Your Sunday morning best-of-Londonist weekly round-up.
London news
- The Garden Bridge has been approved... although we still don't really see the point of it
- All 1,374 Londoners want for Christmas is an organ. NHS Blood and Transplant is running a campaign to get more people to join the Organ Donor Register this Christmas
- Cycle hire charges are getting simpler in 2015 — but we'll be paying more for shorter rides
- Love it or hate it, the curtain's come down on the final gig at Earl's Court, and the wrecking balls are moving in
- It's all kicking off over TfL's "woefully inadequate" regulation of taxis and minicabs
- The latest in the London housing saga: lower quartile rents for all properties across London hit £1,000 a month...
- ...meanwhile some London councils are being forced to set up private companies in a bid to keep their own housing from being sold under Right to Buy...
- ...and the New Era estate has been sold to a charitable foundation
- Fabric nightclub in Farringdon nearly had its licence revoked, before being saved, provided sniffer dogs are used
- New Year's Eve fireworks tickets are being resold for £200 — don't bother, you won't get in
Must-read articles
- With precisely zero commuters using the Greenwich cable cars on their daily travels, we asked: where should the dangleway be moved to?
- Not a fan of Christmas? Neither is Londonist writer Chris Lockie. Here are his thoughts on why Christmas in London sucks
- From Mother Goose to Grimaldi's bottom, we trace the London roots of pantomime
- People, people everywhere: 40 photographers came together to produce LapseLondon's timelapse video of the city
- We recount the story of a Victorian chef in Soho who served up Christmas dinner to 22,500 poor and vulnerable Londoners
- VIDEO: Londonist Video Editor Geoff took the plunge into an (empty) London canal
- We've been taking a look at how Russian, Ethiopian, Goan, Italian and Spanish people celebrate Christmas in London.
- Sprout wine, Christmas pudding pizza and other delectable festive foods you can get your teeth round in London
Top reviews
- Celebrating gastronomic greats, we picked the 10 hottest London restaurants of 2014
- The Merchant of Venice gets a Vegas makeover at the Almeida Theatre ★★★☆☆
- There's not a croffle nor a waffant in sight on Foxlow's new brunch menu — and we heartily approve
- Benedict who? Potted Sherlock is an 80 minute whirlwind through the fictional detective's adventures, via cruise liners, the Edinburgh circuit and even Mexico ★★★☆☆
- City of Angels: a full-blown film noir crammed onto a stage ★★★☆☆
- Get your Morecambe and Wise fix with Eric and Little Ern ★★★☆☆
- Lionboy: a lovely sunburst of a show for families ★★★★☆
- Treasure Island is fun for the family and comes with a fantastic set ★★★★☆
Things to do
- Never seen the London New Year's Day Parade? We guide you through the wheres, whats and whys of the annual shindig
- Expect edgy things from London Short Film Festival in January
- We recommend approaching Resolution! 2015, a dance showcase, with an open mind
The Dragon Sets Southwark Playhouse Aflame
Playing throughout the Christmas period, The Dragon at Southwark Playhouse is a smart, funny and politically-charged take on Yevgeny Schwartz's 1943 critique of Stalinism. This revival is presented by the award-winning Tangram Theatre Company and follows knight Lancelot as he falls hopelessly in love with Elsa, only to discover she's to be sacrificed the next day. But when he challenges the town's Dragon to a fight to the death, he's not ready for the townspeople to meet his heroism with resistance.
Following on from their critically acclaimed hit Fuente Ovejuna, Tangram Theatre Company return to Southwark Playhouse with The Dragon — playing until 10 January 2015. Tickets cost £18/£16 and can be booked online here.
This week’s Best of Londonist is sponsored by Tangram Theatre Company.
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