{"title": "Michael Portillo", "start": "2026-11-09T19:30:00Z", "end": null, "place": "Cadogan Hall", "address": "Sloane Terrace 5, SW1X 9DQ London", "price": "£34.50 - £64.50 plus fees", "price_from": "34.50", "price_to": "64.50", "category": "talks-readings", "tags": ["society/politics", "history"], "description": "An evening stage show titled \"Michael Portillo: A Life of Two Halves\", in which Michael Portillo appears live to share stories from his life. The son of a refugee who became one of Britain's leading politicians and best loved broadcasters, he will talk about his years in politics under Margaret Thatcher, his leadership bid and the loss of his seat, and his later career in broadcasting and on television. He will also recount his family's story, from his father's escape from the Spanish Civil War to England, and his travels on the world's great railways across Spain, the USA, India and beyond. The show is presented and promoted by Fane and lasts 1 hour 50 minutes including an interval.", "url": "https://noky.io/en/london/events/michael-portillo-35208/", "official_url": "https://www.fane.co.uk/michael-portillo", "image": "https://noky.io/images/75ea86bd5ed90e504ca9dc0152574164d1fa37799d733da7c1cf8e1911d75e56-1200.webp", "dates": [{"start": "2026-11-09T19:30:00Z", "end": null, "place": "Cadogan Hall", "address": "Sloane Terrace 5, SW1X 9DQ London", "tickets": "sold_out"}], "similar": [{"title": "Major", "start": "2026-10-27T00:00:00Z", "end": "2027-07-31T00:00:00+01:00", "place": "Olivier - National Theatre", "address": "South Bank, SE1 9PX London", "price": "GBP 10", "price_from": "24.00", "price_to": "36.00", "category": "theatre", "tags": ["stage/theatre/drama/political-drama", "history"], "description": "Major is a new political drama staged at the Olivier - National Theatre on the South Bank. Playwright James Graham, a three-time Olivier Award winner, chronicles John Major's rapid rise from obscure Whip to Prime Minister, taking over from Margaret Thatcher in 1990 during a pivotal moment for the UK. Directed by Jeremy Herrin, the play blends history with storytelling and asks what true leadership looks like during times of change, a question as urgent to modern-day Britain as it was in the nineties.", "url": "https://noky.io/en/london/events/major-63472/", "official_url": "", "image": "https://noky.io/images/ed28c37777adb704e5c3c39bef7fb3699e1316db85cb3819e834d230a08cf17e-600.webp"}, {"title": "What We Leave We Carry: Voices of Migration to Britain with Colin Grant", "start": "2026-11-10T18:30:00Z", "end": null, "place": "", "address": "", "price": "Free", "price_from": "0.00", "price_to": "0.00", "category": "talks-readings", "tags": ["history/migration"], "description": "An evening talk titled 'What We Leave We Carry: Voices of Migration to Britain' exploring what people leave behind and carry with them when they move to Britain. Author, historian and critic Colin Grant has travelled the country gathering stories of people who came to make a new life, including a Czech-Roma lawyer, an Iranian taxi driver, a Sierra Leonean actor and a Romanian police officer, asking questions about assimilation, identity, belonging and the emotional cost of migration. He will be joined in conversation by actress, director and writer Anni Domingo and writer Isabelle Dupuy. The event takes place at Brixton Tate Library and is free to attend.", "url": "https://noky.io/en/london/events/what-we-leave-we-carry-voices-of-migration-to-britain-with-c-60892/", "official_url": "https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/events/what-we-leave-we-carry-voices-migration-britain-with-colin-grant", "image": "https://noky.io/images/f50cce3ac322c2eca82938db0a470ea07ed03c811cfbb47685448905a5da548a-1200.webp"}, {"title": "John Simpson", "start": "2026-11-04T19:30:00Z", "end": null, "place": "Cadogan Hall", "address": "Sloane Terrace 5, SW1X 9DQ London", "price": "£16.50 - £68.50 plus fees", "price_from": "16.50", "price_to": "68.50", "category": "talks-readings", "tags": ["society/media/journalism", "history/politics"], "description": "An evening with the journalist and broadcaster John Simpson CBE, part of his show 'The Leaders and Lunatics Tour'. Drawing on nearly 60 years of access to world leaders, he examines what makes tyrants and how sane societies slip into despotism, from Putin, Assad, Saddam, Gaddafi and Trump to Gorbachev, Mandela, Havel and Zelensky. The second half is an audience question-and-answer session about the events he has covered, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to Tiananmen Square and the Gulf Wars. The event runs 1hr 50 min including a 20-minute interval, presented and promoted by Fane.", "url": "https://noky.io/en/london/events/john-simpson-35204/", "official_url": "https://cadoganhall.com/whats-on/john-simpson/", "image": "https://noky.io/images/3462d6b4ffd690999dd662788d30f5db41dcc95eff27f33893c01df792322ad8-1200.webp"}, {"title": "Florence “Flo” Smith – Now & Then", "start": "2026-11-06T19:30:00Z", "end": "2026-11-07T19:30:00Z", "place": "Bridge House Theatre", "address": "High Street 2, SE20 8RZ London", "price": "", "price_from": null, "price_to": null, "category": "theatre", "tags": ["stage/theatre/drama/historical-drama"], "description": "Florence “Flo” Smith – Now & Then is a historical biographical drama set in 1969, in which a woman looks back on her life in London from the Boer War to the Summer of Summer of Love, recalling with horror, humour, tears and joy those turbulent times at home and in the world beyond her front door. It was written and directed by Christopher Saul, who based it on tape recordings he made in 1969 of his grandmother Florence Smith's recollections of her Victorian childhood, her marriage to a man seriously wounded in the First World War, her struggle to feed three hungry children in the 1930s and her experiences of the London Blitz. Ursula Mohan plays Flo, portraying a woman whose body is slowed by aching bones but whose mind remains as sharp as ever, in a story of growing up in poverty and struggling in war-torn Britain that critics have called funny, poignant, moving and compelling.", "url": "https://noky.io/en/london/events/florence-flo-smith-now-then-35084/", "official_url": "", "image": "https://noky.io/images/a167a10f4aae351bf07036be1350ce1f1692a9f15631ff592efb32fb78cd1bdb-1200.webp"}, {"title": "Lenny Henry: Still at Large", "start": "2026-11-03T19:30:00Z", "end": null, "place": "Hackney Empire", "address": "Mare Street 291, E8 1EJ London", "price": "£31- £44.50 (plus £1.50 per ticket online, and over the phone)", "price_from": "31.00", "price_to": "44.50", "category": "comedy", "tags": ["comedy/stand-up"], "description": "\"Lenny Henry: Still at Large\" is a live show combining stand-up, storytelling and conversation at the Hackney Empire. It stars British comedian, actor and presenter Lenny Henry, presented by Fane. Across five decades on stage and screen, from The Lenny Henry Show and Chef! to Othello and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, he reflects on the experiences that shaped him and what drives him today. Expect big laughs, heart and roughly one hour and 50 minutes including an interval, for ages 16 and over.", "url": "https://noky.io/en/london/events/lenny-henry-still-at-large-73994/", "official_url": "https://www.hackneyempire.co.uk/events/lenny-henry-still-at-large", "image": "https://noky.io/images/99d15ec5b922b86e25877e2ad10b8b5073f61e96680ed2ee897ad44801756d60-600.webp"}, {"title": "Andrew Davies in conversation with Hadley Freeman", "start": "2026-11-03T18:30:00Z", "end": null, "place": "Daunt Books Notting Hill", "address": "", "price": "£6.00", "price_from": "6.00", "price_to": "6.00", "category": "talks-readings", "tags": ["literature/memoir"], "description": "An intimate evening conversation at a bookshop with the screenwriter and novelist Andrew Davies about his new memoir, An Unsuitable Boy: A Life in Scripts. He will be joined in conversation by author and journalist Hadley Freeman, formerly of The Guardian and now a staff writer at The Sunday Times. The memoir weaves together wit, irreverence and vulnerability, reflecting on a life of writing, adapting and collaborating, from post-war Cardiff to the BBC boardroom. The ticket price includes a glass of wine or a soft drink.", "url": "https://noky.io/en/london/events/andrew-davies-in-conversation-with-hadley-freeman-41336/", "official_url": "https://dauntbooks.co.uk/shop/events/andrew-davies/", "image": "https://noky.io/images/7d0544d1a1714526e74c2f40d60c2c2aa0de35f8dcc780d344d0f74b42a08f25-2000.webp"}, {"title": "IWM In Conversation: Damien Lewis and Rye Barcott", "start": "2026-11-06T18:30:00Z", "end": null, "place": "IWM London", "address": "", "price": "£20", "price_from": "20.00", "price_to": "20.00", "category": "talks-readings", "tags": ["history/wwii", "literature/memoir"], "description": "An evening talk at the Churchill War Rooms in which authors Damien Lewis and Rye Barcott discuss courage, leadership, service and sacrifice, from the Second World War to conflicts and politics today. It is held by Imperial War Museums as part of its IWM In Conversation series and draws on British and American stories of people who chose service when it came at a cost. Barcott, a Marine Corps veteran and New York Times bestselling author, will speak about his book 'Courage Can Save Us', while war reporter and historian Damien Lewis presents 'Behind Enemy Lines'. After the talk there is a Q&A, a book signing and the chance to explore the historic rooms.", "url": "https://noky.io/en/london/events/iwm-in-conversation-damien-lewis-and-rye-barcott-50307/", "official_url": "https://www.iwm.org.uk/events/iwm-in-conversation-damien-lewis-and-rye-barcott", "image": "https://noky.io/images/2d0c3f69c5b7d3df5e711cce7d8f0f2603f123e647d7aa85afeac1011f6e5294-1200.webp"}, {"title": "Conversation and performance: Voices of democracy", "start": "2026-11-04T18:30:00Z", "end": "2026-11-04T20:30:00Z", "place": "Westminster Abbey", "address": "Dean's Yard 20, SW1P 3PA London", "price": "Free (booking required)", "price_from": "0.00", "price_to": "0.00", "category": "talks-readings", "tags": ["music/classical/choral", "history/democracy"], "description": "An immersive evening of music, readings, and discussion about how individual voices have shaped the long story of democracy in the UK. It is hosted by Westminster Abbey Institute as part of its programme The Long Story of Democracy. Chaired by Josie Rourke, it features a panel including Professor Janina Ramirez, music from St Margaret's Choristers and Consort, and performances by Paul Chahidi and Miranda Raison. From Magna Carta to Nelson Mandela, it explores how those who tested the foundations of democracy inspire hope for its future.", "url": "https://noky.io/en/london/events/conversation-and-performance-voices-of-democracy-49729/", "official_url": "https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-events/lectures-and-talks/2026/november/conversation-and-performance-voices-of-democracy/", "image": "https://noky.io/images/53d94d67ae2efff392b59ae48b41d6facbba64eefcc87e098a46f1b7e7869e32-2000.webp"}, {"title": "Cody Dahler: The State of This!", "start": "2026-11-04T19:30:00Z", "end": null, "place": "Soho Theatre", "address": "Dean Street 21, W1D 3NE London", "price": "From £33.5", "price_from": "33.50", "price_to": "36.00", "category": "comedy", "tags": ["comedy/satire/political-satire", "society/politics"], "description": "A live comedy and satire show about modern British politics, subtitled 'A Thicky Thicky Dumb Dumb's Guide to British Politics'. It is created and performed by Cody Dahler, an award-winning comedian, satirist and political writer with over 2 million followers across his platforms. The show takes on the state of the nation with fast-paced, fact-filled looks at today's identity-driven, culture war-fuelled politics, from filthy rivers to frequent changes of Prime Minister. Cody is joined on stage by special guest hosts discussing his book and taking questions from the audience, whether deep, dumb or deranged.", "url": "https://noky.io/en/london/events/cody-dahler-the-state-of-this-38669/", "official_url": "https://sohotheatre.com/events/cody-dahler-the-state-of-this/", "image": "https://noky.io/images/732e4f440911fd33b06b848260f4caac6d436fe182513c99335c3c79131136a3-2000.webp"}, {"title": "My Father and Qaddafi", "start": "2026-11-01T00:00:00Z", "end": null, "place": "Picturehouse Central", "address": "Great Windmill Street, W1D 7DH London", "price": "", "price_from": null, "price_to": null, "category": "film", "tags": ["film/documentary", "history"], "description": "A documentary in which filmmaker Jihan retraces the disappearance of her father, Mansur Rashid Kikhia, Libya's former Foreign Minister who vanished during a trip to Cairo in 1993 while living in exile as an opposition leader against Qaddafi's regime. Mixing personal and state archives with her own experiences and those of her family, she takes the audience on a raw, thought-provoking journey showing that the personal and the political cannot be separated. The film is directed by Jihan and lasts 88 minutes.", "url": "https://noky.io/en/london/events/my-father-and-qaddafi-37781/", "official_url": "https://www.picturehouses.com/movie-details/002/HO00018665/cff-my-father-and-qaddafi", "image": "https://noky.io/images/c18abc4fc8b82995d1e7f233e45ebccf5d606d54b64ff3bfa5a9e91167fe4186-1200.webp"}, {"title": "So This Is What Happened", "start": "2026-11-06T19:00:00Z", "end": null, "place": "Omnibus Clapham", "address": "Clapham Common North Side 1, SW4 0QW London", "price": "£13 Standard, £11 Concession", "price_from": "13.00", "price_to": "13.00", "category": "talks-readings", "tags": ["literature/spoken-word/storytelling"], "description": "SO, THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED is a popular storytelling night where six people tell a true story from their lives. The evening invites the audience to laugh, cry and celebrate stories from the lives of real people. The event runs for two hours and is recommended for ages 14 and over.", "url": "https://noky.io/en/london/events/so-this-is-what-happened-63690/", "official_url": "https://www.omnibus-clapham.org/whatson/so%2C-this-is-what-happened", "image": "https://noky.io/images/eebaa5bd4c4fed72baa8b63f6644c4533b1ea1ec0026449171b42738a0c12025-1200.webp"}, {"title": "“Emlyn – A Divided Life” – A Chamber Play by W. A. Drew", "start": "2026-11-14T18:30:00Z", "end": null, "place": "The Fan Museum", "address": "Crooms Hill 12, SE10 8ER London", "price": "£25", "price_from": "25.00", "price_to": "25.00", "category": "theatre", "tags": ["stage/theatre/drama"], "description": "A charity premiere performance of the chamber play \"Emlyn – A Divided Life\" by W. A. Drew, staged in the painted orangery of The Fan Museum in Greenwich. The new play, written by W. A. Drew and performed by actor Mansel David, portrays the life of the writer and actor Emlyn Williams, from his roles on stage and screen – including Caligula in the ill-fated film of \"I, Claudius\" – to his famous plays \"The Corn is Green\" and \"Night Must Fall\" and his friendships with figures such as Richard Burton, Bette Davis and Noël Coward. Filled with humour, anecdotes, gossip, scandal and tears, it runs for one hour and twenty minutes without intermission and is suitable for adult audiences only. The evening also includes light refreshments and private entry to the museum's latest exhibition by contemporary fan maker Frédérick Yvan Manuel Gay.", "url": "https://noky.io/en/london/events/emlyn-a-divided-life-a-chamber-play-by-w-a-drew-39177/", "official_url": "https://www.thefanmuseum.org.uk/events/emlyn-a-divided-life-a-chamber-play-by-w-a-drew", "image": "https://noky.io/images/df0409beee6bc7ac912d08d73bd8451ca02b524f68559e0471c7c1ba438b1ef7-2000.webp"}, {"title": "OUTSIDE THE BOX COMEDY – HAL CRUTTENDEN", "start": "2026-11-02T20:15:00Z", "end": null, "place": "The Fighting Cocks", "address": "Old London Road 56, KT2 6QA Kingston upon Thames", "price": "£14", "price_from": "12.50", "price_to": "12.50", "category": "comedy", "tags": ["comedy/stand-up"], "description": "Outside The Box Comedy – Hal Cruttenden is a stand-up comedy night at The Fighting Cocks. Hal Cruttenden is back with a brand-new tour for 2025, a show that promises to stick it to 'The Man', as long as 'The Man' doesn't stick it back to him. With his trademark hard-hitting 'take no prisoners' comedy, he will be hilariously pontificating on subjects like middle aged dating, social media, the insanity of modern politics and the fact that his daughters love him but don't respect him. His last tour was extended four times and he's one of a select number of comics to have done Live At The Apollo three times and the Royal Variety twice, with TV also including Have I Got News For You, The Apprentice You're Fired, Bake Off Extra Slice and Would I Lie To You.", "url": "https://noky.io/en/london/events/outside-the-box-comedy-hal-cruttenden-65527/", "official_url": "https://the-fighting-cocks.co.uk/events/outside-the-box-comedy-hal-cruttenden-2/", "image": ""}, {"title": "Speaker Series: Paul Woodadge – Remembrance Sunday", "start": "2026-11-08T11:30:00Z", "end": null, "place": "Battle of Britain Bunker - RAF Uxbridge", "address": "Wren Avenue, UB10 0GG Uxbridge", "price": "£8 - free for members", "price_from": "8.00", "price_to": "8.00", "category": "talks-readings", "tags": ["occasion/memorial/remembrance-sunday", "history"], "description": "A special talk marking Remembrance Sunday, held at the Battle of Britain Bunker. Historian and author Paul Woodadge delivers it, speaking on commemoration and memorialisation. It is open to ages 14 and above, and the ticket price includes visitor access.", "url": "https://noky.io/en/london/events/speaker-series-paul-woodadge-remembrance-sunday-78787/", "official_url": "https://pre.hillingdon.gov.uk/events/event/450/speaker-series-paul-woodadge-remembrance-sunday", "image": ""}, {"title": "Peppa Pig’s Big Family Show!", "start": "2026-10-27T00:00:00Z", "end": "2027-01-03T00:00:00Z", "place": "Theatre Royal Haymarket", "address": "Suffolk Street, SW1Y 4HT London", "price": "GBP 12", "price_from": "12.00", "price_to": "20.00", "category": "kids-family", "tags": ["stage/musical"], "description": "Peppa Pig’s Big Family Show! is a live stage show for young children and families. It marks the West End stage debut of Peppa Pig, the long-running children's cartoon character. The brand-new play follows Peppa, Mummy Pig, Daddy Pig and George as they get ready for the arrival of a new baby, with music, adventures and familiar characters along the way. The show is recommended for families and runs about 1 hour 20 minutes including an interval.", "url": "https://noky.io/en/london/events/peppa-pigs-big-family-show-63391/", "official_url": "", "image": "https://noky.io/images/6b3158ec3aca7fb18e1258c0002e907f80668a4831ecb504d945cff38aabb496-600.webp"}, {"title": "Derren Brown: Only Human", "start": "2026-10-10T00:00:00+01:00", "end": "2027-01-30T19:30:00Z", "place": "Apollo Theatre", "address": "Shaftesbury Avenue 31, W1D 7EZ London", "price": "GBP 25–42.50", "price_from": "25.00", "price_to": "42.50", "category": "theatre", "tags": ["stage/magic"], "description": "Derren Brown: Only Human is a live stage show by Derren Brown at the Apollo Theatre in London's West End, following a sold-out UK and Ireland tour. The multi-award-winning showman, who wrote the show with Stephen Long and Andrew O'Connor, combines mind-reading, psychological illusion and storytelling. Only Human explores what it means to be human, looking at our perceptions, beliefs and the fragile line between reality and illusion. Directed by Andrew O'Connor, the production runs for about 2 hours 25 minutes including one interval and is recommended for ages 12 and over.", "url": "https://noky.io/en/london/events/derren-brown-only-human-37385/", "official_url": "", "image": "https://noky.io/images/32d99f6bf46105e9df7f52d17288566340709b5f9c703f40c683201c771eace3-2000.webp"}]}