‘Hundreds of outdoor drinkers’: City PM’s Pub of the Week is The Wren on Watling Street February 18, 2026 If you’re looking for a man in finance, go to TikTok, where videos streamed millions of times tell you to go to Watling Street. It’s the skinny lane with St Paul’s Cathedral at the end and four pubs along it, where in the summer hundreds tightly pack with al fresco pints. Ye Olde Watling, where [...]
Fascinating Wimbledon exhibition reveals players drank champagne on court February 18, 2026 Suzanne Lenglen was the Serena Williams of her day. It was the Roaring Twenties and the six-time Wimbledon women’s singles champion was practically unbeatable. How? In breaks between games, she would neck champagne or cognac, passed to her by either her father or her coach. She gave it up once but then went back to [...]
Dracula review: Cynthia Erivo is overwhelmed in tech-heavy production February 17, 2026 Dracula review and star rating: ★★ How much further can this trend for incorporating live video in theatre productions go? In Kip Williams’ adaptation of Dracula, it is often not like being in the theatre at all. Far too often it feels like watching a film at the cinema, with giant video screens playing pre-recorded [...]
Bond girl Maryam d’Abo is ‘compelling’ in new London play February 17, 2026 Spanish Oranges review and star rating: ★★★★ “Those legs of yours,” purrs Jay Villers’ Ivo to his wife Fiona in the new play Spanish Oranges. For the actor Maryam d’Abo, who played opposite Timothy Dalton’s Bond in The Living Daylights, it’s another decade, another man with emotional issues as she takes on her first stage [...]
BFI Flare 2026 announces full line-up, from Heartstopper to Russell T Davies February 17, 2026 BFI Flare 2026 runs from 189 – 29 March at BFI Southbank The UK’s dedicated LGBTQ film festival BFI Flare has announced its full line-up for 2026, the year in which the event celebrates its 40th birthday. BFI Flare features world premieres of the latest LGBTQ cinema, as well as talks, events and workshops for [...]
Harry Styles will curate Meltdown music festival in London this summer February 16, 2026 Harry Styles has a busy London summer ahead of him. Having already put on sale a 12-night run at Wembley Stadium, the musician has announced that he’ll curate an entire music festival in the capital. The Meltdown festival takes place at the Southbank Centre between 11 – 21 June and celebrates a wide array of [...]
Shadowlands theatre review: Hugh Bonneville grips in grief drama February 16, 2026 Shadowlands theatre review and star rating: ★★★★ There are ample ways to soak up the Paddington movie franchise live in the capital right now. If you’re not going to listen to songs about “M-M-M-M-Marmalade” at Paddington the Musical, then why not invest in Hugh Bonneville, who returns to the London stage for the first time [...]
Meet the Bond girl who refused to be objectified February 12, 2026 Maryam d’Abo’s leading role as Bond girl Kara Milvoy in 1987’s The Living Daylights marked the beginning of a feminist turning point for 007. But after it, d’Abo was offered “demeaning” roles in Hollywood. She turned away from those to forge an artistic path uncharacteristic for Bond girls of her era. She returns to the [...]
Wuthering Heights is a bodice-ripper for the OnlyFans generation February 9, 2026 Wuthering Heights | Dir. Emerald Fennell | ★★★★★ Saltburn director Emerald Fennell sets out her stall in the opening seconds of her “Wuthering Heights”. We hear rhythmic grunting over a blank screen. But these aren’t the sounds of copulation, rather those of a man being hanged by the neck before a baying crowd, the scene [...]
Valentine’s Day 2026: 7 amazing things to do in London February 9, 2026 Whether you’re looking for a romantic evening with a partner, to meet a new love interest on a first date or to avoid the narrative entirely by spending a platonic evening with friends, Valentine’s Day is unavoidably big news. Last year, Brits spent nearly £1billion on smushy declarations of love. If you’re in the market [...]
