13 August 2014. Marina Abramovic at the Serpentine

I only had a short queue to get in and partake of the performance art of Abramovic. I clearly didn't get as much from it as some. There are three rooms - all involving wearing ear masks to muffle/eradicate sound. In the first central room some were on the central stage and others sat facing them or with their backs to them. In the room off to the right approximately 30 were accommodated on dormitory beds. The third room was for me the one with impact - one was masked and had to feel one's way around the room; a disconcerting experience.

7 August 2014. Franz West at Hepworth Gallery and Ai WeiWei at YSP

The work of Franz West joined up well with the Allan Kaprow tyres in the neighbouring Calder gallery. Both encourage the viewer to engage with the work - West offering his Adaptives and Kaprow simply letting people do what they like.

The YSP featured work by or instructed by Ai WeiWei at the Chapel - The metallic tree outside was beautiful in the late afternoon sun. The park also featured a large exhibition of work by Ursula vo Rydingsvard, who makes huge sculptures from quite small blocks of wood.

4 August 2014. A streetcar named desire at the Young Vic

This acclaimed production certainly lived up to its reputation. The acting, not just by Gillian Anderson (Blanche) was brilliant. The theatre provided a high level of intimacy, particularly being in the front row, with the actors sometimes coming off stage and being within touching distance. The stage itself slowly rotated most of the time, which got slightly tedious but also added to the sense of impending craziness, especially when it speeded up. The whole unravelling of Blanche's proud persona was chillingly portrayed.

1 August 2014 Push at the Coliseum

The four pieces, all choreographed by Russell Maliphant made up a showcase for him and Sylvie Guillem. The third piece, 'Two', which was her on her own, was for me the most arresting, mesmerizing in its speed. All the pieces were set off by the lighting, most notably in his solo piece 'Shift' which made substantial use of his shadows cast on the panelled screen behind.

29 July 2014. Summer Exhibition at the RA

The usual wide-ranging hang with most successfully sold. Exceptions included two rather graphic paintings on the subject of female genital mutilation.

28 July 2014. Dennis Hopper at the RA

A large collection of photographs in the Lost Album exhibition evokes the 1960s. I found the most interesting the portraits of known names, particularly those of artists (e.g., Lichtenstein) who all looked remarkably conventional. https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/22