Your cultural life in London

For those who feel they don't find out about the eclectic range of things going on I recommend Ian Visits

https://www.ianvisits.co.uk

A lot of exhibitions are expensive, I think £20 is too much. For those into galleries and museums who would like to pay £5 per month for half price exhibits at the main museums and galleries and free entry to a lot of the other places that charge I recommend the National Art Pass. The good transport and concentration of venues around London makes it easy to do something every month (or more often if retired!).  Right now (June 2024) there is a 3 month trial 

https:/www.artfund.org/national-art-pass 

• Many events can get too busy.
• Museums now have extremely expensive paid attractions which are just financially unviable.
• Some things are often dumbed down (the Science Museum is often disappointing these days) and we, as a family miss people giving talks or presentations which are engaging rather than 'digital interactions' which aren't and can be frustrating/broken/for very young children.
• Food options are expensive, in fact everything is expensive these days which makes a day out less frequent.
• Too much noise at events, mostly due to crowd sizes becomes unpleasant and an experience overload. My son wears earplugs to avoid it as it freaks him out.
• Many places feel too commercial.
 

Sadik should take a leaf out of Ken Livingstone's book. 

When we still had the fabulous GLC, I was a poor student with no money. I lived in Lewisham and would get the bus up with my friends and most weekends would see great acts for no money - local lad Eddie Grant, the Mint Juleps, Smiley Culture, Hank Wangford, Latin Quarter. A lot of diversity - something for everyone and they had lasers too and sometimes even fireworks too. 

We loved Ken and the more central government tried to put him down the more popular he was. 

Bring those back - publicise them well for the summer. You'd soon see a sense of community - do something now like we had back then when I was young. Make it free. 

There'll be criticism for sure from the oldies - but some of us oldies remember the good old days in the 80s and will be there to support. 

Listening to thousands of people singing free Nelson Mandela is an enduring memory of a great evening and one that this Londoner is very proud to say he was a part of.

London is a vibrant place but sometimes just too busy in the venues.  Reducation of blue badge or on site parking with introduction of electric cars and cycle ranks

Cost of tickets for central London venues is very high.  This and the high cost of transport make it expensive to engage.  Possibly a season ticket scheme where you can buy several shows or events at a reduced price. Better access for those who are mobility impaired. Keep the English national opera in London!  It’s  great that many museums and galleries are still free as are outdoor events in places like Trafalgar Square. Good that there is more attention given to inclusive and diverse programming which reflects our city.  A lot of global majority people feel uncomfortable in spaces they feel are white only. This can and should shift. National theatre and Almeida have come some way in making work to attract black and diverse audiences. There’s a lot of sneering about ‘woke’ by those who want to preserve fixed ideas of high culture as Western and largely white.  V and A and Tate Gallery are doing a lot of good work in challenging this. Museums should acknowledge the legacy of colonialism within their collections. Pitt Rivers and other museums are ahead of us here.  Show the contexts that go beyond reinforcing Eurocentrism. How and why did these artefacts get to the UK?  More interactive local events especially for older people, kids and those on fixed incomes. Look at events which enable people to make art and not just consume culture.  I find out about events through newspapers, London-focused websites but also through word of mouth and newsletters. You do have to work hard to find local events as these are not well publicised in the way West End is. Best experiences have been Punchdrunk site-based theatre, shows at the Young Vic, Theatre 503, Sadlers Wells and English National Opera. For me, the most engaging work is that which takes risks, challenges your preconceptions and combines entertainment and provocation. So fewer revivals old musicals please. 

The only time I feel truly safe in London late at night is driving my own car and only then if there is safe parking near a venue. There is no point putting on night tubes or night buses because even if women are not threatened or assaulted you have that scary walk home   The murder of Zara Aleena brought it home to me how dangerous a busy street can be for a woman and since then I spend a fortune on taxis to get home safe and it stops me going to gigs. Even with friends I've had issues a total farce getting the jubilee line home after a gig at the 02 due to overcrowding waiting so long for a train we only just made the last district line and even then a fight broke out with drunks truly scary and my friend got pushed over as a result of the drunks fighting next to her . Perhaps try walking round these places late at night and see how scary they are   And try crewing for a band trying to park and unload near venues with your LTNs and Ulez 

Not so long ago, it was very difficult to get into the Natural History Museum when arriving not long after 10am; I think things have now improved.  From what I can see in passing, it often seems next to impossible to get into the British Museum which is choc-a-bloc with foreign tourists.  I'm currently waiting for the Museum of London to re-open in its new location, somewhere near Farringdon station.

Mention is made of reliable public transport.  I've become very dissatisfied with the reliability of the two local bus services serving Green Lanes in Winchmore Hill, and resent having to wait until 0935 on Mondays to Fridays before I can travel for free (I'm an active senior citizen) on the Great Northern service to Moorgate.  I think it is high time that this train service assumes the same status as the Elizabeth Line; both railways run through main-line size tunnels under Central London.  In fact, the Great Northern trains use tunnels originally part of London Underground's Northern Line.

As well as museums, galleries and theatres, we also regularly attend free lectures in the city, e.g. from Gresham College. Would be nice to see more such events hosted at venues outside the city centre in our local area (perhaps in the local library, as this is under utilised). Love going to the theatre but it is expensive, especially when you also factor the travel and inevitable food and drink into account. Some amazing free museums in London but they are normally crowded with tourists.   

Going to an event (concert, theatre) in the West End means returning home in the dark and reaching home quite late.  I do sometimes attend talks or lectures but it means travelling home late.

I regularly travel around London to see theatre, concerts, interviews, comedy. I have noticed that in the last 2 years there are tickets on seat filling websites for venues that did not appear previously. Also noticeable that events are often not full. This must be due to cost of living crisis. The Freedom Pass system makes it much more affordable and Im more inclined to buy a meal or drink beforehand due to this. If there is a way to contact people who have passes and to highlight the cultural options around London then perhaps more pass owners would get into the habit of trying things out and getting on mailing lists etc. 

There might be options for cooperation between food & drink venues and theatres, concert halls, etc with incentives if people book both on same day. 

As other people have commented, there are a lot of free options, especially museums and free events in spaces such as the ground floor of Royal Festival Hall.  

Membership can be a good option if you want to visit a venue a lot as you get options to book early so you can choose a price point/seat  that is more affordable and get discounts if you book several performances in advance. Ive never checked if there is a single website where you can see all the membership schemes and offer from London venues - if not then this could be useful.

I agree that some venues are not very accessible - the older theatres can be bad and I assume they are limited about what they can change in the layout. 

I understand that some people feel unsafe when out and about, especially if on their own at night - if I spot an event that I want to attend I often contact friends who I think might enjoy it too, if its someone who lives fairly near me we can travel back most of the way together.  

London has great venues and plenty of variety on offer, it is a major reason for living here.

Bizarrely, as informative as the internet tries to be, there is no equivalent any more to the old school, print version of Time Out.  Google and AI should make this feasible online. One site one can go to where every cultural event in London is visible divided by genre or location. ie. what dance events are going on tonight?  From Battersea to Covent Garden.  What music?  Rock, opera, classical, jazz? What art in museums, small galleries?   All the information is out there but there is no central place I can go to like a 'London Today' (I made that up or picked it out of my psyche) that tells me everything that's on, and everything that's known to be coming on.  These days it would be SO easy to organise, and yet I have to go to a hundred different websites, if I even know about them, to find out what's going on, and then I still miss stuff.  I don't think govt is the place to do it, but I think it's the place to initiate its existence.

Question at bullet 1: More freejazz (and its environs). I'm quite particular about specific types of music I expect to like or be indifferent to, as are most people in my experience, and I will only go out to live performance if I think it will be good quality regardless of whatever box I put it in. On the classical side I'm reasonably well catered for, but then the music scene is competing with free concerts and studio recordings on my cd collection and radio/spotify, often with my favourite musicians. For exploring musicians new to me Spotify allows an initial assessment at home. Southbank used to cater for my freejazz tastes but for some years has ceased to do so in any meaningful sense (rather like the London Jazz Festival which was anyway was a bit hit or miss -mostly miss - but anyway occasionally produced something special like the David Murray/Geri Allen/Terri Lynne Carrington trio I went to at Cadogan Hall some years ago.  Like Southbank, Cadogan Hall very occasionally has free lunchtime gigs which are to my taste (at one of these Clark Tracey had an excellent quintet with young soloists that I hadn't previously heard of even if it was more environs than freejazz). I've also been to Cadogan Hall for the Doctors' Orchestra charity events. I've also been to the Vortex but I have had to leave early to ensure late night travel. Cafe Oto sometimes has music that would appeal to me but similar travel problems. More generally, ticketing and then inevitably having to be available at a specific date, time and place means I am very picky about committing to events unless they are exceptionally compelling to me.  

My great regret working in London was I never seemed to want to stay after work and make the most of what was open after 5pm. Now I have a Freedom Pass which is great, but have a caring role which limits how often I can "Come to town"... Can't wait for the new Museum of London to open as this should give that overall city history in a proper 21st century designed environment... We are so lucky to live in such a wonderful place and we should never forget it! 

I am sorry that the Arts Council has decided to move ENO out of London. Compared with the Royal Opera House, ENO is very accessible and low cost. It puts on quality performances. It does not make sense to move this company out of London in the interests of so-called “levelling up”. With its pricing policy, ENO already does levelling up within London. Only the rich can afford the ROH.

I am discouraged from booking many cultural events because of ridiculous online booking fees. If I have booked an event and paid a high booking fee, I am less likely to book at this venue again because I’d have to pay yet another booking fee. If the revenue is required, it should be spread out and added into the ticket cost. 
 

Due to a health condition, I find I now get very tired by early evening. This means I can almost never go to an evening event. I go to theatre matinees, but I miss music. Matinee performances of operas have vanished almost completely. Daytime “gigs” and concerts are non-existent. Festivals are out of my scope because of fatigue. There are musicals, yes, but I love opera and rock music and miss both a lot.

A more balanced approach to other cultures, at the moment we seem to be overwhelmed by "black culture" events and activities.