The use of subterfuge and misdirection is a tried and tested entertainment device. It keeps audiences guessing and allows actors and artists time and space to develop subtext and deeper meaning. Performers as varied as Lady Gaga and Jennifer Saunders can be animated and sometimes dazzlingly visual but it is their eye for detail that create impact. This skill doesn’t seem to fade with time as even in her ninth decade, Rose Wylie’s work continues to surprise and delight.

Lady Gaga – O2 Arena
Lady Gaga - O2 Arena
Out of all the pop divas that are touring the world at the moment, there is only one that can hold an audience by dint of her sheer musical imagination. That women is Lady Gaga who has reinvented herself on many levels and at many stages of her career. Always fearlessly experimental, Gaga has managed to go beyond generic pop dance material and forge an identity that is bound to stand the test of time.

Her London Show forms part of the rescheduled European leg of the “Joanne World Tour” and her fans will find the wait well worth their while. Movable stages, giant lasers and more costume changes than a Madame Tussaud’s stock take make the hits come alive and even the piano for Gaga’s solo spot is loaded with bling and glitter.

https://www.theo2.co.uk/events/detail/lady-gaga

Banana Tree – Maida Vale
Banana Tree – Maida Vale
Part of a mini-chain of well sited restaurants, Banana Tree specialises in Indo-Chinese cuisine and is a popular component of the varied culinary scene just north of Paddington Basin. The menu draws from Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian influences and manages to balance the best bits of what is, admittedly, a massive base of ingredients.

Pad Thai, Nasi Goreng and Pho dishes are the undoubted stars of the show on both the lunch and dinner menu, but digging a bit deeper can yield surprisingly good results. Steamed fish amok is a good alternative to the usual meat dishes as is aubergine with aromatic caramel. Vietnamese iced coffee is the perfect way to finish any meal you order.

http://bananatree.co.uk/location/maida-vale/

Rose Wylie: Quack Quack – Serpentine Sackler Gallery
Rose Wylie: Quack Quack – Serpentine Sackler Gallery
The British have always expected visual artists to display a comprehensive array of technical skills, even if they go on to reject conformity. That’s why Picasso could never have started here and why the late blooming of Rose Wylie continues to be such a novelty. At the tender age of 83, Wylie’s exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery is drawing to a close, yet people are still flocking to see her vivid splashes of colour and childlike whimsy.

At first glance the paintings seem to be imitating typical primary school themes with giant sunsets, stick figures and total disregard for perspective. However, there are telltale signs of deeper emotions at play with World War 2, which Wylie lived through, a recurring theme. Comparisons have been made with Hockney who often used simple motifs to create something much more complex and satisfying.

http://www.serpentinegalleries.org/exhibitions-events/rose-wylie-quack-quack

Lady Windermere’s Fan – Vaudeville Theatre
Lady Windermere’s Fan – Vaudeville Theatre
The razor sharp wit of Oscar Wilde served as both mirror and weapon as he kicked against the hypocrisy of late Victorian moralism. Lady Windermere’s Fan was a vehicle for some of his most acute observations and has been revived in the West End as part of a series of his greatest works.

Directed by Kathy Burke and featuring the talents of Jennifer Saunders and Samantha Spiro, the play follows the mishaps and misunderstandings of a young wife as she follows rumour upon rumour about her husband and his past loves. Full of pithy dialogue, satirical songs and physical comedy, it remains – together with The Importance of Being Earnest – one of the Great 19th Century comedy of manners and is as fresh today as it ever was.

https://www.officialtheatre.com/vaudeville-theatre/lady-windermeres-fan/