Things to do in London this week

This year’s BFI London Film Festival will kick off on Wednesday, with Rian Johnson’s new Knives Out movie Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery at the Royal Festival Hall. From there, the UK’s biggest film festival will be pressing play on 11 days and nights of movies, big and small, at cinemas and venues across London. Very much not a festival that’s just for the critics, snobs and VIPs, the LFF remains the most accessible of the world’s big film festivals. Which means you’ve got every chance of scoring seats to its packed line-up of new movies when tickets go on sale on September 16 (earlier for BFI members). 

Get a dose of hip hop history at Somerset House this autumn, where the first major solo exhibition from British photographer Jennie Baptiste will be displayed. Having photographed everyone from NAS, to Jay Z, Estelle and Biggie Smalls, Baptiste’s work spanning the last three decades has been at the forefront of R&B, hip hop, fashion and youth culture, as she documented the influence of Black British communities on culture and art from the 1990s to today. 

Frieze Sculpture returns for another year, transforming Regent's Park, one of London's prettiest green spaces, into a massive outdoor gallery. Expect massive sculptures curated by Fatoş Üstek, on the theme of ‘In the Shadows’, which means they'll be engage with the idea of darkness from many perspectives, whether that's inner darkness or the interplay between light and obscurity. The exhibition will be complemented by a programme of performances and talks, all free to the public.

Gina opened in the summer of 2025 by husband and wife team Ravneet Gill and Mattie Taian, after months of renovations, setbacks and test recipes. Collectively, the couple have spent over 15 years working in London’s most acclaimed kitchens (St John, The Camberwell Arms and Black Axe Mangal to name a few), but Ravneet is probably best known for her time judging on Junior Bake Off. What they’ve done at Gina has truly put Epping Forest on the gastronomic map. Sweet monkfish cooked with bacon and oak leaf is swirled with crunchy pistachio butter and refreshing mint. The daily special of Highland beef rump and café de Paris butter is mopped up with triple-cooked chips, and ‘Gina’s Pasta’ is a damn good plate of spaghetti in a rich and comforting marinara sauce. Gina’s chocolate cake is a must order: a light but indulgent sponge, swimming in chocolate sauce. It’s a local landmark. 

Tracy Letts’s 2018 play embraces and subverts bio-drama cliches. It’s the story of an alcoholic woman who lives a hard life, largely as a result of being the daughter of an alcoholic woman who also lived a hard life. Did Mary Page Marlowe ever have a chance? What sets it apart is the way Letts has chosen to tell the story. Instead of a linear narrative, Mary Page Marlowe covers the eponymous midwestern Boomer’s entire life in 11 scenes that run in a non-linear fashion and rather than a single big central role, the title part is performed by five actors. Two of the Mary Pages are famous – Andrea Riseborough and Susan Sarandon and chopping and changing lead actors without aligning their performances creates an exquisite corpse of a life story, that speaks to the idea that none of us are one single person throughout our lives. It’s a smart piece of writing. 

Comedian Lenny Henry, actor and musician Jordan Stephens, MP Dawn Butler, Strictly dancer Oti Mabuse, TV presenter June Sarpong and Olympian Dame Denise Lewis are some of the big names on the line-up for this book festival aiming to banish barriers to entry into the publishing industry. Taking over the Barbican for its fifth edition, it features a jam-packed programme of talks, panel discussions and workshops that will help aspiring authors to navigate everything from securing an agent to writing engaging dialogue, plus film screenings, readings from bestselling authors, a kids’ zone with storytelling and music sessions, and a marketplace where you can stock up on new reads by Black authors from across the globe and in just about every genre imaginable. 

Cecil Beaton was a jack of all trades and master of many, bringing his inimitable touch to the worlds of fashion illustration, photography, costume design, writing and more. While most exhibitions covering his glittering career touch on all sides of his creative world, none has ever looked solely at his ground-breaking fashion work – until now. ‘Cecil Beaton’s Fashionable World’ will do just that via some of his most dazzling outfits that defined the Jazz Age or shone on screen in the likes of ‘My Fair Lady’.

The producers of Kew Gardens’ beloved Christmas trail are behind this spooky-themed train for Halloween, which leads people on an illuminated path through the iconic botanical gardens. Expect eerie illuminated trees, ghoulish installations, fire performers and more, with a troupe of actors on hand to stoke up our horrors (in a family-friendly way, of course).

This renowned annual photography exhibition returns to the Natural History Museum for its 61st edition, showcasing the very best entries of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. On display are images of the most extraordinary species on the planet captured by professional and amateur photographers. This year’s entries are TBA right now, but the winners are reliably spectacular – pictured is last year’s champion Shane Gross, whose mesmirising underwater shot of western toad tadpoles involved snorkelled for hours in a lake on Vancouver Island, making sure not to disturb fine layers of silt and algae at the bottom. Don’t miss what is always a highlight in the NHM’s calendar.

Like many of Shakespeare’s deeper cuts, Troilus and Cressida is a bizarre (bordering on broken) play that is clearly only performed (sporadically) in the twenty-first century because of who its author is. It’s handy to appreciate the historical context of Shakespeare’s cynical remix of the Iliad. The late Elizabethans really dug the Trojan War. And they also dug the tale of Troilus and Cressida, a tragic love story set during said conflict that was invented in mediaeval times that has faded into obscurity bar this one play. Owen Horsley’s production turns the whole thing into something that resembles a demented reality TV show, as Achilles’s dishevelled, dishonourable Greeks square up to Hector’s slick tracksuit-clad Trojans. It’s a rewarding production, an engaging mix of jet-black cynicism and unfettered silliness.

Bloomsbury has got a formidable reputation for artsy goings on, with bohemian artists and writers making it their stamping ground a century ago, and this weekend of music, theatre, talks, walks and much more celebrates that legacy. Look out for a musical celebration of the local area's past and present, exhibitions by artists including New Wave prize-winning artist Beth McAlester, contemporary jazz from J.A.M. String Collective and theatre works including Up In The Mango Trees, which follows a young disabled woman competing for the title of Carnival Queen in Saint Lucia. 

Have your brain tickled by talks from the smarties at top universities and scientific institutions, and get interactive with some hands-on experiences that bring the latest research to life at this bonanza of geekery hosted by world-leading science and technology magazine New Scientist. A host of leading thinkers will be appearing across the weekend festival, including This is Going to Hurt author Adam Kay, biomedical scientist and TikToker Big Manny, Springwatch’s Chris Packham, GP and TV presenter Dr Zoe Williams and novelist Naomi Alderman, while highlights of the workshop programme include a scientific whisky tasting with drinks expert Billy Abbott, a forensics session with a serving police detective, and a microbiome testing lab where you can learn about the science behind fermentation.

South London's much loved literary knees-up is back this October with a stellar 10-day line-up packed with events from over 100 speakers. Big names including Rupert Everett, Jung Chang, Irvine Welsh, Lemn Sissay, Jay Rayner, and Anthony Horowitz will make an appearance, ready to hobnob with their fans in intimate talks. There'll also be an emphasis on politics and misinformation this year, with experts including Tim Berners-Lee and Nick Clegg. Plus, a partnership with Lahore Literary Festival will showcase South Asian creatives, with speakers including broadcaster Reeta Chakrabarti, Women’s Prize shortlisted authors Nussaibah Younis and Sanam Mahloudji.

Triangle of Sadness and Babygirl breakout star Harris Dickinson steps behind the camera for a bruising, brilliantly strange debut that channels veteran auteurs like Jonathan Glazer and Andrea Arnold, while carving out a distinctive voice all its own. Written by Dickinson himself, Urchin draws on his experiences growing up around people dealing with addiction and mental illness. It lulls you into a sense of comfort before punching you hard in the ribs. Already an actor of note, the princely Urchin crowns Dickinson as a serious new filmmaking voice too.

Peter Doig is one of the greatest living painters, an artist whose approach to hazy, memory-drenched figuration has had an enormous impact on the visual landscape of today. For his show at the Serpentine, he’s going well beyond the canvas, filling the gallery with speaker systems to explore the impact of music on his work. Does DJ-set-meets-art-exhibition sound like your idea of hell? Mine too, but it’s Doig, so it just might work. Maybe.

Looking for a wholesome, creative night out that doesn’t involve a hangover (unless you BYOB)? Token Studio in Tower Bridge offers relaxed, hands-on ceramics classes where you can spin, shape and decorate your own pottery piece. Whether you fancy throwing a pot on the wheel (£32) or painting a pre-made mug or plate (£23), it’s the perfect mix of fun, mindful and surprisingly therapeutic. And to top it all off, you can sip while you sculpt as it’s BYOB and super chill.

Buy a Token Studio session from just £23, only through Time Out Offers. 

Hidden somewhere between a theme park, an escape room and a real-life video game, Phantom Peak isn’t just your average day out. This open-world adventure based in Canada Water invites you to explore a fictional steampunk town at your own pace, chatting to quirky characters, uncovering mysteries and slowly piecing together your own story.

With 11 unique trails, a rotating calendar of seasonal storylines, and a cast of live actors guiding your experience, no two visits are ever the same.

Get discounted adult tickets exclusively through Time Out Offers

Kerry James Marshall is an artist with a singular vision. He has become arguably the most important living American painter over the past few decades, with an ultra-distinctive body of work that celebrates the Black figure in an otherwise very ‘Western’ painting tradition. This big, ambitious show will be a joyful celebration of his lush, colourful approach to painting.

If you fancy switching things up a bit and find yourself near Borough, why not roll up your sleeves at Comptoir Bakery's London Bridge workshop space? Choose from sessions where you’ll learn to craft buttery croissants and pain au chocolat, the cult-favourite Brionuts, or delicate tartelettes. Expert bakers—trained under culinary legends—will guide you through every step, from mixing the dough to perfecting the fillings. You’ll also nab a slick £20 apron to keep and plenty of fresh pastries to take home. Starting at just £69 per person or £118 for two, with over 30% off, it’s a delicious way to spend a few hours.

Get discounted workshop sessions, only through Time Out Offers