Caroline McGinn

Kids are expensive. And London is expensive. But taking your kids for a day out in this city doesn’t have to necessitate selling a kidney. With its incredible bounty of free museums, free galleries, gorgeous greenspaces and pop-up events, London is one of the greatest cities in the world for free things to do. And if you're in the know, you can take a peek at some of its inner workings and unique corners, like witnessing a case at the Supreme Court, or going behind the scenes at the Houses of Parliament. For sunny days there are so many beautiful parks, playgrounds, sandpits, paddling pools that even if you think you've done all the ones worth doing, you probably haven't. Scroll down to find some new stomping grounds. Many of London’s major museums and galleries and some of its quirkier, smaller institutions open their magnificent permanent collections for free. They often put on free activities too - keep an eye out for Time Out's regular holiday and seasonal guides for things to do with children, which will give you a headsup on specific holiday events. In school holidays, the National Gallery and the Tate often do free stuff for families. And the Royal Opera House puts on free screenings from time to time - and so does Trafalgar Square. This guide focuses on museums and permanent attractions. But our weekly roundup of things to do this weekend and regularly updated free art roundup are great browsing grounds for short term inspiration. In particular, the Tate Modern, Walla

⭑⭑⭑✩✩ Coescrita por J.K. Rowling y Steve Kloves, guionista de Harry Potter desde hace mucho tiempo, Fantastic Beasts es la tercera de una saga de cinco películas de la franquicia Wizarding World de Warner Bros. Si bien es el más débil y la más incoherente hasta el momento, también ofrece momentos ricos, inmersivos y emocionantes; ofrece mucho para amar y reír. Las dos primeras películas siguieron el ascenso del mago oscuro Grindelwald en la década de 1920 en Nueva York y París. Ahora es la década de 1930 en Londres, Berlín y, extrañamente, Bután, mientras Grindelwald, al igual que su contraparte en el mundo real, Hitler, intensifica su toma de poder.  A pesar de todos los trucos brillantes de la marca registrada, la trama central apesta. Grindelwald puede ver el futuro, así que Dumbledore reúne a una valiente banda de héroes: Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), su peludo topo con pico de pato y sus cómplices, su hermano Teseo (Callum Turner), ese dulce panadero de New York desde el principio de la saga, y algunos novatos al azar (uno de los cuales se llama Bunty). Les da instrucciones secretas superpuestas para "confundir" a Grindelwald, y también a todos los demás. Estos involucran a la pandilla que se dirige a Bután con cinco maletas marrones idénticas, una de las cuales puede contener o no un lindo ciervo bebé mágico que puede ver las almas de las personas. Es un montón de diversión, pero carece de sustancia, amenaza, peso emocional y a menudo, también carece de sentido. El

You just can’t beat Christmas in London. We love everything about it, the magical lights, the music blasted from every speaker, the dodgy jumpers and, of course, the hampers. Opening up a wicker basket of lush goodies that you’d never splash out on at any other time of year is adult equivalent of getting that toy you really wanted but didn’t need. There are hampers for vegans, hampers for cheese-freaks, hampers for drinkers and hampers for keen eaters of every description available from London shops and restaurants this Christmas. Behold: a few of the best. Recommended link: discover the best of Christmas in London. This article includes affiliate links. These links have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, click here.

We want to hear about the local places you love.  Maybe it’s the little coffee shop that always makes your morning better. Or that great local indie cinema, with the community vibes and events. It could be a fantastic food spot that you recommend to incoming friends and fam. Or a bold local gallery or theatre, a community-spirited garden-cum-café, a vintage shop, a cheesemonger, a pub, bar or music venue – or even all of the above. If you love it, tell us about it today. We’ll list and feature those places on Time Out. And, as it’s been a tough 18 months, we’ll offer your most-loved spots – the Time Out Love Local Award Winners of 2021 – a free marketing and advertising package to help them thrive. Let’s share the love! Caroline McGinn, Editor in Chief  // window.beOpAsyncInit = function() { BeOpSDK.init({ account: "5f69f55f46e0fb0001fde886" }); BeOpSDK.watch(); }; // If you are a business owner, or simply want to see your favourite venue listed on Time Out, you can submit venue details to the Time Out Edinburgh website by sending us your information.

We want to hear about the local places you love. Maybe it’s the little coffee shop that always makes your morning better. Or that great local indie cinema, with the community vibes and events. It could be a fantastic food spot that you recommend to incoming friends and fam. Or a bold local gallery or theatre, a community-spirited garden-cum-café, a vintage shop, a cheesemonger, a pub, bar or music venue – or even all of the above. If you love it, tell us about it today. We’ll list and feature those places on Time Out. And, as it’s been a tough 18 months, we’ll offer your most-loved spots – the Time Out Love Local Award Winners of 2021 – a free marketing and advertising package to help them thrive. Let’s share the love! Caroline McGinn, Editor in Chief // window.beOpAsyncInit = function() { BeOpSDK.init({ account: "5f69f55f46e0fb0001fde886" }); BeOpSDK.watch(); }; // If you are a business owner, or simply want to see your favourite venue listed on Time Out, you can submit venue details to the Time Out website by sending us your information.    

You might have heard something in the past few days about tech giants putting the squeeze on publishers in Australia. The government there has been debating new laws requiring tech companies to pay publishers for any news posted on their platforms. This week, Facebook removed all Australian publishers from its platform overnight and blocked Australian users from accessing any media from anywhere in the world. That includes our Time Out Sydney and Time Out Melbourne pages. We are deeply disappointed to be excluded from Facebook’s platform in Australia. Time Out cannot currently share local or international content with Australians via Facebook. A number of our English-language pages internationally are also affected. This hurts Time Out’s reach and revenue, but more importantly, it damages Australians’ access to accurate news and information from all professional media sources. Time Out has a strong presence in Australia and a special place in Sydney, Melbourne and beyond. We and all the cities that we champion have already overcome colossal challenges in the last 12 months. Every business whose business is social life has had to be ingenious and resilient to survive, and that includes Time Out. We are proud of Time Out’s mission and its professional, independent journalism. Our mission is to celebrate the city and its many cultures: the unique and brilliant events, restaurants, art, nightlife, bars, cafes, and theatres and – most importantly – the diverse and wonderful people

Tony Elliott was London. From the age of two, when he moved with his family from Reading to South Kensington, his life was inexorably linked to the city he loved. As a student in the ’60s, he quickly plugged into the city’s countercultural scene. He founded Time Out as a radical listings magazine at 21, and steered it – successfully and (mostly) profitably – through four decades of rapid social change. He mentored a generation of independent-minded magazine publishers, editors and journalists, fought for social justice, minority rights and the conservation of London’s historic buildings, and, behind the scenes, was an indefatigable supporter of the capital’s arts and culture industries. From the ’90s onwards he took Time Out global, launching magazines in 60-odd cities plus a definitive series of travel guide books, a website covering more than 300 destinations, and six editor-curated Time Out Markets. But despite all that globetrotting, Tony remained a lifelong Londoner, and it was here in the capital that he died on July 17, at the age of 73. It’s hard to overstate how much Tony’s ‘big idea’ changed London and the world. By launching Time Out, he embarked on a lifelong mission to make the city’s best happenings (from weird art and subcultural club nights to food, drink and shopping) more accessible to more people than ever before. Long before the internet, Time Out democratised culture, making anyone who picked up a copy an instant insider. That was entirely down to Tony’s

Hi everyone, We’ve temporarily changed our logo to Time In. We’re still Time Out – singing about the best of the city, fearlessly braving fringe drag and extreme art, tirelessly covering gigs and clubs and shows and other key cultural happenings. It’s just that we realise that right now, in many of our 327 cities, a lot of people aren’t going out. We, Time Out, will keep you updated about what’s going on. And our journalists, photographers and videographers will carry on showing you the best of the city, whether you’re out and about or stuck at home. To the venues and the creators which we champion and recommend: we want you to know we’re here for you. We love you, because you make our cities and our street life special and unique. We know this is a tough time to be running a restaurant or bar, to be putting on shows and finding an audience. We’ll be here to celebrate and champion you, even if you’re temporarily closed or empty. Because when our cities bounce back – as they always do – we’re going to need that craft beer/weird art exhibition/drag brunch more than ever. Be safe. Love your city. See you in the queue. Caroline McGinnEditor-in-ChiefTime Out

Traje elegante, sonrisa gigantesca, infecciosa sensación de diversión: ya sabes cuando el editor invitado de Time Out, John Boyega, está en la sala. El niño de Peckham convertido en superestrella galáctica se siente natural en la silla del editor, con los pies en el escritorio, hojeando los diseños. Tiene a todos gritando de risa. Un inmigrante nigeriano de segunda generación, Boyega creció en una zona de Peckham, hijo de un ministro y una trabajadora. Su historia es esencialmente londinense. Y las organizaciones artísticas y comunitarias de la ciudad han contribuido colosalmente a su éxito.  Años antes de ser elegido para Star Wars como su héroe más conocido, Finn, estaba aprovechando las oportunidades de la ciudad: entrenarse en el Teatro Peckham; actuando y asistiendo a espectáculos en el Shakespeare's Globe, el Royal Albert Hall y el Roundhouse . John Boyega es nuestro editor invitado porque se ha vuelto estratosférico y un tipo encantador. Es un testimonio de las oportunidades que Londres puede ofrecer, y este tema está dedicado a los lugares y las personas que lo han ayudado a él y a muchos otros. Estás en el final de la tercera trilogía de Star Wars. Es enorme. No es solo otra película, es parte de nuestra cultura, es como la Navidad. ¿Cómo se siente? ¡De la forma en que todos están hablando sobre el lanzamiento de esta película, pensarías que Jesús nació este año! ¡Pensarías que está a punto de venir este diciembre! Es parte de la cultura y la infancia de todos: es un

Fato aprumado, sorriso aberto e um contagiante sentido de humor: é fácil detectar a presença de John Boyega. O jovem de Peckham que virou superestrela galáctica assume o papel de director com uma extraordinária naturalidade – pés na secretária, dedos a folhear layouts e todos em seu redor a chorar de tanto rir. Nigeriano de segunda geração, filho de um pastor da igreja e de uma assistente social, Boyega cresceu num bairro social. A sua história tem um cunho caracteristicamente londrino, e as associações artísticas e comunitárias da cidade contribuíram de forma muito significativa para o seu sucesso. Anos antes de ser escolhido para interpretar Finn, o mais recente e relacionável herói de Star Wars, o actor ia aproveitando as oportunidades que a cidade lhe oferecia: fez formação na escola do Theatre Peckham e actuou e assistiu a peças em espaços como o Shakespeare’s Globe, o Royal Albert Hall, o Roundhouse e o Young Vic. Todos palcos de categoria mundial; todos profundamente enraizados no tecido cultural de Londres. A sua história não escapou à tragédia: Boyega e a sua irmã Grace foram das últimas pessoas a ver o seu companheiro de escola Damilola Taylor, também nigeriano e londrino, vivo, antes do seu homicídio, em 2000. Mas hoje Boyega traz outra história sobre Londres, mais positiva e que celebra as pessoas e organizações que o inspiraram, ensinaram e lhe permitiram expressar a sua identidade de forma autêntica. É o tipo de história que vale a pena recontar, em particular n

Sharp suit, gigantic grin, infectious sense of fun: you know when Time Out London’s guest editor, John Boyega, is in the room. The Peckham boy-turned-galactic superstar is a natural in the editor’s chair, with his feet up on the desk, flicking through layouts, and he has everyone hooting with laughter. But years before he was tapped up for Star Wars as its most relatable new hero, Finn, he was seizing the city’s opportunities: training at Theatre Peckham; performing and taking in shows at Shakespeare’s Globe, the Royal Albert Hall, the Roundhouse, the Young Vic. RECOMMENDED: Upcoming movies in Singapore Let’s start with Theatre Peckham, which I know is close to your heart.Theatre Peckham was where I trained – the first theatre where I really discovered the arts. I got a scholarship there when I was at primary school. Teresa Early, who’s the founder, was like: “You can come and train for free.” She gave me a really good opportunity. All of a sudden I was opened up into a world of contemporary theatre, dance, tap, ballet… I didn’t have you down as a ballet kid...Ballet classes were a bit tough! But I got to meet other kids who were into the performing arts, which was hard in school. A lot of my friendships are from there. I felt like I had creative people around the whole time, always performing. We did performances at the Roundhouse, my college drama group won a competition to perform at the National Theatre, and all of that made me more passionate about it. It’s so important

Sharp suit, gigantic grin, infectious sense of fun: you know when Time Out’s guest editor, John Boyega, is in the room. The Peckham boy-turned-galactic superstar is a natural in the editor’s chair, with his feet up on the desk, flicking through layouts, and he has everyone hooting with laughter. A second-generation Nigerian immigrant, Boyega grew up on a Peckham housing estate, the son of a minister and a care worker. His story is a quintessentially London one. And the city’s arts and community organisations have contributed colossally to his success. Years before he was tapped up for ‘Star Wars’ as its most relatable new hero, Finn, he was seizing the city’s opportunities: training at Theatre Peckham; performing and taking in shows at Shakespeare’s Globe, the Royal Albert Hall, the Roundhouse, the Young Vic. All world-class stages; all deeply rooted in London. It’s a story touched by tragedy too: Boyega and his sister Grace were among the last people to see their schoolfriend and fellow Nigerian Londoner Damilola Taylor alive before his murder in 2000. But Boyega is here today to tell another, more positive story about London, to celebrate the people and organisations that inspired him, taught him, and allowed his authentic self-expression. It’s the kind of story worth retelling, especially at a time when the news darkens every day, funding for culture and youth programmes is threatened, and London kids are too often stereotyped as victims or perpetrators of crime. John Boye

This fresh new musical romcom is a treat - not too sickly, but perfectly sweet. The tone is exactly what you’d expect from the title: offbeat, a little bit indie, knowing its quirks. And so’s the premise. Literally. Two twentysomething strangers cross paths in NYC. Their meet is not especially cute. Feckless Brit Dougal (Sam Tutty) has flown over for a whirlwind 36-hour trip based around his estranged dad’s wedding. Extremely tired native New Yorker Robin (Dujonna Gift) is sister of the bride, and has been dispatched to meet him at the airport. The cake is a wedding cake, which she has to pick up from Brooklyn. He tags along for the ride: they take it in an Uber. Will passion rise, like the perfect sponge? Or will it prove to have a soggy bottom? No spoilers, but the answer is unexpected and totally charming, you will walk out with a very big soppy smile on your face.  Jim Barne and Kit Buchan’s musical premiered in 2023 at the much smaller Kiln Theatre in Kilburn. I thought it might have some problems scaling up to the West End – it’s a thrifty affair, with a cast of two and one ingenious set. (Soutra Gilmore’s design, as always, deserves a special mention: a series of flight cases that flip open to become a Chinatown restaurant, a fancy cocktail spot, an ice skating rink and the Plaza Hotel). But it is carried joyfully onwards and upwards by the wit and charm of its excellent cast, its upbeat music and outstanding libretto.  Streaming channels are totally oversaturated wit

Writer-director Bijan Sheibani’s new short play is very well-observed: it feels like a fly-on-the-wall documentary of the blurry first few months of being a parent. It nails the exhaustion, the rows, the anxiety, the joy – and the slow tectonic realisation that the parent you will be is not necessarily the one you want to be, and is coloured, shadowed, by the baby you were. It opens on a bare stage, which feels intimate and also empty, a blank to be filled. The three actors are barefoot; they and an accompanying cellist (Colin Alexander, excellent) each sit in one of the four corners of the stage. There’s nowhere to hide when a play is staged in-the-round, and we see every intimate detail from all sides, watching as Eilieen O’Higgins’s Anya struggles to breastfeed, and her partner Ash (Irfan Shamji) struggles with his feelings about Anya, their new baby and his own mother Jane (Lucy Black).  It is all highly relatable - Ash’s furtive attempts to get it on with his tired wife get a big laugh. There is also some dark emotional tension gathering, heightened by the scrubbing of the cello’s bow. What’s going on with Ash? It’s definitely to do with his mother, who seems brisk and fine when they chat, but mysteriously writhes with agony offstage. Is her pain emotional? A bad back? Both? I wasn’t sure. The actors each bring very different energy to the piece. Irfan Shamji is gentle and thoughtful; Eileen O’Higgins as his wife often feels stronger and angrier than him, something which

This 2019 drama about a Harvard professor who gets cancelled after he platforms a racist is never the play you think it’s going to be, and it’s all the better for it. Some LA critics were a little snooty about Paul Grellong’s play when it premiered there with Bryan Cranston starring. They’re wrong, it’s terrific. It has a genuinely exciting plot and a full-spectrum moral awareness of the murky motives and pitiless passions of identity politics; either of these qualities are a rare delight in new writing, and both together are an absolute treat. The weird and unmemorable title is the only piece of writerly fat in this lean and thrilling drama which peels the onion in six tense scenes, starting with a shocking and tragic event and then flipping back through the previous day’s events to reveal not so much whodunnit – because all are guilty – but when, how, and above all why. The professor who jump-starts the scandal, Charles Nichols, is not without good qualities: Julian Ovenden suffuses him with charm and kindness to leaven the flaws that will bring him down, mainly vanity and middle-aged white guy heebie-jeebies about his dwindling relevance. What’s horribly enjoyable and illuminating is the way the plot remorselessly strips the layers of camouflage off not just Charles but the four colleagues whose backstories, personal and cultural, are the long fuses to this moral conflagration. There’s Black TV star Baxter Forrest, played by the excellent Giles Terera, who conveys slick

At the end of this elegant Agatha Christie thriller, the newly uncovered homicidal maniac steps into a sinister spotlight and warns everyone never to reveal his or her identity. The production recently celebrated its 60th birthday and although Wikipedia and Stephen Fry have both blown the murderer's cover, there is a remarkable conspiracy of silence over 'The Moustrap'. The real mystery of the world's longest-running theatre show is not whodunit but, in its currently mediocre state, whydoit at all? 'The Mousetrap's ticket prices are the only element of this show that isn't stuck fast in the 1950s – although the actors' strained RP does make the odd break for the twenty-first century. Otherwise, this is a walking, talking piece of theatre history and – at £39 for a full-price stalls seat – the most expensive museum exhibit in London. Christie's neat puzzler of a plot is easier to defend. It has defied the inevitably mummifying process of more than 25,000 performances and still possesses an uncanny precision worthy of the mistress of murder's chilling geriatric creation, Miss Marple. In the 60 years since it premiered, its premise, in which six Cluedo-like middle-class stereotypes are imprisoned by snow in a country house while they try to fathom which of them is a raving murderer, has become a cliché, just as the authorities' response to adverse weather conditions (skiing coppers? In Berkshire?) have become a nostalgic memory. It's fascinating to glimpse the ghost of Peter Cot

Francesca Mills is luminous in the title role of this sadistic thriller by Shakespeare’s young contemporary, John Webster. It’s thrilling to see this exceptional actress in something more challenging than comic and minor bits; good also that director Rachel Bagshaw does not try to weave Mills’s dwarfism into the production but lets her talent shine. Mills speaks blank verse immaculately and emotionally, her voice often shimmering on the edge of laughter or tears. Directors should be queueing up to cast her in a big Shakespearean role where she can really spread her wings. Webster’s plays are more lurid and less subtle than Shakespeare’s. Boil down the plots and they sound like something Joey Tribbiani would star in: in this one, the Duchess’s evil twin torments and destroys her and her babies because he is so jealous of her secret marriage. It's driven by transgressive, incestuous desires and deals in plotting, sneaky sex and snooping; what's done in the shadows. Intimate, lit only by candles or, for one nightmarish central scene, plunged into darkness – ‘Malfi’ was designed for a theatre exactly like the Sam Wanamaker. Indeed, the Globe’s indoor playhouse first opened its doors with a production ten years ago.  he hefty 17-strong production team includes two Intimacy Directors and a Candle Consultant, so I was expecting something quite spicy. The candles were genuinely exciting, casting a mottled, trembling light over the inevitable descent to torture, madness and murder. B

I was blown away by the emotional power of this show, about three generations of incomers in Sheffield’s iconic – and infamous – brutalist housing estate, Park Hill. It’s a stunning achievement, which takes the popular but very different elements of retro pop music, agitprop and soap opera, melts them in the crucible of 50 years of social trauma and forges something potent, gorgeous and unlike any big-ticket musical I’ve seen before.  ‘Standing at the Sky’s Edge’ has deeply local foundations. It's based on local songwriter Richard Hawley's music. And it was made in Sheffield, at the Crucible Theatre, with meticulous care and attention from that theatre’s creative team. It’s been rightly garlanded with praise and awards already. But its West End transfer makes it clear that this singular show can speak beyond its own backyard. It is part kitchen sink musical, and part state-of-the-nation soap. It documents poverty, migration, hard graft, the painful decline of industry and working-class male pride, the double-edged hope offered by regeneration, the fragile joys of love in  ‘found families’ – not exactly ‘jazz hands’ themes, but vividly relatable and, more importantly, shared by communities. They deserve to be sung just as loudly as the more familiar stories of triumphant individuals expressing themselves, which tend to leave all this stuff behind.  What makes this an instant classic is the Crucible's outstanding production, a true ensemble achievement. It is the right way to a

There are many reasons why this 40-year-old Canadian company is the world’s most famous circus. And you’ll witness them all in this lively reboot of a classic show from their back catalogue. Lavish design, astonishing athletes, and deft direction that ushers you from giggles to gasps with - apparently - the greatest of ease. Your boss would love ‘Alegria’; so would their kids or your granny, and that’s the point. It’s precisely crafted entertainment – never too scary, never too crude, it’s charming and daring and silly and frou-frou and 100 percent enjoyable.  The concept is high, bafflingly high. In the words of Franco Dragone, the original director: ‘Perhaps we need to rediscover that true ambition is not to reach for the stars, but to wipe the tear from our neighbour’s cheek.’ Quite so. What this translates to onstage is a Fool on a throne, done up like a fin-de-siecle Rumpelstiltskin, flattered by knickerbockered courtiers, wigged and knickerbockered in sugared-almond-coloured silk. Angels and nymphs perform for him, and so do bronze-trousered ‘Bronx’ strongmen. Confusingly, these are not men from the Bronx (the troupe is mostly from Russia and Ukraine), but apparently signify ‘forces of change’. It is ardent nonsense – but it works, binding together very different circus acts in a gorgeous, poignant world with a high emotional pulse and flow.  The clowns – Spanish duo Pablo Bermejo and Pablo Gomis Lopez – are a delight. It’s unusual for the light relief to be the highl

When ‘Dear Octopus’ opened on the West End it was 14 September 1938, Neville Chamberlain was on his way to Germany to appease Hitler and Britain stood uneasily – if not yet knowingly – on the brink of war. Dodie Smith’s comedy about ‘the family, that dear octopus from whose tentacles we never quite escape, nor, in our inmost hearts, ever quite wish to’ was lightweight stuff for heavyweight times. It was a smash hit. Gielgud starred in it, the King and Queen loved it. It ran for yonks, was revived many times and then sank, like so many other well-made inter-war dramas, into fairly well-deserved oblivion.  Eighty-odd years later, the most interesting thing about it is its audacious authoress, Dodie Smith: the London shopgirl and showgirl who really found her stride with fiction, namely ‘The Hundred And One Dalmatians’ and, later, one of the finest and most poignant coming-of-age novels in English, ‘I Capture The Castle’. Smith was a vividly romantic writer with candour, insight and verve, and she absolutely deserves renewed interest, and equal or superior credit to the languid men who dominated the interwar newspaper columns. But this classy but stolid revival of a soapy period comedy isn't going to make her case clear. The action, such as it is, opens in the entrance hall of a slightly peeling family pile, painted a sad arsenic green by designer Frankie Bradshaw. A family is gathering for the golden wedding celebration of mater and pater Dora and Charles (Lindsay Duncan and Ma

This review is from 2011; ‘Shrek’ returns to London in the summer of 2023 as a touring production, with a completely different cast. If DreamWorks is going to emulate Disney's success in turning animated kids' movies into live musicals, it needs to find its own Alan Menken. Animations like 'Shrek' or 'How to Train Your Dragon' are lustier, crustier and so much funnier than Disney's classics. But the soul of any stage musical is in its music. It's a shame Neil Diamond wasn't available for the whole job in DreamWorks's first live project: a foot-stamping, all-cast rendition of 'I'm a Believer' ends this jolly green giant of a show on an infectious high which the previous 17 numbers can't quite reach. Jason Moore and Rob Ashford's improved ex-Broadway production takes 'Shrek's freak-championing generosity of spirit and hammers it home, with a chorus of overweight pigs, wicked witches and other fairytale misfits. But Jeanine Tesori's bland, wistful music, despite soulful moments of '60s pastiche and a witty book and lyrics from David Lindsay-Abaire, just isn't juicy enough to do 'Shrek' justice. William Steig's story of an ogre who falls for a princess farts in the face of fairytale conventions. That helps make 'Shrek' a better show for kids than the spectacular but overly sadistic 'Wizard of Oz' currently at the Palladium. If parents can afford to take them, children will love the belching, irreverence and storybook lustre of Tim Hatley's costumes and design. The high point is a

The Royal Ballet's 'The Nutcracker' is back for Christmas 2023. The below review is of a 2015 performance. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without ‘The Nutcracker’. Tchaikovsky’s 1892 piece, with its dancing dolls, feisty mice and fairies, all sugared over with snowflakes and delicious music, is probably the most popular ballet in the world. Everyone should go at least once, preferably with children. And if you’re going to splurge on tickets then the Royal Opera House’s production, now 21 years old and still going strong, is the one to see.This ‘Nutcracker’ is a box of delights, presided over by the magician Drosselmeyer  – a twinkly, raffish Gary Avis – who whirls about the stage dispensing sequins and magic tricks. His beloved nephew has been turned into a Nutcracker Doll, so when Drosselmeyer is invited to entertain the children at the Stahlbaums’s Christmas party, he takes the opportunity to give the Nutcracker to their daughter Clara, in the hope she will help break the spell.The story is even lighter than your average  ballerina. Which doesn’t matter, as it’s mainly there to provide an excuse for all the set piece treats. And there are a lot of them, starting with a stirring battle between stiffly leaping toy soldiers and leaping mice with manes like lions. It’s fantastic, and over before the end of the first act.  Which leaves the whole of the second for an extended victory party in the kingdom of sweets, complete with rewards, fairies, and divertissements from Spain,

'The Snowman' is back for Christmas 2023. This review is from 2013. Birmingham Rep’s ballet spin-off of Raymond Briggs’ dreamy Christmas classic is back in London for its twenty-fifth year. Unlike the ageless book and TV animation that inspired it, it’s creaking a little – but it is a classic in its own right, and still inspires rapture in the two-to-eight-year-old target audience and nostalgic sniffles in their middle-aged parents. It’s billed as ballet, but don’t expect tutus and immaculate technique. Small boys in slippers and snowmen encumbered by large white fatsuits are not the most naturally precise movers. Instead, the cast’s job is to convey the story’s cycle of Christmassy feelings via movement: joy, delight, humour, soaring imagination, merriment, and sad farewell are all writ broad and large in Robert North’s choreography.  Briggs’ story is padded out to fill one hour and 50 minutes on stage. The first half feels a bit long, despite some very ripe comedy from limbo-ing pineapples and bananas, and dance thrills from a leaping fox, squirrel and badger, trying to avoid becoming roadkill as the snowman chugs his noisy motorbike around the moonlit woods. Ruari Murchison’s stage design still looks magical – dreamlike oversized interiors in the boy’s home, graceful trees bending over the exterior scenes, all bathed in rippling light by Tim Mitchell like it’s happening inside a kaleidoscope, an evocative nod to the wistful, flickering hand-drawn animation of the TV class

Curtain Road cuts a swathe through noisy, vibrant Shoreditch and the Mondrian’s guests can spill conveniently out to join the nearby bars, clubs and night-walkers or look down upon them from their luxe, cool eyries. The Mondrian is a mini-chain with zingy locations in swinging spots like NYC, Miami, Madrid, LA and Cannes, and its aesthetic is bold and unconservative, making everywhere from the lobby to the loo feel like an adventure. The east London branch is designed with lashings of drama: as you go in there’s a mini-atrium full of lights, for your gram needs. Less naffly, many rooms come with curvaceous, generous baths next to the enormous white pressed beds, as well as impressive walk-in steam showers in the bathrooms. It’s stylish and a tonne of fun. The buzzy five-star hotel is marketed with lush snaps of its Miami-style rooftop bar and turquoise pool - a rare asset in London where space is at a premium. However be warned, the rooftop is only partly open to hotel visitors. The pool is shared with a member’s club and is generally closed to guests outside daytime hours; on the evening we stayed, the whole rooftop was out of bounds for a private event. It does make for a gorgeous breakfast spot, and early birds can usually get in for a wee dip - but if you dreamed of Miami-style pool cocktail nights then: dream on. Honestly, lap pools are never very satisfying anyway, especially in cities unblessed by Miami weather. Service here is charming, nonchalant and discreet. In the

Fast fashion is toxic. There are deep pits full of clothes we’ve all chucked because we lack the basic ability to mend them. But you know you could alleviate that shit, recycle garments and insulate your freezing flat with curtains and quilts – and yourself with zero-heating duvet suits – if only you could master The Sewing Machine. And there’s the fear. The Machine is spiky. It whiffs of scary Victorian lady. There are sinister loops, spikes and dials. It looks like it would nail your palm to the table faster than you can say ‘applique’.  Sooner than I could have believed possible I’m whirring away So when the time comes to give my Sunday afternoon to a beginner’s class at Fabrications on Broadway Market I don’t want to go. But I’m so glad that I do.  The instructor in the scary art is Barley, the owner, who shows up wearing an amazing self-made dress (it’s recycled from a man’s shirt. The straps are made from the stripy sleeves! How cool is that?). In the first ten minutes I conquer my fear by threading and re-threading the machine and – sooner than I could have believed possible – I’m whirring away.  This class is brilliant for beginners because you get all the basics that you need to be self-sufficient and learn more at home, and because you get to make something from scratch, and finish it under an expert trouble-shooting eye. Barley is a marvellous teacher: patient and clear, but also open and creative. We’re precise about learning basic stitches and hemming techniques

Veronica Ryan, the 66-year-old artist behind Britain’s first permanent public artwork to honour the Windrush generation, has won 2022’s Turner Prize. You can see Ryan’s giant fruit sculptures on Narrow Way in east London, a stone’s throw away from the African- and Caribbean-flavoured market that inspired them: Hackney’s Ridley Road. Ryan’s trio of huge tactile marble and bronze sculptures are as vivid and warm as the community around Ridley Road market, which she fondly remembers visiting as a child, after arriving in the UK from the Caribbean. Her custard apple, breadfruit and soursop pieces look like they’ve just tumbled from a giant fruit and veg stall in the sky. They are a million miles away from the coldness or just plain naff-ness of so much public art, and were commissioned by community art organisation Create London, which has been responsible for so many imaginative, award-winning and genuinely accessible public artworks in the city over the last decade. Shockingly, Ryan’s Hackney fruits are not only the first permanent public Windrush commission in the UK but the first permanent public sculpture by a female Black artist. It’s good to see the Turner Prize – which is staged in Tate Liverpool this year not at its usual London home – honour Ryan, who at 66 is its oldest-ever winner. Ryan wore her father’s hat while accepting the award, and shouted ‘Visibility!’ and ‘Power!’ from the podium. The UK needs to do more to recognise and celebrate marginalised citizens and ta

2022年3月29日、ロンドンのカムデンにあるラウンドハウスで、2020年7月に長い闘病生活の末逝去したタイムアウト創業者、トニー・エリオットの追悼式が開催され、700人以上の友人、家族、同僚などが彼の人生を祝福した。 彼らが敬意を評したのは、エリオットがロンドン、国際的な出版、文化、旅行、エンターテインメント、都市生活などに与えた、個人的、職業的な影響力の大きさ。さらに雑誌やガイドブックへの掲載だけではなく、彼の個人的な助言や支援で、擁護され活動できた表現者があまたいたことだ。 イベントのホスト兼キュレーターを務めたのは、エリオットの妻であるジャニー・エリオット。放送業界の著名人であるアラン・イェントブやジャネット・ストリート・ポーター、起業家でかつてはエリオットのビジネス上のライバルだったリチャード・ブランソン、ロイヤル・アカデミー・オブ・ダンスの最高経営責任者（CEO）である、ティム・アーサー、ラウンドハウスのCEOであるマーカス・デービーなどが登壇した。 彼が残した素晴らしい遺産は、式に参列した全ての人が彼にささげた、感動的で個人的な賛辞の中に生きていた。タイムアウトは、このイベントに参加した全ての人々と一緒に、本当にすてきだったエリオットの人生を祝福したい。 エリオットの友人や同僚が、式をどのように受け止めたかを以下に紹介する。 ルイーズ・チュン（Welldoing.org創業者） 「昨日、トニー・エリオットの追悼式に出席した。1970年代のロンドンの現実的な懸念を取り上げた、優れた雑誌の表紙の力を再認識できてよかった」 Great to be at Tony Elliott’s memorial yesterday and to be reminded of the power of a good #magazine cover, addressing real concerns in London in the 1970s. @TimeOutLondon pic.twitter.com/N23nqUxxx5 — Louise Chunn (@LouiseChunn) March 29, 2022 ゴードン・トムソン（元タイムアウトロンドンエディター） 「昨夜ラウンドハウスで、トニー・エリオットの人生を祝い、多くの旧友や同僚と再会できてよかった。トニーはタイムアウトロンドンを設立し、多くの人にとって素晴らしく先見の明のある上司だったが、それ以上に、彼はとても親切ですてきな人だった」 A joyous celebration of the life of Tony Elliott at @RoundhouseLDN last night, wonderful to catch up with so many old friend and colleagues. Tony founded @TimeOutLondon and was a brilliant and visionary boss to so many - more than that, he was a deeply kind and lovely man. pic.twitter.com/nJIwjbnJJ0 — Gordon Thomson (@GordonJThomson) March 29, 202

On Monday 29th March, friends, family and colleagues gathered at the Roundhouse, Camden, to celebrate the life of Time Out’s founder Tony Elliott, who died in July 2020 after a long illness.  Over 700 people attended the event, which paid tribute to Tony’s colossal personal and professional impact on the worlds of London, international publishing, culture, travel, entertainment and city life - and to the extraordinary diaspora of creative talent which he championed and enabled, not only via his magazines and travel guides but through tireless personal encouragement, mentoring and support. The event was hosted and curated by Tony’s wife Janey Elliott and speakers included broadcasters Alan Yentob and Janet Street Porter, entrepreneur (and onetime business rival) Richard Branson, Royal Academy of Dance CEO Tim Arthur, and Roundhouse CEO Marcus Davey.  Time Out joins all who attended in celebrating the life of a truly lovely man, whose remarkable legacy as a human being was visibly alive in the moving and personal tributes paid to him by everyone who attended his memorial.  Here's how Tony's friends and colleagues reacted to the memorial event: Great to be at Tony Elliott’s memorial yesterday and to be reminded of the power of a good #magazine cover, addressing real concerns in London in the 1970s. @TimeOutLondon pic.twitter.com/N23nqUxxx5 — Louise Chunn (@LouiseChunn) March 29, 2022 A joyous celebration of the life of Tony Elliott at @Roundh

Yes, London. We’re back out there and loving it. But how have your going out habits changed? Are you roaming around Theatreland in full-on Elsa costume? Or is your neighbourhood now where your heart resides forever? And how do you feel? Liberated? Nervous? Disgusted by the lack of mask-wearing? Please take two minutes to tell us - we want to know all about your time out... // window.beOpAsyncInit = function() { BeOpSDK.init({ account: "5f69f55f46e0fb0001fde886" }); BeOpSDK.watch(); }; //

After making a bit of a hit last festive season with their genuinely excellent Christmas hampers, the traders at Borough Market (scions of an ancient tradition) have got together again to create a Best of Borough hamper for summer. Lovers of fine food and independent local traders (tick, tick) can now order a toothsome market-stall selection tailored to all manner of occasions from a v classy pancake brunch to a posh park picnics and an extra-extra Sunday lunch. The traders also have an impressive and reasonable range of bread-, veg-, meat- and cheese-filled subscription boxes packed with all the umami goodness you would expect from a browse at Borough Market: regulars can subscribe for delivery and samplers can get £5 off by entering the code TIMEOUT at the checkout. You’re most welcome.  Order at www.goodsixty.co.uk. Great rooftop bars in London you can book right now. And some great beer gardens for your pleasure. 

You may have seen a couple of girls whizzing around London Fields in an electric milk float (remember them?) crammed with flour, tins and laundry liquid. They are Ella and Martha and that is the Top Up Truck, backed by Re:Store in Hackney Downs. It’s basically a very cute zero-waste shop on wheels, selling grains, pulses, teas and household products like loo roll. it’s a great plastic-free solution, especially for all the heavies that you don’t want to lug back from a shop on foot or by bike. You put your order in before Thursday via the website, then take your containers out and refill them when the milk float rocks up outside your door, as local residents stream from their houses clutching string bags and wicker baskets like something out of ‘Call the Midwife’. So it’s not only good for the environment, you get to have a bit of chat and community fun time in the open air while you and your neighbours are hovering to pick up your raw chocolate raisins or find out what this is and how to sign up.  Ella is currently crowdfunding to increase the capacity of the Top Up Truck by adding some shelves to it (it’s a single-decker currently). Donate, and you might win a ride on the truck, some natural wine or some reiki (obviously). The whole thing is clearly a great idea and the sort of thing that makes daily life in London just that little bit more bearable.  Book a delivery via the Top Up Truck website. And check its Instagram for updates. Find more local initiatives and ways to

Me siento orgullosa de que Time Out se vuelva lila el lunes 8 de marzo para apoyar el Día Internacional de la Mujer. Me gustaría explicaros las razones. En cualquier otro año, habría compartido con vosotros estadísticas alarmantes para mostraros que, a pesar de las extraordinarias mujeres que vemos y celebramos hoy y todos los días, la paridad de género está a una vida de distancia, y el progreso hacia ella es demasiado lento. Este año, en cambio, me gustaría mostraros una instantánea personal. Ahora mismo, estoy escribiendo este artículo en la mesa de mi cocina. Esta mesa es donde he cocinado y servido comidas para mis hijos todos los días durante el último año y he limpiado después. Ha sido una tabla de planchar improvisada y un gimnasio casero bastante cutre e infrautilizado. También es un escritorio compartido en el que he trabajado hasta altas horas de la noche, escribiendo, editando, enviando correos electrónicos y planificando. En ella también me he esforzado en dominar el álgebra, nuevos y extraños métodos para hacer una división larga, hechos inspiradores sobre Rosa Parks y otros alarmantes sobre Myanmar, o cualquier otra cosa que se requiera para educar en casa a tres niños con edades, necesidades y personalidades totalmente distintas. La mesa está, francamente, un poco pegajosa, y no quiero saber por qué. Mis días consisten en tres turnos: uno para el cuidado, otro para la limpieza y la cocina, y otro para mi trabajo: trabajo de cabeza, trabajo de corazón y trabajo

Em sento orgullosa que Time Out es torni lila el dilluns 8 de març per donar suport al Dia Internacional de la Dona. M’agradaria explicar-vos-en les raons. Qualsevol altre any, hauria compartit estadístiques alarmants amb vosaltres per demostrar-vos que, malgrat les dones extraordinàries que veiem i celebrem avui i cada dia, la paritat de gènere encara queda molt lluny i ens hi acostem de forma massa lenta. Aquest any, voldria mostrar-vos una instantània personal. Ara mateix, escric aquest article a la taula de la cuina. Aquesta taula és on he cuinat i servit menjars per als meus fills cada dia durant l'últim any i he netejat després. Ha estat una taula de planxar improvisada i un gimnàs casolà bastant tronat. També és un escriptori compartit on he treballat fins ben entrada la nit, escrivint, editant, enviant un correu electrònic, planificant. També és on he mirat d'esprémer-me el cervell per dominar l’àlgebra, nous i estranys mètodes per a una llarga divisió, fets inspiradors sobre Rosa Parks i alarmants sobre Myanmar, o qualsevol altra cosa que demanin a l’escola de tres nens amb edats, necessitats i personalitats totalment diferents. Francament, la taula està una mica enganxosa i no vull saber per què. Els meus dies consten de tres torns: un de cura, un de neteja i cuina, un de feina: treball de cap, treball de cor i treball manual. No hi ha gaire temps per dormir o divertir-se. I soc una de les dones afortunades, privilegiades, del primer món. Tinc una feina, un sou, una

Me siento orgullosa de que Time Out haya vuelto morado este lunes 8 de marzo para apoyar el Día Internacional de la Mujer. Me gustaría explicaros las razones. En cualquier otro año, habría compartido con vosotros estadísticas alarmantes para mostraros que, a pesar de las extraordinarias mujeres que vemos y celebramos hoy y todos los días, la paridad de género está a una vida de distancia, y el progreso hacia ella es demasiado lento. Este año, en cambio, me gustaría mostraros una instantánea personal. Ahora mismo, estoy escribiendo este artículo en la mesa de mi cocina. Esta mesa es donde he cocinado y servido comidas para mis hijos todos los días durante el último año y he limpiado después. Ha sido una tabla de planchar improvisada y un gimnasio casero bastante cutre e infrautilizado. También es un escritorio compartido en el que he trabajado hasta altas horas de la noche, escribiendo, editando, enviando correos electrónicos y planificando. En ella también me he esforzado en dominar el álgebra, nuevos y extraños métodos para hacer una división larga, hechos inspiradores sobre Rosa Parks y otros alarmantes sobre Myanmar, o cualquier otra cosa que se requiera para educar en casa a tres niños con edades, necesidades y personalidades totalmente distintas. La mesa está, francamente, un poco pegajosa, y no quiero saber por qué. Mis días consisten en tres turnos: uno para el cuidado, otro para la limpieza y la cocina, y otro para mi trabajo: trabajo de cabeza, trabajo de corazón y t

I’m proud that Time Out is turning its masthead purple on Monday March 8th, to support International Women’s Day. I’d like to tell you why. In any other year, I’d have shared alarming stats with you to show you that – despite the extraordinary women we see and celebrate today and every day – gender parity is a lifetime away, and progress towards it is too fricking slow. This year, I’d like to show you a personal snapshot instead. Right now, I’m writing this article at my kitchen table. This table is where I have cooked and served meals for my kids every day for the last year and cleaned up after them. It’s been a makeshift ironing board and a fairly crappy and underused home gym. It’s also a shared desk where I have worked late into the night, writing, editing, emailing, planning. Either that or cudgelling my foggy brain to master algebra, new and bizarro methods for long division, inspirational facts about Rosa Parks and alarming ones about Myanmar, or whatever else is required to homeschool three children with totally conflicting ages, needs and personalities. The table is, frankly, a bit sticky, and I don’t want to know why. My days consist of three shifts: one for care, one for cleaning and cooking, one for my job: Head work, Heart work and Hand work. There’s not much time for sleep or fun. And I’m one of the lucky, privileged, first-world women. I have a platform, a job, a salary, a home and an empathetic boss. I have access to medicine and – soon – a vaccine. I have a b

The Arcola Theatre is turning itself inside-out for winter. The pioneering Off-West End playhouse has employed multi-award-winning stage designer Jon Bausor to create a brand new outdoor performance space and bar near its main building on Ashwin street (just opposite Dalston Junction Overground station). Arcola Outside is due to open in December. Under Tier 2 restrictions, groups of up to six people from different households can mix in an outdoor space – and the Arcola aims to bring them safely together under one very big and well-ventilated roof. The Arcola – along with its neighbour Dalston Curve Garden – has been a longstanding champion of sustainability since its inception two decades ago. Its new 90-seat space will use planters and reclaimed materials. In 2021 it will be the central hub for a Hackney-wide festival of outdoor performance, ‘Today I’m Wiser’, celebrating collective change and creativity. Unmissable theatre to see this year. Shakespeare’s Globe is back with screenings and live comedy.