Flower Power

This tour was the hottest ticket in the US this summer, selling out across 34 cities. Now Eddie Izzard and his latest stand-up show Stripped returns to the West End for a 23-night run at The Lyric Theatre.

Having ditched the heels and the slap and gone back to basics, Izzard said about the show: 'The set is leaner, what I'm wearing is leaner and just focusing on what I'm talking about. I keep talking about God and I come to all these different conclusions. I'm talking about the whole civilisation, trying to strip that back, as well. The last 5,000 years we did everything. I put out my idea what we're doing here. I think it's all random. If there is a God, his plan is very similar to someone not having a plan.'

So probably more nonsense, weird tangents and thinking out loud then.  Great stuff!

Third Angel Theatre's clever physical comedy is about a couple in love. Not head-over-heels, madly passionate love. More the kind of love between two people who assume they'll both be in bed later, but want to know what they're doing for dinner.

A clever stage marked out with the patterns and traps of conventional living, some brilliant physical devices and a nicely pitched blend of note-perfect dialogue and frankly bizarre situations have seen this show enchant and inspire audiences. Real love can be great, but it's also quietly desperate, a bit like life.

One of the original San Franciscan punk bands of the late 1970s, Flipper are still probably best remembered for their post-hardcore punk masterpiece 'Sex Bomb', which was basically one riff played more and more sloppily whilst vocalist Will Shatter screamed over the top.

It may seem a bit daft by today's standards but without this record there would be no Fugazi, Nirvana or Pissed Jeans.

Schtanhaus Theatre, beggarsbelief and the Arcola present an unusual evening of cowboy cabaret. A collection of haunting and violent tales, this is a perfect antidote to the Christmas panto season from an acclaimed group of producers.

From hilarious yarns to tragic tales, it seems that every bartender, horse and cactus in the old west has a story to tell. Expect brilliantly constructed stories involving audience participation, quickfire costume changes and ingenious props - this a really creative night in the theatre.

Sleepovers huh? Yeah, gossiping and telly and pillow fights and midnight feasts. And art? Oh the ICA, pull the other one, now really. A sleepover at the ICA in the name of art - whatever next?

Yes, 'tis true. And it's all in the name of art, and science. Basically twenty people pay a bit of cash to spend a night in a little pod-thing in the ICA. You're all rigged up to electronic paraphernalia that plays weird noises when you're asleep. The aim is to see whether they affect your dream-patterns.

The artist behind it all is Luke Jerram and the project is based on research done by psychologist Chris Alford. Not only do you get to talk about yourself and your dreams (before and after) but you're contributing to science too. Brilliant!

Knock2Bag is now undoubtedly the best comedy night in Shepherd's Bush and that is by no means a flippant comment. 

Line-ups feature leading comedians on the circuit, if.comedy winners and tipped newcomers. What really makes it though, is the variety of acts that perform there; from sketches to music, poetry, magic and the downright weird (resident Brian Gittins is a must see), this club always has a good balance to it.

Held in Bar FM, it's run by a team of Thai staff which means you can order some delicious food during the break (the noodles are particularly good) and it's cheap as chips to boot.

Tonight's line-up is another cracker with gory magician Pete Firman, hot newcomer Paul F.Taylor,  pun master general Trevor Lock and self-confessed punk and socialist Wil Hodgson.

The first exhibition at Thomas Dane's new Mason's Yard project space kicks off this November.

Carey Young has been working closely with a team of lawyers specialising in media and intellectual property law to produce a work that explores the notion of the legal contract as artistic medium.

Visitors are offered a free work, which only becomes classified as 'art' once they have signed it. The contract is binding until the death of either the owner or Young herself.

A fascinating exercise in the performative aspects of the law, and perhaps an artistic realisation of Derrida's writings on Kafka's Before the Law.

A bitter delight for London theatregoers over the festive period is this eight-week run at the National for Tracy Letts' new domestic comedy, winner of both the 2008 Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Best Play. August: Osage County is a work of barbed comic genius that has been packing them in on Broadway for the last half a year.

When their father disappears in mysterious circumstances, the Weston clan come together for the first time in decades at the old family homestead in Oklahoma. Almost immediately, repressed truths and secrets bubble to the surface, exposing the dark heart of a mid-western family at once typical and very, very strange.

Despite claiming that they're better than Prince (which is clearly impossible), Flairs do a pretty decent version of the whole expansive, electro house thing that the French do so well.

Playing a night dedicated to the music currently doing the rounds on the continent at 93 Feet East, trust us, if you don't dance to this then you're officially dead inside.

Not for the Royal Court a traditional Christmas panto. Instead, their festive treat is a bright, bold new drama from hot American playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney set in the House of Light, the New York headquarters of a drag queen posse. With upfront sexuality married to a mythology and even a language created by the drag queens (actually workshopped by the young playwright with a group at Sundance) this is a stylish, hugely ambitious piece that takes us into an entirely alien world.

Wig Out! is a rich drama, tricked out with amazing costumes, a great soundtrack and a patois all of its own. There's a Greek chorus who act as guides to a giddy scene packed with intrigue, infighting, competitive dressing up and getting down. There's an unusual but uplifting love affair at the heart of it all.

Tarell is the hottest young playwright in America right now, credited with creating a distinctive new voice for African American drama, and this is something of a coup for the Royal Court. Reviews and audience experiences varied hugely in New York, and it's disappointing, nay gutting, that the UK version will not feature Michael Kenneth Williams, aka Omar from The Wire. However this is definitely one of the most exciting new plays to cross the pond in a long time.

Ahh, Juan Atkins. Where would techno be without him? Alongside schoolmates Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, Atkins started making music on his trusty Korg MS10, molding what we know as techno with cassette decks and a mixer.

He started legendary label Cybotron and wrote his first single 'No UFO's' under the alias Model 500.

Tonight, the man they call the 'Godfather of techno' goes up against Underground Resistance - a renowned Detroit techno outfit and label tonight represented by Mark Flash, Skurge and Dex (aka Nomadisco).

Itch Records and Natural present a slick little one off at Plan B featuring Radio One's latest offering - Jaymo.

Jaymo and Andy George started Moda in Lincoln a year ago. Since then it's exploded into the place to go, with Kissy Sell Out bigging it up on Radio One and the boys doing their own essential mix.

He's playing a London set tonight - and Itch have teamed him up with techno overlord James Harcourt to see what these two beat sorcerers can conjure for the Plan B dancefloor.

Add free vodka jelly, face painting and a video-graphic light show and tonight looks set to be a classic cracker.

Hard rocking Brummies Blakfish have unfortunately had all their gear nicked by some dodgy git. But you can help them to bring joy and Propagandhi style riffage to the world by heading down and watching them play at the Windmill.

All donations keeps the rock rolling and will be graciously received by a band that seriously know how to kill it, but lack the funds to make it happen. Look at the picture. It's clearly obvious they're not made of money.

Thanks to an intellectual property dispute with The Synergy Centre, The Synergy Project is now Luminopolis, but we're assured nothing else has changed.

With it's chaotic Green-Fields buzz and side-show attractions, it's still more like an indoor festival than a club night.

Music-wise, there are several rooms, each hosted by a different collective. Styles range from new-age trance to breaks to live dubstep, funk, ska and tech house.

Tonight psy trance veterans Liquid Records host the main room and notorious festival tag team Fish Seeks Bicycle present Eden Atlantis in the Cream Room - an underwater paradise replete with fancy dressed fun-busters and bands aplenty. Brothers Bab, Freefall Collective and The Cosmics are primed to throw down an upfront dose of funk, ska, live breaks, soul and jazz. DJs include the mighty Head Of State, the Baker Brothers very own Chris Pedley, Ben DeQueer and those Crafty Rascals.

It's not all about raving and carnivalesque fun though: look out for workshops, talks, organic cafés and input from charities, NGOs and ecological campaigners.

Luminopolis is an absolute feast of a night and really does have something for everyone.

Do you know what a Friggebod is? No, neither did we, until now. A Friggebod is 'a small government-regulated Swedish building that is used as a summer house, or for storage or as an extension to a larger house'. Interesting huh? You can read more about it - as ever - on Wikipedia.

Why do we bring this up? Not simply for the improvement of your general knowledge. No, it's because British contemporary artist Sean Rogg is screening a new film installation in which a Friggebod is systematically destroyed by two young children.

The work - entitled WOLF ram - is an exploration of the relationship between destruction and creation, and looks at issues of environmentalism, government control, childhood and violence.

Please note: WOLF ram is the first in a series of off-site projects organised by Spring Projects, and so takes place not at the gallery itself, but at a former artist's studio at this address:

5 Cromwell Place, SW7 2JB.

With so many bands claiming to be hardcore right now, it's hard to know what's the real deal and what are a bunch of kids who have heard some Glassjaw and think that Minor Threat is something that your mum hands out.

Something of a post hardcore super-group, (with member's former bands including Trail by Fire, Striking Distance, and Time Flies)Cloak/Dagger are about as real as they come. Makin' straight-up hardcore that reminds us a lot of American Nightmare and Fucked Up we expect this show at The Old Blue Last to be pretty amazing.

Tonight looks simply spectacular.

Mixmag really pulled it out of the bag for their last Egg party and tonight they've gone one step beyond by booking the world's most exciting dance act: Justice.

Not only that, Chase and Status will be demonstrating why they are considered one of the finest dnb acts in the land, Caspa and Rusko will be vibrating the dubstep room and Stuart Price produced vocal talent FrankMusik will be doing a live set.

Yee-haa.

Wow, what a year it's been for Kings of Leon, huh? Not only have they headlined the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, they're also closing out 2008 with a massive show at the O2 Arena.

Rhod Gilbert finds himself standing in the Coffee shop bit, armed with a travel pillow, a flask and a very powerful torch, aggressively demanding to know more about an 'Award-Winning Mince Pie' on display on the counter.

Suddenly aware of what he is doing, Rhod is forced to acknowledge that he may be having a very mild nervous breakdown. How did it come to this? He doesn't even like mince pies. The pressures of living in a tedious, pointless and absurd world surrounded by idiots have finally taken their toll.

Wow, this sounds brilliant! A multimedia multi-sensory extravaganza at Riflemaker, exploring ideas of Voodoo; and specifically the loss of individual identity induced by intense acts of creativity.

This idea is not specific to Voodoo (it crops up a lot in Romanticism particularly) and the sheer range of names involved (more or less directly) in the exhibition hints at the universality of the desire to move beyond the self.

Crikey! This really is a hot ticket. Man-of-the-moment and 'the future of Shakespeare' Rupert Goold directs a brutal King Lear.

This show has a lot of elements to appeal to the youth demographic. Pete Postlethwaite (Lethal Weapon 2, The Usual Suspects) graduates from playing terrifying henchmen to playing the mad King as a tragic industrialist. The setting is the dawn of the Thatcher era, giving the show a retro backdrop and an excuse for the cast to wear leather trenchcoats and strut around like greedy gangsters. Not only that, it's directed at cracking pace and whips through this enthralling, exhausting descent from glory to madness in around three hours.