London Art Guide November 2026 – quick links
Agatha Christie: A World of Mystery
Discover the extraordinary life of the Queen of Crime in this wide-ranging exhibition at the British Library. Marking 50 years since her death, this fascinating exhibition explores Agatha Christie’s life, her writing, and the creation of her legendary characters, including Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.
There are many of her personal items here that have never been on display before, making this a rare opportunity for Christie fans to get to know her a little better. The exhibition is arranged in five immersive sections: ‘The Country House’, ‘The Dispensary’, ‘The Train’, ‘The Dig’ and ‘The Theatre’. See her old Remington typewriter, professional and personal correspondence, family photographs and the original notebooks and typescripts for some of her novels.
There is a comprehensive calendar of workshops and special events to accompany the exhibition, including a two-day Masterclass on Writing Crime Comedy; a Young Adult Crime Fiction Fest; and my favourite, the Top Ten Christie Killings…in Reverse Order, which promises ‘an evening of terrible things happening to terrible people’.
Agatha Christie: A World of Mystery is at the British Library, London to 20 June 2027.
Wimbledon Art Fair
Visit the Wimbledon Art Fair to see inside the working studios of almost 200 artists and makers who are based at the Wimbledon Art Studios. The studio spaces include painters, ceramicists, printmakers, photographers, jewellers, mixed media artists, and everything in between.
There are thousands of artworks for sale to suit all styles and budgets, and it’s always good to buy directly from the artists. Wimbledon Art Fair is London’s biggest open-studios fair and regularly attracts over 10,000 visitors, so book your free entry ticket now.
The Wimbledon Art Fair is at Wimbledon Art Studios, London from 5 to 8 November.
Speculations at Marylebone Theatre
Don’t miss the world premiere season of Speculations, a new political thriller by leading UK playwright Torben Betts. Directed by multi-award winner Sir Trevor Nunn, and starring Janie Dee, the play follows one of America’s most celebrated journalists, Dorothy Kilgallen, as she sets out to discover the truth behind three of the most infamous deaths of the 20th century: Marilyn Monroe, John F Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald.
These were three deaths that shook America and were felt around the world; they were also the subject of never-ending rumours and conspiracy theories. Following a trail from Hollywood to the White House, from the Kennedys to the New Orleans underworld, Kilgallen sees connections that others may have missed, involving JFK’s brother Robert Kennedy; Jack Ruby, the nightclub owner who shot Lee Harvey Oswald; and organised crime boss Carlos Marcello.
Killgallen was the journalist who refused to stop asking difficult questions. Sixty years on, there are still questions around her own death in New York in 1965. Blending Hollywood glamour, political intrigue, and true-crime mystery, Speculations and asks the tantalising question: how far would you go for the truth?
Speculations plays at Marylebone Theatre, London to 17 January 2027.
The London Festival of American Music
The London Festival of American Music explores the extraordinary breadth of contemporary music in the Americas, and its many cultural voices. Curated by the Cuban-American conductor and composer Odaline de la Martínez, the five-day festival promotes the work of outstanding American composers, many of whom are well established at home but less well known to UK audiences.
Many of the featured composers are women, often from ethnic minority backgrounds. Exciting emerging voices are here alongside internationally recognised names like Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, William Grant Still, Eric Whitacre, George Gershwin, and even the dearly departed Dolly Parton. The line-up includes 25 UK premieres and specially commissioned world premiere works by Daniel Thomas Davies, Charles Shadle and Neva Derewetsky.
The London Festival of American Music runs 9 to 13 November at The Warehouse, London.
The Afterlife of Magritte
This remarkable exhibition is dedicated to René Magritte and his enduring influence on the art of today. This is Still Not a Pipe, organised in collaboration with the Fondation Magritte, examines Magritte’s considerable artistic legacy. It includes many significant paintings, works on paper and sculptures, and features many of his most recognisable subjects, from apples and pipes to bowler hats and bright blue skies.
One of the stand-out works is La Lampe philosophique (The Philosopher’s Lamp) (1936), generally considered to be a conceptual self-portrait. Magritte’s works are juxtaposed with those of over forty artists of different generations, including Yoko Ono, Jeff Koons, Ed Ruscha, and Michael Craig-Martin. The exhibition is curated by Jasper Sharp and Bernard Lagrange and is the first major London showing of Magritte in three decades. Don’t miss it!
The Afterlife of Magritte is at Gagosian, London to 12 December.
EFG London Jazz Festival
The EFG London Jazz Festival takes over the city this month with 10 days of live performances, special collaborations, fresh discoveries and exclusive new commissions. The festival kicks off in style with the Opening Gala: Jazz Voice in the Royal Festival Hall, hosted by Jumoké Fashola and featuring a dazzling line-up of soloists, joined by arranger and conductor Guy Barker and the EFG London Jazz Festival Orchestra.
Festival highlights include Dear Miles: A Love Letter with Emma-Jean Thackray; an evening with the brilliant seven-piece band Hejira, celebrating the music of Joni Mitchell; and Combing Hair into Sand, a large-scale song cycle for vocal ensemble, percussion, violin and electronics, presented by Maarja Nuut.
There are also special events that celebrate the rich tapestry of London’s jazz clubs, from the most famous venues and seasoned jazz clubs to emerging creative spaces, which are all part of the musical mosaic of the city.
The EFG London Jazz Festival runs across London from 9 to 22 November.
French Film Festival London
The French Film Festival London returns to Ciné Lumière for a fortnight of fabulous French cinema, with over 40 films and almost 100 screenings including many UK premieres. The festival offers a unique opportunity to explore the breadth of voices and points of view in French cinema, whether by emerging or established directors, through fiction or documentaries, live-action, animation, comedies, dramas and genre films. There is also a selection of restored films with appearances by actors and directors such as Sophie Marceau, Sandrine Kiberlain and Laetitia Masson discussing their film careers. Many of the screenings have in-person Q&A sessions or pre-recorded introductions by the directors. There are also a few family movies in the CinéFamilies sessions.
The French Film Festival London is at Ciné Lumière at the Institut Francais, Lonson from 18 to 29 November.
Voila Theatre Festival
The Voila Theatre Festival is a pan-lingual celebration of boundary-crossing performance. Over three weeks, the festival hosts 101 shows and events across eight London venues, with 450 artists taking part and works presented in an amazing 60 languages, including English, Bulgarian, Chinese, Taiwanese, Spanish, Romanian, and many more.
The vibrant line-up includes international artists, emerging voices, established innovators and fearless theatre-makers, all exploring the ideas that will shape our tomorrows. There are performances, scratch nights, live streams, workshops, and special events. Participating venues include Barons Court Theatre in the basement of the Curtains Up Pub; Etcetera Theatre above the Oxford Arms in Camden; the Canal Café Theatre right by Regent’s Canal in Little Venice; The Cockpit Theatre, a place of ‘ideas and disruptive panache’; The Playground Theatre in West London; The Space on the Isle of Dogs; Theatro Technis between King’s Cross and Camden; and Upstairs at the Gatehouse in Highgate Village.
The Voila Theatre Festival runs 2 to 22 November at various venues across London
Famous faces on London stages
There’s always an opportunity to see a famous face from film and television live on stage in London. This month, see Kristin Scott Thomas and Stephen Mangan in The Cherry Orchard at the Harold Pinter Theatre; Gillian Anderson and Billy Crudup in Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf at Soho Place; Keira Knightley in The Lives of Others at the Adelphi Theatre; Matt Lucas as Fagin in Oliver! at the Gielgud Theatre; Teri Hatcher as Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada at the Dominion; and Christine Baranski and Richard E Grant in the delightful Hay Fever, Noël Coward’s comedy of appalling manners, at Wyndham’s Theatre.
