Susan Elkin

Hereford

Freelance Reporter at Freelance

Editorial Contributor at Ink Pellet

Journalist. Author. Amateur violinist. Former teacher. "The Alzheimer's Diaries" 2022. "All Booked Up" March 2024. "This Writing Business" June 2025.

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Articles

Bach Choir and Philharmonia 08 May 2025 (Susan Elkin reviews)

6 days ago | susanelkin.co.uk | Susan Elkin

PhilharmoniaBach ChoirDavid HillRoyal Festival Hall08 May 2025There is no doubt that the Bach Choir is one of our finest. And at this concert they were working seamlessly with the Philharmonia, ably led on this occasion by Colin Scobie. The orchestra was also in fine form despite some programming and presentational misjudgements. The evening started with The Song of the High Hills by Frederick Delius which was new to me and doesn’t get out much. Having now heard it I can see why.
Review: Shakespeare and Stanislavsky - Drama And Theatre

1 week ago | dramaandtheatre.co.uk | Susan Elkin

Subtitled ‘A practical guide for actors, directors, students and teachers,’ Annie Tyson's welcome book does exactly what it claims. It dispels the old myth that the Stanislavskian method cannot be applied to Shakespeare and demonstrates that all the acting choices in the plays of Shakespeare relate to action and character, exactly as they would in plays by other playwrights.
The Gang of Three (Susan Elkin reviews)

1 week ago | susanelkin.co.uk | Susan Elkin

The Gang of ThreeRobert Khan and Tom SalinskyDirected by Kirsty Patrick WardThe Spontaneity ShopKings Head TheatreStar rating: 3Photograph: Manuel HarlanIt’s quite refreshing to see a grown-up, old fashioned play which depends almost entirely on good writing, words, wit and acting – no actor musos, fancy lighting or theatrical gimmickry. The titular trio are Tony Crossland, Roy Jenkins and Denis Healey slugging it out for power mostly in the late 1970s with one flashback to 1940s Oxford.
Susan's Bookshelves: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo

1 week ago | susanelkin.co.uk | Susan Elkin

It was a heart-warming pleasure to come back to The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips (2006) There is nothing pretentiously “literary” about Morpurgo’s writing but he knows how to tell a gripping story and he hooks, really hooks, child readers so he gets my vote. It was a recent conversation with a nine year old which led to my rereading of this title. She told me she likes Morpugo’s stories and had started this one only to have it removed from her by a teacher as “unsuitable”.
The Government Inspector (Susan Elkin reviews)

1 week ago | susanelkin.co.uk | Susan Elkin

The Government InspectorNikolai Gogol, adapted by Phil PorterDirected by Gregory DoranChichester Festival TheatreStar rating: 4Gogol’s groundbreaking 1836 play is very famous but this was the first time I’d seen it – and an interestingly entertaining experience it turned out to be. I haven’t laughed so much in the theatre for quite a while.
The Mikado (Susan Elkin reviews)

1 week ago | susanelkin.co.uk | Susan Elkin

The MikadoWS Gilbert and Sir Arthur SullivanDirected by Keith StrachanTake Note Theatre Ltd for Tabard TheatreStar rating: 4Photography: Matt HunterI have probably seen more productions of The Mikado than any other show with the possible exception of Macbeth: fifty or so (and counting) in both cases, at least one every year or so, since childhood. And I have long come to the conclusion that I prefer my beloved G&S done small scale than with the traditional big choruses.
Susan's Bookshelves: A Love Story by Emile Zola

2 weeks ago | susanelkin.co.uk | Susan Elkin

The arrival for review of Rachel Bowlby’s new book Emile Zola, part of Oxford University Press’s Writing Modern Life series, reminded me that I ought to read more Zola. Germinal has long been a favourite. I know I’ve read Thérése Raquin and some of the short stories and I’m pretty sure I once read La Bête Humaine because I remember the trains. But beyond that it’s all a bit of a blank so I ordered Une Page D’Amour which Helen Constantine’s 1990 translation gives as A Love Story.
The Elmer Adventure (Susan Elkin reviews)

2 weeks ago | susanelkin.co.uk | Susan Elkin

The Elmer AdventureDavid McKeeDirected by Toby MitchellTall StoriesBlackheath Halls and touringStar rating 3.5Photography by Charlie FlintOver the years I have seen many of these one hour sixty minute shows based on memorable, colourful books for young children and their grown-ups. This one is quite clever, lexically unpatronising and comes with commendably clear diction from three young actors. In short it ticks most of the boxes and is a pretty decent show of its type.
Philharmonia 26 April 2025 (Susan Elkin reviews)

2 weeks ago | susanelkin.co.uk | Susan Elkin

PhilharmoniaMarin AlsopRoyal Festival Hall, South Bank Centre24 April 2025Part of Multitudes (“An electrifying new arts festival powered by orchestral music”), this concert opened with Leonard Bernstein’s dramatic, colourful, passionate, reflective Chichester Psalms (1965). I was a student in Chichester when Dean Walter Hussey commissioned it for the cathedral and vividly remember the excitement in the city, especially when the composer came to Chichester to conduct it a year or two later.
Susan's Bookshelves: Notes From An Exhibition by Patrick Gale

3 weeks ago | susanelkin.co.uk | Susan Elkin

I recently spent a few delightful days in Cornwall where my host/friend, with whom I share a love of books and words, recommended Notes From An Exhibition which is set mostly in Penzance just a few miles from her lovely home. Well I’d read Patrick Gale before but had somehow missed this 2007 title so I ordered it on the spot.