Portrait of Alexander Mornauer, about 1464-88, before restoration
Be There First: London Shows Opening
The National Gallery's latest big exhibition, Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes, Discoveries opens tomorrow. It's a little bit sciency, a little bit arty, and a little bit conservationy, so plenty to please the crowds.
Geography geeks will love River Thames: Source to Sea at Tower Bridge from tomorrow: 30 large-scale photos of the Thames, including an aerial view of the Thames Estuary and picture of the Old Father Thames statue in Lechdale, where Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and Berkshire meet.
For Londony geeks (know any?!), we recommend My East End at Four Corners from Friday, a photography exhibition following a competition asking Londoners to document the people, cultures and open spaces of east London. Or World Cup London, at the PM Gallery and House also from Friday, which is an exhibition of daily-changing photos of football fans in London. Or if you want to buy a bit of art this week, check out the London Calling Auction from 6.30pm on Thursday: art by people like Tracy Emin, Harry Hill, Billy Childish and The Clash inspired by the London Calling album sleeve.
Theatre's kind of quiet this week: our top pick is The Comedy of Errors at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre from tonight (and we'll bring you a review tomorrow).
Dance goes international in the coming week: you can see performances by the Royal Ballet School's pupils at the Linbury Studio from tomorrow. Over at the Barbican, Brazil's top dance company performs Cruel from Saturday onwards: an examination of love, lust, obsession and rejection. Also on Saturday comes a group of more than 40 dancers and musicians from Kathak and Zulu dancing backgrounds, performing Inner Rhythm at the Bloomsbury Theatre.
Opera fans can see the stunning and scandalous Salome at the Royal Opera House: Strauss based his opera on Oscar Wilde's play (which you can see at the Hampstead Theatre until 17 July. London's theatres do like to play these little games with us from time to time...)
Last Chance To See: London Shows Closing
Tomorrow is your last chance to see The Grant Museum in its current location before it opens in the UCL Rockefeller Building in six month's time. Tomorrow is also the last day of the 1001 Inventions: Discover the Muslim Heritage in Our World at the Science Museum.
Elektra closes at the Young Vic on Saturday, as does Holding the Man and Confessions of a Dancewhore, both at the Trafalgar Studios.
And Women Beware Women closes at the National Theatre on Sunday, as does Sorry! in Victoria Park. If we've missed anything, let us know!
