Bloomsbury Festival

The area made famous by the literary and artistic circle surrounding Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant and others celebrates its heritage –and current creativity – with a three-day festival. Hubs including the Wellcome Collection, Senate House, the Foundling Museum, Bedford Square and Russell Square host a diverse range of events. There's dance and performance including 'Jilted', a humorous musical take on the many women featured in works by Dickens (Foundling Museum, Sat 5-6pm), 'Unexpected Item', an all-singing, all-dancing shopping trip presented by UndertheBed theatre at The People's Supermarket (Sat 9-10pm) and 'Stripped', an interactive retelling of 'Hedda Gabler' performed by recent graduates of RADA (RADA Studios, Sat 3.30pm, 6.30pm, 8.30pm). Music fans should head to Russell Square for the Choir with no Name (Sun 2.15pm), or to the World Music Stage in Russell Square for a programme from Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe (Sat & Sun from noon). Movie buffs, meanwhile, will enjoy Birkbeck Cinema's weekend programme (various times). You'd expect literary events to figure heavily in the Bloomsbury Festival programme and there are plenty to choose from, including 'Write Away', a chance to create your own retro-style postcards at the Postal Museum and October Gallery (Sat 12.30-5pm). Families are especially well catered for with dozens of events and activities including 'The Collectors', a performance of sound, light, dance and puppetry inspired by the weird and wonderful exhibits in the Grant Museum, (Russell Square, Fri 6.30pm) and 'Caricature You' sessions at the Cartoon Museum (Sat 1.30-2.20pm, Sun 3.30-4.20pm).