London events in March

Eugene O’Neill’s ‘Long Day’s Journey Into Night’ is at the very least a strong contender for the greatest American play of all time. It concerns the Tyrell family, headed by father James, an actor who achieved success by squandering his talent and playing a single commercially successful role repeatedly for most of his life. The story follows the family’s implosion over the course of a single day. Jeremy Herrin directs Brian Cox in what may or may not prove his stage swansong, but should in any case be a monumental night at the theatre.

Italian artist and furniture designer Enzo Mari’s simple but ingenious creations have inspired generations of creative types. This retrospective at the Design Museum is a comprehensive showcase of his resonant and timeless projects. Debuting at the Triennale Milano in 2020, just days after the designer’s death, the exhibition spans his 60-year career, bringing together furniture, product design, children's books and conceptual installations curated by influential art critic and Serpentine Galleries art director Hans-Ulrich Obrist, with Francesca Giacomelli. 

In an unusual but undeniably intriguing meeting of minds, British national acting treasure Sheridan Smith stars in a new musical adaptation of John Cassavetes’s classic indie film ‘Opening Night’ created by globally renowned leftfield Belgian director Ivo van Hove and US baroque pop legend Rufus Wainwright. Smith’s recent well-documented personal struggles seem perfect fuel for the fire of Cassavetes’s story about Myrtle Gordon, a renowned actress struggling with alcoholism and old age as she prepares to take on the starring role in a new play. 

Fancy eating your sad office sarnies in a cacoon of bamboo? Somerset House is turning its bombastic neoclassical courtyard into a garden full of the panda food which you can frolic about in for free to enjoy a quick picnic, a moment of calm in your busy work day, or an inevitable photo-op. The immersive installation is a new large-scale commission from Hong-Kong based artist Zheng Bo that ‘invites visitors to temporarily disconnect from their fast-paced, hyper-connected everyday lives by immersing themselves in the biosphere’. 

London will soon be blessed with an enormous immersive LEGO experience, thanks to Exhibition Hub (the ones behind the Van Gogh Immersive Experience). In partnership with events company Fever, ‘The Art of the Brick’ will feature 90 works by Nathan Sawaya, an artist who creates sculptures and mosaics entirely out of LEGO bricks. Expect the likes of Michelangelo’s ‘David’ and Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’ to be reimagined in iconic little building blocks. In total, the experience contains more than a million LEGO bricks, and there’ll be bits of music and 3D video, too.

Is your flat full of houseplants? Did you start growing vegetables in lockdown and now have a lifetime’s supply of Lamb’s Lettuce? You’re not the only one. Writer and editor Alice Vincent set out to discover why women grow plants and vegetables and in 2022 she compiled her stories into a book. This exhibition brings the tales to life with original recordings of interviews from guests like Margaret Howell, Sarah Raven, Rukmini Iyer and Poppy Okotcha and accompanying photography by Siobhan Watts.

Mums deserve high praise all year round, but Mothering Sunday is the ultimate excuse to treat your darling ma and any other matriarchs in your life to a lovely time. Here’s our guide to help you get organised and plan a proper celebration of mumsy on Sunday March 10, whether you want to take her for a cheeky Mumtini, treat her to a relaxing trip to one of London’s exquisite spas, or send her a stunning bunch of flowers. 

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) was founded in 1824 and over the last 200 years it’s helped save 144,000 lives at sea. This exhibition shines a light on the role the institution's female volunteers have played in rescuing people from perilous situations on the waves. Forty-two photographs by Jack Lowe will be on display, all portraits of women who volunteer for the RNLI alongside their lifeboat station’s slipway. There’ll also be oral histories to listen to and visitors will get a deep dive into the role women have played in fundraising and volunteering for the organisation over its long history. 

Unstoppable acting legend Ian McKellen and revered director Robert Icke join forces for this incredibly exciting new show, Icke’s own adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘Henry IV’ Parts 1 and 2 starring 84-year-old Sir Ian in the great role of dissolute knight John Falstaff. It will be McKellen’s sixth play since turning 80, a remarkable workrate at any age, but his willingness to team up with auteur Icke to take on such a demanding role feels like some serious legacy-building.

Even if you don’t know the name Jean-Marie Toulgouat, you’ll notice something immediately familiar about his work in this Garden Museum exhibition. That’s because Toulgouat was the great-grandson (by marriage) of the iconic Impressionist painter Claude Monet. Monet’s themes and colours seep into the oil paintings on show which capture Toulgout’s relationship to the landscapes of Giverny where he was born.

The hot, humid conditions of West Africa and India in the 1940s were likely incomparable to anything many of us have ever experienced, even during British ‘summers’, and surviving them comfortably is largely thanks to architectural style which developed throughout the era. The V&A’s Porter Gallery, accessible via the Cromwell Road entrance, will transport us through a world of Tropical Modernism, which truly emerged after independence was granted in India and Ghana, when the nations wanted to begin distinguishing themselves from colonial culture. The collection includes illustrations and photography to demonstrate this architectural symbol of modernity and progress, with thanks to scholars, architects and filmmakers, and it sure looks worth a visit.

Spring in London is always a knockout. We might live in a sprawling capital city, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t tons of amazing green spaces to enjoy the season’s pops of colour. From London's bright pink cherry blossoms to seas of daffodils, take a look at our list of the best places to see flowers in London.