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Things to do in London: April 2017 edition

By Lucy Brooks on 29/3/2017

Obsess over Jude Law on stage, take selfies at the Saatchi Gallery, watch the TV everyone's buzzing about, drink seasonal cocktails: the best things do in London, April 2017

Jude Law: Obsession, directed by Ivo Van Hove, comes to the Barbican

Obsess over Jude Law's explosive new stage role

Thespians all around the world are obsessed with director Ivo van Hove (Streetcar Named Desire, Young Vic ,; Hedda Gabbler, National Theatre). Now the auteur transforms a classic Italian film into a new play starring Jude Law. With story of one charming vagrant whose irrepressible attraction to another man's wife provokes first passion, then destruction, we expect gripping theatre.

WHEN

19 Apr 2017 – 20 May 2017, 7:45 PM – 9:35 PM

WHERE

Barbican Centre
Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS

Detail: Frida Kahlo Self-Portrait With Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird, 1940 Courtesy Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust,Mexico, D.F. / DACS / Harry RansomCenter, The University of Texas at Austin

Express yourself(ie) at the Saatchi Gallery

Love it or loathe it, you're getting the world's first selfie exhibition. The Saatchi Gallery traces the act of self-portraiture, from the Old Masters to Instagram. Works by Rembrandt, Van Gough and Frida Kahlo are considered in contemporary terms more associated with the Kardasian Klan. And, obviously, there's already a hashtag.

WHEN

31 Mar 2017 – 30 May 2017, Ten til 6 daily

WHERE

Saatchi Gallery
Duke of York's HQ, King's Road, London, SW3 4RY

Scout by Matt Whiley, cocktail bar, Shoreditch

Scout out the finest new seasonal cocktails

Master mixologist Matt Whiley, known as Talented Mr Fox, brings something sly to the standard practice of cocktails. In new Shoreditch bar Scout he shakes things up with a menu of sustainable cocktails, micro-brew beers and natural wines. Most ingredients are distilled, fermented and brewed in the on-site 'Laboratory'.

WHEN

On 11 Apr 2017, 12:00 AM

WHERE

93 Great Eastern Street
EC2A 3HZ

Cynthia Nixon and Jennifer Ehle, A Quiet Passion

Marvel at the oddity of this literary biopic

A Quiet Passion starts off like a careful, by-the-numbers biopic (in this case of 19^th-century American poet Emily Dickinson) complete with frocks and tea parties, but as it progresses director Terence Davies slowly turns up the dial on the ‘beautiful’ period-drama aesthetic until it becomes almost uncanny-valley. Sex and the City's Cynthia Nixon is a superb and zesty Dickinson.

WHEN

07 Apr 2017 – 07 Jun 2017, Times vary

WHERE

Various Locations

Kew: Moomin Adventures at Kew Gardens 2017 Easter holidays family

Explore interactive Moominland at Kew Gardens

Moominland comes to London with this interactive trail and lively programme of Moomin-themed activities for kids big and small. Whether you're introducing children to the delights of Tove Jansson's characters or indulging your own nostalgia, Moomins at Kew is a charming way to enjoy the great outdoors.

WHEN

01 Apr 2017 – 17 Apr 2017, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

WHERE

Kew Gardens
Kew, Richmond, , Surrey, TW9 3AB

Diamonds Royal Ballet artists photo Bill Cooper c/o ROH

See the sparkliest show in town

“Literally’ is a much abused word… but in this case its use is fully justified: Jewels the ballet literally sparkles. Inspired by the beauty of gemstones choreographer George Balanchine saw in the display windows of the New York jewellers Van Cleef and Arpels, this full-length ballet in three movements is a dazzling tribute to emeralds, rubies and diamonds.

WHEN

01 Apr 2017 – 21 Apr 2017, 19:30 Sat mats 14:30 sat eves 19:00

WHERE

Royal Opera House
Bow Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9DD

Surprise yourself with a mystery, immersive movie experience

Secret Cinema has taken the world of immersive experiences by storm since it launched in 2007, inviting guests to dress up and dive into a 360-degree participatory world designed to reflect the film. Expect music, dancing, costumes and trouble. Secret Cinema X is the edgier version, where everything really is secret: mystery film, unnamed location, and more indie arthouse than blockbuster.

WHEN

09 Apr 2017 – 14 Apr 2017, Times TBD

WHERE

Various Locations

National Theatre, Angels in America: Andrew Garfield. Photo by Jason Bell

Sit at the edge of your seat for seven whole hours of theatre

Tony Kushner's Angels in America is a landmark of modern theatre. Now it returns to the stage with a 24-carat cast led by Andrew Garfield. The 1993 duo of plays (totally seven hours) explores the AIDS crisis and terms of form, content, themes and length, this is not easy, nap-in-the-back-and-have-a-laugh theatre. But the sheer weight of talent in this revival should have you wide-eyed throughout.

WHEN

11 Apr 2017 – 31 Jul 2017, Previews from 11 April 2017

WHERE

National Theatre
South Bank, London, SE1 9PX

The Handmaid's Tale review Channel 4: [STAR:5]

Watch a feminist dystopia unfold on screen

Women are the property of the state, denied agency over their own bodies, reduced to breeders or barren wives. This is the fictional world of Gilead, but it is also an eerily relevant right now. Margaret Atwood's Booker-winning 1985 novel The Handmaid's Tale has been adapted into a 10-episode television series – and it's never felt so timely

WHEN

26 Apr 2017 – 31 May 2017, 9:00 AM – 12:00 AM

WHERE

Hulu

The Holy Virgin Mary © Chris Ofili National gallery exhibition

Wave your way around textile art at the National Gallery

You may know Chris Ofili as the man who won the Turner Prize for his glitter and elephant-dung smeared canvases back in 1998, then made headlines in NYC with a pornographic Holy Virgin Mary. But there's much more to this artist than faeces and furore. Discover his first forway into tapestry and weaving in this new National Gallery exhibition.

WHEN

26 Apr 2017 – 28 Aug 2017, Opening hours: Daily 10am–6pm, Fridays 10am–9pm.

WHERE

National Gallery
Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 5DN

Things to do in London: April 2017 edition

Obsess over Jude Law on stage, take selfies at the Saatchi Gallery, watch the TV everyone's buzzing about, drink seasonal cocktails: the best things do in London, April 2017

Obsess over Jude Law's explosive new stage role

Express yourself(ie) at the Saatchi Gallery

Scout out the finest new seasonal cocktails

Marvel at the oddity of this literary biopic

Explore interactive Moominland at Kew Gardens

See the sparkliest show in town

Surprise yourself with a mystery, immersive movie experience

Sit at the edge of your seat for seven whole hours of theatre

Watch a feminist dystopia unfold on screen

Wave your way around textile art at the National Gallery

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