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London’s cultural highlights this month
It seems like this city of ours has finally got its mojo back; that it’s really put the bounce back in its stride. Why just take this month: pop-up restaurants and pez dispensers sitting side-by-side with design and cinematic icons, while coffee, cocktails and cuisine alike are celebrated furiously. Could it get any better? Well, there’s The Lost Boys – gotta have The Lost Boys – screened in a circus tent. Talk about culturally spoiled.
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LAST CHANCE: EAT: Modern Pantry at Meza
Until April 16, Tues-Sat 5:30-11pm
100 Wardour Street, London, W1F 0TN
Anna Hansen’s charming Clerkenwell fusion restaurant, Modern Pantry, has set up shop in the middle of Soho for one month only. And while they’re sadly not offering up their usual (and thoroughly delicious) breakfast/brunch affair, it turns out that the globally-spiced menu combined with the floaty, modern décor and easy-hit wine list make for quite a treat of a dinner experience. From the 44-person private room to a romantic tête-a-tête, book yourself a spot now before the restaurant shuts up shop and moves back home in a couple of weeks…
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ART: Kent Christensen: Sensory Overload
Apr 1-May 14
Eleven Gallery, 11 Eccleston Street, London, SW1W 9LX
£8
Website
The moment the release for LA-born artist Kent Christensen’s new show hit our intray, we were hooked. What’s better than a series of oil paintings depicting Pez dispensers, donuts, cans of Coke, Viagra and iPads mixed with city backdrops, Michelangelo and a spot of royalty? Laden with all the allegory and cultural wit you could ask for (Botticellian goddesses bearing ice-cream scoops instead of jewels anyone?), Christensen’s work is socially critical and damn good fun in one bright, easy-to-swallow capsule.
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FILM: 2001: A Space Odyssey Live
April 7-8
Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX
£20-£55
Website
As part of the Southbank Centre’s annual Ether season, conductor André de Ridder is on a mission to bring this sci-fi masterpiece to life. Accompanying screenings at the Royal Festival Hall, the tag-team force of the Philharmonic Orchestra and Philharmonic Voices is set to expand Kubrik’s audiovisual moments into new dimensional territory. Imagine those legendary cinematic moments (Gyorgy Ligeti or Strauss’s Also Sprach Zarathustra) played live, how with played live will raise the hairs on the back of your neck, and then get your credit card ready. This one’ll be memorable.
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INTERNATIONAL: FILM: Tribeca Film Festival
April 20-May 1
Website
Founded a decade ago by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, New York’s Tribeca Film Festival remains one of the leading go-tos for cinematophiles the world over. With awards and screenings of features, shorts and documentaries alike, plus discussions and talks for directors, screenwriters and dedicated screen-lovers there’s plenty for both the emerging and established players out there. And for us mere mortals, there’s also a tight bundle of consumer-side events (including our ol’ favourite: the drive-in) to keep us happy while we wait for Mr or Mrs Dream-Future-Spouse to saunter by…
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DRINK: London Coffee Festival
April 8-10
£8.50
Website
In addition to our reputation as a global cocktail and gastronomic destination, London is also establishing itself rather firmly within the coffee ‘Third Wave’ that’s reaching around the globe (think single bean cupping sessions rather than those venti Frappuccinos of yore). And put together by the chaps behind the London Coffee Guide, this weekend also sees our fair city’s very own dedicated caffeinated-festival, "born out of a dream to create the world’s most inspiring celebration of coffee and food culture" – and no doubt a fair amount of coffee jitters for the masses.
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BOOK AHEAD: FOOD: Miles Irving
May 13
The Loft, 315 Kingsland Road, E8 4DJ
£8
Website
Our favourite thing about Nuno Mendes’ East London Loft Project is the sheer variation that he manages to muster on the chef-front. No sooner have the Young Turks and Tsuyoshi Murakami finished their respective stints at the experimental dining space than we’ve already got another treat on the cards in the form of all round gent and author of The Forager Handbook, Miles Irving. For his session, guests are promised a brief foraging walk of the local Hackney environs (cocktail in hand, bien sur) before scurrying back to the communal table for a menu designed by Irving and a bevy of leading chefs.
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TALK: Dazed Live
April 9, Throughout East London, £25
Website
Sharing a splash of cultural enrichment across East London, Dazed Live describes itself as ‘a temporary autonomous zone of art, music and ideas’. If that sounds a touch heavy, fret not – this is Dazed remember. So while our grey matter has a host of lovely talks to relish (Architect Magnus Larsson spinning on the topic of ‘Architecture Beyond Biomimicry’; Paul Pieroni from Seventeen Gallery and SPACE tackling ‘The Retro Future of Art’; SHOWstudio’s Ruth Hogben taking on ‘Future Icons in Fashion Film’), there’s also exhibitions from Hudson-Powell and Kathy Grayson’s lauded Postermat, plus music from the likes of Gang Gang Dance, Aidan Moffat, Lil Silva and Grimes. And all of this in a single Saturday? Sheesh!
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FILM: The Nomad: The Lost Boys
April 26, 7:30pm
Zippos Circus, Blackheath Common, SE3 0TY
£12.50
Website
Pop-up cinema screenings in circus tents – what more do you need to know? And if Strictly Ballroom (April 3) isn’t quite your bag, then try this one on for size as The Nomads take over the Zippo tent over in Blackheath to screen what might just be the greatest vampire flick of all time: Jack Bauer with earings and a quiff; a torrent of fangs, pre-emo teen-angst and of course Corey Haim; and generally more ‘80s glory than you can throw a leather-clad stick at… Ladies and Gentlemen, it can only be: The Lost Boys.
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TALK: How to Escape the Nine to Five
Apr 30-May 1
The Idler Academy, 81 Westbourne Park Road, W2 5QH
£234
Website
The Idler’s Tom Hodgkinson and Permaculture teacher Graham Burnett lead this weekend-long series that seeks, in their own words: "to give you the mental energy and some of the practical skills needed to reconstruct your everyday life. … The emphasis will be on applying the principles of permaculture (which isn’t about herb spirals and no-dig gardening) and idling (which isn’t about being lazy but instead creating your own existence and doing what you love to meet your needs)." Which all sounds frankly pretty awesome. Just maybe don’t tell your boss that you’re going…
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LINK TO THESE FEATURES: ART & CULTURE
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