A strong week. A landmark venue enters its final days, the best exhibition in London keeps getting better, and there's a Macfarlane UK premiere with the full creative team in the room. Plus a Japanese pop-up five minutes from your door and a concert programme that pairs Coltrane with Icelandic contemporary composition.
Barbican Cinema · Tue 24 Mar, 6:30pm
UK premiere of the film based on Macfarlane's book about the worlds beneath our feet — sacred caves, melting glaciers, underground laboratories. Narrated by Sandra Hüller, scored by Hannah Peel. Followed by a conversation with Macfarlane and the full creative team. The kind of event where the talk afterwards might be better than the film.
Hayward Gallery, Southbank · Until 3 May · £19
Probably the best exhibition in London right now. The Japanese artist weaves floor-to-ceiling installations from thousands of threads — immersive, slightly unsettling rooms you walk through rather than look at. Paired with Yin Xiuzhen's sculptural work using reclaimed clothing. First major London solo for both, and the kind of thing that stays with you for weeks.
Corsica Studios: Ware & Sososo
Elephant & Castle · Wed 25 Mar, 7:30pm · £9–15
Corsica Studios closes permanently at the end of the month after 24 years. Bicep, Hyperdub, Rush Hour, Dresden — all sold out. Wednesday is one of the last nights with tickets: umru, Zoe McPherson live, Metrist vs Klahrk. Deconstructed club in a room that was built for it. If you've ever been to Corsica, or always meant to, this is the week.
Phaedra Ensemble: Slow Change
Kings Place · Fri 20 Mar, 7:30pm · £20–40 (Under-30s £10)
A programme that has no business being this good: Steve Reich's minimalism marking his 90th, a newly arranged Coltrane, and the UK premiere of Anna Thorvaldsdottir's Enigma. Three different approaches to music that builds slowly and rewards patience. If you've ever lost yourself in a Reich phase pattern, this is the concert you didn't know was happening.
Daunt Books, Marylebone · Fri 20 Mar, 8pm
The two-day Daunt Books Festival closes with Olivia Laing in conversation with Brian Dillon about The Silver Book. She's one of the best writers working on art, loneliness, and the body. Friday evening in a beautiful Edwardian bookshop. The festival also has John Lanchester at 6:30pm if you want a double.
Also This Week
Les Liaisons Dangereuses
National Theatre · Opens Sat 21 Mar
Aidan Turner and Lesley Manville. Marianne Elliott directs. Opening weekend of the year's biggest theatre run.
BookBar Chelsea · Tue 24 Mar, 7:15pm
Succession meets Fleishman Is in Trouble. Small venue, limited capacity. Book immediately.
Yagi Izakaya at The Compton Arms
Islington · Throughout March · Walk-in
Japanese comfort food pop-up — karaage burgers, shokupan prawn toast, miso burnt cheesecake. Great pub, no booking needed.
Thundercat
O2 Academy Brixton · Tue 25 Mar
Bass virtuoso who plays jazz like funk and funk like it's from another planet. Technically jaw-dropping and genuinely funny live. New album in April.
Royal Institution · Sat 21 Mar, 7pm
Consciousness, psychedelics, and the hard problem of the mind. Two brilliant communicators in the right room for it.
Cardion Nights
ICA, The Mall · Fri 20 Mar, 7pm
Queer performance evening — Travis Alabanza, Nando Messias, Wet Mess. Benefits akt. One act involves "two freaks and a shipping trolley."
Nieves Barragan at The Donovan Bar
Brown's Hotel, Mayfair · Until 6 June
Multi-Michelin-starred Nieves Barragan (Sabor, Legado) has taken over the food menu while Salvatore Calabrese handles cocktails. Seared tuna with ajo blanco, oysters with fino sherry emulsion. A quiet Mayfair bar where the food and drink are both world-class.
Book a good slot
Klein — Three-Night Residency
Cafe OTO, Dalston · Thu 26 – Sat 28 Mar
One of the most singular artists in the UK — genre-defying vocal and electronic work spanning opera, gospel, noise, and club music. Three nights at OTO is a rare window. Book before it goes.
Selling fast
Nan Goldin: The Ballad of Sexual Dependency
Gagosian, Davies Street · Closes Fri 21 Mar · Free
One of the most important photography works of the twentieth century — Goldin's unflinching slideshow of love, addiction, and intimacy in downtown New York. Shown in its entirety. Free. Closes Friday. Go before work if you have to.
3 days left
Arcadia
Old Vic · Closes Sun 21 Mar
Stoppard's masterpiece — maths, chaos theory, English gardens, and the heat death of the universe — on a revolving stage in the round. Stoppard doesn't come around often. Final weekend.
Final weekend
Blitz: The Club That Shaped the 80s
Design Museum · Closes 29 Mar
250+ artefacts, rare footage, and a full recreation of the club. The moment a Tuesday night in Covent Garden rewired British culture. More immersive than you'd expect.
10 days left
Impala
14 Dean Street, Soho
Meedu Saad, former head chef at Kiln, opens his own place. North African charcoal grill — dry-aged duck with black limes and Aswan chillies. Every food source in London flagged this independently.
Just opened
The Coming of Age
Wellcome Collection · Opens Thu 26 Mar · Free
120+ artworks on ageing — Paula Rego, Suzanne Lacy, Sam Taylor-Johnson. The Wellcome always finds the angle everyone else misses.
Opens Thursday
Museum of Edible Earth
Somerset House · Until 26 Apr
600+ edible samples of clay, chalk, volcanic rock from 44 countries. You can taste them. Sounds absurd, turns out fascinating.
Just opened
| Mar 28 |
House Against Hate. Protest rave, Trafalgar Square, 1–6pm. Shygirl, Ben UFO, Hot Chip, Daniel Avery, Horse Meat Disco. Free. |
| Mar 28 |
Corsica Studios Grand Finale. 28+ hours. 40 unannounced artists. Both rooms. Free. The last ever party. |
| Sep 2026 |
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Gillian Anderson and Billy Crudup at @sohoplace. Book when tickets drop. |
Curated from London on the Inside, The Nudge, London Culture Edit, Literary Listings London, Resident Advisor, Hot Dinners, AnOther & friends.
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Updated 19 March 2026