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Flirt your way through the weekend with dating fairs, exercise classes for single folks and free burlesque workshops. There’s also Dishoom’s Holi celebration to enjoy and the return of the Raw Wine Fair. Make it a fun one with the list below!
Things to do
Rewired: the Brain, Art, and Innovation, Royal Geographical Society, TONIGHT, £12. Set your synapses firing at ‘Rewired: the Brain, Art, and Innovation’ for a night of talks, contemporary dance pieces, photography and theatre performances inspired by all things neuroscience.
Free Charity Burlesque Class and World Record Attempt, JuJu’s Bar and Stage, Sat, free (suggested donation £2). Learn to peel a glove ‘seductively’ at the Sapphira’s Showgirls’ free burlesque class in honour of International Women’s Day.
UK Dating Fair, One Alfred Place, Sat, £24.14. Spend National Singles Day (yes, that really is a thing, apparently) at the UK Dating Fair, which is putting on a programme of workshops, seminars and stands.
Lovercise, London Fields Fitness Studio, Sat, £10. Targeted at those seeking a little more than a gym buddy, Lovercise is a fitness class aimed at open-minded singles who enjoy a rigorous workout, helping you find love while you get those endorphins pumping.
Hackney Flea Market, Abney Hall, Sat-Sun, free. Set in the busy heart of Stoke Newington’s Church Street, Hackney Flea Market offers an eclectic range of items including everything from jewellery, vintage fabrics and furniture to old maps and kitchenalia.
Turning Earth E10 Opening Weekend Market, Turning Earth E10, Sat-Sun, prices vary. Social enterprise Turning Earth celebrates the opening of its second location Turning Earth E10, a Makers Market for London ceramicists.
Zero Waste Talk by Bea Johnson, Mary Ward House, Sun, £19. Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rot is Bea Johnson’s mantra as founder of the Zero Waste Movement.
Dishoom Does Holi, York Hall, Sun, prices vary. Dishoom is once again calling revellers of all ages, faiths and backgrounds to join them in celebrating the fun-filled festival of Holi.
The F Word: Stories that Transform, Gallery@oxo, all weekend, free. A free exhibition by the Forgiveness Project offering an exploration of forgiveness through real life stories.
The Women's Space, 5 Carlos Place, all weekend, free. The ‘Women’s Space’ is a pop-up co-working initiative in a plush two-storey Mayfair townhouse. There is a programme of daily talks and events on fashion, culture, business and the arts for members to attend.
…or check out more events happening in London this weekend
Imad's Syrian Kitchen
Eating and drinking
London Drinker Beer and Cider Festival, Camden Centre, TONIGHT, £4 after 5pm (£3 CAMRA members). North London’s Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) representatives present their annual beer festival, which will see pint enthusiasts (attempt to) taste their way through real ales, ciders, perries and imported beers.
Imad’s Syrian Kitchen, 134 Columbia Road, Sat-Sun, £15-£40. Tuck in to some of Syria’s favourite dishes at this pop-up kitchen set up by Imad Alarnab, a Syrian chef and refugee living in London.
Raw Wine Fair 2017, 180 the Strand, Sun, £35-£55 adv. The Raw Wine Fair pours back into the capital for a sixth year running, proving that organic wine is not a short-lived trend.
…or check out the latest restaurant reviews
Live music and nightlife
Stiff Little Fingers, The Forum (O2 Forum Kentish Town), TONIGHT, from £20. The veteran Northern Irish punks return to the stage.
De La Soul, Roundhouse, TONIGHT, £28.50-£33.50. Hip hop from the long-standing US trio, known for the hits ‘Me Myself and I’ and ‘The Magic Number’.
Groove Control, Queen of Hoxton, Sat, £8, adv £5. Garage-loving party crew Groove Control host another night of two-steppin’ bliss. UKG stalwarts Luck And Neat lead the charge, with more garage goodness plus disco, house and basement grooves from Larry Sun and Dom Fader.
Love Come Down, The Brewhouse, Sat, £8. If you’re looking for glitter, disco, more glitter and more disco, LCD is very probably the party for you.
Get The Blessing, Pizza Express Jazz Club, Sat, from £15. Bristolian jazz four-piece Get The Blessing play two shows at the underground Dean Street club showcasing tracks from their newest album – ‘Astronautilis’, which is dedicated to Ornette Coleman.
Fritz Kalkbrenner, Roundhouse, Sat, £15-£25. DJ and producer Paul Kalkbrenner’s bro Fritz mashes house and soul with hip hop hints to dazzlingly grooveworthy effect. This should be a big one.
…or take a look at all the live music events in London this week
Film
Fashion in Film Festival: ‘Opening Night’, Curzon Soho, Sat, £15. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Fashion in Film festival, a celebration of style in and out of the cinema.
Raging Bull, Hackney Picturehouse, Sun, £12.50, £11.50 concs. Martin Scorsese’s iconic movie is a masterclass in pain inflicted on oneself, loved ones and opponents.
Twilight Zone: The Movie, Prince Charles Cinema, Sun, £8. These revamped episodes from the supernatural TV series begin splendidly with Dan Aykroyd and Albert Brooks driving down a dark road at night, singing along to Creedence Clearwater and trying to guess TV theme songs.
Or at the cinema...
Elle ★★★★☆ Dutch provocateur Paul Verhoeven gets back to basics with a nutso rape-revenge script and the fearless Isabelle Huppert.
The Love Witch ★★★★★ A budding witch uses her powers for evil in this hilariously kitsch and visually sumptuous horror-comedy.
Kong: Skull Island ★★★☆☆ This latest, 1970s-set spin on the King Kong legend – starring Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson – is enjoyably big on spectacle but light on subtlety.
…or see all of the latest releases
© Johan Persson
Theatre
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Harold Pinter Theatre, Fri-Sat, £15-£90. Imelda Staunton and Conleth Hill are devastating in Edward Albee’s iconic play.
Limehouse, Donmar Warehouse, Fri-Sat, £10-£40. This political drama imagines the meeting that led to the 1981 Labour split.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Old Vic, Fri-Sat, £12-£65. Daniel Radcliffe shines in Tom Stoppard's breakthrough play.
…or see our theatre critics’ choices
This week’s best new art
Rhys Coren: Whistle Bump Super Strut, Seventeen, Fri-Sat, free. English artist Rhys Coren’s work feels like the result of thousands of hours spent in front of countless late ’80s and early ’90s TV shows.
Georg Baselitz: 1977-1992, Michael Werner Gallery, Fri-Sat, free. This show of superstar German painter/provocateur Georg Baselitz has got some big paintings in it, but it’s a small show, and a truly moving experience.
Gillian Wearing & Claude Cahun: Behind the Mask, Another Mask National Portrait Gallery, all week, £12. Born 70 years apart, the French surrealist and the British Turner Prize-winner are united by an obsession with the knotty, tangled turmoil of identity. This small but neat show puts their work side by side.
…or see all London art reviews
And finally
Win... pair of passes to the London Coffee Festival with immersive experiences and goodie bags
Grab...tickets for for London theatre shows
Book…these gigs while you still can
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