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London's TheatresBy Mike Kilburn; photography by Alberto Arzoz; Foreword by Zoë WnamakerDateline: 9th January, 2003 I don't often buy so-called coffee table books: they are usually full of beautifully printed if rather obvious and clichéd photographs and text which can most politely be called banal. However occasionally one comes along which just cries out to be bought. In that category are some wonderful books about the Lake District, and, in particular, its mountains: I can sit with one of these books on my knee, open them anywhere and be transported in memory back to that hill, that summit, that pass. My memory may be of a blisteringly hot summer day (funnily enough, there are not a lot of those memories!), or a crisp snow-covered winter's day, or, in the case of Helvellyn, of crossing the summit in a complete blizzard, as if I was walking inside a ball of cottonwool, head bent, testing each step with an ice-axe, just in case we stepped onto the snow cornice at the top of the sheer downfall to Red Tarn below. The fantastic view along the valley from the top of Dale Head... sitting by Styhead Tarn, gazing up at the cloud drifting along the Scafell massif...the sudden, thrilling view of Angle Tarn as you top the rise from Martindale... cutting steps in the ice up Gasgale Gill, while crossing from Buttermere to Keswick... dunking your head in the ice cold waters of Dungeon Ghyll as you climb towards the Langdale Pikes on a hot summer day... picking your way - very, very carefully - up Jack's Rake across the face of Pavey Ark as the rain pours down... enjoying a cigarette and a can of Coke on top of Great Gable on a bright and chilly spring day... I could go on, and on, and on! A book with the mundane title London's Theatres could not possibly compete - or so I thought until I actually laid hands on a copy. Written by historian Mike Kilburn, formerly Inspector of Historic Buildings for the London area for English Heritage, with pictures by architectural photographer Alberto Arzoz, this book has a totally different but equal impact. From the glorious (and often overwhelming) rococo excesses of the Lyceum to the sometimes near-brutality of the National Theatre, the author and illustrator cover 53 of London's theatres, mingling historical fact and artistic commentary with pin-sharp, detailed (and fascinating) pictures, and inspire a nostalgia of a different sort. For when we go to the theatre, our attention is focused on the play or show we have come to see and we notice the artistry of the building only peripherally. Kilburn and Arzoz' book makes us want to go back and look at the theatre: we want to see the details we have missed, so beautifully photographed and described to us. This is a book for anyone who has enjoyed theatre in London, those who have looked with pleasure at the buildings themselves and those who didn't even notice them. As a gift for a theatre-lover, this book cannot be beaten: a sumptuous visual feast of theatre building and decor. If you can't persuade anyone to buy it for you, then you'll just have to buy it yourself! London's Theatres (published by New Holland Publishers) is £24.99, but you can buy it for just £19.99 from our own Amazon UK Bookstore!
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