London Storytelling Festival
All sorts of creative forms get festivals celebrating them, but this one’s a bit different in that it focuses on the art of storytelling.
From campfire tales to conversations shared over a pint – stories entertain, captivate and connect us, and that’s what this is all about.
Stars from comedy and theatre convene for workshops, feature-length storytellings, and improv sessions.
Highlights include musical tales from Story Jam, Sarah Bennetto (above) on her freakish good fortune and Aussie comedy storyteller Asher Treleaven.
Nov 9-18. Leicester Square Theatre, £8+
6 Leicester Place, WC2H 7BX
Tube | Leicester Square
londonstorytellingfestival.co.uk
Illuminations
Dreamy discopop from Chromatics, ethereal R&B from How To Dress Well, alternative girl choir Gaggle – this specially curated festival takes the multi-genre approach, and even adds in an audiovisual performance by Dam Mantle and Patten, in what’s a treasure chest of surprises hosted in grand music halls and warehouse spaces.
Nov 5-10. Various times. £10+
Various venues
illuminationslondon.com
The Tashatorium
In aid of Movember, the month in which guys refuse to shave for a good cause, this tache-celebrating pop-up mixes male grooming, cultured cocktails and live music.
The rules stipulate that you “must take on the challenges laid down by our dapper host” and “mingle with the bizarre characters in the lounge”. Intriguing.
Nov 7-9, 5-8pm. Nov 10, 2pm-8pm, free
W2 4YN
Tube | Bayswater
whiteleys.com
London Jazz Festival
Sultry songstress Imelda May (pictured), newcomer Sophie Hunger and one-man orchestra Hyperpotamus are just a few of the highlights at this city-spanning fest that holds as many as 30 gigs on a single night.
If your appreciation of jazz extends to the Lethal Weapon soundtrack, this is the perfect chance for some musical discovery.
Nov 9-18. Various times, prices, venues
londonjazzfestival.org.uk
Butchery Bingo
Bingo has a reputation for being the preserve of blue-rinsed coffin-dodgers. Not here, though, as this new weekly bingo night proudly taunts, “forget Mecca and fuck Gala”.
There’s no cheese and cringe at this event – what you do get is an interactive experience with musical mayhem, drinking, team rounds, more drinking, prizes and heaps more boozing at the end, just in case there was a risk of you leaving sober.
Mondays, from Nov 5, 7pm-10pm, £3
The Shoreditch Butchery
C2A 4AP
Tube | Old Street
shoreditchbutchery.co.uk
A Testing Time
London-based artists from around the world (Romania, Iran, New Zealand included and 13 in all) come together in this contemporary photographic exhibition, where the subjects covered range from the overt to the intensely personal, from images of mass gatherings to insighful family portrait.
Nov 7-11, Wed-Sat, 11am-9pm; Sun, 11am-5pm, free
Apricot Gallery, E1 5LJ
Tube | Liverpool Street
atestingtime.org.uk
Nights of Noir
This movie season combines classic noirs with contemporary neo-noirs across three evenings of double-headers.
Kiss Me Deadly and Blue Velvet (pictured) are first up, with the Robert Mitchum-starring Night Of The Hunter and the Coens’ classic Fargo next, and Reservoir Dogs-influencing The Killing and The Long Goodbye closing.
Nov 9-11. From 7pm, £21
Old Vic Tunnels, SE1 8SW
Tube | Waterloo
oldvictunnels.com
Images: Getty, YouTube
