Unmissable Things To Do in London – October 2018
When life gives you pumpkins, make… pumpkin pie (or, How to make October the best month of the year, and not just because it’s our Stuart’s birthday!)
This month’s top picks include crazy cabaret, flop musicals, a view from China, a night of jumps & scares, GIN, amazing live music, five-star theatre, brand new work, truth spoke unto power & much more…
David Hoyle: Electric Cars | The RVT | 4 October | 8:30pm | From £10
Lord or is it lady of misrule David Hoyle leads a merry band of delightfully dark cabaret guests.
Weirdo: A Lois Mills Showcase | Leicester Square Theatre | 26 October | 7pm | £7
‘Lois is a one woman sketch group, demonstrating theatrical skills by becoming the “actor” before transforming into the “character” in a Brechtian fashion.’ Sounds hilarious.
FLOP! Hit Songs from Musical Misfires! | Leicester Square Theatre | 28 October | 8:30pm | £12.50
A night gleefully celebrating disaster musical theatre.
City Life Festival | Various Venues | 2-27 October | Times Vary
A postmodern mix of supper clubs, creative workshops, screenings, performances and discussions championing city life.
China Changing Festival | Southbank Centre | 4-7 October | Times Vary
Cutting-edge culture from China including Citizens of Nowhere? a British-Chinese Sitcom, Wen Hui’s RED a revolutionary ballet, Red Ink (pictured above) a hip-hop challenge to banned writing and the visually spectacular The Injustice to Tou O.
Queer Migrant Takeover: Deeper Routes | Rich Mix | 6 October | 5pm | From £10
A party, a celebration and a space for co-existence of multi-national queers and their allies to resist your ‘hostile environment’.
Classic Horror All-Nighter | Prince Charles Cinema | 6 & 27 October | 8:45pm | From £17.50
Balls to the wall horror all night including Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
The Celluloid Sorceress Presents: Sparkle (1976) + Samira Ahmed In Conversation | The Cinema Museum | 28 October | 3pm | £10
A very rare screening of the cult musical based on stories of Motown and The Supremes, written by Joel Schumacher with songs and music by Curtis Mayfield. The event also includes acclaimed journalist and broadcaster Samira Ahmed for a pre-show discussion of a film that inspired generations of African-American musicians, filmmakers and artists.
Catford Gin Festival | Catford Broadway Theatre | 5-7 October | £25
A bevvy of fabulously named gins south of the river: Fatty’s Organic, Hidden Curiosities, Cuckoo, Old Bakery, Sherlock & Sons and Tom Cat Six.
Sawa Manga | Canada Water Theatre | 4 October | 7:30pm | £8
Voice, beats and visuals collide in this excellent addition to the Albany’s new music programme.
Jennie Abrahamson | Rich Mix | 29 October | 7:30pm | £13.25
Swedish dream popstar will make you feel all cozy for winter.
Communicating Tax | London College of Communication | 4 October | 6pm | FREE
‘Tax doesn’t need to be taxing’ An interesting event around how we communicate something universally hated.
A Generous Lover | Camden People’s Theatre | 2-3 October | 9pm | £12
Read our five star review to understand why this show really is unmissable.
I’m A Phoenix, Bitch | Battersea Arts Centre | 3-20 October | 8pm | £15 – £26
The BAC welcomes back cult performance artiste Bryony Kimmings for a mythical tale of motherhood, heartbreak and finding inner strength.
Garden | Rose Lipman Building | 8-9 October | Multiple Times | From £15
Be brave and head on this surreal adventure for 1.
Skate Hard, Turn Left | Battersea Arts Centre | 9-13 October | 8:30pm | £12.50
A female skating revolution is presented in this unique project between theatre and reality.
It’s True, It’s True, It’s True | New Diorama Theatre | From 16 October | 7:30pm | £15
A #MeToo story from the past gives us perspective on the future of sexual violence against women. Read our review here.
Swansong | The RVT | 17 October | 8pm | £10
Join leg-endary London drag icon Lavinia Co-op for a show about getting gay lib in a care home.
Burgerz | Hackney Showroom | From 23 October | 7:30pm | From £10
‘Hurled words. Thrown objects. Dodged Burgers.’ Travis Alabanza proves they are more than zeitgeist with this touching tale of being trans.
Link Link by Isabella Rossellini | Southbank Centre | 23-24 October | 7:30pm | From £28
‘A one-woman (and her dog) show by Golden Globe-nominated actress and film-maker Isabella Rossellini, Link Link is a theatrical lecture with a comic twist.’ Bravo to the Southbank Centre for letting this curiosity take the stage.
Truth To Power Cafe | Roundhouse | 30-31 October | 7:30pm | £10
Who has power over you and what do you want to say to them? Jeremy Goldstein gives you 5 minutes to respond to this important question. Anyone can speak.
Depresstival | The Others Bar | 10 October | 7pm | FREE
A multi arts platform which provides a supportive and welcoming environment for 100s of established and emerging artists alike.
WonderLust: A Queer Takeover | New Cross Inn | 12 October | 7:30pm | From £6
Experience performance and cultivate new queer futures.
Disrupt the heteronormative homogeny of the day to day on the runway.
Dance until you transcend the limits of space-time to rewrite history.
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Did we miss the perfect October event or opening? Let us know and we’ll do our best to add it in!
About Rupert & Stuart
Occasionally the To Do List team are forced to work together.
Rupert likes: free, cheap & offbeat London, especially: cabaret, art, theatre, pop-ups, eating out, quirky films, museums, day trips, social enterprise & much more.
Stuart likes: nice pubs, film marathons, not doing real marathons, bad comedy, plays/musicals with shorter second halves, and the Oxford comma.