Harald Sohlberg, Street in Roros in Winter, 1903, The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Norway
Christian Dior is the Designer of Dreams at the V&A in February 2019, Gillian Anderson and Lily James co-star in All About Eve and legendary British photographer Sir Don McCullin is at Tate Britain.
The last surviving tea clipper and the fastest ship of its time, the Cutty Sark marks its 150th anniversary in 2019. A whole range of special events has been planned to celebrate the landmark birthday, starting in February 2019 and running throughout the year. These include concerts, theatre and poetry performances relating to her impressive career, her Victorian maritime heritage and historic connections to China, Australia and the rest of the world.
The largest and most comprehensive exhibition ever staged in the UK on the House of Dior, Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams displays over 500 objects and 200 rare Haute Couture garments. It's the biggest fashion exhibition staged at the Victoria and Albert Museum since Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty in 2015. Haute couture gowns, accessories, fashion photography, film, perfume, make-up, illustrations and magazines will be shown alongside Christian Dior's personal possessions to explore the legacy of the couturier. Spanning from 1947 to the present day, the exhibition traces the history and impact of one of the 20th century's most influential designers, and the six artistic directors who have succeeded him. Based on the major exhibition Christian Dior: Couturier du Reve, organised by the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, the exhibition has been reimagined for the V&A, and includes a brand new section exploring the designer's influence in Britain.
This February, Gillian Anderson and Lily James will star in a stage version of All About Eve. Directed by Ivo van Hove, the major production will be staged at the Noel Coward Theatre for a limited run. The iconic 1950s film - based on Mary Orr's original play The Wisdom of Eve - was nominated for 14 Oscars and remains the only film to receive four female acting nominations. Joining Anderson and James in the cast will be BAFTA Award-winner Monica Dolan, Sheila Reid and Rhashan Stone. As relevant as ever, the story is an unsettling expose of the eternal obsession at the heart of show business, asking why our fascination with celebrity, youth and identity never gets old.
A physical performance exploring the weather in all its forms, for children aged two to five. A new weather exploration for the Unicorn by doyens of European performance Reckless Sleepers, It's Hot, It's Not sits somewhere between visual art, dance and theatre. Exploring the weather in all its forms, this surreal, funny physical performance shows how differently we experience the weather across the world. Is asks: How can it be sunny and rainy all at once? And if it's summer here, why is it winter there?
Arthur Miller's ground-breaking play, The American Clock, comes to The Old Vic this February. Presented by visionary director Rachel Chavkin - known for the Hadestown musical - the production will attempt to introduce a new audience to one of Miller's lesser-known plays. Set in 1929 New York, following the stock market crash, the play is about hope, idealism and a nation's unquestionable faith in capitalism. This production uses swing and jazz for the soundtrack as it follows one family's attempt to navigate the tumultuous times.
This February, Wyndham's Theatre presents a new adaptation of Arthur Miller's The Price as a 50th anniversary celebration of the work. Directed by Jonathan Church, the production will see David Suchet reprise his role as Gregory Solomon while Brendan Coyle, Adrian Lukis and Sara Stewart will also be on the cast. The compelling drama tells the story of an unexpected reunion between two brothers during the divide of their family's possessions.
Tate Britain presents a comprehensive retrospective of legendary British photographer Don McCullin with a display of his most powerful images from the past 60 years. Following the publication of his photograph of a local gang, McCullin went on to become the UK's foremost war photographer, with his work featuring primarily in the Sunday Times Magazine. This display of more than 250 photographs, all of which have been printed by McCullin himself in his own darkroom, the exhibition includes images from Vietnam, Northern Ireland, Syria and his home in England, focusing on working class life in London's East End.
Directed by Genesis Award Winner Lekan Lawal, April De Angelis' Wild East is staged at the Young Vic in 2019 as part of Kwame Kwei-Armah's first season as artistic director. Putting comedy into one of the most sterile settings possible, the play sees a nervous Frank attempt to get through a job interview with Dr Jacqueline Pitt and Dr Marcia Gray. If he succeeds, he'll secure his ticket back to Russia. But secret motivations are soon revealed and everything is being watched by the higher-ups. It's a sharp piece that examines the permeation of human chaos.
After a successful run in 2017, Justin Audibert's child-friendly version of The Winter's Tale returns to the National Theatre this February, just in time for half term. Created to introduce young audiences to Shakespeare, the production condenses the tale of forgiveness and redemption into a one-hour show, with a storyteller-in-chief offering a brief synopsis as the story unfolds to ensure everyone is following. Audiences will be able to join Perdita on a journey through magic and mayhem in a light-hearted production that's perfect for those aged 8 to 12.
Architect David Adjaye examines the idea of the monument at the Design Museum where seven of his buildings come under the spotlight. The London based British-Ghanaian architect, designer of this year's Brit Awards trophy, presents his thinking on how architecture and form are used as storytelling devices. His projects such as the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. (crowned Design of the Year 2017) and the National Cathedral of Ghana are examined, showing how Adjaye uses architecture to create monuments and memorials.
Ahead of and tying in nicely with Mary Quant (at the V&A from 6th April 2019), Swinging London: A Lifestyle Revolution presents the fashion, design and art of the Chelsea Set. At the forefront of this group of young revolutionaries were Terence Conran and, the queen of the minis herself, Mary Quant. The Fashion & Textile Museum exhibition presents this group of radical young architects, designers, photographers and artists who were redefining the concept of youth and challenging the established order in 1950s London. Through fashion, textiles, furniture, lighting, homewares, ceramics and ephemera, the exhibition explores not only the style but the socioeconomic importance of this transformative period, from 1952 to 1977.
An annual taster and a chance to dip into dance with tickets a mere £5 Sadler's Wells Sampled covers a wide variety of dance, from classical ballet to hip hop, contemporary and tango. This year's line-up includes performances from the Dresden-based Semperoper Ballett and the Richard Alston Dance Company which presents an excerpt from new work: Brahms Hungarian. Mavin Khoo is back with a solo performance, flamenco dancer Patricia Guerrero returns, Vicki Igbokwe mixes club styles with African and contemporary dance and there's another chance to see Breakin' Convention hip hop theatre company BirdGang. It's not just about the performances; come early for the full experience, including front of house performances, live DJs and workshops so you can have a go too.
Following on from the Southbank Centre's centenary exhibition last year, another Nelson Mandela Exhibition comes to London in 2019. Taking place at 26 Leake Street - a new venue in the railway arches under Waterloo station - the major new exhibition explores the life of the world's most famous freedom fighter and political leader, delving deeper into his story than any exhibition has ever gone before. The event will display many of Mandela's personal belongings, including a number of items that have never before been shown outside of South Africa.
The Poster Prize for Illustration 2019 displays 100 shortlisted competition entries as chosen by an independent panel of judges. Taking place at the London Transport Museum, the competition takes the theme of London Stories, with the illustrators instructed to create works based on characters, events and stories based on London. The stories can be fictitious, historical or mythological and familiar or unknown. They could be family anecdotes, a daily observation, or a reference to a film, play, poem or song. Just so long as London is the focal point of the narrative. The 100 pieces go on display from February 2019 and the winning images are announced during the exhibition's opening week. A special late-night event launches the exhibition on 8th February and a series of talks take place throughout the run.
Transferring from Broadway, the Waitress musical comes to the Adelphi Theatre for its UK premiere in February. The first musical to have an all-female creative team, the show is based on the film by Adrienne Shelley and tells the story of a waitress and pie maker trying to break free from an abusive relationship. When the opportunity of entering a baking contest arises, it brings the chance of a better life. The music has been written by seven-time Grammy nominee Sara Bareilles and direction come from Diane Paulus.
Stacey Dooley, Dr Ranj Singh and Joe Sugg are foxtrotting and waltzing their way across the country as Strictly Come Dancing goes on a live tour at the beginning of 2019. Strictly favourite and winner of the 2017 TV show, Ore Oduba will be hosting for a second time. He's joined by judges Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas, Dame Darcey Bussell and Bruno Tonioli, raising scorecards for celebrities and dancers from the latest series. With all the glitz, glamour and sequins you'd expect, the live show is full of the amazing choreography and incredible live music that Strictly, the TV show, is famous for. As well as enjoying the original routines and glittering costumes, arena audiences have the power to decide who wins the coveted Glitterball Trophy at the end of each show. Ultimately, you decide who wins. The tour comes to SSE Arena Wembley on 7th and 8th February and culminates with four shows at The O2 Arena on 9th and 10th February.
Director Blanche McIntyre and writer John Donnelly present a new take on Moliere's comic masterpiece, Tartuffe, at the National Theatre. A play about a man who has everything but still longs for more, the sharp comedy illustrates the lengths that we will go to in search of meaning. When the irresistible Tartuffe turns up at Orgon's door, deception and seduction soon come into play. With Orgon under Tartuffe's spell, will his family be able to outwit the unwelcome conman? This new English language version sees True Blood actor Denis O'Hare take the title role.
A stunning visual treat, this year's Orchids Festival at Kew is inspired by the biodiversity of Colombia, which is home to 4,270 species of orchids. Thousands of orchids and tropical flowers are used at the festival to create a colourful route along with a display of a carnival of animals depicting a toucan in flight, a hanging sloth and a swimming turtle. There will also be hundreds of colourful butterflies suspended from a glass ceiling. On selected evenings, you can visit the display for a series of special after dark events with music and workshops.
Paul Whitehouse and Jim Sullivan bring John Sullivan's much-loved sitcom to the London stage with Only Fools and Horses The Musical. Staged at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, it sees Tom Bennett star as Del Boy, Ryan Hutton take the role of Rodney and Paul Whitehouse play Grandad. Other familiar faces like Boycie, Trigger and Marlene will also make an appearance. The late Chas Hodges of Chas and Dave worked on the music and John Sullivan himself was working on the production when he passed back in 2011.
Join the throng in a stall-covered Chinatown for fun and firecrackers on Chinese New Year in London, one of the most spectacular celebrations in the West with over 300,000 people taking part. This year, the Year of the Pig, the London celebrations take place on 10th February 2019, the Sunday following the date of the Chinese New Year on 5th February. It begins with a dragon and lion dance and a parade of 30 teams which snakes its way from Charing Cross Road via Shaftesbury Avenue through Chinatown. An official opening ceremony takes place in Trafalgar Square with speeches from special guests and entertainment by artists from China. More live entertainment can be found on the many stages set up around Chinatown including a martial arts and cultural zone at Shaftesbury Avenue where DJs and taekwondo demonstrations add to the festival fun. In Chinatown you'll also find lion dancing, craft stalls, Chinese zodiac animals and plenty of places to stop off for a dim sum feast.
Karen Kamensek conducts a revival of Phelim McDermott's Olivier Award-winning 2016 production of Philip Glass's opera set in ancient Egypt. Book in for "an evening of high seriousness, luxuriant in hieratic beauty, musical prowess and, at times, astonishing theatre" - The Guardian. It matters little that it's sung in Egyptian, Hebrew and Akkadian with no surtitles - "so suggestive is the music and production, the meaning is always clear" (Culture Whisper).
Addressing issues of colonialism, domination and politics, leading international artist Kader Attia explores the ways in which Western societies represent and engage with non-Western cultures. The Hayward Gallery gathers his multimedia works created over the past two decades for The Museum of Emotion. Attia, who was born in 1970 in France, grew up between the suburbs of Paris and Algeria and takes this experience of living as a part of two different cultures as a starting point. At the core of the exhibition is a key group of artworks exploring the idea of repair as both a physical and symbolic act, drawing on Attia's extensive research and personal exchanges with traditional healers, psychoanalysts, surgeons and traumatised individuals.
Close to 100 photographs on view at the Hayward Gallery's Upper Galleries offer an in-depth look at the formative first half of Diane Arbus' career. The early years, from 1956 to 1962, were when the American master developed the direct, psychologically acute style for which she later became so widely celebrated. This solo show includes some fifty photographs which have never been shown in Europe, vintage prints from the Diane Arbus Archive at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. From couples and children to carnival performers and strippers, her subjects cross the spectrum of American society.
Keeping kids entertained over the February half-term, the Imagine Children's Festival delivers 12 days of family fun for 0-12 year olds. Head to the Southbank Centre for a fun sing-along screening of We're Going on a Bear Hunt with a live soundtrack from the City of London Sinfonia, theatrical pirate adventure with Captain Flinn: The Magic Cutlass and a magical musical based on The Singing Mermaid by acclaimed puppeteers from the Little Angel Theatre. The Kids Takeover returns for another year, giving children the chance to get involved, and - best of all - over fifty per cent of the programme is free.
Dulwich Picture Gallery presents the first-ever exhibition outside of Norway of Harald Sohlberg, one of the best landscape artists in the history of Norwegian art. Coinciding with the 150th anniversary of Sohlberg's birth, Harald Sohlberg: Painting Norway brings together a collection of more than 90 works, including archive material, in order to showcase the importance of colour and symbolism in his art, along with his lifelong passion for the Nordic landscape. One of his most famous pieces, Fisherman's Cottage (1906), will be shown alongside self-portraits and works covering the breadth of his career.
Ealing Music and Film Festival returns in February 2019 for its seventh year with a series of concerts and events across Ealing. A celebration of Ealing's cultural heritage, it covers an array of music from classical to blues alongside an eclectic film line-up. Events include a free lunchtime concert from pianist Emilie Capulet at St Mary's Church; a show from the London Mozart Players at Weston Hall; and afternoon concerts from the Love2sing Choir and students from the London College of Music at the University of West London.
After a sold-out run, Follies, winner of the Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival in 2018, returns to the National Theatre in 2019. Joanna Riding takes the place of Imelda Staunton starring alongside Alexander Hanson while Janie Dee and Peter Forbes reprise their roles. This dazzling production of Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman's musical - "showbiz stunner returns in breathtaking style" ran the five star Guardian review - features a cast of 37 and an orchestra of 21. The "jaw-droppingly great" (Independent) musical is set in 1971 in New York. Thirty years after their final performance, the Follies showgirls gather in a Broadway theatre, due for demolition, to have a few drinks, sing a few songs and lie about themselves. Classic songs as Broadway Baby, I'm Still Here and Losing My Mind are part of the appeal in this A-list production directed by Dominic Cooke.
"Gerry Adams has disguised himself as a new-born baby and successfully infiltrated my family home." Belfast Loyalist Eric Miller believes his five-week-old granddaughter is Gerry Adams. His family urge him to stop living in the past and fighting old battles that nobody cares about anymore but his cultural heritage is under siege and he must act. David Ireland's Cyprus Avenue at the Royal Court Theatre is the story of one man struggling with the past and terrified of the future. The production returns to the theatre following its original sold-out run back in 2016.
Following his success with The Motherfucker with the Hat at the National Theatre back in 2015, Stephen Adly Guirgis returns to London with a revival of his 2000 play, Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, at the Young Vic. Part of artistic director Kwame Kwei-Armah's first season at the theatre, this revival will see Kate Hewitt take over from Philip Seymour Hoffman as director. Set inside the lockdown wing of Rikers Island prison, the critically-acclaimed dark comedy focuses on the American justice system and the contradictory nature of faith.
A "fantastical folly of a show" (Evening Standard), Carlos Acosta's Don Quixote, his first major production for the Royal Ballet, receives its second revival six years after it premiered here at the Royal Opera House despite some mixed reviews - "There have been far better versions of this classic ballet than Carlos Acosta's new one," wrote Louise Levene in The Telegraph. The Evening Standard found the whole production to be, "an enjoyable and exuberant three hours" where "even the lame comedy gets a laugh". Set designer Tim Hatley (Spamalot, Shrek, Ghosts) has only partial success in bringing Barcelona to the stage; "too many windmills for comfort" for the Financial Times reviewer, while Debra Craine in The Times found the sliding houses "just annoying" but was more impressed with the set and the costumes, describing the tavern in Act III as "gorgeous".
More than 60 years on from its groundbreaking 1956 exhibition, This is Tomorrow, the Whitechapel Gallery asks, Is This Tomorrow? Taking the 1950s exhibition as its model, this current display of ten installations shows visions of the future, collaborations between over 30 leading architects and artists. The ground floor room reveals sheep pens put together by 6a architects and artist Amalia Pica, the iron bar corridors a comment on boundaries between humans and animal. Boundaries are a theme too for Farshid Moussavi and Zineb Sedira whose installation upstairs is a series of full length security gates, movement through them triggers beeps, instructions and birdsong. It sits next to our favourite piece in the exhibition, David Kohn Architects and Simon Fujiwara's Salvator Mundi Experience. Enter into the middle of the model for an intimate, one-to-one view which recreates, in miniature, a museum dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi, the 'male Mona Lisa' and the most expensive painting in the world. Imagining the future of the consumption of art, the museum comes complete with auction room, gift shop and a selfie station.
More than 50 LEGO models are brought together at the Horniman Museum for the new Brick Wonders exhibition. Visitors will be able to tour the world via LEGO with depictions of an ancient Egyptian pyramid, a tropical coral reef, an international space station and Old London Bridge. As well as the large-scale models, there will be individual pieces created to inspired visitors to build something similar at home along with a number of interactive play areas where visitors can get hands-on with a graffiti wall, a tower-building challenge and a magnetic mosaic puzzle.
Avant-garde theatre quartet 1927 bring their show, The Animals and Children Took to the Streets, to the Lyric Hammersmith this winter following sell-out runs at the National Theatre back in 2011 and 2014. Created by the company's co-founders, poet Suzanne Andrade and film-maker Paul Barritt, the show is set in a stinking tenement block and uses live music, performance and storytelling, film and animation to create a wonderfully original piece of theatre reminiscent of the early black and white Buster Keaton films. Riddled with animated cockroaches who crawl over the actors, it's as if the actors are trapped in the animations. "The show feels like a heady mix of Berlin cabaret, silent movie and social commentary," said Michael Billington in The Guardian, reviewing The Animals and Children... when it appeared at the National's Cottesloe in 2011. Age guidance: 11 years and above.
Before going on tour across the country, the world premiere of Eve Leigh's The Trick comes to the Bush Theatre this February. Directed by Roy Alexander Weise, who was shortlisted for the Evening Standard Emerging Talent Award 2018, the new play explores the world of loss and ageing, delving into the realities of getting older. Since losing her husband, Jonah, seven months ago, Mira has struggled to move on and, despite knowing that she should be looking to the future, she can't help but lose interest in the world outside.
Small is beautiful and nowhere more so than at this National Portrait Gallery display, the first major exhibition on Tudor and Jacobean portrait miniatures in the UK for over 35 years. Showcasing the most skilled artists of the period, Nicholas Hilliard and French born Isaac Oliver, Elizabethan Treasures includes portraits of Elizabeth I, Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Francis Drake. Regarded as an art form at which the English excelled, these exquisite miniatures contain clues about identity, society and visual culture in Elizabethan and Jacobean England. Used as a means of showing favour, loyalty and expressing close relationships the small paintings could be worn as a necklace, pinned to clothing or secretly concealed as a token of friendship, patronage or love.
20 years since 'You've Come A long Way Baby', 17 years after the infamous Big Beach Brighton, the world-famous DJ, real name Norman Cook, brings the best party he can to six UK cities, kicking off at The SSE Arena, Wembley. Fatboy Slim's immersive In the Round Show turns the west London arena into a massive night club. In fact, this will be the biggest capacity DJ event to ever be held at Wembley Arena. Expect a big production, a revolving stage, rave ushers and a live smiley face.
A festival dedicated to the increasing interest and innovation in the beer industry in the UK, Craft Beer Rising returns to The Old Truman Brewery this February. The annual event is the UK's biggest craft beer festival, bringing together over 155 UK and international brewers, some of London's finest street food and music to dance to. Breweries taking part include Brewdog, London Fields Brewery, Mondo, Tiny Rebel and Fourpour along with Brooklyn Brewery and Goose Island from the States. All-female brewery Mothership will also be launching and exhibiting their first brews. The festival's speakers programme has been curated by beer expert Melissa Cole and will focus on topics such as ethics and equality in brewing and emerging trends and markets in the industry.
X Factor online host Becca Dudley presents the pop tour which features the eight quarter finalists from last year's show. Just like the ITV show, there are winners but the difference with The X Factor Live Tour is that the audience chooses the outfit to get the coveted top spot. The line up includes Dalton Harris, who had three of his songs enter the iTunes Top 30 during the live shows, Anthony Russell whose rendition of Eye of the Tiger was the stand out performance of Movie Week, Scarlett Lee and Brendan Murray, whose performance at the judge's house brought tears to Nile Rodgers' eyes. Acacia & Aaliyah, the youngest act in the competition, inspirational singer and rapper Bella Penfold, Shan Ako and Northern singing powerhouse Danny Tetley complete the live tour line-up.
Using cardboard, cement and plaster British sculptor Phyllida Barlow, who was awarded a CBE for services to art in the 2016 New Year's Honours list, transforms the recently opened Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Galleries at the Royal Academy of Arts with her colourful, large-scale installations. Spread across all three of the classical galleries, these monumental works challenge our perception of the architecture. By using everyday, inexpensive materials far removed from those traditionally associated with sculpture, her work is striking in its modernity.
The first revival of Jan Philipp Gloger's production of Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, nominated for Best New Opera Production at the 2017 Laurence Olivier Awards. Mozart's exploration of fidelity and faithfulness is brought to the Royal Opera House, with internationally renowned British baritone Thomas Allen performing the role of the philosopher, Don Alfonso, for which he is celebrated worldwide, nearly 50 years after his 1971 Covent Garden debut. He is joined by Italian tenor Paolo Fanale as Ferrando, Hungarian-Romanian baritone Gyula Orendt as Guglielmo, the two men who decide to test their fiances' fidelity.
Find out how friends were selected, collected and put on display before the digital era in the free Friendship Before Facebook display within the British Library's permanent exhibition, The Sir John Ritblat Gallery: Treasures of the British Library. It just goes to show, things weren't so different 500 years ago. Before pocket-sized phones people living between the 16th and 19th centuries had miniature paintings and portable friendship albums and in place of 'likes' on 'influencers' there were celebrity autographs.
From Orange is the New Black to Bad Girls, female prison dramas continue to fascinate, but Inside Bitch at the Royal Court Theatre has one up on them - it has been devised by women who have actually been to prison. Created by Clean Break Theatre, which was established by two women prisoners in 1971 and continues to work in female prisons today, the show is a playful subversion of the representation of women in prison and shows how things aren't quite as they as shown on TV.
ER actress Alex Kingston and Miranda favourite Sarah Hadland star in Admissions as Daniel Aukin directs the West End transfer of the New York staging of Joshua Harmon's biting comedy about the Head of Admissions at a private school. Sherri (Alex Kingston), the Head of Admissions, faces an uphill struggle to diversify the student intake. When her son is deferred from his university of choice, and his best friend - who 'ticks more boxes' - is accepted, Sherri's personal ambition collides with her progressive values. Bitingly funny new comedy from the writer of acclaimed hit Bad Jews.