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Get creative this week with flower-arranging workshops, paper-cutting classes and skate sessions for girls at House of Vans. Then turn your attention to Burns Night and pack the next few days full of haggis, whisky and ceilidh clubs! Have yourself a fabulous week with our suggestions below.
Things to do
Childhood Wonder, Science Museum, Wed, free. Rewind the clock back to your childhood at the Science Museum's monthly Late.
The Great Sausage Roll Off, The Red Lion (Barnes), Wed, free. The mighty meaty pastry-cloaked snack is one of Britain's favourite mouthfuls, so it's no wonder some snack hounds are on the hunt for London's very best.
James Massiah Presents Love and Libaerty, Punch Room at the London Edition, Wed, free. The London Edition’s Punch Room hosts an evening of poetry and performance hosted by South London poet and DJ James Massiah.
Flower Workshops with Bloomon, multiple venues, Wed-Thu, £27. Workshops will see attendees arranging blooms to take home, and expert tutors will give advice on making stems last longer and other nifty tricks.
Girls Skate Night, House of Vans, Thu, free. London’s female shredders are invited to House of Vans’ all-girl get-together. Spend the evening skating yourself silly on the skate park's bowl and mini-ramp.
The Greatest Sneakers of All Time, The Archivist Gallery, Thu, free. Visit The Archivist's Gallery to discover secret stories behind the creation of the world's most iconic sneakers.
The Finest Beards in the Ladybird Archive, Florence Nightingale Museum, Thu, £8. The authors of Ladybird Books for Grown-Ups have searched through the archive for excellent examples of facial hair, and tonight they'll share their finds with you.
Paper Cutting with Poppy Chancellor, Bluebird, Thu, from £25. A Valentine's special held in the private room at Bluebird. Create delicate note cards or loved-up designs to gift to your beau.
Museum of Transology, Fashion Space Gallery, all week, free. A collection of trans artefacts and photographic portraiture challenging the idea that gender is fixed and biologically determined.
Winter Lights at Canary Wharf, Canary Wharf Estate, all week, free. The bright lights of Canary Wharf's towers already provide quite the spectacle after dark, but the area glows even more than usual throughout January thanks to the addition of a variety of installations from international artists.
…or check out more events happening in London this week.
Burns Night at The Sun Tavern
Eating and drinking
‘Sunny Side Up’ Pop-Up Café, Covent Garden Piazza, Wed, £3. A ‘Sunny Side Up’ Café completely devoted to eggs is popping up in Covent Garden. Chef Simon Rimmer will create some cracking one-pot dishes, as well as rolled omelette slices, no-bread burritos and egg & chorizo casserole.
Bourne & Hollingsworth Burns Night Party, Bourne & Hollingsworth, Wed, £25-£85. Whisky and words collide in celebration of Burns Night. Dig out your kilts and tartan for a whisky cocktail reception, special menu, traditional piper and Address to the Haggis.
Burns Night at The Sun Tavern, The Sun Tavern, Wed, drinks from £5. Burns Night in Bethnal Green means a selection of tasty whisky cocktails made as a tribute to the great, Scottish poet. Drinks are £5 a pop and can be accompanied by haggis scotch eggs from Pig & Hay.
Australia Day Feast, Balls and Company, Thu, £40. Celebrate Australia Day at Soho’s Balls and Company, which, for one-night-only, will be hosting a super line-up of Aussie chefs.
KinoVino Beirut, Palm 2, Thu, £50. Experience Beirut through its cinema and food at this supper club from the folks at KinoVino.
A Week of Burns Celebrations at Mac & Wild, various, all week, prices vary. This week's worth of merriment comes courtesy of Mac & Wild who have a haggis-making masterclass, whisky and beer pairing evening and late-night party packed into their Burns Night celebrations.
…or check out the latest restaurant reviews.
Jose Gonzalez With The String Theory
Live music and nightlife
Jose Gonzalez With The String Theory, Southbank Centre, Tue, £25 & £30, concs available. A collaboration between the Argentinian-Swedish singer-songwriter and the group to perform indie originals by Gonzalez.
Burns, Baby, Burns!, St John-at-Hackney Church, Thu, £35-£49. A riotously fun Burns Night party, featuring a traditional three-course supper, ceilidh and whisky bar.
Mos Def (Yasiin Bey), The Forum (O2 Forum Kentish Town), Thu, £26.50. Yasiin Bey, the conscious MC formerly known as Mos Def (and born Dante Terrell Smith) plays his extensive back catalogue of funk-and-soul-soaked hip hop anthems to get the place jumping.
…or take a look at all the live music events in London this week.
Film
BFI Flare: ‘Cruising’, BFI Southbank, Wed, £8.35–£11.75. Loathed for decades by the gay community – and understandably so – William Friedkin’s groundbreaking thriller has gradually been welcomed back into the fold, hence a screening programmed by the team behind the BFI’s annual LGBT+ film festival.
The VITO Project: ‘Theorem’, The Cinema Museum, Wed, donation only. In Italian auteur Pier Paolo Pasolini’s masterful drama, a beatific stranger played by Terence Stamp arrives in a rich Milanese household, and sets hormones a-flutter.
The Cobweb, Genesis Cinema, Thu, £8, £7 concs. Watch an original 35mm print of this drama directed by visual master Vincente Minnelli (‘An American in Paris’).
Or at the cinema...
Jackie ★★★★★ Natalie Portman triumphs as JFK's widow in Pablo Larraín's real-life story set during an unprecedented time of national tragedy.
Split ★★★☆☆ M Night Shyamalan returns with a freaky thriller about a kidnapper with multiple personalities.
Lion ★★★☆☆ Dev Patel impresses in this 'Slumdog'-like true tale of an Indian boy adopted by a Tasmanian couple.
…or see all of the latest releases.
© Iona Firouzabadi
Theatre
The Convert, Gate Theatre, all week, £20, £15 concs. Brilliant new 1896 drama from Danai Gurira about cultural (and actual) imperialism.
Winter Solstice, Orange Tree Theatre, all week, £20, under 30s £12. This dark German comedy about the resurgence of the far right is worth sticking with.
…or see our theatre critics’ choices.
This week's best new art
Terrains Of The Body: Photography From The National Museum Of Women In The Arts, Whitechapel Gallery, Tue-Thu, free. Above all else, what you get here is the sense of women artists reclaiming their own representation.
Tschabalala Self, Parasol Unit, Tue-Thu, free. ‘My black ass’, one of the opening works in this American artist’s first UK show, is a bold, aggressive, confident and political gif animation; it’s a challenge, a threat.
Sigmar Polke: Pour Paintings on Paper, Michael Werner Gallery, Tue-Thu, free. The works were made by pouring paint onto prepared black paper. They’re simple, obvious things, abstract and direct. You’re forced to concentrate on the paint itself.
…or see all London art reviews.
And finally
Win... tickets and boutique camping to Secret Garden Party
Grab... 47% off a meal at Billy and the Chicks
Book… these gigs while you still can
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