Scout London Preview by Scout London

ART & CULTURE • COMEDY • FILM • FOOD & DRINK • LGBT • MUSIC • SHOPPING • SPORT & FITNESS • THEATRE

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LIMITED EDITION COLLECTORS’ ISSUE TUESDAY MARCH 06>12 2012

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London’s Best Burgers Emeli Sandé | Tapas, Brixton style | Subversive theatre | Alfresco swimming

MAKE LIFE MORE COLOURFUL Uniqlo's Colour Ankle Length Skinnies £29.90 SHOP ONLINE AT UNIQLO.COM

Regulars 7 Scouted The Big Ten, Secret Cash Machines, Last Chance London, #loveScout and more 12 Talent Scout Singer Allison Pierce guides us through Bethnal Green plus a profile of artist Adam Hemuss 21 London by Lamé Amy finds even the French are singing the praises of London, and then bumps into Grayson Perry in Bloomsbury

Cover Story

COVER: davidjwbailey / PHOTOGRAPHY: idrinkgoodbeer.com

14 London’s Best Burger Scout London sets out to crown the capital’s king of burgers

The Big Picture 25 London Drinker Beer & Cider Fesitval March 7-9, Camden Centre

Sections 23 28 30 36 38 40 44 46 48 56 58 62

London Shopping Food & Drink Art & Culture Comedy Film DVD/Download LGBT Music Sport & Fitness Theatre Hindsight

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D o Ya T h i n g

DOWNLOAD THE TRACK CONVERSE.CO.UK

Scouted

BIG

Give it some bun love

Meet a brewster

ben norum / quinnford + scout / idil sukan / judaH passow / james o jenkins / maxine stonehill

We’ve done the hard work so you don’t have to - read our guide to the best burgers in the city and then change your perception of this once-humble fast food  p14

 Honest Burgers burger

Drink London at the London Drinker Beer & Cider Festival, which boats a host of capital brews and 70 imported tipples  p25

Brush up from your Ay-yay-yay to your zhlub with the No Place Like Home exhibition at the Jewish Museum  p37

Leave your comfort zone Put your inhibitions aside and get involved with comedian Adam Riches’ latest show - be warned, it’s not for the faint-hearted  p38

Brace yourself Take your breath away with an alfresco dip  p56 Meet the new kid on the block  p36

Have it your way  p46

Cake pops. Say no more  p35

Shop vintage style  p28

Experience Georgian food  p31 scoutlondon.com Scout London

Scouted //SECRET CASH//////////////////////////////////////////////// MACHINES OF LONDON////////////////////////////////////// LONDON BRIDGE STATION upon completion, Shard London Bridge will become the building in Europe. The tower is already a dominant ////////////////////////////////// tallest sight on London’s skyline, and with it comes the London Bridge quarter. New buildings, restaurants and - most importantly - a redesigned London Bridge station are all part of the quarter, which, in the planner’s words, “reveal the city’s confidence and capacity for reinvention”. For now though, things are a mess at London Bridge, which was already cramped at the best of times. The WHSmith has moved into a small storefront once occupied by a card shop, many of the food outlets have disappeared, getting a train ticket is a nightmare and cash machines are hard to find. The answer is to head underground to The Vaults, a collection of shops and services nestled in an historic tunnel below the station. you can reach the ATMs via the escalators across from Burger king. At the bottom of the escalator you’ll find the cashpoints to your right, next to Funky Pigeon. The one downside is that you will have the funkypigeon.com song in your head all day, but it’s worth it to avoid the queues.

last chance

LONDON Brightest and Best Half Moon Herne Hill Closes Sat March 10 Christina Mackie: Painting the Weights Chisenhale Gallery Closes Sun March 11 David Shrigley: Arms Fayre Stephen Friedman Gallery Closes Sat March 10 A Few Man Fridays Studio 2 Riverside Studios Closes Sat March 10 The House of Bernarda Alba Almeida Theatre Closes Sat March 10 Janis Avotins iBiD Projects Closes Sat March 10 Julius Caesar Jack Studio Theatre Closes Sat March 10 Love & War ye olde Rose & Crown Closes Sat March 10 Noises Off old Vic Closes Sat March 10 Patience union Theatre Closes Sat March 10

Malaysia’s Tune Hotels has been quietly building up a stable of properties in London to take on the likes of Premier inn and Travelodge. Whereas the large budget chains take a one-size-fits-all approach to hotels, Tune Hotels are individually distinct and work on a pay-as-you-go basis. items are priced a la carte, with a 24-hour wireless internet pass setting you back £3 and towel rental costing £1.50. With a bit of forward planning, Tune Hotels can be booked for the price of a cab home. Scout recently

Scout London scoutlondon.com

bagged a room for £20. Sure, the room doesn’t feature such modern conveniences as a window, but at £20 we’re certainly not complaining. The rooms are compact, clean and comfortable. Tune Hotels are located in Westminster and Liverpool Street, perfect for a night out in Leicester Square or Shoreditch. New locations in king’s Cross and Paddington are due to open this summer. tunehotels.com

The Unilever Series: Tacita Dean Tate Modern Closes Sun March 11 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Natural History Museum Closes Sun March 11 Zarina Bhimji Whitechapel Gallery Closes Fri March 9

RACHEL CLARE / TuNE HoTELS

Tune Hotels offers rooms for the price of a taxi home

‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore Barbican Closes Sat March 10

‘The Art Fund’ is the trading name of the National Art Collections Fund, a charity registered in England and Wales (209174) and Scotland (SC038331). The National ArtPass is issued to Art Fund members, subscriptions start from £50.

ArtUnlimited.

50% off major exhibitions including: Lucian Freud Portraits at the National Portrait Gallery. Picasso and Modern British Art at Tate Britain. Gillian Wearing at the Whitechapel Gallery. Buy your National ArtPass at artfund.org

Music.

Whenever.

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Scouted People’s Supermarket saved from closure

# love

First Capital Connect - you got off at City Thameslink on a Friday and left your umbrella that had the name of a financial news channel on it. i think you smiled at me before you got off. your umbrella is safe. ANoN To the Canadian girl i chatted to at The Maple Leaf. No, i still don’t like hockey but the Moosehead was good. Beer soon? DANNy Boy

Scout & About “Big Society” grocer The People’s Supermarket in Holborn narrowly escaped being closed down thanks to the success of a last minute fundraising campaign. The cooperative supermarket, co-founded by chef Arthur Potts Dawson, was under threat of the bailiffs due to nonpayment of business rates to Camden Council.

The campaign to save the shop included a protest march to Camden Town Hall and an online petition. CEo kate Bull confirmed that the store would continue trading thanks to donations and the supermarket securing a loan. The People’s Supermarket is hopeful that a second location in Hackney will open later this year.

Long-haired pretty lass wearing grey pinstripe suit & the amazing shoes. it was the Circle line. it was last Tuesday. it was me. Fancy that coffee? ANoN

Metro Bank - a recent entrant on the London banking scene has gone to the dogs. in an attempt to appeal to dog owners across the capital, the financial institution has instituted a ‘Dogs Rule’ policy. Not only are four legged friends welcome in the bank’s branches, fresh water bowls and doggie treats are available when they visit. on selected Dogs Rule Weekends, Metro Bank will deposit £20 into your account if you bring Fido in for a wander.

To the lovely gent at Tottenham Court Road station on Mon at about 7pm whose oyster card had ran out of cash. i topped you up. Remember? We could go for that drink... ANoN Bearded guy always drinking coffee and having a smoke in kentish Town with the impressive collection of Nordic jumpers. Can i join you next time? ANoN you were wearing pink sparkly glasses on the 25 bus. i’m the skinny bloke with the beard who almost sat on you. Can i make it up to you over a drink? DRuSTER

RACHEL CLARE

if you know any of these people, let us know and we’ll try to get you in touch. love@scoutlondon.com Spotted someone you fancy in London? #loveScout on Twitter

Scout & About is a weekly column about making the most of London with your canine. Have a tip? E-mail us on woof@scoutlondon.com

APP WATCH

Walking with Dickens Charles Dickens was renowned for walking the streets of London for inspiration, so Scout London and historian Richard Jones have created a series of walking tours celebrating the bicentenary of the author’s birth in 1812. The walks bring to life many of the people and places Dickens knew, and touch on the great

changes that have shaped London in the last 200 years. Best of all, we’ve included café and pub recommendations from locals because Dickens would want you to enjoy a pint while visiting his old haunts. Available FREE on iTunes App Store j.mp/walkdickens

don’t underestimate my boredom scoutlondon.com Scout London

Allison Pierce Singer, Bethnal Green

Scout London Cover Stars #1 Adam Hemuss Artist, West Norwood

12 Scout London scoutlondon.com

What in London inspires you? The general mayhem of central London is massively inspiring to me, from a couple having a domestic on the street to friends catching up in a pub. it’s also the little things that inspire, the jewellery worn by someone, a type of shoe, a tattoo. A single tube journey can give me so much to put into a painting. Any London secrets to share? Looking for that last drink when you should really be going home? Two words: Hanway Street.

Allison Pierce is one half of The Pierces, whose album you & i hit No 4 in the charts. During the promotion of that record Pierce and her sister Catherine made the Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green their home for several months. She is now part of James Levy and The Blood Red Rose, whose album Pray to Be Free was released on Heavenly Recordings this month. You spent a good amount of time in east London promoting You & I last year. Pubs must have come into the picture. What was your favourite? The Royal oak on Columbia Road was our local. it’s very homey with a cool, relaxed vibe. it was near the hotel and had everything you’d want from a pub. Bethnal Green restaurants have taken off over the past few years. Any recommendations? Franze and Evans on Redchurch Street. it’s kind of a brunchy-lunchy place. i’d go there for brunch at the weekends and could not get enough of it. The guy who runs it is italian so you get an italian version of an English breakfast. Very different from

an American brunch. They have a counter with tonnes of fresh salads every day with quinoa and sweet potatoes and french beans. They had really beautiful salads that i’d load my plate up with. How about parks? We’d go to the park on Cambridge Heath Road in Bethnal Green itself. When there was nice weather we’d take a picnic there and spend hours relaxing. And how about shops? Cakehole Café on Columbia Road. They sell tea sets and china and fun things like that. They have a little café in the back where they serve scones and cream teas. Did you catch any gigs in Bethnal Green? Sadly not. We were always working which meant that we didn’t get a chance to catch any shows in the area. Any secret tips? The cinema by Shoreditch House the Aubin Cinema. it’s kind of an art house-y cinema. Very cool. i went there a lot.

Favourite part of London? Soho - i love it. All life is there. i know people say it’s a completely different place from it’s 60s/70s heyday but you can still do a pretty good job of spending 24 hours getting lost in the bars and clubs. How important is London in your work? London and its mass of people all doing their own thing is integral to my work. My latest installation is all about creating the feeling you get when you walk down a street like

oxford Street. The constant stream of people being something you want to get away from but be part of at the same time. What’s next for you? My day job as a TV producer keeps me pretty busy at the moment but i’m working towards a new installation of paintings and prints late spring early/summer. My new son is also demanding quite a bit of my time, but i still manage to paint whenever possible. See more at hemussArt.com

Talent Scout is looking for talented creatives to design the Scout London logo that appears on our cover each week. London-based artists, designers, illustrators, photographers, textile designers, etc, all welcome. interested? Contact talent@scoutlondon.com

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Meaty, bEATY, Big and BoUNcy Often dismissed as mere fast food, the burger has undergone something of a reputation revamp. Ask any one of London’s foodie bloggers what they’re most excited about at the moment, and we’ll bet you a beef patty that a burger comes high up on the list. Scout took its stomach in its hands and set out on a quest to find London’s best. By Ben Norum

This humble snack has its roots in the 15th century but is as timely as it gets right now, with everywhere from the street stall down the road to that Michelin-starred joint in Chelsea priding themselves on their offering. The burger, it seems, can transcend every class boundary there is. Keen to get in on the act, Scout set out to try the range and uncover London’s best burger once and for all. Be it piled high with foie gras or straight-up and greasy, we enquired with enthusiasts, bartered with bloggers and talked over Twitter to find the secrets of the best spots for a hit of the good stuff. If we had been aware of what was going to be in store for us along the way we might have thought twice about it - and less dedicated people would have capitulated at the outset. London’s patty worship is decidedly hardcore. Our first stop is Honest Burgers in the fantastically bohemian Brixton Village, and its offering is as upfront as it gets. There’s a wait outside the restaurant, but we’re kept comfortable with some bottles of beer and the option to get 14 Scout London scoutlondon.com

a phone call to tell us when there’s space. While queuing for anything that isn’t the Post Office seems slightly off to us, our subsequent burgerseeking antics allow us to appreciate just how civilised a procedure this really is. Once inside, we’re treated to Ginger Pig beef encased in a slightly crisp brioche bun, adorned with gooey pre-steamed cheddar and served with some addictive rosemarycoated chips. We’ll be back for those alone. Notes made, photos taken and views voiced, we move on to our next venue and are pleased to get a seat and some shelter at Opera Tavern in Covent Garden. With Iberico pork and foie gras involved, this is a good example of just how far burger-mania has spread. The word slider has been coined as a description of a bite-size burger, but when there’s a £6.50 price tag involved, ‘stingy’ does the job just as well. The problem is, it’s so unctuously smooth, creamy and meat-packed that we can’t fault it. We really want to declare it a rip-off and exile it from our burger shortlist, but we know we’ll return for another one. We’d make it our regular without hesitation if we were feeling just a teeny bit richer. Our next venue is the almighty Meat Liquor, and given that it’s the undisputed church of burger worship, a pilgrimage feels appropriate. It’s the latest opening from the Meat Wagon crew, who ignited London’s burger obsession with their roaming van a couple of years ago and have now upgraded from movable eateries in south east London to bricks and mortar in Marylebone. We

arrive knowing that there’s no reservations and prepared for it to be busy, but we weren’t quite aware that getting your teeth around a bit of meat in modern day London necessitates a gruelling and perilous hour-long wait before being ungracefully ushered in. We questioned whether we were supposed to take the time to emotionally relate to the plight of cows in an abattoir line, but ended on the view that the venue has just deliberately reduced waiting space at the bar because selling a few extra drinks is nowhere near as cool as having a queue out the door. Brilliant. And the burger shaped light at the end of the tunnel? Well, a bit anticlimactic, really. Unless our taste buds were just frozen to the point of being inactive, of course. Lacklustre chips excepted, there’s nothing to really criticise, but the house special Dead Hippy burger containing a mustardy mayo sauce and some gherkin was certainly nothing to write home about. Given that most accounts of Meat Wagon meals go something along the lines of, “I took a bite and then lost control of all my bodily functions with over-excitement and flavour-led pleasure”, we’re sorry to report we left with very dry pants indeed. Not losing sight of our goal, it was time to sideline our feelings of discontent and head off in search of a burger to better the pros, but it’s quite an accolade that we did return to the scene of the crime before the week is out. We did it begrudgingly, and at a peculiar time of day so as to

photography: name / name

he second decade of the third millennium, and never have London’s restaurants been as adventurous, as exciting and as much in-demand as they are now. But for all our thoroughly modern molecular wizardry and crazy kitchen concoctions, there is only one food which could be considered king: the burger.

ben norum

ď&#x20AC;ś Opera Tavern slider

scoutlondon.com Scout London

 Pitt Cue Co. pulled pork burger

avoid the hordes, but there’s only so many times people can rave about the virtues of a buffalo chicken burger before it has to be tried out. Spicy, salty, crispy - it really is very good. Trust Meat Liquor to produce a get out of jail free card at the 11th hour.

ben norum

Chicken turns into duck with a bite of Club Gascon’s award-winning offering, and there’s yet more foie gras to be had, as well. It may be pushing the realms of a burger a bit far, but we appreciate some stellar service and linen tablecloths ahead of standing around at our next venue: Pitt Cue Co. It’s all about the pulled pork rather than traditional burgers here, but given it comes in a bun we reckon it still counts. We face a 25-minute wait, however - with room inside and gin cocktails to be supped on - the holding pen feels like five-star luxury in comparison to our earlier experience. With a generously-filled but refreshingly unfussy bun of pork, lashings of sauces to add at the table and some homemade pickles as a side, we’re in love. There are, of course, more to be tried, though... Bukowski is next on our list, and despite being the smallest venue so far, there’s no wait for a table. Perched on the five-year-pop-up that is Boxpark in Shoreditch, it’s just a little bit more out of the way, though. Bukowski’s owners are the same people responsible for Brixton’s Franco Manca pizzeria, but whether they’ve got the same magic touch where burgers are concerned was about to be put to the test. They certainly have a lot going for them. It’s

the only venue to offer a choice of pulled pork or beef, it has an impressive selection of craft ales, and the triple cooked chips are fantastically crisp and fluffy. The burgers themselves are graced with excellent meat and garnished with spice-led sauces, but the fact that we’re raving more about the chips says a lot. Perhaps we’re just burgered out, though.

66 With some

Oh, and they’re just a few quid, too. Perhaps all this burger loving is rooted in sense after all. Maybe our efforts have been worthwhile. Well, maybe. Having immersed ourselves in the sea of beef dripping that’s flooding London, we’ve found some examples of just how fine this once fast-food can be. But there’s more to it than that. Be it toasted, brioche or plain, that bun carries more than a patty. It brings with it nostalgic memories of childhood snacks, recollections of late night stomach liners and a sense of cheeky disobedience in knowing that a burger really shouldn’t constitute dinner. Will future generations share these feelings, or will the gentrification of the burger spoil it all?

homemade pickles as a side, we’re in love 99 About ready to end our quest and eat vegetables for a month, we know there’s one more place we have to try. In fact, we don’t doubt that we’d be lynched by the blogging masses if we didn’t include Lucky Chip in our round-up. Gaining renown at Netil Market in Hackney, these guys have echoed Meat Wagon in creating a pop-up 50s-style American diner atop a nearby pub. The burgers are appropriately messy, pickle-filled and generously stuffed, getting us a teeny bit excited along the way.

Quite frankly it’s all a little deep for us right now we’re just happy to indulge and wave a greasy flag in acknowledgement that London is fast becoming the capital of burgers this side of the Atlantic. In the words of the master - we’re lovin’ it. Oh, but do know that if anyone ever asks us to queue up outside for an hour in the cold in order to get a tasty meat snack, we’ll tell them to burger right off. But perhaps not as politely as that. scoutlondon.com Scout London

to BEEF OR NoT TO beef If all this talk of burgers is bringing the less carnivorous of you out in uncomfortable meat sweats, then fear not. There’s life in the burger beyond beef with these tempting meat-free versions to be found around town.

 Club Gascon duck fois gras club burger

OuR ToP 10: DRumroll, Please...

Lucky Chip Hackney, E2 9AG Currently residing in The Sebright Arms pub, where you’ll find oozy, juicy, gherkin laden burgers, contented faces and messy chins.

Honest Burgers Brixton, SW9 8PR Glazed bun, steamed cheddar, meat from Ginger Pig, chorizo from Brindisa. It’s as simple as that, really.

Goodman’s Steak House Mayfair, W1S 1QH Goodman’s knows its meat, and while the medium-rare beef patty is the starring role, a crisp brioche bun makes a perfect pedestal. Ben’s Canteen Battersea, SW11 1SL Packed full of all the trimmings you’d expect, along with one you wouldn’t: homemade corned beef. It works.

Bukowski Shoreditch, E1 6GY The ‘Mother F’ features two patties, Double Gloucester cheese, streaky bacon, oven dried tomatoes and onion chutney. F must be for fancy.

Meat Liquor Marylebone, W1G 0AY The crispy, hot-sauce slathered buffalo chicken burger is the high point here. And not just because it means you can legitimately have both chicken nuggets and a burger.

Club Gascon Clerkenwell, EC1A 9DS This rather posh burger offering eschews beef in favour of duck, whilst a slab of foie gras on top beats the proverbial cherry hands down.

18 Scout London scoutlondon.com

The Veggie Table With food almost as fun as its name, this Borough Market stall is a safe bet for all things meat-free. Try their Heavenly Halloumi burger, which comes with organic carrots, courgettes, fresh mint and coriander as well as a guarantee that it will blow your mind. Not sure what trade descriptions will make of that... theveggietable.co.uk

Hawksmoor Spitalfields, E1 6BJ This is the original brooding burger bar, and with stuff like bone marrow and beef shoulder clod included in their mince, how could it possibly fail? Joe Allen’s Covent Garden, WC2E 7DT There’s not even a burger on the menu here, it’s a secret which you have to ask for. A brioche bun bursting with bacon, cheese and beef is your reward, along with a side order of super-cool points.

Lucky 7 Tucked away in Westbourne Park, this tiny east coast American-style diner serves up a mean veggie burger packed with mozzarella, roasted pepper, artichokes and a basil pesto. The milkshakes are worth a slug, too. lucky7london.co.uk

ben norum

Opera Tavern Covent Garden, WC2B 5JS Slider-sized buns crammed with Iberico pork and enough foie gras to clog the arteries of the Channel Tunnel are worthy of being named London’s best.

Haché This is a burger joint with a passion for being a bit different, as well as for places beginning with the letter ‘c’. Head down to branches in Camden, Clapham or Chelsea for a tuna steak burger, or their vegetarian option which swaps a beef patty with a Portobello mushroom. hacheburgers.com

“Brace yourself and go see it” Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York.

★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ Time Out

Empire

Little White Lies

“Rigourously observed & impressively acted”

★★★★ In Cinemas &

Tom Dawson, Total Film

Now

See artificial-eye.com/michael for details

18 | CONTAINS CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE THEME

None so keen as the converted By Amy Lamé oNDoN is an amazing city… is that a cliché? if it is, then call me the queen of regurgitating the bleedin’ obvious. i came to the Big Smoke nearly 20 years ago, and have never regretted my move for a moment; there’s none so keen as the converted, after all. i grew up in New Jersey, in the shadow of Manhattan’s glittering heights; but living there never appealed to me. NyC fancies itself the most cosmopolitan, hip and cultured city on the planet, but i have news for you Big Apple losers - it’s London what wins it. Even the French agree, and that’s saying something. A recent issue of Le Monde declared 2012 to be “L’Année Britannique”. The Royal Wedding last year, according to the paper, was just a warm-up. The Diamond Jubilee, the olympics, and …umm… the olympics - in 2012 London is the oNLy place to see and be seen. Hey, if our friends over the Channel are crossing to ogle and pay homage to les rosbifs, then we must be doing something right. But London doesn’t need big, glamorous events to draw visitors; it’s the everyday that makes this city so special. one of my favourite pastimes is to pretend i’m a tourist (this is easier to achieve than you may suspect; my American accent means

FREuD ARCHiVES / STEVE BoWBRiCk

i have been mistaken for a lost Winnie from Wisconsin more times than i care to remember). Just last week i found myself in Battersea, a genteel area of the capital i rarely visit. i was in search of a recommended posh pizza joint, which turned out to be closed. So i made my way to nearby Northcote Road for a nose around and a nosh. in between dodging yummy mummies carrying yoga mats and pushing double baby buggies, i discovered an adorable boutique

dedicated to all things apiary (that’s bees to you and me). The Hive Honey Shop is a magical place full of dozens of honey varieties, beeswax candles, pollen based medicaments, cosmetics, sweets and just about anything with a bee motif. inside the shop is a 5ft high, glass-fronted beehive, home to 20,000 live bees. The honey they produce from local flowers is super tasty too - the gardens of SW11 obviously have a higher class of garden plant.

it was an unexpected moment like this - finding a quirky, independent thriving hiving shop - that reinforces London as the most fabulous city in the world. ok, bees in Battersea might not be your cup of honey sweetened tea, but you get the idea, right? Perhaps the world of transvestite ceramicists is more your thing. if you didn’t get to see the Grayson Perry exhibition at the British Museum, you’re too late - it closed last week. Shame on you if you didn’t go; it was one of the most life affirming shows ever. i particularly loved his “Walk around Bloomsbury” vase, inspired by the neighborhood he lives in. it just so happens to be my neighborhood, too. i said to my girlfriend “wouldn’t it be amazing if we see Grayson Perry walking around Bloomsbury one day.” We left the museum, and headed home. As we crossed Southampton Row, we BuMPED iNTo GRAySoN PERRy!!! He stopped, chatted, and showed us his (in)famous teddy bear Alan Measles. i think Mr Measles would make a great Mayor of London. He’s got a shabby chic look about him, is old and wise, and has more pizzazz in his tatty little paw than Boris Johnson does in his whole body. Let the campaign start here Measles for Mayor!

OVERHEARD LONDON

At the Lucian Freud exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, in the room with all the “Big Sue” paintings. Father to daughter, in front of a gigantic 6ft by 6ft painting of a nude 24 stone woman: “I’m not sure what I’m meant to be looking at.”

REASONS TO LOVE LONDON

#001

i eventually got my pizza; the good people at Maletti on Noel St in Soho came to my rescue. i think it may be the best outside Rome, and the guy behind the counter always cuts me a slice with a little extra topping; he knows i have a curvaceous figure to keep. i am sure “Big Sue” would approve. scoutlondon.com Scout London

London

featured

Equals Live 2012

WOW - Women of the World Festival March 9-11, Southbank Centre The Southbank Centre will become the focus of a global festival celebrating women’s achievements, joining Brisbane and Baltimore in a feminine fiesta. WOW - Women of the World Festival - draws together talks, debates, music, film, comedy and conversations with the aim of breaking down barriers to success, showcasing great talents and

highlighting achievement in fields such as science, enterprise, law, politics, sport, fashion, finance and family life On the programme there will be discussion on everything from female board members and how to ask for a pay rise to domestic violence, global finance and vajazzling. Speakers include Ruby Wax,

Mirth Control March of the Women 2012

Emmy The Great

March 11, Royal Festival Hall, £15-25, 19.30

sony music entertainment / EMI

One of the highlights of last year’s WOW returns as Sandi Toksvig hosts a night of comedy, stories and music inspired by great women. Featuring Jo Brand, Sharon D Clarke, Jane Glover, Lucy Parham, Mary King, Stevie Wishart and comedian-turnedconductor Sue Perkins, who conducts an all-woman orchestra in the suffragette-composer Dame Ethel Smyth’s brilliant March of the Women.

March 11, Queen Elizabeth Hall, £14-16, 20.00 If the comedy of Sandi Toksvig et al isn’t quite your cup of tea, then don’t miss Emmy The Great, who will be performing songs from her new album Virtue. Taking the form of a series of personal myths that she refers to as ‘digital medieval’, Emmy confronts her life without fear, accompanied by a string section that creates a strange, ambient, twisted and atmospheric music.

March 9, Royal Festival Hall, From £35, 19.30

Mumsnet co-founder Justine Roberts, the Deputy Editor of The Economist Emma Duncan, women’s business empowerment guru Lynne Franks, campaign group Liberty’s Shami Chakrabarti and activist Eve Ensler. There’s also music, comedy and more, so with 90 events over the three days, Scout has picked its top tips for the weekend.

This special one-off awareness raising concert features Katy B, Jess Mills and Emeli Sandé performing on stage with host Annie Lennox. Billed as a night of passionate song, powerful words and exceptional talent, it will recognise women’s accomplishments and raise awareness of the inequalities and challenges faced by women around the world.

Birds Eye View Sound and Silents: Mary Pickford Revived March 9, Purcell Room, £15, 20.00 Birds Eye View, the UK’s leading celebration of women filmmakers, returns with another programme of specially-commissioned live music to silent film. Celebrating screen icon and movie mogul Mary Pickford, three female composers (Tanya Auclair, Anna Meredith and Roshi) premiere their new scores live to three silent films. Pickford was the first actress not only to produce her own work but also have complete control of advertising, choice of directors and final cut. Hear the sounds of today meet the pictures of a century ago in this rich and exciting line up.

scoutlondon.com Scout London 23

Conceived and designed by Marks Barfield Architects Operated by the London Eye Company Limited, a Merlin Entertainments Group Company

CHAMPAGNE ExPEriENCEs Bliss uncorked Save 10% online at www.londoneye.com

enjoy more than the view

London

featured

London Drinker Beer & Cider Festival March 7-9, Camden Centre London Drinker e of the Beer & Cider Festival, on er festivals, be g nin run st ge capital’s lon ntre this week. Run comes to the Camden Ce nch of CAMRA for the by the North London Bra al brings the thirsty past 28 years, the festiv n of ales and ciders Londoner a huge selectio r afield in the uk, the from London and fur ported as well as around 70 im beers.

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WEDNESDAY MARCH 7 12.00-15.00, 17 .00-22.30 THURSDAY M AR 12.00-15.00, 17 CH 8 .00-22.30 FRIDAY MARC H9 12.00-22.30 Lunchtimes on Wednesday an d Thursday are fr ee; £3.50 at other times

Great-y Perry With many of Britain’s pear orchards disappearing, CAMRA has been concerned about the declining production of perry (cider made with pears). The festival aims to champion the endangered perry by bringing it to centre stage with around 12 different varieties from across the uk. Fans of apple cider haven’t been forgotten, with 17 real ciders on offer including one matured in a rum cask which sounds both delicious and deadly.

quiNNFoRD + SCouT

Brewsters

Think that making beer is an entirely male occupation? The fes tival aims to redress the balance and celebrate the industry’s female brewe rs, or brewsters as they’re correctly known. Festival organiser Christine Cryne said, “W e wanted to make it clear that beer is not all male dominated so amongst the 70 plus beers we have four breweries - Brewsters, Mo nty, off Beat and Triple F - all of whom have at least one female brewer.”

scoutlondon.com Scout London 25

More sharks than ever before

Shark Reef Encounter at

Save 10% when you book online at sealifelondon.co.uk

London ONGOING

recommended WEDNESDAY MARCH 7 Pub Piano Singalong at the Coach and Horses, W1D 5DH Leicester Square FREE, 19.30. old fashioned sing-song, just like your grandparents used to do. But in a better setting. Disney on Ice: Princesses and Heroes at Wembley Arena, HA9 0DW Wembley Park/Wembley Central £18-43, 18.30. Disney moments brought to life on ice. Princesses and heroes reenact scenes from Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, and more.

Big Egg Hunt at various locations, FREE. Giant search throughout London for 200 large ceramic eggs specially designed by leading artists and designers.

TUESDAY MARCH 6

Pongathon at Rich Mix, E1 6LA Shoreditch High Street FREE, 17.00. Alcohol, music and competition table tennis: together at long last.

A Celebration of Classic US TV Dickens Dramas at BFi Southbank, SE1 8XT Waterloo £5-9.50, 18.10. Rare Dickens material from the States. These small screen features span from animation and Christmas specials to works inspired by Dickens’ classic novels.

THURSDAY MARCH 8 Bang Said The Gun Poetry Night at The Roebuck, SE1 4YG Borough From £2, 20.30. Stand up poetry event for the quirky, the shy, and the aspiring. Speed Friending Walk at St. Paul’s Station, EC2V 6AA St. Paul’s £15, 18.00. Explore a mix of old churchyards, City gardens, and modern architecture, before grabbing a pint at a City pub with your newly made friends. Advance booking required j.mp/SFWalk The Hendricks Lecture at The Last Tuesday Society E8 4RP London Fields £10, 19.00. in case you ever wondered how to preserve the bodies of dead animals, this week’s quirky lecture on taxidermy has you covered. What It Means to be Human at The Royal Society, SW1Y 5AG Piccadilly Circus FREE, 18.00. An exploration of the boundaries of human nature, chaired by Sir Paul Nurse PRS, with four eminent panellists addressing from their own perspectives ‘what it means to be human’.

FRIDAY MARCH 9 Move It 2012 at olympia, W14 8UX Kensington (Olympia) From £13.50, Family packages available, 10.00. Pick up some tips on moving those feet, with this weekend-long dance festival featuring stage shows, seminars, and workshops. Scheduled celebrity appearances include kimberly Wyatt and Bonnie Langford.

Friday Night Skate at Wellington Arch, W1J 7JZ Hyde Park Corner FREE, 20.00. Strap on your skates for this weekly marshalled tour of London. Bring your own skates or hire a pair at a shop nearby.

SATURDAY MARCH 10 Alternative London Tour at Spitalfields Market, E1 6DT Liverpool Street FREE (tips welcomed), 12.00, 15.00. This tour runs four day a week taking in East London’s street art scene, looking at the history of the area and how it is changing. International Women’s Fair 2012 at Spitalfields Traders Market, E1 6AA Liverpool Street FREE, 10.00. international Women’s Week culminates with an all-day fair featuring artists, book publishers, craftswomen, designers, and various women’s groups and organisations. Circus Space Circus Experience at Circus Space, N1 6HD Old Street £45-59, 14.30. Before your run off to join the circus, try your skills at juggling, tightwire walking, flying trapeze, and acrobatic balancing.

Getty Images East at Westfield Stratford City E15 2EE Stratford FREE, Mon-Fri 10.00-21.00, Sat 9.0021.00, Sun 12.00-18.00. Pop-up art gallery featuring old photographs of life in East London.

SUNDAY MARCH 11

Muggle Tours Harry Potter London Walk at London Bridge Station, SE1 9SP London Bridge £12, £8 under 12s, 11.00. Grab your wand and explore the magical side of London on this guided walking tour of film locales and inspirations, offered three days a week. Muggles welcome. Smithfield: Murders, Monasteries and Martyrs at Barbican Station, EC1A 4JQ Barbican £6, 11.00. A relaxing Sunday stroll covering Smithfield’s violent history - execution, plagues, and the like to be discussed.

MONDAY MARCH 12 Nikola Madzirov And Daniele Pantano at Royal Festival Hall, SE1 8XX Waterloo From £8, 19.45. Crossing the pond fresh from the uS, Nikola Madzirov presents a one-off poetry reading. Swiss poet Daniele Pantano will also perform.

Transport for London travel update

ToMPAGENET / CR FLooD / DANiEL ToBiAS / RACHEL CLARE

Tuesday March 6 London Bridge: Bus station and taxi ranks closed. Thursday March 8

Barclays Cycle Hire Scheme: Available from today in Tower Hamlets, Shoreditch, Hackney, Camden Town, Canary Wharf and Westfield White City. Saturday March 10 Central Line: Part closure. No service between Marble Arch and West Ruislip/Ealing Broadway. Replacement buses operate.

Sunday March 11 Waterloo & City Line: Closed Sundays and Public Holidays. Bakerloo Line: Part closure. No service between Elephant & Castle and queens Park. Replacement buses operate. Central Line: Part closure. No service between White City and West Ruislip/Ealing Broadway. Replacement buses operate. Monday March 12 London Bridge: Bus station and taxi ranks closed. Ongoing Tottenham Hale: Reduced escalator service until mid March. Tottenham Hotspur customers should use Seven Sisters. Cannon Street: Closed every weekend until mid 2012.

Sebright Arms Real Ale and Rockin’ Blues Festival at The Sebright Arms, E2 9AG Bethnal Green FREE, 12.00. over 20 barrels of local craft beers to choose from, with £2.50 beers until the taps run out.

Short & Sweet London at The Roxy Bar and Screen, SE1 1LB Borough/London Bridge £3, 18.30. Brighten up the start of your week each Monday in March as the kind folks over at Short & Sweet London put together a collection of film shorts, music videos, and short animations.

scoutlondon.com Scout London 27

Shopping

Pop-up goes the clothes shop by Bebe Gallini

Each fair is treated as a retro day-out, complete with a tea room and live musical performances of 40s classics - the last event featured Andrews Sisters inspired vocal trio The Three Belles. And for those looking for more than the vintage clothing, Pincurls and Pout with 20 years of experience in West End Theatre - are on hand to show simple ways to dress hair and make up to complete the vintage look. The vintage pop-up trend shows no signs of abating. Stonehill believes that consumers are bored with the high street and looking for something more individual. “There’s always an excitement that comes over a person as they look through rails of old clothes looking for that perfect piece,” she says. “You just can’t get that on the High Street, where every store repeats itself in every suburb.” The beauty of vintage, according to Stonehill,

is that trends evolve and change. Whereas last year was all about the ladies, 2012 looks to be the year for men, with the mod look making a comeback and mohair suits creeping back into lads’ wardrobes throughout London. Even the staple of every boy’s 80s wardrobe - the iconic Levi’s denim jacket - is in huge demand. However, Stonehill draws the line at people considering 90s fashion as ‘vintage’. “It’s too soon,” she says, “and much of 90s trends were a throwback to other eras. Especially the preppy look, which never really went away.” Sunday March 11 Islington Assembly Hall Sunday March 25 Hampstead Town Hall Sunday April 22 St Stephen’s Rosslyn Hill Sunday April 29 Islington Assembly Hall 11.00 - 16.00; £3/£2 NUS

ianvisits / maxine stonehill

Frustrated by having to travel out of her native north London to areas such as Dalston and Shoreditch to get her hands on something unique for her wardrobe, Maxine Stonehill took up arms and organised a pop-up vintage fair at Hampstead Town Hall. What started as a hobby has in just a year grown into a full time job, and Stonehill, who has a background in fashion, marketing and PR, now oversees the mini-empire that is Pop Up Vintage Fairs. Her original Town Hall base remains, but demand was so strong that she started a second fair at St Stephen’s - a 19th century French Gothic church in Hampstead. PUVF has now crossed the border into Islington, with a regular fashion and homeware spectacular at the Islington Assembly Halls now an integral part of the vintage calendar.

28 Scout London scoutlondon.com

recommended SAMPLE SALES

DRINK, SHOP & DO N1 9DX King’s Cross St Pancras Mon-Fri 10:30-23:00 Sat 10:30-00:00 Sun 10:30-20:00

La Perla W1T 1PH March 6-9

Oxford Circus

Lotus London Warehouse Sale

La Perla has been known for their beautifully crafted lingerie since its inception in 1954. Normally, a lacetrimmed perforated leather corset dress would set you back around £1,800, but help is at hand thanks to the Le Perla sample sale. Lingerie, swimwear, nightwear, outerwear, hosiery and fragrance are discounted, with savings up to 80% off.

SW10 0QJ Imperial Wharf March 6 14.00-19.30 March 7 & 8 11.00 - 19.30

Lotus London is a young British brand targetting the luxury-chic lifestyle, comprising seasonal collections that span beach, cruise, cocktail, cashmere, shoes, accessories and jewellery. Sale items start from £10.

JUMBLE SALES

Started by two friends - kristie and Coralie - Drink, Shop & Do was created as a place where everything was beautiful and everything was for sale. it is the perfect environment to meet friends in the day and drink cocktails into the evening, getting involved with unique activities such as dot to dot discos and craft events. This makes it one of Scout London’s favourite places, with friendly service, a buzzing atmosphere and an old school menu.

Holloway Car Boot Sale

quiNNFoRD + SCouT / WoRLD SERViCE / EViLTWiN

N7 6LJ Holloway Road Saturday 8.00-16.00 Sunday 10.00-14.30 FREE

The Holloway Car Boot Sale best sums up Holloway’s somewhat split personality. There may be a bit of tat here and there, but look beyond it and there are treasures to be found. our advice is to enter via the entrance on Holloway Road between NatWest and the Post office. Head up towards the left where you’ll find one of our favourite vendors who sell trendy housewares at a fraction of the price of department stores.

Battersea Boot SW11 5AP Battersea Park Sunday 12.00 - 17.00 Trade entry from 12.00: £3 Public entry from 13.30: 50p

Not your grandfather’s car boot sale. Renowned for being an incredibly busy, highly organised boot sale, often compared with Portobello Market for range of goods and atmosphere. Expect to find quality items; designer goods, vintage, shabby chic, even antiques and collectables alongside general car boot goods.

Capital Car Boot Sale SW1V 3AT Pimlico Every Sunday from 12.00

Central London’s only indoor and outdoor all year round car boot sale. known for its emphasis on fashion, the weekly market attracts a younger crowd than most. Sellers can book stalls online, with pitches starting at a reasonable £5. scoutlondon.com Scout London 29

Food & Drink Brixton Bites Some more big guns of Brixton...

n 1948 the Empire Windrush ship left Jamaica carrying people destined to make a new life for themselves in the uk. For many of them, Brixton became their home, and it can still be seen as an area of opportunity and a place to follow your dreams. There’s no better example of this than the case of Jonny Rushton and Liam Brown, the founders of Seven At Brixton, a tapas and cocktail bar nestled in Market Row (number seven, natch). Just as the swathe of trendy new openings around Brixton Market are revolutionising the entire area, Seven is a personal revolution for Rushton and Brown. And the choice of words is no coincidence. it was while working at Vodka Revs that they honed their skills and experience, but also developed a passion to escape the corporate world and do their own thing. Having visited Barcelona, the pair were inspired to take a taste of the local bar scene back home to London with them. The effortlessly cool decor at Seven includes furniture found on nearby Coldharbour Lane, a free-forall bookshelf and - in a nod to the unit’s previous life as a luggage shop - a back bar built of suitcases. Although on paper it’s hardly the best spot to open a bar - it’s off the beaten track, it’s cold and licensing restrictions mean it can’t stay open beyond 10pm - it would be impossible to imagine Seven anywhere else. “We feel it’s really important to be

30 Scout London scoutlondon.com

part of the community,” says Brown, who is clearly already well-known among other shops in the arcade, breaking off our chat every now and then to wave or shout out a greeting across the way. “We’ve been talking to the other bars and restaurants around here about combining orders so we can all save on delivery costs, and we have space where local artists can exhibit their work.” As customers pop in for a coffee and chat to the staff, Scout is left wondering if it’s the market atmosphere which brings out a

friendlier side to people, or just the warmth of Seven’s Hispanic-style hospitality. This is no tacky theme bar though. Without a hint of Spain in the decor, it is the food and drinks which infuse the place with iberian spirit. The menu has a changing line-up of pintxos, tapas, jamon platters and bocadillos as well as Tarte de Santiago and Churros for the sweet-tooths. Alongside the usual premium spirits is a growing number of Spanish imports. The beers are Spanish too, with Alhambra Negra and Reserva being firm favourites, alongside the critically acclaimed sharing beer from Ferran Adria, Estrella inedit.

Seven also has a good variety of Spanish wines, picked to match the food, and a modest but well-selected list of sherry. “We’re currently trying to import some Asturian Sidra, but it’s a little problematic as we’d be the only ones doing it and it’s quite rare,” Brown explains. “The last thing we wanted to do was create a theme bar. What we wanted to do was have a bar which could be picked up, air-freighted out of London and plonked in Barcelona and not seem out of place.”

Not that Brixton would let that happen, of course. There’s far too many locals who’ve come to rely on Seven for breakfast churros, lunchtime bites of anchovy and tomato topped pintxos or chorizo baguettes and an impressive array of £5 cocktails. Mind you, hearing the passion with which Rushton and Brown speak of Brixton, and seeing their excitement at the renovation of an upstairs space that has provided a new bar area, there’s no chance they’re planning to leave any time soon. Seven At Brixton, 7 Market Row, SW9 8LB Brixton sevenatbrixton.wordpress.com

Franco Manca on nearby Market Row could well be the one that started it all, earning a stellar reputation and out-thedoor queues for its sourdough pizzas. They’ve since expanded with a few restaurants around London, but there’s no doubt that Brixton remains the heartland. francomanca.co.uk Elephant places authenticity as king, serving Pakistani street food in generous portions at low prices. Thalis, daal and the best samosas you’ll find appear almost magically from an unfathomably tiny kitchen. elephantcafeonline. blogspot.com Mama Lan serves up northeastern Chinese dishes created by the namesake mother and daughter team. A short menu focuses on jiaozi dumplings that burst with meaty juices and sensory slapping chilliflecked salads. mamalan.co.uk

RACHEL CLARE / HELEN GRAVES

by Ben Norum

Honest Burgers is probably the most talked about inhabitant of Brixton Village, and one of several London hotspots engaged in the Twitter-led search for the city’s best burger. Think rare breed beef, sourdough buns and triple-cooked fries and you won’t be far off. honestburgers.co.uk

reviews

Top Ten

B.Y.O.B.

Tayyabs, Punjabi E1 1JU Whitechapel

Song Que, Vietnamese E2 8DY Hoxton

Hot Stuff, indian SW8 2XA Vauxhall

Eat 17, British E17 9NJ Walthamstow Central

Bintang, Malaysian/Thai NW1 8NY Camden Road

Cah Chi, korean SW20 0TW Raynes Park

Jai Krishna, South indian N4 3PZ Crouch Hill

Tagine, Moroccan SW12 1RT Balham

Gojo, Ethiopian W10 6HJ Ladbroke Grove

RACHEL CLARE

Viet, Vietnamese

5DJ 10 W1DLeicester Square

Colchis Notting Hill There are barely a handful of Georgian restaurants in London, and while the opening of the latest one - in the form of Notting Hill’s Colchis - won’t go far to bolster numbers, it does signal something of a coming out party for the cuisine. occupying a prime slab of real estate in W2, the owners have been enthusiastically bringing one of the world’s oldest cultures bang upto-date, as you can now sit at a polished chrome bar glugging wines from the planet’s heartiest vines alongside cool contemporary cocktails made with local spirits - surely something of a uSP. Food is traditional in terms of hearty spicing, a predominance of meat and to the British tongue - largely unpronounceable names (Mtsvadi, anyone?) For the uninitiated, shashlik kebabs, stuffed dumplings and cheese-filled breads are the anglicised stalwarts, and helpfully spelt out on the menu. While the kebabs melt in the mouth and the salty breads indulgently ooze, it’s the dumplings which burst at the bite like a gently wrapped gift of casserole that make the biggest impression.

in spite of this wholeheartedly authentic approach, the beef used by the restaurant hasn’t travelled any farther than ireland, and some of the veg even comes from within the M25. This takes on a new importance when one veggie offering cites its constituents as spinach, beetroot, leek and pumpkin purees. The reality is better than the description, being another chance for dumplings to prove themselves. The menu’s failing is not being able to translate the Georgian into the most common term we have for them - gnocchi. The wine list is disappointingly unpatriotic, with far too many of the 150 bottles on offer being western European, despite Georgian wine being renowned as some of the best in the world. The country itself is widely believed to be the origin of the grapevine - it’s worth spending a little extra to drink the proper stuff. Whether Colchis has what it takes to bring Georgian food to the masses remains to be seen, but what is for certain is that it’s the best gastronomic embassy the country has at the moment. Pass the khinkali, please. 39 Chepstow Place, W2 4TS Notting Hill Gate

scoutlondon.com Scout London

Food & Drink

reviews

Namaaste Kitchen Camden

Galante Chelsea

if you’re looking to locate this Camden curry house, you’d be best to shut your eyes and let your nose guide you. The wafting smell of meats cooking on the restaurant’s open sigri charcoal grill will beat Google Maps every time. A tawa (iron plate grill) and a tandoor oven complete the triumvirate of cooking methods, which are responsible for churning out fresher than fresh naan breads (try the date and ginger one), smoky chicken tikka and some masterfully melting lamb chops, along with enough scent to cause spontaneous dribble. in the first of a year-long series of special regional menus, March sees Namaaste pay homage to the food of Goa. in this area, seafood reigns supreme and more beef is eaten than in other parts of india. Try Namaaste’s succulent and spicy beef with beef tongue - which is much less scary than it sounds - and a stand-out fillet of garlic marinated mackerel.

This latest bar to arrive on sassy Sloane Street is one of the first in a much-hyped wave of South American openings to hit London this year. Coming from the high pedigree stable of the Gaucho restaurant group, it could be said that the steaks are fairly high, though in this case it’s the drinks which are taking centre stage. The bold promise is to deliver us a slice of 1930s Argentine glamour. And if you’re not quite sure what that really means, it seems to involve taking a selection of bloody good cocktails created by Tato Giovanonni (South America’s Bartender of The Decade, no less), mixing them with a dedicated burger tasting menu and serving alongside some ceviche and empanadas. if that wasn’t enough, they’ve liberally sprinkled the place in glitz and garnished with some cameos from the Made in Chelsea cast. you may want to have your expense account at the ready, though...

64 Parkway, NW1 7AH

Camden Town

The Blacksmith & The Toffeemaker Angel Just opened up on bustling St John Street, this venue is not a strange hybrid novelty shop where tourists can satisfy their sweet tooth and wrought iron cravings in one, but rather a new pub concept. it’s all about the best of British, and without having all staff members tattoo a union Jack across their faces, it’s hard to see how much further they could go. Proper English ales are matched in number by the gin selection, which includes many local London offerings. And don’t just think there’s one tonic, either. if you can tear yourself away from the drinks list, you’ll find a menu of daily changing roasts and hotpots, plus a tantalising selection of bar snacks spanning black pudding scotch eggs, cured meats, artisan cheeses and more. Salted peanuts it is not, and it would be a push to use the word boozer, but there’s certainly nothing poncy about it either. Now just to keep those metal-loving tourists at bay... 292-294 St John Street, EC1V 4PA 32 Scout London scoutlondon.com

Angel

87 Sloane Street, SW3 3DX

South Kensington

Bistro Union Clapham in the past few years, Adam Byatt has become one of London’s star chefs, swallowing more awards than his customers do mouthfuls at his restaurant Trinity in Clapham. He’s now taking the leap and opening venue number two in the form of a simpler, less formal eatery down the road. While Byatt takes an executive role, Bistro union’s kitchen will be headed up by karl Goward, whose experience includes time at St John Bread & Wine as well as New york’s Soho House. The venture is unashamedly British, flying the flag in the form of local beers and ciders, plus gin from Sipsmith and a homely food menu. Cottage pie, steak and chips bump up against the less “home kitchen” guinea fowl kiev. Taking local to the extreme, they’ve even gone as far as covering the bar in reclaimed tiles from London underground. Let’s just hope they operate a good service on all their lines. 40 Abbeville Road, SW4 9NG

Clapham South

Enjoy Campo Viejo responsibly.

Food & Drink CENTRAL

Kentish Canteen NW5 2TG Kentish Town British ££ Simple, unfussy, good British fare in hip surroundings. The two course offer at £12.95 is a bargain and the fish and chips were above average. one to watch.

Mason & Taylor E1 6LA Shoreditch High Street Pub £ Let’s start off by saying the food here is good, if a little more bar-snack than full-on meal. But the reason you’ll want to go is for the beer. 12 draught beers and ales on tap at any one time and a seasonal list of 40 bottled beers that change regularly.

SOUTH

Cotidie W1U 5HN Baker Street italian ££££ The first flagship restaurant for internationallyrenowned italian Michelin star chef, Bruno Barbieri. An innovative daily-changing menu is planned, featuring the finest seasonal ingredients in a stylish and informal dining room. Cinnamon Soho W1B 5PF Piccadilly Circus indian £££ Third restaurant from Vivek Singh of The Cinnamon Club and Cinnamon kitchen. Not open yet, but a competition is on to win a place at the launch party. Expect a British twist on quality indian food. Degó Italian Wine Bar & Restaurant W1W 8QJ Oxford Circus italian £££ A hot-bed of experimental cooking, sticking two fingers up to the notion that italian eateries in the uk must be rustic and traditional. Standout dish: a ragù made with veal mince, a rich stock and homemade pasta that would leave your weekly spag bol weeping with inadequacy. Kimchee WC1V 6EA Chancery Lane/Holborn korean £ korean specialities including Pa Jeon, a traditional korean dish that transcends pancake and omelette, and yuk Hwae - korea’s answer to steak tartare. Café Le Cordon Bleu London WC1A 2LS Holborn French ££££ The internationally renowned Culinary Art school has chosen London as the site for its first café in Europe. The façade of the Café has been styled based on Le Cordon Bleu Paris as it looked in the 1950s. As well as 30 seats inside the Café, there’s an additional 50 covers in the outside courtyard - perfect for the summer. Union Jack’s WC2H 8AB Tottenham Court Road British ££ The latest outpost of Jamie oliver’s restaurant empire. A very British take on pizza, including the Fish Pie: a flatbread topped with Smoked pollock, heritage potatoes, sweet leeks & Welsh cockles.

NORTH Alwyne Castle N1 2LY Highbury & Islington Pub ££ Sunday lunch the way it was meant to be: hearty, delicious and reasonably priced. This pub punches above its weight, with friendly staff and fresh ingredients cooked to perfection. our advice: go for the beef.

34 Scout London scoutlondon.com

Manna NW3 3AJ Chalk Farm Vegetarian £££ one of the oldest gourmet vegetarian restaurants in Europe, with well over four decades of meat-free culinary history. The enchilada casserole was superb, with black beans and mole sauce setting the taste buds racing even before the tortilla had passed our lips.

Ben’s Canteen SW11 1SL Clapham Junction British ££ Fresh British fare served up at reasonable prices. Look out for the return of the beer matching menu, where traditional grub meets the best of local brews. Check out the website for ridiculously generous specials. Bonnington Café SW8 1TD Vauxhall Vegetarian £ Long-standing veggie favourite with a menu that changes daily. it’s also ByoB and as an added bonus there’s no corkage charge. Herne Hill The Lido Café SE24 0PA British/European ££ The menu changes monthly but the quality doesn’t; desserts are exceptional and a well priced wine menu make this an excellent find. The Thirsty Bear SE1 9LX Waterloo Pub £ London’s first self-service pub. Set up a tab at the bar, pull up a stool and use the touch screen in front of you to place your order. Can’t find a waitress? No problem - the tap is on your table. The Jetsons has finally arrived.

WEST

EAST

The Lonsdale W11 2DE Ladbroke Grove British £££ Steaks are the main attraction at this popular Notting Hill restaurant. Get friendly with your bartender - they’ve been known to mix a special cocktail or two. Hawksmoor E1 6BJ Shoreditch High Street American ££££ What steak should taste like. Popular for a reason. Don’t miss the lunchtime Hawksmoor Hamburger with Triple Cooked Chips - life changing. Iberica E14 5NY Canary Wharf Spanish £££ Docklands outpost of the Great Portland Street favourite, featuring unctuously oozy croquettes, grilled prawns with chilli and garlic, scallops with cauliflower puree and grilled slices of marinated iberico pork loin washed down with specially imported wines that you won’t find anywhere else outside of Spain.

The Pilot W4 4BZ Gunnersbury Pub ££ A cut above your average pub. Mains are generous, with the sausage and mash being a standout dish. Starters are generous and tasty.

Scout London Price Guide ££££ £££ ££ £

over £19 per main £14-18 £9-13 under £9

recommended

Sweet Things NW1 8XL Chalk Farm Bakery £ Cupcakes are so last year. Natalie Allen’s award winning cakery serves up the latest craze to sweep America. The Cake Pops come in a range of flavours vanilla, chocolate, oreo, carrot, red velvet, peanut butter, chocolate orange, strawberry cheesecake or the gourmet flavour of the month. We’re hooked. Also of note are the triple chocolate brownies that got Nigella in a tizzy and proper vanilla cheesecake. And yes, they have cupcakes.

PER:

tasty, creamy, fat free, fresh, ‘cos it’s made in a churn, natural, for your tummy, in every way.

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This voucher entitles you to 2 free toppings when purchasing either a regular or super size Yog. Only one voucher per purchase and only original vouchers accepted. Voucher cannot be exchanged for cash. This voucher is valid for use at Yog Charlotte Street only until 31 March 2012

Art & Culture

Horsing around

ince 1998 the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square has exhibited some of the best public sculpture in contemporary art, from performance pieces in Anthony Gormley’s One and Other, to Yinka Shonibare’s work, Nelson’s Ship In A Bottle. This year’s newly installed commission, entitled Powerless Structures, Fig. 101, does not fail to impress, depicting a 4m high bronze sculpture of a young boy on a rocking horse. Created by internationally renowned design duo, Michael Elmgreen from Denmark and Norwegian Ingar Dragset, the piece draws on the existing iconography in the square, celebrating past military victory. Scout London caught up with the artists to discuss their work. Was this your first idea for the commission? We had plenty of ideas, but had to filter them down. One jokey idea we even thought of was creating a giant Lucky Cat like those you find 36 Scout London scoutlondon.com

in many Asian shops. The Lucky Cat brings good fortune and Chinatown is right behind Trafalgar Square. Of course, we decided on a more subtle and serious message by proposing the small boy on his rocking horse. Being fragile and showing emotions in public is much more of a challenge than being loud or funny. What challenges did you face when conceiving a sculpture for such a famous space? Creating an artwork in such a public place is very different from making a museum show. The audience which enters the museum is prepared for an art experience but people who pass through the square never asked for this - as an artist you need to keep that in mind. How does the sculpture relate to war memorials? The boy on his rocking horse can be seen as comment on the tradition of equestrian sculptures and war memorials, and to the whole notion of putting a General or King up on a horseback in order to make him

look more authoritarian. Next to our sculpture you will see King George high up on his horse. He looks very bored in his darkened and aged bronze, so we hope that our shiny boy can cheer him up a bit. What does the piece say about heroism? It asks questions about the tradition of war memorials and our interpretation of heroism today, but it encourages the viewer to embrace the heroism of everyday life and all the small battles of growing up rather than pointing a finger at anything. It is a reminder of all the important but less spectacular events in one’s life. Since the world is not only about victory or defeat, we thought it was relevant to make a ‘temporary monument’ for something as innocent as childhood. What do you think of the permanent sculptures in Trafalgar Square? We like Nelson on his column. It’s such a weird sculpture and when you see him closer up through the windows at the top of the National

Portrait Gallery, he actually turns out to have quite a camp posture! The boy in the work mimics the other sculptures around it such as Nelson; do you like to employ humor in your work? Sometimes serious matters are best mediated with a little hint of humour. Compared to the other sculptures in Trafalgar Square this work has a highly polished finish. What does this element contribute to the work? It signals hope and encourages us to celebrate the future without too much fear. After all, the worst enemy of our times is our own fear. Working as a design duo, did you have any disagreements during the process? We have been collaborating for almost 20 years so we have turned into some sort of two headed monster with synchronised thinking. If you could create a piece for another location in London where would it be? Hackney Road.

james o jenkins

By Alice Wiggett

recommended CENTRAL

PABLo PiCASSo, STiLL LiFE WiTH MANDoLiN 1924 © SuCCESSioN PiCASSo / DACS 2011 © CoLLECTioN STEDELiJk MuSEuM AMSTERDAM / JuDAH PASSoW / DAViD HoCkNEy, ‘THE BiG HAWTHoRNE’, 2008. oiL oN 9 CANVASES. 275.5 x 366 CM. CouRTESy oF THE ARTiST. © DAViD HoCkNEy. PHoTo CREDiT: RiCHARD SCHMiDT

BRITISH MUSEUM WC1B 3DG Holborn/Russell Square Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam £12, Until Apr 15. one of the five pillars of islam central to Muslim belief, Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca that every Muslim must make at least once in their lifetime if they are able. This major exhibition charts the history of this deeply personal journey. LONDON TRANSPORT MUSEUM WC2E 7BB Covent Garden Sense and the City: Smart, Connected and on the Move £13.50/£10, Until Mar 18. Explores how emerging technologies are changing the way we access and experience London and compares this with past visions of the future. MUSEUM OF LONDON EC2Y 5HN St Paul’s Dickens and London £8/£6, Until Jun 10. The celebrations continue. Costumes, photographs, paintings and other memorabilia as well as state of the art audio and projections recreate the sounds and images of Dicken’s Victorian London..

green grasses and autumnal reds. Fiftyone iPad drawings - printed and shown consecutively - chart the seasonal approach of spring, and a series of films produced using 18 cameras shown on multiple screens at the end of the show are mesmerising.

NORTH THE JEWISH MUSEUM NW1 7NB Camden Town No Place Like Home £7.50/£6.50, Until Jun 5. Acclaimed photographer Judah Passow embarked on a year-long project examining the rich diversity of contemporary Jewish life around the uk, exploring what it means to be British and Jewish in the 21st century.

EAST WHITECHAPEL GALLERY E1 7QX Aldgate East Zarina Bhimji FREE, Until Mar 9. Landscapes and buildings haunted by their layered histories are the protagonists in British artist Zarina Bhimji’s photographs and large-scale film installations in this first major survey exhibition of her work.

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY WC2H 0HE Charing Cross

SOUTH V&A SW7 2RL South Kensington Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton: A Diamond Jubilee Celebration £6, Until Apr 22. Featuring portraits of queen Elizabeth ii by royal photographer Cecil Beaton, this exhibition celebrates Her Majesty in her roles as princess, monarch and mother and coincides with the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne. DESIGN MUSEUM SE1 2YD London Bridge/Tower Hill Designs of the Year 2012 £11/£10, Until Jul 15. The oscars of the design world showcase the most innovative and progressive designs from around the world. The longlist covers an eclectic mix of designs including The London 2012 olympic Torch, the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding dress and a wind-propelled landmine detonator. TATE MODERN SE1 9TG Southwark

IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM SE1 6HZ Lambeth North Shaped By War: Photographs by Don McCullin £7/£6, Until Apr 15. Largest ever public collection of the war photographer’s images, taken both at home and in numerous war zones around the globe including South East Asia, Africa and the Middle East. TATE BRITAIN SW1P 4RG Pimlico Picasso and Modern British Art £14/£12.20, Until Jul 15. Highlights of Picasso’s most beautiful and important works - which in many cases overwhelms the work of his British admirers - demonstrate why Picasso was, and still is, the Master.

WEST

The Unilever Series: Tacita Dean

 Royal Academy of The Arts

Lucian Freud Portraits £13/£12, Until May 27. Produced in close collaboration with the late Lucian Freud, featuring 130 works from museums and private collections throughout the world, some of which have never been seen before.

FREE, Until Mar 11. The Tate’s current Turbine Hall exhibition is the first to celebrate the moving image and features work by celebrated British filmaker projected on a monumental monolith.

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM SW7 5BD South Kensington Scott’s Last Exhibition £9/£5.50, Until Sep 2. Exhibition focusing on Terra Nova’s scientific legacy, which is still drawn on by researchers in the 21st century. Visitors will also be able to enter a life-sized replica of the base-camp hut used by the intrepid explorers. SCIENCE MUSEUM SW7 2DD South Kensington

ROYAL ACADEMY OF THE ARTS W1J 0BD Piccadilly Circus

Hidden Heroes: The Genius of Everyday Things £6/£3.50, Until May 31. Celebrating the hum-dum, this exhibit looks at the wonder of everyday objects. inventions are presented alongside original sketches and drawings by their inventors, patent specifications and original adverts.

David Hockney: A Bigger Picture £14/£13, Until Apr 9. A celebration of big paintings and big colours from bright blue trees to purple roads juxtaposed with beautiful pastel  Jewish Museum

 Tate Britain

scoutlondon.com Scout London 37

Comedy

COMIC Riches

MONSTER hunter, swingball coach and Daniel Day Lewis might seem unlikely bedfellows. But they each play a part in one of the hottest comedy tickets in town. Bring Me The Head Of Adam Riches sees the 38-year-old from Richmond taking on a variety of loud and somewhat deranged characters who function as rotating ringleaders in one of the most joyously chaotic and terrifyingly interactive comedy shows ever created. Audience participation is the name of the game, with each character plucking people from the crowd and coercing (read: bullying) them into ridiculous behaviour on stage: a passionate Hollywood kiss is demanded of two complete strangers; another is expected to feed Riches from their mouth, “like starlings do”. And now it’s London’s turn to experience this singular brand of hilarious havoc. You have been warned. 38 Scout London scoutlondon.com

So you’re about a week into the Soho run. How are the London audiences comparing with the notoriously rowdy Edinburgh crowds? I’ve found people are a bit savvier here. Some of them know what’s coming - they’ve done their research. What a lot of write-ups say is ‘don’t sit in the front row’, because it’s obviously the easiest place to pick from. So I’ve started picking from the fourth and fifth rows, from the sides, the back and even the upstairs. So the message now is: there’s no safe seat. One of the great things about the show is its unpredictability. Have any London audience members taken you by surprise yet? Last night this wonderful woman basically just took over the scene. She pushed me down on the stage and straddled me in front of her husband, and I literally didn’t have any material for that. I was playing this sleazy swingball coach who is supposed to

come onto a woman in the audience - awkwardly in front of their partner - and yet here I was being alpha femaled by this woman while her husband just sat their smiling. Sounds awkward. Well, that’s the nature of the show anything can happen. It’s a controlled shambles, and anything that happens on stage - however unexpected - can feed the show and take it somewhere new. On this occasion, this couple basically decided to act out a completely different show to the one I had planned. I was like a third cog in their pre-arranged ménageà-trois! But the point is always for the audience member to end up as the hero. They get pushed, prodded, drenched and whatever along the way, but ultimately it reaches a point where they are celebrated. But presumably there’s always a chance a wrongly-picked audience member can cause it to go horribly wrong?

I don’t think it has ever gone that wrong, other than with this alpha male character called Victor that I used to play. There was one night where I was pushing this guy to lick my face, and I had my eyes closed, and all of a sudden his drunk friend in the front row just grabbed me round the throat and pushed me backwards and said that he didn’t like the show because everything I was doing was ‘really gay’. Now, obviously he was a tool, but it created a tough dynamic, because then I was having to argue with him but still while in character you can’t break character, you can’t let them win. But nothing like that in London so far? No, not yet, although I had thought the London run might be a nice, leisurely experience, but then I almost got raped on stage last night. Bring Me The Head Of Adam Riches is at the Soho Theatre until March 17

idil sukan

He won last year’s Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award with a show that puts audiences through their paces like no other. Now London comedian Adam Riches is unleashing his interactive anarchy on a home crowd, with a month-long run at Soho Theatre. He chats to Dan Frost

recommended ONGOING

Adam Riches: Bring Me the Head of Adam Riches at Soho Theatre, W1D 3NE Tottenham Court Road 19.30, £15-£20. Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner 2011 with a penchant for striking comedy and audience engagement returns. Now booking until Mar 17. Nick Helm: Dare to Dream at Soho Theatre, W1D 3NE Tottenham Court Road 19.45, £10-£15. The loud and confrontational comedian returns with a pithy blend of comedy, music, and poetry. Call up the babysitter and leave the kids at home for this one. Booking until Mar 10.

TUESDAY MARCH 6 Hoopla! at The Miller, SE1 3SS Borough 20.00, £5. New troupe Arthur reinvent short-form, refresh old games and bring some new ones to the table. Followed by debut of Fluffers. Laughs in the Lounge at Leicester Square Theatre, WC2H 7BX Leicester Square 19.00, £8. New material from Gemma Goggin and Max Dickins, joined by newcomer Madge Hooks. The Rogues at Seven Dials Club, WC2H 9LA Covent Garden 20.00, £5. Variety night brings together talents from the worlds of comedy and cabaret, all wrapped up with improv from The Rogues.

WEDNESDAY MARCH 7

iDiL SukAN / STEVE uLLATHoRNE / DiAMoND GEyZER

The Funny Side of Leicester Square at koha, WC2 4AJ Leicester Square 20.00, £8. Steve Best stars in this all new variety night with slapstick gags and an endless bag of props to draw from. Did we mention that he also plays guitar?

Do Not Adjust Your Stage at The Miller, SE1 3SS Borough 20.00, £5. Do Not Adjust your Stage take audience input to heart to create a complete improv television show before your eyes. Accompanied by duo Paul and Cariad. Pear Shaped Comedy Club at The Fitzroy Tavern, W1T 2LY Tottenham Court Road 20.30, £5. Loads of comics. Loads of laughs. This week’s program presents keith Platt, Robyn Perkins, Justin kary, Dan Cardwell, Rob Wilson, omar, Tommy kilburn, and Bareback Banshees.

THURSDAY MARCH 8 The Best in Stand Up at Comedy Store, SW1 Y4EE Piccadilly Circus 20.00, £18. Character comedy from Milo McCabe as Philberto, plus Dave Johns, Rob Rouse. and imran yusuf. Happy hour at the bar 18.30-19.30 Cariad Lloyd at The Wheatsheaf, W1T 1DG Tottenham Court Road 20.30, £7. Grand Theft improv features sketches, skits, and songs with Cariad Lloyd, Dylan Emery, Phil Whealans, and weekly special guests. Freedom of the Fringe Comedy Night at The Torriano, NW5 2SG Kentish Town 20.00, FREE. Showcase of up-and-coming acts William Lee, Max Dickens, Eddie Gershon, Sofie Hagen, ian Wild, Ben Verth, Gareth Cooper, Jane Weedon, Dave Millett, Jack De’Ath, oliver Noakes, ManBuyCow, and MC Bec Hill. Guilt & Shame at Hen and Chicken Theatre, N1 2NA Highbury & Islington 21.30, £6. The raucous duo return with a preview of their new show. Guaranteed to meet your fill of filthy, sinful debauchery. Piccadilly Comedy Club at The Comedy Pub, SW1Y 4EE Piccadilly Circus 20.30, £5. 12 new acts compete for the title of PCC New Comedian of the year.

Simon Amstell at invisible Dot, NW1 8AH Chalk Farm 19.30, £6. A far cry from his TV presenting days, Amstell capitalises upon witty self-deprication in his comic work.

FRIDAY MARCH 9 Banana Cabaret at The Bedford, SW12 9HD Balham 21.00, £11-£14. Long running comedy club features acts from Paul Tonkinson, Dave Johns, Mary Bourke, and Joe Rowntree. The Best in Stand Up at Comedy Store, SW1 Y4EE Piccadilly Circus 23:00, £10-£15. Character comedy from Milo McCabe as Philberto, plus Dave Johns, Rob Rouse. and imran yusuf. Comedy and After Show Club Night at Comedy Cafe, EC2A 3AY Old Street 20.00, £12. Line-up includes Rich Wilson, Nabil Abdulrashid, Dag Soras, and John Moloney. Comedy Carnival Leicester Square at Number one, WC2H 7NA Leicester Square 20.00, £12. Capital FM’s Greg Burns and Michael Mcintyre’s Comedy Roadshow star Steve Williams are joined by Aussie Pete Jonas as MC. Headliners Comedy Club at George iV, W4 2DR Turnham Green 21.00, £12. A relaxed evening with Bob Mills and Eddie kadi.

Highlight Comedy Camden at Camden Dingwalls, NW1 8AF Camden Town 20.30, £17. one of London’s most raucous clubs leads off Friday night with Angie McEvoy, Chris McCausland, Raymond and Mr Timpkins.

Diane Spencer: All Pervading Madness at Soho Theatre, W1D 3NE Tottenham Court Road 21.30, £10-£12.50. Chortle Best Newcomer 2011 relays dark stories of a journey home gone wrong. featuring car-jacking ferrets and unhelpful train passengers, among others. Also Mar 10. Manos Presents The Tale of an Immigrant at The Pembroke Castle, NW1 8JA Chalk Farm 20.00, £5. The Greek stand-up act presents tales of his life and culture with clean, subtle humour in this solo show. Sex Guru in 247 Easy Steps at Leicester Square Theatre, WC2H 7BX Leicester Square 21.30, £16. Wolfgang Weinberger presents 247 easy steps to transform yourself into the ultimate sex guru. Soho Comedy Club at The Casino at The Empire, WC2H 7NA Leicester Square 20.00, £12. Featuring John Gordillo, Marcel Lucont, and Andi osho.

Loving Linda Smith at Rose Theatre, KT1 1HL Kingston 19.00, £30. Comedy to mark 5th anniversary of the passing of much missed comedian Linda Smith. Features Andy Hamilton, Shappi khorsandi, Mark Steel, Robin ince, and Susan Calman. Saturday Night Comedy Show at The Pembroke Castle, NW1 8JA Chalk Farm 20.30, £8.50-£10. Adam Bloom presents an honest take on life, accompanied by Scottish impressionist Geoff Boyz and So you Think you’re Funny? alumni Stuart Hudson. Showstopper! The Improvised Musical at Greenwich Theatre, Greenwich 19.30, £10SE10 8ES £15. Leave the dancing and the singing to storytelling performers as they draw up a new, unpredictable musical every night. Soho Comedy Club at The Casino at The Empire, WC2H 7NA Leicester Square 20.00, £12. Adam Bloom, Andi osho, and Nick Doody take to the stage.

SUNDAY MARCH 11 Douglas Adams The Party at Hammersmith Apollo, W6 9QH Hammersmith 16.00, £30. A celebration of Douglas Adams’ wouldbe 60th birthday with interviews, clips, science and music, featuring Jon Culshaw and Robin ince. Lights! Camera! Improvise! at Lion & unicorn Theatre, NW5 2ED Kentish Town 19.30, £7 you make up three movie titles. They improvise three trailers. you pick which one you want to watch. They create the whole thing before your very eyes.

SATURDAY MARCH 10 7 On Red Comedy Club at Seven Dials Club, WC2H 9LA Covent Garden 20.00, £10. Line-up features Simon Feilder, Marcel Lucont, Wade McElwain and Stephen Carlin. Banana Cabaret at The Bedford, SW12 9HD Balham 21.00, £13-£16. Long running comedy club features acts from Paul Tonkinson, Dave Johns, Mary Bourke, and Andre Vincent. Comedy Carnival at Clapham Grand, Clapham Junction SW11 1TT 20.00, £14. Pete Jonas, Hal Cruttenden, and Steve Williams star in this carnival of entertainment. Funny Side of Covent Garden at The George, WC2R 1AP Covent Garden 20.00, £13. Twisted humour from Dan Evans, bumps up against quick-witted conversation from Matt Welcome and Mock the Week panelist Andy Parsons. Headliners Comedy Club at George iV, W4 2DR Turnham Green 21.00, £14. A relaxed evening with Bob Mills and Eddie kadi. Highlight Comedy Camden at Dingwalls, NW1 8AF Camden Town 20.30, £17. Angie McEvoy is joined by Chris McCausland, Raymond and Mr Timpkins and Robert White.

Marek Larwood’s Work In Progress at Pleasance Theatre, N7 9EF Caledonian Road 20.00, £5. Marek battles being typecast as a bald man with mental health issues in this work-in-progress set.

MONDAY MARCH 12 Blood and Charm: Disturbing Stories for Disturbing Bed Times at Leicester Square Theatre, WC2H 7BX Leicester Square 19.00, £10. A twisted night of scary stories from an Australian children’s entertainer. you may want to leave the lights on before you tuck yourself away for the night. The Comedy Project: The Hub, Tim Downie and Matthew Earley plus Doggett and Ephgrave’s Comedy Shorts at Soho Theatre, W1D 3NE Tottenham Court Road 20.00, £10. A grab-bag of sketches and standup. Hungry Millar’s Laugh Bag at The Miller, SE1 3SS Borough 20.00, £4. Featuring Arthur Smith and Damien kingsley.

scoutlondon.com Scout London 39

Film

Belle of the Oddballs

hristina Ricci has been partying for three days solid. She arrived in London to attend the BAFTAs on the day of her 32nd birthday and has been a guest at various other showbiz events every night since. But, impressively, there is no trace of dark shadows beneath her eyes, as the actress known for her quirky roles sits looking serious amidst the

40 Scout London scoutlondon.com

chandeliers of the elegant Corinthia Hotel. The Addams Family star has been in the business of show since she was just seven years old and so, when it comes to promoting her new film, Bel Ami, she’s a complete pro. In it she plays Clotilde, a wife and mother in 19th century Paris who becomes the lover of young, irresistible social climber Georges Duroy.

She is seen running around lavish period apartments playing with her little girl, dancing at cabarets and rolling around naked in bed with her ‘bel ami’ Georges, played by Robert Pattinson. But there is none of the giggling Clotilde on display today, as she fixes her striking, unblinking ‘Wednesday Addams’ stare and politely waits to be quizzed on her latest role. “Clotilde is somebody who before she met Georges, Robert’s character, was just going through life happy,” Ricci says matter-of-factly. “I don’t think she had ever known a day of real angst or pain and she was just somebody who was enjoying life, finding the fun in it and trying to have the best time she could.” It’s easy to forget Ricci was a child star. So many actors who entered the spotlight at the same time as her have either gone off the rails or dropped out of the business altogether. But Ricci has worked

consistently for more than 20 years. She began modelling at seven, and aged nine made her screen debut as Cher’s daughter and Winona Ryder’s little sister in hit movie Mermaids. A year later she was cast as the death-obsessed Wednesday in The Addams Family and then played a loner whose only companion was a friendly ghost, in the film version of Casper. Ricci made several appearances as Lolita-esque seducers in her teens, in films such as The Opposite Of Sex and Ang Lee’s The Ice Storm. She played Johnny Depp’s bewitching love interest in Tim Burton’s terrifying ghost story Sleepy Hollow and won critical acclaim as the lesbian lover of a serial killer in Charlize Theron’s Oscar-winning vehicle Monster. While she was playing all these dark and troubled females, she has since revealed she was battling

getty images

Scout speaks to former child star Christina Ricci about her new movie in which she’s seen in (and frequently out of) a corset By Albertina Lloyd

featured anorexia, admitting she struggled with the scrutiny on her appearance. But in Bel Ami she frequently appears naked, in one scene spread out on a bed, offering herself up to her lover, and the camera. “I kind of look at it as just part of the job,” she says primly. “If the scene calls for it, if the movie calls for it, if it makes sense, then it’s just part of what we do.” With her idiosyncratic looks and film roles, for Ricci it has never really been about image. And she insists that as a woman in Hollywood she doesn’t feel any pressure to look a certain way because she has never used it as a tool to get ahead. “I think it depends on what kinds of films you’re doing and what kind of career you’re after,” she tells Scout London. Once you get into real film making and films that are more about substance and story, then it becomes less about image.” Her Bel Ami co-star, Robert Pattinson, was skyrocketed to global stardom by the success of the Twilight films, leaving him confronted with life in the spotlight at a young age, which is something Ricci can relate to.

Despite all the awkwardness of stripping off and filming sex scenes together, the pair got on like a house on fire. “He’s absolutely lovely,” says Ricci. “We joked around all the time and made fun of each other and laughed on set. And any time we had to do anything uncomfortable

on the bed in Bel Ami. “I do have a few tattoos”, she admits. “They’re very talented at covering them up with make-up.” When she is dressed in the movie, Ricci is laced into exquisite dresses, her tiny waist cinched in even further with a corset. Many an actress has complained about the

66 I actually love wearing corsets 99 we would immediately joke about how uncomfortable we were, how ridiculous this was and just be silly, and it was great.” Sitting with her hands folded in her lap, she looks demure in smart black trousers and a dark, highnecked, 50s-style jersey. But underneath we know she is hiding numerous tattoos, including a lion on her shoulder blade and a sparrow on her breast. None of these are on display when she is sprawling

pain and palaver of the dreaded period costume, but not Ricci. “I actually love wearing corsets,” she declares with a raised eyebrow. “Even though they’re uncomfortable. I still love wearing them.” She also loves the costumes she wears in the show Pan Am, about the glamorous air hostesses of the 60s. Ricci plays free-spirited Maggie, a passionate crusader for radical politics and post-war feminism, at least when she isn’t getting

distracted by the jet-set lifestyle her career has to offer. The show was meant to piggyback on the success of hit 50s office drama Mad Men, but there are reports it has been shelved after just one series. “We finished the season and we’ll find out in May if we’re going to have a second season or not,” says Ricci, the deep pools of her eyes giving nothing away. She moved from LA to New York to make the show and will next star as Hermia in an off-Broadway production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. “I like theatre a lot. I find that every time I do theatre I learn so much.” Despite growing up on screen, Ricci is striving hard to hone her craft. “Now what I’m mostly concentrated on is just trying to learn as much as I can about acting and just trying to be the best I can be. “And I want to work with the best directors I can and the best actors I can, and just try to glean as much information as I can from them to really become a great actress.” Bel Ami is released on Friday March 9

scoutlondon.com Scout London

Film

out this week John Carter 3D (12A)

Based on the novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Carter 3D is a fantastical battle beyond the stars which hopes to emulate Avatar by immersing us in an eye-popping alien world where battle rages between power-hungry prince Sab Than (Dominic West) and the peace-loving city of Helium, ruled by Tardos Mors (Ciarán Hinds) and his spunky daughter Dejah (Lynn Collins). Alas, Taylor Kitsch is devoid of charisma as the eponymous time-travelling Confederate soldier, who tips the balance of power in favour of the pacifist good guys by scything through hordes of computer-generated beasties. Technical wizardry overwhelms one or two flickers of emotion and we give up caring well before the plodding 132 minutes are up.

Bel Ami (15)

Robert Pattinson hones the mournful pout of his Twilight vampire in a tepid adaptation of the 19th century novel by Guy de Maupassant. R-Patz plays an ambitious and amoral journalist who clambers up the social ladder in Belle Époque Paris by sleeping with neglected wives and daughters (Kristin Scott Thomas, Uma Thurman, Christina Ricci) of the men in power. Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod’s handsomely crafted period piece has heaving bosoms and straining breeches aplenty but Pattinson lacks sexual chemistry with any of his co-stars, making a mockery of his anti-hero’s ability to reduce lovers to swooning, gibbering wrecks. His bedhopping liaisons are not remotely dangerous.

The Raven (15)

The bloodthirsty writings of Edgar Allan Poe give birth to a deranged serial killer in James McTeigue’s hack and slash thriller set on the streets of 19th-century Baltimore. Punctuated by scenes of explicit gore including the cleaving of one heavily bound victim by a giant pendulum blade, The Raven is suspenseful and tautly paced, drawing inspiration from the same well of misery as Se7en as a plucky detective (Luke Evans) joins forces with the quixotic writer (John Cusack) to unmask a madman. Evans is bland and Alice Eve’s damsel in corseted distress is more of a plot device than a fully fledged love interest, but director McTeigue has brio when it matters. 42 Scout London scoutlondon.com

Film

recommended

The Muppets (U) Director James Bobin’s delightful Valentine to Jim Henson’s iconic creations sees Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and co facing an uncertain future in a world of technological advances and fleeting celebrity. The script, co-written by leading man Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller, strikes the perfect balance between affection and irreverence, knowingly tipping the

Hunky Dory (15) wink to leaps in plot logic. When one character reveals the only way to save the Muppet Theatre from demolition is to raise $10million in two weeks, Waldorf turns to the camera and quips: “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were reciting an important plot point!” A delightful new Toy Story short animation before the main feature is the icing on an already delicious cake.

Project X (18) Not to be confused with the iconic 1987 film of the same title starring a fresh-faced Matthew Broderick and a chimpanzee, Project X is a raucous, adult-oriented comedy about a house party that descends into chaos. Stylised as home video footage, Nima Nourizadeh’s film centres on teenagers Costa (Oliver Cooper) and JB (Jonathan Daniel Brown), who throw an epic shindig

The show must go on for an unconventional drama teacher (Minnie Driver) who inspires her pupils to chase their dreams during the hottest summer on record, in Marc Evans’s feel good ritesof-passage drama. Set in 1976 Swansea and shot on location in South Wales, Hunky Dory taps into the enduring popularity of the TV series Glee to chronicle teenage

angst and growing pains during an end of term comprehensive school play. The trials and tribulations in Laurence Coriat’s screenplay are familiar but Evans’s film is sweet and sincere, culminating in an open-air performance of a futuristic rock musical based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest with a flamboyant punk-rock vibe. A real crowd pleaser.

The Woman In Black (12A) for their mate Thomas (Thomas Mann). All three lads are selfconfessed losers but they hope one night of alcohol-fuelled debauchery will cement their popularity with schoolmates. Hormones rage, tempers flare and neighbours eventually call the cops, leaving all three lads to face the music in the cold light of day.

Less is more in The Woman In Black, a chilling film version of the celebrated novel by Susan Hill. Director James Watkins delivers a cinematic ghost train that plunges us into the eerie silence of a haunted house as the muttonchopped hero (Daniel Radcliffe) nervously wanders corridors with a flickering lamp to guide the way. The decision to forego dialogue

to concentrate on old-fashioned horror traditions renders leading man Radcliffe mute for extended periods, which is no bad thing. In his first major role since hanging up his wand as Harry Potter, the 22-year-old actor is as wooden as the creaky floorboards in the film’s Godforsaken mansion and as soulless as the titular spectre.

scoutlondon.com Scout London 43

DVD / Download

Something for the Weekend Shot on a minuscule budget over the course of 17 days in Nottingham, Weekend is the little British film that could. By the end of the year the film became a box office hit, picked up over 20 international awards including 2 BIFAS and 2 nominations at the London Critics’ Circle Awards and appeared in many best of the year lists on both sides of the Atlantic. The film is about a young gay lifeguard, Russell (Tom Cullen) who, on ending a drunken evening at a gay club, wakes up the next morning with the witty, personable Glen. The two are very different, but click in a way which isn’t schmaltzy or contrived. Far from the standard romantic film treadmill, the couple’s relationship is so well portrayed that it almost feels like the viewer is spying on an ordinary pair’s lives. Speaking to both straight and gay audiences about not missing an opportunity in life, it is tender, humane and essential. Scout London sat down with actor Chris New, who plays Glen in the film. Describe your perfect London day Walking around London is my favourite thing. I sometimes walk for hours, all over town. I’ve lived in London for 12 years but there is still more for me to see - it’s such a thrill when I find an area that I had no idea existed. Time is my greatest commodity, so I’ll often be found spending it looking out across London. 44 Scout London scoutlondon.com

Can you imagine yourself living anywhere other than London? I lived in New York for a year when I was in my early 20s. I enjoyed it, but it’s a harsh place. The bohemian in me would like to live in Berlin. The recluse in me would like to move to New Zealand and lead a quiet life. Any good London restaurant tips? The Hawksmoor restaurant is very good - I never knew steaks could taste that way. I also love going to Greenwich - there’s a restaurant there called the Spread Eagle which is old fashioned but great. Do you think Weekend would have worked in London, or was Nottingham the third person in the relationship? Andrew (Haigh, director of Weekend) was keen that the story should not take place in a large city - the story needed to be smaller and more specific. The location is a character in the film, though it’s not specifically about Nottingham. Nottingham was chosen because of the funding issue. Very few people would touch the film, but luckily for us, EM Media decided to buck the trend and back us. What are your future plans? I’m currently starring in The Pitchfork Disney at the Arcola Theatre. When that wraps up I’m going on my honeymoon. It’s been delayed since we got married last summer. Vitamin D and I need some time together after the winter.

Weekend has been compared to the Before Sunrise/Before Sunset series of films. Are you gearing up for Weekday in 10 years? [Laughs] Andrew has discussed the idea of a sequel. Weekday is a good title - can we borrow that? I think it might be set in the US, and include songs. Who’s going to age better, you or Tom Cullen, who plays Russell? Oh, I have no idea. I love ageing - my life has improved with age. I think I’ll make a good old guy. If I could look like Samuel Beckett when I’m grown up then I’ll be happy. Weekend (18) is released on DVD March 19

quinnford + scout

by Ray Lamothe

new releases Contagion (12)

A stylish thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh featuring the stellar talents of Gwnyeth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Jude Law and Laurence Fishburne, which imagines the panic when a deadly new virus threatens to become a global epidemic. Scott Z Burns’s smart script zigzags from Hong Kong to London, Tokyo, Minnesota and beyond, examining the reaction of governments, scientists and the public from myriad perspectives, unearthing personal dramas in the midst of devastating global catastrophe. Only once does the film resort to what might be considered cheap disaster movie tactics, watching nervously as two surgeons peel back the scalp of Paltrow’s patient to examine her brain for signs of the infection. Close-ups of the infected coughing and spluttering, unknowingly passing on the virus by touching surfaces, makes for uncomfortable viewing. Tension is palpable from the opening frames and Cliff Martinez’s insistent electronic score quickens the pulse.

Anonymous (12)

An interesting departure for director Roland Emmerich, who is best known for digital effectsheavy blockbusters including Godzilla and The Day After Tomorrow. His latest film wears the doublet and hose of the Elizabethan era in style but there’s no method in the madness of John Orloff’s screenplay with a perplexing, fractured chronology that precludes dramatic momentum. Rhys Ifans is solid as the visionary who professes, “All art is political otherwise it would just be decoration” but Rafe Spall’s comical turn threatens to derail the picture, and the romantic subplot between Edward and Elizabeth I is a damp squib. At 130 minutes, Emmerich’s history lesson is hefty but for all its impressive production design, this conspiracy theory is much ado about nothing.

The Ides of March (15)

Hugely engrossing thriller that doesn’t get too bogged down in the political process, concentrating more on the abrasive personalities responsible for getting a well-groomed mouthpiece into the Senate and hopefully into the White House. George Clooney is charm personified and Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti are deliciously oily as rival puppet masters. Once again it’s Ryan Gosling who delivers the stand-out performance, transforming from a wide-eyed strategist, convinced that Morris is the man to effect lasting change, into an emotionally shattered husk. The machinations of the final 20 minutes feel too neat and the dialogue doesn’t drip with enough bile but Clooney’s film slickly and stylishly campaigns for our attention and largely gets our vote. In the director’s chair, he gradually cranks up the tension as he depicts the Machiavellian plots of men who will sacrifice idealism and honour at the twin altars of ambition and greed. scoutlondon.com Scout London 45

LGBT

Taking Fat back

All around entertainer Scottee returns to the Royal Vauxhall Tavern for a second helping of his alternative beauty pageant Burger Queen. By Madeleine O’Neil

Where did the idea for Burger Queen come from? My mum was a fat woman, and I grew up in the first generation of UK feminism. At that time my mum was reading Fat is a Feminist Issue and was working class. Watching my mum do Slim-Fast and having an awkward relationship with food while at the same time being a beautiful voluptuous woman was an interesting juxtaposition. In addition, when I was thinking of women who influenced me, I noticed they were all big, funny women - people like Victoria Wood, Dawn French, Hattie Jacques - who are all British, working class and use their size to their advantage. So I have this huge respect for all these women, while at the same time television is making documentaries that assume that fat people are broken. So some of this is a reaction to what is out there. What’s the breakdown of the contestants? Last year it was 80 per cent trans, 46 Scout London scoutlondon.com

whereas this year it is 90 per cent real women, 10 per cent trans. Why the huge shift? I do a lot of work within the trans community, so they didn’t have to be convinced that I was doing this for the right reasons, whereas fat normal girls were thinking ‘is he taking the mick?’ Then they came along to the first series and thought ‘oh, alright, he is being for real!’ I think they wanted reassurance that I was doing this for the right reasons and they weren’t going to be victimised. Who do you fat girls look up to these days? Up until recently it was someone like Adele, but she appears to have lost three stone overnight. Girls are looking at the photos of her and thinking ‘how has that happened?’ Even when I think about my fat icons, they are all now thin. Pauline Quirk and Dawn French have both lost a lot of weight. My other roles models are

dead. Hattie Jacques - dead. Mama Cass - dead. So right now you have a situation where fat icons either expire in an untimely fashion, end up losing weight. But I’d like to become a role model. What’s the level of acceptance in the LGBT community to Burger Queen? I try not to generalise any of my work for one specific community. I come from a post Queer as Folk world, where gays are a normal sight on the telly. We’ve come to a point where I don’t think gays are so oppressed they need work created for them. On the flip-side, some in the gay community fetishise large people but I don’t especially relate to that. I’m trying to carve out a new word - fat - and take that term back because it was a word that was often thrown around the scene when I was a kid. I’m trying to re-appropriate it just as many communities have done with their own slurs.

How did the roster of judges come together? I’m friends with some of them, and each year I approach a variety of famous women who would be considered stereotypically ‘fat’. They all turned it down. People who do accept are considered a bit strange and not mainstream. People who dress left of centre - they understand what it is to walk down the street and people laugh at you. Who is your dream judge? Last year my dream judge was Lisa Stansfield because I have a huge crush on her. My mum used to replicate Lisa’s makeup when I was growing up. So when she came to the show last year I didn’t know what to do. This year we’ve got Bobby Crush. All I keep thinking is ‘he’s won Opportunity Knocks!’ Burger Queen runs each Tuesday at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern until March 29

recommended TUESDAY MARCH 6 Bar Wotever at Royal Vauxhall Tavern, SE11 5HY Vauxhall FREE 18.00 0.00. open stage night for up and coming queer talents to show off.

WEDNESDAY MARCH 7 Amateur Strip at BJ’s White Swan, E14 7JD Limehouse FREE, 21.00 - 3.00. Long-running East End amateur strip night. £100 to the winner

Tranny Shack at Madame Jo Jo’s, W1F 0SE Tottenham Court Rd £3 before 23.30, then £5. FREE in drag, 23.00 - 4.00. Award-winning party welcoming drag queens, gender illusionists, dressed-up klub kids, transexuals, faces-about-town, and a host of other wild creatures channelling polysexuality.

Club Wotever Dyke March Fundraiser at Royal Vauxhall Tavern, SE11 5HY Vauxhall £7, 20.00 - 2.00. A night of poetry, performances and bands in order to raise money for Dyke March London. Fitladz at Barcode Vauxhall, SE11 5AW Vauxhall £5, 22.00 - 5.00. Weekly club night celebrating trackies, caps and trainers, with resident DJs PJay and Pete Blakely. G-A-Y Camp Attack at Heaven, WC2N 6NG Embankment £3/£1 w/ flyer, 23.00 - 4.00. Four rooms celebrate four decades of music from 70s to today. Onyx at Area, SE1 7TP Vauxhall FREE before 0.00, 22.00 - 5.00. Three rooms of music and live performances with host Chrissy Darling. Popstarz at The Den, WC1A 1JJ Holborn FREE entry with webflyer, 22.00 - 4.00. Three different rooms: The indie Ballroom, The Pop Arches, and The RnB Lounge plus sky terrace in The indie Ballroom. Shake & Pop at Candy Bar, W1D 3BJ Tottenham Court Road FREE before 21.00, then £3 members, £5 others, 21.00 - 3.00. Juicy urban anthems and chart number ones, retro favourites, lost bangers and the odd surprise thrown in for good measure. Stunners at Stunners, E1W 3HB Limehouse FREE before midnight, then £5, 22.00 - 6.00. All sexualities welcome: fetish, gay, straight, couples, cyber, goth, transgender, swingers.

Wild Thing at Retro Bar, WC2N 6HH Charing Cross FREE, 20.00 - 23.00. Rock’n’roll, girl groups, retro pop and punk rock with DJ Joe Pop.

P_A_H / HoPELESS128 / ALExiS MARyoN

FRIDAY MARCH 9 Back to the 80s at Admiral Duncan, W1D 4UD Leicester Square FREE, 20.00 - 0.00. DJ set featuring the best of the decade that taste forgot.

Tonker at Eagle London, SE11 5 QY Vauxhall FREE before 22.00, then £5, 21.00 - 3.00. Guy next door meets your favourite dad or uncle and rugby player.

SATURDAY MARCH 10 Another Night at Vogue Fabrics, N16 7XB Dalston Kingsland/Dalston Junction £3, 22.00 - 3.00 Bright Light Bright Light and David oh take to the decks for everything from the 1990s. Bad Reputation at Resistance Gallery, E2 9RF Bethnal Green £3, 21.00 2.00. Monthly disco for queers, riot grrrls, punx and geeks, playing bedroom dancing songs for the socially awkward and the socially awesome.

Monster at Candy Bar, W1D 3BJ Tottenham Court Rd FREE before 21.00, then £3 members, £5 others, 20.00 - 3.00. Massive chart hits from all genres, delivered by Lady Bex. Waltzing with Hilda at Jacksons Lane, N6 5AA Highgate £10, 19.30 23.30. unique fixture on London’s club scene specialising in the partner dancing of ballroom & Latin rhythms for women only.

SUNDAY MARCH 11

Horse Meat Disco at Eagle London, SE11 5QY Vauxhall £6, 20.00 - 3.00. Jim Stanton’s Sunday night stallion delivers a six-hour set from resident Luke Howard.

G-A-Y at Heaven, WC2N ENG Embankment £5 entry wristbands available from G-A-Y Bar, 22.30 - 6.00. Jeremy Joseph’s legendary club night, featuring pop and R&B from the 80s to the present. P.A. by Alexandra Burke of x Factor fame.

THURSDAY MARCH 8 Dolly Mixtures at Candy Bar, W1D 3BJ Tottenham Court Road FREE, 21.00 - 3.00. Sweet pop and R&B with DJP (Lounge, Popstarz) until the early hours. Gravity at Fire, SW8 1RT Vauxhall £10/£8 w/ flyer, 2.00 - 8.00. DJs include Leandro kloppel, Jon Byrne, Jamie Head, The oli, Sharp Boys, D’Johnny & special guests playing house beats. Room Service at Miabella, W1D 4DJ Tottenham Court Road £5 before 0.00, then £8, 22.00 - 3.00 Hosted by the legendary Jodie Harsh. Expect house music, DJs and go-go dancers. XXTRA at Shadow Lounge, W1F 0RF Piccadilly Circus FREE before 23.00, £5 after 22.00 - 3.00. Fashion, music and all things beautiful: a sanctuary for creative folk.

Bijou - The Cocktail Social for Gay Women at Carter Rooms, EC4V 5EA St Paul’s £10, 20.00 - 2.00. Relaxed evening for women of all ages, styles and ethnicity to meet friends and socialise with other women over cocktails. Dish at East Bloc, EC1V 1JN Old Street £7-£10, 22.30 - 6.00. Tom Stephan and Borja Peña serve up underground house and techno while kartel Brown and Scott Webster offer old school R&B and classic house. Duckie at Royal Vauxhall Tavern, SE11 5HY Vauxhall £6, 21.00 - 2.00. Purveyors of progressive working class entertainment for 16 years. Special guests Matthew Robins and The Frantastics.

Inferno at Shadow Lounge, W1F 0RF Piccadilly Circus £10, 22.00 - 3.00. DJ Andrew Elmore spins classic dance tracks from kylie to Madonna to Snap! to ethnic music to Beyonce. Liberte 15th Anniversary Party at Brixton Clubhouse, SW9 8HH Brixton £8 before midnight, then £10, 23.00 - 5.00. The club for women who love women celebrate with DJs Nikki Lucas, Misty B & ASHA. Women only with all genders as guests. Lost & Found at Madame JoJos, W1F 0SE Piccadilly Circus £8, 22.00 - 3.00. keb Darge and Andy Smith play Northern Soul, funk and ‘proper’ R&B - but only if it’s on vinyl. Miss Cookie Mon Star at The Way out Club, EC3N 2JY Tower Hill £10, £12 after 23.00 21.00 - 4.00. Everyone’s favourite rapping drag queen takes to the stage.

Orange at Fire, SW8 1RT Vauxhall £10 before midnight, then £12, 23.00 9.00. The original Sunday night/Monday morning phenomenon promoted by Steven Sharp. Pink Jukebox at La Cantina, WC2B 4AU Holborn £10, 14.00 - 19.00. Ballroom and Latin dance club for lesbians, gay men and their friends. S.L.A.G.S / Chillout at The Rut, SE11 5HY Vauxhall £8, £5 after 19.30, 14.00 - 0.00. Huge dance anthems and commercial house from resident DJs Simon Le Vans, Andy Almighty and Sean Sirrs. Strictly Sunday at BJ’s White Swan, E14 7JD Limehouse £3, 18.30 23.00. Classic Latin, ballroom and salsa. WetYourSelf at Fabric, EC1M 3HN Farringdon £5/10, 23.00 - 6.00. Rench producer Alexkid guests at the polysexual Sunday nighter

MONDAY MARCH 12 It’s Britney Bitch! at Shadow Lounge, W1F 0RF Piccadilly Circus £5, members FREE 22.00 - 3.00. Weekly event with DJ Tuomo Fox and special guests. Popcorn at Heaven, WC2N 6NG Embankment £4/8, 23.00 - 5.30. A polysexual crowd is satisfied by a slightly cheesy mix of dance and big house tunes each week. NuS free.

scoutlondon.com Scout London 47

Music

Neuro

music

“T

his is the first time I’ve toured since the album came out,” beams Emeli Sandé. “So while the show is no different, it’s the first time the crowd have been singing the words back at me.” It’s probably something the 24-year-old Scot should get used to. Her debut, Our Version Of Events, was released in February, and immediately went to the top of the album chart. If not for Lana Del Rey’s Born To Die, it would’ve been the fastest-selling album of 2012, shifting more than 110,000 copies in a week. Not bad for a lady who, if things had turned out slightly differently, might now be busy working in a hospital’s neurology department. “I did three years at med school then a year of specialisation in neuroscience,” she explains, adding she was just a year away from gaining the title Dr Sandé when fame, rather than MRI scanners, came knocking. “There was a point at university where I was leaning toward a career in

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66 The odds were

stacked against me succeeding in music 99 medicine, mainly because I didn’t see a way into the music industry,” she says. “I was losing hope, but it was never an actual, complete decision. “The odds were stacked against me succeeding in music. Think about how many people don’t make it. When I first tried to get signed when I was about 19, it was a time when record labels weren’t so keen on female solo artists, especially ones who wrote their own music, so I found it tough. “I’m so happy I took time to study. It was the first time I’d been away from home, and I learned a lot about myself, let alone the subject. I feel a lot more in control now that I have a

degree. It meant that music wasn’t the be-all-and-end-all, so that took some pressure off.” For all the televised talent shows plucking singers out of obscurity into the spotlight, we still live in a world where good old-fashioned talent rises to the top, and hard work pays off. Sandé, who wrote her first song when she was just seven, now holds the unofficial title of Simon Cowell’s favourite songwriter, and even if some record labels weren’t interested in signing her as a solo artist in her own right, they definitely had their ears excited by her compositions. Pretty soon after answering the call of BBC DJ Trevor Nelson to find

a new songwriting talent, she was penning hits for Leona Lewis, Cheryl Cole, Cher Lloyd, Susan Boyle and Tinie Tempah, among the biggestselling artists in the UK. Sandé laughs at the suggestion that she only sells songs to artists who shift millions of records, countering with the fact she’s currently working with a little-known band called Saving Grace. “And I don’t ‘sell’ songs, as such,” she adds. “I give them to people. I love the reinterpretation, and the fact someone can change a lyric to mean something I’d never thought about or not intended. “The first time I heard someone singing a song of mine was Cheryl Cole, who sang Boys. Leona Lewis did another around that time, too. “Some people think it might be odd writing for other people, but I haven’t felt it like that. There’s no one that’s sung a song of mine that I haven’t respected, and no one who made me think they didn’t understand what the song was about.” This was all well and good but,

simon emmett

Emeli Sandé’s Critics’ Choice award at The Brits crowned years of work writing hits for the likes of Tinie Tempah, Leona Lewis, Cheryl Cole and Susan Boyle. But it could have been so different, she tells Andy Welch

featured spurred on by her idols Nina Simone and Aretha Franklin, Sandé wanted to perform too. She first came to the attention of the masses on Professor Green’s No 1 hit Read All About It and followed it up pretty quickly with her own single, Heaven. With its nods to Massive Attack’s classic Unfinished Sympathy, it’s her debut album’s standout track, while follow-up Daddy, and Next To Me, which caught Madonna’s attention when Sandé performed it in front of her on Graham Norton’s chat show recently, complete a trilogy of exciting, fresh and original singles. It was no real surprise when it was announced that Sandé would be given the prestigious Critics’ Choice

Award at the Brits. She was naturally over the moon to be following in the footsteps of Jessie J, Ellie Goulding and her namesake Adele (Emeli is her middle name, changed to avoid confusion with the Someone Like You singer), but less pleased to be cut from the ceremony in February due to time constraints. Sandé’s too classy to moan publicly about the incident - she has a very mature head on those shoulders - but sources close to the star reveal she was upset at having her moment on the stage taken away from her. Like other ups and downs in her career thus far, it’s likely she’ll just take it in her stride, with her eyes fixed firmly on the long game.

“I think I always knew I’d release an album,” she says, “but I didn’t think there’d be so much anticipation, or acknowledgment of what I was doing. “That said, I’m happy people are talking about the album so much. I love getting the attention, because I have experienced the other side of that, when no one cares. “I walked into Top Shop before Christmas and my song Heaven was playing in there. It was such a cool feeling, thinking that it’s not just on the radio any more, but that it’d actually filtered into people’s everyday lives.”

Scout London’s Blagger Guide Emeli SandÉ Adele Emeli Sandé was born on May 20, 1987, in Alford, Aberdeenshire. Her mother is English and her father is Zambian.

Emeli Sandé Monday April 16 O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire

She studied medicine for four years at the University Of Glasgow. At the age of 15, Choice FM invited Sandé to London to take part in a competition called Rapology. Her first kiss was at 16 - to a boy she had known since they were 11.

simon emmett / raymond mccrae / zhouxuan12345678

In 2008, Sandé sent a tape to BBC 1Xtra and it was played by DJ Ras Kwame. She was then invited to London to perform at a showcase and came to the attention of record labels.

Sandé is engaged to her long-term boyfriend, but won’t identify him at his request, saying only that he works as a scientist, not in the record industry. She has a tattoo of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo running the length of her right forearm. scoutlondon.com Scout London 49

Music

Chiddy Bang March 6, XOYO, £12.50 Philadelphia’s oh-so-hot hip hop duo’s trademark is sampling indie tunes from Radiohead, Sufjan Stevens and Passion Pit. But this is no gimmick - Chidera “Chiddy” Anamege broke the Guinness World Record for Longest Freestyle Rap as well as the Longest Marathon Rapping Record. Their XOYO show comes a day after latest album Breakfast is released and is sure to be a road-block.

Spector March 7, 100 Club, £7.50 Look past Fred MacPherson’s Peaches Geldof phase and his grating self-hyperbole and you’ll see why Spector is one of the truly exciting new guitar bands around right now. MacPherson has honed his frontman skills through previous indie-carnations Les Incorrupibles and Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man while the rest of Spector pull together a hybrid between Roxy Music and The Strokes. There’s a very good reason the band is supporting Florence and the Machine on her tour - they are about to get huge. This show will be a chance to see them headline in a much smaller venue than they’ll be playing for the next few weeks.

Tower of Power March 9, Ronnie Scott’s, £45-60

chiddy bang / man alive!

For over 40 years, Tower of Power has been creating their own kind of soul music. Since 1968, the band’s rhythm section has been laying down a groove like no other. The horn-driven sound is unmistakable and has been a feature on albums by artists from Little Feat, The Monkees and The Grateful Dead to Elton John, John Lee Hooker and Phish. An absolutely corking night out and a rare opportunity to see such an acclaimed act in such intimate surroundings.

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this week

The Duke Spirit

March 7, KOKO, £13.50

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion   March 8, Scala, £17.50

It has been 20 years since Jon Spencer, Judah Bauer and Russell Simins first tore up the indie-rock landscape in the States with their viceral vision of rock’n’roll that inspired and spawned many imitators. But make no mistake: Jon Spencer was there first. With Blues Explosion he drove furiously into the future with incendiary spirit built from courage, audacity, and revolt. Nothing has been the same since.

Last year was as successful as it was hectic for London-based five piece The Duke Spirit. Third studio album Bruiser was released to much critical praise and a European tour supporting White Lies culminated in a stand-out gig at Wembley Arena. The band are riding that wave into KOKO this month to showcase their robust, raw tunes. Frontwoman Liela Moss’s vocals are by turn muscular and vehement then delicate and sensual, a mercurial ability which along with her striking presence and style is no doubt why designers Philip Lim and the late Alexander McQueen have called Moss their muse.

Maverick Sabre March 10, The Roundhouse, £15 Hackney’s Michael Stafford - aka Maverick Sabre - is pop’s bright new thing, bringing his sound of a man that has lived a life away from the bright lights of the Brit School generation and learned his craft the hard way. Having recently toured with Snoop Dogg, as well as working with Professor Green (with whom he won an NME Award for the track Jungle), Chase & Status and Cee-Lo Green, his songs are radio staples, with new fans including the likes of Katy B who recently covered Let Me Go on Radio 1’s Live Lounge.

Mark Lanegan March 13, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, £18.50

Demonfort / chris boland / redbanshee / man like me

Also this week: Attack Attack! Mar 7, The Underworld, £10 Band of Skulls Mar 6, Roadhouse, £17.50 The Bullitts Mar 7, XOYO, £12 Cast of Cheers / Theme Park Mar 6, The Lexington, £7.50 Chairlift Mar 6, Borderline SOLD OUT Dry The River Mar 6, Rough Trade East, FREE Hugh Masekela Mar 10, Barbican Centre, £10-27.50 The Jayhawks Mar 8, Barbican Centre, £20-27.50 Laura Marling / Timber Timbre / Pete Roe Mar 7, HMV Hammersmith Apollo, SOLD OUT LMFAO / Far East Movement / Colette Carr Mar 8, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, £14.50 Mayer Hawthorne Mar 7, Scala, £13.50

Man Like Me & guests Mar 7, Dingwalls, £6 Nick Lowe Mar 7, Leicester Square Theatre, £32.50 Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings Mar 9, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, £19.50-22.50 Sinead O’Connor Mar 10, Queen Elizabeth Hall, £22.50-27.50 The Silver Seas Mar 6, The Garage, £13 Spotlight Kid / Zoo Zero / Karvel / The Diamond Noise Mar 7, The Macbeth, £6-8 The Stranglers Mar 9, Roundhouse, £26 Team Me / Uno Moller Mar 7, The Lexington, £8

Founder of Washington grunge legends Screaming Trees, Mark Lanegan possesses a voice which has more gravel than a Wickes’ superstore. His solo material contains a thin thread of his grunge past, but it’s so much more than that - bluesy, heartfelt, powerful and consistently impressive. Since Screaming Trees disbanded in 2000 he has joined the likes of Queens of the Stone Age and formed The Gutter Twins, while his duo with Belle and Sebastian’s Isobel Campbell gives Robert Plant and Alison Krauss more than a run for their money. Take the Strepsils if you plan to sing along. scoutlondon.com Scout London

Music

Chick Corea and Gary Burton Apr 11, Barbican Centre, £20-£37.50 Chris Cornell Jun 18, London Palladium, £27.50-£35 Chris Rea Apr 5, HMV Hammersmith Apollo, £35 Chris Wood and Dizraeli May 19, Cecil Sharp House, £14 Christy Moore Apr 4-5, Royal Festival Hall, £25-£35 Coldplay Jun 1-2 & 4, Emirates Stadium, £49.50-£75 The Cranberries Jun 18, HMV Hammersmith Apollo, £35 Damien Dempsey Mar 17, HMV Forum, £15 David Guetta Jun 1, Alexandra Palace, £36.50 Deaf Havana Apr 26, Electric Ballroom, £12

Deer Tick Apr 4, The Garage, £12 Delain May 16, KOKO, £15 Desertfest Apr 6-8, The Underworld, £50 weekend ticket DJ Fresh May 15, KOKO, £15 Dispatch Mar 21, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, £17.50

Dog Is Dead Mar 15, The Borderline, £8 Drake Mar 26-27, The O2, £37.50£39.50 Dry The River May 2, Electric Ballroom, £10

Joan Baez Mar 16-17, Queen Elizabeth Hall, £25-£45 Joe Brown Apr 27, Cadogan Hall, £28-£30.50 Judas Priest May 26, HMV Hammersmith Apollo, £38.50 Justin Furstenfeld Mar 8, Dingwalls £20 Karnataka Mar 10, Bush Hall, £15 Katzenjammer Mar 22, Scala, £12.50 Kill It Kid Mar 26, The Borderline, £7.50 Kindness Mar 21, XOYO, £10 Korn Mar 25, O2 Academy Brixton, £32 Ladyhawke May 11, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, £16 Larry Graham And Graham Central Station Apr 4, Clapham Grand, £25-£30 Leddra Chapman Mar 28, The Borderline, £8.50 Little Comets Apr 26, Scala, £10 Lloyd Mar 12, Jazz Cafe, £25 The London Improvisers Orchestra Apr 1, Cafe Oto, £6 Los Campesinos! Mar 22, Electric Ballroom, £13.50 Lostprophets May 4, O2 Academy Brixton, £25 Low Apr 3, Royal Festival Hall, £15-£22.50 Lynyrd Skynyrd Jun 3, HMV Hammersmith Apollo, £40 Madonna July 17, Hyde Park, £70-£125

Dwele Apr 25-28, Jazz Cafe, £22.50 Elvis Costello May 23-24, Royal Albert Hall, £28.50-£40 Emilia Martensson May 17, Hideaway, £10 Enter Shikari Mar 23, HMV Hammersmith Apollo, £20 Fairport Convention May 16, The Borderline, £24 The Farm May 19, O2 Islington Academy, £17.50 Fixers May 30, Scala, £8.50 Florence And The Machine Apr 3, Royal Albert Hall, £25-£75 Frank Turner / The Sleeping Souls Apr 13, Wembley Arena, £22.50 Future Islands Mar 6, Scala, £9 Futures Apr 24, XOYO, £9.50 Gabrielle Aplin Mar 13, Bush Hall, £8.50 Garbage May 9, Troxy, £29 Gavin Bryars Ensemble / Philip Jeck Apr 15, Barbican Centre, £15-£25 Gemma Hayes Mar 26, Slaughtered Lamb, £12.50 Glasvegas Apr 3, The Garage, £17 Great Lake Swimmers Apr 12, Cargo £10.50 Green Day’s American Idiot Dec 4-16, HMV Hammersmith Apollo, £22.50£39.50 Grimes May 9, XOYO, £9 Ian Siegal Mar 29, The Borderline, £15 Il Divo Apr 17-18, Royal Albert Hall, £35-£85 Imelda May May 4, Royal Albert Hall, £29.50-£40 James Grant May 18, The Borderline, £12 Jay Brannan Apr 14, The Garage, £12 Jay Z / Kanye West May 20-22, The O2, £39.50-£60 Jessie J Apr 1, Royal Albert Hall, £25-£75 Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson plays ‘Thick as a Brick’ Apr 27, HMV Hammersmith Apollo, £25-£32.50

The Maccabees Jun 8, Alexandra Palace, £20 Madredeus Apr 16, Barbican Centre, £15-£26 Manfred Mann’s Earthband May 3, Jazz Cafe, £22.50 Maps And Atlases Apr 17, The Garage, £10 Mark Stewart Mar 28, Scala, £13.50 The Martin Harley Band Apr 26, The Borderline, £14.50 McFly Apr 7 & 20, HMV Hammersmith Apollo, £27.50 Meshuggah Apr 20, HMV Forum, £17.50 Mick West / Frank McLaughlin Jun 17, Ye Olde Rose & Crown Theatre Pub, £6 Mike Gordon Mar 18, The Borderline, £15 The Milk Apr 4, Scala, £9 The Mountain Goats with Anonymous 4 Apr 2, Barbican Centre, £12.50-£22.50 Nanci Griffith Mar 14, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, £29 Neil Cowley Trio Mar 15, Queen Elizabeth Hall, £15-£20

New Kids On The Block & Backstreet Boys Apr 28-29, The O2, £40-£55

taylor crothers / halliehh

Above And Beyond Apr 7-8, O2 Academy Brixton, £20 Agnostic Front Aug 8, The Underworld, £15 Alanis Morissette Jun 27, O2 Brixton Academy, £37.50 Alex Winston Apr 4, XOYO, £9 Alexander O’Neal May 17, Leicester Square Theatre, £33 Alkaline Trio May 10, Electric Ballroom, £18 Allen Stone Apr 5, Jazz Cafe, £15 Andrea Bocelli Nov 14, The O2, £45-£120 Andrew WK Apr 12, HMV Forum, £17.50 Angels And Airwaves Apr 14, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, £17.50-£22.50 The Antlers Apr 26, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, £15 The Asteroids Galaxy Tour Apr 10, Scala, £12.50 Aurora Orchestra Jul 8, Wigmore Hall, £12 Barry Manilow May 15, The O2, £25-£100 An Evening With Bernie Marsden Jun 21, Jazz Cafe, £16.50 Big Daddy Kane / Biz Markie / Roxanne Shanté / MC Shan / Craig G / Masta Ace Apr 9, HMV Forum, £30 Big Star Third May 28, Barbican Centre, £15-£25 Black Veil Brides Mar 30, O2 Academy Brixton, £17.50 Blink 182 Jun 8-9, The O2, £40 Boots Electric Mar 14, The Garage, £13.50 Bowerbirds May 7, Cargo, £11 Bowling For Soup Apr 1, KOKO, £14.50 Boyce Avenue Jun 21, HMV Hammersmith Apollo, £22.50 Brand New Heavies Mar 15, East Wintergarden £20 Buzzcocks May 26, O2 Academy Brixton, £25 Ceremony Mar 20, XOYO, £11.50 The Charlatans Jun 8, HMV Hammersmith Apollo, £29.50 Charlie Simpson Mar 22, KOKO, £15

future events Classical

Newton Faulkner May 1, Scala, £17 Noah And The Whale Apr 16, Royal Albert Hall, £16-£22.50 / Apr 17, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, £22.50 Of Mice And Men May 3, The Underworld, £10 Of Montreal Apr 25, KOKO, £14.50 Oli Brown Apr 22, Islington Assembly Hall, £12.50

Aida Mar 6-11, Royal Albert Hall, £21.50-£75 The Barber of Seville Mar 8-10, Hackney Empire, £10-£32

Boris Giltburg Piano: Prokofiev, Schumann and Rachmaninov Mar 12, Wigmore Hall, £10-£12

alterna2 / ashley hampton / chris gloag / andreas praefcke

The Death of Klinghoffer Mar 7 & 9, London Coliseum, £10-£97.50 HMS Pinafore Mar 11, Barbican Centre, £16.50-£44.50 A Little Nightmare Music Mar 9, Cadogan Hall, £15-£25 Lucio Silla Mar 8, Cadogan Hall, £15-£38 Mahler Symphony No 7 Mar 9, Barbican Centre, £10-£30 March of the Women Mar 11, Royal Festival Hall, £15-£25 Mendelssohn Elijah Mar 7, Barbican Centre, £11-£45

Orbital Apr 10, Royal Albert Hall, £30-£40 Orla Murphy Band Mar 6, Leicester Square Theatre, £10 The Osmonds Apr 28, HMV Hammersmith Apollo, £30-£37.50 Paradise Lost Apr 29, Scala, £16.50 Parkway Drive Apr 7, IndigO2 at The O2, £15 Paul McCartney Mar 29, Royal Albert Hall, £40-£95 Pelican Apr 7, The Garage, £13 People on Vacation Mar 25, The Borderline, £15 Pete Atkin Apr 22, Ye Olde Rose & Crown Theatre Pub, £8 Pete Murray Apr 12, Scala, £16 Po’Girl, Po Girl Apr 4, The Borderline, £12 Pop Will Eat Itself Mar 23, Electric Ballroom, £18 The Presidents Of The United States Of America Mar 16, HMV Forum, £20 Primus Apr 4-5, Royal Albert Hall, £37.50 Pulp Mar 31, Royal Albert Hall, £25-£75 The Puppini Sisters Apr 20, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, £17-£20 The Rapture May 2, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, £15 The Rasmus May 21, O2 Academy Islington, £13.50 The Rifles Mar 30, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, £17 / Mar 31, Troxy, £17 Robert Glasper Experiment with special guest Bilal May 14, Barbican Centre, £10-£25 Rocky Votolato Apr 18, The Borderline, £11 Roger Daltrey Mar 28, Royal Albert Hall, £25-£75 Rosanne Cash Mar 30, Union Chapel, £17.50 Rose-Marie Mar 21, Leicester Square Theatre, £22.50

Milos Karadaglic Mar 11, Wigmore Hall, £10-£12 Mozart’s Requiem by Candlelight Mar 9, St Martin-inthe-Fields £8-£25 Sing A Story Family Concert Mar 10, Wigmore Hall, £5-£7 Vida Guitar Quartet Mar 9, Kings Place, £9.50-£24.50 Vivaldi Four Seasons by Candlelight Mar 10, St Martin-inthe-Fields £8-£26

Ryan Adams Apr 23, London Palladium, £28.50-£38.50 Saint Etienne May 28, London Palladium, £22.50-£28.50 Scott Matthews Apr 20, Islington Assembly Hall, £17.50 Sham 69 Jul 14, Electric Brixton, £20 Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings Mar 9, Shepherd’s Bush Empire, £19.50£22.50 Sharon Van Etten May 16, Scala, £12.50 Shearwater Apr 3, Scala, £12.50 The Skints Oct 11, Scala, £10 Sick of Sarah Apr 23, The Borderline, £8 Simone Felice Apr 27, Bush Hall, £15 Simple Plan May 1, HMV Forum, £16 The Slackers Apr 13, O2 Academy Islington, £15 Soap & Skin Ensemble Apr 11, Scala, £15.50 Spotlight Kid / Zoo Zero / Karvel / The Diamond Noise Mar 7, The Macbeth £6-£8 Stacey Kent Apr 7, Leicester Square Theatre, £20 Steel Panther Mar 31, O2 Academy Brixton, £18.50 Steps Apr 19-20, The O2, £40 Steve Aoki Apr 4, KOKO, £15 Strange Boys Apr 2, The Garage, £11 The Stranglers Mar 9, The Roundhouse, £26 The Subways May 10, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, £15 The Sunshine Underground Apr 25, XOYO, £12.50 Syleena Johnson Mar 25, Jazz Cafe, £17.50 Talib Kweli Mar 20, HMV Forum, £23.50-£40 This Will Destroy You Apr 5, O2 Academy Islington, £13.50 Tokyo String Quartet Apr 10, Wigmore Hall, £15-£30 Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Jun 20, Royal Albert Hall, £65-£75 Touche Amore Mar 28, XOYO, £11 Toyah Willcox Apr 22, Bush Hall, £19.50 Trio Mediaeval / Arve Henriksen May 20, LSO St Lukes, £15-£20 Twenty Twenty May 2, The Garage, £12 The Used Apr 27, O2 Islington Academy, £17.50 Veronica Falls Mar 14, Scala, £10 The Waterboys Mar 25, HMV Hammersmith Apollo £29.50-£35 We Are The In Crowd Apr 26, O2 Academy Islington, £10 Westlife Jun 7, The O2, £38.50-£44

Wiley Apr 1, The Garage, £12.50

Rufus Wainwright Apr 30, Lyceum Theatre, £36-£71

Wolves Like Us Apr 25, The Borderline, £8 Wynton Marsalis’ Swing Symphony Jul 25-26, Barbican Centre, £25-£85 Yacht May 8, XOYO, £10 Yelawolf May 14, Electric Ballroom, £14.50 You Me At Six Apr 2-3, O2 Academy Brixton, £20

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Music TUESDAY MARCH 6 White Heat at Madame JoJos, W1F 0SE Tottenham Court Rd £4£6, 20.00 - 3.00. Leftfield bands join electro and techno toting resident DJs Matty and Marcus at this indie weekly.

WEDNESDAY MARCH 7 Death2Disco at Notting Hill Arts Club, W11 3JQ Notting Hill Gate FREE, 19.00 - 2.00. Danny Watson and guests spin a rocking mix with live sets early on.

Clark “Iradelphic” Album Launch at Village underground, EC2A 3PQ Shoreditch High Street £12.50 adv., 21.00 - 3.00. Warp Records’ Clark celebrates the arrival of his new LP with the likes of Nathan Fake. Deviation at Concrete, E1 6JJ Shoreditch High Street £7, 21.00 - 3.00. Resident DJ Benji B is joined by Numbers and Warp Records wunderkind, Hudson Mohawke. Madd Raff at The Social W1W 7JD Oxford Circus £3/5, 19.00 - 1.00. London’s leading bashment crew, The Heatwave, deliver a carnival mix centred on dancehall and funky. White Leather Viper Club at Dalston Superstore, E8 2PB Dalston Kingsland FREE, 21.00 2.00. Residents Will and Marty Viper drop rare italo and forgotten disco, with a different guest each week.

CHRiS kiLLy / iNkoGNiToH / RoRy MiZEN

THURSDAY MARCH 8 FWD>> at Plastic People, EC2A 3QE Old Street £7, 21.30 - 2.00. The legendary dubstep and bass night encourages guest DJs and MCs to take full advantage of one of the best sound systems around. Tweetbox at The Book Club, EC2A 4RH Old Street FREE, 20.00 - 2.00. The supremely social Shoreditch venue invites you to Tweet your suggestions for the next song. Eglo 3rd Birthday at Fabric, EC1M 3HN Farringdon £12.50 adv., 21.00 - 3.00. Floating Points and Alexander Nut celebrate their label’s birthday with the help of Funkineven and Slum Village’s Dez Andres. YoYo at Notting Hill Arts Club, W11 3JQ Notting Hill Gate £5/7, 19.00 - 2.00. Seb Chew, Leo Greenslade and guests play hip-hop, dubstep and R&B. invite only: tinyurl.com/Toyoyo

clubbing The Roots at Basing House, E2 8AA Old Street £5, 21.00 - 2.00. Mr C and residents Matthew Bushwacka! and Richie Fingers play early house music.

SATURDAY MARCH 10

FRIDAY MARCH 9 Bangface at Electrowerkz, EC1V 1NQ Angel £12, 22.00 - 6.00. Ratpack, Marvellous Cain and Chris Liberator lead the charge at the neo-rave institution. This month’s theme is classic toys. Disco Shed at The Book Club, EC2A 4RH Old Street £5, 20.00 - 2.00. Expect eclectic party music as Peepshow Paddy is joined by Bill Brewster and Paul Noble from Disco Sucks. Free before 21.00. FabricLive at Fabric, EC1M 3HN Farringdon £10/16/17, 22.00 - 6.00. Brazilian superstar DJ Marky invites his friends to party. The Nextmen and DJ Die join him in room one. Elsewhere there’s Med School and Goldie’s Metalheadz crew. £7 after 3.00. Found: Trix at Hidden, SE11 5EQ Vauxhall £10 adv., 23.00 - 6.00. Cutting-edge electronic music from Simon Baker, George FitzGerald, Deadboy and Randomer. On The Real at East Village, EC2A 3HX Old Street £3/£5/£7.50, 20.00 - 3.00. Mr Thing and Spin Doctor pay tribute to A Tribe Called quest. The award winning documentary “Beats, Rhymes and Life” is screened at 20.00. Semtex at The Westbury Bar, NW6 5UA Kilburn Park £3/5, 20.00 - 3.00. Radio 1xtra’s skilled turntablist drops hiphop bombs. Free before 22.00. Social Meltdown at The Social, W1W 7JD Oxford Circus £5, 18.00 - 1.00. DJ Ross Allen delivers an eclectic post work mix with guests tbc. Free before 21.00. The Gallery at Ministry of Sound, SE1 6DP Elephant & Castle £14 adv., 22.30 - 6.00. Cosmic Gate launch their Trance Nation mix album. £8 after 15.00. The Nest Presents at The Nest, N16 7XJ Dalston Kingsland £7, 21.00 - 4.00. French electro whizzkid, Surkin, is joined by Boys Noize’s SCNTST and kitsuné’s is Tropical.

XOYO versus Wheel & Deal at xoyo, EC2A 4AP Old Street £6 adv., 22.00 - 3.00. Label head N-Type invites the likes of Toddla T and DJ EZ to join him in battling the Shoreditch venue.

Audio Doughnuts at Plan B, SW9 7AY Brixton £10/12 adv., 22.00 - 6.00. Loefah promises a genre bending set to include 80’s boogie, dancehall and various shades of bass. MJ Cole, Redinho and Wookie add to the stellar line-up. A Night with at Loft Studios, NW10 6QP Willesden Junction £12.50/15, 23.00 - 7.00. Get Physical’s hugely influential techno double act, M.A.N.D.y., play all night long. BEast at xoyo, EC2A 4AP Old Street £10 adv., 21.00 - 3.00. A celebration of bass music from London’s East End headlined by Adam F. Club NME: Saturday Special at koko, NW1 7JE Mornington Crescent £5 adv., 21.00 - 3.00. Club NME adds to its usual Friday slot with a special night of noisy synths featuring live performances by Goose and kitsune’s autokratz. Cocoon Heroes at Great Suffolk St Warehouse, SE1 0NS Southwark £22.50 adv., 22.00 - 6.00. Cassy, Raresh, Tobi Neumann and onur ozer represent the techno svengali’s mega brand. District at The Bowery, WC1A 1EP Tottenham Court Road FREE, 21.00 - 2.30. DJ Hooch and Brian Norman create a party vibe of funk, hip hop, New Jack Swing and house. Fabric at Fabric, EC1M 3HN Farringdon £12-19, 23.00 - 8.00. Martin Buttrich plays live in the main room. Also on the bill are Matt Tolfrey, Surgeon and residents Craig Richards and Terry Francis. £10 after 4.00. Krankbrother at Secret Warehouse Venue, TBC, £20, 20.00 - 6.00. The krankbrothers host a BPitch Control showcase with label owner Ellen Allien playing a 3 hour set and kiki in support. info at krankbrother.com Lo*kee Loves Perlon at 7-9 Crucifix Lane, SE1 3JW London Bridge £15, 23.00 - 6.00. Sammy Dee and San Proper fly the flag for the Berlin-based techno label. A Guy Called Gerald plays live. Lost & Found at Madame JoJos, W1F 0SE Piccadilly Circus £8, 22.00 - 3.00. keb Darge and Andy Smith play northern Soul, funk and “proper” R&B; but only if it’s on vinyl. Saturday Sessions at Ministry of Sound, SE1 6DP Elephant & Castle £18 adv., 23.00 - 7.00. Nic Fanciulli’s Saved

party continues with the likes of italoboyz among the guests. Sweet Memory Sounds at Notting Hill Arts Club, W11 3JQ Notting Hill Gate £6/8, 19.00 - 2.00. West Country legend DJ Derek and fellow resident DJ Mylon deliver a carnival blend of soul, reggae, funk, ska and dancehall. Free before 20.00. The Christmas Club at Borderline, W1D 4JB Tottenham Court Road £6/7, 23.00 - 4.00. Students and Soho goers still can’t get enough of this old timer. Vintage House Foundation at East Village, EC2A 3HX Old Street £5-10, 21.00 - 3.30. New Jersey’s Cassio Ware plays live. Support comes from Ashley Beedle and Stuart Patterson. We Love Saturdays at Supperclub, W10 5QZ Ladbroke Grove £10, 22.00 - 2.00. Femi Fem hosts a postdinner mix of boogie, loungecore and house. invite only: femi@femifem.com Yacht Club Disco at Secret Venue, TBC, £10/15, 22.00 - 6.00. A couple of New york’s coolest disco fish, Jacques Renault and DFA’s Justin Miller, play a new canalside venue. info at residentadvisor.net

Subsoul at The Social, W1W 7JD Oxford Circus £5, 18.00 - 1.00. Jazzie B & Spin Doctor continue to give the West End a weekly soul, disco, hip hop & house fix. Free before 20.00.

SUNDAY MARCH 11 Jaded at Cable, SE1 3JW London Bridge £8/12, 05.00 13.00. The techno house carry-on keeps packing them in; with the reliable resident Raymundo Rodriguez. Relief at Secret Warehouse Venue, TBC, £10 adv., 14.00 - 23.00. A new Sunday club enters the fray. The opening guest is Freak ‘n Chic’s Dan Ghenacia. info at reliefmusik.com WetYourSelf at Fabric, EC1M 3HN Farringdon £5/10, 23.00 - 6.00. Laurent Garnier’s one time protégé, Alexkid, guests at the polysexual Sunday nighter.

MONDAY MARCH 12 Popcorn at Heaven, WC2N 6NG Embankment £4/8, 23.00 - 5.30. A polysexual crowd is satisfied by a slightly cheesy mix of dance and big house tunes each week. NuS free.

scoutlondon.com Scout London 55

Sport & Fitness

Cool pools

by James Glavin

he temperature is barely above zero, there is snow on the ground and I’m standing in public in my swimming trunks, exposing my goosepimply flesh to all and sundry. No, I’m not having an anxiety dream, but am in fact at London Fields Lido to find out why swimming outdoors is not just for the summer months. It’s a Sunday morning in freezing February and most right-thinking Londoners are still asleep, yet judging by the healthy number of people also taking the plunge this cold wintery morning, London’s lidos are in rude health despite the refusal of the thermometer’s mercury to rise. Once I’m at the lido and down to my trunks, there’s actually not much time to feel any sense of trepidation. My only thought is to get into the water as quickly as possible in the hope that it might be somewhat less Arctic. And I’m pleasantly surprised - the water is by no means tropical, but warm enough to avoid being totally uncomfortable whilst being cold enough to motivate you to keep moving. 56 Scout London scoutlondon.com

The outdoor temperature is in single figures which makes the pool look like it’s steaming. Making for an atmospheric swim once I get over the unnerving sight of fellow swimmers emerging out of the mist like Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now. The fact that there is a pool at London Fields at all is a huge testament to the local community which through many years of campaigning fought council cutbacks, squatters and bureaucracy to save the 1930s facility. It finally re-opened in 2006 after 18 years of closure. The 50m pool has been beautifully renovated and has great facilities, including indoor and outdoor changing rooms, showers, lockers and a couple of cafés - one of which is open through the winter months. I’d thoroughly recommend a visit. If you can bear to drag yourself out of bed and run the chilly gauntlet from changing room to pool this could well be more effective than a Bloody Mary for getting over the night before. I was won over and could quite easily become addicted to outdoor swimming. The whole experience was really energising and left me powered

up and ready for the day. There are other outdoor pools in London to explore, although winter swimmers need to do their homework before heading out with their trunks and a towel as many lidos - such as Hyde Park’s Serpentine Lake, Tooting Bec Lido and Brockwell Lido - either close for the winter or require you to join a swimming club if you want to partake in an icy dip. Those determined to disrobe and dive in despite the chill have a number of places to choose from. Hampstead Heath boasts three swimming ponds alongside Parliament Hill Lido. To swim in the mixed pond you need to be a member of the Heath’s Winter Swimmers Club (which costs £15 a year), but the other ponds are open to all even in winter months. The unheated waters may not be to everyone’s taste, however. The club’s website draws the attention of would-be swimmers to the potential risks of hypothermia and the terrifyingly-named Sudden Immersion Syndrome and so it’s probably not for the faint-hearted. Hampton Pool, in west London, is probably a safer bet for novice

swimmers as it offers positively balmy 28 degree waters 365 days a year that’s right, it is even open Christmas day. It recently received a £100,000 donation as part of the settlement between News International and the family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler following the phone hacking scandal, which will help the charitable trust that runs it continue its excellent work in preserving this important community resource. It’s possible to get your fix of outdoor swimming right in the heart of the West End too - Oasis Leisure Centre boasts a warm, 27.5m outdoor pool which is open all year round. There is something deeply satisfying about swimming al fresco in central London in any season, but enthusiasts say it is more exhilarating when you can see your breath as you come up for air. My experience at London Fields Lido has converted me to the joys of swimming in outdoor pools, even in the depth of winter. I may even become a lido regular. I just need to practice a suitably smug roll of the eyes for when the fair-weather swimmers start showing up in May.

RACHELH_ / PuRPABoo / TiREDoFLoNDoN

featured Hampstead Heath Swimming Ponds Hampstead Heath, London, NW5 1QR Kentish Town then C2 bus Parliament Hill Lido open mornings only Monday to Sunday 7.00 12.30. Hampstead Heath swimming ponds open around 7.00 until 14.00 check the website as opening hours change week to week.

London Fields Lido London Fields Westside, Hackney, London, E8 3EU London Fields open Monday - Friday 7.15 - 17.15 (Tuesday last hour women only); Saturday and Sunday 8.00-16.00.

Oasis Sports Centre 32 Endell Street, London, WC2H 9AG Tottenham Court Road open Monday - Friday 6.30 22.00; Saturday and Sunday 9.30 - 18.00.

Hampton Pool High Street, Hampton, Middlesex, TW12 2ST Hampton or Teddington. open Monday, Wednesday, Friday 6.00 - 21.00; Tuesday and Thursday 6.00 - 17.00; Saturday and Sunday 8.00 - 16.00.

Theatre Theatre

Theatre goes subversive: Sweeney Todd redux

ith serial killing, corruption, insanity and cannibalism all centre stage, West End theatre is about to take a bloody turn this March. A new production of Stephen Sondheim’s 1979 musical Sweeney Todd begins at the Adelphi Theatre this week and is set to push London’s musicals towards dark, subversive territory where popular theatre rarely dares to tread. Starring Michael Ball as Sondheim’s Sweeney and Imelda Staunton as his pie-making accomplice Mrs Lovett, the show’s story of a bloodthirsty barber giving his clients their closest shave ever is more than just a gory bit of Victoriana.

58 Scout London scoutlondon.com

Updated to the depression of the 1930s by director Jonathan Kent, the new production (which previewed last year at the Chichester Festival) is also that most topical of things, an all-singing, all-dancing satire on capitalism gone mad. It’s true that composer and lyricist Sondheim has never been entirely comfortable with people reading his strange musical baby as a political pamphlet. Hugh Wheeler’s libretto (developed itself from Christopher Bond’s earlier play) and Harold Prince’s influential original Broadway production arguably had a greater role in teasing this subtext out. Pull Sondheim’s musical skin off the meat and bones of Sweeney Todd’s plot, however, and you’ll nonetheless find both

an unmistakable stab at the rich and powerful and a twisted, witty take on the corrupting influence of moneymaking. The story focuses on Benjamin Barker, a naïve barber unjustly sentenced to banishment so that the corrupt Judge Turpin can steal his beautiful wife and child. Escaping from Australia 15 years later and returning to dingy London under his new alias Sweeney Todd, Barker vows to get his revenge. As he tries entrapping Turpin, Todd quickly develops a taste for bloodletting and turns his private revenge into a tidy business. Developing a general disgust for humanity, he starts slitting his barbershop customers’ throats before using their bodies as the filling in Mrs Lovett’s pies.

This psychotic plan starts out with a rough Robin Hood-style logic - killing the rich to feed the poor - but soon enough Todd and Lovett are mincing up any lone stranger for pie meat. While they strike rich, they end up no better, and possibly worse than Judge Turpin himself. A Victorian twist on the revenge tragedy, this may all make the musical sound grim and preachy, like Orwell’s Animal Farm played out in dirty bonnets. Happily, the show is full of fantastic, catchy music that riffs on British music hall, and gallows humour that makes you unsure whether Todd is a figure of horror or comedy. Rather than hectoring the viewer, Sweeney Todd ends up making cannibalism and throatslitting look rather a hoot.

catherine ashmore

by Feargus O’Sullivan

featured

catherine ashmore / hermes marana / fred baby / pbeckman2008 / tristram kenton

Undertones: Three other subversive musicals

The best-known recent version of the musical, Tim Burton’s 2007 film, underplayed the musical’s political overtones in favour of gothic shivers. Jonathan Kent’s new stage production turns the story back around by ignoring the original’s Dickensian setting altogether. By placing the action during the 1930s, when Britain was facing a post-crash depression that bears a passing resemblance to today’s financial climate, it makes the piece topical once more and taps into one of British popular culture’s current fixations. Sweeney Todd, after all, opens at a time when Britain’s popular culture could hardly be more obsessed with the early 20th century. Depression favourite The Wizard of Oz is currently cleaning up in the West End and TV series Downton Abbey is drawing in huge audiences globally, while vintage festivals fill each summer with twentysomethings wearing tweed Plus Fours and dropwaisted tea gowns. Sweeney Todd’s depression update is a respite from the wistful nostalgia of these cosy views of the recent past, showing the period’s dark side as if distorted in a fairground

mirror. While Downton and its ilk present a world of charming posh totty happily served by adoring inferiors, Kent’s Sweeney Todd has a brutalised, resentful underclass slashing back at the powerful and corrupt, and destroying themselves in the process. With Occupy London’s St Paul’s camp only just expelled from near the demon barber’s fictional Fleet Street haunt, Sweeney Todd could hardly have arrived in town at a more relevant time. City bonuses are still as healthy as the economy is sick, and there are plenty of Londoners out there who feel like the meat in some banker’s pie. On the other side of the spectrum, people who dislike business bashing might appreciate Sweeney Todd’s suggestion that those who blame the powerful can be even more destructive than the people they hate. It might divide London audiences, but Sweeney Todd’s cynical take on our city’s past will certainly give the West End’s current crop of musicals a topical shot in the arm. Sweeney Todd Apelphi Theatre Booking until September 22

Hair Drugs, homosexuality, free love and public nudity - this groundbreaking musical of 1967 made all of the former seem like a hedonistic release against the backdrop of Vietnam. With satirical references to Nixon, the CIA, the Pope and many others, the anti-war, anti-establishment message of this story of longhaired New York draft dodgers still rings true for many.

My Fair Lady Don’t be distracted by its period costumes and catchy songs, My Fair Lady is really a hearty skewering of the British class system. Upper class Professor Higgins humiliates and manipulates beautiful working class girl Eliza Doolittle after meeting her in Covent Garden. When she copies his speech and enters his world, however, he still can’t think of anything better for her to do than fetch his slippers.

Cabaret Englishman Clifford Bradshaw starts off his time in Weimar-era Berlin enjoying a bit of bisexual bed-hopping with bohemian singer Sally Bowles. Alas, the pair soon find their idyll disappearing as the world around the cabaret where Bowles performs abruptly turns dark and bloody. Based on Christopher Isherwood’s Berlin novels, Cabaret’s portrayal of the rapid rise of Nazism makes it diverting and disturbing in equal measure. scoutlondon.com Scout London 59

Theatre The 39 Steps Booking to oct 20, Criterion Theatre, SW1Y 4XA Piccadilly Circus £12.50-£45, 20.00; Mats. Carry on Hitchcock. Absent Friends Ends Apr 14, Harold Pinter Theatre, SW1Y 4DN Piccadilly Circus £15-£65, 19.30, ex Thur 19.00; Mats. By turns painful and painfully funny, one of Alan Ayckbourn’s lesser-known plays. All New People Ends Apr 28, Duke of york’s Theatre, WC2N 4BG Leicester Square £15-£49.50, 19.30; Mats. Zach Braff from Scrubs fame writes and stars in new comedy ensemble. The Awkward Squad Ends Apr 7, Arts Theatre, WC2H 7JB Leicester Square £15-£29.50, 19.30; Mats. BAFTA-winning Emmerdale writer karin young’s comedy. Being Shakespeare Ends Mar 31, Trafalgar Studios, SW1A 2DY Charing Cross £20-£45, 19.30; Mats. Simon Callow returns as the Bard. Billy Elliot the Musical Booking to Dec 15, Victoria Palace Theatre, SW1E 5EA Victoria £19.50-£65, 19.30; Mats. Musical adaptation of the film featuring dancin’ lil geordie bairns, like. Blood Brothers Booking to Nov 24, Phoenix Theatre, WC2H 0JP Leicester Square £22.50-£52.50, 19.45; Mats. Willy Russell’s saga of the Scouse family Johnson.

A Bowl of Cherries Ends Mar 31, Charing Cross Theatre, WC2N 6NG Charing Cross £24.50-£29.50, 19.30; Mats. Musical limbo. Two theatre ghosts are trapped between this world and the next. Chicago Booking to Jan 26, 2013, Garrick Theatre, WC2H 0HH Leicester Square £26-£66, 20.00, ex Fri 20.30; Mats. The razzle dazzle musical featuring girls, guns and all that jazz. Collaborators Ends Mar 31, National Theatre, Cottesloe, SE1 9PX Waterloo £12-£32, 19.30; Mats. Featuring a remarkable performance by Simon Russell Beale as Stalin, John Hodge’s new play explores when artistic freedom meets dictatorship. The Comedy of Errors Ends Apr 1, National Theatre, olivier, SE1 9PX Waterloo £12-£45, 19.30; Mats. Lenny Henry continues his foray into Shakespeare in the National’s acclaimed production. Crazy for You Ends Mar 17, Novello Theatre, WC2B 4LD Covent Garden/Holborn £25£62.50, 19.30; Mats. Nothing to do with Madonna, but the feel-good Gershwin musical Dreamboats and Petticoats Booking to Nov 24, Playhouse Theatre, WC2N 5DE Embankment £15-£50, 19.30, ex Sat 20.00; Mats. Babyboomer juke box musical about life ‘n’ love ‘n’ rock ‘n’ roll.

Ghost the Musical Booking to oct 13, Piccadilly Theatre, W1D 7DY Piccadilly Circus £25-£65, 19.30; Mats. Sexy pottery, paranormal activity and big numbers in the musical adaptation of the classic 1990 film. Goodbye to All That Ends Mar 17, upstairs Royal Court Theatre, SW1W 8AS Sloane Square £15£20, 19.45. Actor Luke Norris scribes this tale of geriatric love.

Hay Fever Ends Jun 2, Noel Coward Theatre, WC2N 4AU Leicester Square £16£53.50, 19.30; Mats. A dream cast including olivia Colman and Lindsay Duncan delivers Coward’s divine comedy. Horrible Histories. Barmy Britain Ends Sep 1, Garrick Theatre, WC2H 0HH Leicester Square £10-£14.50, WedFri 13.00; Sat 10.30, 12.00; Sun 15.00, 17.00. Terrible Tudors and Vile Victorians come to life in the stage version of the children’s publishing phenomenon. The Houdini Experience Ends Mar 25, Peacock Theatre, WC2A 2HT Holborn £19-£52, 19.30; Mats. Having survived Vegas and Pam Anderson as an assistant, the illusionist brings his new kind of theatre to London. In Basildon Booking to Mar 24, Royal Court Theatre, SW1 W8AS Sloane Square £10-£28, 19.30. Mike Leigh comparisons are certain and welcome for this comedy/drama from David Eldridge. Jersey Boys Booking to oct 21, Prince Edward Theatre, W1D 4HS Piccadilly Circus/Leicester Square £20-£62.50, 19.30; Mats. Four Seasons in one play. Currently staring ex-S Clubber Jon Lee as Frankie Valli. Legally Blonde The Musical Ends Apr 7, Savoy Theatre, WC2R 0ET Charing Cross £29-£66, 19.30; Mats. Stage adaptation of the comedy film franchise starring Carley Stenson of Hollyoaks fame. The Ladykillers Booking to Apr 14, Gielgud Theatre, W1D 6AR Piccadilly Circus £12.50-£85, 19.45; Mats. Father Ted’s Graham Lineham takes on the stage adaptation of the classic Ealing comedy of the same name. The Leisure Society Ends Mar 31, Studio 2 Trafalgar Studios, SW1A 2DY Charing Cross £21.50-£23.50, 19.45; Mats. Stage debut for model Agyness Deyn in François Archambault’s one-act morality play with no moral compass.

Les Miserables Booking to oct 27, queen’s Theatre, W1D 6BA Leicester Square £20-£80, 19.30; Mats. West End stalwart still packing them in 27 years later. The Lion King Booking to Sep 9, Lyceum Theatre, WC2E 7RQ Covent Garden £22.50-£70, 19.30; Mats. Disney’s 1994 classic brought spectacularly to life. The Madness of George III Ends Mar 31, Apollo, W1D 7EZ Piccadilly Circus £20-£49.50, 19.30; Mats. David Haig stars as everybody’s favourite mad monarch in Alan Bennett’s well received play. Mamma Mia Ends Sep 1, Prince of Wales Theatre, W1D 6AS Leicester Square £20-£67.50, 19.30, ex Fri 17.00, 20.30; Mats. Sunny, funny show featuring the ridiculously catchy songs of ABBA. Meryl Streep not included. Master Class Ends Apr 28, Vaudeville Theatre, WC2R 0NH Charing Cross £25-£52.50, 19.30; Mats. Tyne Daly starts as Maria Callas in this transfer from Broadway.

Matilda the Musical Booking to oct 21, Cambridge Theatre, WC2H 9HU Covent Garden £20-£59.50, 19.30, ex Tue 19.00; Mats. Hailed as the best British musical in years, if there is any justice in the world this should run and run. Midnight Tango Ends Mar 31, Aldwych Theatre, WC2B 4DF Charing Cross £26-£56, 19.30; Mats. Strictly Come Dancing’s Vincent and Flavia warm up freezing London with the heat and passion of Argentina. The Mousetrap Booking to Dec 15, St Martin’s Theatre, WC2H 9NZ Leicester Square £15-£39.50, 19.30; Mats. The Grand Dame of the West End, millions of Londoners and tourists alike have been entertained by this twisty Christie. Naked Boys Singing Booking to May 19, Charing Cross Theatre, WC2N 6NG Charing Cross £15-£22.50, 22.00. What you’d expect - nude gentlemen crooning. Noises Off Ends Mar 10, The old Vic, SE1 8NB Waterloo £10-£49.50, 19.30; Mats. Hilarious revival of Michael Frayn’s riotous farce within a farce. The Phantom of the Opera Booking to oct 27, Her Majesty’s Theatre, SW1Y 4QL Piccadilly Circus £20£59, 19.30; Mats. Now in its 26th year, Lloyd Webber’s hit musical shows no sign of losing its masked appeal.

CATHERiNE ASHMoRE

WEST END

recommended

kEiTH PATTiNSoN

The Pitmen Painters Ends Apr 14, Duchess Theatre, WC2B 5LA Covent Garden £20-£45, 19.30; Mats. The National’s celebrated production now playing in the West End. Rock of Ages Booking to oct 20, Shaftesbury Theatre, WC2H 8DP Holborn/Tottenham Court Road £20-£57.50, 19.30, ex Fri/Sat 20.00; Mats. Big hair and big numbers collide in this less than serious musical. She Stoops to Conquer Ends Apr 21, National Theatre, olivier, SE1 9PX Waterloo £12-£45, 19.30. oliver Goldsmith’s rollicking comedy joyfully revived by the National. Shrek the Musical Booking to oct 21, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, WC2B 5JF Covent Garden £20-£65, 19.30; Mats. Girls Aloud’s kimberley Walsh joins the jolly green giant on stage for this fun family musical. Singin’ In The Rain Booking to Sep 29, Palace Theatre, W1D 5AY Leicester Square/Tottenham Court Road £15-£65, 19.30, ex Mon/Tue 19.00; Mats. This warm and witty show ably fills Priscilla’s stilettos at the Palace Theatre. Stomp Booking to Dec 15, Ambassadors Theatre, WC2H 9ND Leicester Square £25-£45, 20.00, ex Sun 18.00; Mats. Energetic, dynamic and raucous, migraine sufferers should probably steer clear. Thriller Live Booking to Sep 23, Lyric Theatre, W1D 7ES Piccadilly Circus £23.50-£50.50, Tue-Fri 19.30; Sat 16.00, 20.00; Sun 15.30, 19.30. it’s as if he never left us. Featuring over 30 of the king of Pop’s greatest hits. Tis Pity She’s a Whore Ends Mar 10, Silk Street Theatre, Barbican Centre EC2Y 8DS Barbican £21-£26, 19.30; Mats. Following their triumphant productions of The Tempest and Macbeth at the Barbican, Declan Donnellan and Nick ormerod turn their attention to Jacobean tragedy. Travelling Light Booking to Jun 2, National Theatre, SE1 9PX Waterloo £12-£45, 19.30; Mats. Nicholas Wright’s tribute to the Eastern European immigrants who became major players in Hollywood’s golden age. War Horse Booking to Feb 16, 2013, New London Theatre, WC2B 5PQ Covent Garden £15-£55, 19.30; Mats. Equine puppetry brought to life by Tom Morrs and Marianne Elliott. We Will Rock You Booking to Mar 24, Dominion Theatre, W1T 7AQ Tottenham Court Road £27.50£67.75, 19.30; Mats. queen’s back catalogue is mined for this enduringly popular show.

Wicked Booking to Apr 27, 2013, Apollo Victoria, SW1V 1LL Victoria £15-£65, 19.30; Mats. it’s not easy being green the revisionist story of the witches of oz. The Wizard of Oz Booking to oct 28, London Palladium, W1F 7TF Oxford Circus £25-£62.50, 19.30, ex Tue 19.00; Mats. Russell Grant distributes courage, brains and other vital organs as the wonderful wizard himself. The Woman in Black Booking to Dec 15, Fortune Theatre, WC2B 5HH Covent Garden £16.50-£42.50, 20.00; Mats. The long running and genuinely chilling adaptation of Susan Hill’s spooky novel.

OFF WEST END Abigail’s Party Ends Apr 28, Menier Chocolate Factory, SE1 1RU London Bridge £27-£29.50 20.00; Mats. Bingo Ends Mar 31, Main House young Vic, SE1 8LZ Southwark/Waterloo £10-£29.50 19.30. The Bomb. First Blast (1940-1992) Ends Apr 1, Tricycle, NW6 7JR Kilburn £14-£16 (one part), £25-29 (both parts). Sat 15.30; Sun, Mon 14.30 (both parts). The Bomb. Second Blast (1992-2012) £14-£16 (one part), £2529 (both parts). Thur-Sat 20.00; Sun 19.00; Mon 14.30 (both parts). A Few Man Fridays Ends Mar 10, Sudio 2 Riverside Studios, W6 9RL Hammersmith £15-20 19.45. The House of Bernarda Alba Ends Mar 10, Almeida Theatre, N1 1TA Angel/Highbury & Islington £8-£32 19.30; Mats. The Lady from the Sea Ends Mar 17, Rose Theatre kingston, KT1 1HL Kingston rail £14-£30 19.30; Mats. Lay Down Your Cross Ends Mar 24, Downstairs Hampstead Theatre, NW3 3EX Swiss Cottage £10-£12 19.45; Mats. A Midsummer Night’s Dream Ends Mar 17, Lyric Hammersmith, W6 0QL Hammersmith £12.50-£30 19.30. Muswell Hill Ends Mar 10, orange Tree Theatre, TW9 2SA Richmond £12-21 19.45. The Oresteia Ends Mar 24, Studio 3 Riverside Studios W6 9RL Hammersmith £12-£15 19.30.

The Recruiting Officer Ends Apr 14, Donmar Warehouse, WC2H 9LX Covent Garden £10-£32.50 19.30; Mats. Snookered Ends Mar 24, Bush Theatre, W12 8LJ Shepherd’s Bush £7.50£20 19.30. The Summer House Ends Mar 24, Gate Theatre, W11 3HQ Notting Hill Gate £15-£20 19.30; Mats. . FRINGE Brightest and Best Ends Mar 10, Half Moon Herne Hill, SE24 9HU Herne Hill £8-£12 20.00; Mats. Don Juan Comes Back From the War Ends Mar 24, Finborough Theatre, SW10 9ED Earl’s Court £9-£15 19.30; Mats. The Duchess of Malfi Ends Mar 18, Greenwich Playhouse, SE10 8JA Greenwich £7-£14 19.30; Mats. The Fantasist Ends Mar 17, Blue Elephant Theatre, SE5 0XT Oval £7.50-£9.50 20.00. Floyd Collins Ends Mar 31, The Vault Southwark, SE1 2TF London Bridge £10-£22.50 19.30; Mats. Julius Caesar Ends Mar 10, Jack Studio Theatre, SE4 2DH Crofton Park £10-£12 19.45. Love & War Ends Mar 10, ye olde Rose & Crown E17 4SA Walthamstow Central £12-£15 19.30; Mats.

Ondine Ends Mar 18, White Bear Theatre, SE11 4DJ Kennington £10-£13 19.30, ex Sun 18.00. Patience Ends Mar 10, union Theatre, SE1 0LX Southwark £15-£18 19.30, ex Sun 18.00; Mats. Pitch Perfect Ends Mar 17, Tabard Theatre, W4 1LW Turnham Green £12-£14 19.30. A Place at the Table Ends Mar 17, Tristan Bates Theatre, WC2H 9NP Leicester Square £10-£14 19.30; Mats. Twelfth Night Ends Mar 18, Cockpit Theatre NW8 8EH Edgware Road £12 19.30.

What Would Helen Mirren Do? Ends Mar 25, Waterloo East Theatre, SE1 8TG Waterloo £12-£15 19.30; Mats. Anita Parry in a one-woman comedy drama by Josie Melia, directed by Peter Ellis

‘A D A Z Z L I N G D I S P L AY O F U N D Y I N G L O V E ’ The Times

The Pitchfork Disney Ends Mar 17, Studio 1 Arcola Theatre, E8 3DL Dalston Junction £17.50-£22.50 19.30; Mats. Philip Ridley’s dark, disturbing drama with Misfits star Nathan Stewart-Jarrett. Purge Ends Mar 24, Studio 2 Arcola Theatre, E8 3DL Dalston Junction £12-£16 20.00. P I C C A D I L LY T H E AT R E GHOSTTHEMU SICAL.COM

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