Last update 6 March 2023

Tommy in Ohio, USA

Tommy will be shown at the Robins Theatre, Warren, Ohio on 11 March 2023.

"Tommy is a 1975 British satirical operetta fantasy drama film written and directed by Ken Russell and based upon The Who's 1969 rock opera album Tommy about a "psychosomatically deaf, mute, and blind" boy who becomes a pinball champion and religious leader. The film featured a star-studded ensemble cast, including the band members themselves, Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, Elton John, and Jack Nicholson."

The theatre website is here.

Updates to The Music Lovers

Details of music added to The Music Lovers- click here.

Novelisation of Gothic

Details of the novelisation by Stephen Volk are added to the Gothic page.  Click here.

Updates to the play Weill and Lenya

Updates about the play on Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya by Judith Paris and Ken Russell, directed by Russell.  Click here.

Updates to The Rainbow

The page on The Rainbow has been extensively updated.  Click here.

The Dance of the Seven Veils coming on Blu-ray

The copyright on Richard Strauss' music has expired, so there is no legal obstruction to presenting The Dance of the Seven Veils.  The BFI are looking at issuing a Blu-ray.  More details when known.

Thanks to Alex for the information.

Teddy Girls photos

21 of Ken's photos of Teddy Girls from 1955.  Nicely printed.  The cover is of Iris Thornton and the other Teddy Girls were Pat Wiles, Rose Price, Vera Harrison, Grace Living, Barbara Wood, Josie Buchan, Eileen Lewis, Rose Hendon, Mary Toovey and Jean Rayner.

"Teddy Girls brings together, for the first time in one publication, images taken by Ken Russell of this scarcely documented subculture.  Taken around London in January 1955 and published in the Picture Post on June 4th that year, these photographs are a testament to the supremely stylish young women depicted.  The style of the Teddy Girls, like that of the Teddy Boys, grew out of a trend for Edwardian influenced fashion in post-World War II London.  However, these women should be seen as more than a feminine facsimile of their male counterparts and Russell’s images document the ingenuity and complexity of their sartorial choices.  As well as recording the style of the Teddy Girls, these images also provide a snapshot of London in 1955, a city in flux, still rebuilding itself after the damage inflicted by war.  An essay by the fashion historian, Mairi MacKenzie, considers the cultural history and context within which these women lived and the photos were taken".

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Tommy in Nashville, USA

Tommy will be shown at the Belcourt Theatre, Nashville, USA on 13 Feb 2023.

Women in Love in Culpeper, Virginia, USA

Women in Love in the cinema for free!!  It is at the Packard Campus Theater on 11 Feb 2023.

Click here for the news archive