Must-see entertainment in England

  • Royal Shakespeare Company

    Stratford-upon-Avon

    Stratford has two grand stages run by the world-renowned Royal Shakespeare Company – the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the Swan Theatre on Waterside – as…

  • Liverpool Football Club

    Liverpool

    A dominant footballing force for most of the 1970s and 1980s, Liverpool FC remains one of the world's most famous and best-supported clubs, despite not…

  • Shakespeare’s Globe

    South Bank

    One of the most famous playhouses in the world, Shakespeare’s Globe will knock your theatrical socks off. This dutifully authentic reconstruction will…

  • Shot at night to capture lightstreams.

    Royal Albert Hall

    Kensington & Hyde Park

    This splendid Victorian concert hall hosts classical music, rock and other performances, but is famously the venue for the BBC-sponsored Proms. Booking is…

  • The Puppet Theatre Barge, which is permanently moored in Little Venice

    Puppet Theatre Barge

    Notting Hill & West London

    This utterly charming marionette (aka puppet) theatre can be found in a converted barge moored in Little Venice – an area as pretty as it sounds. The…

  • Belgrave ground-floor bar

    Belgrave Music Hall & Canteen

    Leeds

    Belgrave is the city's best live-music venue, with a diverse roll call of acts from burlesque to comedy and folk to hip-hop. Its three floors also…

  • Bush Theatre

    Notting Hill & West London

    Located in the former Passmore Edwards Public Library building, this West London theatre is renowned for encouraging new writing. Its success since 1972…

  • 606 Club

    Kensington & Hyde Park

    Named after its old address on the King's Rd, which cast a spell over London's jazz lovers back in the ’80s, this choice, tucked-away basement jazz club…

  • Wigmore Hall

    The West End

    Wigmore Hall, built in 1901 as a piano showroom, is one of the best and most active classical-music venues in town, with more than 460 concerts a year…

  • Minack Theatre

    West Cornwall

    In terms of theatrical settings, the Minack takes top billing. Carved into the crags overlooking Porthcurno and the azure-blue Atlantic, this amazing…

  • Green Note

    North London

    Camden may be the home of punk, but it also has the Green Note: one of the best places in London to see live folk and world music, with gigs every night…

  • Prince Charles Cinema

    The West End

    The last independent theatre in the West End, Prince Charles Cinema is universally loved for its show-anything attitude. Singalongs and quote-a-longs …

  • Pheasantry

    Kensington & Hyde Park

    Currently run by PizzaExpress, the Pheasantry on King's Rd is a 19th-century building that has been a ballet academy, a boho bar and a nightclub (where…

  • Creation Theatre

    Oxford

    This ambitious theatre company produces highly original shows – often Shakespeare, but also anything from Dracula to The Wind in the Willows – that are…

  • Storyhouse

    Chester

    The 1930s art deco Odeon has been converted into an award-winning modern arts centre with two theatre spaces – a larger 800-seater arena and a 150-seat…

  • HOME

    Manchester

    One of Britain's best arts centres, HOME has two theatre spaces that host provocative new work in a variety of contexts, from proscenium sets to promenade…

  • Constellations

    Liverpool

    Whether you're looking to join a drumming circle, take part in a martial-arts workshop or lose yourself at a rave, this terrific venue in a former…

  • King’s Head Theatre

    North London

    This stalwart pub theatre hosts new plays and musicals, along with revivals of classics. Classical music and opera are part of the mix, too. It's always…

  • Boogaloo

    North London

    ‘London’s Number 1 Jukebox’ is how Boogaloo flaunts itself: its celebrity-musician-selected jukebox playlists feature the favourite 10 songs of the likes…

  • Cecil Sharp House

    North London

    Home to the English Folk Dance and Song Society, this institute keeps all manner of folk traditions alive. Performances and classes range from traditional…

  • KOKO

    North London

    Once the legendary Camden Palace, where Charlie Chaplin, the Goons and the Sex Pistols performed, and where Prince played surprise gigs, KOKO is…

  • Ronnie Scott’s

    The West End

    Ronnie Scott's jazz club opened in 1959 and became widely known as Britain’s best, hosting such luminaries as Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald…

  • Bristol Old Vic

    Bristol

    Established in 1766, the much-respected Old Vic is the longest continuously running theatre in the English-speaking world, and has just had a £12.5m…

  • Scala

    North London

    Opened in 1920 as a cutting-edge golden-age cinema, Scala slipped into porn-movie hell in the 1970s, only to be reborn as a club and live-music venue in…

  • Royal Opera House and the Floral Hall Extension

    Royal Opera House

    The West End

    Opera and ballet have a fantastic setting on Covent Garden Piazza, and a night here is a sumptuous affair. Although the programme has modern influences,…

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    National Theatre

    South Bank

    The nation’s flagship theatre delivers up to 25 shows every year across its three venues inside this brutalist block. Even if you're not here for a show,…

  • Outside Electric Cinema, which offers a luxury movie experience

    Electric Cinema

    Notting Hill & West London

    Having notched up its centenary in 2011, the Electric is one of the UK’s oldest cinemas, now updated. Avail yourself of the luxurious leather armchairs,…

  • Manchester United

    Manchester

    Arguably the world's most famous football team, Manchester United ply their incredibly lucrative trade on the perfect pitch at Old Trafford, given the…

  • Wimbledon Championships

    Richmond, Kew & Hampton Court

    For a few weeks each June and July, the sporting world’s attention is fixed on the quiet southern suburb of Wimbledon, as it has been since 1877. Most…

  • Manchester City

    Manchester

    In 2018 Manchester City were crowned league champions for the third time since 2012, playing a brand of football that had fans and rivals alike applauding…

  • Glyndebourne

    East Sussex

    In 1934, science teacher John Christie and his opera-singer wife Audrey Mildmay decided to build a 1200-seat opera house in the middle of nowhere. It…

  • Roodee

    Chester

    Chester's ancient racetrack, on the western side of the walls in what was once the Roman harbour, has been hosting races since the 16th century. The…

  • Electric Cinema

    Birmingham

    Topped by its art deco sign, this is the UK's oldest working cinema, operating since 1909. It screens mainly art-house films. Be waited upon in plush two…

  • Gate Picturehouse

    Notting Hill & West London

    Opened in 1911, the single-screen Gate has one of London’s most charming art-deco cinema interiors, with director Q&As and a wealth of cinema clubs,…

  • Opera House

    Peak District

    Designed by theatre architect Frank Matcham in 1903 and restored in 2001, Buxton's gorgeous opera house hosts a full program of drama, dance, concerts and…

  • Jazz Cafe

    North London

    The name would have you think jazz is the main staple, but it's only a small slice of what's on offer here. The intimate club-like space also serves up…

  • Trades Club

    West Yorkshire

    Built in 1923 as a social club by the local trade unions, this place was revived in the 1980s and has since gone on to become one of the UK's coolest live…

  • Donmar Warehouse

    The West End

    The 250-seat Donmar Warehouse is London's ‘thinking person’s theatre’. With new artistic director Michael Longhurst, works in progress are more…

  • English National Ballet

    London

    One of the world’s best companies, the English National Ballet is a touring ballet company. You may be fortunate enough to catch it at one of its various…

  • Almeida

    North London

    Housed in a Grade II–listed Victorian building, this plush 325-seat theatre can be relied on for imaginative programming. Its emphasis is on new, up-and…

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