Thirty-plus florists take over a Twickenham mansion
for four days only, and Borough Market spends one Thursday night
turning itself into a single long barbecue. Saturday scatters the
city: 800 free Open House buildings, a flotilla of historic boats at
St Katharine Docks, Woolwich’s biggest carnival yet. A world
premiere and an all-femme grime night open the same night in between.
A hand-checked shortlist of the week in London culture
· new every Thursday
Friday the 11th is the week’s fulcrum: previews begin for Morgan
Lloyd Malcolm’s new stage version of The Turn of the
Screw at the Arcola, the same night the Yard hands its stage to
an all-femme grime line-up and both Café OTO and Vortex put on
serious late-week bills. Saturday scatters everyone across the map
— Open House Festival’s 800-plus free buildings, a flotilla
of historic boats (the actual Dunkirk Little Ships among them) at St
Katharine Docks, Woolwich’s biggest carnival yet — pick a
compass point and commit. By Sunday the flowers close in Twickenham;
by Wednesday, London Design Festival is only just getting going.
One fatigue note: Kings Place sits this issue out entirely, Podcast
Festival and all — it ran across the last two issues, and a
third week running felt like one too many, even with the festival’s
own closing weekend landing square inside this window. Café OTO
and Vortex both return after a fortnight’s rest, on different
nights, so nobody has to choose between them.
Arcola Theatre, Studio 1 · Dalston · previews from Fri 11 Sep, runs to 10 Oct · £12–£39
A world-premiere stage adaptation of Henry James’s
novella by Olivier-winning playwright Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, directed
by Nicky Allpress — a governess, two children, and a country
house where nobody can agree whether the ghosts are real or a
projection of her own unravelling. Previews run a week before the
official press night on 18 September, so this is the fortnight to
see it before the reviews land and prices climb.
Strawberry Hill House · Twickenham · Thu 10–Sun 13 Sep, 9am–5pm · £30 (student £23, child £18)
Thirty-plus floral designers fill Horace Walpole’s
Gothic Revival house and garden with immersive installations built
from British-grown flowers, for four days only. A new marquee
programme of free talks and demonstrations runs alongside, and
Friday and Saturday both offer after-hours access with a glass of
fizz in the gallery. First time in these pages.
Citywide · opens Sat 12 Sep, to 20 Sep · Free (some ticketed buildings)
The 35th edition of London’s architecture-access
festival throws open 800-plus buildings free, from the drop-in
highlights (no booking needed) to the ones that filled up back in
August. This opening weekend alone: a new Vic Lee mural marking
Croydon market’s 750th anniversary, Tottenham’s
community-built Downside DIY skatepark, and free clothes-mending
sessions in Lewisham.
Skip the sold-out headline buildings and go local instead — the drop-ins need no ticket at all.
An all-femme grime line-up curated by MC and producer
Jammz, running as a club-night companion to the Yard’s current
main-stage revival of Ntozake Shange’s for colored girls
who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf. Ticketed
separately from the play, for people who want the afterparty as much
as the show.
St Katharine Docks · by Tower Bridge · Sat 12–Sun 13 Sep, 10.30am–5pm · Free
The 17th running of this Totally Thames fixture is its
biggest yet: over 70 registered vessels, several of the surviving
Dunkirk Little Ships among them, plus Gloriana — the late
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee barge — moored for the weekend.
Talks with maritime writer Tom Cunliffe run throughout, and each day
opens and closes with a salute of horns.
An after-hours takeover of the market’s own
traders, cooking live over fire and charcoal rather than gas
— exclusive small plates, chef Q&As, and a DJ running
through the communal-dining crowd. The market’s own event, not
a food-brand activation borrowing its name.
Fashion and Textile Museum · Bermondsey · to Sun 13 Sep, 11am–5pm (last entry 4.15pm) · from £12.50
The joyful archive of Collier Campbell — the
sister design duo whose bold botanical prints defined Liberty and
Marks & Spencer textiles for three decades — in its
final week before Bermondsey loses it for good on Sunday. First
time in these pages.