Things to do in London this week

Condo is a city-wide mega-exhibition, a collaboration between dozens of galleries from around the world, and it’s the best thing that happens in the London art world every January. The idea is that galleries from over here invite galleries from over there to share their spaces for a month. This year’s edition will see 49 galleries showing across 22 spaces, including Sadie Coles HQ hosting Jahmek Contemporary Art from Luanda, The Sunday Painter hosting Proyectos Ultravioleta from Guatemala, Project Native Informant hosting Nova Contemporary from Bangkok and loads more. It’s a chance to see what contemporary art from all around the world looks like. 

Condo is at various London venues, Jan 18-Feb 15. Free. More details here.

For Tarantula, Philip Ridley’s nightmarish monologue’s in-person debut at the Arcola Theatre, director Wiebke Green and actor Georgie Henley have created a 90-minute immersion into the mind of a person who is sensationally and irreparably disturbed. Erstwhile Chronicles of Narnia star Henley plays Toni, a teenager at the top of her class with big dreams of going to Oxford. She’s counting down the hours until her first date with fellow romantic amateur Michael. This is Ridley in his prime. Toni’s story blends roaring humour with shocking horror – and yet, we’re never quite certain where this excruciating tale will go. It’s an agonising portrait of terror, that leaves both Henley and the audience gasping for breath. 

Scotland’s national poet Rabbie Burns turns 266 this year and Burns Night is an opportunity to have a kilt-raising, haggis-scoffing, whisky-fuelled good time in celebration. You don’t have to be in the big guy’s motherland to join in the festivities. An estimated 200,000 Scottish expats live in the capital, which technically makes it the third most populous Scottish city, so you can guarantee there’s plenty of feasting, boozing and partying to be done down here too. Whether you want to get sweaty at a ceilidh, pipe in a haggis, or have a classy time at a whisky tasting or indulgent Burns supper, this is how you can enjoy Burns Night 2025 in London. 

There is something deeply chill about Roketsu. A fastidiously finessed Japanese restaurant in the Marylebone backstreets. Opened by chef patron Daisuke Hayashi – who trained at Kyoto’s triple-Michelin starred Kikunoi – it specialises in high-end kaiseki experience; a not-cheap tasting menu of which there are about as many courses (nine!) as there are seats in the restaurant (10!). The chef’s table is the only table, and placed on it are spectacularly seasonal dishes delivered in the form of stories, quietly but clearly told. There’s a layer of thinly cut radish across a bowl of soup made to look like ice on a lake, an all-seeing eyeball crafted from an egg wrapped in a sliver of conger eel and a hot-pot dish served in a ceramic castle tower. It’s thoughtful rather than twee, calmly suggesting that food shouldn’t just sustain your stomach, but your imagination too. 

Is there a better way to start 2025 than writhing around in a mosh pit? Heavy Lungs frontman Danny Nedelko certainly thinks not. Join the Bristol-based rock band as they headline Duck and Dive Festival at Signature Brew’s Haggerston tap room this month, alongside an equally loud line-up of new artists including Guardian-tipped punk foursome Loose Articles, noise-pop group Sick Joy and Ipswich rapper Native James. 

Signature Brew Haggerston, E8 4EA. Sat Jan 25 and Sun Jan 26, 1pm. From £21.83.

The business district will glow brighter than usual in January thanks to the addition of sparkling illuminations created by artists from around the world. The Winter Lights Festival returns for its ninth edition with a new set of dazzling artworks, installations and interactive experiences, plus some old favourites from previous years. There’ll be 11 immersive illuminations dotted across the area as well as sweet treats and hot drinks to warm you up. 

If you have claws and an insatiable craving for human flesh, can you still be a great dad? That’s the theme underpinning Leigh Whannell’s latest go at dragging a Universal Monster into the cold light of the 2020s, a more hard-bitten and demanding age than the one Lon Chaney’s Wolf Man prowled – and a lot harder to scare. Obviously, the answer is ‘no’ but the Aussie horror auteur behind Saw and 2020’s terrific The Invisible Man deserves some credit for bringing a new prism to the furry critter first made famous by Chaney in 1941. It’s an atmospheric, sporadically disquieting depiction of fatherhood in freefall.

In cinemas worldwide Jan 17.

It’s always a happy occasion when Chelsea Physic Garden’s annual Heralding Spring season rolls around. London’s oldest botanical garden has its very own unique microclimate, which means that come late January the ancient spot is home to over 120 species of snowdrops that bloom unusually early each year there. Guests are invited to embark on the Heralding Spring trail to check out the dainty white flowers and other early spring plants including a 70-year-old grapefruit tree. You can also learn more about snowdrops, including their unique place in folklore, at a variety of workshops. 

London’s established winter art fair opens with over 120 galleries showing modern art, photography, sculpture and everything in between. This year’s London Art Fair will feature large-scale installations and thematic group displays from some very influential artists, including Tracey Emin and Francis Bacon. A new partnership with the Sainsbury Centre will also introduce an immersive 'Living Art' experience, which hopes to encourage visitors to rethink their relationship with art. 

‘Vogue: Inventing the Runway’ takes you on a journey through the evolution of fashion shows, from intimate salons to today’s epic, celebrity-filled spectacles. Step into the front row and backstage at some of fashion’s most iconic moments, all projected on Lightroom’s massive 360-degree walls. With immersive animations, a killer soundtrack, and jaw-dropping visuals, this exhibit celebrates the creativity and drama that turned runway shows into cultural milestones. Save up to 33% with student tickets at £10 and adult tickets at £19.

Get adult tickets for £19 (down from £25), or student tickets for just £10, only through Time Out Offers.

This glorious independent film festival is back with a packed programme featuring more than 50 short films, including exciting directorial debuts and award-winning titles like Spirit of Place starring Mark Rylance, Dammi with Riz Ahmed, Weightless starring Toyah Willcox and Keep with Phil Davies. Look out for panel discussions, workshops and, of course, live screenings, before the festival culminates in a fantastic award ceremony, recognising the best student film, the environmental impact award, and everything in between.

London has a ‘fully reconceived’ take from two old Oliver! hands: Cameron Mackintosh and director Matthew Bourne. Bourne is best known for sexy gothic dance pieces, and he certainly brings his full gothic sexiness to bear here: a cumulonimbus-worth of dry ice seeps through the inky recesses of Lez Brotherston’s brooding multilevel Victorian London sets. It’s solid. The songs remain a remarkable achievement and Bart does an impressive job of telescoping the sprawling plot of Oliver Twist into two-and-a-half hours.

The BFI Southbank’s Lunar New Year film is back with a programme of three films selected by Focus Hong Kong. The big draw is the UK premiere of True Love, for Once in My Life. Produced by acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker Fruit Chan, screenwriter Siu Koon-ho’s directorial debut is a nuanced drama tracing the lifelong relationship between a couple stuck in a failed marriage. Also on the bill is All Shall Be Well, a moving portrait of a group of older friends in Hong Kong’s queer community that tackles the injustices faced by a bereaved elderly lesbian and a 40th-anniversary screening of Tsui Hark’s timeless 1930s-set rom-com Shanghai Blues. 

Underscore is a new series of music and art events, inspired by the MUBI collection and brought to life by Crack Magazine. Its first edition lands at the ICA on January 24, and is all centred around Bird, Andrea Arnold’s coming-of-age tale starring Barry Keoghan. Stop by for DJ sets from Carlos O’Connell (of Fontaines D.C. and the film itself) and Space Afrika, alongside a showcase of never-seen-before on-set photography by Robbie Ryan and Atsushi Nishijima.

Soil – it’s not something you really think about, unless you’re doing the gardening. But this new exhibition at Somerset House will change all that, shining a light on its important role in our world, including the part it plays in our planet’s future. Top artists, writers and scientists from across the globe are all involved in the thought-provoking exploration, which aims to stop you thinking of soil as mere dirt and start considering it as something far more powerful instead.

The annual celebration of the UK’s best art graduates returns, this time in a new venue. New Contemporaries is always a chance to see what the art schools are churning out, an opportunity to spot some potential stars of the future and to take the pulse of young art in the UK right now. 

New Contemporaries is at the ICA, Jan 15-Mar 23 2025. More details here.

Drag icon Jonny Woo offers up his most personal work to date in this autobiographical show that traces his journey from the Medway suburbs to the sex dens of New York and on to cult stardom. We’re promised he’ll share his life via ‘burlesque, musical covers and original poetry, prose, and spoken word’.

Step the first London outpost of the legendary Parisian institution Café Lapérouse at The OWO. Nestled within the luxurious Raffles London at The Old War Office, this iconic destination offers a perfect blend of heritage touches and modern elegance. For £45 per person, indulge in a set-menu lunch or dinner featuring French classics like butternut squash velouté, duck leg confit, and crème caramel – all paired with a complimentary glass of champagne. Make your reservation today and enjoy a Gallic escape in the heart of London.

Get three courses and a glass of complimentary Champagne at Café Lapérouse at The OWO for £45, only through Time Out Offers.