Arts/Culture: People: London's Fall Season: Art & Performances

London's Fall Season: Art & Performances

Here are the exhibitions and theater shows not to miss this season:

MUSEUM SHOWS

Immerse yourself in 5,000 years of bronze at The Royal Academy. Bronze spans art and artifacts from three continents including pieces from the 6th century to now. September 15, 2012 – December 9, 2012.

Fashion-savvy Victoria & Albert is hosting an eye-catching exhibit entitled Hollywood Costumes. Look for Dorothy’s gingham dress from The Wizard of Oz, Holly Golightly’s little black dress from Breakfast At Tiffany’s and Kate Winslet’s ensemble in Titanic. Interviews with actors like Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep are also featured. October 20, 2012 – January 27, 2013.

Coinciding with Marilyn Monroe’s death fifty years ago, the National Portrait Gallery is showing Marilyn Monroe: A British Love Affair. The wide range of photographs includes works by Cecil Beaton, Larry Burrows and Antony Beauchamp. September 29, 2012 – March 24, 2013.

Photographer Cecil Beaton, has a slightly more surprising show at the Imperial War Museum. The famous fashion photographer was commissioned by the Ministry of Information during World War Two, and Cecil Beaton: Theatre of War shows 7,000 of the images that he created during this time. September 6, 2012 – January 1, 2013.

CONTEMPORARY ART

Art collectors visiting London in October for Frieze (October 11-14, 2012; www.frieze.com) won’t need to trek across town to see some great art as the great art is coming to Mayfair. Three of New York’s top contemporary galleries are crossing the pond with exciting shows. David Zwirner has taken over a 10,000-square-foot space on Grafton Street, with an inaugural exhibition of Belgian Luc Tuyman. Not to be outdone, Michael Werner is showing Turner Prize–winner Canadian Peter Doig at its new space in an 18th-century townhouse on Upper Brooke Street (Claridges guests will be particularly pleased by this location). And Pace Gallery is complementing its current edgy gallery in Soho with a 9,000-square-foot space at the Royal Academy’s Burlington House. Pace’s new digs will be headed by Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst, the acclaimed curator formerly with Gagosian. The space is being refurbished by architect Sir David Chipperfield and will open just before Frieze with a show uniting Mark Rothko’s black and gray paintings with Hiroshi Sugimoto’s black and white seascapes. This marks the first time Rothko has shown in a private gallery in London in nearly fifty years.

THEATER

There are lots of big-names to get excited about this season: French actress Juliette Binoche stars in a modern-day version of August Strindberg’s Mademoiselle Julie, which will be performed in French with English subtitles and with costumes by Lanvin. Barbican Theatre: September 20-29.

The Almeida’s production of King Lear (through November 3, 2012) showcases award-winning actor Jonathan Pryce and is a must for Shakespeare fans. The Apollo is showing a double bill with the highly talented Mark Rylance starring as Richard III (November 2 February 3, 2013) and as Lady Olivia in an all-male production of Twelfth Night (November 2 February 3, 2013) alongside comic actor Stephen Fry who plays Malvolio (it’s Fry’s first major role on the London stage in seventeen years).

The Royal Court, meanwhile, will mount the premiere of The River (October 18 through November 17, 2013), the anticipated new play by Jez Butterworth, who penned the multi-award winning Jerusalem. Dominic West from The Wire is the star in this Ian Rickson–directed show.