ListingsUpdated Fri 23 Oct
Talks and readings in London this week
Talks, readings, lectures and Q and As. Many are free and most need booking a week ahead, which is the only reason people miss them.
What to expect
10 listings filed under Talks. The busiest rooms are The O2, Kiln Theatre and Hyde Park. Concentrated in Greenwich, Bloomsbury and Kilburn.
Nearby
Every listing here has been checked against the venue that is putting it on.
Showing next 7 days. Clear
Friday
23 October-
Talks From £12
Planetarium show at the Royal Observatory
The only planetarium in London, in a cone of bronze angled at the pole star, with a live astronomer rather than a recording. Shows run through the day and last about half an hour.
-
Talks
Bloomsbury Festival
Until 31 Oct
Bloomsbury Festival's twentieth year: 150 events through October in the squares, churches and colleges around Russell Square.
-
Talks
London Month of the Dead 2026
Until 1 Nov
A month of torchlit cemetery tours, catacomb visits and macabre talks, starting with a moonlit walk in West Norwood on Thursday.
-
Talks £5
ESP Live From Soho
Until 2 Dec
A podcast recorded live in the main theatre at Underbelly Boulevard, on Walker's Court in Soho. It is a run rather than one night, so there is more than one chance at it. Start time is on the venue's page.
-
Talks
Professor Brian Cox: Emergence tour at The O2
Brian Cox's new Emergence tour, from Kepler's snowflake to the cosmic web, on the arena screens for one Friday.
Tuesday
27 October-
Seasonal £15
Beyond the Veil at Highgate Cemetery
One night only: a one man gothic adaptation of George Eliot in the cemetery chapel, doors 7pm. Fifteen pounds including a glass of wine. Highgate runs no ghost tour and no Halloween event.
Thursday
29 October-
Talks Free
Bloomsbury Festival: The Science of Growing Minds
Part of the Bloomsbury Festival, which runs across October in its twentieth year and puts about a hundred and fifty events into the museums, churches, libraries and squares of Bloomsbury. Free, walk in.
