48 steamy things going on this week in London
Hmm what to do this week… Watch Murray from ‘Flight of the Conchords’ do some comedy? Catch a classic flick at Backyard Cinema? Peruse some abstract art at the Tate Modern? Good luck deciding, because there are plenty of corkers to choose from. Here’s some of the best stuff happening this week.
General fun stuff
Art Everywhere, across London, all week, free. British artwork will be plastered onto 30,000 billboards and outdoor sites all over London.
Monty Python Movie Quiz, The Monarch, Camden, Monday, £2. Turn your Python obsession into prizes.
Let’s Be Brief Pop-up School, all week, venue and prices vary. A range of masterclasses and talks for creative cats.
Camden Town Brewery Pop-up, Selfridges roof, Weds 23. Brew (and drink) some beer on the roof of this department store.
Try a new restaurant
Barrafina, Leicester Square ★★★★☆ Try out Barrafina’s Mallorcan and Catalan tapas menu.
Arabica, London Bridge ★★★★☆ Four-star Middle Eastern cuisine in Borough Market.
Eat 17, Clapton ★★★☆☆ Homerton gets a stylish new bistro.
A few of the best comedy shows
Pappy’s Flatshare Slamdown, Soho Theatre, Monday, prices vary. Shambolic sketch troupe Pappy’s live comedy panel show is one of the funniest podcasts out there.
Rhys Darby – Mr Adventure, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Wednesday and Thursday, £22.50. It’s Murray from ‘Flight of the Conchords’! A hugely popular stand-up, with incredible physicality and vocal dexterity.
McNeil & Pamphilon Go 8 Bit! Wenlock & Essex, Thursday, £5, £2 early bird. Bantering sketch duo mix together their two loves – comedy and video games.
…or see all 127 comedy shows in London this week.
Live music
Tyler The Creator, The Forum, Wednesday. Tyler Okonma is still only 22, but he’s already made three albums of dark hip hop that veer between irreverent and downright terrifying.
Burt Bacharach, Royal Festival Hall, Wednesday. The greatest pop songwriter and arranger of all time?
The Temper Trap, Oslo, Hackney, Wednesday. Australian pop-rockers playing a trio of tiny shows to preview their forthcoming new album.
Prom 7: Shostakovich, Bartok & Tavener, Royal Albert Hall, Wednesday. With the recent demise of British composer Sir John Tavener, there will be few chances to catch posthumous world premieres such as this.
Eels, Barbican Hall, Thursday. Mark Everett’s long-running alt rock project combines existential angst and melancholy with a catchy and intriguingly odd mix of alt pop, Waitsian blues, funky Beckisms and exploratory soundscaping.
Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars, Shacklewell Arms, Tuesday. Reggae-influenced Afro-pop, defined by a jubilant spirit of resistance.
The Fauns, The Social, Oxford Circus, Wednesday. Some great melodies buried in their towering, atmospheric guitars.
The Chills, The Dome, Tufnell Park, Thursday. Indie people of London, get excited: this is the band’s first London gig in 18 years.
Linkin Park, The O2, Thursday. The chart-friendly Californian rap-metallers jet over for another mega-tour.
Prom 9: Brahms & Janacek, Royal Albert Hall, Thursday. Janácek’s glorious secular oratorio ‘Glagolitic Mass’ is performed by London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under Valery Gergiev, and four principal singers.
…or see all 65 gigs happening this week.
Club nights
Your Mum’s House, The Nest, Thursday, prices vary. A ‘dress up ‘n’ get messed up’ night of mayhem and mischief.
Truth Mic, Bussey Building, Thursday, free. A new, slightly mysterious club night that churns up live music, art, and DJ sets.
Flosstradamus, XOYO, Thursday, prices vary. A blend of bass-heavy, southern hip hop/dubstep.
Sessions, Corsica Studios, Thursday, prices vary. A weekend bass session for some of the finest underground warriors around.
Mutal Dreaming:Ital, Plastic People, Thursday, £5. US trippy house producer Aurora Halal’s NYC party Mutual Dreaming shifts to London for the first time.
…or see all 37 parties happening this week.
Film
Backyard Cinema, Camden Lock Market, prices vary. Screening of classic films with 200 deckchairs, giant two-person beanbags for snuggling, posh burgers and usherettes in retro outfits on the cobbles in Camden Lock Market.
We Love The ’90s Film Fest, Portobello, £5. Film, food and fun at this west London pop-up.
Power of Summer: ‘Get Carter‘, Battersea Power Station, Thursday, prices vary. Outdoor pop-up screen with street food, drinks and a great film.
The Luna Cinema: ‘Captain Phillips‘, Thursday, £13.50. It’s a film in a pool. The true story of a cargo ship skipper whose vessel was overrun by pirates off the coast of Somalia in 2009.
Drive in Film Club, Brent Cross Shopping Centre, all week, £22. Drive in and tune in to this week’s choice of great films.
Or in a cinema near you…
‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes ‘★★★★☆ A slick, high-minded story of scientific overambition (with a few explosions chucked in for good measure).
‘Some Like It Hot‘ ★★★★★ It’s got transvestites, two men living happily ever after and one of the most famous last lines of any film (‘Well, nobody’s perfect’).
‘Norte, The End of History‘ ★★★★★ Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz’s rich four-hour-plus study of morality.
‘Finding Vivian Maier‘ ★★★☆☆ An intriguing but slapdash doc about a Chicago nanny who took the children she looked after on trips to the city’s rougher neighbourhoods.
‘Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon‘ ★★★★☆ A viciously funny and a touch sentimental documentary.
…or see our reviews of other films in cinemas right now.
This week’s best theatre
Holy Warriors, Shakespeare’s Globe, Saturday and Sunday, prices vary. The tale of holy war and revenge in the struggle for Jerusalem.
InTransit Festival, Various venues around Kensington and Chelsea, all week, prices vary. The streets are taken over by ten days of experimental theatre eccentricity.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Gielgud Theatre, ★★★★☆ The National Theatre’s wondrous adaption bounces back from December’s ceiling collapse.
Intimate Apparel, Park Theatre, ★★★★☆ Tanya Moodie is exceptional as a seamstress in 1905 America in Lynn Nottage’s powerfully poetic play.
The Crucible, Old Vic ★★★★★ A titanic, ritualistic production of Arthur Miller’s tragedy about the Salem Witch Trials.
A Streetcar Named Desire, Young Vic, Wednesday and Thursday. Gillian Anderson takes on the explosive role of Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams’s sexually tense 1948 play.
…or see all critics’ choice theatre shows.
This week’s best new art
© Krasnodar Territorial Art Museum
Malevich, Tate Modern, prices vary. Retrospective of the influential Russian painter.
Martin Parr: Signs Of The Times, Beetles & Huxley, free. Photographs from the revealing, toe-curling and sometimes hilarious 1990s TV series about the taste of the nation.
Where Were You? Lisson Gallery, free. A show with paintings, prints, relief objects and other works on canvas that aren’t quite as minimal as they at first appear.
Disobedient Objects, V&A Museum. Chart the history of protest through this series of objects.
Truth and Memory: British Art of the First World War, Imperial War Museum, free. The newly reopened museum kicks off with the first major show of WWI art in almost a century.
Gilbert & George: Scapegoating Pictures for London, White Cube Bermondsey, free. London’s favourite art duo fill Bermondsey gallery with 123 ‘Scapegoating’ works in their signature style of chopped up, reversed and multiplied images and texts.
Ryan Gander: The artists have the keys, 2 Willow Road, Hampstead, Wednesday and Thursday, prices vary. The Hungarian architect caused controversy with these three homes.
And finally…
This week’s best of the blog…
Bar opens in the middle of Old Street roundabout
Stone-cold classics: where to find London’s best ice cream
Supper clubs, tea cocktails, music and more at new Hackney venue Stage 3
House of Vans: skateboarding, music, art, drinks and films underneath Waterloo Station