Things to do in London this week

February half-term is here again – oh joy. The coldest and wettest of school holidays, it’s not that promising on paper, but London always rises to the challenge magnificently – of all the half-terms, this is the one that boasts the large number of things for kids to do indoors, with the mighty Imagine Festival at the Southbank Centre probably the biggest annual event in the London kids’ calendar, and plenty more on besides, from a Robot Zoo at the Horniman to the new Ancient Egypt exhibition at the Young V&A. Here are my top suggestions for the half-term.

In his far too short career, Donald Rodney (1961-1998) created an incredibly varied body of work, using a huge breadth of mediums to confront the prejudices that course through British society. The works here tackle themes of racial identity, chronic illness and colonial history, and are a fascinating window into the issues that mattered in 1990s Britain, and still resonate today.

‘Fourquels’ are usually where film franchises start to flirt with rock bottom, so it’s a joy to report that Mad About the Boy is comfortably the best Bridget Jones outing since Bridget Jones’s Diary. For Renée Zellweger’s still klutzy but now wiser Bridge, living in cosy Hampstead, the singleton Borough era is a distant memory. Ciggies and Chardonnay have been dispensed with replaced with a big dose of lingering grief for lawyer Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). It says everything for the script (co-written by Helen Fielding, Dan Mazer and Abi Morgan) that even Daniel Cleaver, now entering his own Jurassic era and a bit sad about it, gets an affecting arc here. The plot will surprise no one, but it barely matters – this is Bridget’s journey of rediscovery.

In Coral Wylie’s nature-driven debut Pip – also played by Wylie – is a non-binary 19-year-old trying to make sense of themselves and their world. To do this, they keep a diary. Pip’s parents prefer to keep their worries as ungerminated seeds. Twenty years ago, Pip’s father lost his best friend Duncan to AIDS and has tried his best to bury Duncan’s existence. Pip discovers one of Duncan’s old jackets with an old diary stuffed inside the pocket. Almost immediately they feel an affinity with their parents’ old friend. The past starts to overflow like running water. It’s beautiful and touching – a play that shows the wonder of friendship. 

The BFI’s annual festival for aspiring filmmakers aged 16 to 25 returns with a packed programme of talks, discussions, keynotes and workshops aimed at connecting young film enthusiasts with industry professionals, peers and potential collaborators. Like last year’s edition, the programme for 2025’s festival will follow a hybrid format, offering traditional live screenings at the BFI Southbank and partnered cinemas around the UK, as well as a selection of films that young cinephiles can watch for free via the BFI YouTube channel.

Whether you’re an avid Pokémon player or just think they’re cute (both are valid), the Pokémon Center London pop-up is back at ExCeL. Goodies on offer will include a limited-edition range of International Championships-exclusive products and the shop will also be hosting a series of kid-friendly special events, including a scavenger hunt and character appearances. 

This is a band that shows very little sign of slowing down. It seems like only a few months ago we watched High Vis play in an almost-empty tent at Reading to a bunch of half-baked teenagers, and now they’re lined up to support Deftones at a sold-out Crystal Palace Bowl this summer. Want to see why they’ve been picked for the big gig? Head to Electric Brixton this month and immerse yourself in a swell of heavy guitars and Mancunian-tinged shouting. It’ll be bliss, promise.  

Electric Brixton, SW2 1RJ. Fri Feb 21, 7pm. From £24.50.

Oskar Reinhart knew a masterpiece when he saw one. The twentieth century art collector amassed a stunning trove of artworks, and now some of his finest picks are coming to the Courtauld. On display will be an amazingly grim Géricault painting, an incredibly saucy Courbet image of a lady in hammock, a staggering Goya still life and two stunning hospital-era Van Goghs. And then there are some Manets, Cezannes, Picassos and Renoirs to boot. Wowzers.

Adaptor/translator Rory Mullarkey has created a novel take on Chekhov, recasting the titular trio of sisters as less fading, doomed aristocrats waiting to get crushed by the Russian Revolution, and more trapped in an absurdist pantomime. Caroline Steinbeis’s production makes the sisters feel like part of an automata, doomed to repeat their days over and over and over. What we see is the machine break down, as fraying interpersonal relationships cause their comfortably numb limbo of an existence to stop working.

Step into the grandeur of 17th and 18th-century France with Versailles: Science & Splendour, an enthralling exhibition now open at the Science Museum until April 2025. Discover how science played a pivotal role in shaping the magnificence of the Palace of Versailles, with stunning artefacts on display, many of which have never been seen in the UK before. Marvel at the intricate moon map by Jean-Dominique Cassini, a watch made for Marie Antoinette and learn about pioneering figures like Madame du Coudray, who transformed midwifery across France. 

Book Versailles: Science & Splendour at the Science Museum now for just £5.40, only with Time Out Offers.

It might have had a makeover a couple of years ago, but Jeremy Lee’s Quo Vardis still oozes old-school Soho and has been rustling up some of the capital’s finest food since 2012. Now it’s collaborating with its favourite producers and suppliers for a programme of tasty-sounding culinary events. Don’t miss February’s supper club – a celebration of caviar and vodka. 

‘Vogue: Inventing the Runway’ takes you on a journey through the evolution of fashion shows, from intimate salons to today’s epic, celebrity-filled spectacles. Step into the front row and backstage at some of fashion’s most iconic moments, all projected on Lightroom’s massive 360-degree walls. With immersive animations, a killer soundtrack, and jaw-dropping visuals, this exhibit celebrates the creativity and drama that turned runway shows into cultural milestones. Save up to 33% with student tickets at £10 and adult tickets at £19.

Get adult tickets for £19 (down from £25), or student tickets for just £10, only through Time Out Offers.

In 1999, at the age of 10, Martin came down to the last two for the role of Harry Potter, but fell at the last hurdle. The rest is history and his competitor Daniel Radcliffe went on to become a household name, so now Martin lives in the shadow of what he could have been. In Barney Norris’s adaptation of David Foenkinos’s best-selling novel Asa Butterfield gives a totally assured and searing performance as Martin who is haunted by his lost potential, the trauma of the Hollywood audition process and the star that is everywhere. He is the nucleus of Michael Longhurst’s barebones production. An actor with less talent would have been exposed by Longhurst’s demanding direction -Butterfield is simply magic. 

A contemporary of Robert Mapplethorpe, Nan Goldin and David Wojnarowicz, Peter Hujar was a key figure in New York’s East Village art scene in the 1970s and 80s, even if his reputation as a major force in American photography has largely come about in the decades since his death of AIDS-related pneumonia in 1987. This exhibition of his later work has been curated by his close friend, the artist and print-maker Gary Schneider, alongside his biographer John Douglas Millar, and features portraits of several of Hujar’s friends and contemporaries from the downtown scene.

St Paul’s is about to get lit. In February, the cathedral will be transformed via a stunning immersive light and sound show. ‘Luminous’ by art collective Luxmuralis will animate the interior of the building with illuminations and soundscapes inspired by its history, collections and archives. Previously, Luxmuralis has created shows at Westminster Abbey, Durham Cathedral and Oxford University. The company was also behind the ‘Poppy Fields’ display at the Tower of London in October. 

The latest chefs to take over the kitchen at Islington pub The Compton Arms are Rake; Jay Claus, Syrus Pickhaver and Peter Ward. Their menu is ruddy-faced British gentleman food, rethought for people who don’t own a cottage in the Cotswolds. Here, the spectre of St John is strong, with the likes of salsify and scotch broth, but rather than ostentatious ‘I-dare-you-to-eat-that’ whole beast butchery, Rake’s approach to meat is more earthy and pagan; said duck hearts come in a marvellously dank sauce which soaks into the crunchy toast. It’s a winning dish in a line-up of endless hits. Deep fried cockles on skewers are the perfect pub snack. Browned oysters rarebit are cooked with a creamy, addictively mustardy gunk and ray wing tenders are sweet, juicy and crunchy buttresses of fish. 

The Young V&A’s exhibition Making Egypt will look at creativity in Ancient Egypt and its enduring influence on contemporary society, gathering together over 200 items from the V&A archives, with the oldest around 5,500 years old and many not displayed before. It will range from the fully painted inner sarcophagus of Princess Sopdet-em-haawt to examining the influence of Egyptian design on Minecraft and Moon Knight. New films will explore Ancient Egyptian art techniques, and there will be kids’ activities including drawing with scale, deciphering hieroglyphics and designing your own amulet.

In 1837, a baby-faced, wavy-haired 25-year-old Charles Dickens moved into 48 Doughty Street. Taking up two small rooms on the first and second floors of the building, the museum’s centenary exhibition illustrates the life and legacy of one of London’s greatest writers via letters, manuscripts, rare first editions, sketches and the cheesy love poems he wrote at 18 (thought to be his earliest surviving writing). If The Muppets Christmas Carol is as far as your Dickens knowledge stretches, this is an accessible showcase. You’ll leave feeling endeared to Dickens and charmed by the fervent admiration the museum evidently has for its subject.