Having lubricated your system with a refreshing beverage, it’s time to seek out some evening entertainment.
It hardly needs to be said that London’s West End is one of the world’s most famous districts for theatre and live performance. Indeed, the area is so well established, and so well publicised that it really needs no further introduction here, other than a few tips from me.
Big West End shows are among the most in-demand experiences one can have in London. Tickets are booked up early, and often command a high fee. It’s worth looking out for deals if you’re not restricted to a particular date or time. Every year, for example, the Society of London Theatre puts on its Get Into London Theatre promotion, which offers discounted tickets for shows in the relatively quiet season of January and February. Savings range from 20–60 per cent, with some seats available for as little as £10. The deals cover just about every West End show, from small short-run plays to blockbusters like The Lion King. Various websites also offer deals, although they are usually aimed at out-of-towners.
Opera can be even pricier than the conventional stage, with some tickets racking up at £200. If you book early, and are prepared to stand or suffer a restricted view, however, you can get into a Royal Opera House production for a tenner. Both that house, and the English National Opera on St Martin’s Lane offer same-day tickets at much discounted prices, but these are rapidly snapped up.
For the best of London theatre, look beyond the big shows. Fringe theatre can, of course, be highly variable in quality. But choose wisely and you’ll hit the jackpot. The small stage can be found in many quarters of town. Some of the best lurk above or behind pubs. Try, for example, The Gatehouse in Highgate (Highgate Village, N6 4BD). This theatre has the unique attribute of sitting on the border of three London boroughs. More centrally, the Old Red Lion on St John Street (418 St John Street, EC1V 4NJ), the Hen and Chickens at Highbury Circus (109 St Paul’s Road, N1 2NA), and the Lion & Unicorn in Kentish Town (42–44 Gaisford Street, NW5 2ED) are all good examples. Head out west, meanwhile, for The Orange Tree in Richmond (45 Kew Road, TW9 2NQ), which has London’s only permanent ‘in-the-round’ stage.
In the summer time, The Scoop performance space outside City Hall (The Queen’s Walk, SE1 2AA) puts on free theatrical productions, from Shakespeare to contemporary plays. You’ll also find cinema screenings here.
One of London’s most beautiful theatres is hidden away in Shadwell, well off the tourist track. Wilton’s Music Hall (1 Graces Alley, E1 8JB) is exceptionally atmospheric, a stalwart survivor from the age of Marie Lloyd. With walls that look like they haven’t seen a lick of paint since one of the Edwards sat on the throne, and barley-twist columns that appear too fragile to hold up the mezzanine, this is a unique place indeed. Book tickets for a show, or simply pop in to sample the candle-lit bar. The only other place remotely like Wilton’s is Hoxton Hall, a mile or two away (130 Hoxton Street, N1 6SH). This, too, is an old music hall with bags of character, with regular fringe theatre shows.
Punchdrunk
Various locations.
One of the great theatrical revolutions of the past half-decade is for ‘immersive theatre’, or ‘promenade theatre’. Here, the audience are not passive spectators watching a stage, but active participants of the show. The genre is epitomised by the Punchdrunk company, who put on utterly spellbinding performances that see you clambering through secret passages, joining hands with strangers, and perhaps even being pulled into a side room for an argument, or a snog. It can be terrifying, exhilarating and liberating, but never boring. I have a friend who went to one show over 30 times: nobody ever says that about The Mousetrap. Part of the charm of such ventures is that the location is ‘site-specific’ – perhaps a warehouse or an old industrial building – so there’s no particular venue to recommend. Other companies are now rapidly catching up with Punchdrunk, so check listings sites for regular tip-offs.
The Vaults
Leake Street, SE1 7NN (Waterloo)
The Vaults, beneath Waterloo station, is one of the few locations that regularly puts on something of this ilk. The warren of old railway arches and tunnels is ideal for anything a little macabre or gothic, and it pays to keep an eye on their programme. At the time of writing, upcoming events include a Zombie Blitz and Alice’s Adventures Underground.
Secret Cinema
Various locations.
Other genres, too, have taken this site-specific approach. Secret Cinema, founded in 2007, screens big movies in unusual, often appropriate locations. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, for example, was screened in a derelict hospital, while The Grand Budapest Hotel took over a suitably grand warehouse building in Clerkenwell. Attendees often don’t know what the film is until they get there – hence ‘secret’.
London remains the world centre of cutting-edge comedy, with dozens of venues putting on nightly shows. The Comedy Store (1a Oxenden Street, SW1Y 4EE) remains the city’s biggest temple to the chuckling arts. It offers at least one show every day, using the traditional format of multiple short performances. The nearby Soho Theatre (21 Dean Street, W1D 3NE) specialises in one-act shows, giving comedians time and space to deliver longer sets.
Not all the best comedy is hogged by the centre of town, however. The Angel Comedy Club above the Camden Head pub (2 Camden Passage, N1 8DY) fills up every night for a free show. The venue should not be confused with The Camden Head (100 Camden High Street, NW1 0LU), whose tiny upstairs room has played host to such luminaries as Stewart Lee, Alan Carr, Russell Howard and… me (ludicrously wrapped in tin foil for a space-themed gig). The whole area goes stand-up mad each August, as the Camden Fringe gives comedians a chance to try out material for Edinburgh.
London’s oldest-running comedy club is south of the river in Greenwich. Up The Creek (302 Creek Road, SE10 9SW) was founded in 1991 by Malcolm Hardee, the man credited with inventing the phrase ‘alternative comedy’. It still puts on top shows every weekend, followed by a disco.
To some, the idea of going to a lecture might seem dry, worthy and the very last thing one might expect to find in a guidebook section called ‘Evening Entertainment’. That would be a shame. London is a world leader in this respect with dozens of venues offering free or cheap access to some of the world’s most erudite minds. I could fill a book on such places, but here’s a selection that spans some of the great variety in formats. Note that times may vary, but 7pm is typical of most.
The Lost Lectures
Various mystery locations
The site-specific lead pioneered by the likes of Punchdrunk and Secret Cinema is increasingly spilling over into other forms of entertainment. The Lost Lectures uses a mystery venue to put on short, punchy talks by unusual characters, lubricated by quirky musical acts and a general party vibe. The sessions take place every few months – one previous show made use of a forgotten ballroom in Alexandra Palace – with previous speakers including Carol Ann Duffy, Ruby Wax and Simon Singh.
Royal Observatory, Greenwich, has an impressive nocturnal trick. Every night, from 4pm until midnight, it fires a laser beam northwards along the Meridian Line. To see it, you need to be somewhere along that line, or within a few hundred feet either side: Greenwich riverfront, or the area around the O2 arena are also good options.
21 Albemarle Street, W1S 4BS (Green Park)
With its stuccoed Corinthian facade and unhelpfully ambiguous name, the RI can seem a little off-putting if you’ve never stepped inside before. It is, however, an unquenchable source of discovery and curiosity. Famously, ten chemical elements were discovered in this building, and 14 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to its scientists. These and other stories are told in its small basement museum, but this is first and foremost an arena for public talks from top scientists. You might recognise the plush auditorium from the RI’s televised Christmas Lectures, the selfsame stage upon which Michael Faraday wowed Victorian audiences. Today, you can expect the likes of Brian Cox, Alice Roberts and Steven Pinker to fill that space. Literally marvellous.
London School of Economics
Houghton Street, WC2A 2AE (Temple or Holborn)
You can practically get a free education in the social sciences from LSE, such is the calibre and frequency of its free public lectures. The university attracts speakers from all over the globe, including world leaders and well-known politicians, to its stage. This is an immense public service that doesn’t get the wide recognition it deserves. What’s more, the organisers are on the ball when it comes to dissemination. Nearly all events are filmed and put on to YouTube, with a suggested hashtag to get conversation going on Twitter.
Thinking Bob
Various locations (https://www.thinkingbob.co.uk)
Thinking Bob is representative of a growing trend for meetup groups that attract like-minded individuals to the same place for a drink, natter and usually a talk or quiz. There are many examples to be found on sites like meetup.com, but this group seems to be growing faster than most. Events include a debate about whether debate is dead, a walking talk/tour/sampler around Borough Market and a popular night where you do the talking, on random themes... to strangers.