Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been up to this week

An unusual dinner setting

Anna Solomon, Digital Staff Writer

On Tuesday, I had the slightly surreal experience of tucking into a three-course meal among the industrial environs of Ikea, the table dressed in ‘Frakta’ bag blue (what else), right between the showroom and the shop selling frozen meatballs. The occasion was, of course, the launch of Ikea's Oxford Street store (which officially opened its doors yesterday, 1 May); a tour yielded the brand's signature Scandi-modern design at its signature affordable prices, with a nod to London in the floor design.

An LFA sneak peak

Ellie Stathaki, Architecture and Environment Director

This week, I was delighted to be part of the London Festival of Architecture 2025's sneak preview event, moderating a panel discussion about its programme, which launches officially next week. Panellists Farouk Agoro, Dhruv Gulabchande, Pippa Gueterbock and Eliza Grosvenor, alongside LFA director Rosa Rogina, shared their insights on what's to come – and with a whopping 450 events or so on its books, this is promising to be quite a year for the festival. We discussed what makes LFA unique, rich and thrilling – its variety of voices. Look out for our LFA 2025 preview coming up on wallpaper.com.

A must-see matinee

Bill Prince, Editor-in-Chief

If you only do live theatre once in a blue moon – as I do – then you want to see our greatest living actor, Gary Oldman, in a sold out matinee performance of Krapp's Last Tape, Samuel Beckett's 50-minute one-hander for which the Slow Horses actor serves as performer, director, set designer and co-producer. The role, in which the aged Krapp reviews his life through the medium of what today we would call extended Voice Notes, is something of a rite of passage for actors nearer the end of their career than the beginning. John Hurt and Michael Gambon shared the same tape recorder Oldman has commandeered here for the back-and-forth with his younger self – prompting, perhaps, Oldman's decision to bring his own production to the relatively intimate setting of York's Theatre Royal, where he made his professional stage debut in 1979. The short run is entirely sold out, with no sign of a reprise elsewhere. Which – if awe-struck Reddit threads are a token of appreciation – is a mighty shame.

A subterranean tipple

Tianna Williams, Staff Writer

On Tuesday, I swapped the office for the English countryside as I ventured down to Kent to see Domaine Evremond, the UK’s first subterranean winery. The journey was seamless from London, about an hour on the train, and the change in scenery from concrete buildings to cascading green fields was welcome. The Domaine Evremond building is a minimal cubic volume with a lattice façade, which overlooks the vineyards beyond. A perfect secluded spot to enjoy a glass of its sparkling wine in the warmer weather.

An evening of indie

Charlotte Gunn , Director of Digital Content

As London enjoyed the heatwave I was squashed into Rough Trade East on Thursday evening for Samia's record release show. Her new album, Bloodless, is another master stroke in indie songwriting.

A sublime sound experience

Gabriel Annouka, Senior Designer

Myself, a friend and Miso the toy poodle visited Auto Italia, an artist-run project and studio in Bethnal Green. The three of us were stilled and stunned by Nazanin Noori’s 30-minute sound piece – a swell of strings, echoes and holy grief.

A Shakespearean whisky tasting

Hugo Macdonald, Design Director

On the very day that the recently refurbished Perth Museum (by Dutch practice Mecanoo) in Scotland was shortlisted for Art Fund’s Museum of the Year award, I attended a spellbinding whisky tasting dinner by Livingstone and Elixir Distillers to sample their Macbeth collection. The project matches a whisky for all 40 characters of Macbeth, with label illustrations of each by Quentin Blake. The dinner celebrated the release of Act Two (of five) and was held in the Perth Museum to honour the recent opening of the venue’s excellent Macbeth exhibition, which runs until 31 August. Slainte!