Events
The Other Art Fair
Truman Brewery, Brick Lane
9th to 12th March 2023
Pick up original work from local artists to brighten up your home. Presented by Saatchi Art, there’ll also be installations, performances, DJs, a fully stocked bar and a tattoo booth. Guest artist Rankin will also be in attendance with his Rankin LIVE project, giving visitors the chance to be photographed by the iconic fashion photographer.
St. Patrick’s Parade
Trafalgar Square
17th March 2023
A day to celebrate the patron saint of Ireland. Expect lots of dancing, hearty traditional dishes and a huge parade. Follow the parade through central London and enjoy a free festival in Trafalgar Square, showcasing the best of Irish culture. Pageantry, floats and music that will make its way from Hyde Park Corner along Piccadilly, St James’s Street, Pall Mall, Cockspur Street and Whitehall.
The Gemini Boat Race
River Thames
26th March 2023
The Boat Race was first raced by crews from Oxford and Cambridge University in 1829. Today crews set off from Putney Bridge and finish at Chiswick Bridge in the afternoon, but arrive late morning to make the most of the celebratory atmosphere and have the best viewing spot for this event so synonymous with British tradition and sporting excellence.
Exhibitions
The Future of Traditions, Writing Pictures: Contemporary Art from the Middle East
Brunei Gallery
Until 25th March 2023
Exploring three generations of artists, from Iran and the Arab world, from the early pioneers of a vernacular ‘Lettrism’ movement to those incorporating the written word in their works today.
These artists, from different backgrounds and styles, take inspiration from their own culture and combine those influences with international aesthetics and concepts. The result is the creation of an alternative and original approach to modernism and contemporary art.
The Queen and her Corgis
The Wallace Collection
From 8th March 2023
Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-serving monarch, is celebrated for her exceptional commitment to public duty and support of charitable causes and national institutions.
She is also recognised for her famously close association with Pembroke Welsh corgis, owning over thirty of them throughout her reign. This exhibition explores the unique relationship between dogs and humans.
After Impressionism: Inventing Modern Art
The National Gallery
From 25th March 2023
Explore a period of great upheaval when artists broke with established tradition and laid the foundations for the art of the 20th and the 21st centuries. The exhibition celebrates the achievements of three giants of the era: Cézanne, Van Gogh and Gauguin and follows the influences they had on younger generations of artists from Klimt and Kokoschka to Matisse and Mondrian.
Our Theatre recommendations
“Romeo and Julie” Playing at the National’s Dorfman Theatre, this modern adaptation feels all the more engrossing because it’s in an intimate space. It follows the story of two Welsh teenagers, from entirely different worlds, who meet and crash into love. Romeo is a single dad, doing everything he can to hang on in there. Julie is striving to get in to Cambridge University to study physics. Her family worries for their future in our world of totally unequal opportunities.
“Guys and Dolls” – The first musical at the newly built Bridge Theatre every seat has a great view and ample legroom, this show is in-the-round, so you really do feel like you’re immersed in the streets of Manhattan and the bars of Havana. Directed by Nicholas Hytner, it has a great cast including Daniel Mays, Marisha Wallace and Cedric Neal. And it has all those great, recognisable hit songs. Funny, romantic and, yes, feel-good!
“To Kill a Mockingbird” – This scintillating version of Harper Lee’s enduring novel about Atticus Finch has had a deservedly extended run in the West End. Set in Alabama in 1930, it tells the story of a white lawyer defending a black man who’s been falsely accused of raping a young white woman. We get to know the story from his young daughter, which gives added poignancy to this adaptation. And the lead actor is captivating – sensitive and vulnerable, but determined. You will be moved to tears.
Latest restaurant openings
Lucy Wong
Fitzrovia
Lucy Wong is a sophisticated and eccentric bar based on the 1957 novel The World of Suzie Wong by Richard Mason. Lucy Wong is the imagined daughter of the novel’s title character. Expect interiors inspired by Chinese design, as well as cocktails, dim sum, Cantonese-style roast meats and a hidden outdoor terrace. The bar will serve creative Asian riffs on classic cocktails.
Nessa
Soho
Tom Cenci first came to fame as the chef of Duck & Waffle, now he’s opening his own place, Nessa, a British bistro in Soho on 6th March. The menu is described as being British-influenced while using global flavours, with a punchy menu of small or larger dishes. Nessa is taking over the ground floor of a 1910 building, above it will be 1 Warwick, a new Soho private members’ club.
Gouqi
St. James
Gouqi is London’s newest fine-dining Chinese restaurant by former seven-time Michelin-starred chef Tong Chee Hwee. Combining techniques and ingredients from across China, the name Gouqi, is a play on the word for goji berry, a symbol of health and vitality that inspires the ethos of the restaurant. Gouqi’s interior is refined and understated with an extensive menu that is bursting with flavour as the star of the show.