BOLTON THEATRE

Journey’s End

Octagon Theatre

Howell Croft South 

September 4-October 4

It’s perhaps predictable that RC Sherriff’s classic Journey’s End gets a production in the centenary marking the outbreak of WWI. But the excellent Octagon is as well-equipped as any theatre to do justice to, and perhaps shed new light on, what some regard as one of the great anti-war plays. Based on Sherriff’s own experience of the first world war, it’s written with the authenticity and compassion of a soldier who was intimately acquainted with the nightmare of life in the trenches and the extraordinary courage of those who fought there.

octagonbolton.co.uk

CARDIFF OPERA

Liberty or Death!

Millennium Centre

Bute Place

September 12-
November 29

National liberation and personal freedom are explored in Welsh National Opera’s autumn season. There’s a trio of operas — Rossini’s William Tell and Moses In Egypt and a revival of Bizet’s Carmen. William Tell, with David Kempster in the title role, is the story of the Swiss struggle for independence against the repression of Austria while Moses In Egypt examines the Exodus story using powerful yet beautiful music and costumes inspired by the vibrant colours of Chagall. Carmen (pictured), which concludes the short season, is the story of a free spirit who would rather die than surrender her liberty, with mezzo-sopranos Alessandra Volpe and Kirstin Chavez sharing the title role.

wno.org.uk

LONDON MUSIC

LOOP>>60 Hz: Transmissions from the Drone Orchestra

Barbican Centre

Silk Street, EC1

September 12-13 

Two innovators join forces for this brand new audio-visual collaboration. Musical pioneer John Cale (pictured) is paired with “speculative architect and technology storyteller” Liam Young to reimagine another, increasingly pervasive, industrial innovation. With his band Cale will perform music from across his catalogue, expressly adapted to durational forms, unusual tunings and unorthodox audio delivery, while Young’s collection of drones escape their associations with surveillance and the military, becoming instead choreographed, disembodied instruments which take flight in the auditorium to create a profoundly immersive live music performance. It’s a “a bleak tapestry of unholy noises, searing into the listeners’ ears and —with any luck — transporting them to a place they’ll not want to leave for long while,” says Cale. Weird, could be wonderful too.

barbican.org.uk

LONDON EXHIBITION

Departure

Saatchi Gallery

Duke of York’s HQ

King’s Road, SW3

September 3-October 5

This debut solo exhibition of Spanish and Latin American artist Xavier Mascaro features sculpture showcasing his adventurous experimentation with traditional casting techniques. It includes an imposing installation of boats made from bronze and iron which are evocative of long-forgotten shipwrecks, along with iron portraits of a young woman.saatchigallery.com