What’s on in London this week: 17 - 23 March 2025
Discover our pick of events in London this week: 17 - 23 March 2025.
Robyn Orlin: We wear our wheels with pride
Robyn Orlin’s We wear our wheels with pride will be performed as part of the Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels festival at the southbank this week. This vibrant “rickshaw dance” is a tribute to the spirit of South Africa’s Rainbow Nation, drawing inspiration from the Zulu rickshaw drivers of the 1970s who transported white masters during apartheid. Orlin, alongside dancers from Johannesburg’s Moving into Dance Mophatong (MIDM) company, observes this history with dance, song, and costume. The piece also features the powerful vocals of Anelisa Stuurman (Annalyzer) and composer Yogin Sullaphen’s unique musical influences.
We caught up with Robyn Orlin to discuss the upcoming production. Click here to read the full interview.
Date: 21 - 22 March 2025. Duration: approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes. Location: Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX. Price: from £22. Concessions available. Book now.
Robyn Orlin: We wear our wheels with pride. Image credit Jérôme Séron.
Architecture on Stage Lütjens Padmanabhan
As part of the Barbican’s Architecture on Stage talks, renowned Swiss architects Oliver Lütjens and Thomas Padmanabhan will discuss their exciting recent projects. Known for their distinctive approach, the Zurich-based duo have established a reputation as one of the most individual voices among the emerging generation of Swiss architects. They will reflect on recent works, including the residence of the Swiss Ambassador in Algiers and the Unterfeld Substation.
Date: 21 March 2025. Time: 7pm. Location: Frobisher Auditorium 1, Level 4, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS. Price: £15 +BF. Book now.
Jay Bernard: Joint
Joint is a powerful, multi-media exploration of the Joint Enterprise law, by one of Britain’s most exciting poets, Jay Bernard. Weaving personal experience, social history, and real-life cases, Bernard reveals the controversial doctrine that convicts people merely for being present at a crime scene. Through compelling storytelling, Joint addresses the collective punishment of racialised and working-class communities, tracing its roots from colonialism to today. Bernard, winner of the Ted Hughes Award and Sunday Times Young Writer Award, questions how this law works and how it can be challenged.
Date: 17 - 19 March 2025. Location: The Pit, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS. Price: The event is a Pay What You Can event. The price options are: £5, £9, £12, £15, £18 and £21. + BF. Book now.
Rezidenz des Schweizer Botschafters in Algier. Image credit: Philip Heckhausen.
Film Music Gala 2025
Calling all film lovers… Back by popular demand, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra returns to the Royal Albert Hall for another unforgettable Film Music Gala. Join conductor Stephen Bell and a special guest vocalist for an evening filled with music from iconic Hollywood blockbusters, including songs from La La Land, The Sound of Music, Schindler’s List, Star Wars, Titanic, The Lion King, and many more.
Date: 15 March 2025. Time: 3pm , 7.30pm. Location: Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AP. Price: £29.50 - £91.10. Book now.
Black is the Color of My Voice
Presented by James Seabright, Apphia Campbell’s acclaimed play is inspired by the life of Nina Simone and features many of her iconic songs performed live. The play follows a successful singer and civil rights activist seeking redemption after her father’s untimely death, reflecting on her journey from a young piano prodigy to a renowned jazz vocalist at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement.
Date: 13 - 15 March 2025. Duration: 72 minutes, no interval. Location: Wilton's Music Hall, 1 Graces Alley, London E1 8JB. Price: £16.50 – £29 full price; £14 – £26.50 concession. Book now.
The Painted Hall, Old Royal Naval College, will host a silent disco on 22 March 2025.
Joe Webb Trio
Joe Webb, one of the UK’s most impressive young pianists, will perform at Ronnie Scott’s with his trio, featuring Will Sach on double bass and Sam Jesson on drums. Following the success of his debut album Hamstrings & Hurricanes, Webb will premiere new music inspired by his collaborations with Sach and Jesson over the last two years. His music draws from the energy of 90s Brit pop, his love for football, and his strong connection to jazz.
Date: 20 March 2025. Time: 5.30pm. Location: Ronnie Scott's, 47 Frith St, London W1D 4HT. Price: from £30 to £45. Book now.
Silent Disco at the Painted Hall
The Painted Hall, Old Royal Naval College, will host a silent disco, offering a unique opportunity to dance the night away under the glow of Luke Jerram's celestial artwork, Helios. Guests can choose from three music channels featuring a mix of past and present hits, with space-themed cocktails available for purchase. The event is for adults aged 18 and over.
Date: 22 March 2025. Time: 7.30 pm - 11pm. Location: Old Royal Naval College, London SE10 9NN. Price: £45, students: £30. Book now.
Rhodri Davies. Image credit Heiko Purnhagen.
Rhodri Davies at Cafe OTO
Rhodri Davies will host a special four-day residency at Cafe OTO. Known for his unique approach to the harp, he plays the bray harp and electric harp and creates installations using wind, water, ice, and fire.
Date: 17 - 20 March 2025. Location: Cafe OTO, 18-22 Ashwin St, London E8 3DL. Price: from £14. Book now.
Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award 2025
At the Barbican, Zadie Smith hosts an evening of readings from the shortlisted authors of The Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award, the UK and Ireland’s leading prize for emerging literary talent. Spanning fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, the four shortlisted writers will share excerpts from their work and discuss their creative process. Previous winners of the award include Sally Rooney, Jay Bernard, Raymond Antrobus, and Max Porter.
Date: 17 March 2025. Time: 7pm. Location: Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS. Price: £10 + £1.50 BF. Book now.
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AVA London
AVA London kicks off this week with a three-day programme of keynotes, masterclasses, live shows, and networking events. By day, sessions take place at iconic venues like The British Library and The Standard in King’s Cross, while club nights are hosted at HERE @ Outernet and EartH Hackney. Highlights include talks from Underworld, FKA Twigs, and horsegiirL, as well as masterclasses from industry experts like Ski Oakenfull and Tom Elmhirst. Panels and workshops will cover topics such as queer culture in clubbing, sustainability in music, and career development.
Date: 20 - 22 March 2025. Location: The British Library, The Standard in King’s Cross, HERE @ Outernet and EARTH Hackney.Price: from £30 - £191. Book now.
Cunningham Forever (BIPED & Beach Birds) with Lyon Opera Ballet
Lyon Opera Ballet presents Cunningham Forever, a two-night programme at Sadler’s Wells as part of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels. Featuring BIPED (1999), a fusion of live dance and digital projections set to music by Gavin Bryars, and Beach Birds (1991), a fluid, ever-evolving piece inspired by the movements of birds, this double bill celebrates the legacy of Merce Cunningham.
Date: 19 - 20 March 2025. Location: Sadler's Wells Theatre, Rosebery Ave, London EC1R 4TN. Price: from £15 + £4.00 building maintenance fee. Book now.
Cinema
Sister Midnight
Sister Midnight is a bold and humorous debut from Karan Kandhari, featuring a standout soundtrack and a BIFA-nominated performance by Bollywood star Radhika Apte. Set in a cramped Mumbai shack, the film follows newlywed Uma as she navigates an awkward arranged marriage, nosy neighbours, and a world that pushes her to confront her own eccentricities.
Date: 17 - 20 March 2025. Location: ArtHouse Crouch End, 159A Tottenham Ln, London N8 9BT. Price: from £12. Concessions available. Book now.
Radhika Apte in 'Sister Midnight'
Arts & Culture
Opening this week
Astonishing Things: The Drawings of Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo, a prominent 19th-century French figure known for his novels Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, was also a poet, politician, and artist. His drawings, which include imaginary castles, monsters, and seascapes, reflect his creative spirit and influenced Romantic, Symbolist, and Surrealist artists. This week, the Royal Academy of Arts will showcase a major exhibition of Hugo’s rarely seen works on paper, last displayed in the UK over 50 years ago. The exhibit will explore his evolution as a draughtsman, from early caricatures to experimental abstractions.
Date: 21 March - 29 June 2025. Location: Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD. Price: from £17; concessions available; under 16s go free. 25 & Under: 16 to 25 year olds can access a half-price ticket. Book now.
Victor Hugo, Mushroom, 1850. Pen, brown ink and wash, charcoal, crayon, green, red and white gouache on paper. 47.4 x 60.8 cm. Maisons de Victor Hugo, Paris / Guernsey. Photo: CCØ Paris Musées / Maison de Victor Hugo.
Eunjo Lee
Eunjo Lee is the latest artist to participate in Goldsmith CCA’s ongoing commissioning series Episodes. Based between London and Seoul, Lee works primarily with 3D experimental animation and video art to create immersive digital worlds. Her work explores ecological narratives, emphasising the interconnectedness of all beings through theoretical and mythological ideas.
Date: 21 March - 4 May 2025. Location: Goldsmith CCA, St James’, New Cross, London SE14 6AD. Price: Free. goldsmithscca.art.
Click here to discover more art exhibitions opening at Goldsmith CCA in 2025.
Arpita Singh: Remembering
The Serpentine North will host Remembering, Arpita Singh’s first institutional solo show, from 20 March. Showcasing works from her six-decade career, the exhibition highlights her fusion of Surrealism, figuration, Indian Court painting narratives, and abstraction. Featuring large-scale oil paintings, watercolours, and ink drawings, Remembering explores Singh’s emotional reflections on social and global crises.
Date: 20 March – 27 July 2025. Location: Serpentine North, W Carriage Dr, London W2 2AR. Price: Free.
Click here for more art exhibitions opening in London in March 2025.
Arpita Singh, My Lollipop City: Gemini Rising, 2005. Vadehra Art Gallery © Arpita Singh.
Fiona Banner aka The Vanity Press
Frith Street Gallery will open Disarm, an exhibition by Fiona Banner aka The Vanity Press, this week. Through drawing, sculpture, and film, the show examines language, conflict, and gender. Key works include Disarm (landscape) (2024), a film where military jets spell “DISARM” in the sky as a call for peace, and Disarm (portrait) (2023), which recasts mannequin limbs as symbols of fragility. Graphite drawings and sculptures further reflect on destruction, desire, and the power of language.
Date: 21 March - 3 May 2025. Location: Frith Street Gallery, 17-18 Golden Square, London W1F 9JJ. Price: Free.
Image: © Fiona Banner Studio
Artist Talk
Spirit of the Times: Photographing the 80s
A panel discussion will be hosted at Tate Britain in the context of The 80s: Photographing Britain, bringing together artists and photographers to explore how photography in this pivotal decade was used for social change, political activism, and artistic experimentation. Panelists will share their unique approaches, reflecting on the cultural memory of the 1980s and its impact on contemporary photography and wider culture.
Date: 15 March 2025. Time: 2pm - 4pm. Location: Tate Britain, The Clore Auditorium, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG. Price: £10 / £7 Members/Concessions. Book now.
Melanie Friend, Greenham Common, 14 December 1985, 1985, reprinted 2023. © Melanie Friend, Format Photographers.
Linder, Feminism and Photomontage
Art historian Dawn Adès will host a panel discussion at the Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall, alongside feminist scholar Maria Buszek and chaired by writer-filmmaker Juliet Jacques. The panel will delve into Linder’s feminist critique, her photomontage technique, and how her work restores agency to the models she portrays. This event is part of Linder’s first London retrospective, Linder: Danger Came Smiling, showcasing 50 years of her work.
Date: 21 March 2025. Time: 7pm. Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes. Location: Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX. Price: £10. Book now.
#FLOFavourites: Pick of the Week
Free event of the week
15th Glenn Gould Prize Announcement
15th Glenn Gould Prize Announcement
The Glenn Gould Foundation will announce the 15th laureate of the Glenn Gould Prize at Kings Place. The event will feature performances by pianist Ryan Wang, soprano Pumeza Matshikiza, and other guests. A distinguished jury, including actor Jeremy Irons and writer Tony Kushner, will select the laureate, recognising artistic excellence and humanitarian impact. The event is free, but a ticket is required.
Date: 20 March 2025. Time: 11.30am. Location: King Palace, 346-348 High St., Orpington BR6 0NQ. Book now.
Interview of the week
In conversation with Katrina Palmer
Katrina Palmer in the National Gallery, 2023 © The National Gallery, London.
Katrina Palmer, an artist known for exploring materiality, absence, and dislocation, recently spoke to us following her year-long residency at the National Gallery about her exhibition The Touch Report. In our conversation, Palmer shared insights into her project, which invited visitors to engage with a book examining the violent imagery and fragile materiality of historical paintings in the National Gallery’s collection. Set in a specially constructed reading room, the exhibition offered a unique way to reconsider the collection.
Click here to read the full interview.
Food of the week
Bunhead Bakery
Image credit @thebunheadbakery.
Bunhead Bakery has become a firm FLO London favourite, due to its delicious fusion of traditional Palestinian flavours and artisanal sourdough baking. Founded in 2020 by self-taught baker Sara Assad-Manning, this vibrant bakery in Herne Hill has quickly become a local hotspot. Its menu features unique offerings such as the Knafeh bun, inspired by the classic Palestinian dessert, and the Musakhan bun, filled with sumac, pine nuts, and red onion. If you haven’t been to Bunhead Bakery, it’s a must for the Saturday morning bakery run. They are open from Thursday to Sunday, and we recommend arriving early as they usually have quite long queues.
Location: Bunhead Bakery, 145 Dulwich Rd, London SE24 0NG. Website: bunheadbakery.com; Instagram: @thebunheadbakery
Cause of the week
Time & Talents
Time & Talents.
Time & Talents is a community organisation based in Rotherhithe and Bermondsey, dedicated to fostering a supportive and inclusive environment for people of all ages. With over 137 years of history, they offer a wide range of activities, including community learning, social events, and volunteering opportunities, aimed at reducing isolation and building connections. The organisation provides free activities for children and families, social support for older adults, and a volunteer befriending service for isolated individuals.
Click here for more on how you can volunteer with Time & Talents.
Website: timeandtalents.org.uk. Instagram: @time_and_talents_
