2015-02-15

Interesting and unusual things to do for a fiver or less this week, sponsored by CommuterClub.

All Week



Things to do in half term: Tales from the Shed at Chickenshed Theatre.

HALF TERM: Half term takes place 14-22 February. Click here for our complete guide to keeping kids and teenagers entertained in London, whatever your budget.

IMAGINE FESTIVAL: With free and cheap events inspired by Alice in Wonderland, literature and nature, Imagine Children’s Festival takes place at Southbank Centre 9-22 February

WIZARD OF OZ: Artsdepot in North Finchley has a free half term exhibition based on the Wizard of Oz. Elisa Cantarelli’s works of art use a dotting technique applied to photographic images. Free, just turn up, 15-21 February

PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION: The Royal Geographical Society hosts a photography exhibition, showing photos taken during PhotoVoice’s participatory photography workshops in Ghana, Tunisia, Ethiopia, China, Peru and Nepal last year. Community members used photography to express their experiences of development progress. Free, just turn up, 16-27 February

Monday 16 February

EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY: At a National Theatre Platform, Armand Leroi, Professor of Evolutionary Biology at Imperial College London, talks about some of the themes surrounding Tom Stoppard’s new play, The Hard Problem. £4/£3, prebook, 6pm

BOOK LAUNCH: Daniel Tilles launches his new book, British Fascist Antisemitism and Jewish Responses, at the Wiener Library. Free, prebook, 6.30pm

LEFT HANDED: Ever wondered why some people are left-handed (one in nine, to be precise)? Head to the Royal Society for an exploration of the genetic factors that affect handedness. Free, just turn up, 6.30pm

BINGO: Every Monday at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, The Big Bingo Show takes place. Expect entertainment themed bingo rounds interspersed with cabaret acts and the like. Free entry/£1 a round, just turn up, from 7pm

COMEDY: The Good Ship in Kilburn’s regular Monday night comedy slot is headlined by James Acaster, plus sets from Bethany Black, Diane Spencer, James Veitch and Martin Croser. £5, just turn up, 8pm

Tuesday 17 February



Make your own comic strip at Drink Shop Do

BRUNEL’S WORK: Southwark’s Third Tuesday series brings a talk about the life of Isambard Kingdom Brunel to John Harvard Library. Robert Hulse, Director of The Brunel Museum, talks about the life and achievements of the engineer. Free, just turn up, 6.30pm

MODEL ENGINEERING: …and continuing the theme of engineering, Osidge Library in Barnet has a presentation by Ron Manning of the Chingford and District Model Engineering Club. Free, just turn up, 6.30pm

COMIC STRIP: Learn the art of making your own comic strip at Drink Shop Do in King’s Cross. All materials provided and no experience required. £5, prebook, 7pm

PEKING MAN: Crap Film Club meets at The Book Club in Shoreditch for a screening of The Mighty Peking Man, a 1977 film which attempted to cash in on the popularity of King Kong. £4.50/£3.50, prebook, 7pm

Wednesday 18 February

UTOPIA EXPERIMENT: Stanfords in Covent Garden is the venue for an evening with Dylan Evans, author of The Utopia Experiment. In 2006, Evans left his job and moved to the Scottish Highlands to found a community called The Utopia Experiment. £3, prebook, 6.30pm

FRESHWATER CHALLENGE: Earthwatch Institute holds a panel discussion called Meeting the Freshwater Challenge at the Royal Geographical Society. Subject experts talk about how we can tackle the issue of limited supplies of freshwater. £5, just turn up, 7pm

CALEDONIAN PARK CLOCK: Hear all about plans to conserve the grade II listed Caledonian Park Clock Tower and reopen it for local people, and build a visitor centre. Takes place at Islington Town Hall, organised by Islington History Society. £1, 7.30pm

LIVE MUSIC: The Trans-Siberian March Band teams up with The Discount Orchestra for a bit of a knees-up of live music at Rich Mix in Shoreditch. Free, just turn up, 8pm

MASS SURVEILLANCE: Quite a hot topic at the moment: head to Union Chapel for a discussion on the ethics of mass surveillance. How do you balance the demands of keeping the country secure against the expectations of privacy? Free, just turn up, 7pm

MUSIC HALL: Lauderdale House in Highgate recreates the traditional Victorian music hall, with songs and dancing. £5, just turn up, 8pm

The list continues after a message from our sponsor.

Save Money And Commute Smarter This Year

Buying weekly or monthly travelcards? CommuterClub could save you money on your commute.

To find out more visit www.commuterclub.co.uk

Thursday 19 February

RIVER WATCH: Get involved in Thames21’s River Watch Big Count. Today, volunteers are needed at Erith and Richmond to collect and count litter from the Thames Foreshore.

DOCHOUSE: As part of the Best Of series, DocHouse screens Shape of the Moon at Birkbeck Cinema, followed by a Q&A with director Leonard Retel Helmrich. £5, prebook, 3pm

LGBT BOOKS: Head to Wood Green Library for an introduction to the work and publications of Paradise Press, an LGBT book publisher. There will be short readings (poetry, fiction and memoir) by several authors, audience questions, discussion and an opportunity to buy books. Part of LGBT History Month. Free, prebook, 5.30pm

CROSS DRESSING: The National Archives at Kew explores the story of two men who shocked Victorian England with their cross dressing. Neil McKenna, who has recently written a book about it, leads the event. Part of LGBT History Month. Free, prebook, 6pm

TATTOO PARLOUR: Enjoy the perks of getting a tattoo without actually having to face the needle at Drink Shop Do. The temporary tattoo parlour lets you design, draw and make your own transfer tattoos. Free, just turn up, from 7pm

BORDER CROSSING: Head to Hackney Downs to see Sub-Sublime, a company of 15 artists from 9 countries, host an evening of international exploration, from slam poetry to magic to Taiwanese drag. £5, prebook, 7pm

MEDFEST: The International Medical Film Festival, a medically themed film festival run by UK psychiatry trainees, comes to Queen Mary University. Free, prebook, 6pm

Friday 20 February

RIVER WATCH: Get involved in Thames21’s River Watch Big Count. Today, volunteers are needed at Isle of Dogs and Isleworth Ait to collect and count litter from the Thames Foreshore.

LUNCHTIME CONCERT:  Hear Russian-born pianist Alexander Panfilov perform work by Beethoven and Debussy at Bishopsgate Institute. Free, just turn up, 1.05pm

FILM CLUB: Coin Street Film Club hosts an evening of short films, including some from the London Short Film Festival. £5, just turn up, 6.30pm

Saturday 21 February



Take Back Our World

WEALTH INEQUALITY: Take Back Our World is the national launch event for Global Justice Now, an organisation campaigning against the fact that 85 people own as much wealth as half the world’s population. Head to Rich Mix to discuss topics such as food sovereignty, art and social change and reversing privatisation. Free, prebook, 10am-5pm

ZINE WORKSHOP: The National Archives at Kew runs a zine workshop based on LGBTQ History. Rediscover hidden histories from the LGBTQ community in a creative way, from love letters that were meant to be destroyed, to the calling card of the transgender diplomat Chevalier d’Eon. Free, prebook, 12.30pm-4.30pm

Sunday 22 February

MUSIC: The Sam Rapley Group performs at Artsdepot in North Finchley, with influences from jazz, samba, folk and pop music. Free, just turn up, 1.15pm

POETRY: Poet in the City presents an evening of new perspectives on poetry, featuring acclaimed German poet Ulrike Sandig who is joined in conversation by the artist Sebastian Reuter. Expect live poetry, film projections and the premiere of brand new sound art. Free, 6pm

Check out our map of free things to do in London for more frugal fun. 

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