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Things to do in London: December 2017 edition

By Lucy Brooks on 30/11/2017

Squeeze every last drop of fun out of December with chic afternoon tea, an immersive disco adventure, and the musical beloved by Beyonce and Obama. Then cosy up with some compulsive new TV shows.

Believe the hype and beg, steal or borrow Hamilton tickets

Never has a musical arrived in London with such hype. Lin-Manuel Miranda's hip-hop musical Hamilton has broken records as the most celebrated, popular and profitable musical in Broadway history. 16 Tonys, a Pulitzer Prize, Twitter-trending popularity, daily standby ticket queues snaking for miles and an eye-watering $849 price tag: these things speak for themselves. The show has transcended the stage to capture the public imagination and dominate popular culture. If you're sceptical take it from the esteemed critics at the New York Times: 'Yes, it really is that good,' they conceded. Barack Obama loves the show; Beyonce is a huge fan.

WHEN

06 Dec 2017 – 30 Jun 2018, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM

WHERE

Victoria Palace Theatre
Victoria Street, London, SW1E 5EA

Photograph: Torbjorn Calvero © Premium Rockshot

Unleash your inner dancing queen

Is there anything cheerier than an ABBA disco anthem? Everyone has a soft spot for those luscious-haired, Eurovision-winning Swedes. Now we can thank them for the music all over again at a nine-room immersive exhibition. ABBA: Super Troupers at the Southbank Centre takes you on a journey through a Stockholm recording studio, a 70s discotheque, right to the 1974 Eurovision song-contest. Expect memorabilia and sing-along tunes galore.

WHEN

14 Dec 2017 – 29 Apr 2018, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

WHERE

Royal Festival Hall
Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX

Have a royally good night in with The Crown

Netflix’s sumptuous and slick series exploring the private lives of our royal family returns, just in time for all you winter binge-watching .Beginning with soldiers in Her Majesty's Armed Forces fighting in Egypt (illegally) and ending with the downfall of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, season two ushers in the 1960s. We'll see the Claire Foy as the Queen arguing with Matt Smith’s Prince Philip, and facing up to his rumoured infidelities; a touchy subject – Phillip was operating in the days before rabid paparazzi, so his skeletons, for the most part, have remained well hidden in the closet. On top of this, look forward to a fiery Princess Margaret, as well as the appearance of JFK and Jackie Kennedy.

WHEN

08 Dec 2017 – 28 Feb 2018, The Crown season two air date: 8 December 2017

WHERE

UK Netflix

Diptyque Festive Afternoon Tea at Hotel Cafe Royal

Indulge in a luxurious and aromatic afternoon tea

Who can resist a luxurious candle or an indulgent tea? Hotel Café Royal has joined forces with one of our favourite beauty brands, Parisian Diptyque – creator of heavenly fragrances and candles – to create a multi-sensory afternoon tea. Pastries are inspired by four of Diptyque's wintry scents; Oyedo (raspberry and lemon mousse tart), Benjoin (Victoria sponge and vanilla cream), Jasmine (pistachio cake and jasmine tea) and Noisietier (hazelnut, chocolate and caramel cream). Naturally, there will be festive savoury sandwiches and scones, too, plus exquisite teas and Laurent-Perrier NV Champagne. Best of all, each guest is given a 70g Baies candle, combining Bulgarian roses and blackcurrant.

WHEN

16 Nov 2017 – 03 Jan 2018, 11.30pm - 7.30pm daily

WHERE

Hotel Café Royal

Hide your honey and pay homage to Pooh

Hide your honey and keep an eye out for Heffalumps – the 100 Acre Wood of A.A. Milne’s imagination is coming to the V&A for the U.K.’s largest ever exhibition on Winnie the Pooh. Spend some time with Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, and Christopher Robin and learn about the real-life friendship shared by A.A. Milne and E.H. Shepard. 230 works from 1920 to the present day, ranging from original illustrations to artefacts from the Walt Disney Archives, will showcase the extensive career of a bear who loves to just do nothing.

WHEN

09 Dec 2017 – 08 Apr 2018, 10:00 AM – 5:45 PM

WHERE

V&A
South Kensington, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL

Got nuts for noodles at London's best new Japanese restaurant

Who knew buckwheat soba noodles could be elevated to such heights? Their nutty earthy texture is quite sublime at new restaurant Yen, where you can watch the chefs grinding the buckwheat and deftly shaping the noodles by hand. Yen’s first restaurant in St Germain, Paris, already has a cult following and London is set to follow suit. Sushi, broths, cocktails and of course the noodles are all superlative – and far healthier than the standard December fare.

WHEN

24 Nov 2017 – 30 Nov 2018, Open every day breakfast 8am-12pm lunch 12pm - 3pm dinner 6pm - 11pm

WHERE

Yen
190 Strand, 5 Arundel Street, WC2R 3DX

Give into to sci-fi at the biggest blockbuster of the year

Christmas is coming early for Star Wars fans this year. On 15 December, The Last Jedi, the latest instalment of the sci-fi monolith, storms cinemas. Director J. J. Abrams made it easy to get excited about Star Wars; his triumphant The Force Awakens (2015) was everything that the venerable sci-fi fantasy series should be. In this epic sequel we see Daisy Ridley's Force-sensitive Rey training for combat under the ageing and exiled Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill); Adam Driver's villain Kylo Ren will return to throw some more tantrums; John Boyega’s back; and Carrie Fisher makes her last ever screen appearance.

WHEN

16 Dec 2017 – 16 Feb 2018, Times vary

WHERE

Various Locations

Imogen Poots, James Norton: Belleville, Donmar Warehouse London

Travel to bohemian Paris in an edgy new play

Thirty-something playwright Amy Herzog has already galvanised America and now her gripping story of newlyweds in bohemian Paris gets a starry revival in London. James Norton, the chiseled, cheek-boned heartthrob in ITV's Grantchester Mysteries and the blood-chillingly sinister baddie of the BBC's Happy Valley, plays a young doctor who begins to feel the pressure in his seemingly-perfect marriage.

WHEN

07 Dec 2017 – 03 Feb 2018, 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM

WHERE

Donmar Warehouse
41 Earlham Street, Seven Dials, London, WC2H 9LX

Image by Graham Lacdao, St Paul’s Cathedral

O come all the faithful to sing at St Paul's

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a hearty carol-singing session and it doesn’t get more festive than St Paul’s Cathedral. The schedule of festive concerts and events, culminates in the cathedral’s world-famous carol services on the 23rd and 24th December. The atmospher is enough to thaw even the Scroogeiest of hearts, as keen carollers queue around the building, warming up their vocal chords with flasks of tea while mince-pie sellers make their way up and down the line. Doors open one hour before the start – get there as early as you can. If you don’t make it in, fear not – the whole service is beamed live on a screen in Paternoster Square next to the cathedral.

WHEN

23 Dec 2017 – 24 Dec 2017, Service starts at 16:00, doors open one hour before

WHERE

St Pauls Cathedral
St. Paul's Churchyard, London , EC4M 8AD

Celebrate sisterhood with this heart-warming Christmas Day drama

The March sisters come to the small screen in a starry new BBC adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 book, Little Women. The adventures and quarrels of Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy are a heart-warming, proto-feminist exploration of growing up, finding love and following dreams. Apple Tree Yard star Emily Watson is set to bring matriarchal wisdom as ‘marmee’ and Michael Gambon ditches his Dumbledore robes to play the March Family’s kindly neighbour Mr Laurence.

WHEN

On 25 Dec 2017, Air and date times tbd

WHERE

BBC One
BBC One

Things to do in London: December 2017 edition

Squeeze every last drop of fun out of December with chic afternoon tea, an immersive disco adventure, and the musical beloved by Beyonce and Obama. Then cosy up with some compulsive new TV shows.

Believe the hype and beg, steal or borrow Hamilton tickets

Unleash your inner dancing queen

Have a royally good night in with The Crown

Indulge in a luxurious and aromatic afternoon tea

Hide your honey and pay homage to Pooh

Got nuts for noodles at London's best new Japanese restaurant

Give into to sci-fi at the biggest blockbuster of the year

Travel to bohemian Paris in an edgy new play

O come all the faithful to sing at St Paul's

Celebrate sisterhood with this heart-warming Christmas Day drama

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