Hannah Bentley

From supplying the public with lipstick, chains and knives to do with her body as they wish, to writing and starring in an opera with Hollywood actor Willem Dafoe, Marina Abramović is one of the biggest names in performance art.  Known for pushing her body, and the audience, to the limit, the 78-year-old award-winning artist has announced that her new work, Balkan Erotic Epic, will be performed in Manchester next month.  Her latest (and largest) performance work to date will be running from October 9-19. Premiering at Factory International’s Aviva Studios, Balkan Erotic Epic draws on Abramović's Balkan heritage (she was born in Belgrade, Serbia). Abramović’s work often reflects on her ongoing exploration of the body, sexuality and the limits of the human experience. And this work is no different. With over 70 performers featuring in the work, the production includes 13 different scenes, each exploring different rituals, legends and beliefs from the Balkan region through various dances, songs and music. Image: Marco Anelli Audiences won’t just sit and watch – they’ll be free to wander through the immersive production, experiencing its power and provocation from different angles. Abramović invites audience members to consider the body as a site of power, mystery and transformation. ‘In our culture today, we label anything erotic as pornography’, Abramović said. ‘Balkan Erotic Epic is the most ambitious work in my career. ‘This gives me a chance to go back to my Slavic roots

Glaswegians! It’s finally time to do away with your paper subway tickets and Smartcards – contactless payments on the subway are finally here. Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), the company that runs the city’s subway, will begin upgrading its 83 station gates over the next few months. The aim is to introduce contactless payments across the network by the end of 2025, and signs have been posted around the subway informing passengers to ‘get ready for contactless’ with QR codes instructing passengers to visit the SPT site to find out more.  Glasgow’s subway sees more than 13 million customer journeys each year. Queues for the ticket offices and machines will (hopefully) be a thing of the past as the subway gates begin to be fitted with new technology that allows customers to tap through the barriers with a debit card, credit card or mobile wallet.  Currently, adults pay £1.85 for a single, £3.50 for a return, and £4.45 for an all-day ticket in Glasgow. Children under the age of 16 pay £0.90, £1.65, and £2.20 respectively. Children under the age of five go free. An SPT spokesperson said: ‘We are beginning to get our ticket gates ready to accept contactless payments. It will be in operation as soon as all ticket gates on the Subway system have been updated and all contactless testing has been completed.’ The topic of contactless payment gates was first discussed at an SPT strategy and programmes committee meeting in November 2023.  A report explained that the cost of i

Nintendo fans, rejoice! The gaming giant is opening its first ever London store in the capital next month. From October 22 to November 16, Londoners will be able to explore a Nintendo wonderland at a pop up shop inside Shepherd’s Bush Westfield. In the first four days, entrance to the store will be ticketed, so the most eager fans need to reserve a date and time slot to gain early access. Tickets go live on October 7, and you can reserve a spot here. After October 27, the store opens to the general public, so brace yourself for lengthy queues. The store will be open from 10am to 9pm Monday to Saturday and 12pm to 6pm on Sundays.  Nintendo has a handful of official permanent stores around the world, with most of them located in Japan and a few in the US. Londoners will now get a rare chance to grab exclusive merchandise usually only found at those stores. Think collectable keyrings, charms, and pins as well as cosy clothes, bags and home essentials along with other exclusive items. The pop-up will feature products from Nintendo’s most beloved franchises, including Super Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, Pikmin, Splatoon and Kirby. There’s little information about the store’s design, but if it’s anything like Nintendo’s Japanese and US outlets you can expect shelves stacked with official merch, gaming stations and life size figurines of the brand’s most famous characters. ICYMI: An official Pokémon shop is coming to London’s Natural History Museum. Get t

Yes, we know what you’re thinking – it’s barely autumn and we’re already talking about Christmas. But London’s festive calendar is starting to fill up.  Covent Garden will be switching on its iconic Christmas lights on November 12, while Carnaby Street will be first out the gate, flicking the switch six days earlier. Add Winter Wonderland to the mix (also landing in November), and the city’s Christmas season is basically starting before you’ve even carved your pumpkin. This year, there’s a brand new event to add to the diary. London’s Olympia will transform into Winter Funland, one of Europe’s largest indoor Christmas extravaganzas, complete with ice rinks, rides, circus shows and enough festive cheer to keep even the grinchiest Londoner smiling. Winter Funland Where is Winter Funland London? Winter Funland has previously visited Manchester and Birmingham, but this year it’s London’s turn.  Located on Hammersmith Road, Olympia’s grand halls, once home to festive circuses and funfairs in the early 1900s, are being reimagined for a new generation – with the bonus that everything is indoors, safe from the city’s icy winter winds and unpredictable weather. Dates From December 12 2025 to January 4 2026, the historic west London event space will be decking the halls for families. Whether you’ve made Santa’s naughty or nice list, you’ll get a warm welcome. The nearest station is Kensington (Olympia). Winter Funland London attractions Winter Funland is expected to draw in over 100,

Calling all bibliophiles and coffee connoisseurs. The most beautiful book cafés in the world have been named – and one is here in London. Perfect for getting lost in your new novel. Literary platform and magazine 1000 Libraries compiled a shortlist of 16 book cafés around the world, which it says have reimagined the bookshop as an ‘innovative [...] third space’. The publication received over 200,000 votes to determine the top 10 best book cafés, and Paris seemed to be a fan favourite taking up three spots (oh là là!) while London only got one. Perhaps the voters would have chosen differently if they’d checked out Time Out’s complete guide of the capital’s best bookshops, eh? Named one of the most aesthetically pleasing book cafés in the world was none other than Piccadilly’s Maison Assouline. The shop, which is next door to iconic department store Fortnum & Manson, is the flagship boutique concept store of luxury publishing house Assouline. A refined refuge where books, design, and a dash of indulgence all come together, Maison Assouline was deemed the eighth-most beautiful book café in the world, according to 1000 Libraries. Maison Assouline was the only book-café from London to be included in the list, with Turkey taking the top spot and France apparently the pinnacle of elegant reading.  Maison Assouline The store was opened in 2014 by Martine and Prosper Assouline, founders of the publishing house. Housed inside a former bank, the building was designed by Sir Edwin Luty

The Trocadero has had many, many lives. The Piccadilly Circus landmark has been everything from a glitzy Edwardian dining room to a neon-lit 80s arcade. And now? It might be about to become a giant new casino. Built in the 1800s in a decadent baroque style, the Trocadero opened as a grand restaurant for London’s high society. After WWII its glamour faded and the building stood empty for nearly two decades. In the 1980s it was reborn as a vast entertainment complex packed with shops, cinemas and an arcade, becoming an important part of city life – the go-to place for family days out, first dates and after school hangouts. But the novelty wore off, and in 2011 the entertainment complex closed. In recent years there’s been talk of turning the building into all sorts of things, from a Japanese-inspired pod hotel and a luxury nightclub to a Bubba Gump restaurant and even a mosque. Now, there are fresh plans for the iconic building. Casino operator Genting has submitted plans to Westminster City Council proposing to open a restaurant and two-storey casino at the Trocadero. The plans detail a 1,250-capacity casino in the basement and first floor, as well as a restaurant on the ground floor. ‘It was like being in a sci-fi movie’: Londoners share their favourite memories of the Trocadero. The revamp would also include two new shopfronts along Rupert Street, and a new shopfront and entrance on Coventry Street, replacing a souvenir shop and the Bestmart entrance. Photograph: SariMe / S

It’s that time of year again: fresh cohorts of A-level students are flicking through glossy university brochures and booking in open days, all to figure out where they might want to spend the next few years of their academic careers. Luckily, there’s no shortage of rankings, league tables and guides designed to help students (and their parents) weigh up their options – one of which is the Sunday Times Good University Guide. The Times organised its rankings by evaluating factors like student satisfaction, teaching quality, student experience, degree continuation rates and graduate employment prospects. This year, the leaderboard has been something of a shock, with prestigious unis Oxford and Cambridge not even making it in the top three for the first time in 32 years. Instead, it was the University of Durham, the third oldest university in England (dating back to 1832), that won the Times’ coveted University of the Year award for 2026.  Despite coming in third behind the London School of Economics and Political Science and St Andrews in the Times’ overall ranking, Durham was named University of the Year 2026 due to the quality of its teaching and research, and high student satisfaction rates.  Overall, Durham scored 906 out of 1000 points in the Times’ rankings, with its top highest scoring categories being degree completion rate (96.8 percent), good honours (90.5 percent), and graduate prospects (88.8 percent). The uni, which has over 1,000 student-led societies and is home t

Still reeling from the tube strikes a few weeks ago? Heads up, there’s more travel disruption to brace for in London this coming weekend.  Thankfully, the disruption won’t be anywhere near as bad as industrial action, but it’ll be notable enough that you may need to plan around it. Parts of the Underground and Overground will be closed for maintenance. With the Women’s Rugby World Cup final, a vintage car boot sale at King’s Cross and the South Bermondsey Festival all happening this weekend, the city is going to be buzzing. But before you make plans, here’s what you need to know about closures across London’s transport network.  London tube and train closures, September 26-28 2025 Piccadilly line From 12.45am on Saturday September 27 and all day on Sunday September 28, Piccadilly stations from King’s Cross St Pancras to Heathrow, Osterley and Uxbridge will be closed, with no night tube service over the weekend. Replacement buses will be in operation.  Bakerloo line  On SaturdaySeptember 27 there is no service between Stonebridge Park and Harrow & Wealdstone. Alternatives: take the Met line to Harrow-on-the-Hill and hop on the 340 bus, or catch a West Midlands Train from Euston direct to Harrow & Wealdstone. District line  No service between Turnham Green and Ealing Broadway all weekend. You’ll find replacement buses, but the E3 and 207 might be quicker. DLR No trains between Bank and Tower Gateway to Poplar and West India Quay on Saturday and Sunday. Elizabeth line On Sunday

For years south-east Londoners have been driven bus-erk at the lack of transport connections into central London – but fear not, the new transport service you’ve been waiting for is finally here! Nope, we’re not talking about the Bakerloo line extension (that’s still very much TBC). While we wait for that new tube service, TfL is launching an express bus service called the ‘Bakerloop’. It’s another route on TfL’s ever-expanding network of Superloop bus services, which launched in the capital last year, and it kicks off this weekend. The bus’ route, named BL1, will speed passengers between Waterloo, Elephant & Castle and Lewisham, calling at Burgess Park, Old Kent Road, New Cross Gate, Lewisham station and Lewisham town centre. Buses will run every 12 minutes Monday to Saturday, and every 15 minutes on Sundays and evenings. Better yet, after the express bus service launches on Saturday (September 27) it will offer free travel for its first week (you’ll still need to tap in, but won’t be charged). The fully electric service has all the modern bells and whistles of modern TfL bus services  – USB chargers at seats, dedicated priority seating and plenty of extra capacity –  and comes wrapped in a Bakerloo-inspired brown moquette colour scheme. The Bakerloop is part of the expanding Superloop network, which now covers more than 200km of London. The service was unveiled back in February and confirmed in June. Photograph: TfL In a consultation earlier this year, Londoners proved ve

Storied west London music venue Shepherd’s Bush Empire – officially O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire – has had a major refurb. Just in time for a packed autumn gig season, the venue has revealed significant improvements in its sound, lighting and seating. Academy Music Group (AMG), the company that owns the Empire, revealed that the 2,000 capacity venue underwent a comprehensive upgrade over the summer. The renovations included a brand-new speaker system, improved lights, and a refurbished level one balcony. This is all part of the company’s nationwide plan to improve its venues. Shepherd’s Bush Empire was designed by 19th century English architect Frank Matcham, who was also responsible for glorious London venues like the Hippodrome, Hackney Empire, Coliseum and Palladium. Since opening in 1903 the Empire has hosted countless famous performers, from Charlie Chaplin and Dusty Springfield to the Rolling Stones and Kylie Minogue. All the technical upgrades – installing a state-of-the-art speaker system and a brand-new house lighting system – were carefully completed in order to preserve the building’s architectural integrity. Here’s a sneak peek at what the place looks like post-refurb. Photograph: Luke Dyson Photograph: Luke Dyson Photograph: Luke Dyson   Liam Boylan, CEO at AMG, said: ‘Installing this impressive audio system was essential to give our audience the very best sonic experience, ensuring that O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire’s audio capabilities are top-class, not only

London has been buzzing with Poké-power the last few years, from the opening of a Pokémon Center earlier this year and a new immersive Pokémon experience coming in October to hosting the Pokémon Europe International Championships. And the Pokémon fun isn’t slowing down. In fact, it’s levelling up. The Japanese media franchise has announced that it’ll be taking over London’s iconic Natural History Museum. Pikachu and co will pop-up at the Kensington institution’s Cranborne Boutique, offering a range of souvenirs and products, as well as an exclusive plush toy. So, why exactly is Pokémon coming to the Natural History Museum, of all places? Well, it’s all to celebrate the brand’s 30th birthday – and Pokémon is fairly well-linked to the dinosaurs. Tyrantrum, one of 11 Pokémon characters based on prehistoric fossils, will be among the toys on offer at the NHM, surrounded by the bones of its ancient inspirational ancestors. For the Pokémon x Natural History Museum collab, the revamped boutique will be selling a range of exclusive souvenirs from clothing, accessories, prints, stationary and plush toys. So far, it’s been revealed that an exclusive plush toy of Pikachu hugging the Natural History Museum building will be available to purchase both in store and online.  Mathieu Galante, Pokémon’s retail director for Europe, explained the inspiration behind the design of the merchandise: ‘Design inspiration has been drawn directly from the Natural History Museum’s iconic building and arc

We’ve all been there. Arms aching from dragging a suitcase up and down escalators, nerves frayed as you dash through St Pancras – or worse, Euston, eyes searching the departure boards, praying your train is still running, when the PA system chimes in: ‘We are sorry to announce that the 10.42 train from platform three has been cancelled.’ Sound familiar? You’re not alone. According to new figures from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), three million stops were cancelled across Britain between August 2024 and August 2025 (out of 89 million scheduled). That’s a whole lot of missed connections and grumpy passengers. While the northeast of England topped the table with the highest cancellation rate at 4.5 percent, London ranked eighth out of 12 UK regions, with 3.3 percent of services cancelled. But which London stations should you avoid if you want to dodge commuter stress? Nationwide, City Thameslink in London ranked worst among Britain’s busiest stations overall, with one in 13 trains cancelled over the year from August 2024 to August 2025. The City of London hub connects with destinations like Cambridge, Brighton and Gatwick Airport, and is operated by Thameslink. Farringdon was second worst station for cancellations, with 4.9 percent of services scrapped. That’s nearly five in every 100 trains. The Clerkenwell stop is a major Thameslink station linking the capital to Gatwick and Brighton, with over 140 trains an hour at peak times including the Elizabeth line and tube service