- The B-Side
- Posts
- April 2025, curated
April 2025, curated
Handpicked by the editor — the unmissable to-do’s defining London this month:
The city softens in this threshold month. Light finally prevails against darkness, casting London in a subtle glow that transforms even the most familiar corners. April brings a collective exhale—winter retreats, allowing space for intention rather than mere survival.
This month offers a particular rhythm: gentle mornings, longer evenings, the hesitant return of al fresco culture. Streets regain their vitality while riverside paths fill with purposeful strollers. The city's gardens reveal themselves anew.
We've curated the moments that define London this April. Our selections reflect periods of both activity and pause—a balanced approach to experiencing the season.
Let April be measured, deliberate. The city rarely reveals itself to those who rush.
An immersive sonic installation transforming the Roundhouse's iconic circular space into a 360-degree auditory experience where visitors move freely between overlapping sound environments.
A considered evolution of the venue's cultural programming, the month-long music and culture festival offers a measured selection of contemporary expression across music, spoken word, and visual arts. Notable performances include Jack Rooke's nuanced SHOW HOLE, Sherelle's deliberately accessible dance experience, and Tom Odell's intimate Song Circle.
Roundhouse, April 1-30
Over 60,000 tulips transform the formal gardens of Henry VIII's historic residence into a tapestry of colour, offering a refined springtime ritual away from the city's pulse. The palace's baroque gardens provide the perfect canvas for this understated display of botanical precision.
Hampton Court Palace, from April 2
The South Korean pianist brings intellectual rigor and emotional restraint to Beethoven's final three piano sonatas in an evening of measured virtuosity. A performance that values substance over spectacle, or as The Telegraph puts it - “the best orchestra in Europe”.
The Barbican, April 12
© Photograph: Marco Borggreve.
Dive into an expertly curated selection of specialist nurseries offering rare specimens and heritage varieties unavailable elsewhere. For the avid gardener, botanist or florist seeking new additions to their home.
Garden Museum, April 13
An evening of considered literary discourse marking Jane Austen's quarter-millennium. Helen Fielding, architect of Bridget Jones's Diary, explores her relationship with Pride and Prejudice and the art of translating 19th century social observation into contemporary cultural commentary.
The salon, set within the studied elegance of the Cadogan, offers a rare opportunity to examine how Austen's narrative precision continues to influence modern storytelling. A gathering for those who appreciate the lineage of social satire.
The Cadogan, April 23
© Photograph: Oliver Holms.
A carefully edited selection of vintage and artisanal goods set against the baroque splendor of Chiswick House. Where informed collectors quietly acquire pieces of character.
Chiswick House Gardens, April 26
The Barbican's annual celebration of emerging filmmakers returns with a carefully curated selection of boundary-pushing cinema that captures the zeitgeist without pandering to it. Where tomorrow's directorial voices are quietly discovered today.
Barbican Centre, April 26-27
© Photograph: Happyend / Neo Sora.
A measured exploration of figurative representation through six centuries of artistic evolution. This five-week course moves beyond technical instruction to examine how philosophical shifts manifest in visual language.
Each session deconstructs a pivotal movement—from Renaissance idealism to Cubist fragmentation—through the deliberate practice of period techniques. Participants work from life models using media specific to each era's visual vocabulary, developing a physical understanding of how artistic choices reflect cultural moments.
Led by Robin-Lee Hall, former President of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, the course offers a considered pathway through representational approaches that value historical context over mere reproduction.
Royal Academy of Arts, 5 week course every Wednesday starting April 29
On the eve of July 4th in the Hamptons, publishing magnate Elena Solness prepares to celebrate her husband, architect Henry, as he unveils his latest creation. But their fragile marriage unravels with the arrival of Mathilde, a former student and Henry's past lover. As the evening unfolds, each faces a reckoning that shifts the course of their lives.
Inspired by Ibsen, My Master Builder is a startling new play that lays bare the vulnerabilities we expose, when we leave ourselves open to love. Featuring Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting, Fargo), Elizabeth Debicki (The Crown, The Great Gatsby).
Wyndham’s Theatre, Starting April 29
