Various

Founded during the Arab Spring in 2011, biennial festival Shubbak has become one of London’s largest celebrations of contemporary Arab and South West Asian & North African (SWANA) culture. Engaging with the hopes, ambitions and artistic excellence of this part of the world, the 2025 edition of Shubbak (which means ‘window’ in Arabic) features a plethora of performances, exhibitions and community-driven events scheduled over three weeks across a diverse array of venues, including the Southbank Centre, The Place, Battersea Arts Centre, The Garden Cinema and Mimosa House. This year’s festival launches at the Southbank Centre with The People’s Catwalk (May 23), a powerful and inclusive showcase of SWANA fashion modelled by models of all shapes and sizes. This is followed by the largest Palestinian theatre production staged in the UK for 25 years, as Palestine theatre collective Khashabi Ensemble performs striking visual theatre piece MILK (May 24-25).  The plight of Palestine features heavily across the rest of the programme too. Camden’s Theatro Technis plays host to a week-long programme of Palestinian theatre curated by PalArts (May 26-Jun 2), while P21 Gallery hosts an exhibition on The Art of the Palestinian Poster (May 23-Jun 14),  the New Cross Inn hosts the latest edition of fundraising gig series Punks For Palestine (May 26) and the Barbican stages Music For Palestine (June 6) featuring a trio of Palestinian acts.  These are just some of the 40+ events encompassing...

Always charming but never mired in nostalgia, ever summer the Shakespeare in the Squares company tours a play by the Bard around some of London’s lovliest outdoor squares. This year’s choice of show is forever problematic battle of the sexes comedy The Taming of the Shrew. The general modern approach to the story of oddball Petruchio’s attempts to tame the fiery Katherine is either to make it very sad or lighten it up to the point it doesn’t seem quite so dodgy: we could certainly take a guess which route Toby Gordon’s production will take, boasting as it does of ‘wild romance and toe-tapping pop classics’.  The complete touring itinerary for this summer is as follows: Jun 4 7pm – Leinster Square W2  Jun 5 7pm – St James’s Gardens W11  Jun 6 7pm – Crystal Palace Park SE19  Jun 7 2.30pm and 7pm – St Anne’s Church Garden, SW18  Jun 10 and 11 7pm – Cleveland Square, W2  Jun 12 7pm – Connaught Square, W2  Jun 13 7pm – Norland Square, W11 Jun 14 – St Peter’s Square, W6  Jun 15 3pm – Coronation Gardens, SW18 Jun 17 7pm – Arundel & Ladbroke Gardens, W11  Jun 18 7pm – Charterhouse Square, EC1 Jun 19 7pm – Albert Square, SW8 Jun 20 7pm – Tredegar Square, E3  Jun 21 5pm – Kensington Gardens Square, W2 Jun 22 5.30pm – Manchester Square Gardens, W1  Jun 25 7pm – Cornwall Gardens, SW7  Jun 26 7pm – Paultons Square SW3  Jun 27 7pm – Arundel & Elgin Gardens W11  Jun 28 2.30pm and 7pm – Queen’s Park NW6 Jun 30 7pm – Fitzroy Square W1  Jul 1 7pm – Montagu Square W1  Jul 4 7pm – Charlton...

Free, ambitious, and citywide, visitors to this year’s London Gallery Weekend can expect more than 100 free events: engaging exhibitions with curated tours from art industry professionals, live performances and in-person studio visits with artists. Highlights include Ugo Rondinone’s figurative sculptures at Sadie Coles, Judith Dean’s disorienting paintings at South Parade, Nicole Wermers long hose-like cat tails and a performance by Michael Dean at Herald St, Gregor Hildebrandt and singer-songwriter ROSIN’s audio culture elegy at Almine Rech, alongside exhibitions by Allen Golden-Carpenter and Emmanuel Massillon at Harlesden High Street, Emily Kam Kngwarray at Pace and Jordan Casteel at Thaddaeus Ropac. Spanning mediums from ceramics to AI-generated painting, expect bold programming across London.

Vision Cinema has stopping by several London locations this summer for a series of summer al fresco film screenings. It’ll be at Cator Park in Greenwich from June 20-22, Millenium Green in Poplar from July 11-13, Royal Arsenal Riverside in Berkeley on July 18-20 and at Hackney’s Britianna Leisure Centre from August 8-10. Expect a line-up that’ll satisfy any kind of film fan, like ‘The Hangover Part Two’ for the comedy buffs, ‘The Monkey’ for the horror freaks and ‘Despicable Me 4’ for something more family-friendly. 

Calling all jazz heads. A new community-led festival is launching in London this summer celebrating the free-form musical genre, taking over De Beauvoir, Islington and Hackney for two days this July. De Beauvoir Jazz Festival will spread over multiple venues, including The Scolt Head, St Peter’s Church and Hoxton hall, with performances from rising stars like Georgia Cecile, and established legends such as the internationally acclaimed clarinetist Adrian Cox. Tickets range from £17 to £88.60 for a day pass, plus there are a number of free performances on Sunday 12.   

Ever wanted to have a nosy around some of London’s coolest private buildings? Open House London gives guests free access to architectural wonders that are not normally open to the public – from schools and offices to places of worship. It’s an often rare chance to explore iconic or just interesting buildings that make up the capital’s storied history, while the programme usually includes tons of workshops, exhibitions and more, as well as the usual tours. This year, the full programme will be announced on July 16, with bookings opening on August 20. Get practising your clicking now – these tickets go faster than Glastonbury.

Every year, the EFG London Jazz Festival brings together the best and brightest of the genre in venues across the city, from capital’s arts venues like Southbank Centre and Barbican, to atmospheric gig spots like Village Underground and Union Chapel. This year is no different. The 2025 line-up promises a bounty of bops, whether you’re looking to discover new artists on the scene (Rita Payés, Nov 19), or want to witness some legends in action (Dee Dee Bridgewater, Nov 15). As well as tons of concerts every day, there’s also sessions, workshops, talks and more to take part in and enjoy. More announcements to come.