What to Do in London This Weekend (and Beyond)
Autumn provides plenty of opportunities for Nice Long Walks. But these walks will become much longer, and much less nice, once you realise that every vaguely interesting cultural event taking place in London – every exhibition, every hyped pop-up, you’d take a ball-pit bar if it meant you could finally have a breather – has been booked up until 2025. Because having a good time in London really is a matter of military-grade preparation, and you should start the process as soon as possible. To help you out on your mission, we've rounded up the most exciting dates on the capital's cultural calendar, as well as things you could do this very weekend.
Witness at an Adrien Brody masterclass at 'The Fear of 13'
It’s quite possible that one day other actors will take on the lead role in Lindsey Ferrentino’s new play, The Fear of 13, which is based on the real-life experiences of Nick Yarris, who spent 22 years on Death Row for a crime he didn’t commit. Sure, it doesn’t sound too cheery, but there are surprising number of funny lines (plus some beautiful singing) in the play, directed by Justin Martin, as Yarris details the unfortunate scrapes that have led to his predicament. The big draw, though, is not the jokes, but the main star, Adrien Brody, in his West End debut, who carries the play with an easy physicality and charisma that is as charming as it is mesmerising. The cast who supports him, including Nana Mensah, Michael Fox and Ferdy Roberts, are also top notch.
Now until 30 November, Donmar Warehouse, 41 Earlham St, London WC2H 9LX
Immerse yourself in 'The World of Tim Burton'
It may surprise you that the Design Museum’s new show, a celebration of the singular film director Tim Burton, is not a whizz-bang immersive affair. There are some fun installations (a big fish, a wonky tunnel, a neon carousel) and lots of iconic costumes (Catwoman’s stitched-together onesie, Edward Scissorhands’ hazardous mitts), but though there are plenty of clips and artefacts from his many beloved films, from Beetlejuice to The Nightmare Before Christmas, the emphasis is on Burton’s skill as a craftsman, and as a draftsman. The exhibition is stuffed with examples of Burton’s hand-made creations, be they large paintings or napkin scribbles. There are aliens with multiple heads, big-eyed goth girls, and all manner of monsters and ghouls, that are testament to his delightful – and unrelenting weird – imagination.
25 October until 21 April 2025, The Design Museum, 224-238 Kensington High St, London W8 6AG
Wallow in the mysteries of Jez Butterworth’s play 'The River'
A man and a woman are alone in a remote cabin. They know each other, but haven’t done forever. The man has been here before – many times, it’s his family's place – but he’s not brought her before. He’s a keen fly-fisherman and he wants her to understand the magic of catching a sea trout by the light of the moon. So romantic! But wait, who’s this? Another woman, different from the first, but enacting a similar scene – is she a first love? A lost love? A replacement? Jez Butterworth’s play from 2012 is less ambitious than his 2009 mega-hit, Jerusalem, or his more recent Hills of California, but that doesn't stop it being quietly affecting. This efficient, engaging and occasionally menacing production starring Paul McGann, Kerri McClean and Amanda Ryan and directed by James Haddrell, provides no straight answers, but plenty of startling metaphors about relationships: when to tighten the line and when to let go.
Now until 27 October, Greenwich Theatre, Crooms Hill, London SE10 8ES
Check out the best of the global art scene at Frieze
As the late-summer transitional jackets go back in the closet, it’s almost time to pull out the winter coat, wrap up and head out for an autumnal art walk. While the art world is gearing up for this year’s edition of the Frieze London and Frieze Masters art fair – always an exciting affair, taking place this week from October 9 to 13 – right now, and for free, you can stroll through Regent’s Park and enjoy the 12th edition of Frieze Sculpture. Curated this year by Fatoş Üstek, there's work from 22 artists from five continents, including the late Surrealist Leonora Carrington, the instantly recognisable characters of Yoshitomo Nara’s work and an incredible shadow sculpture from Albano Hernandez. Üstek says she hopes the open-air exhibition “carves a place for playful encounters, socially and environmentally conscious themes”; it’s also a cracking Sunday afternoon jaunt to get creative juices flowing.
Frieze Sculpture runs 18 September – 27 October 2024, Regent’s Park
Order a slice (or more) at Ria’s
The overlap between Notting Hill and Detroit (an unlikely Venn diagram) is now occupied thanks to Ria’s, a Motor City-inspired pizza restaurant on All Saints Road. You can order by the slice but may I suggest ordering a full pie? I do not think you will regret it because the pizza, made with dough that has been fermenting for 72 hours, is light and fluffy with a satisfyingly crisp bottom. We tried the prawn, which was good, and the pepperoni, which was great. But the star of the show, as it should be, is the humble house pizza which shows off Ria’s marinara sauce. It is rich and thick and joyously messy. We asked for more napkins – there is a pro just-use your-hands policy here – and then headed back for more. Is this idyllic street a surprising place to find a restaurant dedicated to Detroit cuisine? Yes, but I’ve never been to Detroit: maybe it’s the West London of America. And more importantly, this corner of the world is tastier (and sloppier) for Ria’s.
29 All Saints Road, London W11 1HE
Tackle the tasks at Taskmaster: The Live Experience
Given that Taskmaster – the cult TV show devised by comedian Alex Horne, in which he and fellow comic Greg Davies invite yet more comedians to compete against each other in a series of ludicrous assignments – has a decidedly homespun aesthetic, you might be intrigued to know what the “live experience” in Canada Water tots up to. Will you be locked up in a replica shed with Bob Mortimer? Nursing a cup of tea in a caravan with Lolly Adefope? Toe to toe in a tub with Rob Beckett? The interactive show may be light on actual celebs – bar some clever pre-recorded messages from Horne and Davies – but it still goes big on the inventive fun (stopping mercifully short of actual humiliation). And yes, if you win you will get to sit in the Taskmaster throne, and though you won’t get a trophy shaped like Greg's head, miniature head-likeness keyrings are available in the extensive gift shop.
Dock X, Retail Park, Unit 1, Canada Water, Surrey Quays Rd, London SE16 2XU
Dine at Bar des Prés
Little known fact: what we know as nouvelle cuisine – the French food movement of the sixties that pulled on international favours, emphasising freshness and lightness – was something of a happy accident. It all stems from a series of publicity trips made by young chefs to Japan, who wanted to spread the word of French gastronomy. Instead, they adopted Japanese cooking principles and changed the face of European dining forever.
Why not celebrate this new nugget of knowledge with a trip to Bar des Prés, celebrity chef Cyril Lignac’s stylish Mayfair restaurant dedicated to Franco-East Asian fusion (emphasis on the latter). There are the post-Nobu staples, like miso black cod and yellowtail carpaccio, but also some inventive inclusions that have racked up even more air miles, like the crunchy crab & avocado galette with Madras curry mayo – LA by way of India, and Lignac’s favourite dish on the menu.
16 Albemarle St, London W1S 4HW
Hear voices at ‘Mike Kelley: Ghost and Spirit’ at Tate Modern
Mike Kelley died in 2012, but at this new show at Tate Modern, astonishingly his first UK survey, his presence looms large. The extensive and lively exhibition showcases all the ideas with which he obsessively dabbled: youth culture, comics, kitsch, conspiracy theories, the macabre. Oh, and the nature of existence. It’s a surprisingly noisy show that clatters and jabbers with recordings of Kelley’s voice from films and performance pieces, as well as drawings and sculptural works — soft toy assemblages [see lead image]; Superman’s hometown recreated in bell jars — that are playful and menacing in equal measure. Kelley’s legacy might be most recognisable from Sonic Youth’s 1992 album Dirty, which featured one of his plushie mugshots on the cover, but viewing it again today shows just how modern – and long-lasting – his art has proved to be.
Until 9 March 2025, Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG
Cool down with a Thai ice cream sandwich at Plaza Khao Gaeng
You might think that you are familiar with the ice cream sandwich, and you might have in mind the solid block of flavourless ice cream wedged between two rapidly soggifing biscuits, and you would have a very sad understanding of this dessert's potential if so. At Luke Farrell's Plaza Khao Gaeng, the new-to-the-menu ice cream sandwich, or to give its Thai name, Itim Khanom Pang, is a puffy lozenge-shaped bun (think hot dog bun, but sweet) filled with coconut ice cream, neon green sticky pandan rice and drapped with foi thong (golden threads of sweetened egg yolk). It's lighter than it looks, perfectly refreshing, and steers clear of sog. Wins all round.
Plaza Khao Gaeng, 103-105 New Oxford St, London WC1A 1DB
See photography's greatest hits (courtesy of Sir Elton) at ‘Fragile Beauty’
If there’s a theme to the V&A South Kensington’s latest show, Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection, other than its ownership, it would arguably be: Most Famous Photographs of the Mid-to-Late-20th Century, with a couple of young pups from the 2000s thrown in. Marilyn Monroe in the Nevada Desert? Check. Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat in boxing gloves? Check. The 1968 US Olympians giving the “Black Power” salute? Check. Harvey Weinstein staggering up the court room steps? Erm, sure; whatever works with the wallpaper. The show is huge, and a pretty handy primer to the most celebrated commercial, editorial and art photographers of the past decades. Also, unusually, the captions are excellent – little tales-within-a-tale, each one – so set aside a good couple of hours.
18 May to 5 January 2025 at V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL
Enjoy vegan(ish) delicacies at Café Petiole
If someone were to tell you that a vegan tiramisù might just be better than a dairy one – made, even more shockingly, with tofu – you'd probably feel obliged to dust off your wildest Italian hand gestures in protest. But the one on offer at Café Petiole, a new pastel-hued informal spot in the South Wing of Somerset House, might just overturn your plant-based prejudices. To be fair, it has pedigree, as it's one that chef Rishin Sachdeva invented for Tendril, his other well-regarded (mostly) vegan restaurant in Mayfair. If you've been to a Somerset House exhibition (The Lore of Loverboy is on now) and need a restorative filo spiced lentil roll and a glass of LA Brewery kombucha, there really isn't a pleasanter spot.
South Wing, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA
Face the wind at Three Sheets
Late night, Soho. Where are you going for a drink? For a pint, you’re sorted. But it feels increasingly hard to find just the right place for something smarter without membership to a private club. So it is a warm welcome to Three Sheets, the first outpost of Dalston’s much-loved bar of the same name opened by brothers Max and Noel Venning. If you are familiar with the East London joint, you will know what to expect: moody lighting, tasteful interiors, a vibe which encourages either dressing up or down. The menu is divided into one, two or three sheets – as in, how many of those you want to be to the wind – and we say: dive into the heaviest portion with a dirty martini. The brothers landed on a heady and ridiculously smooth mix of vodka, olive oil, sea salt, Picpoul, koseret tea (that last ingredient is a type of Ethiopian tea, if you are less familiar with non-alcoholic drinks). Was it shaken or stirred? I didn’t ask and couldn’t really tell. But the drink tasted very nice, came with three olives and a tiny plate for their stones (classy!). We ordered seconds.
Three Sheets, 13 Manette Street W1D 4AW
Take in Zanele Muholi’s remarkable self-portraits (at last)
This show of work by South African artist Zanele Muholi was supposed to open at Tate Modern in 2020 – in fact, it briefly did, for five weeks, before Covid put paid to it, and everything else – but now it’s back, and proves worth the wait. A long-time pioneer for LGBTQIA+ rights in post-Apartheid South Africa, where Muholi, who identifies as non-binary, is from, they’ve had extra time to work on the bodies of work for which they gained their reputation. There is the stately room of portraits of Black lesbians; the striking images of transgendered beauty queens, but most captivating is the large room containing what is, so far, Muholi’s masterwork. Somnyama Ngonyama, which means “Hail the Dark Lioness” in isuZulu, is a series of 80+ portraits of the artist, usually looking to camera, and wearing assemblages of found objects that often have some political and social significance (including “Julie I, Parktown, Johannesburg, 2016,” left). Shot in striking monochrome, the graphic shapes the artist makes – not the mention the deeper points – are inventive, clever and deeply memorable.
Until 26 January 2025, Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG
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