Peeping Tom
Here’s a chance to see the fully restored Michael Powell film, ‘Peeping Tom’ (1960), starring Karlheinz Bohm and Moira Shearer. This Freudian classic is both Martin Scorcese and Roman Polanski’s favourite film and acts as a study of voyeurism and perversion where the film camera not only documents the events, but (in the hands of a psychopath) acts as the murder weapon.
Releasing Senses
This exhibition of installation art by Anya Gallacio, Martin Wade, Christian Marclay and Saburo Muraoka is actually less interesting than the venue that houses it. The Opera City Art Gallery is Tokyo’s newest specialist art space, spreading over two floors of a giant 53-storey skyscraper that’s at the centre of a vast arts and entertainment complex. It also includes a museum of communication, a theatre, a classical music venue and more restaurants and bars than you can shake a stick at. One floor of the gallery hosts a permanent collection by abstract painter Nambata Tatsuoki and his son.
Midnight Berlin
Although Berlin has grabbed more headlines in the world’s press than most other capitals in the last decade, German photographer Klaus Schiedt maintains that there are vast tracts of the city which are largely unknown. So he spent the past two decades snapping those quiet corners in the witching hour, revealing both the eerie sobriety and the immense beauty of the city’s architecture. Berlin has long been famed for the dazzling diversity of its nightlife but this exhibition offers an alternative glimpse of its nocturnal character.
Ledeburg Gardens
Prague Castle’s secret gardens (or just about) lead down through a dozen levels of tiered enchantment into the Mala Strana district below. Finally restored after years of renovations, these grand, baroque green spaces wind you through pavilions and terraces, alongside fountains and down formal stairs straight out of Shakespeare. A wonderful escape from the crowd that’s still very much overlooked.
The Resurrection Tour featuring The Mission UK, Gene Loves Jezebel and Mike Peters
Three British rock acts from the 1980s have joined forces on the aptly named Resurrection Tour, which kicks off at Boston’s Avalon. Headliners The Mission UK are touring behind a Greatest Hits album, Gene Loves Jezebel are back to the glam rock that defined their sound more than a decade ago on their new album ‘VII’, and former Alarm frontman Mike Peters is supporting his latest solo album, ‘Rise’, which features guitar work by former Cult mainstay Billy Duffy.
Light on the Familiar: The Paintings of Scott Prior
A surrealist who takes everyday family life as his subject, painter Scott Prior has been creating a solid body of work since graduating from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst in the early 1970s. Fittingly, the same institution that was the first museum to buy one of Prior’s paintings for its permanent collection has put together the first comprehensive survey of the artist’s work, featuring 45 paintings that span 28 years.
Arzenal
Thai and Japanese food amid designer décor represents a new height for Prague’s culinary world. The striking space-age forms of Borek Sipek (who did over President Havel’s office) are fittingly bold in a place that offers both teppanyaki grill table and a full array of coconut milk and curry wonders. The former is not available Mondays and the Thai food is not available Tuesdays, but otherwise Arzenal looks like an early season hit on any night despite pricey dinners running about 600-1,000 Kc (£11-£18) per person.
Sofa Deli and Café
The opening of a new vegetarian deli and café would not be big news in cities such as London or New York, but in Tokyo it certainly is. Vegetarians here have a hellish time, since even food which looks vegetarian usually contains fish stock or bonito (fish flakes) for flavour. Sofa promises a wide choice of totally creature-free eating, from Chinese to Italian, although dairy products and eggs are used in some recipes. One of the central ingredients in many of the dishes on offer is the chewy Japanese shiitake mushroom, and the highlight for dough-starved expats is likely to be the fresh ciabatta-style bread, baked on the premises and made into delicious Italian-style sandwiches. For office-bound workers, Sofa offers a complete delivery service, and orders are accepted via fax or e-mail (e-mail address provided on application). Set lunches cost around 880 (£5), set dinner 1,500 (£8.50).
