London

From the nation that brought you "Are You Being Served?" comes "Mr. Selfridge," a loose dramatization of the founding of a British retail institution, the Selfridge & Co. department store, familiarly called Selfridges. Its eight-part run begins Sunday, under the colors of PBS' "Masterpiece. " Starring Jeremy Piven as Harry Gordon Selfridge, the American who brought recreational shopping to Britain, it is neither a miniseries nor a biopic, but a full-on, open-ended TV series - a second season is already slated for 2014 - which, like "The Tudors/The Borgias," takes real people from a real place and time and embroiders their lives with the sort of things you watch television for. There are resemblances to "Mad Men," as well, in that it is a period piece about the business of selling and the dreaminess of buying; and of "Downton Abbey" because it is concerned with social mobility at the end of the Edwardian era and ... big hats.

LONDON - From the rooftop where he was filming a scene for his art heist film "Trance" in September 2011, British director Danny Boyle surveyed the construction cranes stretching across the east London skyline, finishing work for the capital's upcoming Summer Olympics. Boyle, perhaps best known as the man behind the Oscar-winning "Slumdog Millionaire," pointed out the neighborhood where athletes would stay, the sites of new sports facilities and the location of the opening ceremony.

LONDON - The editor of Opera is worried. The March editorial of Britain's leading opera monthly describes this city's opera scene as being in crisis. The city's major companies - Royal Opera and English National Opera - are in a state of flux, administratively, artistically, musically and, in the case of ENO, financially. Opera everywhere should suffer such crises. On a recent Saturday in the British capital, I couldn't imagine a better place for opera, crises or no crises.

A fast-moving fire ripped through the roof of a 107-year-old museum and library in London, threatening an extensive collection of Chinese, African and Roman artifacts and relics. More than 100 firefighters battled the blaze Monday at the Cuming Museum and Newington Library in Walworth in southeast London. The roof of the four-story museum was engulfed in flames Monday afternoon, but the fire was under control by early evening, the Guardian reported . Thirty people were evacuated from the building; no injuries were reported.

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It may not be on many art-world purists' list of must-see exhibitions for the year, but the upcoming show devoted to rock star David Bowie at London's Victoria and Albert Museum is proving to be a popular hit, with a reported 50,000 advance tickets sold. "David Bowie is," which features objects from the glam-rock singer's personal archives, is set to open Saturday in London and will run through Aug. 11. The V&A Museum held a preview of the show for the media Wednesday and said that the exhibition has broken box-office records, according to a Reuters report.

LONDON - Downing a lunch of fish and chips just before going onstage Friday at the Barbican Centre here, 10 upbeat teenagers from Los Angeles acted, like teens everywhere, as if they were casually taking it all in. They weren't. For most of these high-schoolers, this was their first trip away from home, and it didn't take long for them to admit that everything, from flying in an airplane to witnessing a snowstorm just after they landed last Wednesday, was a gleeful new experience.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Love Never Dies," the sequel to his megahit "The Phantom of the Opera," will return to the London stage. Producers David Ian and Michael Harrison, who helmed the West End production of “The Bodyguard,” plan to stage a new production in February 2014, Playbill.com reports . No casting was announced. The remounted production will be based on the Australian version of the show, which premiered in May 2011. The production was filmed and screened in American movie theaters, and is available on DVD. PHOTOS: Arts and Culture by The Times The much-anticipated "Love Never Dies" opened to mixed reviews at London's Adelphi Theatre in March 2010, with a cast led by Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom and Sierra Boggess as Christine.

THE BEST WAY TO LONDON From LAX, Air New Zealand, American, United, British and Virgin Atlantic offer nonstop service to London, and United, American, KLM, Air France and Delta offer connecting service (change of plane). Restricted round-trip airfares begin at $1,780, including fees and taxes. TELEPHONES To call the numbers below from the U.S., dial 011 (international dialing code), 44 (the country code for England) and 20 (the city code for London). CEMETERIES Bunhill Fields Burial Ground, 38 City Road, 7374-4127; http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk . Enter Bunhill Fields in the search box. Guided tours on Wednesdays, April-October.