Rehna’s Round-up. A week of art

It was a busy week of art, for me, last week. 

Monday

On Monday I returned to the Frontline club, in Paddington, for a screening of 2+2 = 5: Orwell

If you want insights into the life and work of George Orwell, most famously, the author of 1984 and Animal Farm, read a well researched book about him. Yes, this documentary has actor, Damian Lewis, reading extracts from Orwell’s diaries and letters, there are lots of black and white photos of the man and his family and many clips from the various film versions of 1984 (fewer of Animal Farm) but they seem to serve as a hook on which to hang the politics of the filmmakers which are on prominent display here. 

These politics are not subtly declared nor is the viewer given the alternative viewpoint so they can make up their own mind. 

Footage of refugee boats shows vulnerable children, not young men in designer gear, the aftermath of the death of George Floyd is presented with great reverence, by way of a peaceful BLM gathering not the riots that rampaged across parts of US cities and so on. The film is also another anti Trump vehicle. There are ham fisted juxtapositions of scenes from 1984 and speeches from President Trump with the sly implication that Orwell was warning about current politically right administrations, not drawing parallels with socialist/ communist regimes that existed when he wrote the book. 

Overall, a wasted opportunity of a film. 

Tuesday 

I’m a huge Kate Bush fan. So, when I was invited to An Evening Without Kate Bush, I didn’t know what I was in for. Would it be a case of Wow, Wow, Wow! Unbelievable! Or would it be a ’Hammer Horror?’ (Kate Bush fans will understand)!

Would the performer, Sarah-Louise Young, come to praise the genius of the first woman to have a self written number one song in the UK (Wuthering Heights) or would she come to bury the quirky choreography and mime of La Bush by mocking it?

The first pleasant surprise was the venue.

Underbelly Soho is not, as the name might suggest,  some dingy underground cavern with poor lighting but a cute little theatre on Rupert Street, off Shaftesbury Avenue. It boasts the kind of cosy, dimly lit bars that those engaged in illicit affairs might choose to canoodle in and apparently is best known for magic shows. I liked it immediately. 

The second, important and most pleasant surprise was the show. It’s not quite a tribute act. Not quite cabaret. Not quite stand-up comedy. But it’s a hugely entertaining, fun, immensely enjoyable mishmash of all three. Sarah-Louise Young is terrific. She’s a great, spontaneous and confident performer who holds the audience in the palm of her hand all evening. There is such a warmth and intimacy about her performance that you feel you could be having a laugh with a friend. But then she belts out the hit songs and it’s notable how good her voice is (and also what a hitmaker Kate Bush is – Running up that Hill, Wuthering Heights, Babooshka, Army Dreamers, King of the Mountain, Wow, The Man with the Child in his Eyes and so many more.

An Evening Without Kate Bush is on until 26th April at Underbelly Soho.

Wednesday 

You know more Suzie Quatro songs than you think. Aah, but I’m not sure I know Suzi Quatro, you might say. 

Her heyday was before my time too, but she was the OG rocking girl in a sea of Glam rock men in the early 70s. Small, cute, with an adorable smile and a bass guitar bigger than her, she could rock with the best of them. 

And on Wednesday evening she rocked the roof off the London Palladium. To a packed and appreciative crowd, she tore through her many hits (Stumblin’ in, Devilgate Drive, If you can’t give me Love, Can the Can, Wild One and more) alongside a run down of her 62 years in the business. Born in Detroit, she was spotted by British music producer Mickie Most. While his American counterparts wanted to sell her as the next Janis Joplin, Most told her he would let her be the first Suzi Quatro in Britain. So she moved to the UK in 1971 and became a big star. In 1977 she returned to the US to star alongside Henry Winkler (the Fonz) in Happy Days, which was then a hugely successful tv series. 

She’s had a varied career as an actress, author, radio presenter but at heart remains a rockstar. Amongst the punchy rock songs she also delivered a couple of soft tunes in tribute to her late parents and her first idol, Elvis, the King of Rock. She delivered both with feeling and they were highlights of the show. 

All hail Suzie Q, the Queen of rock!

Thursday

I had the absolute honour to interview, via zoom, Indian film director Muzaffar Ali. A painter, fashion designer and true artist, Ali made the classic Umrao Jaan in 1981 starring Bollywood goddess Rekha. 

It’s one of my all-time favourite films in any language and speaking to Muzaffar Ali about it was a joy. I could have listened to the man all day. He is the definition of a true artist.  He had a great deal to say about the money first ethos of current filmmaking and compared it to the way he made Umrao Jaan he lived, ate and breathed every aspect of it because it meant so much to him. The film is based on a novel and may or may not be the true story of a courtesan (dancing girl) who lived in the Indian city of Lucknow in the 1800s. Kidnapped as a child and sold to, effectively a brothel, she grew up to become not just a dancer and singer but a poetess who men came from far and wide to listen to. In Indian cinema, courtesans, are often glamorised, rather like the Geisha of  Japan. In Umrao Jaan Ali gives the audience the sumptuous costumes and outward glitz of courtesan life but he doesn’t shy away from the transactional nature of the interactions between the women and the rich men who come to be entertained by them.

My full interview with Muzaffar Ali will be posted elsewhere. But Umrao Jaan will be screened on 4th May at the BFI for the UK Asian film festival 2026. 

I recommend it highly.

Friday

From the sublime to…… On Friday, there was something in my inbox about Harry and Meghan’s money grubbing trip to Australia. I started to write an piece and then decided, life is too short!
Anyway, the crowds for the king and Queen Camilla when they toured Australia in 2024 and the turnout for H&M last week.