What To Book In London This April
SEE A LEGEND IN CONVERSATION HERE: Michelle Obama
After last year’s highly successful 12-event arena tour across ten cities, Becoming: An Intimate Conversation with Michelle Obama returns in style. Those with tickets to her biggest show yet – at The O2 – will hear her honest reflections on the experiences and events, both public and private, that have shaped her, from her childhood in Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her years spent at the most famous address in the world. As First Lady of the United States – the first African-American to serve in that role – Obama helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the US and around the world. Here’s your chance to see her in person.
Peninsula Square, East Greenwich, SE10 0DX; 14th April
Visit TheO2.co.uk
BOOK THIS: All My Sons
Jeremy Herrin directs Sally Field and Bill Pullman in Arthur Miller’s blistering drama All My Sons. America, 1947. Despite hard choices and even harder knocks, Joe and Kate Keller are a success story. They have built a home, raised two sons and established a thriving business. But nothing lasts forever and their contented lives, already shadowed by the loss of their eldest boy to war, are about to shatter. With the return of a figure from the past, long buried truths are forced to the surface and the price of their American dream is laid bare.
The Old Vic, The Cut, Waterloo, SE1 8NB; 13th April-8th June
Visit OldVicTheatre.com
CHECK OUT A HOT POP-UP HERE: Bubala x Untitled
This April, Bubala’s Middle-Eastern feasting club returns for its next instalment at Untitled in Dalston. With a series of pop-up events already under their belt at Carousel and Berber & Q, Marc Summers (previously GM at Berber & Q) and head chef Helen Graham (The Palomar, The Barbary and The Good Egg) are once again teaming up to create a vegetarian menu like no other. The full menu will be unveiled on the night, but what we do know is that it’ll involve sharing snacks to start, including deep-fried aubergine with zhoug and date syrup, followed by a feast of Middle Eastern-style vegetables: think confit potato latkes with a super garlicky toum or candied celeriac mejadra, sour cherries and allspice burnt butter. Drinks will be concocted, paired and served by Tony Conigliaro's expert team at Untitled Bar. What a Sunday night.
538 Kingsland Road, Dalston, E8 4AH; 7th-8th April
Visit ExploreTock.com
TRY A NEW ROAST HERE: EartH Kitchen
Village Underground’s Auro Foxcroft and Chris Gillard, previously exec chef at St John Group, opened EartH Kitchen in new arts venue EartHackney back in February. Located in a former art-deco cinema in Dalston, the restaurant is housed in a light-filled, contemporary space decorated with a sculptural mirrored ceiling, polished plaster walls and brightly coloured melamine-topped tables. New for this month is its Sunday menu. The kitchen is going all-in with a roast chicken sharing lunch, served from 12-4pm. Dished up family style, guests can enjoy Cotswold Gold roast chicken, roast potatoes, harissa-glazed carrots, hispi and kale with preserved lemon and aioli. The meal is priced at £58 for four people.
11-17 Stoke Newington Road, Dalston, N16 8BH; every Sunday
Visit EartHackney.co.uk
GET TICKETS FOR THIS: Emilia
Four-hundred years ago Emilia Bassano wanted her voice to be heard. It wasn’t. Could she have been the ‘Dark Lady’ of Shakespeare’s sonnets? What of her own poems? Why was her story erased from history? In this new, all-female play, freshly transferred from its acclaimed debut at the Globe, Emilia and her sisters reach out to us across the centuries with passion, fury, laughter and song. Listen to them. Let them inspire and unite us. And celebrate women’s voices through the story of this trailblazing, forgotten woman.
Vaudeville Theatre, 404 Strand, Covent Garden, WC2R 0NH; until 15th June
Vist NimaxTheatres.com
TRY LOADS OF RESTAURANTS HERE: Marylebone Food Festival
The Marylebone Food Festival sees the neighbourhood’s food and drink establishments—ranging from local cafes and wine bars to Michelin-starred restaurants— put on special menus and host exclusive masterclasses, one-off collaborations, food tours and talks, throwing the spotlight on the gastronomic diversity of the area. Across five days, festival highlights include Donostia's Basque cider and pintxo festival, Carousel London’s pasta-making workshop, a Baa-rolo (spring lamb and Barolo) evening at Boxcar Butcher & Grill, a secret vegan supperclub at The Gate, and a butchers-block-to-table experience at Daylesford Organic.
Various locations across Marylebone; 24th-28th April
PAY RESPECTS TO A FASHION ICON HERE: Mary Quant
Inventive, opinionated and commercially minded, Mary Quant was the most iconic fashion designer of the 1960s. A design and retail pioneer, she popularised super-high hemlines and other irreverent looks that were critical to the development of the 'Swinging Sixties' scene. The V&A’s fashion collections include examples of her famous designs from across the 1960s and 1970s. From miniskirts and hot pants to vibrant tights and makeup, discover how Mary Quant launched a fashion revolution on the British high street, with over 200 garments and accessories, including unseen pieces from the designer's personal archive.
The V&A, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, SW7 2RL; 6th April-16th February 2020
Visit VAM.ac.uk
DISCOVER YOUR NEW FAVOURITE COCKTAIL HERE: Pachamama
Love pisco sours? Do you want to learn how to make your own from one of the best? Then head along to one of Pachamama Group’s pisco sour masterclasses, taking place across its two of its London sites this month. At Pachamama in Marylebone and Pachamama East In Shoreditch, guests will learn how to prepare the most popular cocktail in Peru. The experience includes an intimate masterclass with one of the group’s bar seniors, followed by a delicious feasting menu arranged to complement the delicious sours you’ll be preparing – and drinking.
Classes take place at Pachamama East, 73 Great Eastern Street, EC2A 3HR on 10th April and Pachamama Bar & Kitchen, 18 Thayer Street, Marylebone, W1U 3JY on 26th April
Visit PachamamaGroup.com
LEARN ALL ABOUT ITALIAN FOOD HERE: Re-Centre
Cookery author Lizzie King spent much of her early life and many weeks each year still in the hills of Italy, in her family home, and this food has a very special place in her heart. Her new book, The Italian Collection, showcases her all-time favourite Italian recipes. Twists on classic, local recipes alongside plates she put together that bring all that Italian deliciousness out, they are easy to put together and always bursting with goodness. On 3rd April, she’ll be bringing the cookbook to life at Re-Centre. Tickets include an evening with Lizzie, a three-course meal, a mocktail and filtered water. Other drinks will be available to buy on the night.
Thames Wharf, Rainville Road, Hammersmith, W6 9HA; 3rd April
Visit ReCentre.co.uk
BOOK AHEAD FOR THIS: Stanley Kubrick: The Exhibition
Step inside the world of Stanley Kubrick, one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century. Britain is where Kubrick created the battlefields of Vietnam for Full Metal Jacket (1987), an orbiting space station for 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), and Dr Strangelove’s war room (1964). Stanley Kubrick: The Exhibition will offer a unique insight into the director's vast archive through original props and costumes, set models and rare photographs, while tracing the design story behind Kubrick’s body of work. Relive iconic scenes from The Shining (1980), Eyes Wide Shut (1999) and A Clockwork Orange (1971) and see objects on display for the first time in the UK, exploring the unique relationship Kubrick had with England and particularly London as his film location and source of inspiration.
224-238 Kensington High Street, Kensington, W8 6AG; 26th April-17th September
Visit DesignMuseum.org
WATCH A FOOD-FOCUSED NEW PLAY HERE: Toast
Following a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, this month Toast makes its West End debut. Nigel Slater’s Toast is a new play based on his award-winning autobiography. Vividly recreating suburban England in the 1960s, Slater’s childhood is told through the tastes and smells he grew up with. From making the perfect sherry trifle, waging war over cakes through to the playground politics of sweets and the rigid rules of restaurant dining, this is a moving and evocative tale of love, loss and… toast. A must for anyone who loves being in the kitchen.
The Other Palace, 12 Palace Street, Victoria, SW1E 5JA; 14th April-15th June
Visit LWTheatres.co.uk
HAVE A LAUGH HERE: Underbelly Festival
This month Underbelly Festival returns to the South Bank for its 11th year – and it promises to be the biggest yet. Open from 5th April until the end of September, the festival will be packed to the brim with all-new events such as Family Fest, Underbelly Lates and Podcast Live, plus the live circus, cabaret, comedy and music we’ve come to expect from this vast entertainment pop-up. There will be a range of international street food on offer, plus one of London's largest outdoor bars. The 150+ shows are short (usually only an hour long) and the majority of tickets are under £20. We’ve got our eye on Notflix: The Improvised Musical.
Belvedere Road, South Bank, SE1 8XX; 5th April-29th September
Visit UnderbellyFestival.com
EXPLORE A NEW NIGHT OUT HERE: Vinegar Yard
Vinegar Yard is set to be a brand-new eating, drinking, shopping and art space from the team behind Flat Iron Square. Located under the direct gaze of The Shard, Vinegar Yard will comprise art installations, container pop-up shops, bars, street-food traders and a huge open-air garden area with outdoor seating for hundreds of people. Open seven days a week from early until late, we imagine the venue will be filled with after-work drinkers and weekend fun-seekers come summer. The rotating food line-up includes TV’s Million Pound Menu winners Baba G’s, who will serve Indian-inspired pachos; Argentinian-inspired steak and chimichurri from barbecue experts Up in My Grill and burgers and croquettes from Nanny Bills. At the weekend guests can also pick up a one-of-a-kind item at Flea London, a vintage and makers market. The market will sell vintage clothing, homeware, books, ceramics, cameras and more.
Vinegar Yard, St Thomas Street, London Bridge, SE1 3QU; opens on 3rd April
Visit VinegarYard.London
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