026close enough to the action to see the glances, the cues, the laughter and the mischief. such a beautiful, joyful night at the Southbank Centre seeing yussef dayes plus minami kizuki and justin-lee 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 22/06/2026celine dessberg was so good on Saturday night. finding an amazing new artist you haven't seen before is the best part of going to gigs. loved the energy and vibe 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 22/06/2026under the shadow at the almeida was so good. that jump scare at the end of act 1 definitely caught me out. loved how they blurred the supernatural with the psychological, and the way the beautiful set slowly starts to feel so heavy, unstable and confining 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 20/06/2026the souvenirs at queen elizabeth hall were incredible. completely committed and fully living in the moment, contagious, youthful energy definitely a band to watch out for 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 20/06/2026rocheman at queen elizabeth hall delivered an aesthetic masterpiece of industrial, minimalist, monochrome theatre 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 20/06/2026such a polished performance from bar italia at the queen elizabeth hall 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 17/06/2026getdown services at meltdown went crazy. they told us “you’ve paid for a seat now sit down. do not stand up.” such a mix of a gig and performance art, but when we finally got told to stand and dance the energy was unmatched. just pure communal joy 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 15/06/2026seeing Kamasi Washington and the band this close up was unreal. their chemistry, the cues & smiles during the solos was beautiful. also the double bass player had the coolest vibe ever 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 13/06/2026High Society at the Barbican delivered. honestly such a fun show full of colour and good music. loved the vibes Whole cast were ace but Nigel Lindsay as Uncle Willie was hilarious 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 12/06/2026Banging, sweaty, electro punk chaos and it was completely unreal. Plus the label threw in a quality tote and vinyls Massive win 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 11/06/2026The Healing of Horses tonight sort of dark,glitchy, intense and completely gripping. Insane 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 11/06/2026Fantastic evening at the RFH with Simon Rattle & OAE's superb performance of Berlioz's Harold in Italy & Symphonie fantastique Loved the theatricality of Harold wandering through the stalls & orchestra and the ophicleide's menacing, distorted tones in the Witches' Sabbath. Just brilliant, 5/5 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 09/06/2026Damien Lewis playing an intimate, stripped-back gig at Rough Trade East tonight. Love a song that tells a story and Pentonville Prison does exactly that with some ace storytelling from the man himself 010
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 01/06/2026Glorious production of La Fille mal gardée at covent garden on Saturday, beautifully danced, magical stuff 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 01/06/2026An evening of Wagner sounding magnificent at the Barbican last week 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 27/05/2026Caught the final performance of A Doll's House at Almeida. Really enjoyed this contemporary production, excellently modernised and an ace cast, 4)5 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 20/05/2026The Itch, phenomenal at Club Cheek tonight. Best gig in ages, love it. What a night 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 19/05/2026GANS electrifying at the ICA tonight, so much energy and power, brilliant live. Great to catch Voka Gentle opening, loving their style and industrial sound, definitely have to see again 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 17/05/2026Congratulations the Red Roses, a phenomenal performance from a team the like of which you're seldom fortunate enough to see 🏆 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 17/05/2026Mario Bakuna at Green Note tonight, a joyful.evening.of striped back bossa nova. Incredible warmth and you never know who you'll bump into, happy days 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 16/05/2026Tracey Emin's second life at the Tate. Her shows have been a constant, a touchstone over the last 30 years. This one felt extraordinarily raw and exposed. The truth, the suffering and pain of those years. As brilliant and relevant as ever 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 16/05/2026When less is more. A beautifully vulnerable, poignant and tender performance by Gary Oldman in Krapp's Last Tape at the Royal Court. Mesmerising. Plus the excellent Godot's to do List to open, so now we know 5/5 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 15/05/2026Peter Grimes, Covent Garden, absolutely sublime - the Borough seamlessly move from menacing to outright terrifying, flag bearing, chest thumping vigilanties 5/5 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 08/05/2026Mass at the Donmar, absolutely raw and totally wrung out Four people, four chairs, one table, no where to hide. And that goes for the audience too. Brilliantly, superbly performed., 5/5 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 29/04/2026Sadie Sink and Noah Jupe are fantastic in Romeo and Juliet. Liking how this production shows those sliding doors moments of what could have been as the projected clock ticks it's way towards the inevitable, 4/5 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 24/04/2026The Authenticator at the National, brilliant performances in this 3 hander. Lots of humour, a haunted house in many respects 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 01/04/2026Ruth at the very fabulous Wilton’s Music Hall last weekend. Some cracking voices — the “Hypocrite” number in particular stood out — and an interesting focus on her relationship with her hangman. From the salons of Paris to Cable Street, just as much manipulation; the same inevitable human cost. 3/5 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 01/04/2026Tremendous production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the National. A brilliant portrayal of manipulation, politics, and ruthless Machiavellian intrigue, with an inevitable human cost. Plus some cracking brooches — I so want one of those. 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 01/04/2026Bit late with this one, but so good to be back at Southwark Playhouse a few weeks ago for the excellent Children of the Night. Effortlessly managed the tricky art of simultaneously being both extremely funny & serious, all to a banging soundtrack. Brilliant venue, cracking show, 4/5 000
Very Nearly Half Witted @vnearlyhalfwitted.bsky.social · 01/04/2026The sound of the Barts Choir in full voice is something to behold! Super night at the Southbank Centre 000
