The NewGrass Cutters

The NewGrass Cutters are all veterans of the UK music scene - featuring the same superb musicians who tour with Joe Brown at his sell out shows. They are touring UK theatres with their brilliant performance of their own style of music they call ‘NewGrass’ – it’s their own interpretation of top quality songs with a touch of Bluegrass.

Chelmsford City Theatres, Fairfield Road, Chelmsford, CM1 1JG, Saturday, November 10, 7.30pm. Details: 01245 606505 chelmsford.gov.uk

The Roy Orbison Story

Get ready for an upbeat night of solid gold 60s hits and 80s contemporary genius as the Roy Orbison Story celebrates the musical legacy of The Big O. The production also features original material written but never sung by Roy Orbison and showcases elements of the Hologram Tour alongside chart busting hits originally made famous by Jerry Lee Lewis, Procol Harum, Del Shannon, Chris Isaak and The Spencer Davis Group.

Harlow Playhouse, Playhouse Square, Harlow, CM20 1LS, Saturday, November 10, 7.30pm. Details: 01279 431945 playhouseharlow.com

Otto & The Mutapa Calling

Otto & The Mutapa Calling is a lively London based marimba band playing energetic, joyful folk music from Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe, alongside popular southern African covers and Otto’s own original songs. The band’s setup includes soprano, tenor and baritone marimbas, mbira, hosho, drumming and singing with traditional and contemporary dances.

Luna Lounge, 7 Church Lane, Leytonstone, E11 1HG, Saturday, November 10, 9pm. Details: 07904 525639 lunalounge.info

Gary Phelan

Gary is a wonderful singer and great performer playing a wide range of covers with power and passion.

The Coppermill Pub, 205 Coppermill Lane, Walthamstow, E17 7HF, Saturday, November 10, 8.30pm. Details: 020 8520 3709 coppermillpub.co.uk

La Sylphide

Live from The Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. The Sylph is a weightless creature who appears out of thin air as the perfect but unattainable woman for James in one of the greatest romantic works and the oldest classical ballet known today.

Chelmsford City Theatres, Fairfield Road, Chelmsford, CM1 1JG, Sunday, November 11, 3pm. Details: 01245 606505 chelmsford.gov.uk

Belly Dance Through the Looking Glass

This stunning and glamorous dance show will take you on a fairytale journey of discovery into another world. Based on a fantasy belly dance theme, it is a place where nothing is quite what it appears to be. Escape into another realm and prepare to meet fairies and witches, princes and princesses, a witch doctor and even a raven narrator. Expect spectacular performances and glittering costumes, and an evening of diverse and vibrant performances.

Chelmsford City Theatres, Fairfield Road, Chelmsford, CM1 1JG, Sunday, November 11, 7pm. Details: 01245 606505 chelmsford.gov.uk

The Poet Who Loved the War

Ivor Gurney wasn't an officer but a private who joined the army in the hope that the ordered life would help ease a mental health condition. Initially this shock therapy worked, but he was eventually shot and gassed and spent the last 15 years of his life in an asylum. Yet the poetry he wrote there is uniquely powerful - capturing the experience of the ordinary soldier - and this film argues that it is the equal of the work of any of the more well-known soldier-poets of WWI.

Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS, Saturday, November 10, 10.45am. Details: barbican.org.uk

I Am Ashurbanipal, King of the World, King of Assyria

King Ashurbanipal of Assyria was the most powerful man on earth. He described himself in inscriptions as ‘king of the world’, and his reign from the city of Nineveh (now in northern Iraq) marked the high point of the Assyrian empire, which stretched from the shores of the eastern Mediterranean to the mountains of western Iran. Despite his long and successful reign, Ashurbanipal’s death is shrouded in mystery. Shortly afterwards, the Assyrian empire fell and the great city of Nineveh was destroyed in 612 BC, its ruins lost to history until the 1840s. Their rediscovery has allowed us to piece together a portrait of the powerful and complex ruler that was Ashurbanipal. This major exhibition tells the story of Ashurbanipal through the British Museum’s unparalleled collection of Assyrian treasures and rare loans. Step into Ashurbanipal’s world through displays that evoke the splendour of his palace, with its spectacular sculptures, sumptuous furnishings and exotic gardens. Come face to face with one of history’s greatest forgotten kings.

British Museum, Great Russell Street, WC1B 3DG, Thursday, November 8, to Sunday, February 24. Details: 020 7323 8299 britishmuseum.org

Lest We Forget: Cycling the Iron Curtain – The Borders of a Divided Europe

News from Nowhere Club invites you to their next meeting. Founded in 1996, the club challenges the commercialisation and isolation of modern life. The 20th century was dominated by two world wars, culminating in the East/West division of the Iron Curtain. To keep the memory alive, the German Green MEP, Michael Cramer, created a cycle trail that follows the path of the Iron Curtain for nearly 8,000 km through 20 countries. Tom and Katherine Marshall have been riding sections of this route each year since 2014 and will share their experience of the pain the wall caused, how different countries contributed to its fall and the museums, art and monuments erected to keep the memory alive.

The Epicentre, West Street, E11 4LJ, Saturday, November 10, 7.30pm. Details: 0208 555 5248

Christmas Cracker Making

Create a set of six personalised Christmas crackers from a beautiful selection of luxury papers, ribbons and beads. Cracker kits will be printed and ready to cut, fill, fold and roll. Each cracker will contain the classics: a snap, a hat and a joke.

Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS, Saturday, November 10, 10am and 1pm. Details: barbican.org.uk

Astro Festival

Loughton Astronomical Society celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and to celebrate, they are holding a festival. The morning is aimed at families with children of school age, while the afternoon is a lecture format more suited to older students and adults whether keen amateur astronomers or those just curious to learn more about the night sky and cosmology. Entry to the morning session is free and there will be a variety of trade stands, demonstrations and displays ranging from telescopes and astro apps to the making of real model rockets. There will also be four 30 minute shows in a large Planetarium. In the afternoon there will be a series of four lectures by renowned experts in astronomy and cosmology. Attendees will be treated to stunning images of the night sky, the latest developments in the hunt for exoplanets and the most recent research on our star, the Sun.

Village Hall, Coppice Row, Theydon Bois, CM16 7ER, Saturday, November 10, 9.30am to 5.30pm. Details: las-astro.org.uk

SFX Book Con 2

SFX, the UK's biggest selling sci-fi and fantasy magazine, has teamed up with Foyles once more to prove that some sequels are better than the original. Featuring more authors, more panels, and even more signings, SFX Book Con 2 will host some of the greatest names in genre writing for a day of full-throttle discussion and signings. There'll be spaceships, time travel, dragons, magic – and maybe the odd paradox.

Foyles, Charing Cross Road, Saturday, November 10, 12.30pm to 6.15pm. Details: foyles.co.uk

Winter Market

Eat, drink and be merry beside the River Thames at the Southbank Centre’s Winter Market. Expect seasonal goodies, sparkling lights, mulled wine and that festive feeling. Top traders from around the world bring to the riverside an array of handmade festive goodies and delicious street food. Each trader brings their unique spin to the feast, with stalls offering Asian, Indian and Greek cuisines, traditional winter favourites like raclette and bratwurst, and sweet treats including waffles and pancakes.

Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, Lambeth, SE1 8XX, Friday, November 9, to Thursday, December 27. Details: 020 7960 4200 southbankcentre.co.uk

Love Not Landfill

Love Not Landfill bring you a stylish second hand pop up shop that will showcase second hand fashion at its very best, displayed in a vibrant, spacious and friendly environment. 38 million items are bought every single week – 11 million of which get sent to landfill. To help reduce this figure we want to show you how shopping second hand is the best way to shop, not only for your style or pocket but the environment too.

Shop 4, The Old Truman Brewery, Dray Walk, E1 6QL, Thursday, November 8, to Sunday, November 11. Details: lovenotlandfill.org

The Lord Mayor’s Show

For more than 800 years the newly elected Lord Mayor of London has been rowing, riding or marching off to the distant village of Westminster to swear loyalty to the Crown and begin his or her year in office. It has been a mediaeval carnival, a renaissance spectacle and a military parade, and now it is the longest, oldest and most splendid civic procession in the world. Come along to celebrate 803 years of modern London in a unique spectacle of pageantry and pomp.

Various locations in London, Saturday, November 10, from 11am. Details: lordmayorsshow.london