What’s on in London this week: 12 - 18 January 2026
Discover our pick of events in London this week: 12 - 18 January 2026.
T.S. Eliot Prize Shortlist Readings
The T.S. Eliot Prize Shortlist Readings is a unique opportunity to hear the finest new poetry from the UK and Ireland, performed live by the ten shortlisted poets for one of the world’s most prestigious poetry awards. Hosted by poet Ian McMillan, the event taking place this week, showcases both internationally acclaimed writers and emerging voices shaping contemporary poetry today. The 2026 shortlist has been selected by judges Michael Hofmann (Chair), Patience Agbabi and Niall Campbell.
Date: 18 January 2026, 7pm. Location: Royal Festival Hall, London. Price: Tickets from £15 + £3.50 booking fee. Book now
Saskia Reeves and Clive Owen. Photo by Marc Brenner.
End
This is the last chance to see End, the final play in David Eldridge’s trilogy exploring love and relationships, performed at the National Theatre. Following the critically acclaimed Beginningand Middle, the play follows Alfie (Clive Owen) and Julie (Saskia Reeves) as they face the final chapter of their long love story, full of music, laughter, and heartache, on one early morning in June. Directed by Rachel O’Riordan, End is both touching and funny, and marks the final production in former National Theatre Director Rufus Norris’ Dorfman programme.
Date: Until 17 January 2026. Location: Dorfman Theatre, National Theatre, South Bank, London SE1 9PX. Duration: Approx. 1 hour 40 minutes, no interval. Price: from £20. Book now
Condo London 2026
Condo London returns in this week, a city-wide collaborative exhibition programme bringing together London galleries and international peers across the capital. Neither a traditional art fair nor a festival, it operates as a month-long network of exhibitions in which galleries share spaces, audiences and curatorial approaches. Taking place across around 50 galleries in 23 venues, from Soho and the West End to South and East London, Condo offers a connected snapshot of contemporary art, shaped by dialogue, exchange and the coexistence of distinct artistic positions.
Click here for our guide to six shows to see at or during Condo London 2026.
Date: 17 January – 14 February 2026. Location: Multiple galleries across London.
Cellist Raphael Wallfisch and pianist Simon Callaghan to preform at the Barbican Centre
Raphael Wallfisch: Composers in Exile
Cellist Raphael Wallfisch and pianist Simon Callaghan will present a powerful chamber music programme exploring the work of composers forced into exile during the Second World War. Drawing on music shaped by displacement, loss and resilience, the concert will feature contrasting works by Bartók, Weinberg, Bosmans, Laks and Martinů, each reflecting different responses to upheaval and survival. The performance will be particularly significant as it will mark one year since the release of The Last Musician of Auschwitz, the documentary centred on the story of Wallfisch’s mother, Holocaust survivor and cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch. Together, the programme will offer a moving reflection on history, memory and the strength of musical expression.
Date: Sunday 18 January 2026, 3pm. Location: Purcell Room, Southbank Centre, London. Price: from £27 + £3.50 booking fee. Book now
Make & Craft
To mark the final days of Dirty Looks at the Barbican Centre, artists Matty Bovan, Ayumi Kajiwara and Alice Potts will lead hands-on workshops celebrating fashion, craft and sustainability. Participants can transform pre-loved clothing, experiment with found objects, and explore innovative seaweed-based biomaterials to create new garments and sculptural pieces. Open to fashion enthusiasts and curious beginners alike, the day ends with a relaxed cup of tea and the chance to chat with the artists and fellow makers.
Date: 17 January 2026. Time: 11am. Location: Conservatory & Garden Room, Barbican Centre. Price: £10. Book now
Image courtesy of the Barbican Centre.
London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle
The LSO, under Sir Simon Rattle, performs Janáček’s The Makropulos Affair from 13–15 January 2026 at the Barbican Hall. This concert opera explores Emilia Marty’s 300-year life, identity, and lost love, with Marlis Petersen as Emilia and Aleš Briscein as Albert Gregor.
Date: 13 – 15 January 2026. Location: Barbican Hall, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS. Price: from £18- 72. Book now
Wellness
Yoga at the Natural History Museum
Start your day with a unique yoga experience at the Natural History Museum, held in the Hintze Hall beneath the blue whale skeleton. Hosted in collaboration with East of Eden, the session welcomes all skill levels and includes a live gong bath, along with exclusive access to galleries closed to the public, such as the Space: Could Life Exist Beyond Earth? and Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibitions.
Note: Bring your own yoga mat.
Date: 18 January 2026. Time: 8am – 9:15am. Location: Hintze Hall, Natural History Museum, London. Price: £36 / Members £32.40. Book now
Image courtesy of Natural History Museum
Cinema
Peter Hujar’s Day
Peter Hujar’s Day, directed by Ira Sachs, is a simple and thoughtful portrayal of a single day in the life of photographer Peter Hujar, starring Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall. Based on a 1974 recording between Hujar and writer Linda Rosenkrantz, the film shows the small moments that shaped his life, from meetings with cultural figures like Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, and Susan Sontag, to everyday experiences of living downtown in 1970s New York.
Date: until 15 January 2025. Location: Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA),The Mall, London, SW1Y 5AH. Runtime: 1hr 16mins. Price: Standard £14, members/concessions rates available. Book now
Peter Hujar’s Day Om show at
Arts & Culture
Opening this week
Hawaiʻi: a Kingdom Crossing Oceans
This British Museum exhibition will explore the Hawaiian Kingdom’s history, artistry, and ties with the UK, marking 200 years since King Liholiho and Queen Kamāmalu’s London visit. Featuring approximately 150 works, including royal regalia and sacred objects, it highlights Hawaiian voices and perspectives.
Date: 15 January – 25 May 2026. Location: The Joseph Hotung Exhibition Gallery, British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG. Price: from £14; under-16s free when accompanied by a paying adult. britishmuseum.org
Nat Faulkner: Strong water
Nat Faulkner’s first major UK institutional show at Camden Art Centre features copper frottage reliefs and a multi-panel photographic installation, exploring transformation, materiality, and the artist’s studio process.
Date: 16 January - 22 March 2026. Location: Camden Art Centre, Arkwright Road, NW3 6DG. Price: Free. camdenartcentre.org
Mahiole hulu manu (feathered helmet) © The Trustees of the British Museum
Mughal Banaras: Forgotten Histories in a Troubled Present
SOAS Gallery uncovers Banaras’ overlooked Mughal heritage, highlighting hidden mosques, gardens, cemeteries, and sites linked to Crown Prince Jahandar Shah, combining photography and archival research.
Date: 15 January – 21 March 2026. Location: SOAS Gallery, Thornhaugh Street, London WC1H 0XG. Price: Free. soas.ac.uk
Joseph Beuys: Bathtub for a Heroine
Thaddaeus Ropac London presents Beuys’ Bathtub (1961–87) and related works, showcasing his social sculpture concept where art fosters connection and transformation through key sculptures and drawings.
Date: 13 January – 21 March 2026. Location: Thaddaeus Ropac, Ely House, London W1S 4NJ. Price: Free. ropac.net
Local Hindu women making offerings and prayers at the Chunar Dargah, a Sufi shrine near Varanasi. Image credit Jateen Lad
Last chance
Kerry James Marshall: The Histories
Final chance to see Marshall’s largest European survey at the Royal Academy of Arts, featuring 70+ works spanning his career, including paintings, prints, and sculptures that explore Black history, identity, and everyday life.
Date: 20 September 2025 – 18 January 2026. Location: Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD. Price: £23.50 - £25.50. Book now
Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley: THE DELUSION
Serpentine North hosts Brathwaite-Shirley’s multiplayer video game and live “community play”, using satire, participatory theatre and digital animation to explore polarisation, censorship and social connection.
Date: 30 September 2025 – 18 January 2026. Location: Serpentine North, West Carriage Drive, London W2 2AR. Price: Free. serpentinegalleries.org
Kerry James Marshall, Better Homes, Better Gardens, 1994, Acrylic and collage on canvas. 254 x 360.7 cm. Denver Art Museum. © Kerry James Marshall. Image courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.
Wayne Thiebaud: American Still Life
The Courtauld Gallery’s first UK museum exhibition of Wayne Thiebaud showcases his post-war still-life paintings of everyday American objects, transforming kitsch into modern art.
Date: 10 October 2025 – 18 January 2026. Location: Denise Coates Exhibition Galleries, Floor 3, The Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA. Price: £15. Concessions available. Book now
Wayne Thiebaud (1920-2021), Cakes, 1963, oil on canvas, Gift in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art from the Collectors Committee, the 50th Anniversary Gift Committee, and The Circle, with Additional Support from the Abrams Family in Memory of Harry N. Abrams © Wayne Thiebaud/VAGA at ARS, NY and DACS, London 2024
#FLOFavourites: Pick of the Week
Free event of the week
Should The UK Return Contested Historical Artefacts? – Whitechapel Debate
Join Debate London for a discussion on whether UK museums should return artefacts to their countries of origin. This 3v3 panel debate will explore questions of ownership, legal obligations, and public opinion surrounding contested artefacts, including those held by the British Museum. Speakers will defend assigned perspectives to give the audience a clear view of the strongest arguments, followed by a chance for attendees to ask questions and share their own views. Part of the It’s Debateable! series, this in-person event offers will explore the important question of heritage, history, and ethics in museum collections.
Date: 13 January 2026. Time: 6:45pm – 9:30pm GMT (doors at 6:30pm). Location: White Hart, 1 Mile End Road, London E1 4TP. Duration: 2 hours 45 minutes. Price: Free. Book now
Food of the week
Pizza Pilgrims have launched a new limited-edition pizza
Image courtesy of Pizza Pilgrims
Pizza Pilgrims have launched Vitamin P, a limited-edition pizza designed to help tackle the winter vitamin D gap highlighted by the NHS, which advises that we don’t make enough vitamin D from sunlight between October and early March. Available from 5 January, the pizza features UV-enriched shiitake mushrooms grown by a pioneering UK producer; when exposed to UV light, the mushrooms naturally produce vitamin D, with around 100g on each pizza helping to boost intake during the darkest months of the year.
Date: 5 January – 8 February 2026. Website: pizzapilgrims.co.uk. Instagram: @pizzapilgrims
Click here for more January food highlights in London.
Cause of the week
London Ambulance Service
Volunteer Emergency Responders Joyce and Ben
Volunteering with the London Ambulance Service is a chance to use your skills, learn new ones, and make a real difference in London. Opportunities include Volunteer Emergency Responders, who attend 999 emergencies in uniform and charity-funded blue-light vehicles alongside ambulance crews, and Community First Responders, who respond to life-threatening calls in their own cars and are trained to use defibrillators.
Click here to discover more about London Ambulance Service.
