Things to do in London this week: dive-bar fest, theatre finales and Attenborough at 100 (4–10 May 2026)
London’s first week of May packs in a little of everything: a new festival celebrating the capital’s grittier nightlife, a cluster of stage productions bowing out, a museum show in its final days and a centenary nod to one of the city’s best-loved figures. In Hackney, a week-long Dive Bar Festival spotlights alternative venues known for underground music, offbeat décor and wallet-friendly drinks.
Sketching sessions, £4 pints, free tacos and music are among the happenings on the schedule. The festival runs 4–10 May 2026. It’s a last call for several theatre runs. At the Aldwych Theatre, Hugh Bonneville plays C.S. Lewis opposite Maggie Siff as Joy Davidman in Shadowlands, the true story of an unexpected love that upends the Narnia author’s life.
Musical A Mirrored Monet, set in Paris in 1916 and using music and projections to conjure Belle Époque cafés and studios as Claude Monet struggles to finish The Water Lilies, is at the Charing Cross Theatre. Political satire I’m Sorry, Prime Minister — with Griff Rhys Jones as Jim Hacker and Clive Francis as Sir Humphrey Appleby in the age of being cancelled — plays at the Apollo Theatre.
All three productions are scheduled until 9 May 2026. Fringe theatre also takes centre stage. The hit debut JEEZUS! from award-winning migrant-led company Alpaq follows a Peruvian altar boy who begins to have feelings for the man on the cross; it has been described as “like if Bo Burnham, Bad Bunny, and Bertolt Brecht had a baby.” It’s on at New Diorama Theatre until 9 May 2026.
Meanwhile, Peckham Fringe ramps up with performances at Theatre Peckham and sister venue Canada Water Theatre. Highlights this week include Republic of Silence, about the controversial Mother and Baby Homes in Ireland, and Four-Walled Boyfriend, about the lengths people go to in order to keep their sexuality a secret.
Peckham Fringe runs until 5 June 2026. An exhibition in its final days offers a window into the city’s botanical past. At the Garden Museum, Seeds of Exchange examines late-18th-century plant exchange between Canton (Guangzhou) and London, displaying a collection of Chinese botanical art and research in Britain for the first time since it was commissioned 235 years ago.
The show continues until 10 May 2026. Across the city, the London Walking Festival runs throughout May, championing the pleasures — and practicalities — of exploring and commuting on foot. At its core are more than 200 guided walks, from neighbourhood wanderings to routes that open up unfamiliar corners of the capital.
On Friday 8 May, Sir David Attenborough turns 100. A number of London venues are marking the milestone with special parties, events and screenings of his work during the week, including a mass singalong in Trafalgar Square. Food and drink get a springtime twist at London Marriott County Hall, where the Library dining room has launched a Spring in Bloom afternoon tea ahead of this month’s Chelsea Flower Show.
The menu features British garden-inspired items — including a rhubarb and custard and lemon elderflower cheesecake — and a miniature replica of the Elizabeth Tower fashioned from rose and white chocolate. The tea is served until the end of May and the venue overlooks the Thames towards the Houses of Parliament.
Elsewhere, the erstwhile Leconfield pub on Green Lanes has reopened as the Golden Tooth, a pub-restaurant from the team behind the former Papi in Hackney. The kitchen serves playful comfort food such as chicken and red prawn stargazy pie, and cheese and lardy cake.
The Golden Tooth is open for drinks and snacks seven days a week, with food served Wednesday–Sunday evenings (lunch Friday–Sunday). Whether you’re after closing-night drama, a quiet museum hour, a long walk or a late-night gig, the week of 4–10 May 2026 offers plenty of ways to spend it in London.