International Things to Do in London in July
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Let’s have a break from the bleakness of Brexit and escape the media for a moment. July is here to prove there’s so many things to do in London and we are the ultimate international city!
This month we have the best free international festival (and it’s in Lewisham), a show in a swimming pool in Russian, an art-rave for East London Workers Party and loads more.
TBH we wanted to theme this post all about EU events and artists. However, we were struggling to find enough so please leave a comment with your suggestions and we’ll add in (especially food & drink tips).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Festivals
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Lewisham People’s Day | Mountsfield Park, Catford/Hither Green | Sat 9 July | Free
Our favourite free festival pulls out all the stops for 2016 with highlights including:
- Figs in Wigs – present their own hyper pop visual comedy for a ‘Sham crowd.
- Oggie brings his UK soul tinged garage pop to a circus tent.
- Every kind of stall imaginable including aerial circus, obscure religious sects and community organisations you should get involved with.
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River Stage at National Theatre | 29 July-29 August | National Theatre, Waterloo | Free
The National Theatre gets hip to the beat with it’s perfect pop-up riverside fiesta with weekends presented by counterculture legends The Glory, Latitude Festival, Mayfest and Rambert. For July it’s queer pub sensation The Glory’s turn and you can expect:
- Transformer, Johnny Woo’s tribute to king of the (velvet) underground Lou Reed.
- An afternoon at the musicals where operatic diva Le Gateau Chocolat joins Woo for a musiCAL medley.
- Drag life drawing with club kid supremo Munroe Bergdorf.
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Walthamstow Garden Party | 16-17 July | Lloyd Park, Walthamstow | Free
A fabulous free festival in the ‘Stow with live music in a big tent, circus at Barbican Ringside and thirst quenching beers from Wild Card Craft Brewery.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Clusterfest | FARLEY MACALLAN, Homerton | Sat 9 & Sun 10 July | Various Prices
The makers of cult comedy night Clusterf*ck bring a weekend of laughs a plenty from new talent to a lovely boozer in Hackney.
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Shows
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Brodsky Station | Swimming Pool of Imperial College at St Mary’s
Norfolk Place, Paddington | 5, 7 & 12 July | 7:30pm | £20
Don your headphones and head to the swimming pool for a performance experience based on Joseph Brodsky’s poetry.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
D.H.S.S. | Royal Vauxhall Tavern | 6 July | 8pm | FREE
Get closer to future cabaret and alternative performance rising stars at this rather marvellous free showcase.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
KlangHaus: On Air | Southbank Centre | 7-29 July | Various Times | £10-£25
Up on the roof of the mighty Royal Festival Hall on the South Bank to discover not everything is quite as it seems.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Mumburger | The Archivist, Haggerston | 9-24 July | 7:30pm | £12.50
A sardonic look at the death of one’s mother by Sarah Kosar, this new play is the first as Resident Writer at The Archivist.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
I Heart Catherine Pistachio | The Yard Theatre | 11-16 July | 8pm | £15
A bonkers show that alt critics have been fawning over, find out why! Here’s the conceit:
Catherine Pistachio has spent twenty-six years dancing at a nineties-themed nightmare disco, where dogs run away with the circus, ponies become party piñatas and acid-attacks are as throwaway as prawn cocktail crisp packets.
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The Game’s Afoot | Madame Tussauds | 18 July – 30th September | Various Times | £46.50 – £66.50
Waxworks are boring, so explore Madame Tussauds in a new way through becoming a detective in a live Sherlock Holmes whodunnit.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Extravaganza Macabre | Battersea Arts Centre | 26 July – 26 August | 7:30pm | £12.50-£17.50
Theatre cutesies Little Bulb return with an ‘evening of wild music and audience mischief’. The story looks at two lovers and their twists of fate through the lens of Little Bulb’s deliriously OTT style.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Comedy & Cabaret
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Bridget Everett | Soho Theatre | 16-30 July | 9:30pm | £12.50 – £20
Bow down to the New York state of mind with a debut by cabaret starlet Bridget Everett. Expect laughter, cringe & emotion through the pulsating beat of Everett’s music.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
Reggie Watts | Southbank Centre | 16 July | 8pm | £20-£22.50
Enter the sublime soundscape of Reggie Watts who will take you places you’ve never been with his handy loop pedal.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Events & Exhibitions
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Bishopsgate Institute Summer School | July-September | Various Prices
Bishopsgate Institute is a lovely building for learning life skills including screenwriting, yoga (of course!) and ballroom dancing.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
East London Workers Party | Southbank Centre | 9 July | 7pm | £8
‘a workshop that’s part ritual, part mosh pit, part retreat and part exorcism.’ Erm yes please.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Ragnar Kjartansson | Barbican Art Gallery | 14 July – 4 September | £12
Barbican Art Gallery gets an injection of life from the Icelandic oddball Ragnar Kjartansson, famous for his outrageous pop pastiches and endurance events.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Did we forget anything for our top things to do in London in July? Leave a comment below with your thoughts…
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I am Joint Editor at To Do List. I like free, cheap & offbeat London, especially: cabaret, art, theatre, pop-ups, eating out, quirky films, museums, day trips, social enterprise & much more.
