Chinese pianist Lang Lang on inspiring young players

Synopsis

This weekend the young Chinese pianist Lang Lang reaches the climax of his week-long season at the South Bank Centre in London. The finale to Lang Lang Inspires: Young Pianists' Week is the Massed Piano Day in which he will bring together 100 British pianists aged 5-24 to perform on 50 grand pianos on the stage of the Festival Hall. Lang Lang describes the process of selection and his apprehension about the pianists' first rehearsal together this weekend.

Rupert Goold, directs Patrick Stewart in the RSC's new production of The Merchant of Venice, one of Shakespeare's most controversial plays, following on from their previous collaborations on The Tempest and Macbeth and from Goold's productions of Enron and Earthquakes in London.

This Summer theatre is tasty, with most festivals offering some kind of food-related performance. Artichoke have staged Dining With Alice, a theatrical feast in the grounds of Elsing Hall in Norfolk inspired by Lewis Carroll's classic and the Barbican Centre in London recently hosted a banquet, entitled An Anarchidinner, inspired by 1970s New York performance artists. Kirsty Lang has sampled these delights and had a visit to her own kitchen, from Olivia Winteringham of Kindle Theatre and Mike Knowlden, food designer of Blanche and Shock, complete with primus stove in bag.

Producer Claire Bartlett.