What’s on in London this week: 16 - 22 March 2026
Discover our pick of events in London this week: 16 - 22 March 2026.
Alexander Whitley Dance Company presents The Rite of Spring / Mirror
Alexander Whitley Dance Company presents a double bill of innovative dance works, Mirror and The Rite of Spring, combining contemporary choreography with live motion capture and artificial intelligence. The production explores the tension between human autonomy and the technological forces shaping modern life. Mirror, inspired by Shannon Vallor’s The AI Mirror and set to music by Galya Bisengalieva, examines how growing interactions with AI are transforming human relationships through the lens of a duet. The programme also features a bold reinterpretation of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, reimagining its themes of ritual, community and sacrifice in the context of society’s increasing reliance on AI. The double bill reflects on humanity’s past while speculating about its future through mythology, technology and powerful physical movement.
Date: 18–21 March 2026. Location: Sadler’s Wells East, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, London E20 2AR. Price: from £23 + £4 transaction fee. Book now
© Thomas Alexander
Nagano Conducts Mahler's Resurrection Symphony
Nagano Conducts Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony is a concert presented by the Philharmonia Orchestra as part of its Spring/Summer 2026 classical season and 80th anniversary celebrations. Conducted by Kent Nagano, the performance features Gustav Mahler’s monumental Symphony No. 2 ‘Resurrection’, written for a large orchestra, two vocal soloists, and chorus. The symphony traces a powerful emotional journey: beginning with a funeral march, moving through memories and moments of existential doubt, and ultimately arriving at a dramatic finale that affirms faith and redemption. The programme opens with a chant by the medieval abbess Hildegard of Bingen, composed centuries before Mahler’s symphony but reflecting similar themes of spirituality and renewal.
Date: 19 March 2026. Time: 7:30pm. Location: Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX. Price: from £22 (+ £3.50 booking fee) Book now
Les Liaisons Dangereuses
This week, the National Theatre opens a new production of Christopher Hampton’s adaptation of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Directed by Marianne Elliott (Angels in America), the play stars Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread) as the cunning Marquise de Merteuil and Aidan Turner (Rivals) as the charismatic Vicomte de Valmont. Set among the glittering salons of the super-rich, the story explores seduction, power, and social rivalry, where intelligence and desire become weapons and reputations hang in the balance.
Date: 21 March – 6 June 2026. Location: Lyttelton Theatre, National Theatre, South Bank, London SE1 9PX. Price: from £82. Book now
Les Liaisons Dangereuses at National Theatre. Image courtesy of National Theatre
Sweetmeats
This is the final opportunity to see Karim Khan’s Sweetmeats at the Bush Theatre’s Holloway Theatre. The play tells the story of Hema, who has avoided sweet treats for years while focusing on her health, and Liaquat, a rule-breaking spirit who encourages her to enjoy life. As their unlikely friendship deepens, romance blooms, and both characters confront the joys and challenges of growing older. This intimate love story between two South Asian elders, written by Karim Khan and directed by Natasha Kathi-Chandra, is a charming world premiere that will tug at your heartstrings.
Date: Until 21 March 2026. Location: Holloway Theatre, Bush Theatre, 7 Uxbridge Road, London, W12 8LJ. Price: from £10–£35. Book now
Brentano String Quartet at Wigmore Hall
This week, the Brentano String Quartet performs a captivating programme featuring Haydn’s String Quartet in C minor, Op. 17 No. 4, Timo Andres’s Machine, Learning, and Bartók’s String Quartet No. 4, BB95. Celebrated for their “luxuriously warm sound and yearning lyricism,” the ensemble explores repetition and transformation across centuries, blending classical elegance, vivid tonal colour, and intricate contemporary textures in a one-hour performance.
Date: 16 March 2026. Location: Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP. Price: £18 (£16 concessions). Book now
Wet Mess and Nando Messias. Developed whilst in residency at Somerset House Studios. Photo by Anne Tetzlaff.
Cardion Nights
Cardion Nights is back for its second year at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, presented by Cardion Arts in support of akt (Albert Kennedy Trust). This one-night-only event celebrates the transformative power of queer performance, featuring bold, playful and politically charged work from an exceptional line-up of artists. Expect contributions from Wet Mess, Nando Messias, Travis Alabanza, Adam Christensen and Emily Pope. Curated by Gemma Rolls-Bentley and Katie Della-Valle, the evening promises a mix of bold visuals, immersive performances and experimental storytelling, all while raising vital funds for queer and trans young people experiencing homelessness.
Date: 20 March 2026. Location: Institute of Contemporary Arts, The Mall, London, SW1Y 5AH. Price: Free (unwaged), £12 (standard ticket) £18 (ticket + akt donation). Book now
The Arab Hall at Leighton House ©RBKC. Image Siobhan Doran
The Arab Hall: Past and Present
Leighton House Museum will present The Arab Hall: Past and Present, a major programme re-examining its iconic 19th-century Arab Hall. Opening on 21 March 2026, the project features the first series of site-specific contemporary commissions for the space, with installations by Ramzi Mallat, Kamilah Ahmed, and Soraya Syed, alongside a specially commissioned short film by Soudade Kaadan. The programme offers visitors a unique chance to experience the Hall’s rich histories, artistic influences, and ongoing cultural relevance.
Date: 21 March - 4 October 2026. Location: Leighton House Museum, 12 Holland Park Road, London, W14 8LZ. rbkc.gov.uk
Cinema
Broken English
This week at the ICA, Broken English (dir. Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard, UK 2025, 99 mins) offers an intimate portrait of Marianne Faithfull, a true original whose six-decade career has constantly defied expectations. With her full involvement, the film explores a life shaped by fame, creativity, and relentless public scrutiny, unfolding within the imagined Ministry of Not Forgetting, where memory and mythology collide. Featuring Tilda Swinton, George MacKay, and intimate performances from Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, Courtney Love, and Suki Waterhouse, Broken English is a testament to resilience, creativity, and rebellion - Marianne Faithfull’s fearless swan song.
Date: 20 - 26 March 2026. Location: Institute of Contemporary Arts, The Mall, London, SW1Y 5AH. Price: from £14. Concessions available. Book now
Broken English, dir. Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard, UK 2025, 99 mins
Arts & Culture
Opening this week
Museum of Edible Earth
Museum of Edible Earth will open at Somerset House’s Terrace Room this week for its first UK presentation. The exhibition, created by artist and researcher masharu, explores geophagy, the practice of eating earth for health, cultural, or culinary purposes, through a global collection of over 600 edible samples, including clay, chalk, volcanic rock, and limestone from 44 countries. Visitors can take part in guided tasting sessions at a communal table, with tasting cards detailing flavour profiles, mineral content, and cultural histories, while adding their own impressions to the museum’s evolving archive. In a first for Somerset House, the exhibition incorporates composted materials from previous shows, including ink made from home-grown compost to screen-print the exhibition title, highlighting a sustainable approach to exhibition-making. A special Earth Day weekend (17–19 April) will include workshops and events inspired by the exhibition and the spring courtyard commission Serpentine Currents, offering hands-on experiences for families and young creatives.
Date: 18 March – 26 April 2026. Location: Terrace Room, Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2R 1LA. Price: Pay What You Can. somersethouse.org.uk
Museum of Edible Earth. Photo by Jester van Schuylenburch
Seth Price: Redistribution 2026–2007
Seth Price presents Redistribution 2026–2007 at Sadie Coles HQ, an evolving multimedia project first conceived nearly two decades ago as a slide lecture at the Guggenheim Museum. Now in its eleventh edition, it is shown as a standalone installation for the first time, with each iteration reimagining the previous one. Using edited footage, overdubbing and archival material, Redistribution forms a filmic essay spanning art history, consumer culture, global events, digital technology and personal diaries, exploring authorship, memory and how the past, present and future continually reshape one another.
Date: 17 March – 2 May 2026. Location: Sadie Coles HQ, 62 Kingly Street, London W1B 5QN. Price: Free. sadiecoles.com
Martha Armitage: Pattern Maker
Marthe Armitage’s Pattern Maker at Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery celebrates the remarkable career of one of Britain’s most beloved designers. At 95, Armitage is renowned for her hand-drawn, hand-printed wallpaper and fabric designs, created in her Chiswick studio, where she has lived since 1939. The exhibition traces her artistic process from initial sketches, tracings, and lino blocks to completed wallpapers and textiles, revealing the craftsmanship and imagination behind each work. Inspired by local landscapes, riverbanks, and architectural details, her designs transform familiar elements, like chestnut trees or angelica plants, into intricate, fantastical decorative worlds. The show brings together original drawings, archival material, prints, and large-scale installations, offering an intimate look at the life and work of an artist whose patterns have shaped British interiors for over fifty years.
Date: 19 March – 19 July 2026. Location: Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery, Ealing Green, London W5 5EQ. Price: from £14. Concessions available. Book now
Marthe Armitage’s Pattern Maker to open at Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery on 19 March 2026.
#FLOFavourites: This week
Daphne Wright: Expectations
Expectations by Daphne Wright is currently on view at Frith Street Gallery in Golden Square. The presentation brings together new sculptures and watercolours that reflect on family life, growing up and the passage of time, including works made in Jesmonite and unfired clay alongside delicate paintings of young men at moments of change. Wright’s thoughtful arrangements of material and form invite a close look at the nuances of identity and transition.
Date: 19 February - 18 April 2026. Location: 17–18 Golden Square, London, W1F 9JJ. Price: Free. frithstreetgallery.com
Sons and Couch, 2025, Daphne Wright. Image credit MTotoe/FLO London
Artist talk
Memory of Materials: Chiharu Shiota & Yin Xiuzhen
Coinciding with the exhibitions Threads of Life by Chiharu Shiota and Heart to Heart by Yin Xiuzhen at the Hayward Gallery, this week a panel discussion will explore the themes and ideas behind the artists’ work. The event brings together curator and academic Amy Tobin and art historian and curator Lydia Yee, with the conversation moderated by critic and broadcaster Shahidha Bari. Together, they will discuss connections in the artists’ practices, including memory, materiality, and migration, while reflecting on how Shiota’s immersive thread installations and Yin’s use of unconventional materials reveal personal and collective stories.
Date: 18 March 2026. Time: 7:00pm. Location: Purcell Room, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX. Price: from £14 (+ £3.50 booking fee). Book now
Installation view of Chiharu Shiota: Threads of Life. Threads of Life (2026). Image credit Mark Blower, courtesy of the Hayward Gallery. © DACS, London, 2026 and Chiharu Shiota.
#FLOFavourites: Pick of the Week
Food of the week
Forza Wine Soho
Image credit Forza Wine Soho
This week’s Food of the Week highlights the new Forza Wine Soho, the latest venue from the popular wine bar that started in Peckham. Located on Manette Street, the Soho bar offers a relaxed Italian‑inspired menu of small plates perfect for sharing, including cauliflower fritti, parmesan brioche, and other seasonal dishes. The menu is paired with a selection of natural and low‑intervention wines, vermouth cocktails, and delicious desserts like soft-serve Custardo. With outdoor seating and a lively bar area, it’s a great spot for lunch, pre-theatre dining, or drinks with friends in Soho.
Location: Unit 1, Ilona Rose House, Manette Street, London W1D 4AL. Website: forzawine.com. Instagram: @forzawine
Venue of the week
Flamingo Club Soho
Image courtesy of Flamingo Club Soho
Soho has a new underground jazz venue with the opening of the Flamingo Club, a space inspired by the legendary nightclub that thrived in the 1950s and 1960s. Created as a tribute to Soho’s rich musical heritage, the club offers a lively programme of live jazz, funk, soul and disco performed by talented musicians and DJs, ensuring that no two nights are the same. Tucked away in Carnaby Street’s Kingly Court, the venue combines a strong music line-up with stylish interiors and a classic drinks-and-snacks menu featuring Old Fashioneds, martinis, gildas and Guinness on tap. Open Tuesday to Saturday from 6pm, the club runs until 1am earlier in the week and until 3am from Thursday to Saturday. On the last Tuesday of every month, the club hosts the B SIDES Jam Session, where emerging London jazz artists come together to improvise and perform alongside the classic records that shaped them, creating that unique and spontaneous live experience that we, for one, are craving when we head out!
Location: 50 Kingly Court, Carnaby Street, Soho, London W1F 9PY. Website: flamingoclubsoho.com. Instagram: @flamingoclubsoho
Art news of the week
V&A East Museum unveils Thomas J Price’s monumental sculpture ahead of 2026 opening
A Place Beyond, Thomas J Price. Image credit MTotoe/ FLO London
The V&A has revealed A Place Beyond, a monumental 18-foot sculpture by London-based artist Thomas J Price, outside the new V&A East Museum in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Unveiled ahead of the museum’s opening on 18 April 2026, the bronze artwork, the tallest Price has created, depicts a fictional young person in casual clothing holding a mobile phone and looking towards the horizon, symbolising possibility and change. The piece challenges traditional narratives of classical sculpture by representing everyday people often excluded from public monuments, while celebrating the diversity of East London.
Click here to discover more public art to see in London in 2026.
Cause of the week
The National Brain Appeal
Art from A Letter in Mind. Image courtesy of The National Brain Appeal.
The National Brain Appeal’s fundraiser A Letter in Mind returns for its 12th exhibition, themed Spring Forward. The event will showcase hundreds of artworks created on envelopes, each sold for £85. The exhibition has attracted support from leading artists and celebrities including Sir Grayson Perry, Dame Zandra Rhodes, Ishbel Myerscough, Mark Entwisle, Anita Mangan, actors Greg Wise, Hannah Walters, Stephen Campbell Moore, James Fleet, illustrator Axel Scheffler, and presenter Andrew Marr. In a unique twist, all artworks will be displayed anonymously, with the identities of the artists revealed only at the end of the exhibition. Proceeds will support The National Brain Appeal, the charity for the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, helping fund treatment and research for conditions such as strokes, dementia, brain cancer and epilepsy.
Date: 24–28 March 2026. Location: Gallery Different, 14 Percy Street, London W1T 1DR, and online at nationalbrainappeal.org
