Ooof, where did that sun come from? Be very quiet. Don’t. Scare. It. Away. Lather yourself up in sun lotion for a Patti Smith gig and some NBA action in South London, or hide inside at a Penny Slinger exhibition and a film about lots of angry beavers. Your choice.  

Beavers, everywhere
Drawing comparisons to Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Looney Tunes, Hundreds of Beavers is a bonkers tribute to silent comedy that involves, well, hundreds of beavers. A drunken applejack salesman finds himself at war with a battalion of beavers, all of whom are played by humans in beaver costumes. After several seasons on the festival circuit, Hundreds of Beavers has finally made its way to the Prince Charles Cinema, where it has regular showings over the next few weeks.

Catch Hundreds of Beavers at the Prince Charles this weekend.

Eroticism and mysticism
The legendary feminist artist Penny Slinger has a brand new solo exhibition at Richard Saltoun in Mayfair. Spanning original photo-collage, print and video work, the exhibition coincides with the publication of Slinger’s iconic book, An Exorcism: A Photo Romance. Slinger’s work has always courted controversy, in 1977 one of her art books was seized and burned by British customs for being deemed pornographic.

Penny Slinger: Exorcism: Inside Out is at Richard Saltoun until September 7th

A new hot wing king is crowned at the Dorfman
Even though it had its Broadway run cut short due to Covid, Katori Hall’s The Hot Wing King still went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2021. Now in production at the National’s Dorfman Theatre, it isn’t hard to understand why.

One of the funniest plays that London has seen in quite some time, The Hot Wing King follows Kadiff Kirwan’s Cordell and his fellow members of the New Wing Order as they try to perfect a brand new wing recipe the night before Memphis’s annual Hot Wing Festival. Structured like a sitcom (with canned transition music and all), the script sizzles with high drama and excellent jokes as a brilliant cast that includes Jason Barnett, Simon-Anthony Rhoden, and Olisa Odele (in a star-making performance) make this one of the most memorable nights the Dorfman has ever seen.

Katori Hall’s The Hot Wing King is playing at the National’s Dorfman Theatre until September 14th, tickets are available here.

Patti Smith is in town
Somerset House brings its Summer Series to a spectacular end with a live set from the legendary Patti Smith Quartet. A Patti Smith gig is always better in the open air, watching the sunset as she runs through her unparalleled back catalogue. If you’ve never seen her live, you need to change that immediately – and here’s your chance.

The Patti Smith Quartet play Somerset House’s Summer Series on Sunday 21st July. Buy tickets here.

Michael Jordan, who?
For the more active folk in town, NBA 3X London are taking over Clapham Common for a weekend of 3-on-3 basketball tournaments and activities – and they’ve invited special guest San Antonio Spurs star Jeremy Sochan along for the fun. So if you fancy yourself as the next LeBron James, or think Dennis Rodman wouldn’t wanna mess with you, head down and show us what you’ve got – there are some top prizes to be won.

NBA 3X London presented by Gatorade takes place at Clapham Common Saturday 20th – Sunday 21st – register for free here.

It's time for #NBA3X London, presented by @Gatorade! 🔥

We'll see you this weekend with none other than @JeremySochan! ⭐️

📆 20-21 July
📍 Clapham Common

Don't miss out! 🏀 pic.twitter.com/ZYh3DKybIN

— NBA UK (@NBAUK) July 17, 2024

To the roof
Perfectly timing with this weekend’s warm weather, head to the recently opened Kaso restaurant on the roof of One Hundred Shoreditch. Headed up by chef Ilknur Celik (who began her career working in a Turkish butchers), the menu celebrates Eastern Mediterranean food across dishes like grilled octopus with samphire, roast aubergine with zhoug and pine nuts and lamb cutlets with fig and pistachio salsa. Good views, good food – ideal combo.

Kaso is located on the top floor of One Hundred Shoreditch.