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Listings
BLOOD: Today’s opportunities to donate blood are at the Brewers Hall in the City, The Hop Exchange on Southwark Street, Walthamstow Assembly Hall, Ealing Town Hall, Bromley Central Library and the usual donor centres. See site for terms and conditions.
SHAKESPEARE IN SHOREDITCH: For 10 days, plays, films, talks and workshops will populate the streets of Shoreditch to celebrate how Shakespeare can inspire our busy lives today. See New Diorama Theatre for programme and tickets, although events take place at venues across Shoreditch. £10 per event, prebook, until 12 October
ART DECO BLOOMSBURY: Take a wander around Bloomsbury and learn about the art deco history of the area in this walk. The route takes in a controversial Modernist icon, an Art Nouveau-style lodge as well as London’s first pedestrianized shopping street. Meet inside Russell Square. £8/£6.50, prebook, 1pm
GIN: Dr Richard Barnett, author of the Dedalas Book of Gin, opens the 2014 Literary Footprints Festival at the Guildhall Library with a talk on the 18th century gin craze. A tasting of “evil” gin is included. £10, prebook, 6.30pm
DARWIN’S APES: Author and conservationist Randal Keynes is the latest guest at ZSL London Zoo’s author talks. Along with scientists and zoo keepers, he’ll host an evening on Darwin’s Apes, chaired by poet and ZSL Council Member Ruth Padel. £12, prebook, 6.30pm
CLIMATE CHANGE: Conway Hall in Holborn hosts New Scientists Live's debate on climate change. Two experts in their field, Friederike Otto and Alice Bows-Larkin, will be talking through their latest findings and research and debating whether climate change is already taking a toll. £14/£12, prebook, 6.30pm
WHIRLYGIG CINEMA: Spotlights is a short film night that shines a light on the work and practice of new filmmakers. Three emerging filmmakers are given just 30 minutes each to screen and talk about their films, providing a gripping insight into their background, ideas and filmmaking process. Tonight, at Hackney Picturehouse, is the turn of Carolina Giammetta, Louis Paxton and Ben Mallaby. £5/£4/£3, prebook, 7pm
STEPHEN FRY: Following on from the success of The Fry Chronicles, Stephen Fry launches his new volume of memoirs, More Fool Me, at Southbank Centre. £29.50 (including hardback copy of the book), prebook, 7.20pm
COMEDY KNIGHT: Pulp Comedy (previously Comedy Knights) brings the likes of Pat Cahill, Chris Boyd, Chris Betts, Saskia Preston, John Soffe and Damian Kingsley to Charterhouse in Smithfield. £7/£3.50, prebook, 7.30pm
FILM QUIZ: Think you know your films? Put that knowledge to the test in the You're Gonna Need A Bigger Boat film quiz at The Assembly House pub in Kentish Town. The audiovisual quiz is projected onto the big screen, so get there early to bag decent seats. £4, just turn up, 7.30pm
COMEDY PLAY: A new surreal comedy play, Computer Boy, begins at The Proud Archivist in Haggerston today. Written by Adam Larter and starring Ali Brice, Beth Vyse and Luke McQueen. £9, prebook, 7.45pm
SOLO SHOW: A new play, Paris Original, opens at St James Theatre Studio. The solo show by Frances Rufelle has a different guest every night, and tonight is the turn of Frances’s daughter, pop-star Eliza Doolittle. £25/£30, prebook, 8pm
Find more London events in our Free & Cheap events listings. Want to see your event in these last-minute listings? Email us at [email protected] at least 48 hours before the event, and we will consider it for inclusion. Note: due to high volumes of email, we can’t always reply.
Have You Tried …
…Wingit? Now available on Android as well as iPhone, Wingit is a smart little app that solves the problem of “I want to do something now, but what is going on nearby?” Using your location, Wingit scans social media to find cool stuff near where you are and brings it straight to your phone. From performances to pop-ups, screenings to street art, download the free app today on the App Store or Google Play to see what’s going on just round the corner.
This week’s Things To Do In London is sponsored by Wingit.
Good Cause of the Day
A Night Out With Sir Michael Caine is an NSPCC Benefit show at the Royal Albert Hall taking place tonight. Legendary producer Quincy Jones, the man behind Michael Jackson’s biggest albums, is due to conduct the London Symphony Orchestra, and Jonathan Ross will interview Sir Michael Caine live on stage. Tickets from £22.90 are available here.
From the Archive
Would you know what to do if someone on your train collapsed? Take a look at this video, published in 2012, in which our own Geoff Marshall attends a first aid demonstration organised by St John Ambulance. It's worth a watch - we hate to go all serious, but it could save someone's life.
