Things to do in London this week

No London summer is complete without the Greenwich + Docklands International Festival – aka GDIF – which, as ever brings a spectacular array of gargantuan street theatre shows and spectacular installations to the streets of Greenwich and the Docklands for a couple of weeks in late summer. The 2026 theme of ‘We Move’ carries on this week with the return of the Dancing City sub-festival (Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Sep 5) and it’ll wrap up with (In)visible Dancing (General Gordon Square, Woolwich, Sep 6) and an exhilarating 90-minute flashmob in the heart of Woolwich.

Spring has quietly, gracefully, been one of London’s best restaurants since Skye Gyngell decided to spruce up these former Inland Revenue offices in 2014. An Aussie earth mother who knew her way around a greengrocer, Gyngell made her name as head chef at Petersham Nurseries Café, delivering seasonal fare so fantastically finessed that the blousy Richmond teahouse scored a Michelin star under her guidance. Before she died in 2025, Gynell spawned a legion of devoted imitators. Food here is hearty by stealth; an elegant crab bruschetta is weighty with white meat, a creamy risotto of fleshy, copper-coloured girolles is solidly sensual. Dishes are slightly Italian, except for when they’re not. Not only is it sensational tasting, it’s also extremely good-looking. Skye Gyngell’s ethos was not only about the freshest of produce, but the prettiest of plates.

As You Like It is mostly a play about a large assortment of oddballs living in a forest for some reason. It definitely has a plot, but it also kind of plays out like an eccentric Tudor sketch show. While many productions get lost in the woods, dual directors Sean Holmes and Charlie Josephine – plus their creative team headed by designer Paul Wills – are excellent guides through the trees. This is not a production that comes with a high concept, but by making every character as vivid as possible, visually and personality-wise, it’s just a great, boisterous production where you don’t find yourself questioning ‘and who is THAT guy?’ two hours in. From Lola Shalam’s highly strung romantic lead Rosalind and Grace Oddie-James as her amusingly laidback posh girl BFF Celia to co-director Josephine’s own turn as insecure wannabe geezer Orlando, all the way to Jonathan Broadbent’s scene-stealing Touchstone, it is simply very fun to spend some time in Wills’ whiteboard forest with these people. 

Small and independent nurseries from across the south east will gather in the Horniman Museum’s huge gardens to sell all manner of flora. Go on down to the Forest Hill museum from 11am to get your hands on succulents, shrubs, alpines and more from specialists like Miles Japanese Maples, Spring Platt Snowdrops, ZC Succulents and Ottershaw Cacti. It’s also a great opportunity to get expert advice on how to avoid killing off your pet plant within days of bringing it home. 

Six years after our own very real pandemic, Hollywood’s first Covid-inspired blockbuster manifests what many of us fantasised about during the darkest moments of the first lockdown – a broken world emptied of human life. Influenza is to blame in Ridley Scott’s film, which technically makes it an a-cough-alypse, and while there are bursts of Mad Max berserking, The Dog Stars is a surprisingly sensitive meditation on what we could have lost. Interspersed with sweeping IMAX-ready shots of Hig’s plane puttering through the canyons, for long, unthreatening stretches, the drama is so leisurely it’s borderline Gone Fishin’ – a post-apocalyptic hangout movie where its characters stare at the stars, the plaintive score strums with acoustic guitar and they contemplate past lives lost. This isn’t a negative – in fact, it’s what makes The Dog Stars distinctive. 

Every year, London’s famous river gets a whole festival of art installations, performances, and talks devoted to her watery charms, many of which are free to check out. This year’s Totally Thames Festival has scores of events throughout September, all dotted along riverside locations from Richmond to Barking & Dagenham. This week look out for The Waterfront Journals, (Sep 6), a promenade performance of New York City artist and AIDS activist David Wojnarowicz’s monologues, a river exploration session as part of Mudlarking Weekend (Sep 5-6), or take part in paddlesports sessions and a fishing competition as part of Tidefest (Sep 6) and embark on a plethora of boat tours, guided walks and other participatory events. 

In playwright Simon Stephens’ four-hander (that for the most part is actually a two-hander), Ashton (Ross Gaynor) and Reece (Ian Toner) have become unlikely bedfellows stuck in a bunker together while an apocalypse rages outside. Three years in, they know everything they could possibly know about each other, and maintain what little sense of hope they can by roleplaying key ‘moments’ from each other’s life – selecting treasured memories as you might a show on Netflix. The conversation teeters on the philosophical in places, but for the most part it’s a frank and relatable look at what really matters if you were to strip everything else away. For Ashton, it’s memories of a crush, a promotion, his mother; for Reece, it’s his son. 

It’s all about that brass at this festival celebrating one of the most bombastic sections of the orchestra. From marching bands and Balkan beats to jazz, funk, Afrobeat and everything in between, Brassworks is a celebration of brass music at a venue which has the instruments in it’s DNA: Woolwich was home to the legendary Arsenal artillery bands and now to the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO). Expect live performances throughout the day and workshops, all of which will change your perception of what brass music can be. This year, look out for the London-based Afro-fusion collective Kongo Dia Ntotila, Balkan brass group Balkanatics, and a performance by the National Youth Jazz Orchestra paying homage to Miles Davis, DJ BobaFatt, as well as a community kazoo parade. 

Your rare chance to visit the historic catacombs at this 178-year-old cemetery, with guided tours available for £10 a pop. Visitors will also be able to browse craft stalls, listen to storytelling and beat poetry performances, as well as admiring the birds of prey and Brompton bees. It'll keep you perky despite the macabre setting.

If you’re a carnivore with a big appetite for BBQ, Meatopia has your name written all over it. The boozy food fest is a veritable utopia for meat lovers, with 50 chefs invited down over four days to cook up a storm over a live fire. This year's highlights include Jess Murphy from Ireland’s only Michelin Green Star restaurant Kai, Geravich Mesaengnilverakul from Bangkok’s Choen, plus legends of the UK barbecue scene, Melissa Thompson and Hon’s BBQ. 

New festival Jazz on Wick is back for round two this September. Created by the minds behind award-winning small festival Brainchild, Hackney Wick nightclub Colour Factory, nu-jazz collective Orii Community and Voices Radio, it’s doing a full-venue takeover of Hackney Bridge for a day-to-night celebration of jazz and adjacent astral sounds, featuring 9 stages and more than 50 artists. Highlights include a headline set from east London grime MC D Double E, who joins forces with electronic jazz band Zeñel for a jazz-meets-grime mashup set, a Fela Kuti tribute set from Natural Jazz, a set from. emerging neo-R&B artist Shae Univers, and a 30th anniversary celebration for the excellent British indie label Barely Breaking Even.

This community festival is back, taking over unusual local indoor and outdoor venues across south east London to screen feature films for kids and adults, artists' film and video and archive footage. This year’s highlights include a screening and film quiz at The Man of Kent (Sep 8), a spooky screening of The Blair Witch Project in Nunhead Cemetery (Sep 5), a short film night at Peckham Plex (Sep 5), and a finale screening of standout 2025 film Sinners at LEX2 Livesey Exchange (Sep 13). Look out also for showings of Blue Velvet, Paddington 2, Moonlight, Human Traffic, Burning an Illusion, and Labyrinth at weird and wonderful venues. 

Acclaimed Mexican-American stand-up Ricote settles in at the Park Theatre’s studio for a few weeks of shows. Inkling transfers straight down from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where the hard of hearing comic’s ‘stupidest and smartest show yet’ has received great reviews.

Has the recent solar eclipse left you with a taste for all things celestial? Head to the Saatchi Gallery Lates, which will be staying open after hours for workshops and guided classes inspired by its exhibition The Sun and The Moon: Art Inspired by the Celestial. On Friday, explore the history of tarot cards dating back to the oldest surviving set – the 15 decks of the Visconti-Sforza Tarot, painted in the mid-15^th century – and then practise your printmaking techniques to design your own tarot deck. Then have your own tarot read by Tarot Booth Collective. All late tickets also include entry to The Sun and The Moon: Art Inspired by the Celestial. 

Taiwanese artist Musquiqui Chihying uses a blend of installation, video, photography, and sculpture to explore our complicated relationship with technology and how modern-day tech systems are reshaping the ways we live our lives – all with a humorous and surreal edge. See four of the artist’s imaginative, idiosyncratic and quietly provocative works at this free Haywood Gallery exhibition. A Life of Navigation includes Chihying’s early works commenting on our hectic urban lives, as well as two newly produced video installations commenting on artificial intelligence and gaming culture. 

After pulling in millions of visitors in Amsterdam and Barcelona, Moco Museum London has landed beside Marble Arch with a three-floor showcase of modern, contemporary and immersive art. Inside, you’ll find more than 100 works from names including Banksy, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Yayoi Kusama, alongside immersive digital rooms and sensory installations designed to pull you into the artwork. There’s also the limited-run exhibition ‘Voice of the Street’, dedicated to Haring’s legendary New York subway drawings from the early 1980s. Flex-entry tickets start from £15, so you can drop in whenever suits during opening hours.

Get over 40% off tickets, only through Time Out Offers

When the pace of city life starts to catch up with you, an hour spent switching off can make all the difference. Spa & Massage offers relaxing treatments in luxurious London settings, with heated beds, organic oils and highly experienced therapists, each with at least seven years’ experience.

It’s the kind of treatment that gives you an excuse to put your phone away, slow down and properly unwind. And for a limited time, you can book the 60-minute massage for £59, saving £40 on the usual £99 price, with a signature Buddha Tea served before and after your session.

Get over 40% off vouchers, only through Time Out Offers

Soho is packed with places to eat, but few have the enduring charm of Pierre Victoire. Tucked away on Dean Street, this long-standing French bistro has been a neighbourhood favourite for decades, serving classic dishes in a relaxed, unfussy setting that feels a world away from the bustle outside. Expect timeless French cooking, from escargots and French onion soup to confit duck and crème brûlée, with the option to enjoy either two or three courses alongside a glass of Prosecco.

Get up to 35% off with vouchers, only through Time Out Offers

Another year, another spectacular line-up of classical music. This year, the orchestral extravaganza will feature 86 concerts across eight weeks, with over 3,000 artists taking to the stage, with the majority of the action taking place inside the grand surroundings of London’s Royal Albert Hall. There'll be the chance to hear visiting ensembles from all over the world, including The Met Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Mahler Academy Orchestra and the Spanish National Orchestra, as well as innumerable concerts and recitals from the classic music world's biggest stars. This week, look out for a Late Night Prom from The Gesualdo Six and the Colin Currie Group, Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia and Symphony No. 9 played by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and John Wilson conducting a Sinfonia of London Strings. 

Make the most of August with a meal at one of Chelsea's most iconic restaurants. Sitting proudly on King's Road, Bluebird is a striking Art Deco landmark serving a seasonal best of British menu from Executive Head Chef Owen Sullivan. Settle in for comforting starters, fresh handmade pasta or rich aged beef ragu, before rounding things off with your choice of dessert and a glass of Prosecco. It's an easy excuse to linger over lunch or enjoy a relaxed summer dinner.

Get vouchers, through Time Out Offers