Tania Bryer
“January is about new beginnings and setting goals for the year ahead. For me it’s a time when I hit the ground running as it’s our annual coverage of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Forum brings together leaders from around the world from different sectors to discuss the most pressing issues of the day. The theme this year is ‘Rebuilding Trust’ which is much needed in our incredibly fractured world!
This is my 11th year covering the event and over the years I have interviewed an eclectic mix of people including Matt Damon, Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan, Forest Whitaker, Idris Elba, Oliver Stone, Priyanka Chopra, will.i.am, Yo-Yo Ma, Stella McCartney. Former US Secretary of State John Kerry, Her Majesty Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, UN Development Programme Head Achim Steiner, Dame Ellen MacArthur, HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and Managing Director of the IMF Kristalina Georgieva amongst many others!
Davos is a small mountain village high up in the Swiss Mountains and is bumper to bumper with world leaders trying to navigate the snow and traffic! One year I saw George and Amal Clooney stranded outside on the pavement! For me it’s a great place for content and interviews, and it inspires me for the year ahead!”
Tania Bryer, CNBC Anchor and Broadcaster
“Our first Hotlister for 2024 is one of the most charismatic and sincere newsreaders and interviewers, Tania Bryer. Check out below what January means to her, and how Tania is kicking off the new year!”
Jenny Halpern Prince MBE
Restaurant: Josephine Bouchon
Opening this month on the Fulham road is the latest venture from restauranteur magician Claude Bosi and his wife Lucy. Josephine is being billed as a Lyonnaise bouchon and is a joint project between the couple. It's taken over the spot on the corner of Fulham Road and Callow Street (which used to be Colette). Bosi was born and trained in Lyon and his parents ran a bistro there so it’s a safe assumption that he knows what he is doing with this cuisine. Named after his grandmother, he promises a combination of French bistro classics and regional Lyonnaise specialities. including the typical Bouchon-style metre wine, so you pay only for what you drink. The menu will feature a plat du jour and a set 'menu des canut', named after traditional Lyonnais silk and lace weavers. Claude Bosi said: "We're incredibly excited to bring a little piece of Lyon to Fulham with the opening of Josephine. This restaurant is a very personal project for us, an ode to my grandmother and the traditional bouchons of Lyon that have always held a special place in our hearts. We hope to create a welcoming space that we hope locals, Londoners and friends from afar will want to keep coming back to. We can't wait to open our doors and share this special restaurant with the community.". Stay tuned to the website or socials for the exact opening date.
Drinks: Bar du Champagne
It’s 2024 and we are seemingly bored of smashed avo and in the mood for Champers if the closure of Avobar on Henrietta Street in Covent Garden is anything to go by. The owners have closed up the smooth green shop and are replacing it with Bar du Champagne which does exactly what it sounds like. This new bistro and bar is taking up two floors of the building on Henrietta Street and devoting them to all things sparkling. There'll be difficult-to-source cult Champagnes, classic cuvées and top-tier Spanish Recaredo cava on offer. If bubbles aren't your thing the wine list also holds some interesting options such as Georgian Saperavi and Armenian Areni Noir. Because we are all sensible drinkers, we won't be drinking on an empty stomach but instead tucking into treats such as Truffled Croque-Monsieur, Steak tartare with lardo toast, or Duck rillettes with sour cherry on toast. For those who like al fresco even in the winter months, there's a heated outdoor terrace too.
Theatre: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Ok so this production actually starts early Feb but we don't want you to miss out on tickets as it’s billed to be an absolute hit so it's in the January Hotlist. The Picture of Dorian Gray at the Theatre Haymarket Royal stars Golden Globe winner Sarah Snook who is best known for Succession. In the production Snook takes on all 26 roles in this gripping, witty and vibrantly contemporary production that breathes new life into Oscar Wilde’s classic tale. A deal with the devil; eternal youth, for the ultimate price. The story revolves around a portrait of Dorian Gray painted by Basil Hallward, a friend of Dorian's and an artist infatuated with Dorian's beauty. Through Basil, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton and is soon enthralled by the aristocrat's hedonistic worldview: that beauty and sensual fulfillment are the only things worth pursuing in life. Newly understanding that his beauty will fade, Dorian expresses the desire to sell his soul, to ensure that the picture, rather than he, will age and fade. The wish is granted, and Dorian pursues a libertine life while staying young and beautiful; all the while, his portrait ages and visually records every one of Dorian's sins. Adapted and directed by multi-award-winning Kip Williams, Artistic Director of the acclaimed Sydney Theatre Company – The Picture of Dorian Gray delivers an explosive interplay of live performance and video in an astonishing collision of form. Hailed as a “dizzyingly beautiful tour de force” (The Guardian), this performance runs for only 14 weeks hence the need to make sure you get your tickets ASAP.
Culture: CUTE
CUTE is a major new exhibition at the iconic Somerset House, exploring the irresistible force of cuteness in contemporary culture. From emojis to internet memes, video games to plushie toys, food to loveable robotic design, cuteness has taken over our world. But how has something so charming and seemingly harmless – adorable, doe-eyed animals, chubby-cheeked babies, flowers, hearts, stars, sweets and other such romantic motifs – gained such traction? CUTE brings together contemporary artworks, including new artist commissions, and cultural phenomena such as music, fashion, toys, video games and social media, in this brand-new show examining the world’s embrace of cute culture and how it has become such an influential measure of our times. It will seek to unravel cuteness’ emotive charge, revealing its extraordinary and complex power and potential. The exhibition will feature a games arcade for all ages and will spotlight and celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of cute’s most iconic and ubiquitous figures, Hello Kitty. CUTE opens on the 25th and tickets are priced from £18.50.
Experience: The Moonwalkers
The Moonwalkers is an epic new experience that's opened in the Lightroom in King’s Cross. Narrated by Tom Hanks, The Moonwalkers offers a unique perspective on humankind’s past and future voyages to the moon. Lightroom’s powerful projection and audio technology will transform the immense space into a vehicle for a spectacular immersive voyage to our closest celestial neighbour. The exhibition opened on the 6th December and runs until 21st April. Co-written by Hanks and Christopher Riley, the double BAFTA-nominated writer-director. Original NASA footage and breath-taking images from Andy Saunders’ Apollo Remastered will transform Lightroom’s vast space into an immersive journey to the lunar surface, brought to life by co-directors Nick Corrigan and Lysander Ashton of 59 Productions. The show tells the stories of the Apollo missions, reflecting their gripping journeys at spectacular scale. Newly filmed interviews between Hanks and astronauts of the current Artemis programme will grant an insight into the return of crewed surface missions to the moon. Hanks does the voiceover, accompanied by a spectacular original orchestral score by Anne Nikitin. It’s an absolutely beautiful, enthralling, and genuinely quite moving experience.
Art: Weird Shit In Nature
If the title of this exhibition isn’t an enticing enough explanation then here’s some more info- Opening on the 31st of the month at Matt’s Gallery in Nine Elms is Richard Grayson’s exhibition, Weird Shit in Nature which uses sculpture, 3D modeling, digital animation and Augmented Reality to model a world where the materials of culture/technology have seeped into nature and taken root. A world where smart materials and distributed intelligences leach into mineral and organic matrixes to become new entities, where hybrid beings grow from forever chemicals and micro-plastics in rocky outcrops. A paper recently published in the journal Nature reported that in 2020, for the first time, the weight of human-made material on the planet exceeded that of the calculated bio-mass which is crazy: there is now more human-made material than ‘natural’ material. This matter has penetrated all areas of the globe: artificial substances are detected throughout the food chain, and microplastics are inside our bodies and in the air and in the high mountains. A thought-provoking exhibition that runs until March.
Theatre: Plaza Suite
Real-life power couple Matthew Broderick (two-time Tony Award® winner) and Sarah Jessica Parker (two-time Emmy Award® winner) share the stage of London’s Savoy Theatre for the very first time starting this month, starring in Neil Simon’s sensational romantic comedy Plaza Suite. This uproarious comedy took Broadway by storm and promises a night of razor-sharp comedy. A witty exploration of love and marriage, London’s West End gets the chance to witness two world-class performers and Hollywood icons transform into three unique couples, each finding themselves entangled in hilariously outlandish situations within the walls of the legendary Plaza Suite hotel room. Step into the lives of Karen and Sam, a long-married couple trying to save their relationship-on-the-rocks from an early checkout. Reunite with Muriel and Jesse, former high school sweethearts, destined for an extended, amorous stay. Empathise with long-suffering Norma and Roy, parents of the bride, as they attempt to coax their to-be-wed daughter out of the bathroom. The outstanding creative team promises an unforgettable production, under the masterful direction of Tony winner John Benjamin Hickey.
Charity of the Month: Under One Sky
Under One Sky is a volunteer-led charity that aims to use education, compassion, and collaboration to end homelessness in the UK and beyond. They empower individuals, companies and public organisations to be a part of the change, transforming lives and growing a utopian community, together. The idea for Under One Sky (UOS) came from founder Mikkel Juel Iversen’s personal experience of supporting two homeless friends for one year each on his own initiative. This gave him direct exposure to the myriad of internal and external challenges a person faces when forced to live on the outside, and insight into the traumatic experiences that were the root causes of each individual’s situation. At Christmas 2012, Mikkel together with his colleague Yaqub Hussain invited some friends to join them to walk the streets of Central London to let those affected by street homelessness know that they hadn’t been forgotten, and to distribute Christmas presents. This walk became the unintentional birth of Under One Sky. In the first year of Covid-19 their teams served homeless friends 75,000 times, supported several individuals off the street, and their volunteer base grew to more than 1,000 compassionate human beings. Now a year round initiative, their impactful work covers a wide spectrum: assisting with medical emergencies; organising and sponsoring transport to facilitate reconnection with family and friends; supporting friends into work and accommodation; providing glasses, wheelchairs, mobile phones and bicycles; and much more. UOS is expanding out of London to cover additional parts of the UK. To support or donate please visit their website to find out more.