Famous for traditional, long-standing successes and contemporary productions, London's West End is hard to beat when it comes to musicals. Nearly every street in central London's Theatrel and boasts its own performance venue, so choice isn't an issue here. Listed below are some of our current faves. There's something to suit every kind of musical taste.
Forthcoming Events for the month of August 2010!
Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes, Discoveries
30 Jun - 12 Sep 2010 Mon - Thu, Sat, Sun 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM; Fri 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM
National Gallery
Free
Take a look at hidden secrets in paintings by some of the world's most illustrious painters in Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes, Discoveries at the National Gallery.
Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes, Discoveries
Close Examination uses the National Gallery's own experts and state-of-the-art technology to examine how artists have produced the paintings, the materials they used and how the paintings have changed over time.
Groundbreaking Exhibit at London's National Gallery
The first of its kind, Fakes, Mistakes, Discoveries focuses on 40 of the National Gallery's paintings. There is a chance to look at mistakes, deception and restoration of the various paintings aided by art historians, curators and scientists.
National Gallery
Trafalgar Square
London
WC2N 5DN
Prices: Free
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion
10 July 2010 to 17 October 2010, Daily 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Serpentine Gallery
Every year, a different architect is commissioned to produce a temporary structure outside the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens.
This year it's the turn of French architect Jean Nouvel. Nouvel has designed more than 200 buildings across the world but (as the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion brief requires) this will be his first in the UK.
The Pavilion will host French artist Christian Boltanski’s Heartbeat installation.
Visitors will be asked to make a recording of their heartbeat, which will be added to an archive and stored on the uninhabited island of Ejima, Japan.
The Pavilion operates as a public space, with a café and a Park Nights programme of public events and talks.
After Skool Klub
4 July 2009 to 16 January 2010
Kings College London Student Union - KCLSU
After Skool Klub brings you the best indie and alternative tunes every Saturday at student prices. After Skool Klub is a great indie disco, playing old classics and newly found indie gems.
Bloc Party, Depeche Mode, Late of the Pier and Blondie are all on the playlist along with many, many more.
Entrance to After Skool Klub is £7 – but those of us in the know can get in cheaper! Print out a flyer before you go, and you won't pay more than £5 to get in. And if you get there before midnight, you'll pay even less!
Victoria & Albert: Art & Love
The Queen's Gallery
19 March 2010 to 31 October 2010
Featuring more than 400 items from the Royal Collection, the display spans the Royal couple's life together, from their engagement in 1839, to the Prince's death in 1861.
Many of the items on show were exchanged as gifts between the Queen and her husband to mark special occasions.
Prices: Adult: £7.75 to £22 per ticket, Child: Free
Newspeak: British Art Now
The Saatchi Gallery
2 June 2010 to 17 October 2010
The Saatchi Gallery showcases some of the most exciting artists to have emerged in the UK over the last few years.
Although still largely unknown in the wider art world, these new British artists are tipped as the successors to the famous Young British Artists of the 1990s.
Exhibits include Truncated Trunk by Eugenie Scrase – chosen from BBC2 series School of Saatchi, screened last autumn.
Through their work, the artists explore issues as diverse as class, consumerism and the phenomenon of our instant success culture, often employing a distinctly British dry wit.
