Sadlers Wells Sampled is a brilliant format that brings you a 'tapas' of top notch professional dance for just £10 (or a fiver if you're prepared to 'prom' it.) It's the perfect introduction to dance and an great opportunity to sample new styles in one night. We tried to tempt you with brand new dance at The Place last week. Well, this week we're being a bit more forthright, tooting a big red horn......

Blues skies aside, winter is upon us - the halcyon days of summer a distant memory; thermals and visible breath a present reality. Therefore what better way to raise darkened spirits during these darkened days than going to the comedy and loosing yourself in laughter? We at Londonist certainly think this is a great plan (we’ve been on a not-so-secret comedy revival mission for years), and good news for us, Stewart Lee is playing at......

If you've been past the Bow Street entrance to the Royal Opera House lately you'll have seen Royal Ballet principal dancer Edward Watson smouldering gingerly in a full face poster shot, stating: Meet Ed. Fact: When he's dancing, pound for pound, he's stronger than a rhino. Superheroes really do wear tights. You see what the Opera House is doing? It's sexing up. In your face! To underpin its efforts at drawing in new audiences......

We said it would be unpredictable. We weren't wrong. We also hinted at nudity and, oh yes, we got the full frontal and more. However, the opening night of the "Touch Wood" new and work in progress season at The Place was strangely lacking in buzz. Unfortunate surprise number one was that Probe, who we'd been hotly anticipating, were all a bit poorly and had to pull out. So, actual programming by the seat......

If you've just landed a last minute date for tomorrow and were wondering where to take them to impress them with your urbanity, sensitivity, culture, quirkiness and cool then we've got something for you. Wilton's Music Hall (old, delapidated, threatened Victorian icon) is hosting Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire (atonal, landmark song cycle) by Transition_projects (contemporary, experimental arm of resident opera company) and a world premiere by young composer Ryan Wigglesworth (cutting edge kudos), featuring a......

"Touch Wood" can't help but make us think of that charming metaphor "touching cloth". Childish, we know, but considering it's meant to be a direct and reference to a superstitious gesture intended to ensure whatever you've just been talking about doesn't go tits up, perhaps the subtext is also appropriate for those with anxious dispositions. Touch Wood is a season of brand new dance, most of which hasn't been created at the time of......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 4th June 1762: A newly installed peal of ten bells at St Mary-le-Bow church in the City is rung for the first time to mark the 25th birthday of George III. Tuesday – 5th June 1734: The Bank of England’s current premises on Threadneedle Street are opened for business. Wednesday – 6th June 1997: Another anniversary for the Bank of England, which uses its newly granted independence......

London always goes a bit loopy in the heat. Unlikely couplings and incredulous incidents occur once the mercury creeps past a certain point, people and places begin to melt and blur into one another... Outdoor swimming pools become cinemas, banking districts become beaches... If you're in EC2 at any point this week before Friday 7 July, there's a beach among the banks and office blocks - and it's not a mirage. The lovely people......

With the football season well and truly over, it's time to get out and investigate the other sports the capital has to offer. And then sit and wait for the rain to stop and the covers to come off. To start with next week sees the Stella Artois Grass Court Championship take place at The Queen's Club in West Kensington (nearest tube Baron's Court). The leading lights of this year's tournament are last year's......

Those of you going to or considering going to Patti Smith's Meltdown, taking place from 11th to 26th June at the South Bank Centre, will be as interested as Londonist Music to hear that Eels have (has?) been added to the line-up. They/he will be playing the Queen Elizabeth Hall on 12th June. One day before that, to kick off the festival, will be The Brian Jonestown Massacre (nothing to do with the late,......

The details of the lineup for the Patti Smith-curated 2005 Meltdown festival have been released. The Guardian has some of the details online, but here's a bit of a breakdown of who you'll be seeing on the South Bank this Summer. John Cale will be bringing his particular brand of instrumentalism to the proceedings. The 'French Algerian Johnny Cash': Rachid Taha will be supplying a bit of country-punk. Marc Almond, Neil Finn and others......

The filmmakers responsible for the likes of Londonist favourites O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Big Lebowski, Fargo, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovich, and Adaptation come to London in a couple of months time, in what will no doubt be a very creative and original event. Joel Coen, Ethan Coen and Charlie Kaufman have written what are being dubbed 'sound plays', which are being set to music by their long-time......

Following their acclaimed reunion last year, the surviving founding members of one of rock’s most influential bands, the MC5, come together again, this time in a co-bill at the Royal Festival Hall on 25 February 2005, with sonic jazz phenomenon Sun Ra Arkestra (pictured above). Combining hard rock, R & B and avant-garde jazz, the MC5 are revered by generations of rockers, from Rage Against the Machine to The Hives to The White Stripes.......