Things to do
REDUCE SPEED NOW: It's your final chance to clock Justin Brice Guariglia's Earth Day installation Reduce Speed Now in the courtyard at Somerset House. Nine solar-powered LED screens — the type usually seen on motorways — display words by international activists, poets and philosophers on the theme of climate change. Somerset House, free, just turn up, until 29 April
BEDROOMS OF LONDON: Foundling Museum's current photo display Bedrooms of London enters its final week. The shots on display document the tough living conditions of some of London's most disadvantaged children, accompanied by narratives from the families involved. Foundling Museum (Bloomsbury), included in admission (£11/£8.25), just turn up, until 5 May
THE SUN: Also closing soon is The Sun: Living With Our Star. Science Museum's blockbuster exhibition looks at the history of humanity's relationship with the bright beast in the sky, including its religious connotations and medicinal uses. Science Museum, £15, book ahead, until 6 May
WINSTON, WOMEN AND SONG: Join in a singalong walk through Westminster, on a tour which covers the topics of Winston Churchill, women's suffrage and wartime music. Learn about Churchill's life — including his childhood and his love of cigars — and see him through the eyes of the women who had an effect on him. Westminster station, £12/£9, book ahead, 4pm
PHOTOGRAPHER TALK: Award-winning photographers Jillian Edelstein and Clare Park both have work on display in the Association of Photographers' 50th anniversary exhibition, currently on display at One Canada Square. Curator Zelda Cheatle is in conversation with both photographers tonight, discussing Edelstein’s portrait of Nelson Mandela and Park’s self-portrait The Beauty Myth. London Metropolitan University (Aldgate), free, book ahead, 6pm-8pm
SYLVIA PLATH: Journalist Erica Wagner, poet Mona Arshi and writer Gail Crowther discuss how writer Sylvia Plath blurred the lines between life and art, based on the posthumous publication of her personal letters. Find out how they offer an insight into the processes behind her work, and discuss the blurring of boundaries between public and private. Kings Place (King's Cross), £12.50, book ahead, 7pm
HANDEL FESTIVAL: The London Handel Festival comes to an end with a performance of Handel's English language oratorio Athalia. Ticket holders are also invited to a pre-concert talk by Ruth Smith. St John's Smith Square (Westminster), £20-£55, book ahead, 7.30pm (talk at 6.15pm)
EGGS: Two-person theatre show Eggs follows two women leading very different lives, united by their struggle against society’s expectations as they try to figure out who they are, how to exist and who to be. Tristan Bates Theatre (Covent Garden), £15/£12, book ahead, 7.30pm (until 4 May)
PIANO RECITALS: Talented teenage pianists from The Purcell School perform works by Chopin, Liszt, Schumann and more at the Freddy Morgan Piano Recitals concert. It's a chance to see and support up and coming musicians from the UK's oldest specialist music school. Southbank Centre, £10-£15, book ahead, 7.45pm
RESEVOIR DOGS: See Quentin Tarantino's breakthrough film in characterful Hackney pub Hand of Glory. Suits and sunglasses at the ready boys. Hand of Glory (Hackney), free, just turn up, 8pm
Tube ponderings with Barry Heck
Our resident tube fancier dishes out daily thoughts on the London Underground.
Next time you’re passing through Piccadilly Circus, pop down into the tube station to take a look at this shrine to Frank Pick. Pick was, of course, the man who introduced many of the distinctive features of London’s underground, such as the Johnston typeface and the roundel itself.
Follow Barry Heck on Twitter @HeckTube.
Good cause of the day
Book now to see the likes of Ed Gamble, Aisling Bea and Lou Sanders performing in a charity comedy show on 1 May. Money raised goes to Farm Africa, a charity which supports African farmers. Find out more and book tickets.
What we're reading
- A history of the soon-to-be-gone Welbeck Street multi-storey car park.
- How one 'reluctant Londoner' overcame panic attacks on the Underground.
- More options for a possible Euston-Canary Wharf express tube line.
- Whatever happened to Tadmans, the family-run undertakers in Whitechapel?
