You have no items in your cart. Want to get some nice things?
Go shoppingBOOKS
Murder in the Library
British Library 96 Euston Rd, NW1 2DB
Sun Feb 24 – Sun May 12
A chance to immerse yourself in the history of the whodunnit as the British Library takes a quirky look at crime fiction. Featuring familiar and loved writers, such as Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle, alongside the unknown and unexpected, this exhibition showcases manuscripts, books, rare audio recordings, artworks and intriguing artefacts from the library’s British and North American collections.
Alchemy
Science Museum Exhibition Rd, SW7 2DD
Mon Feb 25 – Tue Apr 30
A display of 20 rare books and two illustrated manuscripts relating to alchemy from the museum’s library and archives, on show alongside objects from the Wellcome and Chemistry collections including an alchemical scroll.
5×15
Bush Theatre Old Shepherd’s Bush Library, 7 Uxbridge Rd, W12 8LJ
Wed Mar 13
This month’s ever-enjoyable 5×15 event, in which five speakers each speak for 15 minutes on a chosen topics, is co-presented with Notting Hill Editions. The line-up features author Deborah Levy responding to George Orwell, and poet and novelist Lavinia Greenlaw.
How to Write Successfully for Children & Young Adults
Bloomsbury Publishing 50 Bedford Square, WC1B 3DP
Sat Mar 2
Authors Nick Lake, Nicholas Allan and Jon Mayhew take on this all-dayer to help workshop your writing, divided by the age groups you want to appeal to, from 0-7, 8-12 and 13+.
The Big Write Festival of Children’s Literature
Discover Children’s Story Centre 383-387 High St, E15 4QZ
Sat Mar 9 – Sun Mar 17, Day tickets £7, children £6.50, concs £6.
Children, Festivals, Things to do, Kids’ activities, Children’s books. Discover’s 5th annual festival of children’s literature has a packed programme of story sessions, workshops, book signings and other events. The closing weekend sees a range of events and activities with illustrators and authors such as Polly Dunbar.
THEATRE, FILM AND COMEDY
Playing Cards 1 – Spades
Roundhouse Chalk Farm Rd, NW1 8EH
Mon Feb 25 – Sat Mar 2, £15-£45
The great Canadian physical practitioner Robert Lepage returns to London with the first in a projected series of four plays based around the suits on a deck of cards.
The Double R Club
Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club 42-46 Pollard Row, E2 6NB
Thu Mar 21
This evening of mystery and nightmares inspired by the films of David Lynch is a dark and twisted treat, often groping into territory where other cabaret nights fear to tread. The reliably sinister Benjamin Louche presides over a mix of comedy and crooning.
War Child Comedy Night 2013
O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Shepherd’s Bush Green, W12 8TT
Fri Mar 8
The very first annual comedy benefit gig for War Child has a very impressive line-up. The bill includes comedy god Stewart Lee, crazed Canadian Tony Law, observationalist Seann Walsh, Aisling Bea, Alistair Barrie, and Hal Cruttenden.
Chris Addison – The Time Is Now, Again
Southbank Centre Belvedere Rd, SE1 8XX
Thu Mar 28
Chris Addison, star of ‘The Thick of It’, ‘In the Loop’ and ‘Lab Rats’ is a superb stand-up comedian with one of the sharpest comedy minds around. Addison is seen as the thinking man’s comic, with sharp observations and a scholarly approach to his varied subject matter. However, this erudition never halts the flow of laughter. He’s bringing his ‘The Time is Now, Again’ tour back to the capital for its final London date.
Hot Tub Cinema
Factory 7 7-11 Hearn St, off Curtain Rd, EC2A 3LS
Wed Feb 27 – Tue Mar 5, £220 per tub (up to eight people)
The latest outdoor cinema experience invites viewers to watch a film while sitting back in hot tubs, with waiter service, on the Netil House rooftop. Tubs, which hold up to eight people, must be booked in advance. like a sweet afternoon tea pick-me-up with a glass of champagne or a lavish pudding, the Winter Club Sandwich is a new alternative to traditional London afternoon teas.
EXHIBITIONS
Codebreaker: Alan Turing’s Life and Legacy
Science Museum Exhibition Rd, SW7 2DD
Mon Feb 25 – Sun Jun 2
An exhibition to mark the centenary of the birth of Alan Turing (1912-1954). The show looks at the achievements of the man whose wartime codebreaking helped to shorten WWII by years and whose influence on computer science is still felt today. On display are artefacts including machines devised by Turing, such as the Pilot ACE computer (the fastest computer of its time), along with the electromechanical ‘bombe’ machines which were used to crack codes during the war.
Doctors, Dissection and Resurrection Men
Museum of London 150 London Wall, EC2Y 5HN
Sun Feb 24 – Sun Apr 14
‘I have only got a leg and thigh,’ wrote a disgruntled William
Hamilton in 1878, referring to his difficulty in finding enough material to complete his surgical training. Hamilton was relatively lucky.
Amongst Heroes: The Artist in Working Cornwall
2 Temple Place, London, WC2R 3BD
Until Sun Apr 14
Two Temple Place stages its second winter exhibition with a major survey of work by Cornish artists. Created in partnership with the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro, the show continues Two Temple Place’s aim to showcase collections from outside central London while providing opportunities for emerging curatorial talent – this year’s show has been curated by Courtauld Institute student Roo Gunzi, who is completing a PHD on Newlyn painter Stanhope Forbes
A Room for London
Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank, London, SE1 8XX
Perched on top of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, with a commanding view of the river, this wonderfully whimsical temporary hotel room was designed by David Kohn Architects in collaboration with artist Fiona Banner in response to a competition organised by Living Architecture.
The Huguenot Legacy
Bank of England Museum, Threadneedle St (entrance in Bartholomew Lane), London, EC2R 8AH, Until Fri May 10
The achievements and legacy of the Huguenots, the French protestant refugees who came to Britain during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, are celebrated in this exhibition, which takes a look at Huguenot contributions to British culture –including banking. Figures explored include the first Governor of the Bank of England, Sir John Houblon, who was the grandson of the Huguenot refugee. Nearby Spitalfields is the ideal place to continue an exploration of Huguenot London.
