First yellow, then pink, and finally black

The historically important Das Triadische Ballett by Oskar Schlemmer (1888-1943) premiered in 1922. During Schlemmer's tenure at the Bauhaus, 1921-1929, the ballet became a symbol of the new school's ethos.










If today's arts love the machine, technology and organization, if they aspire to precision and reject anything vague and dreamy, this implies an instinctive repudiation of chaos and a longing to find the form appropriate to our times. - Oskar Schlemmer



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Orient express

Architectural Digest, September 1985
Interiors by Emilio Carcano
Photographs by Derry Moore
Original text by Lee Radzwill






Two different views of the drawing room of Rudolph Nureyev's Paris apartment. The walls are covered in Cordova leather panels. The sofas are covered in a rich Genoese velvet (below). The Neo-Gothic frieze and specimen marble chimney (above) were designed by art director Emilio Carcano to be unashamedly romantic and a reflection of Nureyev's rich imagination.









The dining room-cum-library with its collection of French Academic paintings. The table is a 19th Century example done in vert des Pyrenees marble. The 19th Century Russian sofa is covered in Caucasian kilims.







The guest room with its adjacent trompe l'oiel decorated bathroom. The Bibiena engravings depict the history of Baroque theatre design.






The Vienna State Opera Ballet's 1967 production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake with Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev in the lead roles.


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Skip the first 12 minutes 58 seconds

and watch Charlie Rose discuss Full Gallop with Grace Mirabella, Isaac Mizrahi, and Mary Louise Wilson.




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A perfect example of how it is not just about lamps and cushions

In Episode 3 of Top Design, five design teams are asked to create window displays for five different fashion designers. Fairly simple and straight forward. That is, if the designers are able to share a common frame of reference, or at the very least be able to interpret an abstract concept. This is where everything becomes interrelated and relevant.







Blade Runner

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Rainy Sunday cinema

Visconti's Gruppo di famiglia in un interno, or as it was originally released in English, Conversation Piece. The sets are stunning. And, it also shows the Fendi sisters at their very best.

Requisites for a Dragon Lady

Evidently the term , Dragon Lady , is now seen as de trop. What a shame. Personally, I cannot think of a better way to describe this type of woman. And I have known many, including my own mother.


Gale Sondergaard as Mrs. Hammond in The Letter.


For the walls, a Robert Crowder printed paper.


A near pair of Chinese hardwood tables, of octagonal form, with carved edges raised on a folding stands.


A Chinese side cabinet, c. 1900, having a pagoda shaped cornice over a single panelled door carved with figures, boats, a bridge, buildings and prunus foliage.


A carved padouk wood envelope games table, 20th Century.


A Chinese hardwood stand with a pierced apron.


A La Barge gilt-brass-framed eglomise looking glass, in the chinoiserie taste, the vertical plate broadly beveled throughout, the reverse with a printed paper La Barge label.


18th Century English Chippendale mahogany and beechwood camel back sofa.


A Ch'ien-Lung carved jade group, fourth quarter 18th century, depicting a female Foo dog with her young atop her back.


For the curtains and sofa, Lee Jofa's Portiere Weave


For the upholstered chairs, Lee Jofa's Chennai Weave


For the accent pieces and cushions, Lee Jofa's Holland Flamestich


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The Immortal Dropout

The flyer reads, This is HUGO VICKERS’S first play. It was staged at Cumberland Lodge in the 2007 Windsor Festival, to considerable acclaim. Hugo Vickers is well known as the biographer of Cecil Beaton and other 20th Century figures.
He knew Stephen Tennant in the last six years of his life, and frequently visited him at Wilsford Manor.
The play is set in STEPHEN TENNANT’S bedroom at Wilsford Manor, in Wiltshire. The year is 1970 and Stephen is in his mid-sixties. Once a family home, filled with chatter and laughter, Wilsford is now the retreat of its lonely owner, who muses over the people he has known and his literary endeavours and enjoyments.
CHARLES DUFF is an international actor, director, author and lecturer. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and was a full-time actor for a decade, playing in every medium, until he began to teach in the major London drama schools, while still maintaining his professional work. He has also directed opera in this country and in Europe. His book, The Lost Summer, was a best seller both in Britain and America.

Jermyn Street Theatre
Monday 28th July to Saturday 2nd August
Nightly at 7.30pm Saturday matinee 3.30pm
Tickets £16.00 £13.00 concessions

What a charming way to spend an evening. The use of language was captivating. So captivating in fact one could almost smell the camomile lawn.

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