Ignore the obvious big-hitters and push your boundaries this month
Words Mary-Jane Wiltsher
Urban Photo Fest
Last year we fell in love with Gina Nero’s UrbanPhotoFest entry, depicting a mechanic’s oil-splattered, cobalt overall-clad legs protruding from beneath a car of exactly the same colour. It’s these sort of overlooked moments of metropolitan beauty that UPF champions, and this year is no different. For 2017, the annual photographic arts festival is themed around Cartographies, and kicks off with a lecture from internationally acclaimed photographic artist Roger Ballen at Tate Britain. Expect thought-provoking seminars, expert-led workshops and masterclasses, social events and more – with the winners announced Friday 10 November.
10-15 November, various locations and prices
North: Fashioning Identity
With so much focus on London’s sartorial prowess over Fashion Week we’re excited to turn our attentions to the North of England with Somerset House’s latest gem, North: Fashioning Identity. Exploring representations of the North through a mixture of social documentary photography, talks, tours and multimedia work, the exhibition goes beyond the realms of fashion to whittle away at our collective visions of this portion of the country, exposing common motifs, and musing on the international impact of the North’s homegrown talent across music, film, sport and fashion.
Somerset House, opening 8 November, £7, Conc. £5
The Suppliant Women
In this feminist rallying cry of a production, David Grieg brings a 2,500-year-old work firmly into the 21st century by reimagining Aeschylus’ play in a refugee crisis setting. Fifty women set sail over perilous Mediterranean seas, leaving their lives – and the threat of forced marriage – behind in North Africa as they seek asylum in Greece. Timely, stirring and important, Gray has succeeded, as the Young Vic says, in ‘unearthing an electric connection to the deepest and most mysterious ideas of humanity: who are we, where do we belong, and – if all goes wrong – who will take us in?’
Young Vic, 13-25 November, £10-£38
Inside Pussy Riot
Don your favourite balaclava and dive into this subversive, immersive theatre production about the post-punk collective Pussy Riot. Marking the centenary of the Russian Revolution, the production – a collaboration between Alice Underground creators Les Enfants Terribles, and Pussy Riot founder Nadya Tolokonnikova – tells the story of the feminist art group’s headlong collision with Russia’s sociopolitical system and the inhumane treatment they suffered as a result. A loud, gutsy call to arms for a free world.
Saatchi Gallery, from 14 November
Graeme of Thrones
Experience the fantasy juggernaut as never before with this blistering comedy night. Recently returned from a sell-out world tour and surfing on a torrent of international praise, the production sees Thrones super-fan Graeme do his utmost to recreate his beloved TV series on stage. Unfortunately Graeme doesn’t have HBO’s mega budgets, extras or stunt doubles at his disposal. What he does have is enthusiasm, which goes into overdrive when he hears that a hot-shot theatre producer is in town. What could possibly go wrong? As the website advises: ‘original and un-authorised, see before the inevitable lawsuit’.
Charing Cross Theatre, ends 11 November, £25-£32.50
A Weekend of Togetherness
Weinstein; Trump; apocalyptic IG filters over London – with news headlines growing more nerve-jangling by the minute, it’s a good time to set small, day-to-day resolutions that channel a spirit of togetherness. A great place to start is this weekend festival focused on emotional and physical connection, a celebration of romantic and platonic love with workshops exploring ideas such as ‘the soulmate delusion’, ‘mindfulness for better sex’ and ‘clowning and intimacy’. There’s also naked yoga and something mysteriously titled the ‘love lounge experience’ – though frankly the explicit downward dog views necessitated by the former may put you off the latter.
Greenwich, 18-19 November, £99-£119
London Jazz Festival
We can’t hear the word ‘jazz’ without a montage of The Fast Show’s Jazz Club sketches unfolding in our heads – but the calibre and diversity of the Barbican’s London Jazz Festival programme would be a bit beyond polo-and-pinstripe ‘Jazzman’ Louis Balfour. Catch improv-jazz duo Black Top and a panel of guest artists discuss the connection between free-jazz and the paintings of Jean-Michel Basquiat; raise the roof with Cuban piano maistros Chucho Valdés and Gonzalo Rubalcaba; or seek out future talent at the Next Generation Takeover, which sees a line-up of young ensembles take to the stage. Those rocking medallions and bowl-cuts need not apply. Niiiiice.
Barbican, 10-19 November, various prices
Backyard Cinema’s Snow Kingdom
Backyard Cinema is back and it’s got its winter togs on. Film-goers arriving at the SE1 postcode can expect to journey through a snow-smothered wilderness, complete with frozen lake and enchanted castle, before retreating into the warm sanctuary of the ballroom to settle in front of the big screen. Films range from Jordan Peele’s darkly comic thriller Get Out to childhood favourites E.T. – via festive stalwarts like It’s A Wonderful Life. Viewings will sell out fast, so stay tuned for December’s listings.
42 Newington Causeway, SE1 6DR, until 23 December
Lambeth Fireworks: A Night at the Movies
From Kew Gardens’ Hans Zimmer concert to the Royal Albert Hall’s Celebration of John Williams and Films in Concert series, film scores are in vogue. Now the folks behind Lambeth Fireworks are following suit with an explosive display that will play out to a soundtrack of iconic movie theme tunes. With dazzling nighttime views of London, an all-bells-and-whistles funfair and heart-warming street food from cheese aficionados Mac to the Future and sausage gurus Get Wurst, this promises to be one event with plenty of bang (sorry) for its buck.
Brockwell Park, 4 November, tickets from £6.50