Things to do in London this week
Discover the biggest and best things to do in London over the next seven days
Got a quiet week ahead of you? Check out our pick of the best things to do in London over the next seven days, chosen by Time Out editors. While we all observe safe social-distancing, we’re finding new ways to engage with the city, whether that’s live streaming a workshop from a London bakery, doing a digital yoga class in your living room, or ordering a takeaway from your favourite London restaurant to help it stay afloat. Let us be your social lifesaver for the next week. And if you’ve got a tip for something fun going on in London, Tweet us your suggestion and help spread the word. You’ll be begging for a night off by Sunday.
RECOMMENDED: The best things to do in London every week of the year.
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Bread Ahead baking tutorials
With supermarkets running low on loaves, isolation might be the perfect time to brush up on your home baking skills. Fortunately, Borough Market bakery Bread Ahead is here to help. It’ll be running baking tutorials on Instagram Live every afternoon, teaching you how to make treats like chocolate brownies and hot cross buns. Tune in at 2pm to bake along, or catch each class on Insta for 24 hours afterwards.
Digital yoga classes from London fitness studios
Use the quarantine downtime to perfect your downward dog, with the help of several of London’s best yoga studios. Check out free virtual classes on Covent Garden studio Another Space’s social accounts, learn the basics on MoreYoga’s YouTube channel for nothing, or do a full-length class with Hackney social enterprise Supply Yoga, boutique Hornsey studio One Yoga or compact Tufnell park practice Down to Earth, who are all streaming their usual schedule of classes online starting at £5 per go. Nama-stay indoors!
Drag Aerobics with Dolly Trolley
Your regular exercise routine probably went out the window on day one of working from home, didn’t it? Never fear! London cabaret star Dolly Trolley is here to help you burn off all those extra calories you’re stress-eating, with a drag aerobics class live-streamed on Instagram and Facebook Live every Wednesday at 7.30pm straight from Dolly’s living room. It’s free, but you can chuck her a few quid on PayPal for the effort!
The National Theatre Thursday night streaming
From April 2, under the banner of National Theatre at Home, every Thursday (7pm GMT/2pm EST) will see a new National Theatre play released – free to watch for one week – along with bonus content including cast and creative Q&As and post-stream talks on its Youtube channel. The first kicks off with a big hitter: Richard Bean’s beloved farce ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’, starring a pre-chat-show-days James Corden.
Order in from London’s best bars
The pub might be off limits for the time being, but plenty of London’s best bars have launched delivery services to keep you in bougie booze during social isolation. Treat yourself to a lovely bottle of English rosé from Renegade London Wines, order a crafty crate of £2 cans from Deptford brewery Villages, or, if the world really is ending, splash out on a bottle of London’s best margarita, from Dalston bar Hacha.
London Symphony Orchestra: Always Playing
Solitude causing you stress? Unwind with some classical music from the London Symphony Orchestra. Its upcoming Barbican concerts might have been cancelled, but it’ll be streaming concerts from its archive every Thursday and Sunday while we’re all stuck indoors. Tune in this Thursday at 7.30pm for ‘Brahms Symphony No 1’, and check out the website for future dates.
Royal Opera House Online
You might not have put on pants for a week now, but that doesn’t mean you can’t stay uber-cultured during lockdown, with the help of the Royal Opera House’s free broadcasts. Starting this week, it’ll be broadcasting some Royal Ballet and Royal Opera favourites on YouTube and Facebook Live. Tune in on Friday at 7pm for The Royal Ballet’s 2020 production of ‘Acis and Galatea’, and check out the full schedule on the ROH website.
Try an online fitness class with a London gym
Your gym might be closed for now, but with plenty of the capital’s best fitness offerings going online, it’s never been easier to get your daily dose of endorphins without leaving your bedroom. Barry’s Bootcamp, DigMe Fitness, Another Space, Rowbots and Frame are just some of the fantastic London gyms that are offering free home workouts via Instagram Live over the coming weeks. Check out their social accounts for more info on how to stay fit while you’re stuck indoors.
Soho Theatre On Demand
Check out a show from one of London’s most vibrant theatre, cabaret and stand-up venues, from the comfort of your living room. Soho Theatre offers a selection of full-length shows from the likes of Jen Brister, Joel Dommett, Shappi Khorsandi, Mae Martin, Panti Bliss and Jessie Cave to watch on demand for as little as four quid. Your kitchen is much quieter than the theatre’s bar is, too!
Treadwell’s Online
Cast a spell on your boredom with these introductory videos from London’s favourite occult bookshop. Self-isolating witches can keep up with their spells with the help of the staff at Treadwell’s, who will give you the virtual lowdown on everything from how to do candle magic to sage snuffing. Maybe you’ll even conjure up an immunity potion! Worth a try, right?
London Dreamtime
Professional storyteller Vanessa Woolf has spun site-specific yarns all over London, from after hours at West Norwood Cemetery to the evicted Heygate Estate. While we’re all stuck indoors she’ll be going online, posting videos of her storytelling evenings set to music, some filmed in secret (and deserted) corners of London.
Queer House Party
If you’d usually be spending your Friday nights requesting the new Lady Gaga at an east London gay bar, then this is the live stream for you. Resident Glamtifa and the Queer House Party DJs Harry Gay, Wacha, and Passer will be bringing you queer bops, throwback pop, house bangers and techno clangers, streamed right into your living room every Friday night. It’s free, but PayPal donations are encouraged – it’s a pretty tough time to be a DJ!