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11th March 2010
A free weekly ezine featuring the best events in London

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Illustration by Julie Khan

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Cultural Quality Control: a free, weekly ezine featuring the best gigs, theatre,art, clubbing and comedy in London.

Upcoming

Complicit

7th January 2009
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Lonely, Dear

26th January 2009
More info >>

King Lear

29th January 2009
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The Paradise Guide to Better Yourself: Burlesque Master Class

2nd February 2009
More info >>

Friday 26th

The Apollo and Gemini Photographs

An exhibition of amazing photography at Atlas Gallery this month. The images were originally taken on the Apollo and Gemini space missions but have since been electronically tinkered with by Michael Light to produce the sharpest images of space that man has ever seen. read on

where:
Atlas Gallery
49 Dorset Street
W1U 7NF
when:
10am - 6pm
what:
Art, Gallery, Photography
cost:
Free
 

Ice Rink and Christmas Fair

Head to the Natural History Museum this winter and skate away to your heart's content.  Ice is natural and has a history after all, so where better for an ice rink than the appropriately named Natural History Museum? Plus, there's a cafe and Christmas Fair so you can buy gifts and drink coffee at the same time. Not literally at the same time obv... read on

where:
Natural History Museum
Cromwell Road
SW7 5BD
when:
10am - 10pm
what:
 Ice Skating, Holidays, Family
cost:
£8-£13

Saturday 27th

Amused Moose Soho

Held in the multi-award winning club, Moonlighting, in Soho, Amused Moose nights never fail to deliver. With secret gigs by big name comedians prepping for tours and festivals to frequent appearances of Perrier winners and T.V. comedians, the line-up is always quality-controlled. More plus points: discounted beer, wine and champagne before and d... read on

where:
Moonlighting
17 Greek Street
W1D 4DR
who:
Ian Stone+Mark Restuccia+Joe Bor+Stan Stanley+Nina Conti
when:
8.30 - 11pm
what:
 Stand Up
cost:
£9
 

Cream Revue

On the third Saturday of every month, BGWC turns into a 1950s prom night with tea, cakes, Lindy Hop lessons, burlesque performers and there's even a tattoo parlour, in case you require a pin up plastered on your arm. Come dressed to the nines! read on

where:
Bethnal Green Working Men's Club
E2 6NB
who:
Jack Rabbit Slim
when:
7.30pm - 2am
what:
dance classes, live music, 50s
cost:
£8
 

M.O.T

 M.O.T play superfine pop punk expressed through the kind of tunesmithery you'd associate with Motown as much as The Undertones.
read on

where:
The Dublin Castle
94 Parkway
NW1 7AN
who:
 M.O.T.
when:
7 - 11pm
what:
Punk
cost:
£5

Sunday 28th

Your Line or Mine?

Based on the format of Whose Line is It Anyway? this show is a hour's whirlwind of improvised comedy games and sketches. The audience is encouraged to participate in helping by submitting ideas for scenes and characters such as writing down professions and insults on paper (ice skater, rocket scientist and baboon's backside have been used in the past)... read on

where:
Landor Theatre
70 Landor Road
SW9 9PH
who:
Abandon Theatre Group
when:
8 - 9pm
what:
 Improv
cost:
£5
 

The Puppini Sisters Christmas

The Puppini Sisters are a musical trio specialising in 1940s-style close harmony vocal music. Join them for a musical extravaganza at The Queen Elizabeth Hall tonight. read on

where:
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Belvedere Road
SE1 8XX
who:
The Puppini Sisters
when:
7.30 - 11pm
what:
Pop, Jazz
cost:
£20

Monday 29th

Statuephilia

The British Museum have asked a selection of big name contemporary artists to do stuff that responds to the institution's amazing collection of statues and sculpture. With Hirst, Gormley, Mueck, Quinn, and Noble & Webster all involved this is quite a departure for the venerable old museum.
read on

where:
The British Museum
Great Russell Street
WC1B 3DG
who:
Marc Quinn+Damien Hirst+Antony Gormley+Tim Noble & Sue Webster+Ron Mueck
when:
10am - 5.30pm
what:
Art, Museum, Sculpture, Installation, Architecture, Painting
cost:
Free

Tuesday 30th

British Sign Language Tours

Join the Hampton Court Palace scheduled guided tours with a BSL interpreter through the Palace's rooms and gardens. The itinerary for the day will be tailored to the group's needs. The interpreter will commence the day of tours at 10.30am, with the first tour to join the scheduled costumed guides around the site.
read on

where:
Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace
KT8 9AU
when:
10.30am - 5pm
what:
 Tours, Family
cost:
Free
 

In A Dark Dark House

In A Dark Dark House again features clever characters who don't really like each other, but it has a much darker subject matter, namely, child abuse. Full of brilliant insight, with believable characters and great one liners, this is trademark LaBute and should be a hot ticket despite the grim subject matter and mixed reviews in New York.
read on

where:
Almeida Theatre
Almeida Street
N1 1TA
when:
7.30 - 9.10pm
what:
 Melodrama, Theatre
cost:
From £6 to £30

Wednesday 31st

Gypsy Hotel NYE Party

If you're looking to celebrate New Years with bourbon, snakes and rock'n roll, then you can't do much worse than Gypsy Hotel's bash at Bardens. After all, it's what they live for. read on

where:
Bardens Boudoir
38-44 Stoke Newington Road
N16 7XJ
who:
DJ Scratchy+Bad Breed+Luxury Condo+The Cesarians+Sophia Landi+Baron and Missys Misadventures
+ more
when:
6pm - 2am
what:
Punk
cost:
£10
 

Elton John's New Years Eve Party

Elton John is having a New Year's Eve Party, and you're all invited. Having been wowing audiences with his Red Piano show in Las Vegas since 2004  this enormous shin-dig will see him perform his greatest hits at the biggest party in town. read on

where:
O2 Arena
Millennium Way
SE10 0AX
who:
Elton John
when:
7pm - 4am
what:
 Pop
cost:
From £99 to £109
 

Up the Creek New Year's Eve Party

Up The Creek have a splendiferous line-up for their New Year's eve party with top black comedienne Ninia Benjamin from BBC3's 3 Non-Blondes headlining, supported by cockney geeza Jeff Innocent, sharp and slick Aussie Matthew Hardy and impressionist and beatboxer Stefano Paolini.
read on

where:
Up The Creek
302 Creek Road
SE10 9SW
who:
Stefano Paolini+Jeff Innocent +Ninia Benjamin+Matthew Hardy
when:
8pm - 2am
what:
Stand Up
cost:
£30
 

King's Crossover

The King's Crossover is a joint party between Big Chill House and Camino over the road. Camino will be transformed into a retro Latin fiesta courtesy of White Mischief. Expect Spanish snake dancers, sword fighters, tango dancers and fire breathers. A jazz, blues and rock 'n' roll soundtrack will keep you hotfooting it on the dancefloor. Carnival k... read on

where:
The Big Chill House
N1 9NL
who:
Sancho Panza+Aldo Vanucci
when:
8pm - 5am
what:
House, Funk/Soul, Hip Hop, Latin
cost:
£35
 

Beer Hall Bash New Years Eve

Grab a Stein and head down to The Fest this new year for "The closest thing to a beerfest outside of Munich." Whether it's for the house Oompah band, the beautiful beer maidens or the Drinking Olympics The Fest has plenty to offer on this fateful night. With heaps of giveaways including a free dinner for two, table beer kegs and Jagermeister... read on

where:
The Fest
678-680 Fulham Road
SW6 5SA
when:
8pm - 4am
what:
 Oktoberfest
cost:
£7
 

Eastern Electrics New Years Eve Tracksuit Party

Three party gangs meet at a secret location (probably in East London - you know the score) to shake it down to the ground. Eastern Electrics, Man Make Music and Mulletover - the fancy dressed freaks - join Tayo for his tracksuit party. Phillipp Jung (M.A.N.D.Y) headlines the mulletover room alongside Geddes, Simon Morrell and Damian Lazarus. Man Make... read on

where:
Secret Location
who:
Damian Lazarus+Geddes+Tayo+Sketchy+Another Amit+Jacob Husley+Man Make Music + more
when:
9pm - 6am
what:
Techno/Minimal, Breaks, House
cost:
£10

Thursday 1st

Cube Presents Disco Armageddon

Yikes and Cripes combined! It's New years day 2009 - and it's quite likely that you're hammered. In fact, I'd bank on it that the only thing you are actually capable of doing right now is staggering, holding a full glass at a dangerously tilted angle and gurgling. So then! Where better than the Cube - with its helpfully illuminated dancefloor - to bust... read on

where:
Cube
55-61 Tabernacle Street
EC2A 4AA
who:
Gucci Soundsystem+Nathan Gregory Wilkins+Serge Santiago+Sophie Lloyd+Damon Martin
when:
6am - 1pm
what:
 Disco
cost:
£10
 

London Eye

Several times voted the best tourist attraction in the world, it is typical of Londoners that we were initially a bit embarrassed about the addition of a giant ferris wheel to our iconic skyline. Once she opened, we were hooked and this huge, impressively engineered and rather stately fairground ride is now part of the city's soul. Ride her in the gloaming... read on

where:
London Eye
Jubilee Gardens
Southbank
SE1 7PB
when:
10am - 9pm
what:
 Attraction, Scenic
cost:
From £15.17 to £32.30
 

Circo Loco New Years Day

Viva Circo Loco! Since moving to The End they have been responsible for some of the most loco parties this side of the White Isle. And after a solid week of last of's, with every promoter ever to be graced by The End coming out of the woodwork to throw their final bash, it is only right to save the best till last. Circo Loco's last ever party at The... read on

where:
The End
18 West Central Street
WC1A 1JJ
who:
Clint Lee+Clive Henry+DJ Sossa+Dollz At Play+Hector+Jamie Jones+Shane Watcha+Matthias Tanzmann+Alex Arnout
+ more
when:
9pm - 7am
what:
House, Techno/Minimal
cost:
£25

Friday 2nd

Listening Post

'Listening Post' is split into seven separate scenes, each one displaying uncensored samples of text lifted from live internet chatrooms. Constantly shifting, this work highlights both the beauty and the spontaneously sprawling aspects of the internet, and, indeed, of much of the modern world. read on

where:
Science Museum
Exhibition Road
SW7 2DD
when:
10am - 6pm
what:
Art, Science, Museum
cost:
Free
 

Mary Goes First

A festive slice of social satire at the Orange Tree this Christmas sees a revival of Henry Arthur Jones' social-climbing farce, which is sadly as fresh and relevant today as it was in 1913. It belongs to a rich tradition of class-obsessed satires which includes Spoonfed favourites To The Manor Born and Keeping Up Appearances. Mary Winchello and her... read on

where:
Orange Tree Theatre
1 Clarence Street
TW9 2SA
when:
7.45 - 10pm
what:
 Comedy, Theatre
cost:
From £9 to £25

Saturday 3rd

Design Cities

A major new show at the Design Museum examining the development of contemporary design through the contributions of seven important cities. From the 1851 Great Exhibition in London to Adolf Loos in Vienna in 1908, the Bauhaus in Dessau in 1928 and Le Corbusier's Paris of '36. Then on to Charles and Ray Eames in LA in 1949, Milan in 1957 and Tokyo in... read on

where:
Design Museum
Shad Thames
SE1 2YD
when:
10am - 5.45pm
what:
Museum, Design, Fashion, Architecture, History
cost:
£9; £7 (Concessions); £5 (NUS)
 

Peter Pan

Hmmm. Leslie Grantham returns to panto this Christmas as Captain Hook in the Beck's celebrity-studded version of Peter Pan. Hopefully there'll be no repeats of his online finger-sucking exploits behind the scenes... he could do himself a nasty injury with that hook. (Although it's alleged he dressed up as the self-same character during the original... read on

where:
Beck Theatre
Grange Road
UB3 2UE
who:

when:
7 - 9.15pm
what:
Pantomime
cost:
From £15 to £23

Sunday 4th

Turning the Season

Just a bit wacky, or totally brilliant? A bit of both, we think. This winter The Wapping Project is celebrating the Season, darling: the Great British countryside, tweeds and twelve-bores, mallards, polo, debs and racing. And good god, are they going the whole hog! There's a hundred bird houses filling a tree, an installation of porcelain deer heads... read on

where:
The Wapping Project
Wapping Wall
E1W 3SG
who:
Frederikson Stallard+Samuel Spenser+Martin Scanlan+Jules Wright+Eilis O'Connel + more
when:
10am - 6pm
what:
Art, Gallery, Photography, Performance Art, Installation
cost:
Free
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