Things To Do in London Today: Thursday 17 August 2017

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Things to do today is sponsored by Alexandra Palace.

Experience Indian folk dance

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Things to do

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS: Running out of ways to keep the kids occupied in the summer holidays? Check out our round-up of family-friendly activities, including exhibitions, energy burners, and places to eat with kids.

AFTERNOON TEA: It's Afternoon Tea Week — why not treat yourself to a shining, shimmering world of deliciousness? Cutter & Squidge has a Genie's Cave Afternoon Tea, complete with exotic sandwiches, jewel themed cakes, and some treasure to take home with you. Cutter & Squidge (Soho), £14.50-£34.50, book ahead, until January 2018

DANCE PARADISO: Sit back, relax, and enjoy 40 minutes of serene and earthly dance choreography inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy. Edmonton Green Shopping Centre, free, just turn up, 11am/2pm

INDIAN DANCE FEST: This six week journey through Indian dance styles culminates with a folk dance performance from Rajasthani — India's largest state, located on the Western edge of the country. Devonshire Square (Liverpool Street), free, just turn up, 12.30pm-2.30pm

GROW UP BOX: If the word aquaponic means nothing to you, then this tour of the UK's first aquaponic farm in a shipping container is a great chance to find out what it's all about. You'll even be able to pick your own punnet of delicious salad to take home. Stratford Centre Rooftop, £11, book ahead, 6pm-7pm

Discover India...in Bloomsbury

DETROIT SCREENING: Join Kathryn Bigelow and John Boyega and grill them on their latest film, Detroit, a drama focusing on the Detroit riot in 1967. Hackney Picturehouse, book ahead, £14, 7pm

TWINE AT TWILIGHT: Enjoy a summer evening in the delightful surrounds of the Chelsea Physic Garden, in this event celebrating fabulous fabrics and the plants that make them. There are plenty of activities to take part in too, including pond dipping. Chelsea Physic Garden, £20, book ahead, 6.30pm-10pm

BRUSH AND BUBBLES: Remember how much fun art lessons with school friends used to be? This is the nearest you'll get as an adult, and fittingly, alcohol is involved too. Perfect. Learn how to create your own canvas with step-by-step advice. The Jam Tree (Chelsea), £30, book ahead, 7pm-9.30pm

TWUMPS BAR: Visit possibly the most expensive insult ever created. Twumps is satire in 3D, all at the expense of the Donald. 50p from every drink goes to a charity selected because it is combating the effects of Trump's policies. The bar has been planned for weeks, but feels all the more important in recent days. Rich Mix, free, just turn up, 9pm-12pm, until 19 August


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Last chance to tuck into StrEATlife at Alexandra Palace

Alexandra Palace’s free street food and music festival is having one final hurrah on 19 and 20 August. Hugely popular StrEATlife festival brings an abundance of traders and an epic music line-up, transforming the Palace's grounds into a summer fiesta.

Bao buns, vegan burgers, craft beer, cocktails, churros, tapas and everything in between will be on offer. Music-wise, StrEATlife caters to plenty of tastes too – check out the line-up which includes DJ Yoda headlining Saturday, and Ill Collective hitting the decks on Sunday.

Cool down with a glass of Pimms before dancing the weekend away, all against the background of stunning London views. Kids are welcome at this chilled foodie festival – bring cash, come hungry and start warming up for some serious groovin'. Take a look at who will be at the event here.


Art review: black & asian art

Image: Sonia Boyce.

Art made by black and Asian artists in the 1980s should make for an important exhibition. However, the work is very dry and academic, and therefore the show lacks potency and is difficult to navigate. If you want to see how the issues of race and identity can be handled effectively head to Soul of a Nation at Tate Modern. The Place is Here at South London Gallery. Until 10 September, free. ★★☆☆☆ (Tuesday-Sunday)

Food review: gin cocktails in a subterranean garden

London’s got a bit of a thing for gin right now and you will too once you’ve drunk your way through this pop-up. Draped in gardening paraphernalia, the Victorian-inspired drinking den is a feast for the eyes. Our bartender rustles up an Eccentrium and an Anomalous Negroni; the first arrives in a mirrored bird cage, the second in a miniature wheelbarrow – both deserve to be smelt and snapped before they’re drunk. The menu reads like a herbalist’s medicine cabinet, which is both intriguing and perplexing. It's a step up from the overpriced, acerbic G&Ts our palette is used to. The Oddlytini Buzz Button leaves an oddly pleasant tingling sensation on the tongue (rather than the full-on vibration promised by the waiter.) The elderflower tonic fights a losing battle with the balsamic reduction in the Analeptic Spirit, though we enjoyed the novelty factor of sipping from a watering can. But it’s the Cucumberolic 75 which steals the show, a deliciously subtle balance of refreshing cucumber acid and rose petal-infused gin. Unusual flowers are the order of the day until Monday 21 August when the pop-up gets a vegetable-themed makeover. You’ll go for the Instagram likes and leave with a newfound respect for gin. Whistling Shop, 63 Worship Street, EC2A 2DU★★★★☆ Kyra Hanson

Theatre review: Apologia is the word

With Apolgia, producer Jamie Lloyd repeats his trick of taking a millennial-friendly screen actor (think Kit Harington, James McAvoy and Uzo Aduba) and planting them atop a stage-savvy cast, starring Stockard Channing. Famous for her roles in Grease and The West Wing, the septuagenarian Channing has acting chops aplenty — which are wasted. The decent ensemble featuring a sparky Laura Carmichael and fiery Freema Agyeman is given an undemanding and meandering script to work with. Alexi Kaye Campbell’s story of regret and loss has nods to many worthy isms, not least activism, feminism, evangelism and materialism, but is overlong, too predictable and relies too much on the brilliant Desmond Barrit and his hyper-camp character — think John Inman multiplied by Alan Carr. Apologia, Trafalgar Studios, 14 Whitehall, SW1A 2DY. £35-£95. Until 18 November. ★★★☆☆ Franco Milazzo

Good cause for the day

Healthy Indian chef Mira Manek and inspirational yoga teacher Leila Sadeghee have joined up with Women for Change, an initiative that seeks to bring together leaders who want to make a positive social impact, to shine a light on a pressing and little-understood issue - Modern Slavery in the UK. Take part in a yoga class and tuck into some delicious food. 42 Acres Shoreditch, £40, book ahead, 7.15pm-8.30pm, 22 September