Thursday: Dance Theatre @ Laban, Creekside
Friday: Classical Concert @ The Grand Hall, Goldsmiths College
Saturday: Eating Out @ La Chapelle Restaurant
Sunday: Exhibition @ The Horniman Museum
Monday: Eating Out @ The Viajante Restaurant
Tuesday: Salsa classes @ The Horniman Museum
Wednesday: Dinner cabaret @ The Brickhouse
Thursday: ‘Justitia’ by the Jasmin Vardimon Company
‘Justitia,‘ a dramatic form of dance performance by the Jasmin Vardimon Company, appeals to a diverse audience including dance fans, amateur sleuths and budding investigative reporters.
The sharp-edged action combines music, dance and dramatic reconstruction to provide a close examination of our justice system, through a film-like replay of events behind a multi faceted crime story.
This athletic and highly physical piece of theatre is thought provoking and highly entertaining.
Laban Theatre, Creekside, SE8 3DZ. Station: Deptford. Time: 7.30pm. Prices: £15; concessions £10. www.laban.org
Friday: Goldsmiths Sinfonia Concert ‘Between Modernism and Socialist Realism’
This event, originally planned for December, was cancelled due to snow. Somewhat surprising for a concert celebrating Russian music! But music lovers will now be rewarded for their patience…
This Goldsmiths Sinfonia Concert features music by Mossolov, Khachaturian and Shostakovich’s Symphony No 9.
The Ninth was composed to celebrate Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. Shostakovich had secretly written a hidden caricature of ‘Socialist Realist‘ theory and eventually the piece was banned in the Soviet Union from 1945 to 1955 for ‘ideological weakness.’
Enjoy this marvelous symphony and marvel at the Grand Hall’s pitch-perfect acoustics.
The Great Hall, Goldsmiths College. SE14 6NW. Station: New Cross or New Cross Gate. Time: 7.30pm. Prices: £4-£7. www.gold.ac.uk/music
Photo from Flickr by Ewan Munro
Saturday: ‘La Chapelle’ Restaurant
This week ‘La Chapelle’ is one of two restaurants along the East London Lines to receive a Michelin star for the first time. So there’s never been a better time to sample the restaurant chosen by renowned food critic Giles Coren to host his wedding celebration.
The restaurant specialises in meat dishes cooked to perfection, and it’s no bad idea to follow Coren’s recommendations. So try the cote de boeuf, rounded off with chocolate tart for dessert.
For those on a tighter budget, the ‘Cafe a Vin’ at the same location, boasts the ‘Bib Gourmand,’ a Michelin inspector’s favourite for good value. The menu features a range of robust French classics, including duck confit and roast fillet of sea bream. Just make sure you leave room for the wonderfully fluffy and sumptuous ‘Oeuf a la neige.‘
35 Spital Square, London. E1 6DY. Reservations: 020 7299 0400. Station: Shoreditch High Street. Opening Hours: Lunch Mon-Sat 12noon – 2.30pm (last orders.) Dinner Mon-Sat 6pm – 10.30pm (last orders); Sun 6pm – 9.30pm. Set Menu: Three courses from £25.50 (lunch) and dinner (6.00pm – 7.00pm only) £29.50. www.galvinrestaurants.com
Photo: Horniman Museum
Sunday: ‘First Time Out’ Exhibition, Horniman Museum
The Horniman Museum is offering an opportunity to view unique objects from leading museum collections that have never been seen in public until now.
The first object, on display until 6th March, is a dance paddle from Easter Island. As the island’s population was already very small in the 19th century, these paddles are remarkably rare. They are believed to have been used in dance ceremonies and may have been inserted into the ground to encourage the fertility of the land.
Future exhibits will include Livingstone’s Medicine Chest, as well as a Japanese xylarium bearing the seal of Chikusai Kato.
100 London Road, Forest Hill. SE23 3PQ. Station: Forest Hill. Opening Times: Daily 10.30am – 5.30pm from 20th January until 6th March 2011, four further exhibits to come later in the year. Free Entry. www.horniman.ac.uk
Photo supplied by Viajante
Monday: Viajante Restaurant
Viajante is rapidly gaining recognition as one of the most exciting restaurants in the capital. Since opening in March 2010, the restaurant, located at the Town Hall Hotel, has claimed the Remy Martin VSOP Award for ‘best-rated newcomer’ and this week was rewarded with a Michelin star.
Viajante means ‘traveller’ in Spanish, and here you embark on a culinary journey of discovery in the care of acclaimed chef Nuno Mendes. There’s no menu and instead you’ll enjoy a procession of tasting dishes from the spectacular open kitchen.
Whilst we don’t want to spoil the fun and sense of occasion, you may be fortunate enough to sample squid tartare, lemon sole with mustard gnocchi as well as tender pork and prawns with deep fried capers.
Patriot Square, Bethnal Green. E2 9NF. Reservations: 020 7871 0461. Station: Bethnal Green or Cambridge Heath. Opening Times: Lunch 12.00noon – 2.00pm; dinner 6.00pm – 9.30pm. Set Menu: Three tasting dishes from £28 for lunch; six courses from £65 for dinner. www.viajante.co.uk
Photo: Flickr by Steve Smith
Tuesday: Learn Salsa with Mandacaru Dance Theatre, Horniman Museum
Love the music and rhythm of salsa? Then it’s not too late to join this energetic and heart stomping 10-week course for beginners, which started on 18th January.
This represents a wonderful chance to meet up with fellow enthusiasts, dance in those snazzy new heels and get rid of any winter flab. There’s even a tango class later in the evening for the very keen!
You couldn’t be in better hands… the Mandacaru Dance Theatre is a leading Latin American dance company, specialising in samba, salsa and Argentinian tango.
100 London Road, Forest Hill. SE23 3PQ. Further Information: 020 8699 1872 and ask for extension 129. Station: Forest Hill. Times: Tuesdays from 6.30pm to 7.30pm for 9 weeks. Price: £50 for all remaining sessions. www.horniman.ac.uk/events/dance.php
Photo supplied by the Brickhouse
Wednesday: Cirque des Ombres
Cabaret is back in vogue in London and the unorthodox ‘Cirque des Ombres’ is a great choice for those seeking an edgy, highly alternative show, which admits to being ‘in your face.’
The show features Preacher Muad’dib, who holds multiple world records for doing crazy things, including balancing a lawnmower on his chin, which you’ll experience up close.
Get ready to be shocked and enjoy the comedy, burlesque, singing, and fire-breathing.The Brickhouse is a supper club so you can book for dinner too.
152c Brick Lane, London. E1 6RU. Reservations: 020 7247 0005. Station: Liverpool Street. Times: Dining from 7.00pm; show from 9.00pm until Sat 5th March 2011. Price: From £9.25 (show only) to £35 (including four-course dinner); www.thebrickhouse.co.uk
