<\/p>\n

There\u2019s more to London than the Tate Modern and the bright lights of the West End. Follow this insider\u2019s guide to some of the city\u2019s alternative cultural experiences.<\/p>\n

By Laura Bridgestock<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

London, like most big cities, can be frustrating. You diligently work your way through the \u201cMust See and Do\u201d section of your guide, and maybe you fit in a few spontaneous adventures (or at least manage to get lost a few times). You may even meet a couple of genuine local \u201ccharacters\u201d and notch up some comic anecdotes along the way, but at the end of your stay you still have a nagging feeling that you\u2019ve barely scratched the surface. I know that\u2019s how I feel — and I\u2019ve been here six months now. However, if you do fancy stepping off the tourist trail for a few hours, here\u2019s a few tips to seeing the \u201calternative\u201d London.<\/p>\n

First, London has a thriving \u201cspoken word\u201d scene. On any night of theweek, there\u2019s bound to be a variety of events going on, often combining performance poetry and prose with comedy and music. The best one I\u2019ve found so far — for sheer energy and atmosphere — is Rhythm Factory\u2019s \u201cA Spoonful of Poison\u201d open mic night every Monday. It\u2019s what you\u2019d call \u201crough nd ready\u201d: uncovered floor, an improvised stage, randomly grouped collection of chairs and tables, and a dress code that can best be described as \u201cunkempt.\u201d The overall feel is of an impromptu street performance. The vibe\u2019s great, and the enthusiasm and sincerity of the performers is infectious. As Maria shares her life in three musical languages and Du Jean smilingly transitions between ballad and rap, it\u2019s hard not to notice the electricity in the air.<\/p>\n

Rhythm Factory\u2019s location in the city\u2019s popular Bangladeshi quarter — on Whitechapel Road, just around the corner from the East End\u2019s well-known Brick Lane — has historically been home to successive waves of immigrants and forms an eclectic urban melting pot with a flourishing youth culture and infectiousvibe. To check out the music coming out of this exciting scene, make for the top end of Brick Lane where 93 Feet East and Vibe Bar are some of the city\u2019s best venues for showcasing great local talent.<\/p>\n

At the other end of the cultural spectrum (and town) is the area surrounding Tottenham Court Road (aka \u201ctheaterland\u201d). Just beyond the musicals and bookshops is a network of backstreets where you\u2019re bound to stumble across some highbrow gatherings, and you can\u2019t get more highbrow than a \u201cgay literary salon\u201d at Green Carnation on Greek Street. Don\u2019t be put off by the ridiculously pretentious name, it\u2019s essentially a poetry reading. They also have cabaret nights, but even if there\u2019s no event scheduled, it\u2019s worth going for the luxurious and decadent
\nsetting.<\/p>\n

If \u201cgay Victorian gentlemen\u2019s club\u201d isn\u2019t quite your thing, the West End has plenty of other \u201calternative\u201d venues and nights to choose from — if you knowwhere to look. Trash Palace, on Wardour Street, is easily missed: it\u2019s accessed by an innocuous doorway squeezed in between the cheerfully garish restaurants of Soho\u2019s Chinatown. It\u2019s a gay bar popular with the young indie crowd and good for a reasonably-priced drink in retro-cool but comfy surroundings, and a bit of
\nold-school disco.<\/p>\n

CellarDoor is even more well hidden — literally underground in what presumably
\nused to be a public restroom. Given the size restriction, it makes clever use of mirrors which can make things confusing after a kicking back a few cocktails. The d\u00e9cor is burlesque-themed, and I personally recommend the surprisingly comfortable giant-lip-shaped stools. If that\u2019s not novelty enough, you can choose a track on the jukebox by text message (though when I was there I had to head outside to get reception) or make your way to the bathroom to check out the glass walls that become opaque when the light is turned on (again, maybe a little confusing after a few drinks).<\/p>\n

For a less invasive experience, cross over the river to London Bridge and check
\nout Roxy Bar and Screen on Borough High Street. There\u2019s absolutely no better way
\nto enjoy a movie than settled into a plush leather sofa, with a waiter on hand to take your drink order and a good selection of high-end snacks to choose from if you get the munchies. The theatre shows all type of movies including foreign
\nfilms, recent releases, cult classics, director\u2019s cuts, documentaries and amateur shorts. Following the showing there\u2019s usually a wine-fuelled discussion, often involving someone involved in (or with some link) to the movie\u2019s production.<\/p>\n

And finally, if you really do want to get off the beaten track, take the number 73 bus up to Stoke Newington to Maggie\u2019s Bar on Church Street, where there\u2019s a lively arts and music scene of the more \u201cunorthodox\u201d variety. Maggie\u2019s promises a journey — via music, poetry and film — into the unknown. In my experience this means a man with a cabbage-shaped tea-cosy on his head performing a four-word, four-minute long \u201cpoem\u201d to a teddy bear making noises like a frog crossed with Darth Vader, followed by a quartet from Istanbul featuring a cello, a percussion section made up of essentially someone\u2019s garbage, and a women emitting guttural sounds to rival even the teddy bear. Meanwhile, this was all being transformed into manic, impressionistic paintings by the woman sitting next to you. Weird? Definitely. Welcome to the London underground.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s more to London than the Tate Modern and the bright lights of the West End. Follow this insider\u2019s guide to some of the city\u2019s alternative cultural experiences. By Laura Bridgestock London, like most big cities, can be frustrating. You diligently work your way through the \u201cMust See and Do\u201d section of your guide, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19152,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2049,2562,6,2573],"tags":[62,159,63],"yoast_head":"\n