We bring you our guide to living well in the world’s capitals, from exhibitions to cinema, food, drink, fashion, music and beyond. Just call it culture and take it, it’s yours.

LONDON, FRIDAY 22nd May – SUNDAY 24th MAY 2015

Putting the anger in East Anglia
Be transported to the isolated golden fields of Norfolk via this week’s recommended film release The Goob. The debut feature from writer-director Guy Myhill, the film follows Goob (played by street cast actor Liam Walpole) as he battles with life stuck between a rock (his mum’s abusive boyfriend) and a hard place (the limited opportunities that come with living in a small town).

Set against the backdrop of Norfolk’s stock racing scene The Goob fits perfectly in the canon of candidly raw yet charming Brit flicks, think Shane Meadows and Ken Loach. Myhill articulates his vision confidently, juxtaposing Simon Tindall’s stunning cinematography with the narrative’s gritty social realism.

The Goob, 86 mins. Out now in selected cinemas 

Delve inside the creative mind
A creative’s design process is something highly idiosyncratic and intrinsically personal. At NOW Gallery nascent UK designer Phoebe English is exhibiting an in depth exploration of the numerous processes behind her past work, installations and sets, titled Floating, Falling, Drowning, Flying: An Introspective of Process.

A seven meter beaded sculpture will punctuate the gallery alongside contextual sketches, photos and other archive materials. Constructed from over 30kg of silver glass beads, each one intricately hand stitched together, no less, forming one glistening surface, the beaded form will appear effortlessly suspended from the gallery’s ceiling.

It’s a rare intimate insight into her meticulous precision and laboured constructions that shape the core of Phoebe English’s design ethos.

Phoebe English, Floating, Falling, Drowning, Flying: An Introspective of Process runs until 9th August at NOW Gallery, Greenwich, SE10 0SQ

Festival Residency
Festival season is almost upon us and Dalston’s infamous The Shacklewell Arms are kicking starting the season with their annual Flufferfest, in collab with London independent record label Fluffer Records. Forget Glastonbury and Coachella, Flufferfest is where it’s at.

Make sure you catch psych shoegaze connoisseurs Telescopes and the snarling garage five-piece Loom, both 100% killer live acts. The line up is completed by the likes of Demob Happy, Dressmaker, Baba Naga, Sunlight Service Group and Thee MVPS.

The perfect excuse for a three day pub binge, Flufferfest runs from Friday to Sunday with a mega line up throughout.

Flufferfest runs between May 22nd–May 24th at The Shacklewell Arms, E8 2EB
Buy tickets here

Purchase of the week
Get out your shopping list and move Thee Oh See’s latest record Mutilator Defeated At Last straight to the top. Thee Oh Sees have always had a ‘fluid’ band membership – always in motion, always unpredictable – for this latest record singer/guitarist John Dwyer has yet again reformatted the group and with that has adopted a more studio based approach without relinquishing any of their feverish effervescence, brutal as ever.

A bundle of sinister insectoid reverberations, Mutilator Defeated At Last will leave you spinning, we’re tipping it for album of the year, odds on.

Buy Mutilator Defeated At Last here

“I am not an elephant! I am not an animal! I am a human being! I am a man!”
For a limited run of 12 weeks Bradley Cooper is The Elephant Man. Following an acclaimed Broadway run the oscar nominee is bringing his portrayal of John Merrick to the West End.

John Merrick was commonly referred to as The Elephant Man due to physical deformities that made him a figure of freak show fascination in Victorian Britain. Born in 1862 and abandoned by his mother, Merrick was warehoused in British institutions until he was taken up by a sleazy ‘manager’ who exhibited him in a storefront sideshow, before being taken under the wing of Dr. Frederick Treves, a distinguished lecturer on surgical anatomy and physician.

Merrick’s story has been translated to screen and stage numerous times, most notably in David Lynch’s 1980 Bafta award winning film starring John Hurt. This production is one of the most powerful and haunting interpretations of Merrick’s tale around, along with co-star Patricia Clarkson Cooper’s performance is up there with the best.

The Elephant Man runs until 8th August at Theatre Royal Haymarket, SW1Y 4HT
Book tickets here

Wear it loud, wear it proud
Coinciding with the breathtaking Savage Beauty exhibition at V&A London College of Fashion are celebrating the genius of Alexander McQueen by exploring the late designer’s catwalk make-up looks, a key feature in his spectacular catwalk shows.

Warpaint exhibits 22 looks from 13 catwalk collections alongside 3D installations showing how the models’ make-up evolved as the shows progressed – in true innovative McQueen style there’s also an opportunity to see yourself clad in McQueen warpaint, using the specially created FACE app.

The work of make-up artists Sharon Dowsett, Val Garland, Peter Phillips and Topolino will all be featured in the exhibition, all of whom helped intensify McQueen’s vision and define the themes that ran throughout his collections

Warpaint runs until August 7th at London College of Fashion, W1G 0BJ

A new whiskey bar? That’s the spirit!
Whilst you’re Soho bound visiting Warpaint make sure you pay Milroy’s a visit, London’s oldest whiskey shop founded by bothers Jack and Wallace in 1964.

Under brand new ownership Milroy’s is back and it’s sticking to its roots, not only is the shop stocked with a range of over 300 whiskies but there’s also a hidden underground speakeasy bar named The Vault for you to soak up the atmosphere (and the booze).

With whiskies from around the globe forming the impressive menu you aren’t stuck for choice, and for all yoiu budding distillers there’s even the option of pouring your own bottles and making your own whisky blends. Whiskey not your tipple? There’s also a selection of classic cocktails and beers to pick from which are equally as enticing.

With measures set at 35ml Milroy’s are playing it old school and we approve. In the words of Mark Twain; “too much of anything is bad, but too much of good whiskey is barely enough.”

Milroy’s and the Vault is located at 3 Greek Street, W1D 4NX

TOP GALLERY IMAGE CREDITS:
1. Still, The Goob 2014 © BBC films
2. Still, The Goob 2014 © BBC films
3. Still, The Goob 2014 © BBC films
4. Still, The Goob 2014 © BBC films
5. Phoebe English NOW Gallery. Image courtesy of Purple PR
6. Loom photo by Jack Sutcliffe
7. Demob Happy. Image courtesy of PR
8. Elephant Man, The Booth Theatre. Photo by Joan Marcus
9. Thee Oh Sees. photo by Jeremy D. Larson – courtesy of Consequence of Sound
10. Nick Waplington: Alexander McQueen backstage, 2009. Image courtesy of Tate Modern
11. McQueen, La Dame Bleue SS08. Photo by Anthea Simms
12. Milroys of Soho, image courtesy of Milroys