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Events Listings – October

From London Cocktail Week to amazing astronomy, mask-making to magic lanterns, via festivals, balls and live literature, there’s plenty of sexy and spooky stuff to get up to this October: so make the most of Autumn in London with Litro’s pick of this month’s events, compiled by Alex James.

Until 31^st December, 10pm Wed/Thu only, £15 – Recipe for a Perfect Wife @ Charing Cross Theatre, Villiers Street

50s-themed comedy stage show in which five ladies compete to become Britain’s best housewife on live TV. Hosted by husband and wife duo Betty and Bertie and  singing trio ‘Kitty and Her Cats’, no stone is left unturned as the contestants fight it out to be the most beautiful, obedient cake-baking spouses the world has ever seen … Includes post-show 50s-themed party in the theatre bar, with free cake and dancing until late. See: http://newplayers.whatsonstage.com/

Daily until 31^st October, various times, £6.50 – The Secret Lives of Stars @ Peter Harrison Planetarium, Royal Observatory, Greenwich

This spectacular new show, narrated by Patrick Stewart, explores the fascinating life history of the stars, from the smallest red dwarf to the largest blue giant. Using state-of-the art digital simulation, it charts the life of a star from birth through to death and beyond, and looks at what impact this has on the universe around us. See: www.nmm.ac.uk

3^rd to 17^th October, various venues, times & prices – London Restaurant Festival

From street food to gourmet, the London Restaurant Festival is a citywide celebration of eating out, designed to acknowledge and celebrate the pleasure and sustenance given to all by London’s extraordinarily diverse and exciting range of restaurants. For two weeks in October, the city’s restaurateurs will work together to enable food lovers to explore some of the capital’s finest cooking – from its Michelin stars to coveted neighbourhood bistros. See: www.londonrestaurantfestival.com

7^th October, 7.30pm, £7.50 – YARN/The Special Relationship @ The Nursery, Light Industrial Theatre, Arch 61, Ewer Street, SE1 0NR

With not one, but two shows in one night, this is an extra special double bill to welcome you to a season of dark nights and cockle-warming wine-drinking evenings. Part 1 is Duet, poems about twisted love by Richard Marsh and Katie Bonna, and Part 2 is a literary variety night featuring regulars Sam Taradash and Tom Basden, plus guest Barry Walsh, whose first novel The Pimlico Kid is out soon. See: www.yarnfest.com

7^th to 16^th October, various venues, times & prices – London Cocktail Week

London Cocktail Week is designed to encourage people to try new things – taste different cocktails, visit bars they’ve never heard of, or try their hand at mixology. The Cocktail Tours incorporate over 200 London bars, each one serving a bespoke drink for just £4 to those who have registered. London Cocktail Week will also be providing Bacardi-sponsored Routemaster buses for free transportation around the capital, dropping revellers at the doorstep of a different location each night. There’s also more than 130  tastings, masterclasses and parties happening through the week.

See: www.londoncocktailweek.com

11^th October, 7.30pm, £5 – Liars’ League: Fear & Loathing @ The Phoenix, 37 Cavendish Square, W1G 0PP

Short fiction event Liars’ League celebrates its 51^st event with a night of stories to chill and thrill you in the run-up to Hallowe’en, including a brand new story by horrormeister Stephen King, courtesy of Granta. See: www.liarsleague.com

12^th October, 7pm, £7/4 – Cruel Deeds and Dreadful Calamities with Linda Stratmann @ 11 Mare Street, Hackney E8 4RP

Victorian publication The Illustrated Police News infamously thrilled the public with gruesome pictures and melodramatic headlines. Crude content describing lewd and terrible crimes (including Jack the Ripper’s murders) in great detail, with images to match, meant it acquired a sensationalist reputation not unlike tabloids of today. Historian Linda Stratmann delves deeper into the crimes themselves, and defends the publication’s reputation, insisting it was a landmark in journalism. See: www.thelasttuesdaysociety.org

14^th to 16^th October, various times, venues & prices – The UK Rum Festival

Rum was a favourite tipple of literary greats such as Hemingway, Hunter S. Thompson and Charles Dickens. The UK RumFest is the ultimate rum experience for rum drinkers, rum aficionados and rum lovers who have travelled to the tropics to sample the music, the food, the partying and people associated with drinking rum, with over 400 rums to sip, savour and buy. You can try cocktails mixed by the UK’s best mixologists. See: www.rumfest.co.uk

18^th October, 7.30pm & 9pm, £2 on the door – Scratch & Sniff @ The Book Club Basement, 100-106 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4RH

Join Odette Toilette for a scented journey around the world. With guest ‘nose’, Columbia Road’s own Angela Flanders, we’ll be discovering East London’s hidden perfumery heritage before jetting off to exotic locations from the comfort of our seats, sampling Angela’s perfumes to take us there. Prepare to have your nostrils tickled, and to leave smelling delicious. See: www.wearetbc.com

19^th October, 6.30pm, £2 on the door – Life Drawing: 7 Deadly Sins @ The Book Club Basement, 100-106 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4RH

The Book Club’s week-long birthday celebrations sees the return of the Life Drawing Extravaganza. Host Morris invites you to challenge your objectionable vices and confront humanity’s inclination to sin. Take a ‘Dante’ style journey through the ‘Inferno’ and witness depictions of the human body representing all of the cardinal sins. Morris’s concept of Hell will present wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and gluttony. Witness, draw, drink and discuss. See: www.wearetbc.com

20^th October, 7pm, £12 – Halloween Mask Making Workshop, 11 Mare Street, Hackney E8 4RP

The Cabinet of Curious Creatures Mask Making workshop will focus on creating individual Halloween based creatures encouraging you to delve into the darkest corners of your soul. You will be making 3D bespoke structures that you will then decorate using a wide variety of sumptuous material to help facilitate the birth of your foreboding creature. All materials are included. See: www.thelasttuesdaysociety.org

22nd October, secret location and time to be revealed on the 21st, £38 – Secret Vampire Club

Secret Vampire Club follows on from the hugely successful ‘Secret Safari Club’ which was held in August. Expect a hauntingly delectable four-course supper served up by chef Mama Paxos, live music by the up and coming new band ‘In Zanadu’, walking dead dancers serving bloody cocktails and DJ Jack Dexter hitting the decks. To book, see ww.RF-London.com/events. Vegetarian options are available to those who email info@rf-london.com

29^th October, 8pm, £20, Belle Epoque Halloween Special @ The Grand Hall, Shoreditch Studios, 29 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EY

Indulge in the seductive side of partying at Belle Epoque. Featuring jawdropping acrobatic feats, showstopping music acts and eye-popping outfits, the ball will enrapture your soul, trick your mind, and release your inner exhibitionist. Step into a fantasy world where masked villains melt into the crowd as corseted courtesans drape themselves over gilded balconies. For this Halloween Special, guests can dress up and delve into a dark, dreamy and depraved world, with absinthe fountains, a make-up boudoir and live bands and DJs playing an eclectic mix of music throughout the night. See: www.belleepoqueparty.com

30^th October: 3pm, FREE – Storytails @ The Drop, Stoke Newington,

The Sunday afternoon literary event returns in October with readings of short stories and novel extracts from up and coming London authors you’ll wonder why you haven’t heard of. The vibe is relaxed and entry is free, so just turn up and enjoy. See: www.storytails.org

31^st October, 7pm & 9pm, £10 – Halloween Gothic Magic Lantern Show with Mervyn Heard, 11 Mare Street, Hackney E8 4RP

“Astonishment seized me. My bones shivered within me. My flesh trembled over me. My lips quaked. My mouth opened. My hands expanded. My knees knocked together. My blood grew chilly, and I froze with terror.” Such is the might of the shadow lantern, and on Halloween, Professor Mervyn Heard will conjure up the black art of Phantasmagoria with his 19th Century Magic Lantern. Shudder as skeletons waltz across the wall and nuns bleed to death despite a life of virtue! See: www.thelasttuesdaysociety.org

Litro Events: November 2010

Among this month’s feast of events we see the best of British creativity being showcased together for the first time in five years. There’s live beats, storytelling and literary-themed champagne tasting, in November’s round-up by Alexander James.

Until December 4, The British Art Show. Only taking place once every five years – an exhibition of the most ambitious and influential contemporary British art, launches in Nottingham. All artworks included have been produced since 2005 and encompass short stories, painting, installation, photography, film, video and performance. See: www.britishartshow.co.uk

1 – 13 November, Urban Narratives 1, The Coningsby Gallery. A new exhibition by the Urbanite Collective documents the urban crowd, the buzz and theatre of the city and travel, to form new perceptions of faraway places. Featuring works by Raziye Parmle, Marcus Berns, Julia Martin, Jane Pam-Gold and Ethel Shoul. See:  www.coningsbygallery.com

3 November, The Book Club Events, OneTaste Workshop, 6.45pm-10.30pm. This workshop will teach you how to wake up in your dreams – no really, it will. Charlie Morley is a Lucid Dreaming teacher and practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism specialising in Western Lucid Dreaming and Tibetan Dream Yoga techniques. The main emphasis will be placed on learning “how to lucid dream” through a variety of scientifically proven techniques. See: www.wearetbc.com

5 November, Fireworks Concert with the Northern Lights Symphony Orchestra, St John’s, Smith Square. This November includes a treat for classical music fans, as the Northern Lights Symphony Orchestra perform music for the whole family, opening with Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks. International soloists Emma Johnson (clarinet) and Lucy Landymore (marimba) will perform Nocturne, and the concert finishes with Haydn’s London Symphony. See: www.sjss.org.uk

8 November, Thinking and Drinking, The Book Club, 7.30pm, E1. A night of music, comedy and live literature from experienced and experimental acts. Featuring Kesty Morrison (Sky Must Be The Music semi-finalist), Steve Mould (science expert & comedian) and Katie McCullough (award-winning playwright). See: www.wearetbc.com

11 November 2010, ‘Champagne Train’, Orient Express. Hopefully there’ll be no murders on this, one of London’s most luxurious dining experiences. Guests will be taken on a delicious journey of culinary delights along with a selection of Laurent-Perrier champagnes, in the haunt of one of Agatha Christie’s most famous thrillers. The food and wine menu has been crafted by Executive Chef de Cuisine, Matthew Smith, and Laurent-Perrier’s Master of Wine, David Hesketh. See: www.orient-express.com

12 – 21 November, The London Jazz Festival, various venues. Featuring a mix of premieres, new commissions and collaborations with world-famous stars and emerging talent. The event has more performances in more venues than any other live event in the capital, along with the Festival’s renowned education programme and its Jazz for Free strand, to create the UK’s biggest international jazz festival, with Hamid Drake performing at Baltic restaurant. See: www.balticrestaurant.co.uk.  See also: www.londonjazzfestival.org.uk

12 – 14 November, Greenwich International Early Music Festival and Exhibition 2010, Old Royal Naval College. A lively mix of exhibition and performance featuring Quartet New Generation, Café Mozart, the Fitzwilliam String Quartet, Rachel Brown, the Golden Lyre of Ur and much more. The Old Royal Naval College will come alive with the sounds of all things early music during the ninth Greenwich International Early Music Festival & Exhibition. Across three days, a diverse programme of performance featuring acclaimed musicians will run alongside the world’s largest and most esteemed early music exhibitors fair. See: www.oldroyalnavalcollege.org

20 November, Wam Bam, Café De Paris, W1D 6BL. Experience an explosive cocktail of comedy, live story-telling and, burlesque at London’s most prestigious variety night hosted by the sensational Lady Alex. Kick-starting with free burlesque taster classes by the UK’s first school of burlesque, Burlesque Baby, this month’s Wam Bam features the velvet-clad comedic duo Raymond and Mr Timpkins, burlesque beauty Betsy Rose, and vocal voyeurs Scales of the Unexpected. See: www.wambamclub.com

Until 22 November, Museum of London, near Barbican, Digital Photo Class. Sign up for this hands-on introductory course in digital photography, based in the new state-of-the-art e-Learning Studio at the Museum of London. You will learn how to use functions of your digital camera and how to capture meaning in a photograph through composition, content and use of light. The focus of this course is the City of London – its buildings, architecture, museums and events. See: www.museumoflondon.org.uk

We do hope that you are all enjoying the first day of August (and hopefully a return to real summer weather)!

First of all, thank you to those who attended our Litro Live! Summer Party a couple of weeks ago. We always aim to have an eclectic, interesting and talented line-up to satisfy all sorts of tastes, and hopefully we delivered that once again.

As you may already know, issue 97 is now online. We’ve got the cover art up as well (shown left), in addition to all the stories, including pieces from prizewinners Louise Stern and Clare Wigfall, and our summer events listings, courtesy of Alex James. The print magazine will be out very soon, so keep your eyes peeled.

The deadline for the Litro and IGGY International Young Person’s Short Story Award also closed a couple of weeks back.  A big thank you to all the young people that voted – we’ve very pleased at the number of entries that have been sent in and the overall standard of work that has been produced. The entries are now with the judges and so far their feedback has been very positive as well. It may prove to be a tough choice, but the judges’ shortlists will be published on the 16th August, with the announcement of the overall winner on the 30th September. Good luck to all those who entered and keep your eyes out for that shortlist announcement on the 16th!

Additionally, if you’ve been considering becoming a Friend of Litro but haven’t made up your mind yet, our prize draw for new Friends ends on Friday 6th August – less than a week away. The prize? We’re giving away five pairs of tickets to one of the mainstays of the artist calender, the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, to new Friends. All you have to do is sign up and then you will be entered into the prize draw to win tickets. You’ll also get the magazine delivered direct to you (so you’ll never miss an issue), discounted Litro Live! tickets and other offers, all of which are good things indeed for lovers of short stories and live performance.