Things To Do
Guide
Things to do in London This Week: 11 May – 17 May
Looking for things to do in London this week? We've got you covered
If you’re looking for things to do in London this week, look no further. Whether you’re after a Monday night gig, a midweek matinee or an activity to keep the kids busy after school on Friday, this weekly guide is packed with fun activities to enjoy with your friends, family or on your own. Highlights from this week 11 May – 17 May) include an array of comedic acts, new hits on the West End, and the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships.
Theatre & Comedy
Walk down Avenue Q with NYC’s most mischievous puppets
- Where? Shaftesbury Theatre, 210 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8DP
- When: 13 April – 29 August
Puppet nudity. Lucy the Slut. Bad Idea Bear: multiple Tony Award winner Avenue Q is packed with outrageous comedy and irreverent characters — and, two decades on, it’s back in the West End for a felt-tastic revival. Follow young Princeton and his fuzzy neighbours on New York’s rundown Avenue Q as they face a triple whammy of work, love and paying the bills, brought to you by original Broadway director Jason Moore (Pitch Perfect, Shrek the Musical) and puppet designer Rick Lyon. Expect the gang to get down and dirty. The struggle is real.
Get tickets to Avenue Q at Shaftesbury Theatre
Roll back to Tudor England with timely comedy 1536
- Where? Ambassadors Theatre, West St, London WC2H 9ND.
- When: 2 May – 1 August
Royal and rural sensibilities collide in Tudor England in the strikingly resonant 1536. After a sold-out run at Almeida Theatre, the chillingly comic period play made its West End debut this May with a dusting of Hollywood glamour — Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment jumped on board the transfer as co-producers. Winner of the 2024 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, writer Ava Pickett’s debut burns with savage, timely wit as three childhood friends in Essex share the latest London gossip about King Henry VIII’s displeasure with his Queen, Anne Boleyn. But the violence in a world stacked against women suddenly feels alarmingly close…
Get tickets to 1536 at Ambassadors Theatre
Catch vampire classic Let the Right One In on stage
- Where? Underbelly Boulevard Soho, 6 Walker’s Court, London, W1F 0BT.
- When: 5-23 May
Love Bites this season at the National Youth Theatre, the arts charity celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2026: after Dracula, the NYT REP Company tackles Let the Right One In, based on the Swedish bestseller and John Ajvide Lindqvist’s acclaimed horror film, adapted for the stage by BAFTA winner and NYT alum Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), and directed by Olivier-Award winner James Dacre. In a housing estate shaken by a string of brutal killings, bullied teen Oskar finds his only friend in Eli, the mysterious girl next door who never goes to school, or leaves her flat during the day. What’s her secret?
Get tickets to Let the Right One In at Underbelly Boulevard Soho
Music & Nightlife
Reminisce with Cowboy Junkies’ haunting Americana
- Where? The London Palladium, Argyll Street, London, W1F 7TF.
- When: Monday 11 May
An ambisonic mic found in the family garage has resulted in some of alternative country’s most quietly gorgeous melodies. Used in albums such as The Trinity Session, recorded in 1987 in a Toronto church, the mic amplified lead singer Margo Timmins’ luscious vocals and Cowboy Junkies’ sensuous, lo-fi takes, like their timeless cover of the Velvet Underground’s ‘Sweet Jane’. Celebrating 40 Years and Beyond with quiet contemplations of love, loss and grief, the foursome take the London Palladium stage this Monday for a night of achingly beautiful Americana and lingering human emotion.
Get tickets to Cowboy Junkies at The London Palladium
Swoon to Stephen Sanchez’s retro-hued pop
- Where? Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Road, Camden, London, NW1 8EH.
- When: Monday 11 May
It’s all about LOVE, LOVE, LOVE with Stephen Sanchez: feeling that love songs these days are too sad and hopeless, the California-born, Nashville-residing modern troubadour returned this May with his second album, a more personal, luminous pop departure from his ‘50s-’60s-styled 2023 debut LP Angel Face, but every bit as generous and romance-soaked. Flirting with a more vibrant vintage-tinged sound, Sanchez has found a fresh groove for this record, and he’s coming to sweep London romantics off their feet. His grandparents’ timeless story was a moving departure point. Prepare to sing and swoon.
Get tickets to Stephen Sanchez at Roundhouse
Dance and double jump with Joey Valence & Brae
- Where? Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Road, Camden, London, NW1 8EH.
- When: Tuesday 12 May
Two 2020s Beastie Boys disciples with a penchant for breakbeats, Pennsylvania alternative rap duo Joey Valence & Brae have gone from viral TikTok fame, with tracks like ‘Double Jump’ and ‘Punk Tactics’, to releasing their first major label debut HYPERYOUTH, their third record overall in three years. The kinetic duo dial up the energy in tracks running the gamut between Daft Punk’s Discovery and Charli xcx’s brat, Y2K and 2020’s DIY, the mosh pit and the club floor. This Tuesday, they stop by London as part of their European tour to share stories about growing up, but there was never a question about slowing down.
Get tickets to Joey Valence & Brae at Roundhouse
Bop to Ne-Yo and Akon’s massive R&B throwback party
- Where? The O2, Peninsula Square, Greenwich, London, SE10 0DX.
- When: 8-10 & 14 May
We’re SO not sick of love songs, and we can’t wait to hear a string of slow jams and throbbing dance-floor anthems on a live double whammy from two of R&B’s greatest hitmakers: Ne-Yo and Akon’s Nights Like This Tour 2026 lands in London this week for a four-day residency at The O2 arena. Sharing the stage in a back-and-forth set packed with radio and club classics like Ne-Yo’s ‘So Sick’ and ‘Miss Independent’ and Akon’s ‘Smack That’, ‘Lonely’ and many more, the two generational artists will be capturing powerful pop moments in time, filled with 2000s nostalgia, powered with fresh energy.
Get tickets to Ne-Yo and Akon at The O2
Cruise down Route 66 with guitar virtuoso Matteo Mancuso
- Where? Islington Assembly Hall, Upper Street, Islington, London, N1 2UD.
- When: Thursday 14 May
A prodigious composer-guitarist who juggles Latin influences and gritty distortion, his classical roots and electric forays into jazz experimentation, Sicilian musician Matteo Mancuso has earned plaudits from the likes of jazz luminary Al Di Meola. After his 2023 debut LP The Journey, Mancuso is back out there again with Route 66, his brand-new sophomore release, where he showcases his talents alongside stellar guests, such as Grammy Award-winning virtuoso Steve Vai. Catch him this Thursday as he embarks on a fascinating ride, fuelled by his consistently impressive fingerstyle technique and compositional strength.
Get tickets to Matteo Mancuso at Islington Assembly Hall
Mosh to New Jersey hardcore legends E. Town Concrete
- Where? Downstairs at The Dome, 178 Junction Road, London N19 5QQ.
- When: Friday 15 May
Back in the mid-’90s, a loud bunch of Jersey boys imbued hardcore punk with undeniable groove, creating heavy-hitting rap and nu-metal anthems to mosh and bounce to. And now they’re back with new music, coming in summer 2026. Going on a whirlwind tour of three European cities in three days, E. Town Concrete land in London this Friday to unleash searing riffs and winding grooves from explosive early records like The Second Coming and The Renaissance, along with preview peeks of their latest visceral statement. “Track record is impeccable, so turn this track up a few decibels!”
Get tickets to E. Town Concrete at Downstairs at the Dome
Party with Example’s crossover Hits & Bits
- Where? O2 Academy Brixton, 211 Stockwell Road, Brixton, London, SW9 9SL.
- When: Saturday 16 May
He doesn’t stop, he doesn’t sleep: from 2010s career milestones, like the Ministry of Sound-backed Won’t Go Quietly and Playing in the Shadows, to 2022’s We May Grow Old But We Never Grow Up, rapper, singer-songwriter and producer Example has been hopping between genres, from grime and pop to drill and tech-house, keeping the energy sky-high, from the dance-floor to big festival stages like Glastonbury. Now back on the road with the Hits & Bits Tour 2026, he puts on a big party in his hometown of London this Saturday with support from rapper Professor Green, together again for the first time in 20 years.
Get tickets to Example at O2 Academy Brixton
Embark on a pop-fuelled ABBA Voyage
- Where? ABBA Arena, 1 Pudding Mill Lane, London, E15 2RU
- When: Ongoing
ABBA’s last public performance took place on December 11, 1982. Sadly, we can’t send you back in time to see the pop supergroup in their prime, but we do have the next best thing. Blending state-of-the-art technology and some of the most beloved pop records in history, ABBA Voyage sees Sweden’s fab four return to the stage of a purpose-built arena, in truly spectacular fashion — as digital avatars. Join the glitter-studded gang and their 10-strong live crew on a jaw-dropping, 100-minute voyage, fuelled by back-to-back choruses that hit all the right notes for an evening of high-spirited singalongs and dancing.
Family
Let your creativity blossom at Green Shoots!
- Where? Southwark Park Galleries, 1 Park Approach, Southwark Park, London, SE16 2UA
- When: 12 April – 11 October
A Grade II-listed park with a 150-year history in Bermondsey, Southwark Park offers peaceful moments to enjoy any time of year. But, this week and every second Saturday of the month, families have a fresh reason to visit, beyond the beautiful spring scenery. Join artists Abigail Hunt and Alexa Lowe at the Southwark Park Galleries for Green Shoots!, their free, drop-in family sessions exploring the flora and fauna in the garden of the Lake Gallery, then inviting kids to get down and dirty by creating their own eco-friendly masterpieces. Recommended for children up to 11.
Find out more about Green Shoots
Immersive Experiences
Dig into Ramses and the Pharaohs’ Gold at Battersea Power Station
- Where? NEON at Battersea Power Station, Circus Rd E, Nine Elms, London, SW11 8DQ
- When: Open daily
Tutankhamun may be the bigger name, but Ramses the Great and his influential 67-year reign catapulted Ancient Egypt to new heights 3000 years ago, through striking monuments, targeted military tactics and skilful diplomacy. Be transported back to the Valley of the Kings and Egypt’s golden age through 180 invaluable treasures, including the coffin of Ramses II, colossal sculptures, gold masks, animal mummies and priceless jewellery, that have travelled directly from the Egyptian Museum of Cairo to London.
They will be displayed alongside virtual reality experiences that give the journey fresh depth, for a limited time only.
Get tickets to Ramses and the Pharaohs’ Gold at Battersea Power Station
Time travel to 19th-century Paris at CHAT NOIR!
- Where? The Lost Estate, London W14 9PL
- When: Until 20 September
What if, for one night this week, you could leave London behind and step into the bohemian playground that was 1890s Montmartre? Enter CHAT NOIR! the birthplace of the world’s first cabaret, recreated by UK immersive masterminds The Lost Estate. A candlelit, velvet-clad, secret society of dancers, illusionists, musicians and mimes, with impresario Rudolphe Salis, at its pulsing core. A three-course banquet of French haute cuisine and naughty cocktails await for a delicious taste of Parisian Belle Époque. Just seat back, take a sip and let an anarchic mix of art and absinthe capture your senses. What happens in Paris, stays in Paris.
Step into a multi-sensory art experience at FRAMELESS
- Where? FRAMELESS, 6 Marble Arch, London W1H 7AP
- When: Open daily
When you really love a painting, you don’t want to just look at it — you want to live in it. An immersive experience redefining the concept of art exhibition as we know it, FRAMELESS assembles 42 famous artworks by great masters like Cezanne, Kandinsky, Dali, Klimt, Van Gogh and many more, turning each classic into a full-blown, multi-sensory spectacle. Across four distinct galleries, you can now step into a world Beyond Reality, see Colour in Motion, learn The Art of Abstraction and see stunning new perspectives of The World Around Us in a series of eye-popping displays that take each artwork to a whole new level.
Sport
Dribble your way into the O2 for the Super League Basketball Finals
- Where? The O2, Peninsula Square, Greenwich, London, SE10 0DX.
- When: Sunday 17 May
It’s British basketball’s biggest day of the year and, after more than 30,000 fans flocking to the last two play-off finals, the season conclusion of Super League Basketball 2026 is guaranteed to be a slam dunk. From 12.30pm this Sunday, both men’s and women’s play-off finals will be taking place at the O2 arena, with live music and entertainment for all ages keeping spirits high between and during the games. Eight teams will be throwing themselves into the battle for the title, but there’s only going to be one champion.
Get tickets to Super League Basketball at The O2
Cheer for two London clubs in a nail-biting 2026 Netball Super League
- Where? OVO Arena Wembley, Arena Square, Wembley, London, HA90AA.
- When: Sunday 17 May
After a bold relaunch last year, the 2026 Netball Super League is in full swing, with Round 12 fixtures raising the stakes this weekend. Defending champions London Pulse booked their place in the Soft & Gentle Play-Offs after ending Loughborough Lightning’s undefeated streak earlier this month. See what they’re all about this Sunday as they face London Mavericks, the only exclusively female-owned professional sports team in the UK, who have appeared in the NSL Grand Final seven times.
Get tickets to Netball Super League at OVO Arena Wembley
Community & Culture
Experience wartime London through art
- Where? Imperial War Museum London, Lambeth Road, SE1 6HZ
- When: Until 1 November
During the Second World War, the British government commissioned artists to document how the war transformed the city and its people. Many of these works have now made their way into the Imperial War Museum’s Beauty and Destruction: Wartime London in Art, a free exhibition of paintings, drawings, photographs and oral histories zooming in on a city on fire, its residents lost, displaced, but also beautifully resilient. From St Paul’s Cathedral to the Docklands, see life in wartime London unfold in vivid detail — while kids can also engage with the artworks on a family-friendly ‘stamper’ trail.
Find out what’s on at the Imperial War Museum
Spot the wildlife at Islington’s hidden Gillespie Park
- Where? Gillespie Park, 10 Tannington Terrace, Gillespie Rd, London N5 1LE
- When: Open daily
It’s Islington’s largest nature reserve, yet still an unsung gem: you can discover Gillespie Park daily from 08:00 to dusk (unless there’s a match at the nearby Arsenal Emirates Stadium), and enjoy its ponds, paths and woodland at your own pace, among 244 species of plants, 94 species of birds and 24 types of butterflies, according to the local council. The park’s Ecology Centre also educates visitors on wildlife, gardening and sustainable living – so keep an eye out for free green fun as the weather warms up, from butterfly walks to drag story time.
Find out more about Gillespie Park
Rethink perceptions of ageing at The Coming of Age
- Where? Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE.
- When: 26 March 2026 – 29 November
A free museum and library known for its thoughtful exhibitions on the past, present and future of health, the Wellcome Collection tackles a much-talked-about topic in the age of biohacking and TikTok facial routines. Who gets to live longer and “age well”? Exploring how experiences of age are shaped by our environment, culture and society, The Coming of Age gathers 150 exhibits spanning art, science and pop culture. From 19th-century etchings to surreal digital works celebrating ‘auntie culture’, expect the unexpected; and you’ll never look at ageing the same way again.
Find out more about the Wellcome Collection
Get gardening in Leyton
- Where? Leyton Boundary Community Garden, Brewster Rd, London E10 6RG
- When: Wednesdays and Saturdays, March to November
Created by a group of volunteers in a disused access road next to Leyton Country Cricket Ground, the Leyton Boundary Garden has been transformed into an inviting green retreat with growing beds, a polytunnel and a wildflower meadow in the last eight years of its existence. Meet new people, grow vegetables and herbs and teach little ones where food comes from on their weekly gardening sessions every Wednesday (4-7pm) and Saturday (10am – 1pm) or take part in their free workshops and events, like crafting with fallen leaves, in a space cultivated with love from and for the local community.
Find out more about Leyton Boundary Community Garden
Relive the days of Cool Brittania at the Barbican
- Where? Barbican Music Library, Level 2, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS.
- When: Until 19 September
From music and fashion to football and food, there was no better place to be in the ‘90s than London. Enter the time capsule at 1996: 30 years on – The wildest year of Britain’s wildest decade, a free exhibition at the Barbican Music Library curated by author, broadcaster and former editor of The Sun Dominic Mohan, bringing together original costumes worn by the Spice Girls, previously unseen Oasis memorabilia, personal items from the likes of DJ Paul Oakenfold and more. Get rare peeks into art, dance culture and politics from a decade that oozed with cool — and keep an eye out for a series of Q&As with key figures of the time for a first-hand deep dive.
Find out more about Barbican Music Library
Food and Drink
Savour pan-Asian street food at Shōtengai Market
- Where? Lower Stable Street, King’s Cross N1C 4LW, London.
- When: 14-17 May
Inspired by Shōtengai markets found in cities across Japan, this tasty gathering in King’s Cross features a fascinating mix of pan-Asian street food (Thursday to Sunday) and craft (Friday to Sunday) as a rotating cast of traders bring fresh ideas and inspiration to each new edition. Past markets have included Japanese Swiss rolls from Shima, Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) from Okan London, homeware from ki:ts and tokyobike made to move freely in the big city. Try something new this week, as the market returns for a series of weekends until November 2026.
Find out more about Shōtengai Market
