London Loves - the very best of August

London Loves - the very best of August

26 July, 2012
by: Spoonfed Team

The Spoonfed team select the biggest and best events taking place in London this August.

Live Music
It might be down to the Olympics, but August feels a little bit front-loaded this year. That’s not to say that there’s nothing at the end of the month, but with the Antony-curated Meltdown Festival looks awesome with shows from Planningtorock, Elizabeth Fraser and Lou Reed are taking over the Southbank, a 50 years of Jamaica festival taking place at the indigO2 and the awesome-looking Coverse Represent series at the 100 Club. The first couple of weeks of August will be pretty manic to say the least. Looking a bit further ahead, there’s Com Truise at XOYO, Radfest at Hackney Downs Studios and return gigs from Head Automatica and Refused. DH

Life and Style
London will of course be in the midst of Olympics mania in August. However, there is an alternative if running, jumping and throwing things isn't your cup of tea: The Mind Sports Olympiad, where brainy types can pit their wits against each other at anything from chess to Scrabble. If ever there was a reason to celebrate, it's International Beer Day on the 5th, and The Book Club have set the day aside to play pub games and generally get sozzled. Judy's at Spitalfields are hosting their biggest fair to date on the 4th, with gold medals and prizes for the best dressed shoppers, and everyone's hoping the weather holds out for Film4's Summer Screen at Somerset House from the 16th. TA

Theatre
There's a really good mix of fun and serious shows abound this month. Soho Cinders is a musical with a smattering of political scandal and the names George Stiles, Anthony Drewe and Elliot Davis behind it. Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel lights up The Barbican in the hands of Opera North and Hot August Fringe at Vauxhall Tavern promises a lorra lorra cabaret and comedy. North of the river, Camden Fringe will have kicked off by then too. Meanwhile, book tickets to Kate Tempest's spoken word show at the unlikely location of The Old Vic. Brian Friel's 1964 play Philadelphia, Here I Come! opens and Donmar Warehouse and King Lear seals the send of August and ushers us back into the school year at Almeida Theatre. NK

Clubbing
All the big boys come out to play over the first weekend of August for the EasternElectrics festival. Record label Hypercolour host Groove Armada and Todd Edwards at Great Suffolk St Warehouse on the 11th, while The Hydra bring a slice of Berlin to London with an Ostgut Ton showcase. Bank Holiday weekend of course means the ever-reliable secretsundaze is back, while for something more eclectic, Giles Peterson is up on the roof at Brixton Clubhouse. TA

Comedy
Who said there was no good comedy in London during August? That's right, The Hoff is in town talking about his extraordinary life through the medium of song, dance, media and audience interaction. If that's not funny, we don't know what is. Eddie Izzard's English-speaking shows may have sold out in Soho but there's still tickets left for his Stripped tour show 'en Francais'. The Camden Fringe takes over er, Camden this month with some noteworthy shows from Robin Ince, Jamie Glassman, We Are Goose and James Mullinger, and sharp stand-up Paul Sinha presents a new show about a horrifyingly misjudged trip to the Himalayas. EM

Click here for more things to do in London.

Spoonfed Team