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Gallop down to Greenwich and you’ll find more than 40 pantomime horses trotting through the streets raising money for charity. ‘Film and TV’ is this year’s theme, so expect the nags to come dressed as some of your fave silver screen stars. The opening ceremony will feature a ‘Strictly Neigh Dancing’ dressage contest and the After Race Christmas Party will have live music, comedy and DJs. Everybody’s welcome at the bash, but if you think you’re capable of a charity canter, you’ll need to sign up in advance, by emailing entries@pantohorserace.org.
Get ready for steamy cocktails, as Time Out throws its very own festival of cockle-rocking tipples. Hendrick’s, Monkey Shoulder, Glenfiddich and Reyka will be bringing together hot drinks, hot tunes and a hot winter vibe, while Night Tales’ resident Japanese izakaya Fat Baby and pizzeria Sons of Slice will be on snack duty. Down with mulled wine. It’s hot cocktail time!
Are you a devoted fan of solid dairy? Then Borough Market’s annual Evening of Cheese is for you, thanks to the 20-plus cheesemongers who have been invited to showcase their wares. Alongside the wheels of dreams you’ll find wines, ciders and chutney too.
Let young Thai artist Korakrit Arunanondchai drag you into a metaphorical cave filled with spectres that will haunt you, spirits that will possess you and a whole load of lasers. It’s a little nuts, a little ridiculous, but very, very good.
Expect singing, dancing and an ‘explosion of sequins’ from comedy cabaret trio Glittery Clittery. The South Bank’s never seen so much festive, feminist realness. Merry Christmuff!
This Peckham restaurant from the team behind Brixton’s Salon has enough delicious small plates to build an entire meal and then some. Our tip? Try them all.
London’s flagship panto is back on top form thanks to the return of dame of dames Clive Rowe and ‘EastEnders’ star Tameka Empson. They might just be the funniest double act in town.
Based on our connections to each other and to all the pre-internet parts of this planet, Chiharu Shiota’s new show is made up of a large-scale installation using a cast of the artist’s feet as the base for a massive, multi-layered maze of red rope. It’s overwhelming and incredibly beautiful.
Riposte magazine and Amnesty International UK have joined forces for this exhibition marking the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Feast your eyes on work by women and non-binary artists including Esther Mahlangu, Guerilla Girls, Erin Aniker and Hattie Stewart. All profits from art sales will go to Amnesty, and there’s a programme of events, workshops and talks running alongside the show.
After umpteen versions of ’Spider-Man’, here’s one that embraces the most out-there bits of Spidey lore and forges something totally fresh from them. This animated origin story introduces us to Miles Morales, an Afro-Latino high-schooler bitten by that pesky radioactive spider. He’s reluctantly tutored by a more jaded Peter Parker, who’s been dropped in from a parallel dimension, complete with a broken heart and a burger belly.
Find extra-special stocking-fillers made by local designers, as the Walthamstow workshop catches festive fever. Mulled wine and beers will be available from the bar and Walthamstow Dogs will be dishing up hot dogs to keep you fuelled.
Brace yourself for a super-trippy VR installation that uses breath sensors, heart monitors and scent-dispersal systems to explore our connections to nature. Pop on a headset and find yourself in the canopy of a giant sequoia tree – the largest living individual organism on the planet. A blaze of light and colour awaits.
Listen to choirs including the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir – finalists on Gareth Malone’s BBC Two show ‘Sing While You Work’ – belt out seasonal classics and sip on steaming mulled wine 52 metres above the ground on this Christmassy climb up the roof of the O2. Catch a performance of ‘Walking in the Air’ for the full immersive experience.
This festival of big-top spectacle, cabaret and classes celebrates 250 years of UK circus performances with family-friendly daytime fare and more adult evening shows. Mini-performances feature Chinese pole, acrobatics and fire, while workshops let both kids and adults try out juggling and the trapeze.
Enter through a Narnia-style wardrobe into a new season of festive films screened in a snow-filled grotto. There’ll be a forest of Christmas trees, hot chocolate and up to three screenings a day of movies including ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’, ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’, ‘Elf’ and ‘The Holiday’.
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'Faulty Towers: the Dining Experience' returns for 2017. This review is from the 2012 run. Farty Towels; Watery Fowls; Flowery Twats; the misspelling of...
Festive playground Winterville is back in Clapham Common and features more dancing, eating, laughing, drinking and skating than you can shake a snow globe...
West London’s Kew Gardens glow with magical illuminations for the festive period
This dazzling hi-tech drama from the National Theatre is a story of a family struggling to cope
Poet Jean Sprackland, who has Forward, Whitbread and Costa awards under her belt, reads from her latest collection, 'Sleeping Keys'. She'll be joined on the...
Set in a former bullion truck depot in Shoreditch, Dinerama is a food and drink market from Street Feast, London’s leading street food market company.
The biggest theatre hit of modern times bar none is Jack Thorne and JK Rowling's epic two-part eighth adventure for erstwhile boy wizard Harry Potter
Spend the evening in stitches with textiles designer and founder of Embellished Talk, Rebeckah Kemi Apara who’ll guide you through the art of modern...
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