On September 7, 1931, the Granada Cinema was inaugurated in the heart of Wandsworth. Performing that night were the trumpeters of The Life Guards and Alex Taylor on his Wurlitzer organ. The feature film was Monte Carlo and the short was Two Crowded Hours directed by Michael Powell. Until 1934, the film calendar of this Art Deco jewel in the heart of London was supplemented with theatre and musical performances and even a small circus with live elephants. There was also a cafe at the entrance which overlooked the foyer and the Granada even boasted of an “electric” kitchen, a 250-spot parking lot and a carriage space for mothers and their children. The building which houses what is, today, still considered the most spectacular cinema in all of Great Britain, is the result of a design by the great cinema and theatre architect Cecil A. Massey for Sidney Bernstein. The interior, meanwhile, was a result of the creativity of the Russian theatre designer Theodore Komisarjevsky. From Jerry Lee Lewis to Frank Sinatra, from the Rolling Stones to the Beatles, numerous illustrious performers were hosted on the stage of the Granada. The last performance, on April 28, 1968, were the Bee Gees. Then, in the ‘60s, its decline began. It was closed definitively on November 10, 1973. It went unused for almost three years until October 14, 1976, when it reopened as Granada Bingo Club, Tooting.
Paintings, sculptures, textiles and poetry by over 50 artists including Uzo Egonu, El Anatsui, Ladi Kwali and Ben Enwonwu chronicle the achievements of Nigerian artists working before and after the decade of the nation’s independence from British colonial rule in 1960.
An exhibition celebrates Edwin Austin Abbey, a 19th-century American artist, showcasing his study for the monumental work The Hours created for the Pennsylvania State Capitol.
Anselm Kiefer presents new paintings at White Cube Mason’s Yard exploring the relationship between history, memory and materiality. The exhibition investigates Van Gogh’s influence on his practice and frames a dialogue between myth and matter.
The 2026 TCS London Marathon will take place on Sunday 26 April, cementing its place as one of the world’s most prestigious marathon events. The route is flat and scenic, from Greenwich Park to the Mall at Buckingham Palace.
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