One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Based on Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest has received a new stage adaptation at London’s Old Vic Theatre. The production is directed by Clint Dyer and stars Michelle Gomez, Aaron Pierre and Giles Terera. The story is set in a psychiatric hospital, where Chief Bromden, long pushed to the margins, begins to view the events around him from a new perspective. A new patient, Randle P. McMurphy, challenges Nurse Ratched’s way of running the ward, which also affects the other patients.
📍 Old Vic Theatre | 1 April – 23 May 2026
The Boat Race 2026
The Oxford and Cambridge University boat clubs go head-to-head in this annual race. The event includes both the women’s and men’s first crews as well as the reserve crews from each university. The race takes place on the River Thames in West London over a course of around 6.8 kilometres, from Putney to Mortlake.
📍 Thames | 4 April 2026
Hampton Court Palace Tulip Festival
The Hampton Court Palace Tulip Festival brings tens of thousands of tulips and other spring flowers to the palace gardens each spring. The event is included in the admission ticket, and both the palace and gardens are open daily throughout the festival period. During a visit, you can wander through the courtyards and gardens, admire the striking floral displays and the floating tulip bowls in the Great Fountain, and explore the palace interiors, including Henry VIII’s Great Hall and the historic kitchens.
📍 Hampton Court Palace | From 11 April 2026 to about 26 April 2026 (depending on the flowering season)
Sounds of Blossom
Sounds of Blossom is a spring event at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, where blooming magnolias and cherry trees are paired with musical works placed around the gardens. The compositions have been created in collaboration with the Royal College of Music, and live performances are also held at weekends. The event offers a chance to experience the gardens in spring and follow the progress of the blossom throughout the season.
📍 Kew Gardens | 14 March – 6 April 2026
Horniman Spring Fair
Horniman Gardens is organising its spring fair again, with plenty of family-friendly activities, including music on the bandstand and traditional fair games. There is also a chance to learn circus skills and take part in the Smallympics, and of course, the bouncy castle is always a favourite with children.
📍 Horniman Gardens | 11 April 2026
The Music is Black: A British Story
The Victoria and Albert Museum is opening its new V&A East Museum site at East Bank in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on 18 April 2026. The museum’s permanent and free Why We Make galleries will showcase creativity from different countries, cultures and periods, and the programme will also include temporary exhibitions, the first of which focuses on the history of British music. V&A East Museum complements the already opened V&A East Storehouse in the area and offers a more traditional museum experience as part of the new cultural quarter.
📍 V&A East Museum, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford | 18 April 2026 – 3 January 2027
David Bowie: You’re Not Alone
This immersive exhibition brings together rare archive material from David Bowie’s career, from the early hits to his final works. Live performances, previously unpublished interviews, photographs, sketches and lyrics are combined in an experience projected onto 11-metre-high walls at Lightroom. The spatial sound design is built around Bowie’s own voice and interviews recorded over several decades, offering insight into his thinking, creativity and cultural impact.
📍 Lightroom, King’s Cross | 22 April – 28 June 2026
Brick Lane Jazz Festival
Brick Lane Jazz Festival returns to Truman Brewery with a varied programme of London underground music, spanning jazz, hip-hop, neo-soul and electronic music. Performers will appear across twelve venues around Brick Lane, and the short distances between them make it easy to move from one gig to another during the same evening. Venues include Rough Trade East, Village Underground, Rich Mix and 93 Feet East.
📍 Brick Lane area | 23–26 April 2026
Grace Pervades
Ralph Fiennes and Miranda Raison star in David Hare’s play Grace Pervades at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in the West End. Set across almost a century, the play portrays the intense and complex artistic partnership between Irving and Terry. Through 25 scenes, it explores how love, ambition and creativity shaped both their relationship and theatre more broadly, following events from the late Victorian period into the 20th century.
📍 Theatre Royal Haymarket | 24 April – 11 July 2026
Fairy Tales Exhibition
The British Library is hosting an interactive fairy tale exhibition that takes visitors from an enchanted forest to a royal palace, introducing familiar characters, magical creatures and classic stories through books, theatre costumes, puppets and illustrations. Visitors can sit at the table of the Three Bears, make a wish to a fairy and explore a witch’s potions, while immersive set design and interactive elements bring the stories to life. The exhibition also includes new interpretations of well-known tales as well as works by beloved British authors and illustrators who have inspired generations.
📍 British Library | 27 March – 23 August 2026
