perks!London events in May
May hurray! London in May means spring is officially here and London’s parks are at their blooming best. Spend May in London exploring the capital's great outdoors or sinking a drink (or two) on one of London's rooftop bars. May in London is also the month of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, London Craft Week and Museums at Night. Here's our guide to the best events, parties, pop-ups and things to do in May 2019 in London. You're in for one sweet, sweet month.
RECOMMENDED: The definitive London events calendar
The best May events in London
‘Dido’
Marking an end to Purni Morell's stint at the helm of Unicorn Theatre, this ambitious work is a new opera for teenagers and adults. It's a new story with a mother-daughter relationship at its heart.
‘Magic Realism: Art in Weimar Germany 1919 - 1933’
The term 'magic realism' is commonly used to describe the stories written by South American authors including Borges and Márquez. This exhibition remembers that the term was actually invented by German artist Franz Roh, who coined it as a name for the art created in his home country following the emotionally fraught German Expressionist movement.
‘Only Human: Photographs by Martin Parr’
This major exhibition brings together the photographer's megahit works with some of his newest snaps, including ones that have never been publically on show before.
‘Sorolla: Spanish Master of Light’
The name Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida doesn't regularly trip off the tongues of London art fans. But that just makes this exhibition more worth a visit. His numerous landscapes, seascapes, garden and bathing scenes are classical in subject and style, but you can also spot similarities in Sorolla's practices with the (then) new-fangled French impressionist movement.
‘Wicked’
After its 2006 opening at Apollo Victoria, Oz prequel 'Wicked' continues to fill this massive theatre, but this stylish and bombastic musical still delivers, sailing over its patchy score thanks to a gravity-defying performance from its current leading lady Rachel Tucker.
‘Boilly: Scenes of Parisian Life’
Louis Léopold-Boilly first found fame painting 'intimate' scenes. But, when the French Revolution hit, Boilly came out of the boudoir and into the streets. His large-scale scenes of life in the French capital are at the heart of this free exhibition.
‘Elizabethan Treasures: Miniatures by Hilliard and Oliver’
Get ruff and ready for this exquisite collection of miniatures from the Tudor and Jacobean eras. The super-detailed artworks by Nicholas Hilliard and Isaac Oliver take gallery-goers back to a time when owning these teeny tiny pictures was part of a complex system of love, friendship, patronage and more.
Find great things to do all year round
101 things to do in London
London is a treasure trove of brilliant days out and activities worth boasting about. Find great new ways to fill your free time with this list of our favourite things to do in the capital.
