Little Miss Random Recommends - Week ending 08/04/12

All right, boys and girls, it’s one heck of a long weekend coming up. As always, I welcome your comments and feedback. Is there anything you’d like to see more or less of? Are there events that you’d like to bring to my attention? Why am I so darn awesome? Any question at all! Okay, fine, maybe not that last one.

Without further ado, let me plunge straight in to this week’s picks.

School nights

1. Dave Gorman’s Powerpoint Presentation is in town this week. This stand-up show, launched in 2011, was Dave’s first run at the Edinburgh Fringe in eight years. Each of the 28 shows he did sold out. Don’t miss your chance to catch him this week, before the show goes on tour around the rest of the UK. Queen Elizabeth Hall, April 2nd to April 5th, 7.30 pm, £22.50
2. Watch Craig Higginson’s The Girl in The Yellow Dress at Theatre 503. Set in Paris, a rich, beautiful and insecure English tutor takes on a French-Congolese student for the summer. This dark and sexually-charged play explores the relationship between language, communication and the different stories people are capable of telling. Theatre 503, runs till April 14th, £14
3. Get your inner geek on with Salon’s Winging It. This month’s event features talks by David Lindo, aka the Urban Birder, on the fauna inhabiting the city, Mark Bolitho, who will be showing us how to create your very own paper wings, and Sam Leith, who will be teaching how to build you own Memory Palace (yes, that which was used by Sherlock Holmes). Adam St Members’ Club, April 4th, 7.00 pm, £10
4. And still on the theme of winging it, why not catch Made Up? Theatre company Cartoon de Salvo and musical group The Adventurists join forces to create a new play and improvised musical score every night. Soho Theatre, April 4th to 21st, 7.30 pm, from £10

Long Weekend

1. What? An indoor holiday camp? In an underground bunker? Yes, that’s right. This Easter weekend, The Old Vic Tunnels will be hosting The Easter Holiday Camp, a recreation of an indoor holiday camp, completed with  deck chairs, teepees, game courts, campfires and a bouncy castle. Music accompaniment will be provided by the retro Tootsie Rollers and there’ll be a DJ spinning disco beats. Old Vic Tunnels, April 5th and 6th, 7.00 pm, £15 / £10 Time Out Offer
2. Attention to Detail is back with another installment of break dance competition Breaking Brass, with live music provided by Brassroots. 24 contestants (8 invites and 16 qualifiers) all battling it out to be number 1. Rich Mix, April 6th, 8.00 pm, £6 (adv) / £8 (door)
3. Thinking and drinking aren’t necessarily two activities which go hand-in-hand, although I’ve had a few unexpectedly deep discussions while under the influence. If you’d like to combine these two pursuits, there’s no better – or, in fact, easier – way to do so than The Thinking Drinker’s Guide to Alcohol, where Ben McFarland and Tom Sandham of Dwink take the audience through alcohol’s impact on life, love and all other such things. Generous samples of tipple are included with the ticket price. Soho Theatre, April 6th and 7th, 7.45 pm, £15
4. Don’t miss The Oxford and Cambridge Goat Race. Yes, you read that right. Will Cambridge win for the fourth consecutive year, or will this be Oxford’s year? If that’s not enough racing fun for you, then you’re in luck, as 2012 is the first year that the line-up includes a Shoat race. The event also includes arts, craft, music, food, market stalls and cocktails. Proceeds go towards the upkeep of the farm. Spitalfields City Farm, April 7th, gates open at 1.30 pm, £5 (adults) / 50p (kids)
5. The Funk and Soul Club presents The Cuban Brothers at Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes. I absolutely love Los Hermanos Cubanos. A smooth blend of musical talent, dancing ability and, face it, raunchy comedy. April 7th, 8.00 pm, £5 (adv) / £8 (door)
6. Alternatively, there’s the Sex and Travel The Easter Bonnet Party at The Silver Bullet. “A cross between Alice in Easterland and Sun, Sea and Suspicious Parents”, expect games, a tombola, and a mini-eggs fuelled dance contest. Dress code: Easter bonnets and glitz. The Silver Bullet, April 7th, 8.00 pm, £4 / £3 with Easter bonnet
7. If you’re not religiously inclined, take part in the Christathon, “London’s favourite Cruxificion-themed dress-up pub crawl flash mob event.” Dress code: Jesus. Not sure what else I can add to that, really. Starts at The Trinity Pub on Borough High St. April 8th, 2.30 pm, call the gang to let them know if you can only join them later
8. Up On The Roof, Brixton Clubhouse’s rooftop summer party series, commences this weekend with none other than Mr. Good Times himself, Norman Jay. I know I plugged him when I started this series, but he really does know how to set a carnival atmosphere, with his great mix of reggae, funk, soul and disco. If you can’t make this one, then put May 13th down in your diaries, when it’s Grandmaster Flash’s turn to spin. Brixton Clubhouse, April 8th, 2.00 pm, £11 (adv)
9. Bonus for Easter Monday (thereby rendering the title of this post chronologically inaccurate): Join Spitalfields Life for a walk in Dickens' footsteps in Shadwell and Limehouse. April 9th, 3.00 pm, £10, booking is essential
10. Or if all that physical activity isn’t for you, why not just sit down and enjoy the ‘cherry blossom’ season at the Hanami Festival with Tsuru? A special picnic menu of authentic Japanese food and a cherry and sake cocktails is available in the evenings at all three Tsuru restaurants. Available till April 20th, £20 per person