Things To Do In London This Weekend: 1-2 March 2014

Hop on board with a Hidden Depths Canal Cruise.

All weekend

TECH: Climb inside a computer game, meet your holographic twin and create interactive drawings at the annual Barbican Weekender, full of techy geekery you can get stuck into. Free, just turn up, 11am-6pm daily

STOKER: Join a GoToMidtown walk that visits sites in Bloomsbury and Holborn from Bram Stoker's book, The Jewel of Seven Stars. Free, just turn up (meeting point is the GoToMidtown shop at 56 New Oxford Street), 2-3.45pm daily

ART 14: 180 galleries. 40 countries. 1 venue. Art 14 comes to Olympia London this weekend for art lovers, shoppers, admirers, collectors and curators to enjoy displays, talks and tours. £12/£8, prebook, until 2 March

FILM: Community film organisation Reel Islington aims to bring local people together with their Reel Islington Film Festival, back for another year with the theme ‘Home is where I want to be…’. Most tickets £5 or under, prebook, until 2 March

WALKS: Find out the lesser-known London facts on a Footprints of London guided walk. There are plenty of themes to choose from this weekend, including civil war connections around Cheapside, Westminster byways and an industrial history of the Lower Lea. See website for full details

AHOY: Set sail for the Cutty Sark for family fun days this weekend where the little ones can learn the lingo for weather at sea and design their own weather charts. Admission charges apply, see website for full details

OH BUOY: Trinity Buoy Wharf , Dockland's art quarter, offers a weekend of new art commissions in the newly-refurbished Boiler House gallery, plus a trail of sculpture and murals lining Orchard Place. Free, just turn up, every first weekend of the month from March-October

SWIM: For the first time since the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the public will be able to take a dip in the iconic London Aquatics Centre at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which opens its doors today. Sessions start from £3.50, prebook

CANAL CRUISES: Get out on the water from today as Hidden Depths Canal Cruises' King's Cross-Camden-Islington Tunnel cruises begin for the season. There's transparent covers in the event of rain and you're welcome to bring your own booze and food. £9/£7 return, prebook, until 30 November

OSCARS: Film buff? There are a few places around the capital that are celebrating the 86th Academy Awards, including the chance to watch it live with Hollywood-themed cocktails. See our choices here.

THEATRE: It's a new month and a new batch of London theatre openings. Check out our list of what's on stage throughout March

ART: Take a look at what's opening on the art scene this month too. Architecture, painting, design, photography, you choose.

SHOP: Here's our list of market and shopping events taking place throughout the month, from vintage car boot sales to a monthly record fair.

Saturday 1 March

OPEN ART: Get a peek at art collections usually locked away behind private doors, with Art 14's Open Art initiative. Today's schedule includes  visits to Government Art Collection, Dover Street Arts Club and House of St Barnabas. Free, prebook, see website for full details

FUNNY WOMEN: Leicester Square Theatre is the venue for a comedy writing workshop specifically for women, led by by Gavin Smith the Creative Director of Development for The Comedy Unit. £65, prebook, from 10am

CLASSICS: City Lit, the British Museum and UCL bring you a day of talks, discussions and gallery visits on themes relating to Ancient Greece and Rome. Anyone with a love of the classics is welcome and no knowledge of Greek or Latin is required. £27-£53, prebook, 10.30am-5.30pm

VINTAGE MARKET: Vintage womenswear, menswear, accessories, jewellery, homeware, maps, prints and books — all at So Vintage Fair at Old Spitalfields Market. Free, just turn up, 11am-5pm

FAMILY SCIENCE: A day of free science activities at the British Library. Join scientists from the Science Museum, skeletons from the Grant Museum, mathematicians, musicians and storytellers for a veritable voyage of scientific discovery. Free, just turn up, midday-4pm

SCREENPRINTING: Creative agency Test Space run an in-store t-shirt screen printing session at their base in Camden today, where visitors can select from a choice of designs, get involved with the printing process and take away their own t-shirt on the day. Free, just turn up, from 1pm

POETRY: Some afternoon linguistics for you at Keats House, with an afternoon poetry reading with the theme of The Romantics and Dreams. £5/£3 (gets you free entry to Keats House for a year), just turn up, 3-4pm

GHOULY GOINGS ON: BFI's Gothic season continues with Haunted Childhood, a night of film, music and ghostly happenings at the church of St John on Bethnal Green. £15/£12, prebook, 6.30-11pm

DINNER DANCE: A monthly dinner party by Disappearing Dining Club, this time at Red Gallery in Shoredtich. Go for the whole shebang with cocktails, canapés, dinner and dancing, or cut out the dinner and head straight for the dance floor. £10-£55, prebook, from 7pm

MOVEMENT: American artist Kelly Nipper presents the UK premiere of her performance Tessa Pattern Takes a Picture at the South London Gallery, where she uses movement to explore the relationships between photography, landscape and the human body. £8/£5, prebook, 7pm

CONCERT: A performance of Handel & Bononcini Duetti, at Holy Trinity Rotherhithe Church. £10/£8, just turn up, 7-8.30pm

COMEDY: Comedy, on a boat, at The Boat Show Comedy Club. Held on a paddle steamer moored opposite the London Eye, tonight's line-up features Rob Deering, Markus Birdman and Ian Stone. £15/£12.50, prebook, 8pm

CELEBRATE: The nabokov Arts Club’s 5th birthday at The Vaults in Waterloo celebrates London's performance culture with music by Mystery Jets, cabaret, poetry, comedy, visual art and, in true birthday style, a big fat party. £15-£18+bf, prebook, 10.30pm-3am

Sunday 2 March

IDENTITY: First Person Plural, a symposium at the Science Museum, looks at the legacy of influential photographer Tony Ray-Jones and asks who, if anyone, is recording equivalent expressions of modern cultural identity. £15/£10, prebook, 9.30am-5.30pm

STREET WISDOM: Sunday Assembly, a group who describe themselves as "a godless congregation that celebrate life", take to the streets today for a masterclass in how to use the city streets around you as a tool for learning. Free, prebook, 11am-1pm

OCCUPY MAYFAIR: Join an Occupy London tour around Mayfair, getting a look at the secretive world of finance and politics in the area. These usually sell out so book now to avoid disappointment. Free, prebook, 2-4pm

PEACE: Psychotherapist and Middle East analyst, Gabrielle Rifkind and veteran UN diplomat, Giandomenico Picco join the BBC’s Fergal Keane at King's Place to discuss their new book The Fog of Peace, which offers a new approach to peace-making. £9.50, prebook, 2-3pm

KID RAVE: Love partying but upset you can't take your 4 year old child with you? Damned age restrictions. Well Big Fish Little Fish host family raves aimed at children aged 8 so all the family can cut loose and get high on craft activities. Today's is at The Bedford in Balham. £8.80, prebook, 2-4.30pm

SPANISH FILM: The Arcola Theatre is currently presenting Spanish film screenings every Sunday. Today it's a Luis Buñuel double-bill: Diary of a Chambermaid and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeosie. £8, prebook, 2.30pm and 5pm

LONDON FILM: Common People, an independent film set in London, is showing at Clapham Picturehouse Thursdays and Sundays until 9 March. Book in advance, screenings have been selling out. View the trailer on the film’s YouTube channel. £6-£10.50, prebook, 2.45pm

SAMBA: The carnival atmosphere comes to Hundred Years Gallery in Hoxton with a Samba Drums Workshop, using drums made from recycled materials and with the help of The Glebous Bland Samba Band. Free, just turn up, 3.30-6.30pm

MUSIC: Join Classic Album Sundays to listen to American rock band Television's Marquee Moon album which, although critically acclaimed still today, had underwhelming sales upon its release in the 70s. £10/£8, prebook, 5-8pm

COMOOEDY: Sorry for the tenuous pun. Amused Moose continue their Laugh Off competition today with heats 4 and 5, where you can vote for your favourites alongside the industry pros. At The Albany’s comedy cellar. There’s food too. £5 per session, just turn up, 6pm (heat 4) or 8pm (heat 5)

LGBT FILM: The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert screens in Hither Green as part of LGBT History Month, raising money for the London Lesbian & Gay Switchboard. £5, prebook, 7pm

DOCUMENTARY: Hackney Picturehouse is the setting for the UK premiere of WAXIE MOON, Wes Hurley's 2009 feature documentary about Seattle's radical boylesque superstar. £7/£5, prebook, 7pm

CHARITY GALA: There are still a few tickets left to You'll Never Walk Alone, a one-night-only concert at Queen's Theatre hosted by Gok Wan and featuring performances from a variety of television stars and West End performers. All to raise money for the Philippines Typhoon Appeal. £32.50-£65, prebook, 7.30pm

MORE MUSIC: Peter Caulfield Presents is back at St James Theatre and this time he is joined by star of The Light Princess, Rosalie Craig, and West End singers Verity Quade, James Spilling and Greg Barnett. £12.50-£25, prebook, 7.30pm


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