What’s on this weekend
FRI 9 MAR – SUN 11 MAR
Legoland Opens, Legoland Windsor, Fri 9 Mar
OMG. Protect your credit card, it’s gonna get a hammering. 2018 marks 60 years of the brick and to celebrate there are a horde of new attractions including ‘Mini Land’ replicating world-famous landmarks and LEGO® Reef where you can build your very own digital fish. Watch out for the gift shop at the end – it’s a killer. legoland.co.uk
Hyena, Corn Exchange Newbury, Fri 9 Mar
You spin me right round, baby right round… Alula Cyr is the first all-female troupe, and they’re exploding onto the UK circus scene with Hyena – a whirlwind of women, wheels, acrobatics, dance and song. These wild women epitomise their fierce friendship and tribal solidarity with this creation of thrilling physical ritual and a heart-wrenching need to belong. Don’t try this at home… although I know a cracking osteopath if you do. cornexchangenew.com
Royal Opera House, Cliveden House Hotel, Sun 11 Mar
Who needs a dramatic set design when you’ve got Cliveden House? It has to be the perfect setting for an classy evening of opera. It’s all very Pride & Prejudice as you gather for an intimate performance by the young international stars form the Jette Parker programme of Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House. Plus you get treated to Champagne and a three-course dinner. Dress code is black tie too. Tickets £140 per person. clivedenhouse.co.uk
Bride: The Wedding Show, Ascot Racecourse, Sat 10 – Sun 11 Mar
Getting hitched? Before you disappear down a Pinterest/ Instagram bridal rabbit hole, get yourself down to Bride: The Wedding Show at Ascot Racecourse and meet all the beautiful people who can make your big day dreams a reality. The first 100 brides through the doors each day will get a goody bag packed full of treats and favours to take home. Tickets are £5 each or £15 for a group of four in advance. bridetheweddingshow.co.uk
Dracula: The Bloody Truth, Theatre Royal Windsor, now – Sat 3 Mar
It’s a night of garlic and stakes! Sounds delicious but this is not a romance killing meal out – instead, go heavy on the eyeliner and enjoy the Gothic gigglefest Dracula: The Bloody Truth. It’s a theatrical comedy that’ll take you across Europe from the dark and sinister Transylvanian mountains to the, er, Whitby. It’s a show full of song, dance, shadow puppets and Victorian parlour tricks. theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk
You can’t say no to a cocktail… and this explosive cocktail -of Burlesque, Circus, Comedy, Music and Magic- does not disappoint. Direct from London’s West End, the prestigious Wam Bam Club brings a spectacle of glitz and glamour with a selection of the finest cabaret acts. Tickets: £24.50. camberleytheatre.biz
The Glamour Beauty Festival, Saatchi Gallery, London, Fri 9 – Sun 11 Mar
The original incarnation of Glamour magazine folded last year but it’s back as a biannual beauty magazine and site, aimed squarely at millennials and teens. That said, beauty junkies of any age will find lots to entertain them at this Saatchi Gallery event (and if you’ve got a teenage girl in your life, it’d make a sweet day trip this Mothering Sunday weekend). Nars, Elizabeth Arden, Laura Mercier, Revlon, Guerlain, Pixi, GHD and others will have stalls offering complimentary treatments and advice, plus there’s a programme of talks from celebrities (Scarlett Moffatt’s confidence masterclass sounds fun), influencers and make-up artists. Ticket prices include a free goodie bag worth £180. seetickets.com
Ocean Liners: Speed and Style, V&A, London, now – 17 Jun
Marlene Dietrich wearing Christian Dior onboard the Queen Elizabeth, arriving in New York in 1950 (Pic: Getty Images/ V&A Museum)
These days the nearest I get to ocean-faring is a packed P&O ferry from Portsmouth to Cherbourg but in the early 20th century travelling by sea was fabulously glamorous and romantic. The V&A’s major Spring exhibition, Ocean Liners: Speed and Style celebrates the golden age of the big boats, looking at their design and cultural impact. Exhibits include Goyard luggage once owned by the Duke of Windsor, 1920s bathing suits and a door panel from the first class lounge of the Titanic. vam.ac.uk
The Affordable Art Fair, Battersea Park London, Wed 7 – Sun 11 Mar
What to do if you’re art mad but can’t afford to splurge? The Affordable Art Fair is back this month to tempt you with work from over 100 galleries, including former Muddy Award winning best gallery Carina Haslam (go check out the Great Missenden-based gallery at E5 and Craig Mooney’s work, featured above). Tickets £10-15, and children are freeeeee.
Orchid Festival, Kew Gardens, London, now – 11 March
Things are going totally tropical this month at London’s gorgeous Kew Gardens. Their annual orchid festival takes in Insta-friendly displays of the vibrant Thai blooms, Thai street food and musical performances, workshops on how to grow these notoriously tricky flowers and Thai afternoon tea at The Botanical restaurant. King prawn, lemongrass and coriander tartlet followed by Thai sticky coconut cream rice with mango salsa? Yes please. kew.org
National Theatre Posters, National Theatre, South Bank, London, now – 31 March 2018
Theatre posters advertising National Theatre productions from 1963 to the present day are on display in a free exhibition at the building until March. Curated by Rick Poynor, professor of Design and Visual Culture at the University of Reading. it explores changing promotional styles and features some famous productions. nationaltheatre.org.uk
Michelangelo, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Tues 6 Mar – Mon 2 Apr
Nice earring! And, er, the drawing’s not bad either. Your chance to explore a remarkable group of drawings by Michelangelo, recently returned from New York where they were a central feature of an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They’re only on show for four weeks so don’t miss your chance. ashmolean.org
London Design Week, Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, now – Thurs 8 Mar
Calling interiors mavens, this one’s for you. More than 120 international exhibitors, 100 immersive experiences and a whole load of bespoke pop-ups in this celebration of new season interiors trends. A new initiative this year is ‘Legends’, where leaders from the worlds of design and decoration, art, fashion and architecture collaborate to transform showroom windows and show what you can do with imagination, wit and a lovely length of damask. dcch.co.uk
Victorian Giants: The Birth of Art Photography, National Portrait Gallery, London, now – 20 May
A major new exhibition brings together, for the first time, the works of four of the most celebrated figures in art photography, Lewis Carroll (1832–98), Julia Margaret Cameron (1815–79), Oscar Rejlander (1813–75) and Clementina Hawarden (1822-65). These four artists would come to embody the very best in photography of the Victorian era and have influenced photographers ever since. Featuring striking portraits of sitters such as Charles Darwin, Alice Liddell, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Thomas Carlyle, George Frederick Watts, Ellen Terry and Alfred, Lord Tennyson. npg.org.uk
Women of the World Festival, Southbank Centre London, Wed 7 – Sun 11 Mar
The Southbank’s 8th WOW Women of the World festival is, as you’d expect, thought-provoking, eclectic and celebratory in turns. Loads of events to choose from including a panel on equality in the creative industries, a portrait project supporting those against genital mutilation, Joan (drag king comedy last seen locally at Cornerstone Arts) and Yap Yap Yap, a hilariously irreverent and teary recreation of women’s speeches throughout history. southbankcentre.co.uk
