What To Do This Weekend, From St Patrick’s Day Parades To One-Woman Shows

Immerse yourself in The Greatest Night of the Jazz Age 

You’re invited to travel back in time to 1930s New York and experience the Opening Night of Belle Livingstone’s 58th Street Country Club – the last and greatest of Manhattan’s Prohibition-era supper clubs. 

Set in 1930, in the last wild days of the Jazz Age, the experience follows one-time socialite, showgirl and Moonshine entrepreneur, Belle Livingstone as she opens her final and most debaucherous nightclub – The 58th Street Country Club. Fuelled by bourbon and jazz, the club is a playground for Hollywood Queens, Harlem Kings and Park Avenue Tycoons. That is, until it gets raided by Federal agents on opening night, never to open again. 

Conjured through brilliant theatrical performances, wild dance, stunning sets, and a New York-inspired feast, this raucous true story of jazz and desire is the London experience you can’t miss out on.

Have life-changing conversations at WOW Festival

Having reached three million people across six continents, the WOW festival is the world’s biggest festival celebrating women, girls and non-binary people. This year’s WOW London festival takes place this weekend, providing three days of life-changing conversations, performances and interactive workshops. 

Some sections are ticketed, however some are completely free for all to join. Expect panels discussing everything from sex to politics, grandmotherdom to divorce, childlessness to career changes.

Get inspired at the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2023 exhibit

Bringing together work from four international shortlisted artists is the Photographers’ Gallery’s latest exhibition. Bieke Depoorter, Samuel Fosso, Arthur Jafa and Frida Orupabo have all been recognised to push the boundaries of photography. See their work come to life at this special retrospective exhibition on display until June 11th. 

Bieke Depoorter’s work explores the complexity between ethical relationships and boundaries between photographer and subject, while Samuel Fosso’s work draws on West African traditions of studio portraiture. Arthur Jafa’s work articulates the Black experience and Frida Orupabo’s touches upon the historical Black female body through multi-layered collages and Instagram posts. 

See Sheridan Smith in the one-woman show, Shirley Valentine 

The ultimate Mother’s Day treat, book yourself in for the theatre adaptation of Lewis Gilbert’s 1989 film Shirley Valentine. 

Starring multi-award-winning actress Sheridan Smith (The Teacher, Cilla), this one-woman show has been brought to life by Willy Russell, winning him his third Olivier Award. Fall back in love with the life-affirming story that sees a woman who is lost in marriage and motherhood buy a one-way ticket to Greece. 

Catch March’s must-see exhibition, The Queen and her Corgis 

Britain’s longest-serving monarch is celebrated in a brand new exhibition opening this month. Titled The Queen and her Corgis, it’s no secret what the subject of this one is about. It takes a look at some of the photographs from Queen Elizabeth’s reign and the corgis who were always in tow alongside her. 

This collection coincides with The Wallace Collection’s major exhibition, Portraits of Dogs: From Gainsborough to Hockney, a unique look at the relationship between dogs and humans. Opening on March 28th, expect plenty of pooch portraits to explore, showcasing different canines from breeds to shapes and sizes. Find out more about The Queen and her Corgis here.

Tuck into tasty dishes at this Vietnamese pop-up

Taking over winebar Oranj this month will be New York-born Vietnamese food pop-up, Ha’s Đặc Biệt. 

The month-long pop-up will see the team cooking up a full Vietnamese feast, from oyster with green chilli nuoc mam to five spice chicken liver pate on toast, rump steak tartare with kumquat nuoc mam and toasted rice to half lobster slathered with tamarind butter and served with new potatoes.

Love this? Check out London’s best Vietnamese restaurants.

Celebrate St Patrick’s Day early with the parade

Get your St Patrick’s Day celebrations in early courtesy of the giant parade that takes place across the city. Taking over Trafalgar Square, expect a true celebration of all things Irish, from the culture and arts to food and music. 

More than 50,000 people are expected to join the annual procession, complete with marching bands, dance troupes and pageantry. 

The parade starts at Hyde Park Corner, travelling through Piccadilly, St James’s Street, Pall Mall, Cockspur Street and Whitehall.

Try your hand at flower arranging

Always wanted to try your hand at flower arranging? We’ve put together a guide of London’s top eight flower arrangement classes worth trying this Mother’s Day and beyond. 

From learning how to condition your flowers at The Flower Appreciation Society to Mother’s Day special workshops at Petersham Nurseries, these are our favourites.

Explore the major exhibition by Peter Doig

This weekend explore the new major exhibition of new and recent works by Peter Doig following their move from Trinidad to London in 2021. 

On display at The Courtauld Gallery, The Morgan Stanley Exhibition: Peter Doig captures this new chapter in the artist’s career, exploring a variety of places, people, memories and ways of painting.