Little Miss Random Recommends – Week Ending 24/06/2012

Wow, it’s the first time in 2012 that I’m actually experiencing a case of the pre-Monday blues. It’s refreshing, but I suspect the novelty will wear off pretty soon. Ah well. Thank goodness I’m lucky enough to have got tickets to the Radio 1 Hackney Weekender this weekend.

So what are you up to this week? If you haven’t already decided, and your evenings haven’t been taken up by Euro 2012, then check out my list for some ideas.

School Nights

1. Lebanese film-maker and theatre director Lucien Bourjelly brings the Syrian revolution right to your doorstep in his new work, 66 Minutes in Damascus. Lucien’s production puts the audience in the place of a group of touritsts who visit the Syrian capital, only to be arrested by the Syrian secret police. Eight tickets will be available to each performance every half-hour. Runs from Jun 19th to 24th, Shoreditch Town Hall, Tues – Fri: 5.30 pm to 9.30 pm / Sat: 2.00 pm to 9.30 pm / Sun: 2.00 pm to 9.00 pm, £15
2. Check out new West London speakeasy Evans and Peel Detective Agency. It is definitely something to be experienced. Entering through a real-life detective office, you’ll find yourself transported back to the 1920s (s0 while you don’t have to dress up, it’ll help). Contact the agency for a consultation beforehand to ensure a place. And, as a sweetener, you’ll get a 20% discount during the preview nights (now till Jun 22nd). Earl’s Court, Tues to Thurs: 5.00 pm to 12 mn / Fri to Sat: 5.00 pm to 12.30 am, free entry
3. Learn more about ion channels, proteins which regulate the electrical activity of the body, and essential to every aspect of our lives from Oxford Professor Frances Ashcroft FRS in The Spark of Life. This lecture chartes the development of our understanding of animal electricity, explains how it is generated by ion channels and discusses the way that ion channels regulates our lives and the consequences when things go wrong. Jun 19th, Royal Society, 6.00 pm (doors)/ 6.30 pm (talk), free
4. Head to Waterloo to check out a reading of Anton Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard. After ten years abroad, Madame Ranyevskaya returns penniless to her family’s estate to discover it is on the verge of being sold. Despite being presented with several options to save their home, Ranyeskaya and her brother seem incapable of action. Their inaction puts their future at risk and seals the fate of the orchard. Jun 20th, The Network Theatre, 7.00 pm (doors) / 7.30 pm (reading), free
5. Another week, another free theatre performance at The Scoop. This time, the Merry Opera Company presents an adaptation of La Traviata set in modern-day East London where burlesque artiste Violetta is queen. One day, she unexpectedly meets and falls for City trader Al. Where this leads, neither one of them knows. Jun 20th to 22nd, The Scoop, More London, 6.30 pm, free
6. Catch Cambridge Footlights alumnus and character comic Nick Mohammed in an Edinburgh preview of Nick Mohammed is Mr. Swallow. Nick is the critically-acclaimed star of Radio 4’s Detective Sergeant Nick Mohammed and triple-BAFTA-nominated sketch show Sorry, I’ve Got No Head. Jun 21st, The Invisible Dot, 7.00 pm (doors) / 7.45 pm (show), £7
7. I absolutely love Tommy Wiseau’s The Room, otherwise known as the best bad movie ever made. The Room isn’t just a film, it’s a experience in itself. If you’ve ever been to a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, then that’ll prepare you – in some small way – for what to expect from the more experienced members of the audience. Jun 21st, Prince Charles Cinema, 8.45 pm, £12.50 (non-members) / £10 (members) 
8. Board the good ship Tamesis Dock, a 1930s converted Dutch barge, for the fantastic Mrs Mills Experience, a reinvented music hall sing-a-long sensation consisting of Brixton-based dance DJS and punk musicians united by their improbable love of piano-thumper extraordinaire, Mrs Gladys Mills. Support is provided by high-octane all-girl go-go troupe The Actionettes and Mermaid Morris dancing. Jun 21st, Tamesis Dock, 7.00 pm to 1.00 am, free 
9. Join Foodcycle, Forgotten Feast and chef Tom Hunt in a pop-up dining experience celebrating unwanted and unloved foods ranging from wild and foraged ingredients, to misshapen vegetables and out-of-fashion cuts of meat. Enjoy a delicious three-course dinner while knowing your contribution will enable food waste pioneers and activists to do something about the 20 million tonnes of food which go to waste every year. (Note: Volunteers are needed to help out as waiting stuff. In return you can come for another night at half-price. E-mail amy.b@foodcycle.org.uk for more details.) Fleet River Bakery, Jun 21st to 24th, Thurs to Sat: 7.30 pm to 10.30 pm / Sun: 3.00 pm to 6.00 pm, £30

Weekend

1. Learn about the Elements of the Olympic medals and the building blocks of Classical civilisation, featuring mythic storytelling with writer and mythographer Marina Warner and storyteller Vayu Naidu, live music, a modern-day alchemists and debates on mining. Jun 22nd, Wellcome Collection, 7.00 pm to 11.00 pm, free
2. Discover a few of the approximately 200 gardens and plazas dotted around the Square Mile in Walk: The Blooming City. The walk starts outside St Lawrence Jewry (front entrance). To book email lindaantonioni@gmail.com stating day, walk title, time and number of attendees. There is a maximum of two bookings per adult. Jun 22nd, starts outside front entrance of St. Lawrence Jewry, 7.30 pm, free
3. Expect plenty of laughs from Bec Hill’s + 1 as fellow Australian Celia Pacquola guests. While tickets are already cheap at a fiver, you can get them for a bargainous price of £1 if you respond ‘yes’ to the Facebook event before the night itself. Jun 22nd, The Camden Head, 7.30 pm (d0ors), £5
4. Layo & Bushwacka!, two of the world’s most foremost DJs, are back with another awesome party with ‘Shake It Presents,’ featuring their legendary all-night sets. They’ll be joined by Audiofly, Russ Yallop and Elek-Fun as well as other special guests. Jun 22nd, Egg, 10.00 pm (doors), £16.80 (inc. fees)
5. Erol Alkan, one of the most innovative DJs I’ve had the chance to catch, headlines Fabriclive as his Phantasy record label takes over. Kindness (live), Justin Robertson, Daniel Avery and Boggy will be providing support. Jun 22nd, Fabric, 10.00 pm (doors), £18.88 (inc. fees) 
6. Wander through one of London’s oldest shopping thoroughfares as Cheapside closes to traffic for a day for the Cheapside Street Fayre. The fayre will include performances, a market, livery company demonstrations, live music from Guidhall School of Music and Drama students, free sports activities and free tuk-tuk rides. While you’re in the area, check out the Bishopsgate Institute Open Day taking place nearby, featuring free taster classes, workshops, music, talks and tours. Jun 23rd, Cheapside for the fayre / Bishopsgate Institute for the Open Day, 10.00 am to 5.00 pm, free
7. Commemorate the longest day of the year with A Midsummer Night’s Adventure, a 12-hour extravaganza of festivities to celebrate the summer solstice. Expect faeries, sprites, goblins and elves, all ressed up for a Venetian ball and ready to drink a toast to Queen Mab before embarking on a night of decadence featuring bands Gypsy Hill (Balkans), La Mort Subite (psychedelic) and Family Atlantica (afro-atlantic). Jun 23rd, Passing Clouds, 6.00 pm (doors), free before 8.00 pm / £5 before 10.00 pm / £10 after
8. Join two of London’s top party DJs – Neil Prince (Popstarz) and Anna Greenwood (Guilty Pleasures) – as they join forces for Throwback Club: Disco Pop Explosion. These two definitely know how to read a crowd and get a party started. So, put on your dancing shoes, don’t take yourself too seriously, and head on down for a night of hedonistically cheesy good fun. Jun 23rd, Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes, 8.00 pm (doors), £2 (adv) / £3 (doors)
9. Susan Black, described by The Stage as “an international diva star with a voice that can fill the Albert Hall without a microphone, and, indeed a radical break from the norm,” pays tribute to legendary La Vie En Rose singer Edith Piaf in Susan Black Sings Piaf. Jun 24th, Leicester Square Theatre, 8.00 pm, £13.50 (inc. £1.50 booking fee)