Festivities in town

11 April 2012

Pick of The Night

Cinderella: English National Ballet
7.30pm, Hammersmith Apollo £25-£45. Tube: Hammersmith Michael Corder's shimmering production of the fairy-tale ballet restores charm and wonder to the traditional tale. Drawing on Russian traditions, he loses the pantomime aspects familiar to a British audience - no pumpkins, mice or dames in drag - allowing Prokofiev's exquisite music to draw out the searing emotion at the heart of the story. This will prove a magical experience for ballet novices and seasoned fans alike.

Film

Belleville Rendez-Vous
5.10, 7.10, 9.10, Odeon Wardour Street, W1. £7.50, £5.50 concs. Tube: Leicester Square. It's your last chance to catch this magnificent film on the big screen. Sylvain Chomet's unique style of animation vividly draws out all humour and emotion from the bizarre storyline.

The Cuckoo
Across London. Finland 1944: a Finnish sniper, a Russian captain and a pretty Lapp woman are thrown together without a common language or cause. Wonderful redemptive psychological drama.

The Hour of the Furnaces
6pm, NFT2, SE1. £7.50, £5.70 concs. Tube: Waterloo. Part of the NFT's radical 1968 season, this Argentinian documentary marks an explosive marriage of avant-garde aesthetics and politics. Essential ballast for anyone who enjoyed Evita.

Thirteen
Across London. Phone cinemas for details. Take an uncompromising teen-drama (sex, drugs, piercings), lower the age of the protagonists and watch the controversy stir: with Nikki Reed (above) and Holly Hunter as a beleaguered alcoholic mother.

Music

Jose Carreras
7.30pm, Royal Albert Hall, SW7. £25-£95. Tube: South Kensington. The pint-sized tenor gives his annual Christmas concert, aided by the City of London Choir and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.

Fleetwood Mac
7.30, Earls Court Exhibition Centre, SW5. £30-£75. Tube: Earl's Court. With their first album for 16 years in the pipeline, pop's travelling soap opera comes to town. A classy affair.

Michael Bublé
8.30pm, Ronnie Scott's, W1. £20-25 (£15-£20 members). Tube: Tottenham Court Road. The Canadian crooner has a week's residency at Ronnie Scott's. One of jazz's hot young things.

Comedy & Cabaret

Medium Rare
7.30pm, Gainsborough studios, N1. £50 (including dinner and drinks). Tube: Old Street.
Avant-garde cabaret, live music, post-modern striptease (whatever that is), tap dancing, ventriloquism and The Bastard Son of Tommy Cooper. Well worth the cover.

Comedy Cabaret
8pm, The Intrepid Fox, W1. £5. Tube: Piccadilly Circus. If you think you can make people laugh, try a spot at this anything goes open mic (acts should sign up at 7pm). A great place to experiment, or be amused by other hopefuls.

Events

Bill Brandt: Nude
Until 6pm, Focus Gallery, Percy Street, W1. FREE! Tube: Goodge Street. Marking the centenary of the groundbreaking photographer's birth, this exhibition compiles his intriguing work on the human body.

Late Night Shopping at the National Gallery
Until 9pm, WC2. Tube: Charing Cross. The Gallery is open late on Wednesdays, with classical music and a splendid gift shop with handmade decorations, traditional toys alongside the art-books and prints.

Late Night Shopping at Harvey Nicks
Until 8pm, 109-125 Knightsbridge, SW1. Tube: Knightsbridge. Pop in to the chic store after work for absolutely fabulous gift ideas. The restaurant takes last orders at 11pm, so you can dine, having stocked up on designer gifts.

Shows

Messiah: Scenes From a Crucifixion
8pm, Old Vic, SE1. £10-£30. Tube: Waterloo. Greg Hicks appears as Jesus and director Stephen Berkoff is a natural as Satan in this provocative reworking of the good book, which recasts Christ as a political revolutionary.

Bombay Dreams
7.45pm, Apollo Victoria Theatre, SW1. £14-£40, Tube: Victoria.
The story is more Hollywood than Bollywood, but spectacular dancing, below, wins the day. Great fun.

The Snowman
Peacock Theatre, WC2, £12.50-£15. Tube: Holborn Fast becoming a regular on the seasonal stage. Featuring real snow and a flying boy, this is a perfect evening for kids aged four to 84. Still some tickets for tonight's preview.

Food & Drink

Axis Restaurant & Bar
One Aldwych, WC2. £100 for two plus wine. Tube: Covent Garden.
Part of the swanky One Aldwych hotel. Live jazz on Tuesdays and Wednesdays complements the classy climes and excellent food. Worth the price.

Saxs
14-16 Fouberts Place, W1. £90 for two plus wine. Tube: Oxford Circus. Formerly Attica, this joint's decor still exudes its brutal Eighties charm, the food remains exquisite and the staff are usually friendly. This month diners get free entry to the club (Weds-Sat), normally £20.

Blend
1a Shorts Gardens, WC2. Tube: Covent Garden. A pleasing style bar with friendly staff, cool beats and a dazzling range of spirits. The staff are unpretentious and friendly, and the food is tasty modern English.

Clubs

Swerve
10pm-3am, The End. £5/£6. Tube: Tottenham Court Road/Holborn. Sleek beats from Fabio in the midweek D 'n' B rinse at the designer club.

Death Disco
6pm-1am, Notting Hill Arts Club. FREE before 8pm, then £5. Tube: Notting Hill Gate. Oasis svengali Alan McGee's weekly rock 'n' roll/punk night. With bruising tunes and live acts.

Staying in

Too Much Too Young
11pm-3am, The Metro Club, W1. £3/£2. Tube: Tottenham Court Road. The only ska-punk night in town, headed by DJs Urchin, Tony (Club X) and Ross. Good knees up.

DVD Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
A strangely machine-like man with a funny accent, below, gives rise to apocalyptic visions of the future - no, it's not the Californian elections, but the final instalment in the techno trilogy, with stunning special effects.

... And for Free

Paintings Galleries
Until 10pm, Victoria and Albert Museum, SW7 FREE! Tube: South Kensington.

The V&A extends its opening hours Wednesday nights, so why not peruse the newly refurbished picture gallery after work? Featuring Constable, Turner, Blake among others ... with not a transvestite potter in sight.

For one night only

The Gogol Bordello
7.30pm, The Garage, N5. £8.50. Tube: Highbury and Islington.
From the Ukraine via Manhattan, the Bordello tout a unique Slavic folk liquidised into vaudeville punk. Singer Eugene has a deranged genius for firing up an audience, backed by accordions, fiddles, go-go dancers and a big bass drum (which he is wont to use for crowd surfing). The closest you'll get to a night out in St Petersburg's red-light district circa 1835.

020 7607 1818

MORE ABOUT

Ballet

Earls Court

English National Ballet

Finland

Fleetwood Mac

Hammersmith Apollo

Kensington And Chelsea

Leicester Square

Tottenham

Festivities in town

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