Your February in London sorted: All the art, theatre and culture
Whether you want to watch a bear maul many men or see a play for the ages, this month London has the culture for you.
Watch Bernie Sanders get angry
Everyone’s favourite mitten-wearing Presidential candidate takes to the Southbank Centre stage this month to do a talk on the pitfalls of capitalism. The Southbank is no stranger to pulling in the big-hitters, having hosted Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton. His book holds power to account, asking questions about wealth, democracy and the super rich influencing elections. He’s a decent public speaker too, so this is bound to be a thought provoking evening.
The Lehman Trilogy
This epic tale spanning three generations of one American family won the Tony Award for best play and has enjoyed a massively successful run in the UK. It tells the tale of the Lehman Brothers business, beginning with the story of a young immigrant arriving in America in the 1800s through to the success of the business and its descent into bankruptcy which sparked the financial crash of 2008. Now at the Gillian Lynne Theatre.
London Fashion Week
It’s not only for style big-wigs: tickets to many of the catwalks and fashion events are available to the public. It’s also a misconception to think you need tickets to London Fashion Week events: throughout Soho you’ll notice fashion bloggers gather outside the major parties to photograph attendees. There’s a swell of interest that can be felt even if you aren’t on the list to the hottest parties.
Pancake Day
After all the discourse about weight loss in January it’s refreshing when February rolls around and we can get excited about lard-filled desserts. Pancake Day was traditionally about getting rid of all the bad things before Lent, and for some it still is. For others it’s a nice excuse to flip some pancakes and experiment with delicious recipes.
Orchids at Kew Gardens
If you’ve tried to grow them at home but failed miserably, don’t worry, the experts at Kew Gardens have made them flower beautifully so you can just stare wistfully at them. This year’s Orchids at Kew Gardens festival is inspired by the biodiversity of Cameroon, where the plants grow in rainforests, on desert plains and on volcanic mountains.
“Cameroon is home to some of the world’s most delicate and threatened orchids – some so rare their locations must be kept secret for their protection,” says the organisation.
“Visit our central display at the heart of the glasshouse for a chance to see some of the Cameroonian orchids we care for here at Kew.”
Cocaine Bear
Bear with us here, but yes, a real life bear did accidentally (?) snort a load of cocaine and get really high. What probably didn’t happen, however, is most of the contents of this film, loosely based on the true event. Cocaine Bear is a dark comedy thriller about an American brown bear that ransacks a small Georgian town murdering people, all ‘cause he’s high. Locals gang together to work out how to keep a giant bear on party drugs away from their children.
History tour
You’ll have noticed faded signs on the sides of buildings if you’ve lived in London for a while. They’re palpable connections to our pasts, eerily reminiscent of a different era of advertising. There are a huge number of these ‘ghost signs’ in Islington, and Jane Parker runs a two-hour walk this Sunday taking in some of the most spectacular historical signs, starting on Upper Street and ending near Angel Station, from 11am – 1pm.
Women abstract artists
Like most things in life, the most-remembered abstract painters are men: Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning to name a few. But – surprise surprise – woman made a huge impact too, and haven’t been given half the credit they deserve. This new Whitechapel Gallery exhibition features “overlooked” work from 81 international female artists in the aftermath of the Second World War.
Expect gorgeous explosions of colour and shape from women including Lee Krasner, Helen Frankenthaler, Mozambican-Italian artist Bertina Lopes. This is one of the must-see shows of the month.