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Sophie Monks Kaufman

Sophie Monks Kaufman has written 66 posts for The London Word
SMK was born on and bred on the streets of London. Well ok, not the streets, a nice three storey Victorian house in Hackney, but it was in HACKNEY so she is still totally hardcore. She hated London and spent all her time griping about unfriendliness and public transport until she went north to university. On her return after three years she was surprised to find everything touched by magical fairy dust. London is cool whether it's music, theatre, art, food, bars or people from every country under the sun, the spicy variety is a joy and the inconveniences separate the men from the boys. Writing is in Sophie’s blood. She studied creative writing at university and wrote theatre reviews for the student paper. Since graduating she has torn up the script and is hoping, just hoping, that someone will decide to give her large wads of money in return for word usage.

Old Queen’s Head Turns Four

Edwin Congreave from math-rock sensation Foals was playing remixes of everything from classics like Daft Punk

The Blitz Party

A Forties-themed event encouraging wartime glamour: Allied uniform for him, tea dress for her, blast from the past for all

Green & Blue in East Dulwich

Everything was joyfully right from the food to the wine to the ambience to the staff

The Lishi Arts

The Lishi Arts are a combination of tai chi, kung fu, yoga and dance based on a Daoist philosophy

Rope at the Almeida

‘Rope’ is a philosophical thriller based on a murder case in the ’20s that explores the value of human life

The Gift of Charity Shops

‘Charity shop’ causes a quickening of the pulse followed by the happy realisation that even though I’m skint I can still play

The Post-Christmas Blues

The aftermath is depressing but of course you should feel down at the end of a year. Endings are grim.

The Stefan Golaszewski Plays

Love, in its torturous and enveloping splendour, was the subject of The Stefan Golaszewski Plays

Elvis at Proud Chelsea

Alfred Wertheimer’s collection of Elvis ‘the embodiment of showbiz’ Presley shows an intimate side of the young icon

Parade at Bridewell Theatre

Parade tells the story of what happens after a 12-year-old is found murdered in a factory run by a Jewish businessman