Things to do in London this week

The world’s largest celebration for LGBTQ+ people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Latin American and Middle Eastern heritage, UK Black Pride celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, and around 20,000 attendees are expected to descend on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park for another big party and protest. The festivities will include performers, community stall-holders, food and drink, and special workshops. The theme for this year has yet to be announced at the time of writing, but organisers are promising the “biggest and boldest” edition of UK Black Pride yet.

Masterminded by promoter Labryinth, Labyrinth On The Thames will see different artists from the world of electronic music take over the Old Royal Naval College (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) for six days of unmissable performances. Three headliners have been confirmed so far; South African DJ and producer Black Coffee kicks off the double-weekender with his mix of house, soul and traditional African rhythms on Thursday July 31 and Friday August 1, before legendary techno DJ Solomun plays a marathon 5-hour set on August 8, Australian tech-house producer Fisher headlines on Saturday August 9 and London-based dance music label Anjunadeep – whose artists include Lane 8, Yotto, and Dusky – curates the line-up on Sunday August 10. 

Elephant on Lower Clapton Road – once the statuesque Elephant’s Head, but more recently an Irish pub, then a forgettable bar, then boresome brasserie – has peeled away various refits to reveal a striking Victorian boozer. Of course, it’s not really a pub anymore; there is table service, menus, and a very good wine list, but to call it anything other than a restaurant would be doing it a disservice. With ex-Manteca chef Francesco Sarvonio in the kitchen, the food is of a southern Italian persuasion and not a single dish falters. A Sopranos Sunday luncheon-worthy dish of ziti genovese ragu, al dente pasta combined with braised beef and onions, sporting a toothsome breadcrumb topping and hunks of unspecified cheese, is perfectly simple, at once light and heavy. 

These days, Brixton Academy is an essential part of London’s cultural landscape. But there was a time when it was just a derelict old cinema building. In Alex Urwin’s play, inspired by the memoir Live at Brixton Academy by Simon Parkes, we watch as the space transforms into something sacred. This is Parkes’s story: a thalidomide baby who bought the cinema for just £1 at the age of 23. Directed by Bronagh Lagan, the experience is akin to watching a gig. With cables curling around the stage’s exterior, graffiti decorating the walls, and a tapestry of old flyers lining the floor, the room buzzes with raw energy. It’s a powerful reminder of how places and people shape culture. 

A reboot of The Naked Gun has been a long time coming. Luckily, Liam Neeson has understood the assignment. The Irish actor takes the lead as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr, the cop son of Leslie Nielsen's iconic Police Squad! detective, in a hilariously punchy sequel. Co-writers Dan Gregor and Doug Mand serve up a laugh-a-minute script, bursting with the sort of sight gags, non sequiturs and wordplay that made the cop parody such a defining addition to the comedy genre. In the thick of reboot culture, The Naked Gun is a prime example of filmmakers taking a nostalgic piece of cinema and making good on its legacy. It honours the humour above all, and you’d be hard-pushed to find a funnier film this year.

Looking for a wholesome, creative night out that doesn’t involve a hangover (unless you BYOB)? Token Studio in Tower Bridge offers relaxed, hands-on ceramics classes where you can spin, shape and decorate your own pottery piece. Whether you fancy throwing a pot on the wheel (£32) or painting a pre-made mug or plate (£23), it’s the perfect mix of fun, mindful and surprisingly therapeutic. And to top it all off, you can sip while you sculpt as it’s BYOB and super chill.

Enjoy your Token Studio session from just £23, only with Time Out Offers. 

Edinburgh isn't the only place with a bursting, brilliant fringe, and indeed, as the Scottish capital’s iconic annual event becomes ever more expensive, the once scrappy outsider Camden Fringe looks ever more like a serious alternative for the London-based. Returning for its nineteenth edition, it’s smaller than Edinburgh by a long shot, but still boasts hundreds of events all over Camden, taking in everything from the expected stand-up sets and experimental theatre to kids’ shows, dance, and even magic. Runs tend to be for a night or two rather than the entire month, and prices are bargain basement by London standards: many shows are less than a tenner, none are much more than that. 

Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z and Missy Elliott; boomboxes, turntables and iced-out chains: this exhibition provides an intimate look at the history of one of the last century’s biggest cultural phenomena: hip hop. Through the lens of three photographers, Jamel Shabazz, Joseph Rodriguez, and Gregory Bojorquez, it traverses East Coast, West Coast and beyond to show us the canonical moments, everyday scenes, beefs and friendships that shaped the movement we know today.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Cocktails in the City, a pop-up festival where cocktail-loving Londoners flock to Bloomsbury’s Bedford Square Gardens, which are taken over some of the city’s very best bars, mixologists, and booze brands. Enjoy a complimentary welcome drink on arrival, then start exploring creative concoctions from a star-studded roster of top mixologists. Experimental Cocktail Club, Vesper Bar, Archive & Myth, and Viajante87 are just a handful of the celebrated London bars on the line-up.  

Another year, another spectacular line-up of classical music. In 2025, 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. This week, look out for an all-night prom running from 11pm to 7am featuring cellist Anastasia Kobekina, pianist Hayato Sumino and Norwegian ensemble Barokksolistene, a The Planets and Star Wars prom with music from John Williams’ Star Wars score and Holst’s The Planets and Edward Gardner conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Pull up a seat at the Mad Hatter’s table, Six by Nico’s latest tasting experience is here, and it’s off the wall (in the best way). For a limited time only, this six-course menu reimagines the whimsical world of Alice in Wonderland in culinary form, complete with curious dishes like a Roast Chicken Dinner Doughnut and the Caterpillar’s Secret Garden cloaked in smoke. Each course is designed to trick your senses and spark your imagination. Your ticket into this topsy-turvy world also includes a welcome drink, and the whole thing is yours for just £42, down from £65. Just don’t lose your head, this one’s only running for six weeks until August 22.

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Award-winning and influential rapper, DJ, and record label head Skepta is not only bringing his Big Smoke festival back for a second year, and it’s expanding too. This year, the event will take over Crystal Palace Bowl for two days, where the man himself will deliver a full-scale performance and will be joined on the line-up by a mix of stars, including headliner Central Cee, rising stars Chy Cartier and SkylaTylaa, and grime legends like JME, Frisco and Chip.

Hollywood stars don’t come as classy as Sophia Loren. This programme of films curates by the BFI, Cinecittà and Cinema Department of the Ministry of Culture of Italy, celebrates oven 70 years of the glamazon actress with screenings of 4K restorations and cinematic classics. Loook out for talks including Sophia Loren: Hollywood Italian Style as well as screening including: Good Folk’s Sunday (Anton Giulio Majano, 1953), Heller in Pink Tights (George Cukor, 1960), Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (Vittorio De Sica, 1963), Arabesque (Stanley Donen, 1966), Saturday, Sunday and Monday (Lina Wertmüller, 1990) and The Life Ahead (Edoardo Ponti, 2020).

Fresh from winning a Best Documentary Oscar for 20 Days in Mariupol, a fly-on-the-shattered-wall depiction of the brutal 2022 siege by Putin’s invading army, the insanely brave Ukrainian filmmaker-reporter Mstyslav Chernov has picked up his camera and found somewhere even more dangerous to go: a pencil-thin strip of blasted forest just outside the destroyed village of Andriivka in eastern Ukraine. The fields on both sides are sewn with landmines, making the task of capturing the village a forest crawl of hidden Russian bunkers, random shellfire and sudden death. Its vérité view of combat is intense and confronting. What makes it so impactful is the first-person nature of the footage – suddenly, the tools of modern warfare have become filmmaking tools too. It’s a groundbreaking view of the horror and pity of war, I can’t remember a cinematic experience quite like it. It’s devastating and extraordinary.

Championing ‘off-location electronic music events for the curious,’ Krankbrother are some of the country's most respected party-starters, and they’re in Finsbury Park for a series of events that'll get you moving to an intoxicating dance music soundtrack. This week, look out for sets from Honey Dijon, Horse Meat Disco, Kerri Chandler and British duo CamelPhat as well as plenty of street food, craft beer and cocktails. 

Hidden somewhere between a theme park, an escape room and a real-life video game, Phantom Peak isn’t just your average day out. This open-world adventure based in Canada Water invites you to explore a fictional steampunk town at your own pace, chatting to quirky characters, uncovering mysteries and slowly piecing together your own story.

With 11 unique trails, a rotating calendar of seasonal storylines, and a cast of live actors guiding your experience, no two visits are ever the same.

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It’s to the credit of Suzie Miller that she cares so much about the issues explored in her smash Prima Facie that she’s come up with a follow-up. Inter Alia is another play about high-achieving female members of the legal profession, and Rosamund Pike treads the boards for the first time in years in the full-scale female role at its centre. It’s a breathless performance from Pike, who crests and surges from neuroticism to icy confidence as high court judge Jessica frenziedly girl bossing as she juggles her extremely high-powered job with a busy social life and being a mum to vulnerable teen Harry (Jasper Talbot). Like Prima Facie, Inter Alia concerns rape and the difficulty in securing a conviction for it. Miller is very good at exploring the ambiguity of rape cases. Inter Alia hits home thoughtfully and forcefully.

You’ve probably heard of ‘Instagram face’. This summer, Somerset House is dedicating a whole exhibition to things like the internet’s inclination for everyone to look exactly the same. In Virtural Beauty, Somerset House will explore the impact of digital technologies on how we define beauty today. The show will display more than 20 artworks from the 'Post-Internet' era, an art movement concerned with the influence of the internet on art and culture. It will feature sculpture, photography, installation, video and performance art, with highlights including ORLAN’s Omniprésence (1993), a groundbreaking performance in which the artist live-streamed her own facial aesthetic surgery, and AI-generated portraits by Minnie Atairu, Ben Cullen Williams, and Isamaya Ffrench. 

Emily Kam Kngwarray, an Anmatyerr artist from the Sandover region in the Northern Territory of Australia, didn’t start making art until she was 70. Her prolific and vibrant output during the ensuing decade paved the way for Aboriginal artists, women artists and Australian artists – and is the subject of this, her first major solo exhibition in Europe. Expect monumental canvases adorned with batik and acrylic patterns whose networks of dots and lines are almost immersive.

Popping up each summer on the steps where the Regent’s Canal passes Granary Square, Everyman’s Screen on the Canal is one of the city’s best-loved outdoor cinemas. This year’s pop-up will be looking more Instagrammable than ever before, thanks to designer and architect Yinka Ilori, who has created an eye-popping screen design. Head down on a sunny afternoon to catch live coverage from Wimbledon every day of the tournament, plus the usual mix of live sports, classic movies, family-friendly flicks and recent hits.