Audley’s Cultural Highlights of 2024
From show-stopping theatre, to music live and for headphones, to what might be the TV event of the year, if you ask our CEO. As we round out 2024, the Audley team select their cultural highlights from another great year of books, theatre, music, and television.
BOOK: Truss at 10: How Not to be Prime Minister by Sir Anthony Seldon
Less the ‘deep state,’ more deep incompetence is Sir Anthony Seldon’s summation of why Liz Truss’ premiership failed so swiftly and so spectacularly. As a piece of narrative history, its pace matches the breathlessness of the 49 days Truss spent in Downing St. and yet manages to be deeply reflective, offering salutary lessons on the qualities prime ministers need to have a chance of succeeding. Looking at 10 episodes of her premiership, Sir Anthony explores how Truss failed to make the grade as a leader. It is a reminder that studying failure can be as enlightening as studying success. Rolf Merchant, Director.
THEATRE: Oedipus (Directed by Robert Icke)
The latest production of Oedipus, starring Mark Strong and Lesley Manville, directed by Robert Icke, brilliantly modernizes Sophocles’ tragedy as a political thriller. Set on election night, it explores the devastating costs of truth in public and private life. Strong’s portrayal of Oedipus as a charismatic but doomed leader aligns with modern concerns about transparency, while Manville’s nuanced Jocasta underscores the human toll of relentless honesty. With a countdown clock driving tension, the production connects ancient fatalism to contemporary issues like political spin and societal demands for candor, asking: is too much truth always a good thing? Annie Coleman, Senior Advisor.
MUSIC: ‘Is There Really No Happiness?’ by Porter Robinson
If Spotify Wrapped is anything to go by, my cultural highlight of 2024 was the song ‘Is There Really No Happiness?’ by one-time DJ wunderkind, now-cult popstar Porter Robinson. The word ‘nostalgia’ has roots in the Ancient Greek words nóstos, ‘returning home,’ and álgos, ‘pain.’ Robinson draws on these layers of meaning for a bittersweet, 90s-pop-rock-influenced song, portraying him as someone who knows the pitfalls of spending too long looking back, though he has difficulty helping himself. It’s hard not to get swept up in it, thanks to a bouncy, shout-along chorus that makes an anthem out of feeling longing. Harri Adams, Associate.
TV: Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light (BBC)
I devoured the latest and final instalment of Wolf Hall this year, which returned to screens in November after 10 years. Mark Rylance is dazzling and unfailingly enigmatic as Thomas Cromwell, Damien Lewis excels as an impulsive and emotionally chaotic Henry VIII, and the ghostly apparitions of the late Anne Boleyn (Claire Foy) and Cardinal Wolsey (Jonathan Pryce) are both welcome returns. So too are the resplendent costumes and sets, complimented by the candle-lit cinematography which cleverly evokes the sense of dark foreboding that underscores much of the final instalment. I won’t spoil the ending, just in case your Tudor knowledge isn’t quite up to Parr (forgive one final pun for the year), but safe to says heads do indeed roll in this tumultuous and marvellous culmination of Hilary Mantel’s highly praised classic. Emily Callaghan-Sloane, Senior Associate.
MUSIC: Only God Was Above Us by Vampire Weekend
My cultural recommendation this year is the album Only God Was Above Us by Vampire Weekend. It’s the fifth album by the double-Grammy winning New York indie-rockers, renowned for their catchy, often upbeat songs and wry lyrics by singer Ezra Koenig that are not afraid to tackle tricky issues like the Oxford comma.
The album’s a cracker and several of its songs were top of my list of repeat listens this year, according to Spotify ‘Wrapped’. For three tracks to sample I suggest ‘Pravda,’ ‘The Surfer’ and ‘Connect.’ Do see them live too if you can – they’re amazing. Harry Wynne-Williams, Director.
THEATRE: Shifters (Directed by Lynette Linton)
I’m not a regular theatre goer by any stretch of the imagination. But on seeing the posters for Shifters at the Duke of York’s theatre next door to Audley’s office, I was intrigued. Dre, played by actor Tosin Cole (Netflix’s Supacell) had the audience resonating with his character in such a way, that you would be laughing at the ‘if you know, you know’ jokes, singing along to snippets of old songs, or be sat with silent tears taking in every single moment.
Written by Benedict Lombe, Shifters is a rom-com of sorts. Two young, gifted, and black teenagers, Des and Dre take us back to key moments of their younger years, before quickly dissecting their thoughts, feelings, and actions towards each other in the present. They ultimately question if they were destined to be together at this current point in their lives as adults. So good, I saw it TWICE! Sacha Maloney, Executive Assistant and Operations Director.
MUSIC: Fat Freddy’s Drop, The Roundhouse Camden
The best thing about Fat Freddy’s Drop gigs is not the soul-tingling music, nor the unmistakeable talent of each of the seven band members, but the rare diversity of the crowd. While most bands have a fan ‘type,’ the Fat Freddy’s Drop audience refuses to be pigeonholed. The throng is comprised of rowdy teenagers on a big night out, slightly-less-rowdy couples on first dates, and - rowdiest of all - overexcited dads on a festive family bash.
The eclectic nature of the Fat Freddy’s Drop crowd is a glorious reflection of the music itself, which has been characterised as some combination of dub, reggae, soul, jazz, rhythm and blues, and techno. It’s open-hearted, warm, and passionate - bringing people together from all walks of life to share what is best described as a sweaty evening jam session. Led by Dallas Tamaira, the sophisticated, sexy lead singer, and Chopper Reedz, the middle-aged, rotund saxophonist who cavorts across the stage in barely-there Y fronts and a diamanté cap, they are true performers with unfathomable energy and a crowd to match. Imogen Beecroft, Managing Partner.
TV: Gavin and Stacey: The Finale (BBC)
At around 10pm on Christmas Day, the TV cameras will pan across the grand vista of Barry Island for the final time as the last ever episode of Gavin and Stacey comes to an end.
As someone who grew up on the Island, it will be a bittersweet moment. The long running sitcom has put my hometown on the map and added to Barry’s tourism industry considerably.
Will Smithy and Nessa tie the knot? Will we find out what happened on ‘that’ fishing trip? Will this truly be the end of Gavin and Stacey?
One thing’s certain: the cultural highlight of 2024 is yet to come! Chris Wilkins, CEO.