Dear Reader
Sometimes, if I’m lucky enough, and my run has done its job — it’s shaken loose all the fear and anxiety I’ve been holding onto during the day — then the beat and words of a song will take the place of the negative emotion. It’s quite a wonderful sense of euphoria. Sometimes, if I’m lucky enough, I’ll return from my run and, with my headphones still in my head, have a little dance party, with my plant friends looking on (in embarrassment? in delight?) and just let it all out.
The poet Alice Walker would be a fan of my post-run dance parties, I think, given the title of one of her previous books, Hard Times Require Furious Dancing. I listened to a new podcast with her that Cheryl Strayed did, and they spoke about resilience in the face of trying times. Ms Walker shared how she has approaches life, knowing there are hard times, and how she seeks to find what’s on the other side of those. “That’s the test. I mean, can you get up where you fell and at least hold that? Or can you get up where you fell and then take a step forward?” she says. I’m a fan of taking one step forward. It’s how I got to be so in love with running. The little steps soon add up to the big ones. But you don’t even have to run them — you can dance them, too.
Here’s today’s list of entertainment options, personally selected by me, for you:
1. Starting tonight, the Prince Estate will host a three-day streaming event of Prince and the Revolution: Live, a historic concert captured at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY on March 30, 1985. The concert, which was originally released as a VHS video and was long out of print before being reissued as part of the Purple Rain deluxe edition in 2017, is loaded with hits — and was the first live concert footage that Prince officially released as both a television broadcast and home video. It’ll be on YouTube from 5pm PST / 8pm EST today until midnight on Sunday. This is all in support of the WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
2. After giving us Simon Godwin’s 2018 staging of Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy Antony and Cleopatra, the National Theatre has a new offering is going up today. The never-before-seen archive recording of Inua Ellams’ smash-hit play Barber Shop Chronicles, from January 2018, before the production went on to tour internationally. Friends who saw it multiple times agree it’s not to be missed!
3. Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins hosts a special anniversary reunion with the cast and crew of Love & Basketball over on The Academy of Motion Picture’s website, 5pm PST / 8pm EST. Expect stories, insights and reflections on Gina Prince-Bythewood’s seminal movie.
4. Carnegie Hall brings us soprano superstar Renée Fleming, returning to one of her signature pieces, Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs, as well as a post-performance conversation. Plus, the fabulous Rufus Wainwright joins in as a special guest. 11am PST / 2pm EST / 7pm BST.
5. The Baryshnikov Arts Center (founded by the Mikhail Baryshnikov) continues its weekly series of videos drawn from its archive of live dance, theater and music performances. Each one drops on Thursdays at 2pm PST / 5pm EST and stays live for five days afterwards. Today they have a 2016 show from jazz singer-songwriter and activist Somi, who I love for the way she taps into her East African heritage.
Thank you for reading. I’ll leave you with a young Kenyan comedian who is fast picking up fans all over the world, including Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o.
Stay safe, stay sane
Your neighbour
Nadia