ON THE RADAR

There’s nothing new about affectionate – if sometimes rather sharp-edged – satire of Wagner’s Ring cycle (remember the magnificent Anna Russell?), and opera lovers have become wearily accustomed to productions presenting Valhalla as Trump Tower and the Rhinemaidens as pole dancers. But I am intrigued to hear about Das Barbecü, a dinner theatre show that is currently a wow in New York’s Flatiron district. Five singers play 30 characters and whisk you through the whole Nibelung saga in the style of a country-and-western hoedown, as the audience feasts on ribs and beer. It sounds like fun: could it catch on over here? Essential to the glamour of tonight’s Oscars ceremony is the sight of that celebrityrich audience packing out the auditorium dressed up to the nines. But it isn’t quite what it seems: the ceremony lasts for hours without interruption and during the less dramatic awards in particular, the stars are constantly getting up and walking out to powder their noses or call their agents. Because broadcasting abhors the sight of empty seats and the comings and goings make it look as though everyone is bored stiff, the organisers arrange for a posse of beautiful drama school students (who sign up via a very long waiting list) to stand guard in the aisles and dart in to replace the temporary absentees. The cameras are cunningly careful to avoid homing in on them, but I’m told by friends in LA that seat filler is considered a highly valued though unpaid position, mostly made up of student actors who enjoy the chance to dress up and earn a few heady minutes up close to Joaquin Phoenix or understudying Scarlett Johansson. The megalomaniac plans for a new concert hall in the City of London seem to be fading fast, but in Edinburgh a more justifiable scheme has everything still to play for. The city has an appalling record for desecrating its uniquely beautiful centre with modernist monstrosities, but starchitect David Chipperfield’s design for a 1,200-seat musical venue (to complement the large Usher Hall and the small Queen’s Hall) off St Andrew Square looks chastely elegant. There are several impediments, however: neighbouring commercial developers are complaining that it will block the views from their luxury hotels; and the conservation lobby worries that it will overshadow the exquisite Georgian masterpiece of Dundas House, a jewel in the tarnished crown of the Royal Bank of Scotland. These aren’t insuperable problems, but are a budget of £45million and completion date of 2023 realistic targets?