Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Posted by Jenny Booth | 24 January 2018 | Arts & Culture, Magazine, Out & About, What's On

The big news for Merton culture this week was that the Arts Council has firmly committed £2.5m to redeveloping the Polka children’s theatre in 2019.

The announcement means that the £6.5m scheme can go ahead on time, bringing a welcome injection of cash into the local economy from the building works on Wimbledon Broadway, and a surge of extra visitors once the venue reopens with its splendid new facilities.

Polka is going to get a new studio theatre, a learning centre that opens onto the foyer, a bigger cafe, a sensory garden, a separate shop, its first dedicated rehearsal rooms, and more improvements that will make the buildings easier to use and able to host bigger, better productions.

Polka is also going to get a higher profile, as it positions itself as the UK’s national centre for early years theatre. You can read more about the plans on my blog.

Polka is close to Merton’s heart, and has a powerful impact. There can hardly be a primary age kid who hasn’t passed through its doors or benefited from its outreach work. The telling thing for me is if you try to imagine Wimbledon without Polka – it seems a smaller, poorer, less welcoming place.

Polka’s winter show, The Snow Queen, runs until February 4 for ages 5-11, while for the pre-school age group My Brother, My Sister and Me runs until February 11.

Kristin Scott Thomas and Gary Oldman as Clemmie and Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour

There was no single frontrunner when the Oscar nominations came out on Wednesday. Get Out, The Shape of Water and Three Billboards in Ebbing, Missouri are in contention. There is strong UK interest, with Daniel Kaluuya nominated as Best Actor for Get Out, and  two WW2 films in the Best Film category that cover the same episode in British history from utterly different viewpoints.

Dunkirk, from Warner Bros, is a big budget epic with Kenneth Branagh and Mark Rylance that spares no detail of the plight of 400,000 British troops stranded and under bombardment. Darkest Hour, a small budget psychological drama, is all about the towering performance by Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill, trying to master his own party and his own fears as Britain comes close to annihilation. I saw Darkest Hour this week, and think Oldman is in with a strong shout as Best Actor: read my review here.

*

VAULT festival in Waterloo offers not just interesting shows but also imaginative partying every weekend for the next eight weeks. The LATES programme of curated parties will include an anti-Valentine’s ball, a Mardi Gras spectacular, a burlesque lock in, an ‘I ♥ EU’ silent disco and a St Patrick’s Day underground ruckus. The fun starts on Saturday with Trough London, a hedonistic night of Berlin-esque anthems, spectacle, laser light shows and men dancing. 10.30pm-4am, £21.50.

Guido Baragli’s painting Boat to Sferracavallo is on show at Wimbledon Fine Art until February 4

There is some beautiful, colourful work on display to cheer you up this bleak January at Wimbledon Fine Art‘s Exhibition of Scottish Artists. Free, daily until February 4, Church Rd, Wimbledon.

Book now for pianist Zoe Rahman’s Wintery Jazz concert (main picture) at Christ Church, West Wimbledon on Friday 2 February, 8-10pm, tickets £15 (£5 concessions, under 18s free).

I’m looking forward to a dose of nostalgia when I go to see Noggin the Nog at the Rose Theatre tonight – watch out for my review. There are shows on Saturday at 11am, 2.30 and 5.30pm, and Sunday 11am and 3pm.

Have a great week, and keep an eye on Twitter for more arts and culture events round Merton.

About The Author

Jenny Booth

Jenny was a news journalist for The Times. An ex-teacher, mum, gardener and art lover, there’s nothing she doesn’t know about the local culture scene…

Now read this...

JOIN MY VIP LIST

Join Lady W’s VIP list for exclusive event invites and more
JOIN LIST
close-link
VIP LIST