A guide to what’s on in Hackney over the weekend and next week over half-term week:
Thursday
Watch short film East Side Story shot on location at Hackney Marshes, Hackney Empire, Hackney Town Hall and Gillett Square, starring young people from 11 borough secondary schools. From 5.30pm, at Clapton Girls’ Academy, Laura Place, E5. Free, call adam@c-12dancetheatre.com.
Watch urban love story Beautiful Thing portraying how two young men come to grips with their sexuality and the effect it has on the people in their lives. From 6pm, at Homerton Library, Homerton High Street, E9. Free, email Natalieserena.lewis@hackney.gov.uk.
Enjoy an evening of unstuffy and occasionally irreverent literary entertainment, including readings from Issue 10 of Open Pen magazine, the notorious Filthy Fiction, and War of the Words – our very own Microfiction Open Mic competition open to all with a top prize of publication in Little Printer. From 7pm, at Hackney United Services Club, 69 Powerscroft Road, E5. Free, openpen@live.co.uk.
Friday
Listen to 25-voice choir The Bloomsburys led by vocalist and songwriter Laka D. From 8pm, at St Mary’s Old Church, Church Street, Stoke Newington, N16. Costs £10, call 020 7254 8935.
Enjoy a Black Lodge Valentine’s Special – a club night inspired by film-maker David Lynch, featuring a performance from Parenthesis Dot Dot Dot, a purveyor of electro-disco torch songs on his sample satchel. From 9pm to 4am, at 125 Stoke Newington Church Street, N16. Free, email blacklodgeclubnight@gmail.com.
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with Dugout Soul Club DJs Curtis Taylor and Jon Dabner who will dig deep into their northern soul, rhythm and blues, and rare Motown boxes. From 10.30pm, at the Arcola Bar, Ashwin Street, E8. Free, call 020 7503 1646.
Attend an anti-Valentine’s Day event where you have a chance to share love poetry so terrible and cringeworthy it becomes laugh-out-loud genius. From 7.30pm, at Hackney Picture House Cinema, 270 Mare Street, E8. Free, call 020 8986 3222.
Saturday
Swap your old books for new reads at The London Children’s Book Swap. Free food, family activities and entertainment throughout the day. From noon, at Waterhouse Restaurant, 10 Orsman Road, N1. Free, email jaimie@shoreditchtrust.org.uk.
Enjoy a winter wildlife open day with wildlife bingo and hot drinks. From 10am, at 1 Newnton Close, N4. Free, call 020 8356 6482.
Watch science fiction movie Her starring Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams and Scarlett Johansson, about a lonely writer who develops a relationship with a computer operating system. From 3.15pm, 6pm and 8.45pm, at Rio Cinema, 107 Kingsland Road, E8. Costs £10, call 020 7241 9410.
Sunday
Explore the hidden and forgotten parts of Cazenove ward with a 30-minute audio tour created by young people from the area. From 11am, at Ashwin Street, E8. Free, email enrichment@punchdrunk.org.uk.
Play with London’s pioneering world music and jazz ensemble, the Grand Union Youth Orchestra. From 10.30am, at The Premises Studios, 205-209 Hackney Road, E2. Free, email claire@grandunion.org.uk.
Learn about tree pruning, woodland ecology and specimen trees at a workshop. Wear warm clothes and strong footwear. From 10am, at Stamford Hill Gates Abney Park Nature Reserve, N16. Free, call 07758 326530.
Monday
Work with young music producers under the guidance of professionals whose credits read like a who’s who from BMG to Wretch 32. From 6pm, at Rising Tide, Hackney Picture House Cinema, 270 Mare Street, E8. Free, call 020 8986 3222.
Pick up guidance on story development, filming and editing, and meet a children’s author at a creative workshop. From 9.30am, at Queensbridge Road, E8. Free, email post@landsky.org.
Develop your acting talent to produce a showcase for friends and family. From 10am, at Clapton Girls’ Academy, Laura Place, E5. Free, email hello@annafiorentini.com.
Tuesday
Participate in a sport and health camp featuring activities such as football, basketball and rounders. From 9am, at Space Sports and Performing Arts Centre, Falkirk Street, N1. Costs £6 per day, email shel@generalworldsports.com.
Learn how to bake and decorate cupcakes using piping nozzles and buttercream. From 10am, at BSix Sixth-Form College, Keninghall Road, E5. Costs £15, call 020 7249 4542.
Write, rehearse and perform a play based on the life of a soldier at workshops for children marking the 100th anniversary of the First World War. From 10.30am at V&A Museum of Childhood, Cambridge Heath Road, E2. Costs £25, call 020 8983 5200
Wednesday
Create and design your own screenprint cushions inspired by animals at the Geffrye Museum over the past 100 years. From 2pm, at The Geffrye Museum of the Home, 136 Kingsland Road, E8. Free, email rcrofts@geffrye-museum.org.uk.
Create your own version of street artist Banksy’s iconic Girl With The Balloon on canvas to take home. From 7.30pm, at Troyganic, 132 Kingsland Road, E2. Costs £25, visit http://popuppainting.com/event/paint-banksy-troyganic-shoreditch-19-feb for details.
Attend a Friends of Regent’s Canal public meeting and learn about what is happening around the city’s waterways. From 7pm, at 12-13 New Wharf Road, N1. Free, call 020 7713 0836 or got to http://friendsofregentscanal.org/.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here