Autumn is here, we’re deep into Virgo season (the best season according to the person writing this…) and our favourite stripe-suited spirit is back in town. Doom and gloom never looked so inviting. 

Beetlejuice is back, 36 years later
It’s safe to say that Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice is one of the most iconic films of all time. Released in 1988, it featured Michael Keaton as a lecherous “bio-exorcist” who is hired to scare away a family who’ve just moved into the house haunted by Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin.

Now its sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, is being released in cinemas this weekend. Keaton returns, along with Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder, as well as a new cast that includes Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci and Willem Dafoe. Say it after us, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is out in cinemas now. 

Lacquered Rebellion
Oversized fingernails, giant knitting needles, chains and aluminium stockings. These are all recurring motifs in the work of American Japanese artist Makiko Harris whose practice explores the performance of identity, femininity and ideas of belonging. Her new show, Lacquered Rebellion, at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery in Tower Bridge is the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery and brings together a bold new collection of sculptures and mixed-media paintings that unravel Harris’s own experiences as a biracial woman while also reflecting on the ambiguities of contemporary feminism.

Makiko Harris: Lacquered Rebellion runs at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery until September 21st, more info here. 

Urban legends take over the Royal Court
Tife Kusoro’s G at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs is a new play inspired by urban legends. The story goes that Baitface steals the faces and lives of Black boys. Khaleem, Joy and Kai, played by Ebenezer Gyau, Kadiesha Belgrave and Selorm Adonu, are just trying to get through school but on the night of an alleged crime, when the spirit of Baitface rears its head, their lives, identities and friendships begin to disintegrate. G won the renowned George Devine Award in 2023 which is awarded to plays by the most promising new playwrights.

Tife Kusoro’s G runs at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs until September 21st, more info here. 

250 years of Birkenstock
It’s Birkenstock’s birthday and we’re all invited to celebrate. To mark 250 years of craftsmanship, the German brand has launched a series of books highlighting its journey to a global icon. Showcased at the Birkenstock Studio in Shoreditch, the space will be home to an exhibition showcasing archival imagery from renowned photographers such as Juergen Teller and Henry Leutwyler, with Birks taking centre stage, of course.

250 years of Birkenstock runs at Dray Walk, Shoreditch until September 8th. 

Clear your wardrobes
Mesnwear design duo Jordan Bowen and Luca Marchetto of JordanLuca are becoming quite the household name, one pair of pee-stained jeans at a time. If pee-stained pants aren’t your thing, fear not, there will be plenty of other garms up for grabs at the brand’s archive sale taking place at One Hundred Shoreditch over the next week – leather, studs and distressed denim galore.

Female artistry
London-based design studio Sister by Studio Ashby is presenting a series of exhibitions at The Blewcoat School highlighting female artists from across the globe. First to showcase is British photographer Lily Bertrand-Webb, presenting a series titled The Flâneuse, inspired by the art of capturing fleeting moments in a frame.

The Flâneuse will run at Blewcoat School until the end of September. 

A Stoppard classic at the Old Vic
Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing first premiered in 1982 and has since gone on to be recognised as one of Stoppard’s most quintessential plays. The story follows the philandering playwright Henry (played in the Old Vic’s new production by James McArdle) who is married to Charlotte (Susan Wokoma) but sleeping with Annie (Bel Powley). Utilising a clever play-within-a-play structure, we watch Henry work on a play that appears to resemble his real-life situation. The Old Vic’s new production, directed by Max Webster, enlivens Stoppard’s script which still resonates today, despite being over 40 years old.

The Real Thing runs at the Old Vic until October 26th, more info here. 

One more for good measure
Just when you thought Daddy Bao couldn’t get any better, the South London joint has opened up a bar in its basement full of delicious cocktails. Inspired by Taipei’s underground bar scene, Good Measure is tucked away below Daddy Bao’s bustling restaurant – candlelit, intimate and set to old-school hip-hop and moody jazz. Expect to see cocktails with a Taiwanese twist on the menu, we’re talking a Peanut Old Fashioned, a Taipei Sour and a gin-infused matcha concoction.

Good Measure is located at 113 Mitcham Road, SW17 9PE, more info here.