London events in December

Of all the Broadway musicals of the twenty-first century to have not come over to London, Dave Malloy’s ‘Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812’ feels like the great one that got away. A folk opera adaptation of essentially the main romantic plot of Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace’ (so more peace than war), a visionary production from Rachel Chavkin – whose ‘Hadestown’ is currently sitting pretty in the West End – worked its way up from the tiny Ars Nova theatre all the way to Broadway, via a walloping big tent off-Broadway. There were rumours of Chavkin’s production coming over here for years, but clearly it’s not happened – but what a show for incoming Donmar director Timothy Sheader to have in his first season at the Donmar. Directed by Sheader himself, we don’t know what to expect from the casting or even staging, but Malloy’s musical to remain a wistful, wry indie folk delight. 

Even if you think Christmas is a load of consumerist claptrap, you can’t deny that London looks a whole lot better when it’s hung with strings of glistening lights. And London is never in short supply of some thoroughly excellent festive light displays. From the classic angels that beam over Regent’s Street to the snazzy, themed displays over Carnaby Street, a trip to one of these gleaming streets will flutter the heart of even the most Scrooge-like of souls. 

Almedia associate director Rebecca Frecknall made her name with a revival of Tennessee Williams obscurity ‘Summer and Smoke’ and scored a walloping hit two Christmases back with her production of ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’. Now she moves on to her third major Williams revival with a fresh take on 1955 classic ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’, which follows a wealthy but disintegrating Southern cotton family who have gathered on the occasion of bullying patriarch Big Daddy’s birthday. He, however, is the only one there unaware of his terminal cancer diagnosis. Frecknall directs Lennie James as Big Daddy, Kingsley Ben-Adir as his sensitive alcoholic son Brick, and Daisy Edgar-Jones as Brick’s troubled wife Maggie. Guy Burgess, Clare Burt, Seb Carrington, Derek Hagen, Ukweli Roach and Ria Zmitrowicz make up the rest of the cast. 

Tickets go on sale Seprtember 27.

Bring the whole family to Christmas in Chelsea, London’s newest festive tradition, and enjoy 15% off child, adult, and family tickets! Experience the Royal Hospital Chelsea transformed into a magical winter wonderland. Wander through stunning light trails, browse the festive market, enjoy pop-up choirs throughout the evening and join in seasonal workshops – perfect for holiday photos, family fun, or a romantic stroll. Christmas in Chelsea has something for everyone, blending tradition, heritage, and holiday magic!

Get adult tickets for £14, child tickets for £8.90 and a family ticket for £37.40, only through Time Out Offers.

While super-producer Cameron Mackistosh still has breath in his body we’ll never be too far from the next revival of Lionel Bart’s all-singing Dickens adaptation Oliver!. Fifteen years after the last, Rupert Goold-directed London revival (which closed in 2011), it’s back in new guise in a Matthew Bourne directed production that premiered at Chichester Festival Theatre back in the summer to reviews that praised it as comfortingly nostalgic rather than doing anything particularly bold. But that’s what we want from ‘Oliver!’ really, isn’t it? All your favourite songs – Food Glorious Food, Consider Yourself, I’d Do Anything – are present and correct, with a cast that includes Simon Lipkin as Fagin, Shanay Holmes as Nancy, Aaron Sidwell as Bill Sikes, Billy Jenkins as the Artful Dodger and Philip Franks as Mr Brownlow.

Many of us love a good old-fashioned Christmas complete with trips to festive markets, ice skating, carol services and all the trimmings. But it’s not everyone’s glass of eggnog. Thankfully, London is abuzz with unusual Christmas events come winter. Whether you fancy switching up your usual gift-shopping with a trip to the Satanic Flea Market’s Antichristmas Fayre, making the Yuletide gayer than ever at a camp as Christmas drag show, swatching some alt Christmas movies with only the most tenuous of links to the festive period or even spending December 25 pounding the pavements to complete an ultramarathon, have yourself a quirky little Christmas with our round-up of the ultimate unusual festive events in London. It is truly the most (weird and) wonderful time of the year.

Curling has been growing in popularity in recent years, nudged on by its compelling showings at various Winter Olympics, and you can try your hand at it in King’s Cross this winter. This pop-up outdoor arena boasts six synthetic curling lanes, on which you can curl your heart out for 45 minutes before rewarding yourself with a tasty cocktail at the Curling Club bar. Last year’s 90s theme is being replaced by bright neons, with Walthamstow’s God’s Own Junkyard recreating their warehouse in the bar. Booking opens on October 11.

An evening of proper Christmas carols is an absolute must if you’re interested in getting entirely wrapped up in unalloyed festive cheer. Check out our comprehensive round-up of the jolliest and most moving services in the capital. Indoors and outdoors, cathedrals, churches and secular spaces, we’ll be adding to it constantly, as more events are announced. 

Sigourney Weaver was eight the last time Shakespeare was performed at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, when the late Peter Brook directed John Gielgud in ‘The Tempest’ in 1957. A lot has happened to both Weaver and the theatre since then, but at the age of 75 the star of the ‘Alien’, ‘Ghostbusters’ and ‘Avatar’ films will make her UK stage debut in the first Shakespeare play to be staged at the venerable theatre for over half a century. It’s ‘The Tempest’ (again), with Weaver taking on the role of exiled magician Prospero in Jamie Lloyd’s revival, the first of two starry Shakespeares he’s directing there (the other, ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ starring Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell, will follow next year). She’ll be joined by a cast of Jude Akuwudike (Alonso), Jason Barnett (Stephano), Selina Cadell (Gonzalo), Mathew Horne (Trinculo), Mara Huf (Miranda), Forbes Masson (Caliban), Mason Alexander Park (Ariel), James Phoon (Ferdinand), Oliver Ryan (Sebastian) and Tim Steed (Antonio). Lloyd’s last couple of shows have made heavy use of live video and found spaces throughout the theatre, of which there would seem to be many at Drury Lane, though there appears to not be any camera operators billed. Design will be from Soutra Gilmour, who designs pretty much everything Lloyd does.

Markets, eh? They’re pretty nice to wander around at nearly every time of year. But, at Christmas? Well, that’s when London’s markets really come into their own. Every year the capital fills with the kind of markets that host fairy-light-lined stalls, festive street-food sellers and community tombolas, with a playlist of Christmas songs on loop in the background. In fact, whether you’re looking for tasty treats, traditional decorations and cutting-edge arts and crafts or are just shopping for a last-minute present, the capital’s selection of Yuletide stalls are here to help. 

A sensation on Broadway, this cheerily ludicrous cabaret-style musical asks the – not entirely serious – question ‘but what if we saw the events of James Cameron’s smash hit 1997 film Titanic from the perspective of Celine Dion?’. Titanique by Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli and Tye Blue basically grafts together Celine Dion’s greatest hits – including, of course, ‘My Heart Will Go On’ – some other random songs – ‘Who Let the Dogs Out?’ would appear to feature – to offer up a partly improvised retelling of the events of the blockbuster film, which Dion claims to have witnessed firsthand. It is, of course, nuclear-grade camp and has gone down a storm in New York; whether London has quite the same tolerance remains to be seen, but it should make for a fun Christmas season, at the very least.

New Year’s Eve in London means you’re faced with some choices. Sometimes there’s so much choice, in fact, that you end up spending the night indoors with a few loved ones and plenty of booze. We’ve all been there, but London boasts loads of great New Year’s Eve events that should coax even the most reluctant NYE fan out of the house this year. 

The sport of curling – the one you watch on telly during the Olympics and find curiously engaging – is coming to London. The Curling Club will be taking up residence in both the Southbank Centre and The Shack in Twickenham, bringing ‘epic apres nightlife’ along with it. Both venues will be given a proper apres-ski makeover with wintry cocktails, Alpine-inspired street food and entertainment on hand, alongside an opportunity to try your hand at the ‘short form’ version of the game under the expert tutelage of Team GB Skip and four-time Olympian Eva Muirhead OBE.