VIDEO: What to see in London this weekend: film, music, theatre and comedy highlights

The Evening Standard's Going Out Editor Sarah Cohen picks the events you shouldn't miss this weekend
In London this weekend: (clockwise from top left) Eminem, David Baddiel, Martin Freeman in Richard III and Ellar Coltrane in Boyhood
Sarah Cohen11 July 2014

Looking for something to do this weekend that doesn't involve football? Or fancy a pre-match burst of culture? Watch this video from London Live's morning programme, Wake Up London, for our pick of the weekend's films, gigs, theatre and comedy shows.

Sarah recommends...

Boyhood, in cinemas now

"Here’s a film like no other, the best film released so far this year. In 2002, director Richard Linklater cast a six-year-old boy, Ellar Coltrane, from an arty Austin family, as his hero, Mason. The film was then shot in short bursts over a period of 12 years, an extraordinary dedication from all involved, not merely the actors and the director, since it is a project that so clearly could have gone bad at any point." Evening Standard Film Critic David Sexton

Eminem, Wembley Stadium, July 11-12

"Eminem appears in concert in London tonight and tomorrow and it’s a big deal whichever way you look at it. Not only is the 41-year-old about to become the first rapper ever to headline at Wembley Stadium, but it’s so long since he’s visited that the last place he played, the London Arena in 2001, doesn’t exist any more." Evening Standard Music Critic David Smyth

Richard III, Trafalgar Studios, ongoing

"Martin Freeman is a smiling, self-satisfied Richard III – not the psychopath we tend to see, but instead an illustration of the banality of evil. He makes the hunchbacked monarch efficient and dapper, rather like a prim bureaucrat. Yet he punctuates this ordinariness with moments of malign mockery and savagery. It’s a crisp, thoughtful performance, in which Freeman successfully shakes off his familiar Nice Guy image. But he never seems truly dangerous." Evening Standard Theatre Critic Henry Hitchings

Ealing Comedy Festival, Walpole Park, July 11-18

"The Ealing Comedy Festival has built up a reputation over 21 years for putting on classic multi-act shows under the big top in Walpole Park. Main attractions this year include David Baddiel, mime sensation The Boy with Tape on his Face and Trevor Noah." Evening Standard Comedy Critic Bruce Dessau

Balham Comedy Festival, The Bedford, Jul 11-19

"The Balham Comedy Festival takes place at the Bedford pub, where Banana Cabaret has been staging stand-up gigs for 30 years. Robert Newman opens proceedings with his acclaimed latest show, Robert Newman’s New Theory of Evolution." Evening Standard Comedy Critic Bruce Dessau

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