What's On

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY

6th February - 11th May 2024
18 Suffolk St, London SW1Y 4HT

Following her award-winning turn as Shiv Roy in Succession, Sarah Snook is taking on the role (all the roles in fact) in this one-woman version of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. This production, adapted and directed by Kip Williams, makes use of video as well as live performance to tell the story of a man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty, so it’s going to be quite the watch.

THE ART OF THE BRICK

6th March - 12th May 2024

The Art of The Brick, appropriately opening on Brick Lane, will feature more than 90 LEGO sculptures – that amounts to over a million bricks – that reinterpret some of the most recognisable artworks on the planet, including Michelangelo’s ‘David’, Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’, Da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’, Gustav Klimt’s ‘The Kiss’ and Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’. The exhibition is the work of artist Nathan Sawaya, who is also displaying some of his original pieces in the show, like a giant version of his ‘Yellow’ sculpture and ‘Perniciem’, which showcases endangered species in their natural environments. The works will be accompanied by 3D video mapping and a musical score, and there’ll also be a play and build area where you’ll be able to make your own LEGO creations.

AI VS AI AT PICCADILLY CIRCUS

Until 31st March 2024

Digital art platform CIRCA (short for Cultural Institute of Radical Contemporary Arts) has launched a new exhibition for 2024, part of their takeover of the iconic Piccadilly Circus screen. And they’re going back to their roots, with Ai Weiwei – their first collaborator – on the project. Across 81 days, Ai will pose 81 questions which will be displayed on the expansive screen for two minutes, starting at 8.24pm (or 20:24, geddit?), asking everything from ‘Is Edward Snowden guilty?’ to ‘Do plants have feelings?’. The questions are directed to a generalised ‘AI’ – hence the show’s name, Ai vs AI – in “both an endeavour to reinvigorate the ancient convention of philosophical dialogues (from Socrates to The Enlightenment Salon) and a hand-drawn map of Ai’s own mind”. You’ll be able to catch the artwork until the end of March, but if you can’t get down to Piccadilly Circus to see it in person, it’s also being streamed each night on the CIRCA website.

THE ADDAMS FAMILY, THE MUSICAL COMEDY

12th & 13th February 2024

Following two successful tours, everyone’s fave kooky spooky family is coming to the Palladium for two nights only with The Addams Family, The Musical Comedy live in concert. Michelle Visage and Ramin Karimloo are starring as Morticia and Gomez Addams, who, along with Grandma, Pugsley, Uncle Fester and Lurch, who are hosting a dinner for Wednesday, her “normal” boyfriend and his parents.

HARRY CLARKE

9th March - 11th May 2024

After two hit runs in the US, David Cale’s critically acclaimed play Harry Clarke is playing in London. The one-man show stars Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor Billy Crudup (of The Morning Show, Coast of Utopia, No Man’s Land and Almost Famous) who has played its titular character since the world premiere in 2017, and this will mark his West End debut. During stints in both New York City and Los Angeles, Crudup received praise for his performance as Philip Brugglestein, an awkward Midwestern barista who disguises himself as Harry Clarke, a Londoner who manages to charm his way into a wealthy family. It’s a story that could be called reminiscent of The Talented Mr. Ripley, Saltburn and even Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but that certainly keeps audiences guessing.

CHARITY SUPER.MKT AT FENWICK'S

9th - 23rd February 2024
Fenwick of Bond Street, New Bond Street, London

After popping up in Brent Cross last year, pre-loved fashion concept store Charity Super.Mkt (which started life as a section at the Classic Car Boot Sale) is coming back to the capital for another pop-up. This time it’s taking over the ground floor Fenwick’s on Bond Street before the site gets redeveloped into offices following the department store’s closure. The multi-charity store, which includes British Heart Foundation, Shelter and Traid, will be making use of hangers and fittings from Fenwick, and there’ll even be some designer donations on the rails too. Since it started Charity Super.Mkt has raised over £1.6 million for charity and saved 53 tonnes of clothes from going to landfill, so swing by the pop-up and help them continue the good work.

QUENTIN BLAKE | NOW

31st January – 18th February 2024

Sir Quentin Blake, the renowned illustrator best-known for his work with Roald Dahl, is hosting his first commercial exhibition in decades at the Arc Gallery at Cromwell Place. NOW features new artwork made in the past twelve months, created with pen, ink, watercolour and wax markers. The pieces on show, which include large-scale portraits, display his signature style but with more of an adult feel than the work that made him famous. And if you like what you see, you can actually purchase one of his original artworks.

HOUSEWARMING

1st - 15th February 2024

A free exhibition is taking over a derelict townhouse in Stoke Newington for two weeks this February, organised by non-conventional and inclusive gallery Art Friend in support of homelessness charity Crisis. Expect to see pieces by some of London’s most exciting alternative artists – including Adam Bartlett, Charlotte Farmer, Craig Keenan, Dave Buonaguidi, Dawn Beckles and Hannah Gilson – as well as entire walls painted especially for the event. All of the works on display will also be for sale and a portion of any proceeds made will go towards supporting Crisis’ vital work in providing education, employment, housing and well-being services to those experiencing homelessness.

FROM THE ASHES

21st - 25th February 2024

A five-day exhibition is coming to The Truman Brewery this February, featuring works by 29 Indigenous and non-Indigenous contemporary artists, including Cornelia Parker, Aislan Pankararu, María Berrío, Richard Long, Shezad Dawood and Tacita Dean. The show, which has been organised by social enterprise Migrate Art, will be followed by an auction at Christie’s in March, the proceeds from which will go towards providing vital support to Indigenous Associations of Upper Xingu in the Amazon Rainforest. These communities have seen their land extensively targeted by illegal deforestation and the funds raised will supply them with the likes of firefighting equipment, reforesting initiatives, and monitoring technologies in the villages.

WHODUNNIT [UNREHEARSED] 3

27th March - 4th May 2024

If you want to see some of this country’s biggest names of stage and screen take on a leading theatre role completely unrehearsed, then you’ll want to nab a ticket to Whoddunit [Unrehearsed] 3 at The Park Theatre in Finsbury Park. Co-written and directed by the theatre’s Artistic Director Jez Bond, the play is the third instalment in this Agatha Christie-style murder mystery spoof series and it features a different actor taking on the lead role of the Inspector for every performance – without having ever seen the script before or having any time to rehearse. Across the play’s run, the role of the Inspector will be played by Benedict Cumberbatch, Gillian Anderson, Daisy Ridley, Adrian Lester, Jodie Whittaker, Amanda Abbington, Clive Anderson, David Baddiel, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Christopher Biggins, Marcus Brigstocke, Simon Callow, Michelle Collins, Nina Conti, Victoria Coren Mitchell, Brian Cox, Les Dennis, Adrian Dunbar, Mark Gatiss, Tamsin Greig, David Haig, Harry Hill, Adam Hills, Ronan Keating, Ross Kemp, Beverley Knight, Maureen Lipman, Gareth Malone, Jason Manford, Stephen Mangan, Tim McInnerny, David Mitchell, Neil Morrissey, Eddie Nestor, Sue Perkins, Clarke Peters, Rob Rinder, Tony Robinson, Meera Syal, Catherine Tate, Sandi Toksvig, Johnny Vegas, Tim Vine, and Greg Wise.

AIRE ANCIENT BATHS

AIRE Ancient Baths, inspired by Greek, Roman and Ottoman traditions of bathing, creates modern versions of thermal baths in restored historical buildings in various locations around the world – the London AIRE lives inside an 18th-century building in Charing Cross that was once the home of Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie. AIRE has worked with the building’s original architecture to transform the space into a sanctuary. The arched ceilings and exposed brick in the main bath area coupled with flickering candles and soothing music really does create a tranquil atmosphere (helped immensely by the no phones rule). The main space features a series of pools and baths at different temperatures; there’s the warm Tepidarium (36º), the hot Caldarium (40º), and the cold Frigidarium (one at 14º and one at 10º) as well as the Vaporium steam room, the Balneum jet bath, and the Floatarium salt bath, where you can also have a little salt scrub. You can move around the different ones however you like and there’s also a relaxation area with herbal tea if you want to take a break from the water. 

OTHELLO

19th January - 13th April 2024

Following her production of Romeo and Juliet at the Globe Theatre in 2021, Ola Ince is directing another Shakespearian tragedy, this time at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse as part of the theatre’s 10th anniversary season. For her debut in the theatre, she’s taking on Othello and putting her spin on the tale of jealousy, racism and misogyny.

UNRAVEL | THE POWER AND POLITICS OF TEXTILES IN ART

13th February - 26th May 2024

Stitching, weaving, braiding, beading; who doesn’t love the magical world of textiles? That’s why we can’t wait to see the Barbican’s next landmark exhibition, Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art, that looks at the transformative and subversive potential of textiles. Bringing together over 100 works by 50 international, intergenerational artists, the exhibition explores the various ways in which artists have used textiles to tell stories that challenge power structures, transgress boundaries and reimagine the world around them. Expect to see works from textile art powerhouse Sheila Hicks, a leader of the fibre art movement in the 1960s; Igshaan Adams, who explores themes such as race, religion and sexuality in his intensely crafted work; and Feliciano Centurión, who embroidered poetic reflections onto found fabrics to process his HIV diagnosis in 1993. Yinka Shonibare CBE RA’s figurative sculpture ‘Boy On A Globe’, Cecilia Vicuña’s spatial installation ‘Quipu Austral’ and Harmony Hammond’s large-scale work ‘Bandaged Grid #9’ are on show, alongside eye-catching pieces by Tracey Emin, Tschabalala Self, Jeffrey Gibson, Mounira Al Solh and the late Mrinalini Mukherjee.

POLLOCK'S TOY MUSEUM

Until June 2024

After saying a sad goodbye to its former home on Scala Street in Fitzrovia last January, Pollock’s Toy Museum is coming back to London – this time, in pop-up form. The (now, mini) museum will be moving into a space in Croydon’s Whitgift Centre in January for a six-month residency and it’ll be bringing plenty of whimsical toys, games, dolls and theatres along with it. There’ll also be a display of toys made in a local factory, A Barton, exclusive to the Croydon pop-up. They’re open on Saturdays from 10am until 4pm and entry is free (plus, there’ll be special toy theatre shows on Sat 20th January to mark the opening), but donations are welcome and will go towards saving the collection and supporting the museum’s hunt for a new permanent home.

THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA

27th January - 15th June 2024

Jez Butterworth, writer of Jerusalem and The Ferryman, is teaming up with director Sam Mendes to stage his new play The Hills of California at the Harold Pinter Theatre. Set in Blackpool, rather than the West Coast of America, the show centres around the Webb sisters who have returned to their dying mother’s run-down seaside guest house for one final time during the long, hot summer.

FORSAKEN AT OUTERNET

11th January - 25th February 2024

The climate crisis is taking centre stage at Outernet this winter with FORSAKEN playing daily on its 8k, 360-degree, floor-to-ceiling screens. The film, directed by Roland Lane, highlights both the beauty and fragility of nature through the regenerative life cycle of the Immortal Jellyfish and serves as a reminder that there is hope in the face of the mass extinction of life on Earth if we act now. Greenpeace ambassadors will be at Outernet on 13-14th January and 6-7th February, providing more info on how to support a deep sea mining ban and take action to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030.

LOUIS VUITTON LOVERS AT THE SELFRIDGES CORNER SHOP

4th January - 8th February 2024

After showing his debut men’s spring-summer 2024 collection for Louis Vuitton on the Pont Neuf during Paris Fashion Week in June 2023, LV’s Menswear Creative Director Pharrell Williams is bringing it to London. For five weeks this winter, LOUIS VUITTON LOVERS will take over The Corner Shop at Selfridges, so you’ll be able to experience a bit of that Parisian magic as well as shop from a curated edit of clothing and accessories from the SS24 collection, including tailoring, leather jackets, retro sportswear and pieces featuring Williams’ pixelated Damoflage print, his take on the iconic LV Damier chessboard pattern. You’ll need to make an appointment if you want to get inside, which you can book here.

A MIRROR

22nd January - 20th April 2024

Following a sell-out run at The Almeida, Sam Holcroft’s A Mirror, a satire on free speech, artistic expression, and state censorship, is transferring to the Trafalgar Theatre for a West End run. Jeremy Herrin is on directing duties and original cast members Jonny Lee Miller, Tanya Reynolds and Geoffrey Streatfeild are reprising their roles, with Samuel Adewunmi joining the production.

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