Unmissable things to do and events in London in November 2026

Boston indie-rockers Horse Jumper of Love, electronic producer Actress, Aussie electronic group The Avalanches and Chicago rapper Noname are some of the eclectic headline acts performing at the 2026 edition of Pitchfork London, the festival of choice for anyone who’s ever complained that music criticisim just isn’t what it used to be. The week-long bonanza 

features a genre-hopping line-up encompassing 80 artists promising everything from avant-rock and post-punk to UK rap and deconstructed dance music, and playing across a plethora of London’s best venues, including Colour Factory, Union Chapel, Village Underground, Earth Theatre, Royal Festival Hall and 93 Feet East. 

Check out the full line-up here for a whole bunch of emerging talents you’ve likely never heard of but will no doubt feature on your Spotify Wrapped come December 2027. It’s basically the place to be if you consider yourself a music fan with a finger on the pulse.

A lavish family friendly adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s India-set story cycle, the National Theatre’s big Christmas 2026 show is adapted by Indian playwright Anupama Chandrasekhar (of the excellent The Father and the Assassin fame).

While Disney’s movie plot was cobbled together from selected bits of Kipling’s collection of stories, Chandrasekhar has plenty more material to work with in crafting her version. We’d expect to be distinctly postcolonial spin on the classic, with the action being relocated to the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans in the country’s east. 

Still, don’t imagine it will be radically different from the Disney classic: it’ll focus on Mowgli the Man-Cub – played by NT stalwart Hiran Abeysekera – and feature spectacular puppet renderings of his various animal friends and enemies. NT boss Indhu Rubasingham will direct, with puppets by Finn Caldwell and Nick Barnes.

London’s photography fans might have been dismayed that the major Nan Goldin retrospective that has been touring around Europe over the last few years never made it across the channel, but this brand new show at the Hayward Gallery should soften the blow. The American photographer and activist’s first institutional exhibition in the UK since 2022, its main focus is You Never Did Anything Wrong Part I (2024) and Part II (2026), a pair of abstract films scored by the composer Mica Levi and screened in bespoke spaces designed with architect Hala Wardé. Also shown will be Stendhal Syndrome (2024), which contrasts photographs of Goldin’s friends and lovers with classical art from museums around the world, and Memory Lost (2019–2021), exploring Goldin’s personal addiction history, plus a selection of photographic prints.

It wouldn’t take a genius to conclude that 87-year-old Sir Ian McKellen was done with the stage. After an incredibly prolific start to his eighties, he fell off the Noël Coward Theatre stage during a performance of Robert Icke’s 2024 Henry IV mash-up Player Kings, and seemed thereafter to be focussing on screen work.

And you’ll be able to catch him in Avengers: Doomsday this winte, right about the same time he returns to the stage to lend his star power to the reopening season of Hackney Wick’s Yard Theatre. Lear is a new adaptation of King Lear, but also – it seems – McKellen’s life and thoughts, by playwright Simon Stephens and Yard boss Jay Miller, with contributions (naturally) from McKellen himself. 

What is all this going to look like? Hard to say exactly but it’s probably going to be very cool indeed, and sell out more or less instantly. You’d be a fool tomiss out; watch this space for ticket announcements. 

Tate Britain ends the year with an examination of the 50-year-long creative (and sometime romantic) relationship between Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. Featuring over 300 works, as well as a faithful restaging of Grant’s studio, relocated from the pair’s home in Sussex, it will explore the duo’s legacy as core members of the Bloomsbury Set, their commitment to freedom and self-expression, and the influence this had on British art, literature and society. 

Every year, the EFG London Jazz Festival brings together the best and brightest of the genre in venues across the city, from the capital’s major arts venues like Southbank Centre and Barbican, to atmospheric gig spots like Village Underground, EartH Theatre and Union Chapel.

The 2026 line-up promises a bounty of bops, encompassing both emerging talents (Ambrose Akinmusire Quartet, Sun Nov 15 at King’s Place) and legendary names (Yasuaku Shimizu, Sun Nov 15 at Milton Court). There’ll be a series of special gigs dedicated to the greats, including a star-studded night celebrating the centenary of John Coltrane (Coltrane 100, Fri Nov 13 at the Barbican).And it’s not just jazz on offer; there’s also Portuguese fado, electroswing, trip-hop and drum and bass, as well as film screenings, masterclasses and more.

Check out the full programme here.

The Young Vic’s Christmas show – if you can call it that – is an adaptation of Swiss writer Christian Kracht’s darkly comic and unsettling, International Booker-nominated autofiction novel, about a mother and son (named Christian) who head out on a road-trip through the Alps in an effort to give away the family fortune (and escape a shameful legacy).

Big names Ben Whishaw and Kathryn Turner star as the roadtripping duo in an adaptation by Irish writer Colin Teevan,  with Walter Meierjohann directing.

Poly Styrene, Chrissy Hynde, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Debbie Harry. This autumn the Museum of Youth Culture will celebrate the women behind the punk movement with a landmark exhibition. Up Yours! is dedicated to the legacy of Poly Styrene, the visionary frontwoman of X-Ray Spex. It will bring together rare and previously unseen artwork, photography, fashion and personal archival material, with highlights including the Poly Styrene Archive, original artworks by radical feminist photographer Linder, previously unseen artwork from X-Ray Spex saxophonist Lora Logic, and archival fashion pieces from the inconic pink-haired designed Dame Zandra Rhodes. 

David Nicholls’ tearjerker novel revisiting couple Dex and Em on July 15 every year for 20 years starting from the first night they spend together has already been made into a film and TV series, and now here comes the musical. 

Written by playwright David Greig with songs by Abner and Amanda Ramirez, One Day: The Musical debuted in Edinburgh earlier this year at the Lyceum Theatre – which Greig used to run – and while there was some controversy about reviews not being permitted (to keep powder dry for a potential London transfer) word of mouth was good, and it extended its run by a couple of weeks.

Now the London transfer is here, and Edinburgh leads – and West End theatre heavyweights – Jamie Muscato and Sharon Rose are back onboard as Dex and Em for this run. Max Webster – Life of Pi, the NT’s Importance of Being Earnest – directs.

Agatha Christie is widely regarded as the greatest ever crime novelist, and the Queen of Crime will be under investigation herself during the British Library’s 2026 season.

Coinciding with the centenary of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, one of the prolific writer’s most important and influential novels, the autumn exhibition will delve into the origins of iconic characters Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, while also exploring the the eclectic range of interests that inspired the English author’s works, from archaeology to pharmacology, and illustrating the profound impact her ouevre continues to have on the whodunnit genre. 

Reconcile yourself to shorter, darker evenings by seeing spectacular lights explode across the night sky. London erupts in bonfire night displays each year, and they're getting ever more elaborate: in 2026, you'll find an intricate drone show at Alexandra Palace, and a full-on festival with live acts on Blackheath. Here's our pick of the best places to brighten up your evening.

There's something undeniably festive about outdoor ice skating: ice, twinkly lights, all those cosy hats and scarfs. But why save it until December, when you'll be stressed about Christmas shopping, juggling a packed diary, and weighed down by excessive mince pie consumption? Here's our pick of the best places to hit the rink this November, whether you're after a bass-soundtracked Skate Late at Courtauld, or a historic glide at Hampton Court Palace.

To celebrate 75 years since the Festival of Britain, an era-defining cultural event designed to boost national morale post-WW2, legendary illustrator Quentin Blake has created a joyful new installation in Southbank Centre. 30 life-size characters will be dotted around around the venue between now and November. Look out for dancers, skaters, parkour athletes, opera singers, a violinist and more. 

Head to Doc’n Roll Film Festival and you've got an instant backstage pass into the worlds of some of the most exciting bands and musicians around. The 2026 edition takes over the capital’s cinema staples like the Barbican, BFI Southbank, Dalston's Rio and more with an exciting array of new films, telling the stories of Patrick Wolf, rock pioneers The Fugs, Malian duo Amadou & Mariam, and more. 

Agatha Christie is widely regarded as the greatest ever crime novelist, and the Queen of Crime will be under investigation herself during the British Library’s 2026 season.This autumn exhibition will delve into the origins of iconic characters Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, while also exploring the the eclectic range of interests that inspired the English author’s works, from archaeology to pharmacology, and illustrating the profound impact her ouevre continues to have on the whodunnit genre. 

Ben Whishaw plays a neurotic novelist who sets off on a road trip with his eccentric mother (Kathryn Hunter) in this offbeat comedy, based on Swiss writer Christian Kracht’s acclaimed autofiction novel. The pair set off across the mountains with a plastic bag stuffed with cash, as they try to reckon with their family's dark history.

David Nicholls’ heartbreaking love story has already been made into a film and massively popular TV series. Now, we're getting a musical too, written by playwright David Greig with songs by Abner and Amanda Ramirez. West End theatre heavyweights – Jamie Muscato and Sharon Rose are onboard as central couple Dex and Em for this run, which originally premiered in Edinburgh, where the story is partly set. 

Peggy Guggenheim arrived in London in the 1930s after fleeing the Nazi occupation of mainland Europe. And it was here that she laid the foundations for her magnificent career as an art patron. Nearly 90 years after Guggenheim Jeune opened its doors, the RA is bringing key pieces from its displays back together, alongside other works from the artists that Guggenheim championed. Expect to see the likes of Eileen Agar, Salvador Dalí, Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Vasily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian and more. 

Jan van Eyck basically invented portraiture as we know it today. Before he came along in the 1430s, depictions of people were mostly (but not always) rigid, flat and unrealistic, representing general religious archetypes rather than real-life figures. Van Eyck’s paintings, on the other hand, capture all the intimate details, from subtle stubble to bloodshot eyes. At the time, it was a truly radical approach. This National Gallery exhibition will mark the first time that all ten of the artist’s surviving portraits are on display together: consider this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 

The V&A is full of mindblowing works of craftsmanship, but this major exhibition will take things up a notch with its lavish displays of treasures from one of the world’s great cities. Once called Constantinople, and now called Istanbul, it was at the heart of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. Spanning  AD 330 to 1922, this exhibition will bring together remarkable works of art, design and architecture. Expect rarely seen objects dating back to 4th century, including fine silks and textiles, ceramic tiles, mosaics, manuscripts and paintings. 

Take a whimsical adventure back to your childhood at this celebration of Tove Jansson. In 1945, the Finnish author and artist created the lovable, hippo-like Moomins. Since then, more than 30 million copies of Moomins books have been sold around the world. Now, unseen drawings and over 100 other rarely seen pieces of work by Jansson are going on display at the new Quentin Blake Centre of Illustration. Tove Jansson and her Families will spotlight the people who shaped her life and work, from her sculptor father to her queer friendship circles to her life partner Tuulikki Pietilä.  

87-year-old Sir Ian McKellen hasn't done much live theatre since he fell off the Noël Coward Theatre stage during a performance of Robert Icke’s 2024 Player Kings. But if you worried you'd missed your chance to see him in action, fear not! He's back on stage and lending his formidable star power to the reopening season of the Yard Theatre in Hackney Wick. Lear is a new adaptation of King Lear by playwright Simon Stephens, with contributions from the great actor himself.