Things to do in London this weekend (28-29 March)

Known for her surreal and avant-garde haute couture creations – often with striking silhouettes, gilded accents, and unusual appliqués – the groundbreaking fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli is the subject of a first UK exhibition at the V&A in 2026. The spring exhibition will trace the origins of the house, from its first, paradigm-shifting garments, through to its present-day incarnation in the hands of its creative director Daniel Roseberry, whose contemporary designs worn by the likes of Kylie Jenner and Bella Hadid have seen gowns adorned with faux-taxidermy lion heads, and a lung dress fashioned from a delicate network of golden veins. 

Awaken your inner child by delving into enchanted lands, magical creatures and timeless tales at the British Library’s interactive family-friendly exhibition. All the bangers from your childhood will be explored – from Goldilocks, to Aladdin – through books, artworks, interactive displays, theatrical design, story sharing spaces, costumes and activities. Opening in time for the Easter holidays, Fairy Tales is ideal for passing a few hours with the little’uns. 

Sarah Power’s play presents as a cosily familiar comedy about a clutch of small-town eccentrics pulling together in an effort to stage a fundraising fun day for the medieval fort in their sleepy town. But it’s the hiring of Sean Delaney’s ex-con Kurtis that starts the real story, the quirky villager tropes used as cover to ask some very hard questions about community and forgiveness. Really, Power’s play is a meditation on human nature and the ability to forgive, magnified through the lens of small-town life, where every addition to the community is scrutinised and dwelt upon. On the surface, Welcome to Pemfort is a naturalistic drama about quirky rural folks, but scratch that surface, and it’s got a core of steel – an unflinching look at the human condition that’s only cosplaying as cute.

The co-founder of Kokum in Dulwich, Sanjay Gour, was once the head chef of glitzy Gymkhana. His Zone 2 menu pulls all the same indulgent tricks, but in far more casual, wallet-friendly surroundings. A splash-proof A3 menu is your starting point, best perused while nibbling on crisp papad. There are golden, deep-fried nuggets of Amritsari fish, served with a creamy garlic and coriander dip, a Kashmiri chilli marinated lamb cutlet comes with a perfect pink middle, tender and not overly gamey tasting, a giant lamb shank nirhari, and a bowl of creamy, almost fruity, butter chicken. Gymkhana? I don’t know her. 

Somerset House Studios’ biannual experimental sound and music series is back. Based at Somerset House. Assembly bills itself as a ‘live testing ground’ premiering new works in a format that combines a festival with an exhibition. Head along to hear live experiments with sound, listen to works created on site and listen to premieres of works not yet shown in the UK. It brings together current residents and alumni, as well as international artists. There’ll also be critical conversations by leading practitioners across sound and contemporary art. If you’re looking for a different kind of festival experience, this is the place. 

The year is 1938, and Kornyev (Aleksandr Kuznetsov), a wet-behind-the-ears young prosecutor in the provincial Russian city of Bryansk, has received a letter from an inmate at the local prison and decides to hear what the man has to say. The man, a veteran Bolshevik, believes his abuse is a sign of rogue elements within the NKVD security forces. What neither man understands is that this is not a bug of Stalin’s Russia; he is just another victim of the Great Purge. Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa (In the Fog) adapts dissident writer Georgy Demidov’s novella into a collision of idealism and cold reality, as Kornyev takes the case to Moscow and sticks his head deeper into the lion’s mouth. It’s a slow cinema treat that rewards patience. It’s a haunting, mesmerising, pessimistic piece of work. 

Out in the UK and Ireland Mar 27.

A festival curated by and made for London’s emerging creatives, the Young Barbican Takeover is a day jam-packed with workshops, live music, performances and talks all hoping to get your artistic juices flowing. Crochet and make zines with Craft Forward and Artizine; experience live music curated by Shai Space and Sad Club Records; learn how to start your own record label or publishing house with ARCCA; or take part in a breaking workshop with Rain Crew. There will also be an afternoon of film screenings curated by the Barbican Young Film Programmers alumni, with a programme that celebrates the African diaspora and women of colour. 

The Wellcome Collection’s big spring exhibition is a deep dive into perceptions of ageing. Expect the Euston Road institution’s typical blend of art, science and pop culture in the 120+ artworks and objects on display, which range from16th century woodcuts made by German printmaker Sebald Beham to Deborah Roberts’ contemporary collages exploring Black childhood. There’ll also be a spotlight on the Wellcome Trust-funded health research project Age of Wonder – one of the largest studies of adoloscence in the world – and an exploration of how societies can adapt to improve everyone’s experience of ageing.

This hugely enjoyable tech satire-slash-thriller from US playwright Aaron Loeb is so good at bamboozling you as to what it’s going to be about. There isn’t a massive rug-pulling twist in ROI, but there’s plenty of fun misdirection in what initially looks set to be a satire on ethical investment funds. Really ROI is about two things: the inevitably of technological change, and how ill-equipped flawed human beings are to be its avatars. Loeb is clearly interested in tech and what the near future, and the writing is fluid and confident on the subject of how our lives might change very drastically very soon. ROI isn’t a self-seriously visionary tech drama, but it’s confident and clever and behind all the brio, genuinely very thoughtful.

How often does the best romantic comedy of the year also contain the year’s best fight scene? Probably as often as any romcom starts with a man standing over a dead stranger on the side of the highway, his penis unknowingly dangling from his shorts. Splitsville is full of surprises. Written by co-stars Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin, and directed by Covino, the duo’s second feature is a screwball sex farce for an age when even the most buttoned-down couples are exploring ‘ethical non-monogamy’. Of course, movies about normies awkwardly dabbling in polyamory go back at least as far as 1969’s Bob & Carole & Ted & Alice. What makes Splitsville stand out? Simply put, it’s goddamn hilarious. Gags fly from every angle: onscreen, offscreen, in the background, sometimes all at once, and it just gets funnier as it goes. 

In UK and Ireland cinemas Fri Mar 27. Streaming on Hulu in the US.

Maxim Gorky’s Summerfolk concerns a group of dissolute nouveau-riche Russians spending a frivolous summer arguing among themselves as societal storm clouds gather; it is pretty damn Chekhovian. This new adaptation by Nina and Moses Raine feels like you’ve been plunged into a sprawling existential soap opera, teeming with characters and plot lines that have been running for years. Gradually, though, Robert Hastie’s revival takes shape thanks to some delicious luxury casting. Foremost is Sophie Rundle as the gorgeous, disaffected Varvara. Blessed by a gorgeous wooden Peter McKintosh set surrounded, in the second half, by dappled water, Hastie’s production has a bucolic but beautifully deadpan rhythm. It’s the sort of luxury revival the NT was made for.

Tate Britain is hosting the first major solo show dedicated to the Turner Prize-nominated Hurvin Anderson this spring, bringing together more than 60 of his vibrant paintings. Born in Birmingham to Jamaican parents, Anderson’s work flits between the two regions, exploring his struggle with belonging and cultural identity. His colour-drenched landscapes and interiors are uniquely composed to exquisitely explore markers of identity.

Just over eight decades ago, London was ablaze, suffering from nightly bombardments during WWII. And its artists were inspired as well as terrified by seeing their city transform into a strange, damaged new place. This Imperial War Museum exhibition sees 1940s London through their eyes, combining 45 artworks with photos, objects, and oral testimonies from people who lived through the time. 

Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough are superbly creepy in a not-quite-horror that begins promisingly but teases more than it delivers. Tommy (Anson Boon) is a deeply antisocial young man. After various substances cause him to black out, he wakes up in a basement. He’s now the prisoner of married couple Chris (Stephen Graham) and Kathryn (Andrea Riseborough), who intend to teach Chris the error of his ways and make him the titular good boy. It’s lifted by some very convincing performances. Graham and Riseborough are playing almost one-note characters, but play that note with sinister effectiveness. There’s a powerful sense of dread here. 

In UK and Ireland cinemas Fri Mar 20.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe was the godmother of rock and roll. Raised by her mother, a travelling Arkansas evangelist, she played guitar and sang on the road from the age of six and grew up to be a huge recording star. Her story and her music are extraordinary. So it’s a privilege and a treat to see British soul goddess Beverly Knight play Rosetta in this intimate two-hander that’s all about the music. Knight is a singer who raises the hackles on the back of your neck, but she does more here, channelling Rosetta Tharpe in a stomping, dramatic performance that conveys the passion, resilience, and sheer physical hard work of her life on the road. During the finger-tapping, off-beat clapping, and irrepressible grinning, there is a higher power being channelled, and it’s pure joy to witness it.

Thornton Wilder’s Our Town is as American as apple pie, so on paper it seems like a strange first choice of play for Michael Sheen’s new Welsh National Theatre. But the whole thing manages to be so exuberantly Welsh that you’ll soon forget the town of Grover’s Corners is supposed to be somewhere in New Hampshire. Francesca Goodridge’s production does Welshify a few details, but it softens (and maybe sentimentalises) a strange play that’s often intentionally served up cold and dry. It’s impressive and undeniable that the Welsh National Theatre has stamped itself on a classic with its very first production. Wales is lucky to have Michael Sheen, who has turned his back on Hollywood to launch his new theatre company. And if the WNT productions keep transferring this way, then we’re lucky to have him too.

Everybody loves David Hockney. So it’s good news that the old geezer can’t seem to stop making art despite pushing 90. More colourful works from the octogenarian are on display at the Serpentine North – the gallery’s first ever Hockney exhibition. It focuses on recent works, including the celebrated Moon Room, reflecting the painter’s lifelong interest in the lunar cycle, plus several digital paintings created as part of his Sunrise series. 

Tim Foley is a playwright who has also written several Doctor Who audio adventures, two strands to his career that come together very nicely in It Walks Around the House at Night, a rip-roaring horror adventure that packs in laughs and chills in equal measure without actively crossing the line into full-on comedy. It’s about a misfit out-of-work actor who gets caught up in ominous supernatural goings on in a spooky mansion. It’s a hugely enjoyable – and yes, scary – piece of theatre horror entertainment that feels like a breath of fresh air. 

Maimuna Memon’s Manic Street Creature did the rounds at the Edinburgh Fringe a few years back. Now it’s back in a slightly expanded form: a gig-theatre show that mixes Memon’s original songs with her spoken-word storytelling, she’s joined on stage by a three-strong backing band. The story concerns a young musician named Ria, who moves to London and falls for Daniel, a sensitive soul who struggles with his mental health – he is the titular Manic Street Creature. The engine of the show is its form, being built around a cycle of Memon’s folky, jazzy songs, with her earnest, ethereal singing voice and emotive lyrics wilfully juxtaposed with her blunt, sweary Lancastrian vowels when speaking.

Known to many in her home country of Colombia as ‘La Maestra’, Beatriz González is considered to be one of the most influential artists to come out of Latin America, and this vast collection of over 150 works spanning her six-decade-long career leaves you with no questions as to how she garnered such a reputation. There’s a Warholian quality to much of her work, which uses images of figures from mainstream media and pop culture as subjects, ranging from Queen Elizabeth II to Jackie Onassis to Botticelli’s Venus, all in bright, vibrant block colours. González passed away at the age of 93 in January of this year, making this reflection on her once-in-a-generation career feel all the more poignant. Paying a visit to this splendid survey of her most consequential work feels like the perfect way to pay tribute to an artist who, right up until her death, used her talent to challenge mainstream opinion and shine a light on those who needed it most.

Anna Ziegler’s 90-minute two-hander, Evening all Afternoon, is a tremendous vehicle for two actors. It enables an absolutely storming stage debut for Erin Kellyman. She plays Delilah, the surly university-age American daughter to an unseen British father. He’s taken her back home to England, where she marinates in the grief at her mother’s death and the isolation of the Covid lockdown. And also resentment of her dad’s new wife Jennifer (Anastasia Hille). The play is built on a fascinating variation on the old Brit/Yank culture clash. Over the course of 90 minutes, Ziegler smartly deconstructs their facades.

Joo Young Won used to be head chef at the Michelin-starred Galvin at Windows, his new restaurant, Calong, is cosy and simple, with food made for sharing. Chef Joo was raised in South Korea, but began his cookery career in the UK, and for a long time focused on French technique. It shows. Calong sees him cooking dishes inspired by his native cuisine in a masterful light-touch fusion fashion. A warm pumpkin and crisp pear salad is delicately dressed with gochujang, cured Chalkstream trout with perfectly tart sesame and plum soy, the fried chicken is crunchy yet silky, and a BBQ onglet is sweet and tender with a bulgogi jus. It’s one of the most exciting restaurants Stoke Newington has to offer. 

Get a glimpse of the hidden lives of queer people in midcentury New York at this intimate exhibition. Before homosexuality was legalised, Donna Gottschalk photographed the people she described as ‘brave and defiant warriors’ for daring to live openly as themselves, and take part in the emerging lesbian, trans and gay rights movements. This Photographers Gallery exhibition of her work puts her images in conversation with texts by writer Hélène Giannecchini, who is decades her junior, creating an intergenerational dialogue charting changing times. 

The National Portrait Gallery has been on a solid run in recent years, particularly when it comes to exhibitions on contemporary portraiture – we loved its exhibitions on The Face and Jenny Saville last year – so we have high hopes for this, the biggest exhibition to be shown in the UK to date from the iconic photographer Catherine Opie. Curated in collaboration with the artist, the exhibition will span the Ohio-born artist’s three-decade career, exploring representations of home, family, identity, politics and power structures through Opie’s vivid and colourful portrait photographs. Works featured in the exhibition will span her first major work, Being and Having (1991), her portraits of LGBTQ+ friends inspired by court painter Hans Holbein, to her Baroque-like portraits of artists.

Tracey Emin: A Second Life is an evocative experience. Positioned as a 40-year retrospective through the pioneering artist’s vast and varied repertoire, the show lays bare Emin’s life through her distinct and often unsettling art, from career highs – such as the iconic, Turner Prize-nominated ‘My Bed’, which is every bit as shocking and moving today as it was in 1998 – to stark personal lows in work depicting her experiences with sexual violence, abortion and recent life-threatening illness. As you can imagine, with such subject matter, it is not always a comfortable experience for the artist and the viewer alike. However, Emin’s flair for dark comedy adds moments of levity throughout. ‘Mad Tracey from Margate’ is truly a force to be reckoned with, and a master of reflecting society back at itself, warts and all.

The Picture Comes First, Rose Wylie’s marvellous retrospective at the Royal Academy, is hugely varied in its subject matter – ranging from the Blitz to Nicole Kidman – Wylie’s paintings are unified by a joyful and vibrant energy which beams out from all of them. The RA’s high ceilings and grand interiors act as a brilliant canvas for the artist’s large-scale, often child-like works. The 91-year-old Wylie is the first female painter to have a full retrospective in the space and it only adds to Wylie’s credentials as a trailblazing feminist artist. This show is a fantastic testament to an artist who has proven tenfold that age is no barrier to reaching one’s full potential. Equal parts puzzling, entertaining and thoughtful, this show is guaranteed to leave you in a better mood than when you arrived.

After a five-year-long world tour, this blockbuster exhibition on the ancient Egyptians is finally arriving in London. Ramses and the Pharaoh’s Gold will display 180 priceless treasures on loan from the Supreme Council of Antiquities, of which the pinnacle is the coffin of Ramses II, giving Londoners the chance to see an original sarcophagus here in the Big Smoke. Other gems on show will include gold masks,  silver coffins, animal mummies, amulets, jewellery and colossal sculptures. Although superficially sounding quite similar to the recent Tutankhamun immersive exhibition, this one seems a lot more based around Ancient artefacts, with none of the fanciful CGI frippery that’s come into fashion in the world of international touring exhibitions the last couple of years.

Broadwick Soho landed in 2023 with serious flair and has been delivering a hit of West End glamour ever since. Inside the hotel, Dear Jackie is its seductive Italian dining room, all Murano glow, red silk walls and plush booths made for lingering. Expect refined Italian comfort food, standout pasta and classic cocktails from Bar Jackie to set the mood.

Our exclusive Time Out offer saves you 30% (now £33), for three courses and a cocktail worth up to £14. It’s an indulgent pre-theatre treat or the kind of Soho dinner that could easily turn into a late night.

Get 30% off with vouchers, only through Time Out Offers

Escape reality through maximum immersion and experience 42 masterpieces from 29 of the world’s most iconic artists, each reimagined beyond belief, through cutting-edge technology. Situated in Marble Arch, Frameless plays host to four unique galleries with hypnotic visuals and a dazzling score. Enjoy 90 minutes of surreal artwork from Bosch, Dalí and more for just £23.60!

Save 20% on tickets, only through Time Out Offers