As amazing as it is, only a few weeks ago none of us had heard of Wordle, Duolingo or, god help us all, Partygate. Now they seem to be dominating our lives at the expense of getting out and going things. If you fancy building those brain cells in a different way, we suggest the upcoming ‘Classical Vauxhall’ series of concerts at St. Mark’s Church in Oval. The press release boldly describes it as ‘a four day festival of live music and song, featuring top artists and four centuries of composers’. By that last comment let’s hope it doesn’t entail digging people out of the ground.

Classical Vauxhall returns on 10 – 13 February and is live after a year of streaming. We had friends who went in 2020 and they described it as both amazing and great fun.  Festival Director and the brains behind it Fiachra Garvey is joined by artists Elizabeth Llewellyn, Kangmin Kim, and Leonard Elschenbroich with pianist Alexei Grynyuk. We actually have no idea who any of these people are – But– we have seen some of their work on YouTube and it’s remarkable. Elizabeth Llewellyn and her great voice are here..

The concept behind these five concerts is to put on shows that are varied, lively, and accessible to people who (like us) are not habitues of the Royal Opera House. Each night is set to a theme, from Love and Loss to Brahams and feature a range of artists doing short pieces. We are particularly fascinated by ‘The Royal Opera House is Burning, Late Night Drag’ on 13 February which bills itself as a ‘classical drag opera like no other’ with works from Les Mis and Wicked.  

Tickets are £22.15 so not exactly cheap, but a great way to support local culture and artists who have probably not had much work for the past two years. And imagine the one-upmanship you can have with your friends who sat at home watching a TV show about Katie Price doing her house up.