Culture corner: What’s going on in the City this November?
There are a wealth of events, gigs, historical talks, comedy shows and concerts throughout November. Get your culture fix now before the Christmas party season drinks up your time and take advantage of what the City has to offer on the days you’ve commuted into the office.
Pop into the Barbican Library in your lunch hour for an illustrated talk by Nick Dobson about the extensive travels of Agatha Christie on 10 November from 11-12pm before wandering around the Gallery and learning more about the world and work of Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi, a creative polymath and the focus of the current exhibition Noguchi. You might then want to go to a free lunchtime concert at 1pm with Violinist Elina Buksha and Pavel Kolesnikov as part of the City Music Foundation in the stunning Barts Great Hall.
The Barbican has a full programme of events as always. The Half-Six Fix concerts are back with the London Symphony Orchestra performing Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony on 10 November; the Royal Shakespeare Company presents The Comedy of Errors from 16 November and Jamie Hale presents CRIPtic Pit Party, on the 19 and 20 November, comprising a mixed bill of creative, political and responsive work by d/Deaf and disabled performers.
Enjoy a locally delivered pizza whilst listening to live music at Piano Smithfield from Wednesday to Saturday or gigs at the Bootlegger off Lime Street every Thursday and Friday evening.
Over at the Vortex on 29 November you can catch the first gig for a brand new project by bassist Calum Gourlay, playing hard swinging originals and selected tunes by Thelonious Monk.
Every night throughout November Village Underground will feature a different artist, with genres ranging from from rap to electronica. On Wednesday 10 November Pitchfork Music Festival presents Mykki Blanco. These rappers have cycled through multiple musical identities and genres, always prioritizing creative exploration over any particular niche. Jamie Irrepressible returns on the 15 November and the Nine8 Collective, a London based arts and music collective comprised of a range of young musicians, rappers, artists and other creative individuals, perform there on Monday 29 November.
At the Pleasance Theatre there is a wide variety of comedy, theatre and cabaret throughout November. On the 14 November I Stand for what I Stand on explores the reality of growing up in the shadow of a climate crisis. On the 25 November join Lou Sanders, one of Britain’s fastest-rising and most original comedians, and on the 29 November there is a Gala for World AIDS Day.
A stone’s throw away at the Hope Theatre until 6 November is a run of Skin Tight, directed by Max Kirk. Now is the time to be supporting these young creatives and this ‘little theatre with big ideas’ is giving them valuable opportunities. Similarly, The Fidelio Cafe introduces Jazz Mondays with performances by Guildhall Students on the 1 and 22 November. Pianist Gabriele Carcano delivers his eighth (16 and 17 November) and ninth (23 November) installments of the Beethoven Piano Sonatas. Also at the Fidelio Cafe, celebrate with composer Cevanne as her album Welcome Party is released, featuring members of the London Symphony Orchestra. Come to her tea party with the LSO musicians playing live at 4pm on 20 November. If Surrey Quays is on your commute home, the very cool venue Printworks is hosting La Discotheque on Friday 5 November. Lineup: Todd Terje, Artwork, Greg Wilson, Prins Thomas, PBR Streetgang, Felix Dickinson, DJ Paulette and more. Later in the month, the inimitable Aurora Orchestra performs on Thursday 11 November. Aurora will play from memory within the vast scale of the Printworks Press Halls to give a uniquely immersive experience of Beethoven’s Symphony No 7.