All weekend
BRIXTON CHAMBER ORCHESTRA: Brixton Chamber Orchestra takes its full 30-piece ensemble, with guest players, out into three Southwark estates for a weekend of free community concerts. Shows include All Saints Hall in Surrey Square and Jessie Duffett Hall, Wyndham Road on Saturday; and an outdoor performance near the Canterbury Arms on Penrose Maddock Way on Sunday. FREE, 11-12 April 2026
BAROQUE AND ROLL: Handel Hendrix House in Mayfair stages regular paired performances: baroque music on harpsichord and period instruments in Handel's dining room, and 1960s blues and guitar sets in Jimi Hendrix's bedroom. Included with general admission. 11-12 April 2026
BACK TO THE FUTURE: Fire up the DeLorean for one last chance to see this musical take on Back to the Future at the Adelphi Theatre, starring Caden Brauch as Marty McFly and Brian Conley as Doc Brown, transported through time by the seriously souped-up car. Until 12 April 2026
THE SINGH TWINS: The Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew Gardens hosts visual exhibition The Singh Twins until Sunday, featuring fabric light boxes detailing how plants such as cotton, spices and dyes played a pivotal role in colonial expansion. Until 12 April 2026
THE TEMPEST: Tim Crouch directs a candlelit staging of Shakespeare’s The Tempest at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, telling the story of Prospero, Miranda, Caliban and Ariel, four lost souls stranded on an island with no hope of escape. Until 12 April 2026
REVEL PUCK CIRCUS: Head inside the big top pitches in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park for the final days of A Glimmer Daze Gambit, a touring show of contemporary circus by Revel Puck Circus. Be amazed by acrobatics, clowning and general chaos, starring grassroots London based and international circus artists from Argentina, the USA, Ethiopia and Canada. Until 12 April 2026
MIDNIGHT IN THE TOYSHOP: Take the family to see Midnight in the Toyshop, bringing its limited run at St. Martin's Theatre to a close. Toys Belle Ballerina, Rebel Racer and Grumble the Dinosaur spring to life as they try to save their shop from tech entrepreneur Peyton Pixel, in a one‑hour musical adventure with songs and dances. 7-12 April 2026
ELIXIR FESTIVAL: Aiming to reshape perceptions around dancing and age, Sadler's Wells' Elixir Festival consists of films, talks and workshops, including a movement workshop for over-60s led by artist Beatrice Libonati, and a free performance of Pina Bausch's iconic Nelken Line, both taking place this Sunday. 7-27 April 2026
ROUNDHOUSE THREE SIXTY: Roundhouse Three Sixty (formerly known as In The Round) is back at Camden Roundhouse. It runs throughout the month across the entire site, but highlights this weekend include hip-hop production Cycles by Boy Blue, accompanied by a seven-piece live band, as well as an exhibition asking whether the London music community is gone, or just evolving. 8-29 April 2026
QUEEN ELIZABETH'S STYLE: Clothing worn by Queen Elizabeth II through all 10 decades of her life goes on display in a special exhibition at the King's Gallery at Buckingham Palace. Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life In Style showcases 200 items, many on display for the first time, including her christening robe, bridesmaid dress, wedding dress, coronation dress and the ensemble worn for the wedding of Princess Margaret. 10 April-18 October 2026
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Raw, close-up opera in east London
See Strauss' most intense opera up close in an unexpected east London setting this weekend.
Fringe opera company Regents Opera brings Salome to York Hall in Bethnal Green for just six performances. Arena staging pulls the audience into the action, for an incredibly visceral experience. The fast-paced, 90-minute show has no interval, keeping things moving and building pressure from the first moment to the last.
Olivier-nominated playwright Mark Ravenhill's new production sets the action in a surreal east London underworld, making the most of the work's decadence and ferocity, with stylised staging and a bold visual world drawing you inside the drama. Lust and violence combine for a grisly, seductive live sensory experience — and with just six performances available across two weeks, tickets will be in high demand.
Salome is at York Hall on 10, 11, 18, 19, 21 and 23 April. Tickets from £20.
Saturday 11 April
MINISTRY OF SOUND GAMES: Fitness meets clubbing at Ministry of Sound Games, a music-led fitness competition for pairs, consisting of five back-to-back workout zones with DJs and a different genre in each, followed by an after-party. 10am
LONDON GUARDS: The National Army Museum hosts a day celebrating the London Guards — the reserve battalion combining companies from the Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots and Irish Guards — giving visitors a chance to meet serving members. Hear from Lieutenant Colonel Russell Lewis MC, commanding officer of the London Guards, and take part in other special activities. FREE, 10am-4pm
JACQUELINE WILSON: Author Dame Jacqueline Wilson reads from her Hetty Feather books — about a young girl who is left at the Foundling Hospital as a baby — and will sign copies at the Foundling Museum for its annual Hetty Feather Day. Tickets also include a drop-in art workshop and entry to the museum. 11am
CHURCHILL'S SPY: The latest event in the Imperial War Museum's Meet The Author series sees children's author Sufiya Ahmed appearing at the museum shop to talk about her books chronicling the adventures of Rosie Raja and her spy father. FREE, 11am-3pm
HORNIMAN SPRING FAIR: Live music, dancing, circus skills workshops, children's games and a craft corner are all part of the fun at the Horniman Spring Fair, taking place in the grounds of the south London museum. Ticket holders can also get reduced-price entry to the Butterfly House on the day. 11am-4pm
FAMILY CONCERT: The Britten Sinfonia combines live music, animation and storytelling with a circus performer in an adaptation of children's book Leon and the Place Between by Angela McAllister. The performance, at Big Penny Social, is aimed at younger audiences but suitable for all. 11.30am-12.20pm
LIVE DISSECTION: Professor of Evolutionary Biology Ben Garrod and vet Jess French lead a live animal dissection at the Royal Institution, with anatomy explained across two demonstration sessions and an extended interval of hands-on activities. (The animal featured in the dissection died of old age and has been donated for the purpose of education.) 1pm-5pm
MARIA AND ROSETTA: A stage portrait of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight, starring Beverley Knight and Ntombizodwa Ndlovu with live musicians, Maria and Rosetta follows Rosetta’s boundary‑breaking gospel and early rock 'n' roll performances in 1946 Mississippi. Today's your last chance to see it, at Soho Place. 2.30pm/7.30pm
RED BULL BREAKDANCING: Red Bull brings its breakdancing competition the UK Cypher to Shoreditch Town Hall for a day of breaking. Dancers compete for the UK title and a chance to represent the country at the World Final in Toronto later this year. Programme includes a live-band, 2v2 battle and the main 1v1 Cypher featuring 16 top b-boys and eight b-girls. 4.30pm
BLACKSTAGE PRESENTS RECLAMATION: Blackstage Pole brings together pole dancers of colour — especially those who are LGBTQIA+, disabled, plus-sized and/or sex workers — and supporting performers for an evening at the Clapham Grand, followed by an afterparty. The theme this year is Reclamation: of the community's art, spaces and bodies. 6.30pm
THE CLOWN OPERA: Family-friendly show The Clown Opera is at the Museum of Comedy, about a Maestro and two cleaners whose mishaps reveal a lost operatic work, mixing music, physical comedy and imagination, for ages seven+. 7pm
MIDGITTE BARDOT: Tamm Reynolds appears as alter ego Midgitte Bardot at Southbank Centre, in a new show that mixes musical theatre, movement, live art and drag. The piece, Shooting From Below, explores power dynamics and absurdist social commentary. 7.45pm
PICASSO AND DINNER: Join a conservator‑led evening exploring Picasso's collages, with a talk by Charity Fox, who discusses her conservation research and hands-on replication of Picasso's techniques. Ticket also includes a visit to the Theatre Picasso exhibition and a French bistro‑style dinner in Tate Modern’s L6 Restaurant, which is accompanied by a short talk by acclaimed wine writer David Williams. 6pm-10.30pm
Sunday 12 April
WORLD'S GREATEST LOVER: X Factor winners Matt Terry and Dalton Harris star alongside Jaymi Hensley and Joaquin Pedro Valdes in new pop‑rock musical World's Greatest Lover, opening today at The Other Palace. Legendary romancers Romeo, Casanova, Cyrano de Bergerac and the Marquis de Sade join forces for one night to discover the truth about love. 12 April-7 June 2026
GIANT LONDON FLEA: A one‑day market at Here East's International Press Centre, the Giant London Flea hosts traders selling vintage clothing, antiques, homewares and collectibles, with food stalls and pop‑ups nearby. 10am-5pm
DRINK, DEATH AND DEBAUCHERY: Guide Bridget Chandler leads a two‑hour walk through the West End — St Giles, Seven Dials and Covent Garden — tracing the 18th century gin craze, William Hogarth’s Gin Lane, gallows, plague pits and sites linked to prostitution. Meet at the Dominion Theatre, and end at the Foundling Museum (tour includes museum entry). 11am
VINTAGE FAIR: Frock Me! brings more than 60 vintage dealers to Chelsea Old Town Hall on King's Road, offering curated clothing, jewellery and textiles from Victorian-era pieces to pre-loved designer labels. Frock Me! fairs are popular with designers and costume buyers as well as the public. 11am-5.30pm
CHARLES DICKENS: Mansel David presents a one-man adaptation of Dickens' theatrical episodes from Nicholas Nickleby, at Wilderness Kitchen in Clerkenwell. The solo performance portrays a cast of Dickensian characters in a two-hour dramatic reading, with a chance to add a two-course Sunday roast to your ticket. 3pm
CRAZY GINGER CABBIE: Social media star Crazy Ginger Cabbie — real name Aaron — stars in an afternoon of laughs at Backyard Comedy Club in Bethnal Green, joined on stage by other performers... and members of the audience. 3.30pm-5.30pm
ALL AND NOTHING: Directed by Liao I‑Ling, feature documentary All And Nothing traces the life of Chinese conceptual artist Li Yuan‑Chia from post‑war Taiwan to 1950s Milan, swinging sixties London, and finally to the LYC Gallery he established in rural Cumbria near Hadrian’s Wall. The film includes interviews with artists who showed at LYC, plus locals and friends who knew Li. The film's on at Bertha DocHouse in Bloomsbury. 4pm
RACHEL PORTMAN: The London Soundtrack Festival comes to a close with an evening dedicated to Oscar-winning composer Rachel Portman, at Cadogan Hall. She was the first woman to win an Academy Award for Original Score, for Emma (1996), and she reflects on her career so far with chats, film clips and live music performances. 6.30pm
SUNDAY CONCERT: The Paddington Trio — Tuulia Hero (violin), Patrick Moriarty (cello) and Stephanie Tang (piano) — perform a programme including Andrea Tarrodi's Trio No.1 'Akacia', Ravel's Trio in A minor and Schubert's Trio in E flat D.929, at Conway Hall in Holborn. 6.30pm-8.30pm
