I send out a seasonal newsletter to subscribers but I wanted to share with my blog readers too so here’s the It’s Your London Newsletter for Spring 2016. It’s full of great listings for April, May and June so I hope you’ll find some stuff you will enjoy.
SPECIAL EVENTS
April Over 35,000 runners in the London Marathon take over the streets and the nation’s hearts as they struggle past the sights of London to raise incredible amounts for charity, keeping going long after the elite runners have reached the end on the Mall. The crowds are huge and it’s great fun to join in to cheer them on to the finish.
May The magnificent Chelsea Flower Show is the greatest flower show in the world and it gets us in the mood for gardening with all that fabulous colour and design. Let’s hope we get some London sunshine too. Don’t miss the very British Canal Cavalcade when scores of brightly decorated canal boats gather in Little Venice for two days of fun.
June Our Queen has 2 birthdays, her real one in April and her official one in June and this year it’s her 90th so there will be all kinds of celebrations as well as the usual royal event called Trooping the Colour. You can see the royals ride past if you get to The Mall well ahead of the start and don’t forget to take your flag to wave at them. The end of June sees the start of Wimbledon when we all go tennis mad for 2 weeks and SW19 is the place to be.
THEATRE
April Lots of excitement about Sunset Boulevard coming to the Coliseum starring Glen Close and I have a ticket so let’s hope it lives up to the hype. Transferring to the West End at the Savoy is Funny Girl starring the excellent Sheridan Smith – I also have tickets for this so April is looking good. Doctor Faustus at the Duke of York’s is also getting a lot of attention due to its star Kit Harington from Game of Thrones. More musical fun from Show Boat from the great Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein at the New London Theatre.
May I was surprised to see that the version of Jekyll and Hyde opening at the Old Vic is a dance production, an intriguing option. At Shakespeare’s Globe you can catch Midsummer Night’s Dream and hopefully, it will keep dry for those standing in the uncovered section, which is a lot of fun. More Shakespeare at the Garrick where Romeo and Juliet has stars turns from Derek Jacobi and Lily James. The Print Room is staging Beckett’s novels in their festival Beckett in London bringing his prose to the stage.
June There is always a lot of Shakespeare on the London stage but this year it’s the 400thanniversary of his death so even more plays are being staged. The Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park brings us Henry V with a female actor in the role of Henry, a nice twist from when the bard wrote his plays and all roles were played by men. On a lighter note, Breakfast at Tiffany’s at the Haymarket Theatre Royal stars Pixie Lott. Michael Crawford returns to the stage for the first time since 2011 to star in a musical version of The Go Between at the Apollo.
ART GALLERIES
April To celebrate the arrival of spring, a free exhibition at the National Gallery brings us Dutch Flowers, exploring Dutch painting from its beginnings in the early 17thcentury to its peak in the late 18th. Tate Britain has Conceptual Art in Britain 1964-1979, exploring this pivotal period in British art and its legacy. The Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition, the world’s largest photography exhibition, showcases over 500 of the winners and shortlisted photos across all categories from photojournalism through to fine art landscape. Let’s not forget to mention the Saatchi Gallery’s blockbuster Exhibitionism: The Rolling Stones sure to be the most visited in London this month.
May Painting with Light at the Tate Britain looks at art and photography, and the interplay between these forms, from the Pre-Raphaelites to the modern age, a wide sweep indeed. More photography at Somerset House when Photo London opens, bringing together 80 of the world’s leading galleries and offers specific exhibitions such as the war photographer Don McCullin. Damien Hirst’s gallery Newport Street hosts a Jeff Koons exhibition called Now.
June At the Courtauld Gallery you can see paintings by Georgiana Houghton, a spiritualist medium whose abstract watercolours were ‘guided’ by artists including Renaissance masters – intriguing! The National Portrait Gallery hosts the annual BP Portrait Award, the most prestigious international exhibition of contemporary portrait painting. The National Gallery’s Painters Paintings has work from the collections of artists such as Matisse, Reynolds and Van Dyck, exploring the motivations for collecting and the influence of these works.
SHOPPING, FASHION, MARKETS
April This year’s St George’s Day has a special Shakespeare theme to celebrate his 400th so look out for events across London offering food, fun and market stalls. Borough Market is one to head for as they will be going all out to celebrate.
May Carnaby Street’s Shopping Party promises to be the ‘ultimate shopping experience’ with restaurants and bars joining the array of cool boutiques and live music for their evening of retail therapy.
June The Spirit of Summer Fair at Olympia exhibition centre has everything you never knew you needed for your home and garden and yourself. The Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane hosts the 25thAnnual Graduate Fashion Week so check out what the latest trends will be and spot some up and coming names.
MUSEUMS AND EXHIBITIONS
April The British Museum’s new major exhibition is Sicily: Culture and Conquest, telling the fascinating stories of how the waves of invaders have shaped the cultural identity of this Mediterranean island. The Victoria and Albert Museum will be expecting a lot of interest in their new exhibition Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear tracing developments from the 18thcentury to the present day.
May Another big show from the British Museum is Sunken Cities: Egypt’s Lost Worlds with wonderful artefacts from two recently rediscovered sunken cities at the mouth of the Nile. May sees the enjoyable Museums by Night event where a wide range of museums in London and across the country offer late specials over a 4 day period. This is a great opportunity to see some of the smaller museums out of hours.
June There is an Engineering Season at the Victoria and Albert Museum, highlighting the contribution and importance of engineering in our everyday lives. There will be a special garden installation in the courtyard, an exhibition looking at the life and work of Ove Arup and a gallery looking at London’s role as an engineering centre. One museum to catch up with is the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising which has moved to new larger premises to give their displays more room to breathe. It’s a nostalgia fest and fascinating to see how packaging has changed and yet stayed the same since Victorian times.
FOODIE THINGS
April Let’s hope it’s a warm spring as Four Winters opens in Gloucester Road offering liquid nitrogen ice cream with its roots in Jordan. Ex Nahm chef Andy Oliver opens a new Thai restaurant Som Saa in Spitalfields after successful temporary versions. Also moving on from temporary to permanent basis is Walter and Monty in the City, billed as ‘street food with Michelin expertise’ they offer charcoal grilled meat and fish with eastern flavours. A first London site for Mexican Cielo Blanco, inspired by the barbacoa markets of Oaxaca.
May Foleys in Fitzrovia, run by ex Palomar chef Mitz Vora, will be “experimenting with food from around the world with trade route twists and influences”. Also branching out on his own is ex Bar Boulud maitre’d Paulo de Tarso, opening a rustic Italian restaurant in Covent Garden. A new Galvin opens at the revamped Athenaeum on Piccadilly. New city wine bar called Humble Grape offers wine and small plates off Fleet Street.
June Listed for ‘late spring’ or ‘early summer’ are several new restaurants which are not committing themselves to an exact date, often the way…. Samarkand will be a new place in Charlotte Street offering Uzbeki cuisine in the old Fino location. Tandoor Chop House planned for Covent Garden from the team behind Hoxton Hotel and Egg Break looks interesting – and English chop house with a touch of Indian spices. Farang in Borough is part of the new development in Flat Iron Square where Seb Holmes will be offering Thai food at its best.
PARKS AND GARDENS, ROYAL PALACES
April The London Marathon starts and ends in royal parks – Greenwich and St James’s – so if you are watching the race, enjoy the parks as well. April sees the reopening of The Banqueting House after several months of restoration work so now’s a good time to admire its amazing painted ceiling by Rubens and hear of the role this room has played in dramatic historical events. Hampton Court Palace is celebrating 300 years of Capability Brown, the palace gardener (!) with a special exhibition of his drawings.
May Richmond Park is a wonder and is home to a large herd of deer, in May you can take a guided walk to learn more about it. Kensington Gardens is hosting the Vogue Festival with shows and talks from leading international designers including Tom Ford and Donatella Versace.
June Regent’s Park is home to the annual foodie extravaganza that is Taste London. St James’s Park is where you will find the Trooping of the Colour, an extra special event this year as it marks the Queen’s 90th birthday. A week before the main event they hold the rehearsal which offers a great chance to catch the pomp and circumstance with a closer view – no royals tho’.
SPORT
April The big event in April is the London marathon with over 35,000 runners and thousands more lining the streets throughout the course to cheer on the brave souls who battle on to raise millions for charities. County Cricket is starting its season and the Harlem Globetrotters come to the 02 Arena to show off the basketball skills. Also at the 02 Arena is the mad world of American WWE Wrestling, although I’m not sure it really is a sport is it?
May It’s a big summer for football with the Euros next month but we have the small matter of the FA Cup at Wembley to round off the English season and the Football League playoffs. Twickenham hosts the Rugby Union Premiership finals and the World Rugby Sevens Series is also in London. Golf’s PGA is at Wentworth, just outside London
June England takes on Sri Lanka at cricket at Lords in the 3rd Test, Men’s and women’s Hockey Champions Trophy take place in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. However, June is all about tennis as we are treated to 2 major events in London, Queens which is the warm-up on grass for the main event, Wimbledon starting at the end of June.
MUSIC
April Good to see Tinie Tempah is back with a new album and shows at the Brixton 02 Academy. The Vaccines are on at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the big annual Teenage Cancer Trust bash as are New Order, Everything Everything and Simply Red and Dave Gilmour. Bryan Ferry brings elegance to the London Palladium. Adele brings her major to London’s 02 Arena as part of her major UK tour – tickets like gold! Brit award winner James Bay plays the Apollo and Muse’s well-reviewed tour comes to the 02 Arena.
May Donovan Turns 70 tells you what you need to know about his show at the Palladium. Not quite as old but still been around a while is Bryan Adams playing at the 02 with his oddly named ‘Get Up Tour’! Talking of strange tour names, Iggy Pop has this nailed with his ‘Post Pop Depression Tour’ at the Royal Albert Hall. May is quite the month for older performers with Ralph McTell, Elvis Costello, OMD, Yes, Rita Coolidge to name but a few.
June. The oldies theme continues as the festival season kicks into gear. One of my favourites is back: Bonnie Raitt at the Apollo where I saw her many years ago. Check out this list of big names in town this month: Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen, AC-DC, Tom Jones, Foreigner, Adam Ant, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Barry Manilow on his ‘Last Time’ tour and Art Garfunkel.