Unmissable Things to Do in London in August 2021
WE’RE BACK!
Here’s the ultimate unusual shortlist of Unmissable Things To Do in London to make your August extraordinary!
Have fun, be merry, and make amazing memories of this weird year – but please, please, please stay safe. We know that restrictions and requirements have been relaxed somewhat, but individual safety (and relaxation) is paramount. So keep those masks on whenever you can, if you can. Keep washing hands, keep taking tests, and get your jabs when you can. Stay safe, be happy, and love each other…
Flomper | BSMT Space | Until 15 August | Wed-Sun 10am-5pm
Street Artist and ceramicist Malarko presents a brand new collection of contemporary paintings and ceramics merging the appropriation of popular culture with found objects.
The Wing Scuffle Spectacular | Leyton Jubilee Park | Until 8 August | Tue-Fri 7.30pm, Saturday 2pm & 7.30pm, Sunday 12pm & 5pm | £15
Infectious enthusiasm and awesome acrobatic skills – as well as beautiful clowning – combine to send shivers down the spine in this magnificent 60-minute circus show from The Revel Puck Circus company. Read our FIVE STAR review here.
Night on Boob Mountain | Online (from The Albany) | 5 August | 8pm | FREE
A surreal and raucous teen horror gig theatre show set on the island of Teendom… It’s a sell-out both nights at The Albany, but you can catch the livestream for free on Thursday!
RIOT! by Baby Lame | Shipwright | 6 August | 7pm | £15
A new festival of arts at the Master Shipwright’s House in Deptford reaches the end of its first Summer Season, and alt-drag sensation Baby Lame closes out the penultimate evening with a night of punk rock cabaret circus spectacular!
The Honey Badgers Cabaret: Zero F*cks Given | Leyton Jubilee Park | 6 August | 9:30pm | £15
The Revel Puck Big Top Tent hosts a grown-up queer circus extravaganza hosted by PMBC & Miss Lucinda B.Hind, and showcasing a line-up of theatrical variety cabaret for all guys, gals and non binary pals!
Duckie | The RVT | 7, 14, 21 & 28 August | 9pm | £8
The inimitable, irreplaceably queer entertainment extravaganza that is Duckie returns post-Covid! The Readers Wifes return from the 21st, but the first night back features performances from Ronald Samm and Midgette Bardot, and DJ Albert Twatlock.
Disco Halal: Moscoman + C.A.R | The Waiting Room N16 | 7 August | 10pm | £9
A London weekly residency curated by Moscoman, this week sees live performance from C.A.R (Choosing Acronyms Randomly).
Elf Lyons: Raven | Etcetera Theatre | 9 & 10 August | 9:30pm | £10
The Camden Fringe sees one of our favourite comedians Elf Lyons returns with a show inspired by – of course! – Stephen King.
Peckham Previews: Dark Matter | Theatre Peckham | 11 & 12 August | 7:30pm | £10
Feminist dub poet and decolonial scholar d’bi.young anitafrika directs this celebration of multiplicity, black girl/womanhood, ancestors and inheritance, from spoken word artist Tatenda Naomi Matsvai.
Roundabout:Brixton | Slade Gardens | 19-29 August | Times & Prices Vary
Paines Plough and Lambeth ELEVATE bring the Roundabout stage to Brixton, with four brand new shows – BLACK LOVE by Chinonyerem Odimba with music by Ben and Max Ringham, HUNGRY by Chris Bush, REALLY BIG AND REALLY LOUD by Phoebe Eclair-Powell and MAY QUEEN by Frankie Meredith – as well as visiting companies and artists including Bonnie and the Bonnettes, RashDash, Nouveau Riche, Sukh Ojla and Sindhu Vee.
th’wildcat of sheffield: unshielded | The Hope Theatre | 23-27 August | 7pm | £15
“She’s outrageous, she’s unshielded and she’s back on the prowl. Join Th’ Wildcat of Sheffield as she attempts to save the arts for all O.A.P entertainers across the land.”
Greenwich+Docklands International Festival | From 27 August | Times & Locations Vary | FREE
Our favourite FREE outdoor performing arts and theatre festival returns, with a typically amazing lineup including spectacular installation Borealis (pictured above), sci-fi dance show Future Cargo, Mojisola Adebayo’s new play Family Tree, a light, sound and fire experience in the Reflection Gardens and MUCH MORE!
Sound Cistem | Pleasance London | From 31 August | Times Vary | £13
A radical dance party that sticks two fingers up at the gender binary, prepare for an exuberant verbatim show about the cisgender gaze on the transgender body.
The Enby Show | Underbelly Festival | 31 August | 7:30pm | £17-£21.50
The Enby Show brings together a cast of “gender-benders and cis-tem offenders” for a night of dancing, singing, lip-sync, drag, burlesque and circus skills – all hosted by the understated Carrot (pictured above)
All Points East: In The NBHD | Victoria Park | From 31 August | Times Vary | FREE
A little something for everyone here: three days of free activities, including an outdoor cinema, yoga sessions, pop-up tennis, music workshops, aerial circus performances… Everything you could possibly want really, plus sttreet food stalls and pop-up bars.
Did we miss any big incredible things to do in London this month? We almost certainly did – please let us know!
I am Joint Editor at To Do List. I like: nice pubs, film marathons, not doing real marathons, bad comedy, plays/musicals with shorter second halves, and the Oxford comma.
