Whether you’re in the mood to make a zine or attend a rodent dating show (yes, really), there’s a brand-new assortment of wacky and wonderful things to do across Hackney this week.
Today at Café Oto – the Dalston venue name-dropped by Best Score Oscar winner Daniel Blumberg in his acceptance speech – is showing a multi-disciplinary art show Available Light. Expect music, performance, spoken word and DJ sets; tickets are £10. Alternatively, Daniel Spicer is launching his new book on saxophonist Peter Brötzmann and the revolutionary world of free jazz on Sunday 16 March – entry is free.
Coming tomorrow, DJs Nora and Ana Isabela are teaming up for collaborative set Onda Saoco, a fresh – and free of charge – take on the sounds of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. The evening kicks off at Bar Dona at the civilised time of 7pm and ends around midnight.
Also on Friday, Newcastle indie-rock trio The Pale White are performing at Oslo in Hackney Central, while GROW in Hackney Wick has a programme of jazz, funk and soul lined up for the week; Thursday’s weekly jazz jam session remains open to all musicians, and an all-vinyl disco party will take over the site on Friday 14. The venue also hosts free, family-friendly afternoons of live music on its garden terrace every Sunday.
On Saturday 15 March, Rio Cinema in Dalston is screening black comedy Sister Midnight, alongside a live Q&A with director Karan Kandhari and the film’s star Radhika Apte.
On Monday 17 March, for the artistically-inclined: the team at Shoreditch’s Photobook Café are running a make-your-own Zine club, while Hackney Wick Life Drawing takes place every Wednesday and materials are included in the £10 price tag.
For St Patrick’s Day next Monday, try The Auld Shillelagh in Stoke Newington, which the Irish Times has dubbed the “most authentic bar in the world outside Ireland”. With a pub motto of “off the leash and on the lash”, be prepared for traditional Irish music, expertly-poured pints of Guinness – and free entry.
On Tuesday 18 March, Wacky comedy night Robo Bingo comes to Moth Club. “Bingo meets tech meets the robot rat dating scene” joins award-winning duo Foxdog Studios as they host a rodent dating contest. It’s worth stressing that this is a comedy night – not actual bingo or rodent dating.
Elise Barry is a beat reporter for Hoxton East and Shoreditch and a student Journalist at City University.