The Time Out London blog team

Late last year, immersive titans Secret Cinema sent out a teaser email to its entire mailing list saying its new show would be announced the following day, while Deadline dropped a story saying that it was going to be an immersive staging of Barbie. There was no announcement the following day and there has been no sign of a Barbie show, and while I have heard rumours an all new Secret Cinema event at a new site will be announced soon-ish, then long story short this summer it’ll be bringing back last year’s hit staging of Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical. And why not? Returning to Battersea Park, the show that launched a thousand Instagram snaps was a hit for the company and saw Secret Cinema blessedly return to a format wherein the audience actually had to watch the movie (a point that had increasingly become an afterthought in recent Secret Cinema events).  Also, those fancy sets recreating Rydell High and its neighbouring fairground were presumably just gathering dust somewhere and deserve a second airing via a fun show that supplements the recorded John Travolta, Olivia Newton John et al with live dancers and singers. Obviously the baller move would have been to stage Grease 2 instead, but arguably that would have been a recipe for total financial disaster. Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical is at Battersea Park, Jul 22-Sep 13. The best new London theatre shows to book for in 2026. The best immersive shows in London. Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke –...

It’s time to bid farewell to the super unique Flat Earth Pizza. The Bethnal Green pizza parlour opened on Cambridge Heath Road in 2022 after trialing their sustainable, plant-based concept at a series of pop-ups, including at the Railway Tavern in Dalston (which is now home to Little Earthquakes’ excellent pizza residency).  Flat Earth’s owners announced the news on Instagram, saying they will be serving their last pizza in mid-April. ‘For some, [Flat Earth] will be another statistic in hospitality’s ongoing bloodbath. For many, we hope we’ve been a little bit of magic on the corner of Vyner Street. Being busy these days is just not enough! With over 30 per cent of our turnover being taken away through central and local government taxing and ever spiralling operating costs yet another goose dies having laid its last golden egg,’ they wrote. The restaurant was meat-free, offering vegetarian and vegan toppings such as kimchi fiorentina, creamy garlic mushrooms, and a ‘Hackney Hot’ with sweet pickled beetroot, chilli and hot salsa. Their sustainable approach meant that nothing went to landfill, with their food waste 30 percent lower than the industry average, with scraps turned into renewable energy and fertiliser. They made Time Out’s list of the best sustainable restaurants in London, alongside the likes of Silo in nearby Hackney Wick, which also closed recently.  These are the best vegetarian restaurants in London.  Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from...

Kensington’s Princess Diana Memorial Playground is the jewel in the crown of central London playparks, drawing in over a million kids a year with the prospect of Peter Pan-inspired adventures. But unfortunately, it's been closed since last autumn for a £3 million renovation, leaving a fun-shaped gap in Kensington Gardens. Sure, you could feed the ducks, but it's not quite as good as rampaging over a gigantic pirate ship, is it? Luckily, it looks like the playground is shaping up beautifully ahead of its big reopening this summer. The centrepiece? A spectacular life-size galleon that’s travelled over the North Sea to reach Kensington (loaded onto another, more-seaworthy vessel). The 12-metre tall ship was made in Frasdorf, Germany, by Bavarian specialists in wooden play equipment, and is made from larch wood from the nearby Alps. It’s been assembled by crane, and is set to have two crow’s nests, a tunnel slide, and rigging for maximum realism.  Photograph: Christopher Llewellyn Andy Williams, park manager for Kensington Gardens, has said that he’s thrilled with the new arrival: ‘Children can be the captain of their own ship and let their imaginations soar when the playground reopens’.  Still, there’s still a few more months to wait for that to happen this summer, and a specific date has not yet been set. Royal Parks is still seeking donations for the big refurb, which it’s funding with support from both private individuals and corporate supporters. Let’s hope we’re not...