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Things to do in London: February 2018 edition

By Lucy Brooks on 30/1/2018

From the films that will dominate the Oscars to the buzziest play of the year: here’s everything to see, do, eat and squeeze into the shortest month of the year.

Star on stage

Homegrown Hollywood star Carey Mulligan returns to the London stage for a new play by Dennis Kelly (Matilda the Musical). Girls and Boys tells the story of a head over heels romance, that develops into an ordinary marriage – until life takes a disturbing turn. With the Royal Court Theatre’s reputation for producing the best new writing and Mulligan’s star power, this is one hot ticket.

WHEN

08 Feb 2018 – 17 Mar 2018, 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM

WHERE

Royal Court Theatre
Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8AS

Ladybird, ladybird fly away home

With a near perfect rating on review sites, effusive social media reactions and a handful of awards nominations, Lady Bird flies to the UK with plenty of buzz. And it’s all justified. Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut is a spirited, sharp coming of age story, with a searing performance from Saoirse Ronan. The depiction of mother-daughter love and adolescent friendship is the truest, sweetest and funniest thing you’ll see on screen anytime soon.

WHEN

16 Feb 2018 – 16 Feb 2019, TIMES VARY

WHERE

Various Locations

Lucian Freud, Girl With Dog (1950-1). Tate. © Tate

Flesh in the frame

The fleshy intimacy of Lucian Freud’s canvasses and the unsettling distortion of Francis Bacon’s figures come together in a blockbuster exhibition at Tate Britain charting a century of painting humans. Alongside Freud and Bacon, the exhibition will also showcase works by a selection of the nation’s most loved figurative painters, including Stanley Spencer, Walter Sickert, Frank Auerbach and Leon Kossoff. Brace yourself for a showcase of 'the intense experience of life in paint'.

WHEN

28 Feb 2018 – 27 Aug 2018, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

WHERE

Tate Britain
Millbank, London, SW1P 4RG

Regional octopus dishes will be a big pull at Sabor

¡Buen provecho!

A new restaurant from Barrafina chefs Nieves Barragán and José Etura will feed London’s love affair with Spanish food. Sabor will take you from the tapas bars of Andalucía, through the asadors of Castile, to the seafood restaurants of Galicia. Octopus will be cooked in traditional copper pans with olive oil and paprika while suckling pigs will be roasted in the asador wood fired oven. And the space sounds pretty special, too: there’s a no reservations dining counter surrounding the open kitchen and fresh seafood display. A dramatic spiral staircase leads to large atrium overlooking the action. Save yourself the trip to Spain and feast right here in Soho.

WHEN

05 Feb 2018 – 01 Mar 2019, 12:00 AM

WHERE

35 Heddon Street
W1B 4BR

Stephen McRae as Florizel photo Johan Persson

Pirouette, pursued by bear

‘Exhilarating,’ ‘faultless,’ ‘a triumph,’ ‘an Instant classic’ – these were just some of the adjectives that greeted choreographer Christopher Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale when it premiered at Covent Garden in the Spring of 2014. Wheeldon translates Shakespeare’s intricate a tale of jealousy, forgiveness and conquering love into a full length ballet of almost miraculous narrative clarity. It’s as eye-wateringly wonderful as the effusive reviews promise – and it’s back for 2018.

WHEN

13 Feb 2018 – 21 Mar 2018, 19:30 Sat 24 Feb 13:30 & 19:00 Dur.: 3 hours including two intervals

WHERE

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

The Titanic in dry dock, c.1911, © Getty Images

Keep on cruisin'

Transport yourself to the golden age of ocean travel at this vast new V&A exhibition. Discover Ocean Liners and how they shaped the modern world, from ground-breaking engineering, architecture and interiors, to the fashion and lifestyle aboard. Highlights to look out for include a precious Cartier tiara recovered from the sinking Lusitania in 1915, a suite of luggage once belonging to the Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson, and a boiserie panel fragment from the Titanic’s first class lounge found floating in the sea after its tragic end in 1912.

WHEN

03 Feb 2018 – 10 Jun 2018, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

WHERE

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

Dive into a strange, slippery fairytale

Is The Shape of Water a heartwarming romance film? Or an eye-opening sci-fi feature? Or even a nail biting thriller? Whatever the genre, Guillermo del Toro’s magic-realist fable is certainly galvanising. It leads this year's Oscars favourites with 13 nominations, including best picture, best director for Del Toro and best actress for Hawkins. The lovestory of Eliza, ‘the princess with no voice’ and Amphibian Man is certainly strange, but it’s spellbinding too.

WHEN

16 Feb 2018 – 16 Feb 2019, TIMES VARY

WHERE

Various Locations

Paz Errázuriz. From the series La Manzana de Adán (Adam’s Apple), 1983

Look at life in the margins

Prostitutes, street-pedlars, drag queens, misfits, circus freaks and more: get up close to the counterculture with this photography exhibition at the Barbican. Another Kind of Life: Photography on the Margins invites us to study the subjects and situations that are usually sidelined. With issues such as gender, sexuality, drugs and addiction explored across 300 works from twenty photographers from 1950 to the present day, the exhibition is set to be a pertinent, potent experience.

WHEN

28 Feb 2018 – 27 May 2018, Last entry 5.30pm

WHERE

Barbican Centre
Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS

Collateral damage

If you don’t manage to catch Carey Mulligan on stage, the least you can do is tune in to see her play a pregnant Detective Inspector opposite Billie Piper. Along with two of our favourite actors, Collateral promises a murky crime plot line from prolific writer David Hare (The Hours, Skylight). We’re fluffing up the cushions and cancelling plans in preparation for some gripping nights in.

WHEN

Feb 2018, Collateral air and date time TBD

WHERE

BBC One
BBC One

Something wicked this way comes

Double, double, toil and trouble: the National Theatre will burn and bubble with a bold new production of Macbeth. Shakespeare veterans and stage regulars Rory Kinnear and Anne-Marie Duff will play the murderous Macbeths. With two such capable actors in the lead roles, plus the ever-inventive Rae Morris (War Horse) designing the set, director Rufus Norris has the makings for a definitive production of the Scottish play. And he's already announced that there is no interest in playing it safe.

WHEN

26 Feb 2018 – 12 May 2018, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM

WHERE

National Theatre
South Bank, London, SE1 9PX

Things to do in London: February 2018 edition

From the films that will dominate the Oscars to the buzziest play of the year: here’s everything to see, do, eat and squeeze into the shortest month of the year.

Star on stage

Ladybird, ladybird fly away home

Flesh in the frame

¡Buen provecho!

Pirouette, pursued by bear

Keep on cruisin'

Dive into a strange, slippery fairytale

Look at life in the margins

Collateral damage

Something wicked this way comes

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