Mother's Day Events

From theatre, comedy, ballet to art, London is always bursting with events designed to suit all tastes and interests. This Mother's Day is no exception. Why not show your mum how much she's appreciated by taking her out and treating her to something she's really interested in?

Aida

Royal Albert Hall, London, SW7 2AP
11th March 2011 - 16th April 2011

David McVicar's production of Verdi's classic masterpiece Aida, first seen at Covent Garden in April 2010, is revived on the London theatre scene at the Royal Opera House in spring 2011. Aida contains all the dramatic elements of tragedy, love, loyalty, betrayal and suspense and its well known for the famous Triumphal March. Aida, the enslaved daughter of the King of Ethiopia, is secretly in love with Radames, the Egyptian General appointed to destroy her father and her country. Radames is also loved by the Egyptian King's daughter Amneris, and the tempestuous battles that ensue take place both on a personal and national level, with devastating and poignant consequences. Leah Hausman directs this epic and emotional tale of a society from long ago, ordered by ritual, obsessed with death and driven by war.

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

Masterpiece a Month: Presiding Genius

Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, SE21 7AD
1st January 2011 - 31st December 2011

To celebrate its 200th year the Dulwich Picture Gallery has pulled off a real coup with an extraordinary year-long international loan exhibition. Masterpiece a Month: Presiding Geniusdoes exactly what it says on the tin: every month a masterpiece from a major institution around the world will be on display in star position at the end of the Sir John Soane-designed museum's enfilade. That means visitors can get their fix of Velazquez, Vermeer, Rembrandt or Hockney flown in especially from revered collections such as the Prado in Madrid, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Uffizi in Florence and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The first purpose-built public art gallery in England, the splendid neo-classical DPG has been described by The Sunday Telegraph as "the most beautiful small art gallery in the world". Each month's display will include an accompanying lecture, details of which can be found on www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk.

More info: Masterpiece a Month: Presiding Genius Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

King Lear

Richmond Theatre, London, TW9 1QJ
29th March 2011 - 3rd April 2011

Michael Grandage directs Derek Jacobi as the crazed monarch in Shakespeare's tragedy of cruelty, greed and divided love. One of the greatest works in western literature, King Lear explores the very nature of human existence: love and duty, power and loss, good and evil. King Lear divides his Kingdom between his daughters according to a declaration of their love for him. His eldest Goneril and Regan exaggerate their affection and inherit. His youngest daughter Cordelia speaks only the truth and is subsequently banished. So begins the tragedy of King Lear, whose dignity, sanity and life are torn from him by a self-seeking younger generation, ambitious for his power.

More info: King Lear Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Modern British Sculpture

Royal Academy of Arts, W1J 0BD
22nd January 2011 - 8th April 2011

The Royal Academy of Arts presents the first exhibition in 30 years to examine British sculpture of the 20th century. Modern British Sculpture represents a unique view of the development of British sculpture, exploring what we mean by the terms British and sculpture by bringing the two together is a chronological series of strongly themes galleries, each making its own visual argument. Key British works include: Alfred Gilbert Queen Victoria, Phillip King Genghis Khan (pictured), Jacob Epstein Adam, Barbara Hepworth Single Form, Leon Underwood Totem to the Artist, Henry Moore Festival Figure, Anthony Caro Early One Morning, Richard Long Chalk Line, Julian Opie W and Damien Hirst Let's Eat Outdoors Today - a picnic table covered with living flies encased within a glass box. Well, it makes a change from all that formaldehyde guff...

More info: Modern British Sculpture Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Million Dollar Quartet

Noel Coward Theatre, WC2N 4AU
8th February 2011 - 2nd October 2011

The story of how the world's first supergroup came together hits the West End's Noel Coward Theatre after sell-out runs on Broadway and in Chicago. Million Dollar Quartet is the real-life tale of the night in December 1956 when Elvis Presley (played by West End debutant Michael Malarkey), Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis were brought together by Sun Records' founder Sam Phillips for an impromptu jam in Memphis which would make music history. Opening in late February and with preview runs from earlier in the month, Floyd Mutrux and Colin Escott's Tony Award-winning musical is directed by Eric Schaeffer and features over 20 of the greatest rock 'n' roll, gospel, R&B and country hits of all time. For a feel-good night in the bright lights of the West End, you can't get much better than Million Dollar Quartet, which blends themes of fame, friendship, professional jealousy and, of course, incredible music.

More info: Million Dollar Quartet Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Journeys: Stories Of The World

Orleans House Gallery, London, TW1 3DJ
29th January 2011 - 23rd May 2011

This exhibition investigates the theme of journeys through contemporary art created by local young people and artists from around the world. A group show of works in photography, installation, paintings and other disciplines, which explores the theme of journeys, and is inspired by the explorer Sir Richard Burton. Journeys is part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad programme and features a mix of local young people and professional artists, including Piyali Ghosh, displaying their works.

More info: Journeys: Stories Of The World Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Sign Of The Times

Duchess Theatre, WC2B 5LA
7th March 2011 - 29th May 2011

Frank has a lifelong ambition to become a writer. But all he does is put up giant letters on the sides of buildings. The arrival of a teenager on work experience might just be his salvation. Sign Of The Times is a comedy from Tim Frith, starring Matthew Kelly and Gerard Kearns.

More info: Sign Of The Times Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

The British Music Experience

The O2 Bubble, London, SE10 0PH
1st August 2010 - 1st August 2015

Stadium filling rock gods like The Rolling Stones, David Bowie and Mick Jagger are among the stars who have loaned memorabilia to The British Music Experience, an exhibition dedicated to 60 years of British pop. The exhibition is apppropriately located in the O2 Bubble, under the same roof as The O2 Arena, home to many of London's biggest gigs. If anyone can pull this off it's music impresario Harvey Goldsmith - the man who has worked with all the big names in the music biz including Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Led Zeppelin and the rest. Goldsmith has clearly called in a few favours - you'll find gems like the tassled outfit worn by The Who singer Roger Daltrey at Woodstock alongside Mick Jagger's Ossie Clark-designed 1970s jumpsuit. It's not just about looking at famous rock star gear and guitars. The emphasis is on the interactive experience too. There's a step by step video at the Gibson Interactive Studio so you can play electric and acoustic guitars alongside well known British artists like KT Tunstall, Amy Macdonald and The Magic Numbers. To top it all, there's a full-blown five minute concert to finish, with acts like The Beatles, Oasis and the Sex Pistols projected around the room for the finale.

More info: The British Music Experience Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

The Enchanted Palace

Kensington Palace State Apartments, London, W8 4PX
26th March 2010 - 30th June 2012

As Kensington Palace undergoes a £12 million renovation project, due for completion in 2012, there's a magical exhibition revealing the secret stories about the lives of seven princesses who lived at the palace. The Enchanted Palace gives the real-life princesses a fairytale twist through a fantasy world of installation, fashion and theatrical performance in a 're-imagining' of their lives. Mary Stuart, her sister Anne, Queen Victoria, Princess Margaret and - perhaps the palace's most famous resident - Princess Diana are interpreted by six fashion designers and artists including Vivienne Westwood, William Tempest, Stephen Jones, Boudicca, Aminaka Wilmont and Echo Morgan. These interpretations include 'The princess who collected the world' and 'The princess who danced all night without permission' and 'The sleeping princess'. Guided by an enchanted map, visitors need to find clues that reveal the identity of the royal residents. Following the advice of palace guardians along the way, you'll discover the secrets of the State Apartments and finally meet the princesses face to face.

More info: The Enchanted Palace Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube
The Enchanted Palace - Tickets

Blood Brothers

Phoenix Theatre, WC2H 0JP
1st March 2010 - 26th November 2011

Over two decades into its West End run, Willy Russell's iconic musical Blood Brothers, showing at the Phoenix Theatre, has barely dated at all. This is particularly true of the music, whose 80s drum machines and sweeping, hum-able choruses are very much back in vogue in London's clubland. The story is classic musical fare - best friends slowly torn apart by the pressures of superstition, economics and, above all, class, all underpinned by a haunting secret - told with verve and lyrical freshness that could only have come from this marvellous writer. Its thirty-year tale sees growing prosperity before the disasters of the eighties, but these great social changes take place alongside more intimate emotion: the excitement and danger of an inner-city childhood, the blessed relief of university for a repressed middle class boy, the giggles and goose bumps of teenage love. The kind of work that simply never gets made any more, Blood Brothers deserves its status as a modern classic.

More info: Blood Brothers Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube | Hotels near Blood Brothers

Did you know??

- The spring celebrations of Ancient Greece in honour of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods are said to be the earliest examples of "Mother's Day" celebrations.

- Modern-day Mother's Day seems to have stemmed from the 1800s when Anna Jarvis, an Appalachian homemaker, tried to highlight poor health conditions in her community by organising an awareness day that she believed would be best advocated by mothers. She called it "Mother's Work Day".