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From Monday to Thursday you can catch some great art exhibitions, kick back at Hampstead beach, polish off an Aperol spritz or two at a summer social and work your magic at a Harry Potter-themed quiz. Have a cracking few days with our suggestions below.
CENTRAL
Warpaint, Somerset House, TONIGHT, prices vary. Sweet shoegaze from the LA quartet whose looping vocals, shadowy guitar and stuttering beats are utterly beguiling.
Le Crown and Cactus, 15 Bateman St, Thu, £5. Visit the new pop-up garden bar laid on by Chambord. There’ll be four ‘fantastique’ rooms where you can sup on the French tipple and dress up your drink with ‘candyfloss and glitter’, including a snazzy-sounding ‘Bubble Bar’.
We, The Creators, multiple venues, Mon, Thu, free. Co-working space WeWork is hosting a month-long programme of TED-style talks to inspire budding entrepreneurs and those venturing into the creative industries.
‘The Mentor’, Vaudeville Theatre, all week, £19.50-£75. F Murray Abraham stars in this sour comedy about feuding writers.
Ben & Jerry’s Summer in Soho, 74 Wardour St, all week. Everyone’s favourite ice-cream duo is setting up shop in Soho for the hot summer months. The B&J pop-up will be serving all your fave flavours until October 31.
NORTH
Jennifer Tee: Let it Come Down
‘Jennifer Tee: Let It Come Down’, Camden Arts Centre, Tue-Thu, free. For her solo show, Jennifer Tee, a Dutch artist with Chinese-Indonesian heritage, has dipped into the bloody well of ‘Macbeth’. Before Banquo is murdered, he predicts rain; his killer coldly responds, ‘Let it come down.’
A Night of D'Angelo, Jazz Cafe, TONIGHT, £12. The American R&B and neo-soul singer has his hits performed live (not by D'Angelo himself).
Hampstead Beach, JW3, all week, free. Hampstead better be beach-body ready, because a stretch of golden sand is popping up at JW3 with food, cocktails and special events taking place on the urban coast throughout the summer.
EAST
© Topher McGrillis
‘The Tempest’, Barbican Centre, all week, £25-£57.50. Simon Russell Beale is a charming Prospero in this weirdly techy RSC production.
Pop-Up India: ‘The Lunchbox’, Proud East, Tue, £10. Following the success of their Pop-Up Japan bar and restaurant, Proud East has moved on to the flavours of India with a new pop-up. It’s showing films as well, courtesy of outdoor cinema experts The Nomad.
Aperol Spritz Social in London, Netil360, Thu, free. Sip an aperitivo on a Hackney rooftop with the Aperol Spritz Social at Netil360 led by a headline DJ set from Norman Jay.
Harry Potter Quiz Night, Star of Bethnal Green, Thu, £5. Do you know your Lovegood from your Longbottom? Could you pick a Hufflepuff out of a Quidditch crowd? If so, Slytherin down to the Star of Bethnal Green’s Harry Potter quiz night.
Ezra Furman, Barbican Centre, Thu, £15-£20. Chicago singer-songwriter Furman and his band perform soulful, doo wop-inspired rock with plenty of pop hooks and twisted wit.
‘We Are Angry – 200 Years of Protest in Britain’, Bishopsgate Institute, Thu, £7-£11. The revolution will be archived, at this exhibition of large-scale protest in Britain from the early 1800s to the present day.
SOUTH
The Place is Here
‘Where are we marching? The future of protest’, Imperial War Museum, Tue, £12. See a political Twitter debate play out in real time with this after-hours panel discussion at the Imperial War Museum featuring Political Editor at Buzzfeed Jim Waterson, CND General Secretary Kate Hudson and comedian Mark Thomas.
‘The Place Is Here’, South London Gallery, all week, free. The title of this excellent show is taken from a work called ‘We Will Be’ (1983) by current Turner Prize nominee Lubaina Himid.
‘Alan Partridge Night 2: Bouncing Back’, Knowles of Norwood, Thu, free. Throw on a fleece and pull on those driving gloves for the second instalment of this Alan Partridge night at south-east London pub Knowles of Norwood.
Jerwood Makers Open, Jerwood Space, all week, free. The Jerwood Charitable Foundation has commissioned five emerging makers working within contemporary applied arts who team technical skills with intellectual adventure to create a brand new body of work each.
WEST
Urban Food Fest’s Summer in the Square, Portman Square Garden, Tue-Thu, free. Urban Food Fest is taking over Portman Square for four days stacked with 25 gourmet street food stalls, a giant screen streaming live Wimbledon games and a chillout area filled with vintage furniture.
‘Hella Jongerius: Breathing Colour’, Design Museum, all week, £9.50. Dutch designer Jongerius has created an installation-based exhibition that builds on years of her company’s research into how we see, encounter and process colour.
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