Escape Alone is set in a sunlit suburban garden, four septuagenarian women talk about the banalities of everyday life.  Their stories expand to a world of private pain which reveal a vision of an impending dystopian future.

In Escape Alone random gossip r that Sally has an aversion to cats, Lena’s a depressive agoraphobe,  and Vi, formerly a hairdresser, has murdered her husband. Mrs Jarrett, suggests that tomorrow’s problems will be far greater monstrously magnified by a coming catastrophe. Brexit perhaps?

Doors 18:30
Tickets from £10

Royal Court Theatre
Sloane Square
London SW1W 8AS
020 7565 5000

Troy ‘Pharoahe Monch’ Jamerson is one of the most respected and intelligent figures in the underground rap scene.

Line up Shogun Pharoahe Monch

Monch rose to prominence in the ’90s as part of the duo Organized Konfusion whose self-produced albums were well received by critics. After recording his final album with Prince Po in 1997, he started writing and performing under his own name and in ’99 released his critically acclaimed album Internal Affairs – the first single of which was the massive ‘Simon Says’.

Admission 19.00 – 22:30
Tickets £20

5 Parkway
Camden NW1 7PG

The Geffrye’s traditional burning of the holly and the ivy, with carol singing, stories about Epiphany and a taste of mulled wine and Twelfth Night cake. All in the garden.

Visit one of the Geffrye’s 18th-century almshouses. They have been fully restored to original condition, offering a rare glimpse into the lives of London’s poor and elderly in former times.

Adults £4, Friends of the Geffrye, disabled visitors (and their companion) and children under 16 free. Numbers are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note that only groups of 8 or more can book in advance.

Admission 15.30 – 17:00.
FREE ENTRY

136 Kingsland Road
London E2 8EA
020 7739 9893
020 7739 9893

In a new work for the Project Galleries, London-based artist Samson Kambalu (b. 1975) draws inspiration from early cinema and watching films as a child in Malawi.

Flickering images, appropriated footage, improvised projections, unexpected power cuts and a lively audience made every screening a joyful live event, one that also made visible the mechanics of film.

Turning the gallery into a magazine spread, Kambalu projects his black and white films of visual slapstick alongside his writings. Influenced by Situationism and psychogeography, as well as by the Gule Wamkulu rituals practiced among the Chewa people, Kambalu embraces the subversive potential of non-productive time, gift economies, and play.

Performances Tuesday – Sunday 11:00 – 18:00
Tickets FREE ENTRY

Whitechapel Gallery
Galleries 5 & 6
77-82 Whitechapel High Street
E1 7QX

Wifredo Lam sought to portray and revive the enduring Afro-Cuban spirit and culture. Lam’s work addressed themes of social injustice, nature, and spirituality, that challenged prevailing attitudes held by western artists about other cultures.

Wifredo Lam’s distinctive style shook the assumptions of Western Modernism. His unique paintings introduced the symbolism of his Cuban roots and defined a new way of painting for a post-colonial world. As he traveled in Europe and North and South America, he was a witness to twentieth-century political upheaval – including the Spanish Civil War, the evacuation of artists and intellectuals from France with the onset of World War II, and the new Cuba borne of the Revolution.

Tickets £14.50 FREE for Members

Tate Modern
Bankside
SW1P 4RG
020 7887 8888
email visiting.modern@tate.org.uk

Join DJ, presenter and African music expert Rita Ray for an event celebrating the eclectic music of the clubs and parties that the celebrated Malian photographer Malick Sidibé frequented and chase away the January blues.

Entry 19.00 – 20.00 Limited Places
Entry Free
Somerset House
Terrance Rooms
South Wing
Strand WC2R 1LA

The eye of modern Malie.

Sidibé is celebrated for his black-and-white images chronicling the lives and culture of the Malian capital, Bamako, in the wake of the country’s independence in 1960.

At a time when the West was fretting about whether photography was even an art form, Malick Sidibé was taking pictures of young people in Bamako which contain all the issues in that debate: authenticity, imitation, control of the image. Not because he was a theorist, but because all of those issues were also central to the newly emerging country. We see teenagers doing the twist, showing off their record collections, rocking drainpipes, then flares, then pimp suits. Friends relax by a river: everyone is young and carefree. But there are questions in these images too.

Doors 10:00 – 18:00
Entry Free

Somerset House
Terrance Rooms
South Wing
Strand
WC2R 1LA

Strangers. Forced together. No space is personal.

In the run up to Christmas, three families are placed into cramped temporary accommodation. A middle-aged man and his elderly mum, a young family with a baby on the way, a newly arrived woman from Sudan.

Performances 19:30 & 14:30

Tickets Mon – Thu £35 – £15 | Fri & Sat evening £40 – £18
Ways to save: Previews 6 – 12 December £30 – £15

Dorfman Theatre
The National Theatre
Upper Ground
South Bank
London SE1 9PX

Asylums are a thing of the past in Britain, whether they helped the patients is debatable.

Named after the South London Royal Bethlem Hospital, Bedlam a new exhibition at the Wellcome looks at the tensions between biomedical and psychosocial therapy for mental illness, the imperative to protect patients, and how integration benefits patients and the public.

Doors: Tuesday – Saturday 10:00 Sunday 11:00
Entry Free

Welcome Collection
83 Euston Road
NW1 2BE
020 7611 2222
info@wellcomecollection.org

Poet Rachel Long curates an exclusive space for women of colour who want to read, write and grow creatively.

In this new series of workshops, women of colour will have their voices not only heard but celebrated, nurtured and developed. Themes across the workshop series will include; Place/Displacement – The Personal as Political
– Growing Up: Girl into Womanhood – Ekphrasis – Writing from Art.

Dates: 31 Jan 2017, 28 Feb 2017, 14 March 2017
Age 18+
Admission 18:30 – 20:30
Tickets £8

Royal Festival Hall
Level 3 Function Room
Belvedere Road SE1 8XX
Tel: +44 (0)20 7960 4200

See the history of a nation from a new perspective

From some of the earliest examples of human creativity to cutting-edge contemporary works, discover the fascinating history of South Africa through art.

In this exhibition, a diverse range of art from across the ages tells a story that stretches back 100,000 years. From rock art made by the country’s earliest peoples to works by South African artists at the forefront of contemporary art, the exhibition features beautiful and important objects, which illustrate South Africa’s rich history.

The exhibition features a selection of significant objects, including some of the world’s oldest art objects and striking contemporary pieces responding to the country’s recent past. See the history of a nation from a new perspective and celebrate the artistic accomplishments of the many peoples that have contributed to the story of South Africa.

Admission 10:00 – 17:30
Tickets £12.00 | Members/under 16s free | Booking fee: £1.00 per ticket

Great Russell St
London
WC1B 3DG
+44 (0)20 7323 8181

Do women have to be naked to get into a Museum?

The Guerrilla Girls are probably the art world’s most creative complainers. For over 30 years they have been successfully showing the hypocrisy of American galleries and museums. Now they are turning their attention to Europe. Is it worse in Europe?

They explore diversity in European art organisations. It presents responses to questionnaires sent to 383 directors about their exhibitions programme and collections. The questions were formulated to critically look at the narratives that are produced by cultural institutions.

Curator’s Tour Thu 8 Dec, 18:30 | Free

Admission 10:00 – 18:00
ENTRY FREE

Whitechapel Gallery
Gallery 4
77-82 Whitechapel High Street
E1 7QX

A musical loosely based on Diana Ross and The Supremes.  Featuring the classic songs.

Inspired by R&B music acts in 1960s America and loosely based on Diana Ross and The Supremes, Dreamgirls transports you to a revolutionary time in American music history. Dreamgirls charts the tumultuous journey of a young female singing trio from Chicago, Illinois called ‘The Dreams’. They learn the hard lesson that show business is as tough as it is fabulous.

Performances:19:50
Matinee:14:30

Tickets from £15 plus £3 booking fee

Savoy Theatre
Savoy Court
Strand WC2R 0ET

The annual free exhibition of stunning space photography

Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year is the biggest international competition of its kind, annually showcasing spectacular images shot by astrophotographers worldwide.

For a taste of past exhibits and a preview of this year’s contestants click on the link

Opening hours: Daily 10am-5pm (last admission 4.30pm)
ENTRY FREE

Blackheath Avenue
London
SE10 8XJ

100 exceptional images, revealing the astonishing diversity of life on our planet.

From intimate portraits to dramatic landscapes, see how photographers’ passion for the natural world produces startling images.

Admission 10:00 -17:50
Tickets Adults from £10.50 | Child & concs from £6.50 | Family from £27.00

The Natural History Museum
Cromwell Road
SW7 5BD