Its been a hot minute since I’ve done one of these. Here is the best in film, theatre, food and more in London Town the next 2 weeks…..
Street Feast @ Dalston Yard (every Friday and Saturday)
I know Street Feast gets a lot of love in these things to do in London articles but its the foodie paradise and its back with a vengeance at the Dalston Yard. I was there a few nights back and I love what they have done with the place – its the best I’ve ever seen it and even on those days where the skies have opened up (which seem quite frequent at the moment) its does not matter as they have now built a roof over the place large parts of the venue.
Alongside the seated diners will be a rotating line up of street food traders including Street Feast favourites Rola Wala serving up their twisted Indian street food, Yum Bun with their fluffy steamed buns and Smokestak parking up their custom-built 4.5 tonne BBQ Smoke Train. Breddos Tacos will also be making a return with their Taco Shack, offering a menu of non-traditional tacos alongside their unrivalled sliders. I had this ox cheek Korean burrito from Kimchinary that took me to places a burrito has never taken me before
Drinks will be taken care of by four brilliant bars; Rotary Bar with its giant festival-sized cocktails and a wide selection of London and international craft beers, The Gin Store offering a selection of over 30 gins, a Tequila Bareto serving the summer-popular Frozen Margaritas alongside the legendary Chilliback*, and Ruth Spivey’s wine bar on the move, Street Vin. And with two thirds of Dalston Yard now covered, you’ll be able to enjoy Street Feast come rain or shine.
Get on it!!!!
Every Friday and Saturday
Dalston Yard, Hartwell Street, E8 3DU
5pm until midnight
Free before 7pm then £3
http://www.streetfeastlondon.com
Terracotta Film Festival @ The Prince Charles Cinema & The ICA (23rd May – 1st June)
The Terracotta Film Festival is back – its London’s best oriental film festival and there is a whole host of movies to feast your eyes on. Now in its sixth year, the Terracotta Far East Film Festival will run over ten days, from Friday 23 May to Sunday 1 June 2014, with three sections across two venues (The Prince Charles Cinema and the Institute for Contemporary Arts). The Prince Charles Cinema will host two of the three sections, with films running from Wednesday 28 May to Sunday 1 June: Current Asian Cinema and Terror Cotta Horror All-Nighter! ‘Current Asian Cinema’ will showcase an eclectic line-up of the best contemporary films from across the Far East, with something for hard core Asian fans and Far East newbies alike. Once again, the fast-becoming-cult Terror Cotta Horror All-Nighter will play host to a ghoulish group of ghosts, monsters, demons, and cold-blooded killers in an eight-hour-plus movie marathon. As with previous festivals, top Asian actors and directors will fly in to introduce screenings, take part in Q&As and run in-depth masterclasses.
Highlights for me include Moebius – KIM Ki-duk’s daring portrayal of a dysfunctional family, filmed without dialogue, making this disturbing drama all the more potent and Andy Lau’s Firestorm
23rd May to 1st June
Prince Charles Cinema, 7 Leicester Pl, London WC2H 7BY
Various times
£7.50
http://terracottafestival.com/
V&A Late – Korea @ The Victoria & Albert Museum (30th May)
This Friday Late brings Korea to South Kensington. Join us as Korean culture and technological innovation collide and cross-pollinate the galleries. From soap pottery to bojagi sewing, poetry to straw chairs, and K-pop to experimental gastronomy, this event explores the vibrant landscape of Korean contemporary art and design.
If this is not a great way to spend the evening then I don’t know what is….museum lates are always a good look
Friday 30th May
V&A, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL
6.30pm to 10pm
Free
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/f/friday-late/
Dangerous Times Festival @ The Rich Mix (31st May to 1st June)
This is a festival for those who dare to dream of a better world.
There will be discussions and debates, workshops, rebel rants, cinema, polemical poetry and subversive standup. The festival will confront capitalism and climate chaos, explore what real democracy would look like, investigate imperialism after the Arab Spring, celebrate the women who fought against World War One… and much, much more.
Participants include legendary anti-imperialist author Tariq Ali, feminist trailblazer Hilary Wainwright, journalist and ‘Chavs’ author Owen Jones, comedian and disability rights campaigner Francesca Martinez, anti-racist activist Stafford Scott, anti-war campaigner Lindsey German as well as acclaimed left wing playwright David Edgar and historian of class Selina Todd. Recent additions include Carole Duggan and Left Futures editor Jon Lansman. Leading Russian left wing intellectual Boris Kagarlitsky will provide a Russian perspective on the frightening crisis in the Ukraine.
Beat poet Allen Ginsberg and black radical Stokely Carmichael will re-enacted speeches in the intro to a cult film of a sixties ‘happening’. There is spoken word from the Different Skies journal, standup from Jeremy Hardy, Steve Parry and Kate Smurthwaite, a political undressing of the fashion industry and a brief people’s history of music with Faithless guitarist Dave Randall.
Friday 31st May to 1st June
Rich Mix Cultural Foundation, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LA
£20
http://www.richmix.org.uk/whats-on/festival/dangerous-times-festival-2014/
Sun Ra Arkestra @ The Barbican Centre (31st May)
A few years back when that volcanic cloud from Iceland grounded flights it gave me the opportunity to see the Sun Ra Arkestra as they were stuck in London and did some extra gigs down at Café Oto as they were stuck here – it was one of the most memorable concerts of my life, and for 4 hours they took us on an amazing journey of cosmic jazz that forever imprinted on my memory. Now they are back at the Barbican Centre and it will be one amazing night to be experience
Sun Ra was one of the greatest and least known jazz artists of the last four decades. Composer, bandleader, pianist, poet and Afro-Futurist philosopher, he founded his Arkestra to take jazz into unexplored territories – his style drawing simultaneously on black vaudeville, modern dance, Egyptian cosmology, Eastern philosophy, surrealism, kitsch, and the Bible
Sun Ra died in 1993 and would have turned 100 in 2014. The Arkestra performs today led by 90-year young alto saxophonist and long-time Ra collaborator Marshall Allen. The mischievous brass blasts and the grooves keep rolling, as the big band – fully dressed, as usual, in space capes with a hint of Ancient Egypt – takes off once again in a joyous burst of tightly organised madness
Join them for this special celebration of Sun Ra’s 100th birthday, with an extended line up and immersed in a new full-blown psychedelic vision designed by the Liquid Light Orchestra, who accompanied the Arkestra on their Barbican debut in 2012 as part of our Transcender series
Don’t miss this – you’ll be hearing about it from the people who went for weeks to come
Saturday 31st May
The Barbican Centre, Silk St, London EC2Y 8DS
£15 – 25
7.30pm
https://www.barbican.org.uk/music/event-detail.asp?ID=15596
Summer Screen @ The Vauxhall Village (3rd June – 22nd July)
This summer Vauxhall Village are bringing 6 free pop-up cinema screenings to the historic Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. Weather permitting this will be a great evening to wind down to some free open air cinema. Bring a blanket from home or hire one for just £2.50, and snuggle up with your loved ones under the stars on a summer night. You can also rent a Vauxhall Village deck chair for £5 to watch the film in true luxury. The lineup over the summer is:
Tuesday 3rd June – Best in show (12)
Tuesday 10th June – Mean Girls (12a)
Tuesday 17th June – Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (15)
Tuesday 8th July – Slumdog Millionaire (15) ‘Vauxhall Village have teamed up with the Big Dance week to enjoy Bollywood dancing workshops before the film’
Tuesday 15th July -This Is Spinal Tap (15)
Tuesday 22nd July- The Big Lebowski (18)
Weekly on Tuesdays from 3rd June
Vauxhall Village
7.00pm
Free
http://vauxhallvillage.com/whatson/vauxhall-village-presents-summer-screen-2014
The More London Free Street Festival @ The Scoop (4th June to 7th June)
The More London Free Festival opens with a Street Party, a celebration of Latin and Caribbean food and music. Enjoy performances from world bands and dance troupes, sample some of London’s best street food and soak up the very special More London atmosphere.
Each day will see a slightly different theme. Wednesday is Brazilian, Thursday is Salsa and Samba day with a focus on visitors dancing, Friday is live Latin performances and Saturday is a true street party with everyone performing along with dancers from Brazil and the Caribbean.
There will be Salsa, capoeira, afrobeat, samba, cuban music and a whole host more. In addition to all the great music and artists, every day there will be amazing street food traders serving up delicious cuisines from Latin and Caribbean countries. Visitors will be able to buy food from traders such as Arepa and Co, Mama’s Jerk Station and Churros Garcia. To wash down all that great food and to get everyone in the street party spirit, there will be a bar serving Latin and Caribbean beer, rum and other great cocktails.
Wednesday 4th June to Saturday 7th June
The Scoop, Queen’s Walk, More London, London SE1 2DB
12.00pm to 9.30pm
Free
http://www.morelondon.com/events/about/
Innerground / Lenzman Album Launch @ Fabric (6th June)
Drum ‘n’ bass heads – this one is for you, the legendary Fabric has a label night from 2 of the greats – Innerground and Metalheadz
Metalheadz celebrate the release of Lenzman’s Looking At The Stars album in Room One with the Dutch producer’s appearance flanked by a promising back to back set from label boss, Goldie and Exit boss, dBridge and sets from Breakage (who’ll be playing a ‘Foundation’ set) and Ant TC1. Ulterior Motive will go B2B with Optical whilst Jubei and Loxy will also go toe to toe to complete a triple threat of back to back sets.
DJ Marky’s Innerground label returns once again to host Room Two with the renowned Brazilian DJ headlining and coming ready to drop a few extended nuggets of his trademark flair alongside sets from Fabio, Total Science, Anile, T.I. and Roy Green & Protone.
Get ready – its going to be serious!!!
Friday 6th June
Fabric, 77A Charterhouse St, London EC1M 6HJ
11.00pm to 7am
£13 – £18
http://www.fabriclondon.com/club/listing/903
Tate Lates @ The Tate Britain (6th June)
Late at Tate is back; this time looking at the notion of Inhabitation. Taking inspiration from artwork in the Tate Collection and the Phyllida Barlow commission, Tate Collective London and student ambassadors from University of the Arts London’s widening participation programmes, have collectively programmed a series of workshops, talks, performances, and live music that explore themes and ideas central to Barlow’s work.
The evening will explore what it means to occupy space through sound and visuals focusing on issues of displacement, marginalisation, and feminism. Explore Tate Britain and its collection in new and interesting ways.
This month they are going both inside and outside the venue with a selection of rooms and stages. There will be Afrobeat from MogaDisco, DJs from Reprezent Radio, fashion shows, poetty, graffiti workshops as well as screenings.
Tate Lates are on point every time and this one definitely won’t disappoint
Friday 6th June
Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG
6.30pm to 10pm
Free
http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/performance-and-music/late-tate-britain-june-2014
Afrospot @ The Forge (13th June)
Afrospot Orchestra is a ten-piece band led by Kodjovi Kush, world number one interpreter of Agbajazz – a fusion of highlife and traditional music and dance from the Ewe tribe, with jazz and its Western influences.
Afrospot night commences with DJs splicing and dicing together different global styles with two live sets; the first is draped in the rich music of West Africa, and the second is allowed to deviate like a globetrotter. Guest musicians take over the second part of the evening with renewed energy, connecting with every soul in session. Afrospot closes with the DJs being let off the leash to throw down the deep funk.
……and you know what – its free all night!!!!
Friday 13th June
The Forge 3-7 Delancey Street London NW1 7NL
7.30pm
Free
http://www.forgevenue.org/
Titus Andronicus @ The Shakespeare Globe (24th April to 13th July)
When the Exorcist came out it was notorious for scaring people so much that they fainted in the cinema and people were sick. It became a thing of legend and people would go to see if they could withstand the onslaught on screen and the press went mad. The same is happening again with the gory telling of Titus Andronicus at The Globe – the levels of blood and gore during this play are to levels that are making people faint. Its all about the standing seats in the yard – you need to get up close and personal for this one
Returning to Rome from a war against the Goths, the general Titus Andronicus brings with him the queen Tamora and her three sons as prisoners of war. Titus’ sacrifice of Tamora’s eldest son to appease the ghosts of his dead sons, and his decision to refuse to accept the title of emperor, initiates a terrible cycle of mutilation, rape and murder. And all the while, at the centre of the nightmare, there moves the villainous, self-delighting Aaron.
Grotesquely violent and daringly experimental, Titus was the smash hit of Shakespeare’s early career, and is written with a ghoulish energy he was never to repeat elsewhere
The Shakespeare Globe, 21 New Globe Walk, Bankside, London SE1 9DT
£5 to £40
http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/
By Tendai – Cognitive Space