London Loves - the very best of July

London Loves - the very best of July

28 June, 2012
by: Spoonfed Team

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

Art
Even if you discount Danny Boyle’s Olympic Opening Ceremony on the 27th, London is going to have plenty of spectacle this July. Kicking off with the Whitechapel Art Gallery’s triennial London Open, this month will see the National Gallery and the Royal Opera House pay tribute to Titian through art and dance, and the Wellcome Collection push the boundaries of the human condition at their Superhuman exhibition. Special mention needs to go out to Flowers East’s Uncommon Ground show that aims to explore the relationship between man and his environment through photography. It really looks fascinating. DH

Life and Style
London Pride goes international this year as we welcome World Pride to the capital – a weekend long celebration of LGBT communities and culture. A fixture on any respectable gent's calendar, The Chap Olympiad takes place in Bedford Square on the 7th and 8th. The Prince Charles Cinema get the hockey masks out with an all night Friday 13th marathon - guaranteed gore fest, and on the subject of cult movies, The Barbican explores what it means to be James Bond with their Designing 007 exhibition, including clothes, cars and more Bond staples. TA

Live Music
Now that summer is upon us; London’s obsession with sitting out in the park, drinking cans of beer and listening to bands comes into full effect. Hyde Park is looking like ground zero with Wireless Festival offering up the chance to see Professor Green and pre-rehab Rihanna, Hard Rock Calling calls upon Soundgarden and The Boss to do their bidding and the queen of pop herself playing a one off show there on the 17th. If you’re the sort of person who hates the smell of cut grass, then the Somerset House series offers the best of alfresco gig watching without the possibility of kids knocking over your beer or someone throwing a Frisbee in your face. God, I hate it when that happens. DH

Clubbing
July kicks off with Bloc - an immense celebration of all things electronic held at London's most exciting new venue. The London Pleasure Gardens is a sprawling, multitude of floating cocktail lounges, bars, sculpture gardens and places to party. Clubbers should head for The Hub - a 2800 capacity dome devoted to the rave. Jaded has long been a destination for lovers of techno immersion of a Sunday morning, and this July they throw their annual all-night Summer Warehouse Party - with an after-party to follow of course. The mysterious and impeccably booked Art of Dark abandon their 'invite only' policy for an all-day, all-night garden party, and through July dollop treat you to a three part Detroit series featuring the infamous and incomparable Detroit three: Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May. LC


Theatre
Almeida Festival kicks of July. This is theatre for theatre-lovers, fully of new writing and chance-takers. Playing The Games looks equally varied and for an Olympic-themed event, surprisingly good. And it's in the West End to boot. Philadelphia, Here I Come starts its run and features a narrative tool that is both piercing and entertaining. Timon of Athens starring the singular Simon Russell Beale runs at National Theatre. It's all money, luvvies and comic tragedy. Final pick and possibly the one I'm most eager to see is An Incident and the Border, an absurd comedy about the arbitrary nature of political borders. NK

Comedy
The month before the biggest comedy event of the year, July is all about Edinburgh previews, where you can see comics testing out brand new material (at very cheap ticket prices), and festivals. There are a few mini preview festivals going on, including the Balham Comedy Festival and the Cavendish Fringe. Then there's the massive Greenwich Comedy Festival in the Old Royal Naval College grounds and Ealing Comedy Festival in Walpole Park. Milton Jones heads a top charity bill at the Comedy Store and Marcel Lucont's Cabaret Fantastique comes to the London Wonderground. It’s also our last ‘Comedy on a Roof’ gig, with some of our favourite comics, steak sarnies and cocktails. Come along! EM


Image courtesy of London2012
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Spoonfed Team