Urban Junkies London | Weekend Guide January 14-16

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NIGHTLIFE

A very happy New Year, lovely subscribers! We’re back and ready to rock your weekend; and we won’t be telling you how to detox either. Instead we’re starting the year with our head in the clouds courtesy of postcard art, a moonlit ballet, and a Grimm fairytale. We’ll throw in a Zombie and some twisted tales too for those who like it a little darker. Go and have a drink – we insist (why not apply to join our wine-pairing and tapas shindig next week while you’re at it?) Detox shmetox.

• FRI Gilbert & George • SAT Zombie Soundsystem • SUN Tangled

TODAY
Secret Cinema Returns

After going off the map in a disappointing December disappearance, immersive film group Secret Cinema are back for February (11th-27th) and you can register for tickets from 1pm today. We’ve seen mental hospitals, Arabian souks and field festivals, with this session’s clues including an excerpt from Homer’s ‘Illiad’ and asking participants to come with a will to participate and a creative spirit. Something romantic for Valentine time maybe? You’ll only know if you sign up... shhh!

FRIDAY

ART: Gilbert & George
The Urethra Postcard Pictures may sound more like a p*ss-take than a picture-show, but the duo’s latest work actually heralds the very serious return to their signature postcard art after twenty years. Comprising postcards depicting everything from the mundane travel scene to phonebox sex calling-cards, it’s a welcome comeback for this home-grown talent.

Time:		10am-6pm
Place:		White Cube, 25-26 Mason’s Yard, SW1Y 6BU
Cost:		Free
Info:		Gilbert & George

DANCE: Giselle
Black Swan seems to be the total balletic buzzword of the moment, and if you’re on the edge of your seat waiting for its release here’s a timely alternate – with a real stage to boot. Giselle centres around a girl driven madness by her pursuit for perfection (ringing serious Natalie Portman movie bells), with supernatural spirits and the moonlit White Act bound to keep you rapt. And no nail files in sight. You’ll see...

Time		7:30pm
Place:		Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, WC2E 9DD
Cost:		£6-£174
Info:		Giselle

SATURDAY

THEATRE: Twisted Tales
If you’re over Christmas but still fancy something with a little panto feel, you’ll love Roald Dahl’s Twisted Tales in theatre form. The follow-up to 2010’s spooktacular smash ‘Ghost Stories’ promises a look at the author’s definitively adult short stories as re-imagined by Jeremy Dyson; time to get twisty, sinister and scared. Matilda’s off the menu.

Time:		7:30pm
Place:		Lyric Hammersmith, King Street, W6 0QL
Cost:		£10-£25
Info:		Twisted Tales

NIGHTLIFE: Zombie Soundsystem Fifth Birthday Special
No, we haven’t gotten our calendars upside down and yes, there are zombies to be had in January – specifically Shane Watcha’s techno-electro partymakers who are celebrating their fifth birthday after parties all over the London landscape. Expect to see Guido Schneider, DJ Nobody, Alexander, Sam Mole & David Holme joining the crew.

Time:		9pm-3am
Place:		XOYO, 32-37 Cowper Street, EC2A 4AP
Cost:		£10
Info:		Zombie Soundsystem Fifth Birthday Special

HEADS UP
Jean Paul Gaultier x La Perla

You’ll need to be super quick off the mark if you want to score massive brownie points this Valentine’s Day boys – the super sought-after collection hits stores on Monday 17th January. The pointy bra from the designer’s Madonna days has been given a thoroughly modern revamp alongside soft bondage-esque straps, corsetry and sheer peekaboo panelling. The 27, mostly handmade, styles are already waitlisted to the hilt, so bust it down to Harrods, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Net-a-porter or La Perla’s Sloane Street store asap and get your knickers in a twist.

From £405

SUNDAY

THEATRE: La Maldición de Poe
Gothic literature has a lot to thank Edgar Allen Poe’s tick-tocking horror heart for - but have you seen his stories acted out by Spanish puppets? The award-winning Teatro Corsario’s ‘puppets of terror’ have landed in London as part of the Mime Festival so catch them while you can — or before they appear glassy-eyed in your bedroom.

Time:		4pm
Place:		Southbank Centre, Purcell Room, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX
Cost:		£14.50
Info:		La Maldición de Poe

FILM: Tangled Preview
We’ve had a sneaky peak at Disney’s latest fairytale flick (their 50th and the most expensive animated feature ever made) and we weren’t disappointed. Rapunzel is the princess in question, the comical sidekick is a chameleon (please let there be merchandise), and we’re liking the mix of traditional drawn imagery and CGI. Let down your hair and grab the last few sneak peek tickets before it hits the big screens.

Time:		4:15pm
Place:		BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XT
Cost:		£9.50
Info:		Tangled Preview

DON'T FORGET
UJ’s Pre-Launch Party and Wine-Tasting at The Opera Tavern.

Fans of tapas havens Salt Yard and Dehesa will be excited to know that the group’s highly anticipated third venue, The Opera Tavern, is launching in Covent Garden on the 20th January. To celebrate, we thought we’d throw a little subscriber shindig, on Wednesday 19th January between 6:30pm and 8:30pm, before the doors officially open to the public. To be in with a chance of attending with a plus one, simply hit that Facebook LIKE button for Urban Junkies, and leave us a message on our wall, stating why you need a good January re-tox! Places are strictly limited and winners will be notified by Monday 17th January.

Weekend guide by MaM.

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