May 16, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Sherlock Holmes Open Air Theatre Review: Save Your Money

Last updated: 16 May 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

Cool Factor: 2/5

This Sherlock Holmes Open Air Theatre production opened the 2026 Regent's Park season on 2 May, and runs until 6 June. We went in with high hopes, given the venue, the source material and the talent involved. Sadly, we left disappointed. The show is camp, overlong and far too dependent on the Cumberbatch BBC series and the Robert Downey Jr films for its character work. The setting still dazzles. The production, regrettably, does not.

Published by Stiv in Arts & Culture, London, Reviews, Theatre lover

Tags: Drew McOnie, Joel Horwood, Joshua James, London theatre, Open Air Theatre, opinion piece, Regent's Park, Sean Holmes, Sherlock Holmes, theatre review

April 30, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Ruba Nadar at Pipeline: ‘I Saw Myself Playing on The National Team’ Review

Last updated: 30 April 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Cool Factor

★★★★☆

4 out of 5 – Stone cold

The best reason to climb several flights of stairs on a weekday afternoon is the possibility of a genuine discovery. Ruba Nadar's first solo exhibition at Pipeline Contemporary is exactly that. Running until 23 May 2026, I Saw Myself Playing on The National Team is a debut that announces an artist with real conviction, curated by someone who, show by show, is becoming one of the more interesting voices on London's emerging art scene.

Published by Stiv in Arts & Culture, Exhibitions, London, Reviews

Tags: art review, collage, Contemporary art, emerging artists, Fitzrovia galleries, London exhibitions 2026, mixed media painting, Pipeline Contemporary, Ruba Nadar

April 27, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Amalia Pica: Daisy Chain at Herald St Review

Last updated: 27 April 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Cool Factor

★★☆☆☆

2 out of 5 · Lukewarm

Amalia Pica: Daisy Chain arrives at Herald St as the Argentine-British artist's fourth solo show with the Bethnal Green gallery. On paper, it sounds genuinely promising. Community, memory, coded language, and a monumental installation of interconnected watercolour paintings winding around the main space. In practice, though, the Amalia Pica Daisy Chain exhibition is a quietly pretty experience that leans more heavily on sentiment than on substance.

Published by Stiv in Arts & Culture, Exhibitions, London, Reviews

Tags: Amalia Pica, Bethnal Green, Contemporary art, Daisy Chain, Exhibition review, Herald St, London galleries

April 23, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

V&A East Museum Review: Opening Day First Look 2026

V&A East Museum Review: Opening Day First Look

Last updated: 20 April 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Cool Factor

★★★★★

5 out of 5 · Ice cold

Our V&A East Museum review comes straight from opening day, Saturday 18 April 2026. And we came away grinning. London does not get a brand new major museum very often. So when this one arrived in Stratford, we cleared the diary and went.

A decade in the making, this is the V&A's newest outpost. Crucially, it is the final piece of the East Bank cultural district. And it lands with genuine ambition. Here are our honest first impressions of the building, the free galleries, the ticketed opening show and the cafe.

Published by Stiv in Art Lovers, Arts & Culture, Exhibitions, London, Reviews

Tags: Art Exhibitions, Black British music, London museums, O'Donnell + Tuomey, Olympic Park, reviews, Stratford, The Music is Black, V&A East, V&A East Museum, Why We Make

April 10, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Schiaparelli V&A Review: Fashion Becomes Art at the V&A London

Last updated: 10 April 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

We went into the Schiaparelli V&A exhibition not knowing quite what to expect. We are not fashion journalists. We are curious culture-watchers who appreciate design, craftsmanship, and the occasional moment where something genuinely stops you in your tracks. Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art at the V&A delivered that moment several times over. This is our honest Schiaparelli V&A review, covering whether this blockbuster show justifies its ticket price, what the standout pieces are, and why it deserves your attention even if you have never owned a couture anything.

Cool Factor: 4/5 (Stone cold)

Cool Factor

★★★★☆

4 out of 5

Published by Stiv in Artists, Arts & Culture, Designers, London, Reviews

Tags: arts and culture, couture, Dali, Daniel Roseberry, Exhibition review, fashion, London exhibitions, Schiaparelli, Surrealism, V&A

April 6, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Hurvin Anderson at Tate Britain Review – A Landmark Exhibition

Last updated: 6 April 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Cool Factor: 5/5

The Hurvin Anderson Tate Britain exhibition is one of the most rewarding shows to open in London in years. Bringing together more than 80 paintings that span three decades of work, this major retrospective is a proper feast for the eyes. From lush Caribbean landscapes to intimate barbershop interiors, Anderson's colour-drenched canvases pull you in and refuse to let go. It runs until 23 August 2026, and if you only see one exhibition this year, make it this one.

Published by Stiv in Art Lovers, Arts & Culture, Guides, London, Reviews

Tags: barbershop series, British painting, Caribbean art, Contemporary art, Exhibition review, Hurvin Anderson, Tate Britain

April 4, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Runlimited Gait Analysis Review – Borough Yards London

Last updated: 31 March 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Cool Factor: 4/5 - Stone Cold

I had been putting off buying new running shoes for months, partly because the choice is overwhelming, and partly because I have a mild pre-existing lower back injury and really didn't want to make it worse with the wrong pair. After reading advice from sports science and medical experts that the best way to buy running shoes is to get a proper gait analysis in London first, I booked a session at Runlimited's Borough Yards store on Dirty Lane in SE1. For £5 paid upfront at booking, it was one of the best running-related decisions I've made.

Published by Stiv in London, Reviews, Self-care Champion, Services, Sport fanatics

Tags: Borough Yards, gait analysis, Hoka, london, Runlimited, running, running gear, running shoes, shoe fitting

March 13, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Stranger Things: The First Shadow Review – All Spectacle, Not Enough Story

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

This First Shadow review comes from a genuine visit to the Phoenix Theatre on London's West End, and it's a mixed bag. Stranger Things: The First Shadow is a visual spectacle that pushes the boundaries of what live theatre can do, but underneath all that dazzling stagecraft, the writing simply doesn't hold up. Two of its three stars are earned almost entirely by the effects team. Here's the full breakdown.

Cool Factor: 3/5 - Cool

Published by Stiv in London, Reviews, Theatre lover, West End

Tags: First Shadow review, London theatre 2026, Phoenix Theatre London, Stranger Things play, Stranger Things stage show, Stranger Things West End, theatre review UK, West End theatre review

December 6, 2025 — Comments are off for this post.

Howard Hodgkin at Pitzhanger Manor Review: A Detailed Look at the London Exhibition

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

The Howard Hodgkin Pitzhanger review has already attracted significant interest from London art audiences, and it is clear why. This exhibition, set within the refined Georgian architecture of Pitzhanger Manor, offers a particularly clear reading of Hodgkin’s distinctive approach to colour, memory and emotional temperature. Rather than functioning simply as a showcase of major works, the show uses the character of the building itself to shape a more intimate encounter with Hodgkin’s practice.

Where large retrospectives often expand outward, this exhibition tightens the focus. Viewers move through a sequence of carefully paced rooms, each one revealing a different aspect of Hodgkin’s language of abstraction. The result is an exhibition that feels steady, well considered and quietly resonant.

Published by Stiv in Art Lovers, Artists, London, Reviews, Travel lover

Tags: abstraction, art review, contemporary painting, Howard Hodgkin, London art exhibitions, Pitzhanger Manor

November 23, 2025 — Comments are off for this post.

David Hockney London Exhibition Review

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

The David Hockney London exhibition at Annely Juda Fine Art lands with a burst of colour, a new gallery space and a reminder that Hockney still paints with more curiosity than most artists half his age. Opening in early November 2025 at the gallery’s new Hanover Square home, the show brings together brand new acrylic paintings and the first full UK presentation of The Moon Room. It’s confident, witty and exactly the kind of exhibition that gets London buzzing.

Published by Stiv in Art Lovers, LGBTQ+, London, Reviews

Tags: Annely Juda Fine Art, contemporary painting, David Hockney, Hockney exhibition, Hockney review, London art shows, London galleries, Moon Room, new Hockney paintings, UK art exhibitions