After a momentary pause, literary London returns to form this week, with a couple of ace festivals headed our way. Wednesday: There are no fewer than three events on our radar for this evening: Chapman brother Jake discusses his debut novel, The Marriage of Reason and Squalor, at Foyles (6.30pm, free) in a ‘wholly different kind of literary event’ – this plus knowledge of the Chapmans’ art are just enough to tantalise; the British......

Shakespeare's Globe is not only getting a new thatch but will enhance its collection with a Shakespeare First Folio as part of a donation of around 450 works including plays from the 16th, 17th and 18th Centuries. The donor, US playwright John Wolfson, has bequeathed these textual treasures to the Globe after his death to ensure the collection stays together in an appropriate place. Brilliant news for the Globe although now they'll have to......

The Evening Standard kicked off the 08/09 British Theatre awards season announcing their longlist of theatrical heavy-weights, newcomers, regulars and Hollywood stars for the Evening Standard Theatre Awards. Kevin Spacey and Kenneth Branagh fight it out for the best actor accolade; Kev for Speed-The-Plow at the Old Vic, Ken for Ivanov, currently at Wyndham's. Wanna be in their gang? Better get some Shakespeare into your repertoire. Alongside Branagh and Spacey in the best actor......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 19th May 2004: Security at the House of Commons is breached, as two protesters from the ‘Fathers 4 Justice’ campaign group throw condoms filled with purple flour at Prime Minister Tony Blair as he addresses the House. Tuesday – 20th May 1609: London publisher Thomas Thorpe publishes Shakespeare’s Sonnets for the first time, possibly without The Bard’s permission. Wednesday – 21st May 1853: The Aquatic Vivarium, the......

T.S. Eliot wrote that “April is the cruelest month,” but we're officially endorsing Birthday Boy Bard’s more optimistic quote instead: “April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.” Feel young and sprightly in the warmer weather as you sample the Shakespeare-themed week ahead in honor of his “official” 444th birthday (his actual date of birth remains a mystery). Monday: And wilt thou be the school where Lust shall learn? One of London’s best......

O, that this too, too solid flesh would melt, Thaw and resolve itself into a dew! That would be the '20 per cent off' leg of lamb in the freezer section Hamlet is trying to defrost in time for Sunday lunch... And that's pretty much the kind of thing you can expect to bump into if you go to Supermarket Shakespeare in Lee Green this weekend and the beginning of next week. Teatro Vivo......

Last night London's Luvvieland came together for their annual award ceremony, the Oliviers. Having received 11 nominations across 10 categories, it looked like being Hairspray's night. And Londonist is happy to confirm what we already knew: the show is a deserved winner of the Best New Musical accolade. In addition, Leanne Jones (Best Actress in a Musical) rocks as the optimistic teen, Tracy Turnblad; Tracie Bennett (Best Supporting Role in a Musical) is similarly......

Shakespeare is in the news today due to the fight of three male Shakespearean leads for the Best Male Actor prize at the Olivier awards last night. But another bard-based story has caught our eye in the swirl of iambic pentameters and though it's been rumbling along for a week already, it's clear old William still knows how to shake things up... Nine girls at Yesodey Hatorah Senior Girls School in Stamford, north London,......

Ah, the transformative powers of education. Last week, we saw the kiddies philosophizing. This week, we learn of prison inmates dramatizing. And this isn’t just any kind of dramatizing, nor is this just any prison: This is Shakespeare as performed by the inmates of the California State Correctional System, in collaboration with the London Shakespeare Workout Prison Project. Forgive us our naiveté if upon spotting this photo we weren’t immediately reminded of a scene......

Ahh, art or money? It's something we ponder daily here at Londonist. (Can't we have both?) The big question is also being asked over at the Old Vic by none other than Kevin Spacey and his mate Jeff Goldblum in Mamet's Speed-the-Plow. We're also pondering how to get our hands on tickets for this sure-to-sell-out show. Previews run til Saturday; the show's booking until April. Also Opening Photography fans should pop along to the......

Happy February, FOBGs. Another healthy serving of book groceries awaits you this week. Stick to a well-rounded book diet, and you’re sure to stave off a winter cold. We have no actual data to support this contention – we’re book geeks, not science nerds – but it certainly sounds promising. So eat your greens, drink your grains, and check back later this week for a bonus edition of the Book Grocer especially dedicated to......

Londonist asks that most pressing of daily concerns: where to go on your lunch break. Betjeman’s 44 Cloth Fair EC1A 7JQ Nearest Tube: Farringdon 0207 600 7778 12pm-3pm for Lunch(Monday-Friday) 6pm-9pm for Dinner (Monday-Friday) 12pm-11pm for drinks (Monday-Friday) Map Expect to Pay: £10 or more for lunch Rating: 8 out of 10 Across the street from celebrated Club Gascon (with a list of accolades out its coulis) and hardly more than a belly roll......

This week’s events are top-heavy with poetry readings. Have our novelist friends squirreled themselves away to write tomes in their Christmas cards, we wonder? Monday: Head to the RADA Foyer Bar for a reading from the Poetry School’s third anthology, I am twenty people! All inferences to the contrary, there will actually be six, not twenty, new poets reading from their work. Free, 7.00pm. Tuesday: We were reminded last week that poetry isn’t just......

Bitterness aside (yes, we too were not on the pulse fast enough to bag tickets before their price sky-rocketed), we are rather enjoying the bitch fight that is ‘should Ewan McGregor have been cast as Iago in the Donmar Warehouse’s production of Othello?’ Bloomberg, while slightly disappointed by McGregor’s under-emphasis of evil intent, are definitely the most complimentary of his performance: Fortunately, Ewan McGregor gives a very creditable performance -- codpiece and all ... The......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 26th November 1983: An armed robbery at the Brinks Mat warehouse near Heathrow Airport becomes the largest heist in British history, as £25 million worth of gold bullion is pinched. Tuesday – 27th November 2000: 10-year-old schoolboy Damilola Taylor is stabbed in the leg and dies in Peckham, south London. The following six years would see several trials and re-trials over the killing, finally culminating in the......

Ever stop to wonder about the legacy of romantic comedy ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’? Every other minute of your work week? Well, you’re in luck, as today’s the day that Londonist tackles this very question. Sort of. Mild-mannered examination of love and marriage in the 1990s? Check. Perpetuator of the stereotype of the fumbling, floppy-haired English male? Check. Beyond that, though, the movie’s legacy becomes a bit more jumbled, as evidenced by recent......

Of all the things Brits can be proud of - great roasts, telephones, Shakespeare - the African Slave Trade is most definitely not one of them. Fortunately, it was abolished 200 years ago, which for the record is 41 years up on our neighbours, the French (well, actually they abolished it before us, but then decided to re-instate it until 1848). To mark this momentious occasion and indeed achievements of the black community in general,......

One of Londonist’s fave websites is seat61.com. Now this is not because we are closet anoraks, or are forever secretly planning our escape from the capital – it is just a damn fine website. Everything that you ever wanted to know about trains but were afraid to ask. Not just London, but worldwide. Journey to plan? We bet your travelling conundrums are already addressed on the man in seat 61’s site. It is a mammoth......

We were bored this evening so we took pot luck, browsed the Camden Fringe and went along to the next possible show. And what were we destined for? Traditional fringe fare: a slice of Shakespeare all shook up. Our minds were open. What was definitely not expected was it to kick off with a hip hop dance routine. Not a bad one at that, although clearly not from professional dancers. It made more sense......

The tenth anniversary of the Globe (what do you mean, you haven't been yet?!) is being celebrated with a series of plays grouped under the heading Renaissance and Revolution. The Merchant of Venice is the second of the Bard's pieces to open in the season, following the recent Othello, with Love Labour's Lost bringing up the rear when it starts on 1st July. This production of The Merchant of Venice easily surpasses the Othello;......

There's a mere 5 years, 1 month and 5 days until the start of the 2012 Olympics, and we'll bet you're wondering how you're going to fill your time until then. Sure, there are other sporting events you could watch and cultural events you could attend, but what if you fancy something more Olympic-esque? Then the Cultural Olympiad will be right up your alley. It's not a sporting event, but a festival intended to......

A wealthy patriarch wants his daughter to marry his new wife's son. Unbeknownst to him, said daughter has already secretly married a man deemed inappropriate for her. Meanwhile, in another part of the world, a man is raising the patriarch’s long-lost sons, both abducted as infants. Is it Dallas? Is it Dynasty? No, it is William Shakespeare’s Cymbeline. Cymbeline is not a soap opera, but it might well be, judging from the convoluted and......

Different people want different things from their Shakespeare. Some want it modernised, the eternal appeal of the bard twisted into sharp relief by some cunning, beard-stroking 'still true to this day, innit' resonances. Others like an abstract Will, all context removed along with the scenery and any distinctive costumes. Some like their Shakespeare quaint; in the park, back in 1940s cricket whites and boaters. Earlier this year, London hosted a gorgeous South Asian Shakespeare......

When you woke up this morning, your first thought was most likely “It’s St. George’s Day!” You undoubtedly leapt out of bed, barely able to contain your excitement, ready to kick up your heels and start celebrating in style. However, you might find yourself stumped as to what you can do to commemorate this special occasion, seeing as you most likely have to work (unless you happen to be employed by this guy). But......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 23rd April 1979: 33-year-old teacher Blair Peach dies from head injuries following outbreaks of fighting with police at an Anti-Nazi League demonstration against a National Front meeting in Southall, West London. Tuesday – 24th April 1993: A massive IRA bomb explodes on Bishopsgate in the City of London, killing one person, injuring 44 more, and causing more than £350m damage to the area. Wednesday – 25th April......

Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ... Oh sorry. We were just listening to David Cameron's favourite band, The Smiths. Bit of an odd choice then that he'd settle on Mike 'I'm a Celebrity Vote Me In Here' Read as a candidate for London Mayor: Mr Read said he was seeking financial backers after......

Hard to believe it in our era of global warming, but the Thames used to freeze in winter and the early Victorian folks used to gather on South Bank for a jolly day out, skating, socialising and generally enjoying the chilly air. Frost Fairs along the river were the big winter event up until the widening of the Thames in 1815 which ended the annual big freeze. We're glad to announce that the Frost......

The BBC are paying some attention to one of our own bugbears - the fact that Borough High Street just doesn't work: It is the gateway to the City of London, shrouded in history and referred to in respected literature. So why then, when you walk along Borough High Street are you more likely to spend your time dodging bins, street signs, other pedestrians and cars? The Southwark branch of the charity Living Streets......

The Londonist Literary List appears every Tuesday. If you'd like to bring an event to our attention, please email londonistlit@gmail.com. If you haven't seen the blog, or spotted them in the Guardian, Post Secret's conceit is simple - send a postcard airing a single piece of your dirty laundry. Now there's a book and an accompanying exhibition at Foyles till December the 10th. The new Smoke - a London Peculiar is out too. Here's......

The Londonist Literary List appears (almost) every Tuesday. If you'd like to bring an event to our attention, please email londonistlit@gmail.com. STOP THE PRESS: We have a late edition to the list, "Golden Handcuffs - Scandals, Drugs & Lies" by Polly Courtney is being launched on Thursday 12 - 2pm and promises "A cynical, gritty look at what it really means to sell your soul to the city." D202, St. Clements Building, London School......