Things to do in London: April 2017 edition
Obsess over Jude Law on stage, take selfies at the Saatchi, drink seasonal cocktails: the best things do in London, April 2017
Obsess over Jude Law's explosive new stage role
Thespians all around the world are obsessed with director Ivo van Hove (Streetcar Named Desire, Young Vic,; Hedda Gabbler, National Theatre). Now the auteur transforms a classic Italian film into a new play starring Jude Law. With story of one charming vagrant whose irrepressible attraction to another man's wife provokes first passion, then destruction, we expect gripping theatre.
Read more ...Express yourself(ie) at the Saatchi Gallery
Love it or loathe it, you're getting the world's first selfie exhibition. The Saatchi Gallery traces the act of self-portraiture, from the Old Masters to Instagram. Works by Rembrandt, Van Gough and Frida Kahlo are considered in contemporary terms more associated with the Kardasian Klan. And, obviously, there's already a hashtag.
Read more ...Scout out the finest new seasonal cocktails
Master mixologist Matt Whiley, known as Talented Mr Fox, brings something sly to the standard practice of cocktails. In new Shoreditch bar Scout he shakes things up with a menu of sustainable cocktails, micro-brew beers and natural wines. Most ingredients are distilled, fermented and brewed in the on-site 'Laboratory'.
Read more ...Marvel at the oddity of this literary biopic
A Quiet Passion starts off like a careful, by-the-numbers biopic (in this case of 19th-century American poet Emily Dickinson) complete with frocks and tea parties, but as it progresses director Terence Davies slowly turns up the dial on the ‘beautiful’ period-drama aesthetic until it becomes almost uncanny-valley. Sex and the City's Cynthia Nixon is a superb and zesty Dickinson.
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Explore interactive Moominland at Kew Gardens
Moominland comes to London with this interactive trail and lively programme of Moomin-themed activities for kids big and small. Whether you're introducing children to the delights of Tove Jansson's characters or indulging your own nostalgia, Moomins at Kew is a charming way to enjoy the great outdoors.
Read more ...See the sparkliest show in town
“Literally’ is a much abused word… but in this case its use is fully justified: Jewels the ballet literally sparkles. Inspired by the beauty of gemstones choreographer George Balanchine saw in the display windows of the New York jewellers Van Cleef and Arpels, this full-length ballet in three movements is a dazzling tribute to emeralds, rubies and diamonds.
Read more ...Surprise yourself with a mystery, immersive movie experience
Secret Cinema has taken the world of immersive experiences by storm since it launched in 2007, inviting guests to dress up and dive into a 360-degree participatory world designed to reflect the film. Expect music, dancing, costumes and trouble. Secret Cinema X is the edgier version, where everything really is secret: mystery film, unnamed location, and more indie arthouse than blockbuster.
Read more ...Sit at the edge of your seat for seven whole hours of theatre
Tony Kushner's Angels in America is a landmark of modern theatre. Now it returns to the stage with a 24-carat cast led by Andrew Garfield. The 1993 duo of plays (totally seven hours) explores the AIDS crisis and terms of form, content, themes and length, this is not easy, nap-in-the-back-and-have-a-laugh theatre. But the sheer weight of talent in this revival should have you wide-eyed throughout.
Read more ...Watch a feminist dystopia unfold on screen
Women are the property of the state, denied agency over their own bodies, reduced to breeders or barren wives. This is the fictional world of Gilead, but it is also an eerily relevant right now. Margaret Atwood's Booker-winning 1985 novel The Handmaid's Tale has been adapted into a 10-episode television series – and it's never felt so timely
Read more ...Wave your way around textile art at the National Gallery
You may know Chris Ofili as the man who won the Turner Prize for his glitter and elephant-dung smeared canvases back in 1998, then made headlines in NYC with a pornographic Holy Virgin Mary. But there's much more to this artist than faeces and furore. Discover his first forway into tapestry and weaving in this new National Gallery exhibition.
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