Royal Festival Hall

In his latest dizzyingly high concept show, avant comedy legend Stewart Lee bemoans his irrelevance – something he’s been been bemoaning for decades, often with zeitgeisty results – in a new show in which he promises to unleash a new, callously offensive stage persona to compete with the likes of Ricky Gervais and Dave Chappelle. The Man-Wulf is, apparently, ‘a tough-talking werewolf comedian from the dark forests of the subconscious who hates humanity’. Expect nuclear levels of irony. 

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.

For many a middle class British family, there’s nothing more Christmassy than a seasonal trip to the ballet. Usually, it’s the only time they watch dance in the year, so they want something well known: Tchaikovsky, ideally. But anyone who casually grabs a ticket to Duck Pond, Aussie circus company Circa’s rebellious take on Swan Lake, expecting a classic retelling of the popular ballet will be left bewildered by this ugly duckling mash-up of a show. I mean that in a good way. Duck Pond, which premiered in Brisbane last summer, takes the best of Swan Lake, then twists it. The skill and control of the most classic ballet is on display, but sliced in between body-contorting acrobatics, heart-raising lifts, and even slapstick comedy. When the original score is played in Jethro Woodward’s score, it’s remixed with a heavy trap beat. At just 80 minutes in length, the show packs in material, and manages to be funny, scary, and even kinda kinky; one particularly tense moment sees the Black Swan (Kimberley Rossi) threaten to puncture the skin of a near-nude male performer as she steps on him in sharp red stilettos. Not your standard Christmas fare, but thoroughly entertaining.  With so many stunts on display, the plot to Duck Pond is somewhat secondary (although by no means an afterthought). We watch a sea of swans, identically dressed in shimmering black bodysuits that accentuate every sinewy muscle, every sharp rib beneath. They tumble in twos and threes, then coalesce for group...

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, screenings of Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times, The Silence of the Lambs and Eighth Grade with live scores, a day-long celebration of video game music at The Roundhouse ‘Great Movie Songs with Anne Dudley & Friends’ featuring guest appearances from the likes of the Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant and Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters. Tickets are on sale now!