Royal Festival Hall

Non-millennials may very well be unaware of Tom Fletcher of the pop-rock band McFly, and non-parent millennials may be blissfully unaware of his success as a children’s author. But nonetheless: he’s a big deal in the pre-school world, his career beginning with eye-wateringly scatological picture books like The Dinosaur that Pooped Christmas and The Dinosaur that Pooped a Planet, and progressing to relatively more mature fair. The Creakers, from 2017, concerns Lucy, a young girl from the town of Whiffington who wakes up one day to discover that all the local parents have disappeared, leaving her and her fellow kids to run wild.  A version with songs was released in 2019, and for 2024 it’s been adapted into a small-scale musical that will run at the Queen Elizabeth Hall over the Christmas holidays. It’s directed by Tom Jackson Greaves, with a book by Miranda Larson. For ages six-plus.

Aussie circus company Circa move into the Royal Festival Hall for Christmas with this cheeky show inspired by – although in a rather different vein to – Swan Lake and the Ugly Duckling. We’re promised ‘eye-popping stunts, jaw-dropping aerials, rib-tickling comedy’ and ‘a cheeky flipper-wearing duck army’. For ages five-plus.

Settle in for a night of poetry as your host Ian McMillan introduces ten talented wordsmiths, who have been shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize. The ten poets taking part are Raymond Antrobus, Hannah Copley, Helen Farish, Peter Gizzi, Gustav Parker Hibbett, Rachel Mann, Gboyega Odubanjo, Carl Phillips, Katrina Porteous and Karen McCarthy Woolf. It’s a chance to hear some of the most exciting verse coming out of the UK and Ireland right now and to make your mind up about who you think should win the much-coveted accolade. 

The Montreux Jazz Festival continues its London residency with this night celebrating the late, great Nina Simone. The Nu Civilisation Orchestra will be playing some of Simone’s best known and impactful songs accompanied by a roster of illustrious guests including Leeds-based singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae, neo-jazz singer Ni Maxine, singer-songwriter China Moses, jazz and neo-soul singer Laura Mvula and electronic music producer and singer-songwriter Tony Njoku. Expect a show-stopping night championing Simone’s work and the things that mattered to her, including Blackness, womanhood and the power of music.

There’s a new festival in town and it’s highlighting one of the more unsung parts of our favourite movies – the soundtracks. London Soundtrack Festival puts the scores front and centre in March 2025, with a series of screenings, talks and performances celebrating the musicians who make Hollywood sound so exciting, tense and emotional. Highlights include Hildur Guðnadóttir introducing the first and second ‘Joker' movies and, later in the programme, holding her own concert; David Cronenberg and Howard Shore in conversation, and screenings of ‘Modern Times’ and ‘Eighth Grade’ with live scores.