What's On
MADAME PIGG AT ISLINGTON ARTS CLUB
We were sad to see Madame Pigg, one of our fave roast spots, close in Dalston and we’ve had to make do with the odd supper club here and there since then. Until now that is because Madame Pigg is coming back for seven whole weeks, taking over the Islington Arts Club on the weekends. The menu for Saturdays will change but you can expect dishes like porchetta buns, deep fried prawn baps and proper chips, and on Sundays, the famous Madame Pigg roasts will be front and centre, with the likes of roast beef with horseradish and Yorkshire pud, porchetta with red apple sauce and whole chicken with bread sauce on offer.
BUBBLE PLANET
Bubble Planet, a new immersive experience centred around all things soapy and spherical, has landed in London, featuring lights, lasers, VR, and projection technology and eleven themed rooms. They include a bubble getaway with a robot-led bubble show; a giant bubble room; an ocean of balloons; a bubble bath pit; an inflatable cloud room; an infinity room; and a balloon flight simulator, and, of course, there’ll be numerous photo ops along the way – and that’s before you even reach the selfie room.
Underbelly is bringing skating to the West End this winter with an elliptical shaped rink, inspired by the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity logo, in Hanover Square. Skate West End will be raising money for GOSH by donating a percentage from each ticket sold to the charity to support its vital research into paediatric brain tumours. Once you’ve whizzed round the ice (or if you only want to spectate, not skate) you can head to the central bar for a hot toddy.
CHOOSE LOVE STORE
Choose Love, the charity pop-up shop that raises much-needed funds to help refugees and displaced people around the world, is back for 2023 and just in time from Christmas so you can buy gifts with purpose. The Choose Love Shop will be stocked with essential supplies and life-saving interventions for refugees and displaced people around the world – everything from a warm coat to emergency housing. Shoppers will be able to buy these winter essentials which will then be sent out to those in need in either your name or the name of someone you love. Last year, the pop-up was able to raise £1.2 million in funds to support Choose Love’s humanitarian work. As always, the Choose Love Shop will also run a series of in-store events and workshops up until Christmas. Visitors will get the chance to catch film screenings, live music performances and craft sessions from the likes of Pioneer, Resident Advisor and Asylum Speakers.
The London Transport Museum is Showcasing the History of Poster Art and Design
The London Transport Museum is opening its Global Poster Gallery, its first permanent gallery dedicated to the history of poster art and design, with the How to Make a Poster exhibition. The inaugural display will explore poster commissioning and creativity in the pre-digital age, with more than 110 pieces on show. The Underground’s first ever pictorial poster, John Hassall’s 1908 work ‘No need to ask a p’liceman’ by John Hassall alongside posters by designers and artists like Edward McKnight Kauffer, Man Ray, Hans Unger, Abram Games, Tom Eckersley, Paul Catherall, and Dora M Batty. The various techniques used in poster production will also be showcased in the exhibition as well as the way the posters were displayed and the reception they received from both London travellers and the art world.
Mat Collishaw is exploring the relationship between the natural world and art history with the Petrichor exhibition at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at Kew Gardens. The show includes the UK premieres of his ‘Alluvion’ series of AI artworks inspired by Dutch Old Masters and his video installation ‘Even to the End’, a piece inspired by the transportation of plant specimens around the world, as well as the gallery premiere of ‘Heterosis’, a flower hybridisation experience inspired by the tulip mania of the 17th century. You’ll also be able to see his animations ‘The Centrifugal Soul’ and ‘Albion’, which feature courtship displays of birds of paradise and the Major Oak in Sherwood Forest respectively.
WINTER VILLAGE WESTFIELD LONDON
The 1000m² ice rink is back at Westfield London this winter so you can take a spin on the ice after you’ve crossed off your Christmas shopping. It’ll also be home to a 65ft tree, the tallest tree to feature on an ice rink in Europe, and lots of illuminations, so it’ll be extra, extra festive and extra, extra Insta-worthy.
HAMPTON COURT PALACE
With 11,194 sq ft of ice, a 26-foot Christmas tree, and a Tudor palace as a backdrop, there’s no better place to go for a spin than Hampton Court Palace. And when it comes to refuelling, you’ve got winter treats like plenty of mulled wine and mince pies on offer at the ice rink cafe. YUM.
Somerset House is probably one of our fave places to go skating in London. As well as being able to whizz around the 900 sqm outdoor rink, you can take to the ice once night falls as they play host to an array of DJs, artists, and clubs. It’s a truly diverse programme with the likes of Pxssy Palace, Raf Rundell, Cousins, RAW SILK, Haseeb Iqbal and Deptford Northern Soul Club taking to the decks. Whispering Angel will be running the Skate Lounge and Jimmy Garcia will be popping up with Chalet Suisse, serving up winter warmers and Alpine favourites, including fondue, confit duck buns, waffles with salted caramel sauce & kirsch-soaked cherries, and croissant bread & butter pudding.
THE QUEEN'S HOUSE
Hit the ice in a UNESCO World Heritage Site as The Queen’s House ice rink, set in the grounds of Royal Museums Greenwich, is back. Enjoy views of the river and Greenwich Royal Park as you glide (or slip and slide) your way around the ice.
GLIDE AT BATTERSEA POWER STATION
Hit the ice right by the river at Glide at Battersea Power Station. Set against the backdrop of the iconic power station and featuring three interconnecting rinks with a 30ft Jo Malone-decorated Christmas tree in the centre, it’s one of the most spectacular places to skate in the capital. And once you’ve spun your way round, you can continue the fun on the fairground rides and in the riverside igloos.
CANARY WHARF ICE RINK
Ice ice baby! That’s right, the ice rink is returning to Canada Square Park this festive season and this time it’s going to be open well into the New Year and beyond Valentine’s Day, so you’ve got plenty of time to get your skates on. The rink is covered and adorned with hundreds of fairy lights (with a Christmas tree under a disco ball in situ during the festive season) so you can practise your pirouettes whatever the weather and when you’re done you can grab a well-deserved drink from the alpine-themed rink-side Grandstand bar.
CUTE
Somerset House will be all about cuteness at the start of 2024 with its latest major exhibition. Aptly named CUTE, the show will explore the complex power and potential of chubby-cheeked babies, doe-eyed animals and pastel-coloured motifs through a collection of contemporary artworks, new commissions and cultural phenomena. The exhibition will open with an ode to cats, retracing their path to newsfeed domination starting with a shift in the late 19th century that came with the work of artists such as Harry Pointer Louis Wain. CUTE will also spotlight kawaii culture through artefacts rarely exhibited in the UK, such as printed materials, figurines, illustrated handkerchiefs and sketchbooks, from the archive of the Yayoi Museum in Tokyo. And the show will touch on the darker side of cute imagery, looking at how the tone was changed by musicians and bands such as Jun Togowa, Hole and Babes in Toyland. Marking half a decade of global influence, CUTE will have a section dedicated entirely to Hello Kitty. This immersive environment will have a plushie space (made with the help of super fan Amy-Louise Allen’s personal collection), as well as a Hello Kitty disco, complete with a mirror ball and curated playlist of 60s, 70s and 80s pop and disco hits
BOUNCE
It’s balls galore at Bounce and we love it. Bounce is the home of ping pong and whether you’re super competitive or just wanna hit a few balls whilst holding a cocktail in the other hand, Bounce will ping your night to a whole new level. The Battersea Power Station location is the first Bounce in South London and it’s a whopper of a site, so you’ll have no trouble grabbing a bat and ball here. There are a bunch of games to choose from, including the classic ping pong, the immersive wonderball, beer pong and shuffle board, and you can have a post-match debrief over sourdough pizzas and a round of bevvies. And if you wanna watch the professionals in action, there are screens showing all the major sporting fixtures, so you can stay on top of the scores even if you can’t manage to rack up any points of your own.
ULSTER AMERICAN
Woody Harrelson is returning to the London stage for the first time in almost twenty years to star in David Ireland’s (Cyprus Avenue, The Lovers) social satire Ulster American. He’s playing Oscar-winning American actor Jay Conway opposite another real life movie star in Andy Serkis, who’s playing a director, Englishman Leigh Carver. Lousia Harland (who you’ll recognise from Derry Girls) is also starring as Northern Irish playwright Ruth Davenport to round out the main trio. In Ulster American, that American actor, English director and Northern Irish playwright are about to start rehearsing a new play that could have a big impact on all their careers, but it transpires that they’re not all on the same page and things quickly spiral out of control. As well as addressing the misogyny that women in the entertainment industry face, the play also tackles American and English attitudes towards Ireland so you can expect plenty of pitch-black jokes.
Luke Jerram’s touring artwork Museum of the Moon, a six-metre model featuring incredibly detailed NASA imagery of the moon with ambient moonlight and soundscape from Dan Jones, is popping up at Southwark Cathedral. You can visit the installation in the day, but the Lunar Lates, where the gothic cathedral will be extra atmospheric thanks to the darkness outside will be particularly impressive. There’ll also be a number of events held under the moon, including an organ recital, a candlelight concert and a talk with Tim Peake.
JUST FOR ONE DAY
- Monday: 8:30 AM – 12:00 AM
- Tuesday: 8:30 AM – 12:00 AM
- Wednesday: 8:30 AM – 12:00 AM
- Thursday: 8:30 AM – 12:00 AM
- Friday: 8:30 AM – 12:00 AM
- Saturday: 12:00 PM – 2:00 AM
- Sunday: Closed
The story of how legendary gig Live Aid, which took place in London and Philadelphia on the same day in 1985 and raised $127 million for Ethiopian famine relief came to be (as well as the precursor to Live Aid, Band Aid) is being retold in musical form with Just For One Day. The production is written by best-selling author John O’Farrell (Mrs Doubtfire, Something Rotten) and directed by Luke Sheppard (& Juliet, The Little Big Things) and features the songs of Bob Dylan, David Bowie, The Who, U2, Queen, The Police, Elton John, Paul McCartney, The Pretenders, The Cars, Status Quo, Paul Weller, Sade, The Boomtown Rats, Bryan Adams, Diana Ross, Ultravox and more. To uphold the mission behind the original show, 10% of proceeds from the sale of every ticket to the musical will be donated to The Band Aid Charitable Trust, which has continued to work on the prevention or relief of poverty and famine across Africa since 1984.
The Design Museum Is Investigating the History of Skateboard Design
All you skaters will wanna roll down to the Design Museum to catch Skateboard, the first major UK exhibition to explore the history of skateboard design from the 50s to today. Author, designer and skater Jonathan Olivares is curating the show, which’ll chart the evolution of the skateboard from its homemade beginnings to professional advancements and its acceptance into wider culture. Over 90 rare and unique boards will be on display, including Laura Thornhill’s Logan Earth Ski 1970s pro model, Tony Hawk’s first ever professional model skateboard, and Sky Brown’s first pro model, alongside hardware, safety equipment, VHS tapes, mags and DVDs.