Speaking for Ourselves

Events in London

» Whats On

14/04/2025

Events in London

Talks and discussions

Tuesday 16 September

* The New Censorship: When the War on the Media Meets War, Ayala Panievsky, Arwa Damon, James Rodgers, 7 - 8:30pm, from £7.13, Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, W2 1Qj. Info: Frontline

* The Guardian’s climate assembly, George Monbiot, Mikaela Loach, Emma Pinchbeck, Feargal Sharkey, in person or livestream, 7.30-9pm, £20-£39.99, Friends House, 173-177 Euston Road NW1 2BJ. Info: The Guardian

* Social and humanitarian assistance in crises: agendas, ambitions and aspirations for more effective intervention, Paul Harvey, Rachel Sabates-Wheeler, Jeremy Lind, Rachel Slater, 9:45-10:45am, Info: Institute of Development Studies

* Weathering the Storm: Making the case for social protection in crises, 3.45-4.45pm. Info: Institute of Development Studies

Wednesday 17 September

* Innovation Under Fire: Support for Child Amputees, Edward Hall, Shehan Hettiaratchy, Dave Henson, Sarra Ghazi, Stuart Croxford, 7-9pm, £16.96, Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place W2 1QJ. Info: LSN Group

* Authoritarian Legacies and Popular Support for State Violence: A Multi-Method Analysis of The Philippine Case, Imelda Deinla, Dwayne Antojado, Kingsley Abbott, Chao-yo Cheng, Mai Sato, 6-8pm, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, Senate House, Malet Street, WC1E 7HU. Info: ICS

* Protecting the gains: how social protection can support livelihoods and growth in crises, panel discussion, 2-3pm. Info: Institute of Development Studies

Thursday September 18

* Reporting Afghanistan with Lyse Doucet, 7pm, from £6.13, Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, W2 1QJ. Info: Frontline

* Lessons from Guantánamo Bay, Clive Stafford-Smith, 6pm, in-person and online, Gresham College, Barnards Inn Hall, EC1N 2Hh. Info: Gresham

* Palestine: Repair and Return, workshop, skills and knowledge needed to advocate for the struggle for liberation and justice, 6.30-8.30pm, £5, P21 Gallery, 21-27 Chalton Street, NW1 1JD. Info: P21

* Weathering the Storm: Making the case for social protection in crises, Info: Institute of Development Studies

Friday 19 September

* Visualising the Histories of Black Britain, conference exploring the impact of Denis Morris’ photographs of Black Britain, Jasmine Chohan, Alice Correia, Suresh Grover, Julian Henriques, Symrath Pattie, midday-6pm £15/£10, Photographers Gallery, Ramillies Street, W1. Info: Gallery

* South Asian Britain: Connecting Histories, storytelling, discussion, and sound, celebrating the legacy of South Asians in Britain, with Reeta Chakrabarti, Mukti Jain Campion, Susheila Nasta, Kavita Puri, 7pm, £8, British Library, Euston Road, NW1. Info: Library.

* Global inequality in a historical and comparative perspective, Thomas Picketty, 3.30-4.30pm, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, WC2.

Saturday 20 September

* How British imperialism has shaped the globe, Sathnam Sanghera, 3-4.50pm, from £29.95, Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, SW7 2AR. Info: RGS

* ESEA Lit Fest, conversation, workshops, book signings and a lunchtime bake sale hosted by Polly Chan's Bakehouse, Foyles, 107 Charing Cross Road, WC2H 0DT. Info: Foyles

* Yuval Noah Harari – Making Sense of a World in Crisis, explores the roots of this chaotic and frightening moment in world history, and looks into our future, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, ECY 8DS. Info: Barbican

Monday 22 September

* Colombia through its greatest novels, Juan Gabriel Vásquez and Erna von der Walde, 7pm, £10, British Library, 96 Euston Road, NW1 2DB. Info: Library

* BBC Women Reporting the World, book talk with Colleen Murrell, 7pm, from £5.94, Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place W2 1QJ. Info: Frontline

Tuesday 23 September

* The Booker Prize 2025 Shortlist Announcement, a glimpse behind the judging room doors of the world’s most significant award for a single work of fiction, with live readings, 7.30pm, £20, concessions available, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX. Info: Southbank Centre

* Alt Reich: The Network War to Destroy Democracy, Nafeez Ahmed and Hardeep Matharu, 6.30pm, £10, Waterstones bookshop, 82 Gower Street, WC1E 6EQ. Info: Waterstones

* Tackling Fake News & Misinformation, Manny Ahmed, Georgina Lee, Jon Williams, 7pm, from £5.94, Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, W2 1QJ. Info: Frontline

* Fireside chat with Dmitry Grozoubinski on ‘Why Politicians Lie About Trade, 4-5pm, in person and online, Overseas Development Institute, 4 Millbank, SW1P 3JA. Info: ODI

* Democracy Contested: Why are governments becoming more autocratic?, Don Leonard, Oluwole Ojewale, 4-5.30pm. Info: Institute of Development Studies

Exhibitions

* Unsilenced: Sexual Violence in Conflict, exhibits include sexual slavery of ‘Comfort Women Corps’ in World War Two and of Yazidi women and girls by ISIS in 2014, Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road SE1 6HZ until 2 November. Info: War Museum

+ Sexual violence in conflict: ‘The cheapest weapon known to man’

* Thirst: In Search of Freshwater, from ancient Mesopotamia and Victorian London to modern-day Nepal and Singapore, the exhibition combines art, science, history, technology and indigenous knowledge to deepen understanding of our relationships with freshwater, free, Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, NW1 2BE until 1 February. Info: Wellcome

+ Thirst: an exhibition bridge over troubled water

* Ancient India: living traditions, the origins of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist sacred art in the nature spirits of ancient India – and how they live on 2,000 years later, from £16, British Museum, Great Russell Street, WC1B 3DG until 19 October. Info: Museum

+ Starring role for snakes in Ancient India exhibition

* Mumbai + London: new perspectives on the ancient world, small exhibit focussed on Greek god Dionysius and India’s Vishnu, British Museum, Great Russell Street, WC1B 3DG until 11 January 2026. Info: Exhibition

* Mil Veces un Instante (A Thousand Times In An Instant), Mexican artist Teresa Margolles’ cuboid on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square is a memorial to trans people worldwide

* Collecting and Empire, trail making connections between archaeology, anthropology and the British Empire, British Museum, Great Russell Street, WC1. Info: British Museum

* British Library, installation of 6,328 books marks the contributions of migrants to UK, Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1. Info: Installation/ 7887 8888

* Inspiration Africa: Stories Beyond the Artifacts, exploration of V&A galleries through the lens of African heritage, free, second Saturday of every month, V&A, Cromwell Road, SW7. Info: V&A

* African Deeds, showcases a collection that includes diaries, cassette interviews, videos, photos and documents of three generations of family history, inspired by grandfather Thomas’ land title deeds brought from West Africa in 1901, Black Cultural Archives, 1 Windrush Square, SW2 1EF. Info: BCA

* Target Queen, large-scale commission by British-Indian artist Bharti Kher, Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre

* Esther Mahlangu: Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu, brightly coloured geometric paintings rooted in South African Ndebele culture, free, Serpentine North, until 28 September. Info: Serpentine

* Making Egypt, exploring ancient Egypt's creativity and how it continues to influence art, design and popular culture today, £10, Young V&A, Cambridge Heath Road, E2 9PA. Info: V&A

* Wellcome Photography Prize, top 25 entries from categories including health problems in South Africa and climate change, free, Wednesdays–Saturdays, Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, NW1 1AT until 18 October. Info: Exhibition

* More Than Human, how design can help the planet thrive by shifting its focus beyond human needs, £14.38 students £5, Design Museum, 224-238 Kensington High Street W8 6AG, until 5 October. Info; Design Museum

* Virtual Beauty, exploring the impact of digital culture and technologies on the traditional definitions of beauty today, pay what you can, Somerset House, Strand, WC2R 1LA until 28 September. Info: Somerset House

* Imaging Peace, outdoor exhibition featuring global community peace photography projects, part of ‘Lost & Found: Stories of sanctuary and belonging’, a free programme of arts and ideas at King’s College, Strand, WC2R 2LS. Info: Peace exhibition

from Friday 19 September

* Earth Photo: London, still and moving images on planetary issues, Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, SW7 2AR until 14 October. Info: RGS

Film

* Mistress Dispeller, desperate to save her marriage, a woman in China hires a professional to go undercover to break up her husband’s affair. Elizabeth Lo's intimate film follows the drama from all corners of the love triangle, Curzon Bloomsbury until 18 September

* Anna May Wong: The Art of Reinvention, “I want to be an actress, not a freak. I want to feel that people go to see my pictures because I perform well, not just because I am an Oriental” - a celebration of Wong’s trans-national life, an inspiration for Asian diasporic communities, National Film Theatre, until 28 September

* Taiwanese Cinema: Now and Then, Garden cinema until 15 October

* HongKong Film Festival, 52 films including 34 shorts. Highlights include Montages of a Modern Motherhood, Ten Years, Queerpanorama, Clara Law retrospective: Drifting Petals, They Say The Moon Is Fuller Here, Farewell China, Goddess of 1967; Johnnie To’s The Heroic Trio, two new Anthony Wong features - Valley of the Shadow of Death and Next Stop, Somewhere. Until 28 September. Info: HKFF

* From Ground Zero: Stories From Gaza, 3-6-minute films by 22 Palestinian filmmakers living through the genocide; Castle, ICA (until 18 Sept), Rio, Westfield White City; Vues Islington, Finchley Road, Fulham, Westfield Stratford; Curzon Soho; 16 Sept, Odeons Acton, Greenwich, Kingston Upon Thames, Swiss Cottage, Uxbridge; from 18 Sept, Curzon Bloomsbury; from 19 Sept, Act One; 20-24 Sept, Curzon Bloomsbury; 23 Sept, Ritzy Picturehouse; from 23 Sept, Finsbury Park Picturehouse, 24 Sept, Hackney Picturehouse; 1 Oct, Curzons Camden and Aldgate. Info: Cosmic Cat Films

* Fringe! Queer Film and Arts Festival, programme includes 20 Sept, Cactus Pears (Sabar Bonda), “tender take on grief and queerness”; and Circo, “stunning portrait of Black queer life in Brazil’s margins”. Rich Mix until 21 September. Info: Rich Mix

Tuesday 16 September

* Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, probes the impact of Israeli military operations on healthcare in Gaza + Q&A with Ben de Pear, Karim Shah, Khaled Dawas, 6.30pm, Castle cinema

* Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, documentary that follows a Palestinian woman through a year of video calls before she is killed by an Israeli bomb, Picturehouses Central, Clapham, Crouch End, Ealing, East Dulwich, Finsbury Park, Gate, Greenwich, Hackney, Ritzy, West Norwood

Wednesday 17 September

* Holding List, on 7 October 2023 Liat Atzili and her husband Aviv were captured when Hamas attacked their kibbutz. Caught between international diplomacy and war, their family must face their differences in pursuit of the couple’s release, Curzon Bloomsbury

from Thursday 18 September

* The Shadow Scholars, an estimated 40,000 Kenyans write academic papers for global students but what value can be placed in academic institutions when degrees can be bought without effort + filmmaker Q&A, 6.20pm, Curzon Bloomsbury until 24 September

from Friday 19 September

* The Dating Game, in a country where eligible men outnumber women by 30 million, three perpetual bachelors turn to China's most sought-after dating coach in search of love (+ 21 Sept, filmmaker Q&A, 3.30pm), Curzon Bloomsbury, until 25 September

Sunday 21 September

* The Dating Game, in a country where eligible men outnumber women by 30 million, three perpetual bachelors turn to China's most sought-after dating coach in search of love + filmmaker Q&A, 3.30pm, Curzon Bloomsbury

Performance

* Black Power Desk, two sisters divided by grief and radical politics, motivated by love in 1970s London — but will their fight for the community be worth the damage to their sisterhood?, from £10, Brixton House, 385 Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8GL, until 28 September. Info: Brixton House

+ ‘Why do I know more about Rosa Parks than our history?’ The musical bringing Britain’s Black history to the stage

from Tuesday 16 September

* Brown Girl Noise, four brown girls walk into an audition… and walk out with a revolution. When the roles they’re offered start to look more like stereotypes than stories, the four South Asian women decide to flip the script and take the stage for themselves, in a celebration of South Asian womanhood, Riverside, 101 Queen Caroline Street W6 9BN until 28 September. Info: Riverside

Thursday 18 September

* The Gaza Monologues, Tamasha, New Earth and Paines Plough host a reading of first-hand testimonies from young people in Gaza, 7pm, £10, No.38, 38 Mayton Street, N7 6QR. Info: Eventbrite

Saturday 20 September

* Comedy Gala Fundraiser, Sindhu Vee, line-up includes Michael Odewale,7.45pm, £12.50 - £32.50, in support of young people’s access to creative opportunities, Cadogan Hall, 5 Sloane Terrace

SW1X 9DQ. Info: Chelsea Arts Festival

Monday 22 September

* Refugee Prose Hour, the voices of refugee writers including Sita Brahmachari, Nasrin Parvaz, Ahmed Zaidan and Tanya Rupande, online, 6-7pm. Info: TogetherintheUK

from Tuesday 23 September

* Uprooted - Ephemeral Ensemble, a tropical-punk, ecofeminist rallying cry inspired by the voices of displaced Latin American peoples and frontline environmental defenders, £3-£19, New Diorama Theatre, 15 - 16 Triton Street, NW1 3BF, until 25 October. Info: New Diorama

* Scenes From The Climate Era, vignettes of conversations around the climate crisis that shape our everyday lives, communities and the biological world around us, £22-£5, The Playground Theatre, Latimer Road W10 6RQ until 25 October. Info: Playground

TV and radio

Sunday 14 September

* Bob and Rylan’s Passage to India, the heart sinks at another puerile British-celebs-visit-India travelogue, particularly when one of the travellers has suggested that the policy towards Channel crossing asylum seekers is “Here’s the iPad. Here’s the NHS in reception of your hotel. Here’s three meals a day. Here’s a games room in the hotel. Have a lovely time and welcome." But one preview in The Guardian describes the programme as a “mildly spicy, very sweet treat”, 9pm, BBC2

* Capernaum, 2018 drama about a 12-year-old boy in a Beirut slum, 1.25am, Film4

Monday 15 September

* Thailand: The Dark Side of Paradise, the seamy side of Bangkok’s tourist industry, 9pm, 9.45pm, 10.30pm, 2.20am, BBC3

* Black and White in Colour: Television, Memory, Race, 1936-68, 10pm, BBC4

* Black and White in Colour: Television, Memory, Race, 1968-92, 10.50pm, BBC4

* Start the Week: the history of conflict in Afghanistan and D R Congo, 9am, Radio4