Things to do in London this week
Discover the biggest and best things to do in London over the next seven days
Is the week ahead looking quiet? Not any more. Head out into the city and get a load of the hottest happenings taking place right now. You’ll be begging for a night off by Sunday, trust us. Here’s our pick of the newest restaurant openings, the best new museum shows and the latest art exhibitions, plus out-of-the-way events and gigs you really won’t want to miss. Let us be your social lifesaver for the next seven days. And if you’ve got a tip for something fun going on in London, tweet us your suggestion and help spread the word.
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Open House London
More than 800 London venues are opening their doors once again for the annual Open House London weekend, and this year is going big on towers. Take a tour around the oldest building in Hornsey, head up Hackney’s St. Augustine’s Tower or, if you prefer to keep your feet firmly on the floor, don your hard hat for a talk at the as-yet-unfinished East End Women’s Museum construction site.
HowTheLightGetsIn
Broaden your mind and your horizons at the ‘world's largest’ philosophy and musical festival, HowTheLightGetsIn. Held at Hampstead Heath's Kenwood House, attendees can listen in to speakers including economist and politician Yanis Varoufakis, broadcaster and journalist Emma Barnett, musician and visual artist Brian Eno, political activist and filmmaker Tariq Ali and many others, as they debate subjects from politics and art to philosophy and science.
Black Food Festival
You’ll find doughnuts, tacos and all the usual fare here, but with a twist. Everything – from squid linguini to charcoal ice cream – is 100 percent black.
Restaurant of the week: Master Wei
The food of China’s Shaanxi province is having a bit of a moment in London, and its the ‘wide belt’ biang biang noodles that have got everyone’s tongues wagging (and stinging if you go in for the szechuan chillies). This Bloomsbury spot does these terrifically, but it’s the cold liangpi noodles that steal the show.
Colourscape Music Festival
Enter this labyrinth of rainbow-hued tunnels and find musical performances that tip the experience into magical territory.
Urban Food Fortnight
Join foraging walks, make kombucha, try Hackney tea, food from Tottenham Ploughman and more at this series of foodie events celebrating grub grown in London.
Blackhorse Makers Market
Visit the yard of this E17 workshop to shop at a food and makers’ market and buy gifts you won’t find on the high street.
Show of the week: ‘William Blake’
Turn the clock back at Tate Britain and experience a show of awe-inspiring art by Britain’s great mystic rebel. The poet, artist and printmaker crafted huge and detailed compositions on tiny canvases, which adds even more drama to his already spellbinding creations. It’s not green or very pleasant, but Blake’s art is very, very special indeed.
Bar of the week: The Devereux
Although it’s already had almost three-and-a-half centuries of trade, The Devereux can be considered something of a new opening thanks to a recent refit. The facelift has brought the pub into 2019 – sustainably brewed beer is on tap, while there are dried out pasta tubes instead of straws – but it still has some of that old-world charm you’d expect from an establishment with such history.
North End Road Autumn Market
This year the annual street party has an eco theme. Go for music, markets and vegan munchies that are being served up from a whopping 150 stalls.
Film of the week: ‘Ad Astra’
Brad Pitt has already served up an out-of-this-world performance this summer, and in James Gray’s ‘Ad Astra’ he’s done it all over again. Strap in for a thrilling, occasionally improbable, sometimes confounding, story of a man sent on a space mission to find his father, and possibly save the world.
Antiques Anonymous Vintage Market
Eye up vintage gems as 80 antiques dealers set up shop on the streets of Marylebone. Street food, music and entertainment will accompany the action.
‘A Doll’s House’
Ibsen’s masterpiece has been rewritten as a postcolonial parable by the talented Tanika Gupta. While there are similarities with the original, there is an underlying allegory for the end of the empire throughout, with Anjana Vasan putting in a terrifically good performance as heroine Niru.
Clapton Jumble Trail
See Clapton turn into a giant yard sale with 200-plus front garden stalls. Pick up bric-à-brac from local sellers.
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