Blue Pages: The Invite, Quentin Blake and Cartier Down Under

I’m writing to you following a very early start where England triumphed over Mexico at the fabled Azteca stadium in Mexico City for the World Cup. So, while sleepy, there’s a spring in my step that clearly the rest of London also relates to this morning, as the sun shines brightly over Piccadilly and everyone goes about their way, thrilled by the prospect that… dare I say, it’s coming home?

This week, we’re celebrating another English superstar: Sir Quentin Blake’s display at the Southbank Centre. Elsewhere, the team went to watch The Invite—and thoroughly enjoyed—and are booking in sufi spectacle Songs of Bulbul. Our Wish We Were There section returns: Cartier’s excellent V&A show is on in Melbourne. Australian friends, don’t miss it. Until next week.

– Chris Cotonou, Deputy Editor

A movie we’ll likely be talking about well into the upcoming awards season is out in cinemas this week. The Invite marks a triumphant return to form for Don’t Worry Darling director Olivia Wilde, who assembles a knockout cast—Edward Norton, Penélope Cruz, Seth Rogen and Wilde herself—for a hilarious and surprisingly compassionate domestic nightmare about the thorny complexities of modern relationships. Watch politeness curdle into provocation and casual conversation turn into emotional ambush, as unhappy married couple Joe (Rogen) and Angela (Wilde) host their charismatic, sex-happy neighbours Piña (Cruz) and Hawk (Norton) in their claustrophobic San Francisco apartment. Essential date night viewing, if you’re brave enough! (Luke Georgiades, Features writer) The Invite is out in UK cinemas now.

As we enter July, holidays in Italy will be close to mind. Francesco Mazzei brings the warmth of southern Italy to the Corinthia London with Mezzogiorno, a glamorous new restaurant inspired by the sun-soaked regions below Rome. An open kitchen, Murano chandeliers and Baroque-inspired interiors set the scene, while the menu celebrates Italian comfort cooking at its finest. Order the handmade pasta with native blue lobster, crisp fried peppers and generously served tiramisu, then settle in for an evening that feels more Amalfi than Whitehall. (CC). Mezzogiorno by Franceso Mazzei, Corinthia Hotel, Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2BD

Beloved illustrator Sir Quentin Blake has transformed the Southbank Centre into a joyful open-air gallery. Created to mark the venue’s 75th anniversary, The Southbank Parade scatters Blake’s unmistakable characters across the site, celebrating the performers and everyday Londoners who have brought the riverside to life since the Festival of Britain. Expect rock stars, ballet dancers, skaters, dub poets and jazz singers popping up around every corner. Best of all, it’s completely free to explore until November. (CC). Until 8th November, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, London, SE1 8XX.

I’m excited to immerse myself in this special event. Choreographer and dancer Aakash Odedra brings Songs of the Bulbul to Sadlers Wells. Inspired by an ancient Sufi story, Songs of the Bulbul weaves together Indian classical kathak, live music and poetry in a visually breathtaking performance. Created with choreographer Rani Khanam and composer Rushil Ranjan, it’s an elegant meditation on beauty, loss and the fleeting nature of life. (CC). Songs of the Bulbul is at Sadlers Wells East, 7th July to 11th July. Sadlers Wells, 101 Carpenters Road, London, E20 2AR

Cartier has headed down under! We have a particular affinity with all things Aus over at A Rabbit’s Foot, so we are excited to learn that the V&A’s showstopping Cartier exhibition is now on display at the The National Gallery of Victoria’s in Melbourne. Showcasing nearly 400 extraordinary jewels, timepieces and archival objects in the largest Cartier exhibition ever staged in Australia and explores Cartier’s legacy of innovation, craftsmanship and design through iconic creations worn by figures including Elizabeth Taylor, Rihanna, Grace Kelly and Dame Nellie Melba. It also marks the first-ever exhibition design collaboration between Studio Sabine Marcelis and CLOUD, whose brightly colours and futuristic scenography gives this exhibition a different edge to the V&A exhibition. See you at the beach… (Kitty Grady, Digital Editor). Cartier until 4th October at The National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne180 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne VIC 3006, Australia

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