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Check out London's freshest ceramicists, jewellers and textile artists at New Designers, enjoy an indulgent cream tea on the seventy-second floor of the Shard, or catch some Edinburgh Fringe previews at the ArtHouse in Crouch End. Here's our pick of the best ways to ace the next five days.
Things to do
Shelf Heroes – Issue B Launch Party, Book Club, TONIGHT, free. Head down to Shoreditch to celebrate the launch of Shelf Heroes Issue B with the creator and contributors. Earlier in 2015, the burgeoning film blog set out on a mission to produce 26 beautiful A-Z magazines inspired by movies. Issue A contained illustrations, graphic art, original fiction and think-pieces from fresh talent and Issue B promises more of the same.
Dinosaurs of Victorian London, UCL, Tue, free. This evening talk focusses on the wonderful dinosaur models that stand proud in Crystal Palace Park. The hulking great sculptures were unveiled in 1854, exciting people the world over as nothing like them had ever been seen before. A bit like the new 'Jurassic Park' film (not).
Batman: Arkham Knight Cape & Cowl, Kachette, Tue-Thu, free. There’s no denying Batman's jet black costume is practical for melting into the shadows and sneaking up on baddies but it's hardly fashion-forward. WB Games UK has invited artists and celebrities to reimagine the caped crusader's iconic outfit using a life-size cape and cowl as a blank canvas.
The Workbench: Silver Ring Workshop, Boxpark, Wed, £49. Carve out your own piece of unique jewellery at this seriously fun craft night from design labels, Crux London and Kirstie MacLaren.
Yoga Tennis, Cardinal Place Roof Garden, Wed, free. Fitness fiends can head to the Victoria roof garden for a tennis inspired yoga session where they can also get their hands on gym discount vouchers and a free smoothie courtesy of Wagamama.
Spitalfields E1 Tea Dance, Spitalfields Market, Wed, free. Join the New Covent Garden Dance Orchestra in Crispin Place for some fancy footwork to music from the '30s, '40s and '50s. Dancers of all abilities are welcome, and styles will include foxtrots, quicksteps and cha chas.
New Designers, Business Design Centre, Wed-Thu, Day ticket £11 adv, £15 on the door, special tickets from £17.50. If you’re more interested in emerging trends and designs than what’s already in the shops, this event which marks its 30th edition in 2015 is a great chance to see the future of craft and design in the UK. Part 1, running from June 24 to 27, brings together graduates from leading courses in contemporary applied art; ceramics and glass; fashion, textiles and accessories; jewellery and precious metalwork.
Lates at 2 Willow Road, Hampstead, Thu, £9. Ernő Goldfinger's modernist house at 2 Willow Road stays open late to recreate the architect's legendary party atmosphere while guests explore with a drink in hand.
…or check out more events happening in London this week.
Eating and drinking
Sky-High Tea, The Shard, Tue-Wed, £85 for two people. An afternoon tea from Fortnum & Mason already ranks pretty high when it comes to searching out a great scone in London, but they're striving for new heights with this summer experience taking place at The Shard. 40 picnics will be available each day for guests to enjoy 800ft above the city on the 72nd level of the building which boasts an open-air deck.
Bites, Camera, Action, Union Street Café, Tue-Wed, £35. Returning for a second helping, Bites, Camera, Action takes over Southwark's Union Street Café for a series of film-focussed immersive dining events inspired by iconic gangster films.
Dirty Laundry, Gallery Different, Wed-Thu, £15. Find out just how well you scrub up at this launderette-themed pop-up which will involve cocktails mixed in washing machines, alcoholic jelly liqui-tabs and the chance to air your dirty laundry in Signorina Bubbles' confessions booth.
Guildhall Yard Food Market, City, Thu. Buy your lunch in the magnificent courtyard of a fifteenth-century civic hall while councilmen come and go from the Court of Common Council at this monthly food market.
…or check out the latest restaurant reviews.
Comedy
ArtHouse Comedy Previews, Crouch End, TONIGHT, £8. Crouch End's ArtHouse venue is hosting a good bunch of Edinburgh Fringe preview shows from topic comics – Jimmy McGhie and 'Live at the Apollo' star Hal Cruttenden preview tonight.
BRITISH SUMMER TIME: Ed Byrne, Hyde Park, Wed, £27.50-£35. Headling the Wednesday night is Irish grumpster and slick observationalist Ed Byrne. Plus there's support from in-ya-face Londoner Gina Yashere, Jimeoin, Scottish wunderkind Daniel Sloss and MC Stephen K Amos.
Rob Delaney – Meat, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Wed-Thu, £20-£22. He's sold out multiple runs at the Soho Theatre in just a few seconds – now US stand-up Rob Delaney is upgrading to the Southbank Centre for his 'Meat' tour.
Diane Chorley – Duchess of Canvey, Soho Theatre, all week, £15, £12.50 concs. The regular Queen of Caaanvey, Diane Chorley, turns the Soho Theatre's basement room into her Essex nightclub The Flick for a two-week stint.
…or check out all the critics’ choice comedy shows.
Live music
Fleetwood Mac, The O2, Mon, Wed, £51-£126. Cheer up, sad sacks: the Mac are back – and better than ever. Well, better than they were for last year’s partial reunion, because there’s nothing partial about it this time: Christine is in.
Kid Wave, Sebright Arms, Wed, £8. One of the best new live bands we’ve seen in a while, Heavenly Records’ latest signings bust out joyous, jangling shoegaze-pop with no shortage of great melodies.
Mogwai, Roundhouse, Wed-Thu, £27.50. The post-rock demigods celebrate 20 years together with a two-night residency at the Roundhouse.
John Legend, The O2, Thu, £55. R&B crooner John Legend tackles the genre with classy, old-school charm, gently escorting listeners from candlelit dinners to steamy dance floors and, finally, to silk-adorned bedrooms.
The Gaslamp Killer Experience, Koko, Thu, £17.50-£22.50. Wild-haired LA beat maestro The Gaslamp Killer excels at destroying dancefloors with his genre-mashing DJ sets, but he’s no slouch either when it comes to original tunes. At this special show he’s backed by brilliant London avant-jazz collective The Heliocentrics for a supreme live experience.
…or take a look at all the live music events in London this week.
Nightlife
Fleetmac Wood, XOYO, Wed, £10. Here at Time Out, we're big fans of Fleetmac Wood – a project dedicated to disco-leaning Fleetwood Mac re-edits which gave birth to Psychemagik's wonderful Crystal Vision rework of 'Dreams' – and we're not the only ones.
Hip Hop Karaoke, The Social, Thu, £5-£7 adv, MOTD. Think you can rap? Prove it at this popular karaoke night, where you can flex your rhyming muscles to your favourite hip hop cuts from over the decades.
…or see all the parties planned this week.
Film
Haringey Independent Cinema: ‘My Summer of Love’, West Green Learning Centre, Thu, £4, £3 concs. A freewheeling, romantic and singular study of teenage sexuality and obsession that unites two exceptional actresses, Natalie Press and Emily Blunt.
It Always Rains on Sunday, The Horse Hospital, Thu, £9. To coincide with the republication of its 1945 source novel, enjoy this glorious, underseen British kitchen-sink thriller on the big screen.
The Birds, Andaz Hotel, Thu, £10. 'The Birds Is Coming!' the advance posters twittered ungrammatically but with justifiable excitement. With death dropping blandly out of a clear sky, this avian apocalypse is Hitchcock at his best.
Or at the cinema...
Mr Holmes ★★★☆☆ Sir Ian McKellen is a pleasure to watch as an elderly Sherlock Holmes, though the drama isn't as compelling as it might have been.
…or see all of the latest releases.
Theatre
Giffords Circus: Moon Songs, Chiswick House & Gardens, Tue-Wed, £25, £15 concs. Mighty Boosh man Cal McCrystal directs this old-fashioned family circus.
The Motherf**ker with the Hat, Lyttelton Theatre, Wed-Thu, £15-£50. Stephen Adly Guirgis’s clunkily censored ‘The Motherf**ker with the Hat’ was a f**king big hit on Broadway a few years back, thanks to decent reviews and the stage debut of that son-of-a-b**ch Chris Rock, as bulls**t-spouting AA councillor Ralph D.
The Red Lion, Dorfman Theatre, Wed-Thu, £15-£50. Patrick Marber finds the back of the net with this dark comedy about corruption in semi-pro football.
Hang, Royal Court Theatre, all week, £12-£35. Savage brilliance from Debbie Tucker Green and her boiling star Marianne Jean-Baptiste.
…or see our theatre critics’ choices.
This week's best new art
Bruce Conner: Crossroads, Thomas Dane, Tue-Thu free. Bruce Conner’s ‘Crossroads’ is one of the most beautiful, most mesmerising films you’re ever likely to see – not to mention one of the most terrifying, as well as one of the most banal.
Barbara Hepworth, Tate Britain, Wed, £18, £16 concs, under 12s free. Tate Britain’s summer 2015 show looks to reassess the reputation of this sculptor who is forever associated with Cornwall.
Serpentine Galleries Pavilion, Hyde Park, Thu, free. The task of transforming the lawn outside the Serpentine Gallery with a multi-purpose temporary Pavilion falls to the Spanish architectural duo SelgasCano.
…or see all London art reviews.
And finally
Win... a top-class dining experience for you and seven friends or the ultimate West End weekend with tickets to see 'The Mentalists'
Book... these gigs while you still can
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