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Woah. October's things to do list is a right whopper! Get ready for heaps of Halloween parties and ghoulish goings on, dozens of ovens roaring into action as new restaurants open their doors, and plenty of live music and performances to keep you bopping into the evenings as that autumn chill sets in. Have a spooktacular one, wont ya!
THINGS TO DO
Oct 1-12: Southbank Centre’s London Literature Festival The London Literature Festival once again fills the Southbank Centre with acclaimed authors, poets, speakers and collaborators for a fortnight of wordy events.
Oct 1-4: London Beer Carnival A ticket to this event buys you unlimited beer. Just for five hours, mind, and only 90ml at a time, but given that you'll have 100 different beers to choose from we're pretty sure you'll manage to get good and boozy.
Oct 2-Jan 3: Dressed by Angels This exhibition will see 100 specially chosen costumes go on display, and visitors will see items made especially for Fred Astaire, Laurence Olivier, Meryl Streep and many more, as well as photographs, letters and artefacts that give an insight into the exhibits' history.
Oct 2- Dec 18: Drop-in Silence Fraught Londoners can end their working weeks with a session of silence thanks to these drop-in events at the Quaker Meeting House. The weekly Friday slots are designed to allow visitors to switch off from technology and practice mindfulness, resulting in them feeling relaxed, refreshed and recharged.
Oct 3-31: OktoberFest We never were a city to turn down a party, so Oktoberfest London is getting a big, warm wilkommen in 2015.
Oct 5-11: London Cocktail Week There's no better excuse for a tipple than London Cocktail Week, and it has grown into something even more tempting for 2015. As usual, those who buy a London Cocktail Week wristband (£10) will be entitled to £5 cocktails in an impressive number of London's best bars, and in the festival's dedicated areas.
Oct 6-7: RHS London Harvest Festival Show and Harvest Festival Late Some of the UK's finest nurseries, growers and independent producers will cart their harvest produce to the Royal Horticultural Society this October for their annual celebration of autumnal fruit and vegetables.
Oct 7: Rainham Hall Opening Due to open to the public on October 7, Rainham Hall was built in 1729 by John Harle, a sea merchant who had retired to a village that was in Georgian times well outside the city.
Oct 8-11: Handmade at Kew Browse exceptional and innovative crafts and design from over 150 exhibitors in a truly beautiful setting at this fair in Kew Gardens.
Oct 8-17: The Art of Nuisance Two weeks of art interventions, workshops and gatherings celebrating feminist activism. Organised by The Sisters of Perpetual Resistance, the fortnight opens with a show by five emerging artists featuring sonic and anarchist art.
Oct 9-Apr 10: The Crime Museum Uncovered at Museum of London Uncover history's famous crime scenes in this exhibition of previously unseen police artefacts.
Oct 9-Feb 28: Liberty in Fashion at the Fashion and Textile Museum Celebrating the company's 140th anniversary, this exhibition of more than 150 garments, textiles and objects demonstrates Liberty's impact on British fashion.
Oct 9: RNIB Glow Neon Fun Run at Mile End Stadium This fundraiser for the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) sounds more like a party than a challenge, with participants being splattered by neon 'glo-water' cannons as they walk, run or shimmy their way along the 3km route.
Oct 10-11: Vegfest at Olympia Check your tofu stocks and get ready for some meat-free magic, Europe's biggest vegetarian event has announced plans for a 2015 event at Olympia Central.
Oct 10: Cabbages & Frocks Dog Day Afternoon Think your dog’s looking a bit ruff? Bring your pooch along to this special Cabbages and Frocks market day starring doggy accessories, treats, training and puppy portraits.
Oct 10: Africa on the Square Trafalgar Square turns into a celebration of Africa for a second year, featuring live music, traditional dance, fashion, food and crafts to enjoy.
Oct 11: Diwali in Trafalgar Square This annual celebration in Trafalgar Square marks the the Festival of Lights with heaps of food, music, activities and fun. The live line-up will include both traditional religious performances and contemporary Asian music and dance.
Oct 11: Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon Fancy joining 16,000 charity-conscious joggers on a 13.1-mile run through the autumnal leaves of Hyde Park, Green Park, St James's Park and Kensington Gardens? The public ballot has now closed, but corporate and charity places are still up for grabs.
Oct 11: London Honey Show The Lancaster London produced 80 kilograms of honey from ten beehives on its roof last year, so it's appropriate that it should host the annual London Honey Show.
Oct 11: Chelsea Physic Garden Sunday Session Across October, visitors to the Chelsea Physic Garden can join drop-in sessions, themed each month to reflect the change in the seasons.
Oct 11: Midcentury East For this east London sibling of Midcentury Modern – a showcase event for 50 vintage furniture dealers, featuring classics of British, American and Scandinavian 20th-century design – even the building is a sight to see: it is held in Haggerston School, which was designed by Brutalist architect Erno Goldfinger.
Oct 12-Jan 8: Talbot House exhibition at the Guildhall In Poperinge in 1915 an army chaplain called Philip 'Tubby' Clayton opened an everyman's club. This safe place for soldiers was a venue where rank was forgotten and orders were prohibited. This exhibition tells the story of Tubby and his efforts using items from the house itself and the original memoirs he wrote after fleeing the Germans.
Oct 13, 29: Feed Me Films - The Big Lebowski Catch a screening of cult flick ‘The Big Lebowski at Rowan’s bowling alley in Finsbury Park. Tickets include three drinks, dinner, bowling and a ‘Feed Me Film’ pack so you can drink along to the film. When the Dude drinks, you drink.
Oct 14, 21, 28: Twilight tours at Apsley House Torch-lit tours of the Duke of Wellington's regency home take place at twilight every Wednesday in October, with the chance to see his impressive art collection which includes works by Velazquez and Rubens.
Oct 14 & 28, Nov 25: Twilight Tour of Strawberry Hill A chance to see Strawberry Hill House looking even more magical than usual as darkness falls. Expert guides will explain its unique history and architecture as you explore, and tickets include a pre-tour glass of prosecco.
Oct 15-Dec 17: New Ideas for Housing at New London Architecture Following the success of its spring exhibition exploring the massive boom in skyscraper construction, London's Growing Up!, New London Architecture is back with another investigation, this time into the capital's housing crisis.
Oct 16-18: The Chocolate Show A grand and tempting tribute to the world's favourite sweet treat featuring leading international chocolatiers and an edible fashion show.
Oct 17-18: Rumfest The RumFest returns to London for its nineth year, showcasing over 400 blends from around the world and the best brands on the market.
Oct 18-19: Discover Dogs There's tail-wagging, face-licking, stick-chasing potential aplenty at the annual Discover Dogs show, with more than 200 different breeds of pedigree dog – some 3,000 pooches – eager to be admired.
Oct 18: Making Home: Young People’s Take-Over Family Day at Geffrye Museum This day of fun especially for families will feature free creative workshops for all ages. Do some Africa-inspird biscuit decorating, make badges from Islamic art and plant seeds in a pot to take home with you.
Oct 22-24: WHY? What’s Happening For The Young? This line-up of activities, talks and performances at the Southbank Centre will explore 'What's Happening for the Young?', inspired by the 1989 UN Convention on the rights of children.
Oct 23-24: MCM London Comic Con at ExCeL A firm fixture on every fanboy's annual calendar, London Comic Con is the UK's biggest modern pop culture convention.
Oct 23: Fromage on Ice The ice rink disco is a British coming-of-age rite of passage, and we're delighted that Club de Fromage are allowing us grown-ups to revisit it. The pop music will be present and correct – everything from Abba to Taylor Swift – and your terror of falling over will be reduced by the presence of a licensed bar.
Oct 24: Spookfest at the London Museum of Water and Steam Hunt through the historic engine houses of this Victorian pumping station to find some spooky secrets and possibly even some previous inhabitants at these family-friendly Halloween events.
Oct 24-31: Witch Academy at the London Eye Only the most courageous should enrol for this Halloween academy which returns for 2015 and offers aspiring witches and wizards the chance to learn magic spells, curious tricks and frightening facts as they journey through the sky in a green London Eye capsule.
Oct 24-31: Phobophobia at London Bridge Experience & Tombs Phobophobia returns to the London Bridge Tombs for 2015 with a shocking new Halloween show that focuses on a family called The Freaks who are way too close for comfort.
Oct 25: NFL on Regent Street In celebration of the day’s NFL International games, taking place at Wembley Stadium between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Buffalo Bills, the street will play host to an American football-themed block party.
Oct 28-30: Storystock The children's literary festival for ages 2-13 (plus parents) returns this year. Authors, comics, poets, illustrators and storytellers will host events over the three days.
Oct 29: The Modern Magazine An annual conference celebrating the world of editorial design with a stella line-up of designers, editors and creative directors. Scott Dadich of Wired US is this year’s keynote speaker and other talks come from magazines such as The Gourmand, Kinfolk, Stylist and Shortlist and The Alpine Review.
Oct 30: Forest at Night Walk in Epping Forest Wrap up warm and meet in Jacks Hill Car Park on Halloween-eve for a night-time walk in Epping Forest. Try to act brave as you discover stories of things that go bump in the night and what our ancestors feared the most about the dark.
Oct 30-31: Museums at Night’s New October Festival This year Museums at Night is gaining an autumn edition, with a series of after-hours events at some of the capital's biggest museums and quirky attractions.
Oct 31: Day of the Dead at El Patron A devilish menu will be gracing the tables of Mexican restaurant El Patron this Halloween with a bespoke selection of dishes that require diners to have their wits about them.
OysterFest
FOOD AND DRINK
Pop-up dining
Oct 1: Richard Hamilton Supper Club A feast not only for the palate, but for the eyes, ears and imagination too. Yinka Shonibare MBE's project space Guest Projects have joined forces with the Master Chef ’14 finalist Tony Rodd and the American artist Doug Fishbone for the supper club inspired by the influential 20th century artist, Richard Hamilton.
Oct 3: Burn After Reading The London Pop-Up Collective present this cocktail bar showcasing delicious drinks at Waterstones, Piccadilly. Signature drinks include Thai Bride (white rum, chilli, ginger, lemongrass, coriander & coconut milk) and homemade strawberry, basil & black pepper tonic water paired with East London Liqour's Gin.
Oct 5-30: Meatheads Residency at Market House A magnificent meatball pop-up from street-food heroes the Meatheads. Try their latest varieties in the Brixton venue from 5.30pm on weekday evenings.
Oct 6-8: Lyles Selfie Service Cafe Lyle’s Golden Syrup® host the world’s first Selfie-Service Café where guests can nab a free breakfast in exchange for a smiley selfie.
Oct 7-8: Champaign Bubble Bath Bar Take a soak in Shoreditch at this pop-up bath bar serving champagne to lucky visitors. RSVP by emailing email bubbles@frankpr.it with your name and contact details.
Oct 7-10: OysterFest A selection of native and rock oysters will be available by the box from 5pm each evening accompanied, naturally, by glasses or bottles of champagne for punters to take away or drink on the street-side terrace.
Oct 9: Kerb is Three Lovely street food collective kerb has been enabling our fancy lunch habits for three years now. They'll be celebrating their birthday with a free party back where they began – under a canopy behind Central Saint Martins in King's Cross.
Oct 29: Just Defy! Inhumanity Benefit A pop-up restaurant raising money for Kobane hospital currently being built by an international brigade. Dishes on the menu include tabbouleh, baba ganoush, Moroccan spiced lamb tagine, and jewelled couscous.
Fridays in Oct: Monograph Dine on Japanese udon noodles in a dark basement in Dalston this October. Bring your own booze and good pals.
Until Dec 18: Barley & Buns pop up The ground floor of Spice Market sees a Taiwanese street food takeover over the next few months. Get your hands on bao-style buns, craft beers and beer-infused cocktails.
Restaurant and bar openings
Oct 1: Mama Lan at 511 Kingsland Road A new branch of the restaurant, serving delightful Beijing-stye dumplings, noodles and street snacks.
Oct 8: 68 and Boston A new wine bar and cocktail bar opening in Soho. The all-day wine bar features quality tipples at £20 a bottle and the late night cocktail bar serves classics starting from £10.
Oct 19: Sexy Fish Richard Caring's latest venture focuses on Asian-style fish dishes courtesy of former Zuma chef Ben Orpwood.
Oct 21: Les 110 de Taillevent A London outpost of the brasserie-style restaurant of Taillevent, the august Paris restaurant. Expect high-end brasserie fare and a long list of wines by the glass.
Oct 26: 45 Jermyn St. A glamorous new venture in the heart of town with martini bar and a menu featuring dishes that reflect a cosmopolitan tastes of London.
Shotgun American-style barbecue using British ingredients is the formula for this Soho restaurant and bar from the people behind The Lockhart. There's also a basement cocktail bar.
Coin Laundry Fans of ironically retro food and drink should heart this '70s-style addition to restaurant-packed Exmouth Market - the words 'chicken kiev', 'Sodastream' and 'pinball' are all you need to know.
CôBa A Vietnamese barbecue restaurant in King's Cross from the chef behind Whitechapel supper club Table for 10.
Hoppers Springing up where Koya used to sit on Frith Street, this small restaurant specialises in flavours inspired by Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu.
FILM
Oct 2: Macbeth Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard make for a thunderous Lord and Lady M in this bruising Shakespeare adaptation.
Oct 12: Suffragette Nearly 100 years after smashing shop windows and blowing up letterboxes, the British suffragettes finally get a film they deserve. And thank god it’s not a pretty-pretty sugarcoated period drama.
Oct 16: Crimson Peak Set in remotest nineteenth-century Cumbria (but shot entirely in Toronto), this old-school spooker follows the travails of a young woman who becomes convinced that her aristocratic hubby is not all he appears to be.
Oct 26: Spectre James Bond is back! For the twenty-fourth time (not counting the unofficial ones!). This latest adventure picks up where ‘Skyfall’ left off, with M still dead and Bond still wrestling with encroaching middle age and rampaging anger-management issues.
SHOPPING
Oct 3-4: Classic Car Boot Now on its fifth event, The Classic Car Boot Sale is trundling into King's Cross for another photogenic shopping opportunity. Carefully chosen traders will be flogging everything from vintage clothing to craft beer from some very handsome pre-1989 vehicles.
Oct 3: Alex Monroe Sample Sale Quirky and quintessentially British jewellery designer Alex Monroe hosts another stellar sample sale, this time in the distinctly swanky environs of The Hoxton Holborn hotel.
Oct 4: Bethnal Green Affordable Vintage Fair The UK's largest travelling marketplace for retro clothes, home wares and accessories returns to York Hall in Bethnal Green for an autumnal shopping event, where you'll find seasonal vintage bargains dating from the Twenties onwards.
Oct 10: Wasted Chic Autumn Wardrobe Remix Fun style market Wasted Chic returns to McQueen in Shoreditch for the autumn edition of the sample-sale-cum-party.
Oct 11: East London Vintage Fair East London’s newest and largest vintage fair returns to Clapton’s Round Chapel for it’s first autumnal event, promising stalls from more than 40 traders selling everything from 20th century couture to vinyl and vintage posters.
Oct 13- Nov 1: Mademoiselle Privé Legendary couture house Chanel is crossing the, erm, channel for a magical retrospective exhibition, which will open at the Saatchi Gallery in October.
COMEDY
Oct 4: “Weird Al” Yankovic – The Mandatory World Tour London, be prepared to 'Eat It' – the unashamedly 'Tacky' king of musical parodies, "Weird Al" Yankovic, is heading to the capital to play a huge show at the Eventim Apollo Hammersmith.
Oct 5-31: Joseph Morpurgo: Soothing Sounds for Baby Pioneering character comic Joseph Morpurgo's latest effort was one of the most impressive comedy shows of the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe. So much so, it bagged a Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination, and we gave it a glowing five star review.
Oct 7-10: Lou Sanders: Excuse Me, You're Sitting On My Penis Again Disjointed, offbeat talent Lou Sanders just keeps getting better and better – her scatterbrained stories and stupid ideas are ludicrously funny.
Oct 10-11: Doug Stanhope We're massive fans of Doug Stanhope. This hellraising US stand-up and star of 'Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe' is the real frickin' deal, tackling hard-hitting topics with brutal honesty and drunken intelligence.
Oct 13: Hannibal Buress – The Comedy Camisado Tour A one-off UK show – his first in three years – for the sharp, laconic and often very funny Hannibal Buress.
Oct 13- Nov 7: Kieran Hodgson – Lance Kieran Hodgson's coming-of-age character comedy show deservedly received a Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination at the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe. It's a beautifully written hour, with Hodgson focusing on his teenage hero Lance Armstrong who helps the Yorkshire lad through the tough times of mountain bike races and going to university.
Oct 19: Barry Cryer and Friends: An 80th Birthday Celebration Writer, raconteur, comedy legend, national treasure… Barry Cryer celebrates his eightieth birthday with this huge West End show, packed with appearances from famous friends.
Oct 21-31: Spencer Jones is The Herbert in Proper Job An hour of daft, joyful mucking about. Jones’s persona, The Herbert, is a wide-eyed, optimistic simpleton with seemingly too much time on his hands.
Oct 27-Nov 7: Richard Gadd: Waiting for Gaddot Undoubtedly the buzziest comedy show from this year's Edinburgh Fringe. Richard Gadd's 'Waiting for Gaddot' had people queuing for hours hoping to nab one of the few pay-what-you-want seats.
Oct 28-31: LetLuce: Sea Men (A Naval Tale) A nautical-themed hour of nonsense, with plenty of oddball characters, silly voices and ambitious costumes and puppets.
MUSIC
Oct 1-2: James Bay Guitar-toting, hat-loving troubadour Bay writes and sings rousing, folk-edged pop numbers that situate him somewhere between Damien Rice and James Blunt.
Oct 1-Nov 28: Music for Museums A series of exciting avant-garde concerts at the Whitechapel Gallery this autumn.
Oct 7: Lonelady Ultra-cool singer-songwriter Julie Ann Campbell hails from Manchester, and specialises in brilliant new wave-edged funk workouts that have earned her a deal with Warp Records.
Oct 8: Xiu Xiu The avant-garde indie trio play music from the soundtrack to David Lynch’s ‘Twin Peaks’.
Oct 10: Hackney Wonderland Not as funky as Boogie Wonderland, but with a lot more rock ’n’ roll swagger, the cheap-as-chips one-day festival in E8 returns after a sold-out debut in 2014 for another eleven hours of Hackney madness.
Oct 10: Festifeel Fearne Cotton’s charity festival moves to Waterloo for a sixth year of music and fun.
Oct 11: Kyary Pamyu Pamyu A singer, model and viral sensation from Tokyo, Kiriko Takemura – aka KPP – has totalled millions of YouTube hits with her eccentric videos and infectious J-pop melodies.
Oct 13: Miguel If you’ve lost your libido, forget Viagra and shell out instead on a ticket for this big London date with US R&B superstar Miguel.
Oct 15: Jamie XX The XX’s beatmaker-general crafts nostalgic, floor-filling rave tunes at a live AV show.
Oct 15: Petite Meller Super-weird but super-catchy pop from Island Records’ new signing: a Parisian singer (and philosophy student) who comes across like a three-way cross between Lady Gaga, Lana Del Rey and Nabokov’s Lolita.
Oct 16: Rudimental 'We the Generation’,dropped last month so expect them to get a capacity Ally Pally crowd raving to some new tunes with their all-out, full-band, brass-heavy live incarnation. This will go off.
Oct 17: Major Lazer Party-ready producer Diplo and his current Major Lazer cohorts Jillionaire and Walshy Fire bring their electro-dancehall and baile funk to the live arena.
Oct 17: A$AP Rocky/Wiz Khalifa Harlem born and raised hip hop hero A$AP teams up with fellow US rap heavyweight Wiz Khalifa for what promises to be a huge show.
Oct 17: Kwabs South Londoner Kwabena Adjepong is one of the best among a recent crop of soulful singer-songwriters who also specialise in moody electronic tracks.
Oct 22: The Duke Spirit Always impressive and still fronted by the charismatic Liela Moss, this splendid London rock create an addictive mix of dark space-blues, grubby soul and groovy garage rock.
Oct 22-23: Hot Chip The much-loved London five-piece return for more gorgeous electropop, promoting a new album ‘Why Make Sense?’
Oct 24: Jeff Mills: Light from the Outside World A bona fide legend of dance music, Detroit techno don Jeff Mills transitions from the club to the concert hall for the UK premiere of his project ‘Light from the Outside World’.
Oct 24: Squarepusher Essex electro king Tom Jenkinson delivers bassomatic wizardry as Squarepusher.
Oct 25-30: U2 U2 at The O2! The presidents of pomp-rock plug in for a London residency – the only UK shows on their 'Innocence and Experience' tour.
Oct 28-29: Cat Power Powerful songcraft and an edge-of-your-seat performance style from singer-songwriter Chan Marshall.
Oct 29: Kiss FM Haunted House Party Drum and bass hitmakers Rudimental, ‘X Factor’ alumnae Little Mix and R&B pop starlet Rita Ora top the bill, with more big-hitters including Jess Glynne and Years & Years backing them up.
Oct 30-31: Patti Smith Her Pattiness doesn’t have a spotless record. We’re confident that these two ‘Horses’ gigs at the Roundhouse (site of a seminal Smith gig in 1976) will be just as powerful and inspirational.
Various Oct dates: Oxjam Technically, Oxjam is one of the biggest UK music festivals. With dozens of events featuring thousands of artists in cities throughout the country, this charity festival is run by volunteers and all the proceeds go towards Oxfam’s anti-poverty initiatives.
Burning Down The House
NIGHTLIFE
Oct 3: Rhythm Parlour's First Birthday A monthly pop-up barber shop with a disco soundtrack, spun by DJs, plus cocktails and street food.
Oct 3: Burning Down The House This new east London night aims to give Dalston’s nightlife scene a kick up the arse with the best songs of the ’80s (from Grace Jones and Bowie to The Smiths and Pixies) plus a side-portion of disco, funk and glam.
Oct 8, 10: Black Butter x East London A series of east London parties hosted by the ace Black Butter label, all with secret line-ups. BB has has housed a ton of excellent UK electronic music talent covering everything from nu-soul to D&B to electronic pop to woozy R&B.
Oct 9-30: Tribal Sessions A weekly series of underground house and techno parties featuring heavyweight DJ line-ups.
Oct 16, 24: Rebel Bingo A wild, alternative bingo night where clubbing meets number calling.
Oct 31: Halloween parties in London Like a stealthy vampire or a sneaky zombie, Halloween has snuck up on us again. The good news is that as Halloween itself falls on a Saturday this year, the number of frightfully fantastic Halloween club nights, parties and other nightlife happenings is going to be off the scale.
ART
Until Jan 3: Emily Jacir: Europa The first UK survey of the Palestinian artist’s poetically political works from the last two decades.
Oct 1-Nov 8: Jimmie Durham: Various Items and Complaints This major survey of the American artist, poet, essayist and political activist will include new works and installation alongside a presentation of early works not seen before in the UK.
Oct 1-Nov 8: Rachel Rose: Palisades Winner of this year’s Frieze Artists Award, the American artist will create an immersive installation with two of her recent videos to echo our anxieties, the advancement of technology and relationship to the natural world.
Oct 2-Jan 10: Burden of Proof Photography has proved to be the silent witness in many crimes. Providing factual evidence since the late 1800s, here, eleven case studies will be presented spanning the invention of metric photography with Alphonse Bertillon's sepia prints of crime scenes that assisted police investigations, judges and juries through to the reconstruction of a 2012 drone attack in Miranshah, Pakistan.
Oct 7-Jan 10: Goya: The Portraits Don't miss the first ever show to focus on the portraits by the Spanish painting don, Francisco de Goya.
Oct 8-Apr 3: John Hoyland: Power Stations – Paintings 1964-1982 Damien Hirst launches his new long-awaited new gallery with abstract paintings by the late John Hoyland.
Oct 8- Dec 20: Jon Rafman Jon Rafman uses the Internet quite a lot as a research tool for his multidisciplinary practice that incorporates films, installation, photographs and sculptures. He’s sourced accidental images from Google Streetview for his ‘9 Eyes’ blog that gives a far more enlightening, profound and true view of streets around the world than a mere map ever could.
Oct 9-Jan 10: Eddie Peake The young British artist transforms the curve into a performative playground about love and desire.
Oct 9-Mar 13: Frank Auerbach Considered Britain’s greatest living painter, the 83-year old artist has lived and worked in north London for the last sixty years, painting every day of the year but one.
Oct 13-25: Zhang Ding Shanghai-based Zhang Ding will transform the ICA's theatre with two music stages where bands will play in unison.
Oct 13-Mar 20: The Hyundai Commission: Abraham Cruzvillegas The first Hyundai Commission will transform Tate Modern's monumental Turbine Hall in a most unexpected way.
Oct 14-Jan 17: The Amazing World of MC Escher Having busted the block with its summer show of Eric Ravilious, Dulwich Picture Gallery looks set to have another hit on its hands with this survey of the Dutch graphic artist Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898–1972).
Oct 14-17: Frieze London and Frieze Masters Frieze is back for a 13th year, with 160 galleries from over 25 different countries gathering in Regent's Park for the biggest contemporary art event of the year.
Oct 15-Jan 10: Giacometti: Pure Presence The first ever show to focus on a less well-known aspect of the modernist sculptor's career.
Oct 21-Feb 14: The World of Charles and Ray Eames Major survey of the post-war modernist designers Charles and Ray Eames.
Various Oct dates: Art fairs in London Looking for a bargain to brighten up a wall, or a masterpiece to make a statement? Find the perfect piece with our guide to London art fairs.
THEATRE
Oct 2-Nov 14: Measure for Measure Romola Garai takes on Isabella in Joe Hill-Gibbins's version of Shakespeare's tricky comedy.
Oct 19-Jan 19: Husbands and Sons Anne-Marie Duff stars as Lizzie Holroyd in this adaptation of three DH Lawrence dramas.
Oct 17-Nov 21: The Hairy Ape Eugene O'Neill's classic expressionist play 'The Hairy Ape' is revived as part of Matthew Warchus's first season as boss of the Old Vic following Kevin Spacey's departure.
Unitl Nov 14: Medea Almeida boss Rupert Goold directs his wife Kate Fleetwood in a new version of Euripides's dark tragedy.