May 2008

With public holidays on the Mondays beginning and ending the month, May has a holiday vibe. Traditional fairs like Covent Garden's May Fayre and Puppet Festival add to the fun. Music-wise it's a busy month too with Celine Dion, Bruce Springstein and Girls Aloud putting on blockbuster shows.

London Mayoral Election

City Hall, Top Floor, London, SE1 2AA
1st May 2008

They're not usually the kind of thing we cover on the strictly politics-free pages of LondonTown.com, but this year's London Mayoral Elections are likely to provide as much entertainment as any number of West End musicals. In the red corner, we have Lambeth's sarcastic newt-fancier Ken Livingstone, while the blue corner is occupied by Tiggerish toff Boris Johnson. Both are popular with Londoners because of a shared tendency to say and do wildly inapropriate things in front of the national media, and if this election doesn't descend into hilarious farce, we will be deeply disappointed (incidentally, those who want a non-joke candidate in our testicle-shaped City hall should consider the Green Party's Sian Berry).

More info: London Mayoral Election Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Museums and Galleries Month

Various Venues Across London,
1st May 2008 - 31st May 2008

London's wealth of museums and galleries - and the fact they're mostly free - is a major attraction, upholding the city's worldwide reputation for culture and the arts. Venues like the National Gallery and the Victoria & Albert Museum join in this UK-wide annual event for a month full of activities and events. This year the theme is 'Ideas and Innovation', how this will be executed is still in the planning stages. But to give you a taster, last year we saw artist Grayson Perry and journalist Meredith Etherington Smith debating whether culture or class are more important at the National Portrait Gallery. There were late night events including A Night at the Museum Torch Light Tour of the Horniman Museum. Other highlights were live jazz at the National Gallery, a Surrealist Ball at the V & A and an Institute of Ideas debate over at Tate Britain.

Venue: Various Venues Across London
Phone: 020 7233 9796
Date: 1st May 2008 - 31st May 2008
Times | Pricing | Nearest Station: Various

More info: Museums and Galleries Month Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Baishakhi Mela 2008

Baishakhi Mela, London, E1 6SB
4th May 2008

Sadly, this year's Baishakhi Mela celebrations in the East End, celebrating the Bengali New Year, have been cancelled. The festivities which have annually centred on Brick Lane and draw crowds of 100,000 people have been ditched due to concerns over crowd safety. Tower Hamlets council announced the cancellation two months before the event was due to take place. In the past the colourful event began with a parade from Allen Gardens to Weavers Fields and along Brick Lane led by local children in traditional dress, and includes giant floats representing tigers and elephants.

More info: Baishakhi Mela 2008 Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Marguerite

Theatre Royal, SW1Y 4HT
6th May 2008 - 1st November 2008

'Les Miserables' has been a West End hit for two decades, but its creators have clearly decided that the time has come for an update. 'Marguerite' is the new musical from Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schonberg and Herbert Kretzmer, the trio behind Les Mis. Set in Nazi-occupied Paris it follows young musician Armand and his dangerous obsession with the mistress of a senior German officer. It's great material for a sung-through musical, and director Jonathan Kent's keen eye for period detail and talent for the spectacular should make for some grandiose showpieces. Ruthie Henshall stars as the eponymous femme fatale.

More info: Marguerite Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Never Forget

Savoy Theatre, WC2R 0ET
7th May 2008 - 25th October 2008

'Never Forget' weaves Take That's dozen or so hit songs into a tale of young friends in Manchester who form a Take That tribute band. 'The Full Monty' is the obvious inspiration, and the script comes from Danny Brocklehurst, BAFTA-winning writer of 'Shameless' and 'Clocking Off', who's a past master at this kind of material. Olivier award-winner Karen Bruce ('Fame', 'Footloose', 'Saturday Night Fever') is in charge of the choreography, so the dancing should be a bit more 'Shine' than 'It Only Takes a Minute'. We suspect, however, that the Take That back catalogue is a bit thin to support a musical. There were only half-a-dozen truly great Take That songs, most of them ballads, and it seems hard to imagine that this show can achieve the success of a 'Mamma Mia!' or a 'We Will Rock You'. Still, with a good team behind it, 'Never Forget' is clearly compulsory viewing for the millions of Take That obsessives out there, and since it features a 5-man tribute group, there are certain to be some excellent jokes about Robbie.

More info: Never Forget Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Pygmalion

Old Vic Theatre, London, SE1 8NB
7th May 2008 - 2nd August 2008

Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet with his friend Colonel Pickering that he can convince society cockney flowergirl Eliza Doolittle is an authentic Duchess, in the sharp-edged tragicomedy that provided the plot for 'My Fair Lady'. It's the Bernard Shaw play that has best passed the test of time, and Peter Hall's new production, coming to The Old Vic after a successful run at the Theatre Royal Bath injects immediacy and life into a witty tale of class-ridden Edwardian society. This is a solidly traditional staging, and those who loved 'My Fair Lady' for the furniture and frocks won't be disappointed by Professor Higgins' leather-upholstered bachelor pad, and Eliza's stunning gowns. Michelle Dockery's flower-girl is wonderful, with a grippingly horrid cockney accent changing gradually to the steely tones of her fish-out-of-water Duchess. Tim Piggott-Smith's 'Enry 'Iggins is a picture of callous academic abstraction, and Eliza's family are as entertaining and insufferable as they should be. A very impressive production to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Shaw's birth.

More info: Pygmalion Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Celine Dion

The O2 Arena, London, SE10 0AX
8th May 2008

On the back of her first English language album in three years, Celine Dion sails into The O2 to sing a few of her epic ballads at her adoring fans. She's been raking in the cash in Las Vegas for the past decade, with only the occasional live show anywhere else, so for many fans of 'Titanic', this is the first chance to see the singer who was such an important part of making it the most successful film of all time. For some reason, the Photoshop team at her record label decided to turn her into a kind of alien transvestite for her album cover, but she is, by all accounts, rather sweet in person - part of the reason for her incredible Vegas success - and this will be a real love-in with her London followers.

More info: Celine Dion Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Royal Windsor Horse Show

, London, SL4 1NG
8th May 2008 - 11th May 2008

Founded in 1943 and attended by King George VI, the Royal Windsor Horse Show at Windsor Castle still has strong royal connections and HM Queen Elizabeth II often enters home-bred horses in the event. The Queen, her sister, Princess Anne, and the Duke of Edinburgh have all previously competed. It's one of those events that makes you feel like you're taking part in a BBC costume drama, as the impeccably aristocratic competitors put their equestrian skills to the test in events including show-jumping, carriage racing, dressage and even polo. For the second time, the show will be taking place inside the private grounds of Her Majesty's Windsor residence, a stunning area of parkland and garden. In the evening the castle is floodlit, creating a suitably grandiose backdrop to the competition. The event is finished in style with a fabulous fireworks display above the turrets.

More info: Royal Windsor Horse Show Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Covent Garden May Fayre and Puppetry Festival 2008

St Paul's Church Garden, WC2E 9ED
11th May 2008

He may be nearing his 350th birthday but Mr Punch is showing no signs of slowing down. The 33rd Covent Garden May Fayre and Puppetry Show celebrates the red nosed stick-wielding puppet, bringing together dozens of puppeteers in a colourful, highly entertaining afternoon. The Covent Garden location is appropriately close to the spot where Samuel Pepys first sighted Mr Punch on 9th May 1662 and recorded the fact in his diary. Puppeteers from all over the country are accompanied by folk music, dancers, clowns and jugglers with refreshments provided by the Whitehall Choir. The day's events start with a toast to Mr Punch, and a brass band-led Grand Procession starting at Church Garden, a beautiful little oasis in the city centre. There follows a special church service at St Paul's Church, with a sermon administered by Rev Mark Oakley and Mr Punch himself. An integral part of British heritage, Mr. Punch is a wonderful, anarchic figure and the spirit of rebellion. The puppet plays are full of the undiluted slapstick humour which kids find hilarious. Well, they don't know what politically correct means. With a raft of different shows, as well as puppetry workshops the kids can get involved in, this is a top traditional family day out.

More info: Covent Garden May Fayre and Puppetry Festival 2008 Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Girls Aloud

The O2 Arena, London, SE10 0AX
17th May 2008

There's nothing on 'Tangled Up' that quite matches the brilliance of 'Biology', but Girls Aloud remain quite the most amazing pop band in Britain. Relentlessly innovative, utterly catchy, decidedly easy on the eye, and (debatably) quite nice people, they've changed the mould for pop musicians everywhere, and set a standard that none of this year's feeble X-Factor contestants have a hope of meeting. The fact that somebody has finally allowed them to spend some money on their videos also bodes well for the live show: if the weirdness of 'Sexy, No, No, No' is anything to go by, we could be in for some Kylie-tastic costume changes and routines. In any case, this is the only London gig on their tour and will sell out in no time flat, so get on the phone immediately.

More info: Girls Aloud Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Mind Body Spirit Festival

Royal Horticultural Halls, SW1P 2PE
21st May 2008 - 26th May 2008

If you're always meaning to 'sort your life out', the Mind Body Spirit Festival could have the answer to your problems. Now in its 32nd year, this festival continues to explore the less conventional side of life. During the course of the event's three-decade history healing, meditation and hypnosis have become as everyday as a bowl of cornflakes, available on the NHS or at the local leisure centre. The success of previous exhibitors - such as Body Shop and Neal's Yard Apothecary - just goes to show that it's not all Guardian-reading muesli-munchers. There are a lot of things to see and do which are really quite useful. Get involved in yoga, hypnosis, music and dance workshops, eat some tasty veggie fare and get healthy cooking tips. You can even evaluate your state of health by looking at your tongue, nails, eyes and posture. Leave your cynicism at the door, open your mind and discover something new.

More info: Mind Body Spirit Festival Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Chelsea Flower Show

Royal Hospital Chelsea, London, SW3 4SR
22nd May 2008 - 24th May 2008

Founded in 1913, the Chelsea Flower Show is extraordinary - famous around the world as the premier event of its kind. Eight hundred of the greatest exponents of imaginative garden design spend nearly a month creating a wonderland over an 11-acre site in Chelsea's Royal Hospital Gardens. Most of London society, including the Queen, regards the Chelsea Flower Show as a highpoint of the London summer season, so if you get bored of the blooms you can have a great time celeb-spotting. The 20,000 glasses of Pimms consumed over the five days confirms it as a very sociable, very British event. This beautiful and inspiring show is a real treat, even for non-gardeners.

More info: Chelsea Flower Show Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Der RosenKavalier

London Coliseum, WC2N 4ES
22nd May 2008 - 7th June 2008

Strauss's romantic, fantastical depiction of the frivolous, philandering nobility of 17th century Vienna demands sumptuous set-design and lavish costumes. It also demands perfect execution from its cast to convey the twists and turns of the many deceptions taking place between the characters. Bordering on the brink of slapstick, cross-dressing, unrequited love, overblown romantic gestures, lechery and lust combine to make this an appealing, homage to Shakespeare. Director David McVicar's insightful interpretation of Strauss's busy plot has already sparked significant praise with much expected from old-hand, John Tomlinson, as he reprises the role of the bumptious Baron Ochs.

PLEASE NOTE: Performances only on 22nd, 24th, 28th and 31st May, 2nd, 5th and 7th June 2008.

More info: Der RosenKavalier Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

Arsenal Emirates Stadium, London, N7 7AF
30th and 31st May 2008

The Emirates Stadium is so lacking in atmosphere that football fans have joked that when they moved stadiums, Arsenal replaced Highbury with The Library. This is, however, unlikely to be a major problem for The Boss, when he rolls in as part of a whistle stop European tour to promote his new album, 'Magic', regarded by British critics as the best thing he's done since the 80s. Most of the crowd won't really be in it for the new material, of course: they've been fans since the 'Born in the USA' days, and that's what they want to hear. Patriotic Americana is rather out of fashion at the moment in this country, for obvious reasons, but Springsteen's intelligent, driven blue-collar rock classics will serve as a reminder that there's more to his homeland than freedom fries.

More info: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube