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Make the most of your weekday evenings with our list of fun below! You can dine at a Brixton supper club, catch Novelist at XOYO, watch an outdoor screening of Hitchcock's 'Vertigo', or attend the annual Doctor Death Lecture. It's going to be killer!
Things to do
Behind the Screen, Somerset House, Mon-Wed, prices vary. This series of talks, workshops and family events to accompany the Film4 Summer Screen line-up explores the art and craft of cinema.
Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host, Southbank Centre, Tue, £40-£75. Ira Glass, creator and host of the hit radio show 'This American Life' swaps studio for stage in this extravaganza of storytelling and dance.
Lifeboat, Edmonton Green Shopping Centre, Tue, free. This antidote to London rhythm revolves around a participatory performance, set on a ship of hammocks that rotates slowly in the round, accompanied by a live band.
David Bowie Unseen Photographs, Snap Galleries, Tue-Thu, free. A collection of previously unseen images of the superstar, taken by photographer Gerald Fearnly in 1967.
Al Fresco Pilates, St Katharine Docks, Wed-Thu, £15. Stretch and bend in the fresh air at this al fresco pilates class on a floating pontoon in St Katharine's Docks.
Cntfest, The Victoria, Thu, free. What would history's ultimate super-group look like if it was assembled from the very worst people in the music industry? Find out at this exhibition that has assigned an artist to each awful band member in this dreadful imaginary group of performers.
The Annual Doctor Death Lecture, Brompton Cemetery Chapel, Thu, £10 donation. The royal rites and rituals around death are the subject of Robert Stephenson's illustrated lecture – but kings' and queens' funerals have changed radically over the years.
…or check out more events happening in London this week.
Eating and drinking
Salon x Anna Tobias, Salon, Tue, £39 + booking fee. Rochelle Canteen's head chef, Anna Tobias has joined forces with Nicholas Balfe of Salon for this five-course feast.
Free Sandwiches at Cure and Cut, Cure and Cut, Tue-Wed. The cafe which will be serving up authentic delicatessen favourites will give the first 50 diners through their doors between noon-1pm a full-size signature Reuben sandwich free of charge.
The Line-up at Typing Room, Typing Room, Wed, £130. Have an exceptionally luxurious Wednesday at Bethnal Green's beautiful Town Hall hotel with this series of drinks events. August's edition focuses on English wine, and all seven of the courses will come with a perfectly paired glass.
KinoVino: Toast Hash Roast Mash, Palm 2, Thu, £45. This supper club and film night teams delicious dinners with classic cinema. The latest event is a celebration of head chef at Duck and Waffle, Dan Doherty's latest cookbook.
…or check out the latest restaurant reviews.
Live music
Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros, Islington Assembly Hall, Mon-Tue, £22.50. With a penchant for big, country-fried folk anthems about the open road, Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros roll into town for a set of uplifting alt pop with plenty of whistling.
Novelist, XOYO, Thu, £15. Lewisham boy Kojo Kankam may be young but he’s already been signed by XL, rapped with Kanye and Jamie XX and been dubbed the future of grime.
Eska, Roundhouse, Thu, £16.50. Nominated for last year’s Mercury Prize after years as a session singer, Eska Mtungwazi is finally headed for star status.
…or take a look at all the live music events in London this week.
Tomek Kmiecik
Nightlife
Father Groove: Summer in Brixton Roof Party Series, Prince of Wales, Tue, £5. Join the Coldharbour Disco Society – a new gang in town – for eight hours of funk, soul and disco sweetness on the lush Prince of Wales roof terrace, every Tuesday this summer.
School Night Swing, The Lexington, Wed, free. DJ Holly Frances will be behind the decks bringing swing, jump blues, rock'n'roll, skiffle, soul, rhythm'n'blues, calypso and cumbia to the dancefloor.
XOYO 4th Birthday, XOYO, Thu, from £15. Everything from funky R&B to rockabilly, electro and banging German techno from 2ManyDJs. With support from Kiwi and Lemmy Ashton.
Your Mum's House, The Nest, Thu, £7, £5 before midnight. Not for the faint-hearted, this weekly jaunt is a 'dress up 'n' get messed up' night of mayhem and mischief, with a soundtrack of bassy house, hip hop, old school bangers, trap, R&B and UK garage.
…or see all the parties planned this week.
Pop Ritzy
Film
Check the Gate: ‘To Live & Die in LA’, Prince Charles Cinema, Wed, £8.50. Director, writer, comedian and all-round top chap Richard Ayoade has chosen this iconic slice of LA noir as part of the Prince Charles cinema’s season of classic films on 35mm film.
Pop Ritzy, Pop Brixton, Thu, from £15. The Ritzy has branched out this summer with a sixth screen at nearby Pop Brixton for a number of 'film plus' nights.
The Nomad: ‘Vertigo’, Brown Hart Gardens, Thu, £20. Hitchcock’s masterpiece (voted the best film of all time a few years back) screens outdoors in a swanky Mayfair square.
London Feminist Film Festival: ‘A Place of Rage’ + panel discussion, Rio, Thu, £11, £9 concs. The London Feminist Film Festival is a small but excellent celebration of films made by, for and about women.
Or at the cinema...
Wiener-Dog ★★★★☆ Todd Solondz continues his career-long plunge into the dark side of human nature with this fierce, sneakily profound tale of heavy petting.
Pete's Dragon ★★★☆☆ A remake of Disney's classic adventure story about a boy and his pet dragon.
…or see all of the latest releases.
© Roy Tan
Theatre
The Secret Garden, Ambassadors Theatre, Tue, £10. A vast cast of kids perform this green-fingered musical.
Extravaganza Macabre, Battersea Arts Centre, all week, £12.50 & £17.50. Little Bulb dive into the world of Victoriana in this lively new outdoor show.
Yerma, Young Vic, all week, £10-£35. Simon Stone's radical update of Lorca's play is astonishingly powerful.
…or see our theatre critics’ choices.
This week's best new art
Mark Wallinger: Self Reflection, Freud Museum, Wed-Thu, £7. We’re constantly being told how self-obsessed we are. The selfie has become the emblem of first-world shallowness; we’re all self-entitled; there’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’ etc. So here’s an opportunity to reflect on what the idea of ‘self’ even means.
Samara Scott: Developer, Pump House Gallery, Wed-Thu, free. Battersea park’s mirror pools are looking a little queasy. Young English artist Samara Scott has filled the two ponds here with swathes of swirling fabric and an almost stomach-turning array of coloured dyes for what she calls ‘liquid paintings’.
Daydreaming With Stanley Kubrick, Somerset House, all week, £12.50, concs £9.50. A host of contemporary artists, film makers and musicians showcase works inspired by Stanley Kubrick.
…or see all London art reviews.
And finally
Win... a trip to Prague with Stansted Express or an overnight stay at Hilton on Park Lane and a private rock’n’roll music tour
Grab... a saving of 57% on burger, side and drink at Beach Blanket Babylon
Book… these gigs while you still can
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