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ADVERTISING LONDON, LET’S GO SHOP SMALL.
LET’S GO
ESCAPE OUR
HOME COOKING.
LET’S GO
PICK UP THE CHAT.
Let’s go Shop Small
with American Express.
TIMEOUT.COM/LONDON May 25 ñ June 7 2021 No. 2606
Sweatpants
are so
last year
Bimini Bon Boulash steps out for our street-life issue
Street life
Inside We asked photographers from 18
cities across the world to pick one of
This issue of Time Out their images that sums up their burg
in no time at all
PAGE 23
‘Eye-searing
brain-liquifying
ear-shredding’
Fancy the sound of Ryoji Ikeda’s
exhibition at 180 The Strand?
PAGE 34
Who’s for
extras?
Restaurants reopening means it’s
time for a round-up of London’s most
over-the-top dishes. Like this duck
PAGE 36
MAIN IMAGE: NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL BY ORLANDO GILI; DUCK: IMPERIAL TREASURE, PHOTO BY KENG LIM
Trippy #1 Trippy #2
We send our man Huw to a government- If you’re starting to think about an
countenanced rave in Liverpool. All in the international break, how about one of
name of research, of course these amazing movie locations?
PAGE 14 PAGE 40
FEATURES AND REGULARS
9 City life 14 Global briefing 16 Bimini Bon Boulash 23 Global Street Photography
26 Exclusive offers 27 Things to Do 36 Food & Drink 40 Travel 43 Film
5 May 25 – June 7 2021 Time Out London
R
EA
Y
HE
FT
N O
AIG ND
MP R A
LB
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TI O
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Hello,
T
IN
London Advertising 7813 6000,
advertising@timeout.com
Circulation
circulation@timeout.com
Global Editor-in-Chief
Caroline McGinn Caroline McGinn
London Editor Joe Mackertich
Global Editor-in-Chief Deputy Editor/Chief
@carolinemcginn Sub Editor Chris Waywell
Deputy Chief Sub Editor
Sarah Cohen
Executive Editor Kate Lloyd
News & City Life
London’s doors opened last week. Big doors: galleries, some Isabelle Aron (Editor)
Events Katie McCabe
theatres. Little doors: restaurants that have survived months of Film Phil de Semlyen
(Global Editor)
mealkit deliveries and rent arrears on pure goodwill and talent. Culture Eddy Frankel,
Andrzej Łukowski
It’s incredible, but our city looks different. Shops boarded up,
Global Commercial Editor
offices empty. Will people come back? Will London be the same? Stephen Farmer
Global Branded Content
Editor Rose Johnstone
Commercial Designer
The answer, I believe, is no: it won’t be the same. But that’s cause Julia Robinson
for celebration. This year I’ve seen the cities Time Out represents Head of Digital Content
Jordan Waller
– from Singapore to LA – reinvent themselves. Paris mayor Anne Engagement Editor
Sam Willis
Hidalgo and Barcelona mayor Ada Colau are pedestrianising and International Editor
James Manning
rethinking their cities’ streets so they are places where you can live, International Travel Editor
Ellie Walker-Arnott
breathe and walk more happily. International Commissioning
Editor Huw Oliver
Great cities are fluid. You see it in street culture: a hot pitta from a Art Director Bryan Mayes
Picture Desk Manager
paper bag, chatter in multiple languages, pure noise. Stepping into Ben Rowe
Photographer Andy Parsons
the street is an adventure. People come to cities – as Bimini Bon Head of Production
Dave Faulkner
Boulash says in this issue – to try on versions of themselves, find Production, Admin and Sales
Support Katie Mulhern-Bhudia
acceptance and see what’s emerging. So cities will become places Commercial
people want to be, not have to be. What I’m most excited about is not MD EMEA Lawrence Horne
Advertising Sales
the stuff I’ve been missing but the stuff I didn’t know I needed until I Ian Tournes (Director),
Natalie Reynolds, Juliet
walked out the door and bumped into it. Grant, Banbha O’Hagan,
Nesha Fleischer, James
Hooper, Robyn Eldridge,
Emma Myland
Creative Solutions
Wayne Mensah (Director),
Charlie Liddington,
Nicola Foxwell
Project Management
THE EDITOR’S ESSEN T IALS Three street food dishes to eat now
Junior Olokodana (Project
Management Lead),
Nicki Wymer, Zara Taylor
MD Global E-commerce
Minesh Shah
Time Out Group CEO
Julio Bruno
Cover
Photography: Andy Parsons
Garments:
Regencycore by Grete Henri
Stylist: Grete Henri,
assisted by Marko Vrbos
Hair: Ross Kwan
EAT this… …and this… …and also this Make-up: Byron London
Many thanks to Judy the dog
The Bad Boy Pizza Society lads are If you find yourself in the area, Katsutopia at Flat Iron Square
rocking up to Seven Dials Market I cannot recommend Souvlaki Street are very serious about sauce and
this summer, with their Marmite at Pop Brixton enough. Gourmet breadcrumbs. True dedication to the
garlic bread in tow. wraps done right. katsu cause. Joe Mackertich
Time Out Digital Ltd
77 Wicklow Street,
London, WC1X 9JY.
@timeoutlondon facebook.com/timeoutlondon @timeoutlondon timeout.com/news www.timeout.com
020 7813 3000
NOT FOR RESALE
Time Out London May 25 – June 7 2021 6
City
life Edited by Isabelle Aron
@timeoutlondon
@tim
meoutlondon
PICCADILLY CIRCUS STATION LOGO 2021 IPAD PAINTING © DAVID HOCKNEY, PHOTO BY BEN BROOMFIELD; NATIONAL THEATRE: ANASTAS_STYLES/SHUTTERSTOCK; AJ TRACEY: CHRISTIAN BERTRAND/SHUTTERSTOCK; TATE MODERN: ED MARSHALL;
BUTCHIES QUEEN B BURGER: NIC CRILLY-HARGRAVE; SKATER: JGOLBY/SHUTTERSTOCK; BARBICAN CENTRE: KIEV.VICTOR/SHUTTERSTOCK; GLOBE: COWARDLION/SHUTTERSTOCK; SAOIRSE RONAN: KATHY HUTCHINS/SHUTTERSTOCK
‘It’s time to rediscover London’
With more pedestrianisation and emptier streets and parks, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan
explains why this year is the perfect time for Londoners to reconnect with their city
‘LET’S DO LONDON’ is the biggest this summer is the best summer we’ve ever seen. public spaces in London, and how we use them.
tourism campaign our city has ever This will probably be the only year in our Across London you’ll see displays of public art,
seen. The reason it’s so important is lifetime when there won’t be international not hidden away in the lobbies of buildings.
that the last 15 months have been tourists in London. It’s an opportunity to have This pandemic has reminded people about
incredibly tough for us. It’s not just fewer queues and to do things which you wouldn’t the things they enjoy the most – and one of them
the enjoyment we get from retail, culture and otherwise do, to discover why London is the best is people. I think we’ll appreciate each other’s
hospitality, but that one in five jobs in London city in the world, to rediscover why you fell in company more. Younger Londoners in particular
are in these areas. Many young Londoners love with it. It’s about attracting people across the have missed out on the way of life we had – not
work in these areas. So Let’s Do London is country to come to London for overnight stays just work, but lunch with your mates, a drink
about bringing all the key players in London and Londoners having day trips across their city. after work, going to a gig or a restaurant. I think
together, from the Globe to the National The mandate I’ve got now means that I can [lockdown] has also made us realise how much
Theatre, to the Southbank, to the V&A, to chefs accelerate the programme for more walking, we rely on each other for our mental fitness.
[part of the parallel Eat London campaign], to more cycling, more pedestrianisation. We want Our city reopening will allow us to get our
artists like David Hockney, live music venues, to avoid a car-led recovery at all costs – we don’t mojo back. ■ As told to Chris Waywell
pubs, bars and restaurants, to make sure that want London to be gridlocked. We’re very good at Find out more about the campaign at www.visitlondon.com.
9 May 25 – June 7 2021 Time Out London
City life
YPE DIS
H
H
Pockets’totally stuffed
falafel pitta pocket
IS LONDON
D
N
SECTIO ROAD EN2
What goes into the London plates THE STREET THAT CHANGED MY LIFE
that everyone bangs on about
Activist Lady Phyll
WHEN ITAMAR GRINBERG decided to hours. The stall has one dish on the recalls experiencing
launch a falafel stall at Netil House in menu: falafel pitta, which pays homage to racism in her area
November last year, he didn’t expect it Grinberg’s Israeli roots. ‘We wanted to do
to coincide with a national lockdown. a version of falafel that’s sexier and more ENFIELD TOWN was my
Thankfully, as a takeaway food stall, fun,’ he says. He shares what makes it so regular haunt as a young
Pockets could stay open – and it thrived. special. ■ Isabelle Aron person. On London Road,
At one point, it had queues of up to two Pockets, Netil Market. £7. there was a place called
the Townhouse where you
could learn how to dance
The tap, ballroom and disco.
fried potato In 1983, when I was about
‘As a child, I’d go to a nine or ten, I met my friend
falafel stand in Tel Aviv where The veg Hayley at the Townhouse
they added a potato chip. ‘There’s a cabbage slaw, and we found that a National
I was obsessed with it. I knew which adds crunchiness, Front march was taking
our pitta had to have it too. sumac onions, tomato, place on the street that day.
It’s coated in batter cucumber and parsley. We An old woman with a tartan
and fried.’ chop the veg finely so you shopping trolley told me to
get a bit of everything hide in a shopfront. She said:
in each bite.’ ‘The people coming down
here don’t like your sort.’
Hayley, being white, blonde
and blue-eyed, kept an eye
out while I hid. I saw these
big burly men in bomber
jackets and steel-toecapped
DMs, with swastikas in tow.
I will never forget that.
I was utterly frightened
of these men.
The next day, I asked my
The falafel history teacher why we
‘We use a lot of herbs were learning about Henry
which helps keep the falafel VIII rather than slavery. I
fluffy inside. We fry it at a high didn’t have the language to
heat so that it goes crispy articulate how I felt. As I got
without getting oily inside older, I turned some of that
– that’s the secret to anger into passion. I worked
good falafel.’ for a trade union and studied
labour relations. Had that
The sauces march not happened, I
‘There’s fresh houmous, wouldn’t have challenged
tahini, a herby green sauce, my teachers or entered into
the work I do now.
FALAFEL PITTA: ANDY PARSONS; LADY PHYLL: CORINNE CUMMING
red zhug (a spicy chilli sauce)
and amba, a pickled mango I only went to the
sauce, which is definitely The pitta Townhouse once after the
the star. We make them ‘We make it ourselves – march. I guess I had felt free
all in-house.’ it’s stone-baked and then up until that moment. ■
we steam it on site, like you Interview by Paula Akpan
would with an Asian bun. That
makesit extra soft but still
robust enough to hold
everything.’
Explore more of the city at
timeout.com/thingstodo
Time Out London May 25 – June 7 2021 10Jab jab hook again but this time in 8K Capture all the action in super smooth cinema quality. Discover more at Samsung.com
City life
W RD
ON THE
STREE T
The most ridiculous
things we’ve overheard
in London this week
‘I am rubbish with
emojis. Was that a
heart or a chicken?’
‘When did you
start listening
to Tom Jones?’
Four London artists to watch ‘He’s patching up
Curator and dancer Ivan Michael Blackstock shares roofs, but he should
the London creatives he’s excited about be patching up
his pants.’
Julian Knxx poet and artist Dreya Mac dancer, singer and rapper ‘Why are you
‘His poetry is political, because he’s speaking his ‘I came across Dreya at the dance studios in south
truth. The way the structures of society are fixed, London where I was teaching. Last year she
stroking my ankle?’
when a young black male expresses themselves released her debut single and I was like: Wow, she ‘We’d never met
it gets political. He’s not just a poet, he directs, he sings and raps too. It’s exciting seeing a dancer
makes music, he’s got his own studio, he’s a young expressing themselves fully and using their voice. the guy, but we
renaissance man. I’m glad he’s starting to be seen.’ I’m interested to see what she’s going to say.’ knew what his dick
Follow Julian on Instagram @julianknxx Follow Dreya on Instagram @dreyamac looked like. It was
Jazz Grant collage artist and animator Karimah Hassan street artist a bit awkward.’
‘Her collages have a lot to do with identity, and ‘She created this project during the pandemic
‘I’ve never been
there’s a clear Black voice behind it. There’s a lot where she reached out to people for pictures of
of close-ups of faces and cut-outs of bodies and themselves and said: Tell me how you’re feeling. on a two-digit
silhouettes. There’s a lens of the Black experience She painted them with those emotions. I think bus before.’
that we keep seeing and her work shows an she’s painted about 150 people from around the
alternative lens – I feel like she’s pulled out the world. She’s definitely one to look out for.’ ■ ‘I wish I could shit
dream aspects of the Black experience.’ ‘The Strangers Yearbook’, Coal Drops Yard. Until Jun 10. in the woods like
Follow Jazz on Instagram @jazzgrantstudio Follow Ivan on Instagram @ivanmichaelblackstock.
a labrador.’
‘Why are you on a
rocking horse? And
why are you dressed
like a cowgirl?’
LONDON MAKERS ‘I’m not talking about
Elton John in the
PAINTING: JAQUELINE BY KARIMAH HASSAN; HONEY: ANDY PARSONS
Artisan beekeepers Ian and Clare
Nichols make seasonal small-batch 1980s, I’m talking
honey in Leytonstone. The other about Elton John in
‘makers’ behind Epping Good Honey are the bloody 2000s!’
their bees, which forage in Epping
Forest (duh!). They sell spring, summer
and autumn varieties. Sweet!
www.eppinggoodhoney.co.uk Overheard something weird?
Tweet us #wordonthestreet
@timeoutlondon
Time Out London May 25 – June 7 2021 12Proper weekends again but this time in 8K Shoot ultra-detailed videos like a pro, even if you didn’t play like one. Discover more at Samsung.com
City life international
Three
European
cities
rethinking
the street
Barcelona’s
‘superblocks’
One by one, Barcelona’s
’Ave it! Ravers at polluted central streets are
Liverpool’s Circus club being incorporated into
last month
‘superilles’ (‘superblocks’)
through an initiative pursued by
mayor Ada Colau that seeks to
How the world’s clubs turn whole neighbourhoods into
pedestrian-friendly car-free
zones. It aims to transform the
came back to life entire city over the next decade.
Paris’s green
The future of our nightlife venues is riding boulevards
on government-run test events Forget the popular image
of Paris as grey, dusty and
polluted – against all odds it’s
becoming one of the world’s
greenest cities. Over the next
CLUBS, THEY SAID , were going to be the last But perhaps 2021’s most ‘authentic’ night out five years, the French capital
places to reopen. Because let’s be honest: what so far was at Liverpool’s Circus club last month. plans to plant 170,000 trees
could be more unhygienic than drinking loads, I know because I was there, getting literally in public places. By 2030,
going out and properly losing yourself in a room vommed on. Within an impressive ten minutes of even the Champs-Élysées will
full of writhing strangers. me arriving, an early casualty had careered out of be turned into a €250 million
And yet, in certain parts of the world, it’s nowhere and spewed pink puke on my shoes. ‘extraordinary garden’.
already happening. In Australia, which has For eight hours, distancing and masks and
largely avoided the worst of Covid, hand sanitiser were out. In their place: Stockholm’s Street
nightclubs are packed. In Israel, one hugs, snogs and very little general Moves initiative
of the world’s most vaccinated hygiene. Beer flew through the Sweden has grand plans to
countries, venues can host up air. People fanned and scythed redesign every street in the
to 1,000 indoors. And now and finger-wagged. Everyone country, starting in Stockholm,
several European cities are wanted to chat, and there was a by doling out adaptable kits
reopening their clubs too – buzz about the room I’ve never of pinewood street furniture,
albeit tentatively, and for very experienced. each designed to fill a parking
limited crowds. All these one- Otherwise, this was a Big space. These can be configured
off events were sanctioned by Night Out like any other – the to provide community facilities
officials, and their basic aim is difference being all 3,000 of such as play spaces, planters or
JODY HARTLEY; BARCELONA: IKUMARU/SHUTTERSTOCK
to test the viability of reopening us had to have had a negative bike parking, according to the
nightlife venues this summer. lateral flow test the day before. desires of residents.
Back in December, Barcelona’s Sala Movement and air quality were
Apolo held a masked-yet-non-distanced monitored to analyse transmission: it’s
DJ night where all attendees were rapid-tested hoped the experiment will pave the way to UK
beforehand. Then Amsterdam let 1,300 punters clubs reopening from June 21 (or soon after).
attend a concert in March with fluorescent drinks Promisingly, the authors of the Barcelona study
to help monitor saliva transmission. And this found no one at the event had contracted the
Saturday, Paris will welcome 5,000 gig-goers to an virus. So definitely start planning that outfit, For more global news:
arena in the city’s south-east (masks required). but maybe not your best trainers. Huw Oliver timeout.com
Time Out London May 25 – June 7 2021 14Simply
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Promotion ends on 13.07.2021. Trustpilot 4 star rating May 2021. For network coverage in your area, see smarty.co.uk/coverage-checker.Xxxxxxx
Garments:
Regencycore by Grete Henri
Stylist: Grete Henri,
assisted by Marko Vrbos
Hair: Ross Kwan
Make-up: Byron London
Time Out London May 25 – June 7 2021 16Xxxxxxx
Release
the beast
For Bimini Bon Boulash, ‘Drag Race’ was
just the beginning. Kate Lloyd meets the
east London queen who’s ready to smash
the status quo. Portraits Andy Parsons
THE WEIRD THING (apparently) Juicy Couture velour (diamante-
about becoming famous in emblazoned, obviously). It feels a bit
lockdown is that it doesn’t feel real. like we’re winding down from a big
You have thousands of Twitter night out and, for one brief moment,
followers. Your every Instagram is I allow myself to believe that’s the
ablaze with flame emojis. But there case: that I’m at an afters with Bimini
are no screaming crowds, no meet Bon fucking Boulash, the gender-
and greets, no red-carpet invites. bending, cis-tem-offending queen
In fact, the only time our cover star of east London.
got a sweet, sweet taste of celebrity
fame was in the park at dawn. Norwich City and other looks
‘I’d be walking my dog at 6am and Every few minutes our conversation
people would ask for a photo. I’d be is pierced by Bimini’s laugh: loud
like… I haven’t even brushed my and staccato, like a wind-up toy
teeth yet,’ they say. ‘I started really bouncing up and down on a table.
watching what I put in my basket at ‘I love a Pret Hot Shot. Hahaha.’
Tesco because I didn’t want people The 28-year-old non-binary drag
to think I eat badly.’ queen (real name: Tommy Hibbitts,
It’s the end of a long day. They’re pronouns: they/them out of drag,
sat, feet up on the sofa, in the empty she/her in it) competed in series
Time Out office. Their make-up’s two of the chaotic British spin-off
half off. Their false lashes are of Ru Paul’s very slick drag talent
plonked on the arm of their seat. show. The one that aired for ten
They’ve got a cup of tea in one hand, weeks through Lockdown Three
a lipstick-smeared wipe in the and was a life raft of serotonin in an
other, and they’re swaddled in black endorphin-free ocean of pain.
17 May 25 – June 7 2021 Time Out LondonXxxxxxx
‘People
who exude
femininity are
often seen
as lowbrow.
I think to be
feminine is to
be powerful
and strong’
The consensus now is that the Twitter name to Kath Bimini Bon
series was more than ‘just’ great Burkey. (She tells me that Bimini
reality TV. It was magic. It was messy is ‘beautiful, creative and highly
and silly: showcasing the creativity intelligent – a glamorous triple
of people whose jobs had become threat to bigotry’.) Even Sadiq Khan
vulnerable in the pandemic. Bimini tweeted his support. ‘They reflect
grew in power throughout the series. the best of our city,’ he tells Time
They faced elimination in episode Out later. Khan identified with their
one thanks to a Norwich City FC message of acceptance. ‘You tolerate
thong bodysuit that did not impress a toothache,’ he says. ‘No one wants
Ru Paul (no word on what Delia to be “tolerated” – you want to be
Smith thought). But like a perfectly respected, celebrated, embraced.’
contoured tornado, sucking in
all of pop culture and spitting out Finding freedom
looks referencing everything from Ah, London. Bimini’s union with
Vivienne Westwood and Playboy the capital was inevitable. They
bunnies to Pamela Anderson, Katie grew up ‘a little shit’ with a St Moritz
Price, bacteria and acne, by the end fake tan in Norwich seaside town
they were a patriarchy-destroying Great Yarmouth. ‘Even when
force of nature. people would call me names for
When the series reached its finale, being queer, I’d always just laugh
Bimini was already such a cult icon it off,’ they say. ‘It was awful really.’
that there was uproar when they They got bullied for taking dance
didn’t win. Kathy Burke changed her classes and idolised Kate Moss. (‘I
Time Out London May 25 – June 7 2021 18Bimini Bon Boulash
used to drink Diet Coke and smoke Bimini would quite like to
cigarettes and think I was her,’ they be prime minister one day. ‘I’m
say flashing the tattoo they got to coming for you, Parliament!’
match the model’s.) Noughties Although they’d rather abolish
party girls like Lindsay Lohan were the government. All of Bimini’s
another fascination. ‘Now I look idols have a rule-breaking punk
back and think: She was troubled,’ spirit. Princess Julia: ‘She’s
says Bimini. ‘But I liked the tragic defied expectations of what
glamour of it. I partied a lot.’ she was “meant” to do by still
At 18 they came to London. Sink going clubbing [into her sixties]’.
The Pink, Gigolo in Soho and East Vivienne Westwood. Even Katie
Bloc were their haunts. ‘I thought I Price. ‘I feel like people who exude
was weird,’ says Bimini. ‘But I was femininity are often seen as
going out and being like: I’m actually lowbrow,’ says Bimini. ‘Society
less weird than most of these people sees it as weakness. Whereas I
hahaha!’ Living in the capital made think to be feminine is to be
them feel like they didn’t have to powerful and strong.’
explain themselves. ‘I think that’s This desire to upset the man-
why London is a hub for people,’ made status quo can clearly be
they say. ‘Because you have that heard in new single ‘God Save This
freedom. As a queer person you live Queen’, which sounds like a clubby
as a version of you, that you think cheese-fest but packs a serious
people want you to be, until you are punch. In it, Bimini takes the piss
ready to accept the true you.’ out of people who shout ‘Are you a
They first did drag in 2017. They’d boy or a girl?’ at them in the street
just done a journalism masters. because they’re the ones trapped by
(‘My mum was confused: “You toxic masculinity. ‘I wanted it to be
finished your degree but you’re a fuck-you to people that ever made
going to become a drag queen?” ’) me feel bad,’ they say. ‘Joke’s on
And they’d had a messy few years. ‘I you: I’m great. Two fingers up.’
think people get lost in hedonism,’ Bimini doesn’t tiptoe around
they say. ‘London provides that and topics, but when ‘Drag Race’
it’s not necessarily a bad thing. But producers let them know that the
I know for me, it came from a place topic of gender binaries was being
of being insecure and exploring my brought up on the show, they did
identity in a bar.’ If you look hard wonder how it would go down.
enough on YouTube you’ll find a clip ‘It’s such a tricky conversation for
of one of Bimini’s first drag shows, a lot of people to be having,’ they
from The Glory. It starts with them say. ‘People don’t understand it.’
lip-syncing the ‘Brexit means Brexit’ The chat they ended up having
speech dressed as Theresa May. though – with Ginny Lemon,
It ends with them tying ‘Donald another non-binary queen –
Trump’ to a chair, stripping him was groundbreaking stuff for
to reveal ‘MAKE AMERICA GAY the BBC. ‘As humans, we are so
AGAIN’ written on his chest and complex,’ Bimini explained on the
then giving him a lapdance to the programme. ‘That having a binary
‘Cell Block Tango’ from ‘Chicago’. to fit everyone into, where it’s just
‘I did love that performance!’ They male or female, doesn’t make sense,
fling their wipe as they speak, like when there are 7 billion-plus people
the Queen attempting to do a normal in the world.’ They’ve since had
person’s wave. hundreds of messages from viewers
telling them that they’ve helped
Two fingers up them understand themselves. It’s
The Bimini chatting to me now is a big shift from the way gender is
very different to the Bimini that usually discussed in the media.
somehow managed to stay standing ‘There’s always an agenda,’ says
while walking a dog across cobbles Bimini. ‘It’s never fair or an honest
in a regency gown and 12-inch- conversation.’
heeled thigh-high boots for our They pause for a moment.
cover shoot. Now, they chat quickly ‘It’s just evil,’ they say. ‘The way
and animatedly, wriggling about trans people are discussed: as if
in their seat. Before, they were they’re not even human, or like, as if
reserved and so focused that they they don’t have rights. If you speak
barely spoke. ‘I’m a Taurus, I’m to any trans person all they want is to
determined,’ they say. feel like a person and feel accepted.’
19 May 25 – June 7 2021 Time Out LondonBimini Bon Boulash
BIMINI’S
LONDON
The park
‘Hackney Marshes.
When it’s sunny, it’s
just gorgeous. Always
clears my head.’
The bar
‘The Glory is a pioneer
for alternative nightlife
and alternative
performance. They
have drag kings, they
have trans performers,
Lockdown worries themselves how to jump off a chair of a fledgling reality It Girl: a book they have everyone
Before the pandemic hit, the drag and land in the splits. ‘A matter of deal, a modelling contract, a music thrown in.’
scene in London was booming, trial and error,’ they say. ‘I just had deal, pillowy lips, unlimited gifted
Bimini says. Everyone was working. to believe I could do it. It never stops vegan food. (‘I could probably The museum
There were more drag kings. There hurting, though.’ never cook dinner again.’) But they ‘My favourite exhibition
were more women and non-binary It was a struggle financially (as it haven’t forgotten their roots in the was “Club to Catwalk”
people becoming drag queens. But was for many people). They watched grassroots London drag scene. at The V&A. I love their
now? ‘The industry has been on as friends left drag to find work As clubs and bars return, Bimini fashion shows.’
its knees,’ Bimini says, ‘because to survive. ‘There were moments plans to go to as many independent
there’s no help, especially for self- where I was like… maybe I need to queer London spaces as possible The club night
employed people.’ retrain and get a job in cyber,’ says – The Glory, Dalston Superstore. ‘Harpies was a great
Did anyone have a more surreal Bimini. Performing at outdoor They’re desperate for somewhere LGBTQ+ strip club
start to lockdown than Bimini? They cabaret night Touché at The Cause sweaty to play Lady Gaga’s at Metropolis, which
were deep into filming ‘Drag Race’ saved them in the summer. ‘It gave a ‘Chromatica’ album, which came out celebrated trans
when the UK went into quarantine, lot of queer people jobs,’ they say. ‘So in lockdown, from start-to-finish. bodies and all kinds
stripped of their phone and unable it’s really special.’ But things have ‘I think everyone, basically, of bodies. There’s no
to talk to their family. They spent been tough. They pull the remaining should never go home,’ they say. sizeism etc. Hopefully
Lockdown One in a shared house in lash glue off their eyes.‘I just feel so ‘They should just stay out. Like, go it will come back.’
Harringay. All of their housemates sorry for my drag sisters.’ to all of the queer places and keep
worked in the creative industries going to them all.’ ■ The restaurant
so they were all unemployed. They Big celeb energy ‘God Save This Queen’ is released on Jun 3. ‘Purezza in Camden
played a lot of cards. They went Now, as life begins to open up, does vegan pizza
running on Walthamstow Marshes. Bimini’s working out what to do with with the best vegan
They listened to Oprah’s podcast to their new found stardom. They’ve More London stories at cheese. They make it
‘stay grounded’. They also taught already picked up the trappings timeout.com/news themselves.’
Time Out London May 25 – June 7 2021 20Salvador
de Bahia
Antonello Veneri
‘This photo
represents the most
authentic Brazilian
city: Salvador de
Bahia. In the photo,
there are at least
three things that
are very common in
Brazilian streetlife:
grilled meat, music
blasting from huge
stereos in car boots,
and dancing. The
transgender women
live in a hotel in the
Ladeira da Preguiça
(‘Street of Laziness’),
The state
one of the liveliest
places in the city.’
@ntonelloveneri
of the
streets
As urban streets across the globe fill with
people again, Time Out invited photographers
from 18 cities to pick their favourite of their
own shots and tell us what they mean to them
CITIES ARE LOUD, filthy, chaotic landmarks. No more schmaltzy
places. But they can also be pretty viral stories about animals invading
glorious. And that should be the human habitats. Hopefully.
overriding impression you get from Some of these scenes were taken
this selection of images taken by by pros with all the gear, others were
street photographers in some of the smartphone snappers with brilliant London Orlando Gili
world’s greatest cities, from Cape Instagram accounts. We asked them ‘This street scene, captured one late-summer afternoon,
Town to Hong Kong via Naples. all to pick a single shot that truly represents something symbolic about the capital –
The past year may have marked a sums up their city. Vibrant or empty, everyone’s invited. People dancing to a soundsystem
pause in the usual hustle and bustle jubilant or downcast, the results at Notting Hill Carnival. Carnival is a reminder of the
that defines modern urban living. are a buoyant celebration of street generations of enterprising immigrants London has
Slowly, however, life is returning life worldwide – in all its glory and attracted over the centuries.’ @orlandogili
to the city streets. No more drastic contradictions. Huw Oliver
lockdowns. No more deserted See the photos at www.timeout.com/streetphotog
23 May 25 – June 7 2021 Time Out LondonBIT LIKE YOUR LIVING ROOM. BUT WITH
A BIGGER SCREEN, BETTER SOUND
AND A CHAIR THAT HOLDS YOUR DRINKS.
Remember the cinema? It’s back.Street photography
Hong Kong Blair Sugarman
‘On a rainy afternoon in North Point, Hong Kong, shoppers
visit one of the local markets to buy their weekly groceries.
This market is one of Hong Kong’s most iconic locations
for street photography, capturing the dense urban
architecture, bustling street stalls and classic trams that
the city is so well known for.’ @blairsugarman1
New Orleans
Kewon Hunter
‘I chose this work
because it depicts
individuals deeply
rooted in the culture
that makes New
Orleans globally
recognised and
belove. It is with the
utmost importance
that my work portrays
this melting pot of
culture in its purest
form.’ @kewonhunter
Naples
Ciro Pipoli
‘Here sky and sea
merge into a single
blue spot, the colour
of my city. This thin
child is embraced
by the majestic
figure of Vesuvius:
our volcano is the
reference point and
when we look at it
we immediately feel
at home. For many
Neapolitans, the
seafront promenade
is all that’s needed to
have fun in summer.’
@ciropipoli
Cape Town Wayne Hipe
‘Taken at Wynberg station on a busy
weekday, this image represents
a side of Cape Town that’s rarely
seen. The photo is filled with depth,
culture, and character, and has so
many layers to it. A moment of calm
and serenity in an overcrowded and
bustling place.’ @waynehipe
Stories from across the world
timeout.com
25 May 25 – June 7 2021 Time Out LondonTIMEOUT.COM/OFFERS
LOND N FOR LESS
Food, drink, screenings and pop-ups. Behold our exclusive offers and discounts
Silent Disco
at The Shard
What is it? It’s that hugely popular
– and award-winning, we might
add – knees-up in the clouds.
Why go? To get high and party.
You’re going to be surrounded
by people with a lot of pent-up
steam so this one will definitely
go off. Should be a banger.
Wait, how much? £37.50, but
those spectacular views of your
favourite city are free, my friend.
The Shard. www.timeout.com/silentdisco2021
The Gate HiddenCity treasure hunt Static Spin Studio Thames Rockets
What is it? Three courses and a What is it? A Sherlock Holmes- What is it? Five rides in a state- What is it? A speedy trip down
glass of wine at a veggie chain with themed interactive sleuth through of-the-art studio in Battersea the Thames in a very fast boat.
a pretty serious rep. the streets of London. Why go? Because these are spin Why go? Because you want to see
Why go? There’s a very good Why go? Well, the experience itself is classes with a difference. Each all the city’s sights but you don’t
reason that famous faces (and a lot of fun but you’ll also be in with instructor has a different style have time to faff about. But really,
their stomachs) like Madonna and the chance of winning a glamping trip (we especially like Chucky because it’s because you get to go in a very
Gwyneth Paltrow have dined here, worth £4k. If you complete it, that is, he has a cool name) but they’ll also fast boat down the Thames. It’s a
you know – these restaurants really which is easier said than done… take the bikes outside for a bit of whole lot of fluvial fun.
know a thing or two about high- Wait, how much? £19, and you don’t a Silent Disco sesh when the Wait, how much? £29.95, which
quality vegetarian cooking. need to don a deerstalker to work out weather permits. is £15 off and thus pretty much a
Wait, how much? Just £25, which is that’s a good deal. It’s elementary. Wait, how much? £29, which we’re bargain by anybody’s definition.
a damn tasty 40 percent discount. Various locations. www.timeout.com/ pumped to tell you is 70 percent off. London Eye Pier. www.timeout.com/
The Gate. www.timeout.com/thegate2021. hiddencity2021. Static, Nine Elms. www.timeout.com/static2021. thamesrockets2021.
MIKE MASSARO
Theatre, music, events: get the best deals in town. Search ‘Time Out offers’
Time Out London May 25 – June 7 2021 26Things to Do
Things to do
in London
Edited by Katie McCabe
timeout.com/thingstodo @timeoutlondon
PHOTO: TRISTRAM KENTON
O, hell yes! Shakespeare’s Globe is back in business with a raucous ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ as theatre
finally returns to London’s stages. Turn to p32 to find out more.
27 May 25 – June 7 2021 Time Out LondonThings to Do
Pop-ups Markets &
E The Jellied Eel at Wood
Street Studios
more
In 2018, The Jellied Eel opened up E Walthamstow Flea Market
a cocktail bar inside Walthamstow’s It’s hard to beat the actual
M Manze pie shop. Then the Walthamstow Market, which, as
pandemic ruined everything and every Stow resident will tell you,
they had to close. Thankfully, The is the ‘longest market in Europe’,
Jellied Eel has found multiple whether that fact is true or not. But
new homes in pop-up form, and is we’re willing to give this flea a go.
extending its latest at Wood Street For one, it’s being held in Truman’s
Studios, where you can order little Social Club, so there’s quick access
cups of very potent cocktails, and to draught beer, along with a few
some smoky Balkan barbecue hundred Anglepoise lamps.
dishes from The Lacy Nook. Truman’s Social Club. Sun Jun 6. £1 entry.
Wood Street Studios. Final weekend
ALCO
Fri May 29-Mon May 31. Book in C A Maker’s London
advance. Market at Between
the Bridges
W Spiritland at The South London
JOY (‘SoLo’ Craft Fair)
The ‘audiophile’ has been going for
music space years, usually with
RE C
F
O
Spiritland has edged cosy Sunday set-ups
into the high-gloss bit of S in pubs like Ninth Life
west London with a pop-up in Catford, but now it’s
venue at a converted warehouse going big with 16 weeks of themed
in Ladbroke Grove. Right now, it markets at Between the Bridges, a
is being used for talks and gigs. new beer garden spot on Queen’s
Up next is some jazz harp from Walk that covers 4,000 square feet.
the Tara Minton Quartet (June 1) First up is a Maker’s Market on
and an ‘in conversation’ between May 30 (knitted hats, handmade
Night Tales the Street
Norman Jay MBE and journalist earrings, you get the gist), followed
Mark Webster (June 6). by a Sustainability Market for
Joy at Portobello Dock, 344 Ladbroke Grove, ethical products on June 6. Surely
W10 5BU. Until Jun 16. Events are ticketed, but someone has invented a Keep Cup one. Lockdown transformed S Open Decks on the Beach
otherwise entry is free. for takeaway pints by now? many unsuspecting Londoners You’ve heard of open mic, now
Queen’s Walk and Jubilee Gardens. May 30 into nature-noticers and amateur it’s time for Open Decks, an
E Skylight Canalside and Jun 6, more dates to follow. Free. gardeners. Whether you killed afternoon where local Brixton
Skylight at Tobacco Dock is taking all the plants you bought in 2020, DJs of any level can play for the
things down a notch, from the W Chiswick Flower Market or want to add to your personal crowd at Brixton Courtyard’s
LONDON TRANSPORT MUSEUM DEPOT: PAUL CLARKE; MUSEUM OF YOUTH CULTURE: AMNESIA RAVE, COVENTRY, 1991 BY TONY DAVIS; DANCE PARTY: CHELSEA LOUISE BERLIN
rooftop to a canalside space for a Has this year turned you into the arboretum, have a look at Chiswick beach garden. It’s free entry every
collaboration with street-food lads kind of person who stops in their Flower Market, where you can buy Wednesday, but you’ll need to book
Kerb. Until early August, you’ll tracks to say things like ‘Ooooh, cacti, succulents, cut flowers and a seat. If you missed this week’s,
find Kerb’s food trucks parked by hang on, I think that might be bulbs for planting. there’s another Open Decks on
the water hawking g stacked Tongue
g wild g
garlic’? You’re not the only
y Old Market Place, Chiswick. Jun 6 (first Sunday Monday May 31.
N’ Cheek burgers and Neapolitan- of every month)
month). Free. Brixton Courtyard. Every Wednesday (and
style pizzas. There’s a long row of Mon May 31). Free, book a table in advance (£40
bookable picnic tables too. Just deposit, refunded on arrival).
tell your friends to find you by the
pirate ships at Tobacco Dock.
Skylight, Tobacco Dock. Saturdays Until Aug 7. Free outdoor
Tables of six can be booked for £10 per group.
parties
parti Bank holiday
E Night Tales
Ta the Street weekend
Hackney Central
Ce
Tales is thro
music venue Night
throwing a bunch of ‘street
parties’, but it won’t be anything
festivals
like the kind being organised in How the Light Gets In
your neighb
neighbourhood WhatsApps. How the Light Gets In is a curious
There’ll be n
no face painting or music-and-philosophy festival
requests fro
from Brenda at number 41 that normally takes place in the
to help her p
put up the marquee. But posho grounds of Kenwood House
there will be
b a big outdoor bar, a live on Hampstead Heath. For May,
stage and food
fo from Patty & Bun. the festival is going online, with
Night Tales, B
Bohemia Place. Every Fri-Sun until more than 80 events taking place
London Transport Museum Depot
September. Free
Free, but book an area in advance. on its ‘virtual stages’, where
C Central N North S South E East W West Streaming Outdoors
Time Out London May 25 – June 7 2021 28What exactly is
the Museum of
Youth Culture?
C Museum of Youth Culture shop
The empty space created by lockdown
pushed so many of us into nostalgia
mode, the kind where you lose entire
afternoons digging through the
ephemera of your teen years.
All this reminiscing is good news
academics will gather to debate
all sorts from the search for Half-term for the Museum of Youth Culture,
an organisation that’s building a
aliens to the existence of a
secular morality. Obviously
Slavoj Žižek is involved in a
ideas collection of the ‘styles, sounds and
movements’ of young people in the
UK over the last century, whether
divisive sounding talk called W May Half Term at it’s photos of Teddy Boys or that
‘Liberty and the Left’. There’ll theLondon Transport faded polaroid of you and your friends at a My
also be some much less divisive Museum Chemical Romance gig. Last year, it
streamed performances from Got a kid who is obsessed sent a call out for submissions to its
Americana musician Izzy Walsh, with trains? Take them to the ‘Grown Up in Britain’ campaign, and
and Eel Pie Island’s original alt- London Transport Museum received thousands of responses.
popsters, Mystery Jets. Depot, where you’ll find It doesn’t have a permanent space
tube carriages, buses right now, but part of the collection
CTUA
Online. Sat May 29. Festival
tickets from £34. and a miniature can be found at its new pop-up,
www.howthelightgetsin.org railway. Tickets where you’ll find rare zines, a
A
L
for this half-term ‘reconstructed teenage bedroom’
E DIY’s Big visit include and photographic exhibitions, none
Bank Holiday an activity pack of which is in chronological order.
Weekender 2021 M for kids, so they A 1920s flapper resting on her
West Yorkshire’s can track down motorbike sits alongside images
!
dreamy cosmic-indie U S I C locomotives while from the 2000s, an intentional
band The Orielles are you snooze behind move to create links between
headlining this socially a Routemaster. generations. ‘Nothing changes,
distanced two-day festival from London Transport Museum Depot. Sat May but that should be a positive
DIY magazine, the mag’s 29-Sun May 30. Adult £15, child £7.50. thing,’ says Jamie Brett, a core member
first live music event of 2021. of the museum team, ‘it’s just growing up… by
A total of 13 artists and bands S Story Seekers at putting a picture from the 1920s next to one from
will be playing over two days, the Imperial War Museum 2020, you realise that we’re all the same.’
including Connie Constance, IWM is looking for ‘Story Seekers’ 3 Carnaby St W1F 9PH. Until early July. Free entry.
Deep Tan and Nottingham punks to uncover the museum’s greatest
Do Nothing. There’s also talk of facts. Basically, it’s a free activity to
another ‘secret’ headliner known keep kids busy with ‘artefacts’ and
only by the pseudonym of ‘Hoof learning quests. What more can
Boy’ – a former DIY coverstar. you ask for during half-term?
Studio 9294, Hackney Wick. Sat May 29 and Imperial War Museum. Mon May 31-Sun Jun 6, Didn’t find what you’re after?
Sun May 30. £30 for a one-day ticket. 10am-3pm. Free, book in advance. Try timeout.com/thingstodo
29 May 25 – June 7 2021 Time Out LondonHERITAGE LIVE LONDON
at KENWOOD HOUSE 2021 OPENIN ’S
G NIGH
T!
+ SHiiiNE ON DJ’s
THURSDAY 24 JUNE 2021 GATES 3pm
KENWOOD, HAMPSTEAD HEATH, LONDON
TICKETMASTER. CO.UK HERITAGELIVE.NET
‘All the Colours
Of You’ out June 4 PRESEN T ED B Y GI L ES C OOPER EN T ERTA I N M EN T I N A SSOC I AT I ON W I T H SOL O A N D PROM MThings to Do
BEHIND THE ART
Matthew Barney C Matthew Barney:
‘Redoubt’
Matthew Barney’s first UK show in
What did you learn about wolves
while making ‘Redoubt’?
‘They are nothing like dogs, even if
ten years is an epic exploration of they look similar. When you look into
the Idaho landscape told through their eyes you can see they don’t
etchings and huge tree sculptures. have any of the need-to-please-you
But its centrepiece is a work you can which has been bred into dogs for
take home: Barney’s wordless art centuries. They look at you like an
feature film about wolf hunters, set ape looks at you: trying to figure you
in the Sawtooth Mountains. Here out, sizing you up. It was a privilege
he tells us about the creation of the to be so close to them.’
film, ‘Redoubt’, and explains why
wolves are ‘nothing like dogs’. It looks like it was a difficult shoot.
Were there any hairy moments?
What was the most difficult aspect of ‘Running a production in waist-
pulling your latest show together? deep snow in remote locations is
‘Making a comprehensive exhibition definitely not simple, but I went
with all of the elements of a larger into the project wanting to make a
project is always a challenge. portrait of that region, in all of its
Balancing the presence of the film contradictions. In that sense I felt
with that of the sculpture is the like the obstacles the landscape
trickiest part. The architecture of presented were an important part
the Hayward Gallery provides an of the piece. As dance plays such
interesting frame for this show, with a central role in “Redoubt”, the
its bunker-like volumes and the slot performers had to constantly adapt
windows that resemble turrets. It the choreographies to the changing
creates a meaningful conversation conditions. This too became a
with the work, and helps give this significant part of the piece.’
show a more holistic feeling.’ Hayward Gallery. Until Jul 21. £12.
rmg.co.uk/families
Members
go free
Welcome back
to Cutty Sark
cÄÇ÷Ä×¾ÿ´óÝ÷ÿ´ðäÞ©äó°¾äó¾ăÞ̟ň××´°
adventure for all the family.
PORTRAIT: TAKIS ZONTIROS
Greenwich Pier Cutty Sark Greenwich (only 8 mins from London Bridge)
31 May 25 – June 7 2021 Time Out LondonTHREE OF THE BEST
17 MAY 11 JULY 202 1
Plays to see ASAP
It’s finally happening: theatres are reopening.
Catch these shows as early as this week
C A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The Globe has reopened with a terrifyingly OTT take on
Shakespeare’s beloved comedy directed by Sean Holmes. It’s
operating at a reduced capacity, but the theatre will still be
offering its famous £5 tickets (if you can snag one in time).
Shakespeare’s Globe. Until Sep 25. From £5.
CAN CARBON CAPTURE
N The Death of a Black Man
Alfred Fagon’s story of wheeler-dealing on King’s Road first
HELP US FIGHT
CLIMATE CHANGE? premiered at Hampstead Theatre in 1975. Now – after an
unfortunate delay – it’s back as part of the venue’s Classics
season, in a production directed by Dawn Walton.
MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM: TRISTRAM KENTON; DEATH OF A BLACK MAN: © SHAUN WEBB DESIGN; WALDON: JOHAN PERSSON
Hampstead Theatre. May 28-Jul 10. £18-£37.
19 MAY 2021 – 4 SEP 2022
C Walden
Gemma Arterton stars as a Nasa botanist returning from
BOOK YOUR FREE a year on the moon in this new drama that opens Sonia
MUSEUM TICKETS NOW Friedman’s Re:Emerge season at the Harold Pinter Theatre.
Fehinti Balogun and Lydia Wilson co-star.
Harold Pinter Theatre. May 22-Jun 12. £12-£49.50.
Time Out London May 25 – June 7 2021 32Things to Do
trashy acid DJ sets and pop-up destructive version of himself. The
Open-air drag performances. If you’ve never
experienced them before, this is a
screening at Oslo bar in Hackney
will be socially distanced, with
Free art
comedy chance to get a juicy flavour of what
they’re all about.
table service.
Oslo. Sat May 30. £20.
exhibitions
NAlexandra Palace - Riverside Terrace, Southbank Centre. Fri Jun 4 C James Barnor at
Hullabaloo and Sat Jun 5. Free. W Openaire Float-In Cinema Serpentine North Gallery
Ally Pally has returned with a by Häagen-Dazs This lovingly assembled, in-depth
1,500 square-foot beer garden, a Pre-pandemic, it was easy to roll show takes in James Barnor’s studio
drive-in film club, and now, a bank your eyes at all the gimmicky portraiture, lifestyle photography
holiday weekend festival of outdoor
comedy. Ed Gamble, Milton Jones, Special film cinema nights. But after a year of
lockdown, if someone asks you if
and hard-hitting photojournalism.
Serpentine Gallery. Until Oct 24. Free, book in
Nina Conti and Ed Byrne will all be
getting chilly on the main stage as
they try to earn some laughs.
screenings you’d like to watch a film outside,
on a self-drive boat, while eating ice
cream, you say YES! YE YES! GIVE ME
advance.
C Heather Phillipson at
Alexandra Palace. Fri May 28-Mon May 31. E Deeper into Movies:
ovies: ALL THE GIMMICKS!! For Float-In Tate Britain
Tickets from £40 for a table of two. ‘Surge’+ director Q&A cinema, you pic
pick up a boat After plonking a giant ice cream
Steven T Hanley (the man and whizz do
downstream on the Fourth Plinth, Phillipson
behind Deeper into the he to Paddingt
Paddington Basin has now taken over the central bit
Movies) uses his movievie to watch mmovies like of Tate Britain with an enormous
Riverside nights to celebrate
contemporary cinema, a,
‘Anchorman’. There are
‘Anchorman
cheaper deck chair
cheape
installation filled with mutants and
abandoned technology.
cabaret with a sprinkling
of overlooked
films. Next up is
seats (£17.50)
seat
but the self-
drive boat is the
dri
Tate Britain. Until Jan 23. Free with pre-booked
ticket to the Tate.
C The Bitten Peach British film ‘Surge’, real draw.
re S Bloomberg New
Pan-Asian cabaret collective The which catapults Merchant Contemporaries 2020
Bitten Peach have made regular Ben Whishaw far Square, The annual show of UK art
appearances at LGBTQ+ joints like away from the cutesy y world Paddington. graduates is a chance to find the art
The Glory and The RVT, but now of ‘Paddington’ and into
nto JJun 2-27. £240, stars of the future, if you know how
they’re taking over the Southbank the role of Joseph, a man incl
includes self-drive to spot ’em.
Centre’s Riverside Terrace for a free who leaves a job he hates,
ates, boa hire for eight
boat South London Gallery. Until Jun 6. Book in
outdoor party of K-Pop bangers, only to discover a morere peo
people. advance.
THE INTERVAL IS
NEARLY OVER
Join us for socially distanced
events from May 2021
We’ve missed you!
Ëòòîúì÷ëæòñĤçèñæè
ED BYRNE: ROSLYN GAUNT
We issue refunds/
royalalberthall.com vouchers for cancelled
and rescheduled events.
33 May 25 – June 7 2021 Time Out LondonThings to Do
Unmissable art heaving, viscous canvases touch
just about every nerve. It’s exactly IG STUF
B
F
the kind of overstimulating return
and museum to art London needs.
exhibits Barbican. Until Aug 22. £18.
C Lynette Yiadom-Boakye:
C Ryoji Ikeda at 180 ‘Fly in League with the Night’
the Strand Normally, you get a bit of time to
Immersive art gets a bad rap, prepare for the big art exhibitions
TO
dismissed as twinkly lights and
pretty colours designed to get Insta
likes. But there’s nothing twinkly
before they open in London. Now
they’ve all arrived at once. So how
do you choose? The answer is: go
BO OK
or pretty about Ryoji Ikeda’s and see Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s
exhibition at 180 The Strand, and solo show before it closes on May
it is seriously immersive. The artist 31. The enigmatic, skilfully painted Gagging to see ‘Moulin Rouge! The
has filled the labyrinthine brutalist figures in her work are presented Musical’ or ‘Epic Iran’ at the V&A?
spaces of this former office block without any story, leaving your
Get yourself booked and busy
with eye-searing, brain-liquifying mind to fill in the gaps.
light and sound installations, and Tate Britain. Until May 31. £13. with the biggest cultural events in
you should see them immediately. London this summer
180 The Strand. Until Aug 1. £15. C London Design Biennale
It’s tricky being a biennale (an
C Jean Dubuffet: exhibition that takes place every
‘Brutal Beauty’ two years) when your return date
French painter Jean Dubuffet was is scuppered by a pandemic. So
a true one-off: his works are raw this is not technically a biennale
and ravishing (he coined the term anymore, but who cares? LDB still
‘art brut’ – ‘raw art’) to describe has big plans, like the ‘Forest for
them. This show at the Barbican Change’ project from Es Devlin,
will take you through an evolution which will fill the Somerset House
of the artist’s process, from his courtyard with 400 real trees. It’s
early portraits to his butterfly-wing no pop-up park: the installation is
works. The jolt of colours from his designed to educate visitors on the
United Nations’ Global Goals for
Sustainable Development. Go, feel
amazed and leave with even more
anxiety about climate change.
Somerset House. Jun 1-27. £22.
W Naturally Brilliant Colour
The curators at Kew aren’t holding
back and are making some big
promises for its latest exhibition,
including a chance to see the
Massive art exhibitions
‘brightest colours ever to have been C ‘Francis Bacon: Man and Beast’
created’, a giant kaleidoscope and Everyone’s favourite painter of violence and torment is getting the
an evolutionary journey through Royal Academy treatment with a show looking at his fascination with
vision and colour that will chart animals. Pain, sadness and some nice horsies and birds of prey –
a tidy 500 million years. something for everyone. Tickets haven’t gone on sale just yet, so keep
Kew Gardens. Until Sep 26. General admission an eye on the Royal Academy socials for updates.
£17.50. Royal Academy of Arts. Jan 29-Apr 17 2022. £tbc.
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye
Now open rmg.co.uk
Free entry
LYNETTE YIADOM-BOAKYE, CITRINE BY THE OUNCE; MOULIN ROUGE: MATTHEW MURPHY
Faces of a Queen
See the three iconic Armada Portraits of
Elizabeth I together again for a limited time.
Supported by In association with
Time Out London May 25 – June 7 2021 34You can also read
