13 great things to do this week in Shanghai

Image: courtesy 20th Century Fox (Alita: Battle Angel)

While it may feel like it's going to rain for the foreseeable future, that's no reason to not get outside and brave the elements this week. From sustainability workshops to a world-famous singer/DJ to a dystopian sci-fi adventure to a Canadian comic, there's all sorts of fun, interesting stuff going down this week. Read on for our picks of the best things to do.

Things to Do

Photograph: Monika Grabkowska via Unsplash

#IamZeroWaste workshop

Environmental advocacy group Zero Waste is organising a workshop to teach you everything there is to know about leading a green, sustainable lifestyle. Learn to create small, mindful changes that still feel accessible, simple solutions to reduce or eliminate the need for plastics and where to shop. The workshop is either Thursday 21 or Saturday 23 and if you purchase a two-day ticket, you get entry to their next workshop on either March 1 or 3. Tickets include a starter kit worth 350RMB. 

📍Agora Space, Bldg 9, 1199 Panyu Lu, near Kaixuan Lu. Thu 21, Sat 23. 10am-midday. 750RMB (two-day ticket); 600RMB (early bird two-day ticket); 450RMB (one-day ticket); 400RMB (early bird one-day ticket). Extract the QR code above to purchase tickets.

Brian Aylward: Stand Up Comedy Live in Shanghai

Dubbed 'one of Asia's most influential stand-up comedians' by the Korea Times, Canadian stand-up comic Brian Aylward is coming to Shanghai. He's performed in excess of 2,600 shows in more than 20 countries in a career spanning over a decade. In 2016 he was named Best Stand-Up Comic of the Year at the Canadian Comedy Awards.

📍Shanghai Comedy Bunker, Third Floor, Jingan Sports Centre, 428 Jiangning Lu, near Wuding Lu. Fri 22. 9-10.30pm. 120RMB; 100RMB (presale).

Comedy UN presents: Kurt Dunsing

Chicago native and Shanghai comedy stalwart Kurt Dunsing headlines Comedy UN with his latest show Clown Syndrome. The 2018 China International Comedy Festival runner-up, who has performed across the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong and Japan, will be supported by Eric Alexander, Erica Switzer, Nate Johns and host Ben Frank. 

📍Comedy UN, 549 Yanan Zhong Lu, near Shaanxi Nan Lu. Fri 22. 9-10.30pm. 70RMB; 50RMB (presale). 

All-natural candle making and floral high tea

An aromatic afternoon, courtesy of frou:frou, sipping on floral teas and learning the art of natural ingredient candle making with eco-designer (and fortune teller) Tiffany Pattinson. You'll make three soy wax teacup candles to take home. All teas and materials are included in entry. 

📍Xinchejian, First Floor, Bldg 3, 28 Yuyuan Dong Lu, near Changde Lu. Sun 24. 2-4pm. 380RMB. Extract the QR code above to register.

Music & Nightlife

Photograph: courtesy 247tickets (Kodaline)

Kodaline: Live in Shanghai 2019

Upon releasing their new album Politics of Living, Ireland’s breakthrough, UK Platinum-selling band Kodaline bring their debut show to Shanghai. Formed in Swords, north of Dublin, in 2012, the band has secured a strong fanbase over the years ('All I Want' was featured in a big-budget young adult film, The Fault in Our Stars). 

📍Bandai Namco Shanghai Base Dream Hall, 179 Yichang Lu, near Jiangning Lu. Wed 20. 8-10pm. 520RMB. Extract the QR code above for ticket information.

Faux Fighters with Dave Reffett

Foos tribute band the Faux Fighters hit MAO Livehouse – expect all the best hits from all nine studio albums. Opening the night is well-known guitarist Dave Reffett, who mixes thrash metal and hard rock with very technical and bluesy guitar playing.

📍MAO Livehouse, 308 Chongqing Nan Lu, near Jianguo Zhong Lu. Thu 21. 8.30-11pm. 80RMB; 60RMB (presale). Extract the QR code above to purchase tickets.

Craig David’s TS5 Tour

Y2K-era UK garage legend Craig David is set to play in Shanghai. Fast-fast-forward to 2018 and he's transformed himself from a skinny R&B singer based in Southampton, to a muscle-bound, Miami-based DJ spinning at some of the city's most exclusive pre-parties.

📍Jingan Sports Centre, 116 Wenshui Lu, near Zhonghuan Lu. Fri 22. 8-10pm. 480-880RMB. Extract the QR code above to purchase tickets.

Hologram Dreams 全息梦境 with Illsee

DJs Heatwolves and special guest Illsee take DADA's dance floor on a hyperloop journey from city-pop, Italo disco and Chicago house into new wave, electro and cybernetic madness. Seminal classics, brand new sounds, unknown pleasures and rare anime visuals abound.

📍DADA, 115 Xingfu Lu, near Fahuazhen Lu. Fri 22. 10pm-4am. Free entry.

Eating & Drinking

Photograph: courtesy organiser

Stone Brewing's Beer University

Get educated at Stone's second Beer University workshop, a guided tasting event featuring Stone and their fellow craft brewing comrades. Learn all about complex, hard-to-find beers, meet local brewers to get some behind-the-scenes insights into the brewing process in China and sip on six tasters. 

📍Stone Brewing Tap Room Shanghai, 1107 Yuyuan Lu, near Jiangsu Lu. Wed 20. 7-8.30pm. 148RMB. 

Film

Image: courtesy 20th Century Fox (Alita: Battle Angel)

Attack Of The B-Movies: Jason X

Everyone loves to hate a bad movie. In the third edition of Attack of the B-Movies, local comics and b-movie enthusiasts toast and roast the infamously so-bad-it's-good Jason X (2001).

📍Cages Bar and Sports, Third Floor, Jingan Sports Centre, 428 Jiangning Lu, near Wuding Lu. Thu 21. 9-10.30pm. Free entry.

Alita: Battle Angel

Adapted from Yukito Kishiro’s manga comic, and set in the year 2563 in a post-apocalyptic metropolis called Iron City, this visually epic (but somewhat monotonous) dystopian sci-fi – a collaboration between James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez – tells the story of Alita, a cyborg girl (Rosa Salazar, given an eerie CG makeover and cartoon eyes) reconnecting with her warrior past. Also starring Christoph Waltz, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein and Jennifer Connelly.

📍On general release now.

Stage

Photograph: courtesy 247tickets

NT Live: Coriolanus (Screening)

National Theatre Live will broadcast the Donmar Warehouse’s production of Coriolanus, Shakespeare’s searing tragedy of political manipulation and revenge, with Tom Hiddleston in the title role and Mark Gatiss as Menenius, directed by the Donmar's Artistic Director Josie Rourke.

📍Huangpu Theatre, 780 Beijing Dong Lu, near Guizhou Lu. Wed 20. 7-10pm. 100-200RMB. Extract the QR code above to purchase tickets.

School of Rock the Musical

Andrew Lloyd Webber's unexpected Broadway hit (based on the 2003 film with Jack Black) is about Dewey Finn, a failed, wannabe rock star who decides to earn an extra bit of cash by posing as a supply teacher at a prestigious prep school. 

📍Shanghai Grand Theatre Lyric Theatre, 300 Renmin Dadao, near Huangpi Bei Lu. Fri 22 Feb to Wed 6 Mar. 7.15-9.15pm. 160RMB-1,080RMB. Extract the QR code above to purchase tickets.

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