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Halloween events kick off this week with pumpkin carving competitions and spooky feasts held in east London churches. There are also new plays to catch, a tap takeover at the Tate Modern to get buzzed about and plenty of museums to explore after dark at late-night events. Have a killer week with our list below!
Things to do
Chocolate Skull Decorating, We Built This City, Tue, £25. Chocolate concocters The Cocoa Den host this sweet Halloween happening on Carnaby Street.
Conservation Couture: The Animal Ball Collection, V&A, Wed-Thu, free. The mammoth museum has teamed up with charity Elephant Family to display a collection of animal-inspired masks from some of the world’s leading fashion houses.
Noodoll Pound Town, Noodoll Studio, Thu, free. Grab a bargain at the Noodoll sale where many of the items are just a quid. Find plush toys, cute accessories, homeware and stationery to gift to loved ones at Christmas.
Fortnum & Mason Halloween Pumpkin Carving Competition, Fortnum & Mason, Thu, £20 + booking fee. Show off your knife skills at the department store's annual Halloween Pumpkin Carving Competition.
Museums at Night, various, Thu, prices vary. Bedwyr Williams throws a Druid party at Somerset House, Julie Peakman asks how Dr Samuel Johnson's legacy compares with that of his contemporary, courtesan Peg Plunkett, and Peter Liversidge uncovers the history of the Royal College of Nursing.
'Rooms' by FKA Twigs, 2 Chance Street, Thu, from £30. The star has curated a 12-room installation based on the zodiac chart, collaborating with a different renowned artist for each star sign.
Natural History Museum Ice Rink, Natural History Museum, Thu, from £12.65. An enchanting outdoor ice rink that's sure to charm visitors of all ages.
…or check out more events happening in London this week.
Eating and drinking
Tate Tap Takeover, Tate Modern, Thu, from £10. On the last Thursday of each month, the taps at the Tate Modern are taken over by a British craft brewery. Tonight it's the turn of Somerset's Wild Beer Co.
Halloween at Black Pig With White Pearls, secret London location, Thu, £48.38. Held in a church near Old Street, this Halloween dinner hosted by Black Pig With White Pearls has a Spanish theme, fiery food and flamenco music lined up for its guests.
MAST Chocolate Tasting Room Sessions, MAST Chocolate Tasting Room Sessions, Thu, £25. Wander round MAST Brothers' workshop, tasting everything in chocolate's journey from cacao nibs to truffle, bars and drinks.
…or check out the latest restaurant reviews.
Live music and nightlife
Clean Bandit, Roundhouse, TONIGHT, £24.50. New material from the smart pop four-piece who mix dance beats with classical strings.
Glass Animals, Roundhouse, Tue, £17.50. This experimental electronic pop outfit made a splash with their debut album 'Zaba' – full of lush, hazy pop curveballs layered with psychedelic synth-work and gentle electronic beats.
Formation, Village Underground, Tue, £10. Two brothers from south London pack a punch with their disco-inspired beats.
Warpaint, Roundhouse, Thu, £19.50. Get culty with the LA four-piece and their seductive, immersive brand of psychedelia.
…or take a look at all the live music events in London this week.
Film
The Badlands Collective: ‘Something Wild’, Prince Charles Cinema, Tue, £8.50. On its thirtieth anniversary, the Badlands Collective film club is screening ‘Something Wild’, a classic of American independent cinema on 35mm.
Or at the cinema...
Queen of Katwe ★★★★☆ The young cast light up Mira Nair's uplifting, sympathetic story of a Ugandan chess champion born into poverty.
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back ★★★☆☆ Tom Cruise returns as Jack Reacher in the follow-up to the 2012 original.
…or see all of the latest releases.
Theatre
The Red Barn, National Theatre, Lyttelton, all week, £15-£60. Mark Strong is excellent as a man doubting his entire life in this stylish new production from Robert Icke.
Blue Heart, Orange Tree Theatre, all week, £20. Caryl Churchill at her absurd, terrifying, visionary best in this obscure 1997 revival.
A Man of Good Hope, Young Vic, all week, £10-£35. A heartbreaking opera set in a South African township.
…or see our theatre critics’ choices.
This week's best new art
Neo Rauch: Rondo, David Zwirner, Tue-Thu, free. Nothing makes sense in Neo Rauch’s world. Windmills turn into bendy tubes, men in horned hats crash green cymbals together, ostriches with human faces are stroked like pets.
Tala Madani: Shitty Disco, Pilar Corrias, all week, free. Madani’s dark nightclub scenes are filled with dancing punters lost in the music, standing in awe of bright streams of light erupting from all sorts of naughty places.
Rodin And Dance: The Essence Of Movement, Courtauld Institute, all week, £8.50. This show pulls together a bunch of rude drawings and sculptures that Rodin never showed publicly and largely didn’t even finish.
…or see all London art reviews.
And finally
Win... tickets for an exclusive skate at the Natural History Museum or a VIP night at English National Opera to see Tosca
Grab... tickets to an evening an exploring the life of the iconic Emma Hamilton on Thursday November 17 2016
Book… these gigs while you still can
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