All month: Cinemavera's Film Noir series runs til 18 August. Here's the schedule. And the big feature of this month is London's National Theatre Live play screenings at CIne Libre - up to three a day. Go wild. Also all month, it's Tokyo Night Museum. We love the Mori art museum's late nights, but if you ever want to visit other museums at night, this is your chance. Here's the Summer Night Museum schedule.

Fri July 28 - It's another last Friday of the month extravaganza! We'll be at Improvazilla - improv scenes in the first half, and a whole improvised musical in the second half. Much fun. There's also the poetry slam Drunk Poets See God, and if you fancy taking to the stage, the theme is Independence. And another cool gramophone concert.

Sat July 29 - Go see comedy at Big Night Out at Vega in Ebisu. Also today, excitingly the amazing National Theatre Live program that films outstanding London theatre and screens it in cinemas around the world is having a month-long UK National Theatre festival at Cine Libre in Ikebukuro, so if you've missed one, or just want to have a nice long week of glorious theatre in English, this is your chance! Here's the schedule (written in Japanese) and I've gone through the entire thing and translated here for your convenience. Today: Man and Superman at 6:40pm.

Sun July 30 - If you love drawing, free art event PauseDraw is today at 4pm, and the venue is the Dutch Embassy! Tonight it's the Pirates of Tokyo Bay bilingual improv show. Or at Cine Libre, the 6:40pm National Theatre Live show is Hamlet.

Mon July 31 - Open mic stand-up comedy tonight in Otsuka - go take the mic and make people laugh! At Cine Libre, the 6:40pm National Theatre Live show is the Threepenny Opera.

Tue Aug 1 - At Cine Libre, the 6:40pm National Theatre Live show is Hamlet. And we hear amazing things about the Fuerza Bruta show that starts today and runs til September - a bit like Cirque du Soleil, I think. Here's a wee video to see what it is.

Wed Aug 2 - At 5:30 there's a talk on pop culture and security in Japan. Then Good Heavens Comedy Club is tonight - all your stand-up comedy needs in Shimokitazawa. Plus there's a comedy hypnotist! At Cine Libre, the 6:40pm National Theatre Live show is The Threepenny Opera.

Thu Aug 3 - Perfect Liars Club returns! Book your tickets now for this show. At Cine Libre, the 6:40pm National Theatre Live show is Hamlet again. Or you might want to take advantage of Tokyo Photographic Museum's late hours tonight to see the World Press Awards exhibition - I loved it. Open til 9 today and tomorrow, and normal hours til it closes on Sunday.

Fri Aug 4 - If you happen to be off work this afternoon, there's a talk on Arcimboldo: Nature into Art at the National Museum of Western Art. At Cine Libre, the 6:40pm National Theatre Live show is The Threepenny Opera. And if you're looking for a LGBT+ event, it's the Fruits in Suits Summer Soiree. And at 6:30 at MOMAT I don't know what Architectural Gymnastics are... but Summer Museum Nights says you can see it.

Sat Aug 5 - Today the 10am Toho films start an Audrey Heburn season. All this week, see Roman Holiday at 10am in Toho Nihonbashi or Shinjuku. At Cine Libre, the 6:40pm National Theatre Live show is Hamlet. Or head up Edo-Tokyo open air architecture museum for Summer Nights Museum dancing and fun til 8:30pm today and tomorrow.

Sun Aug 6 - At Cine Libre, the 6:40pm National Theatre Live show is Man and Superman.

Mon Aug 7 - Open mic stand-up comedy tonight in Otsuka - go take the mic and make people laugh! At Cine Libre, the 6:40pm show is Hamlet.

Tue Aug 8 - At Cine Libre, the 6:40pm show is The Threepenny Opera.

Wed Aug 9 - Good Heavens Comedy Club is tonight - all your stand-up comedy needs in Shimokitazawa. At Cine Libre, the 6:40pm show is Hamlet.

Thu Aug 10 - At Cine Libre, the 6:40pm show is The Threepenny Opera.

Fri Aug 11 - At Cine Libre, the 6:40pm show is Hamlet. Dr Sketchy's burlesque art class/club has a cool-sounding event tonight (for which details were sparse at the time of checking - look nearer the time). Then there's a movie all-nighter at Shin Bungeiza cinema, also in Ikebukuro: Battleship, Magnificent Seven and Kingsman.

Sat Aug 12 - Starting today and running all week, there's a double bill of Jackie and Snowden at Waseda Shochiku cinema. The Audrey Hepburn season continues - every day this week from today, see Sabrina at 10am at Toho Nihonbashi or Shibuya. Things also get exciting at Cine Libre in Ikebukuro where there's an all-day National Theatre Live extravaganza all week. Today: 11:40 is Threepenny Opera; 3:20 is Frankenstein (which I can attest is brilliant) and 6pm is Warhorse (also outstanding).

Sun Aug 13 - In Cine Libre today: 11:40 is Frankenstein, 2:20 is Warhorse and 5:30 is Threepenny Opera.

Mon Aug 14 - Open mic stand-up comedy tonight in Otsuka - go take the mic and make people laugh! In Cine Libre today: The Hard Problem at 1:40, Frankenstein at 4:20 and Warhorse at 7:30.

Tue Aug 15 - Tonight it's Space Cafe - and you get to hear a talk from Chris Blackerby from NASA! Who wouldn't want to do that. Sounds fab. In Cine Libre today: Frankenstein at 1:40, Warhorse at 4:20 and Treasure Island at 7:30 (I thought all three of these were really outstanding).

Wed Aug 16 - Infuriatingly an awesome award-winning puppetry show from Australia called The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik - Deep Sea Explorer is at Kanagawa Theatre today and tomorrow... but at 2pm! Good Heavens Comedy Club is tonight - all your stand-up comedy needs in Shimokitazawa. In Cine Libre today: The Hard Problem at 1:40, Frankenstein at 4:20, and Warhorse at 7:30.

Thu Aug 17 - Adventures of Alvin Sputnik - Deep Sea Explorer is at 2pm in Kanagawa. Then for comedy with a side of judgement, enjoy Double Tall Cafe in Shibuya and vote for how long you'd like each comedian to perform. In Cine Libre today: Frankenstein at 1:40, Warhorse at 4:20 and Treasure Island at 7:30.

Fri Aug 18 - Comedy, Improv and hijinx at Gamuso Comedy show in Asagaya tonight. In Cine Libre today: The Hard Problem at 1:40, Frankenstein at 4:20 and Warhorse at 7:30.

Sat Aug 19 - The 10am Audrey Hepburn season continues at Toho Nihonbashi and Shinjuku. This week: Love in the Afternoon. In Cine Libre today: Hangmen at 11:40, Frankenstein at 2:50 and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time at 5:50.

Sun Aug 20 - In Cine Libre today: Frankenstein at 11:40, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time at 2:30 and Hangmen at 5:50.

Mon Aug 21 - Open mic stand-up comedy tonight in Otsuka - go take the mic and make people laugh! In Cine Libre today: Hangmen at 1:30, Frankenstein at 4:40 and Curious Incident at 7:30.

Tue Aug 22 -In Cine Libre today: Frankenstein at 1:30, Curious Incident at 4:15 and Hangmen at 7:30.

Wed Aug 23 - Good Heavens Comedy Club is tonight - all your stand-up comedy needs in Shimokitazawa. In Cine Libre today: Hangmen at 1:30, Frankenstein at 4:40 and Curious Incident at 7:30.

Thu Aug 24 - In Cine Libre today: Frankenstein at 1:30, Curious Incident at 4:15 and Hangmen at 7:30.

Fri Aug 25 - The last Friday of the month is upon us, so head to Crocodile Shibuya for Improvazilla, a high quality improv show that includes a whole improvised musical. And it's the final day of the NT Live Cine Libre Extravaganza: Hangmen at 1:30, Frankenstein at 4:40 and Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time at 7:30. There will also likely be a Drunk Poets See God poetry slam at Bar Gari Gari tonight.

Sat Aug 26 - If you're an early bird, Toho's 10am Audrey Hepburn season ends this week with seven days of How to Steal a Million. If you're a night owl, there's a girl coming of age movie all-nighter at Shin Bungeiza cinema in Ikebukuro: The Edge of Seventeen, American Sleepover, Palo Alto Story and Francis Ha.

Sun Aug 27 - Everyone's favourite bilingual improv show, Pirates of Tokyo Bay, return tonight!

Mon Aug 28 - Open mic stand-up comedy tonight in Otsuka - go take the mic and make people laugh!

Wed Aug 30 - Good Heavens Comedy Club is tonight - all your stand-up comedy needs in Shimokitazawa.

Fri 21 July - Edgy storytelling show Apocrypha is back at Bar Gari Gari and the topic this month is Oh What a Night. True stories told live in a bar. Or head to Asagaya for the Gamuso comedy and improv show. Or journey to Yokosuka for another all-female comedy show, Bad Girlz of Comedy. Or a Surf x Design Pecha Kucha summer party curated by Mini and featuring talks by surfers and designers. And today's your last chance for the Ginrei Cinema double bill of Suffragette and I, Daniel Blake. Also, the Broadway version of West Side Story is at Tokyu Theatre Orb in English all month.

Sat 22 July - This morning at 10 you could see Good Will Hunting at Toho Nihonbashi (playing all week), or at 11 you could see a subtitled version of the Japanese film The Gay Masquerade, aka The Jovial Rascals of Edo. Tonight only: Out of the Closet, a LGBT+ comedy show at Gamuso in Asagaya. There will be an array of LGBT+ comedians being funny and all are welcome. Plus, If you've never heard Layla's world-famous, award-winning first date story, this is your chance! There's also Craft Beer and Comedy at Two Dogs Taproom in Roppongi. A 2-week film noir season kicks off at Cinemavera. And from today and running all week, Waseda Shochiku cinema is screening Trainspotting 1 and 2 as a double bill.

Sun 23 July - Nothing specific on today, except for an art opening 2-6pm behind Tokyo Station. So head to the movies described above!

Mon 24 July - Monday at the Movies returns with the Orson Welles classic, Touch of Evil. Join us to enjoy this free movie over drinks or dinner at Good Heavens. Or check out the open mic stand-up comedy night in Otsuka.

Tue 25 July - Head to Good Heavens for Poetry and Dream, a night of lyrical short films from Shorts On Tap. Or to Waseda University for a talk by Tourya Guaaybess in English, called Transnational Media in the Gulf Countries: a success story?

Wed 26 July - Pecha Kucha is one of Tokyo's coolest events, with arty talks in English and Japanese by artists, designers, and all sorts of interesting people. And this month I get to do a talk! It's at SuperDeluxe in Roppongi. See you there. Good Heavens Comedy Club is also tonight, if you're in the mood for stand-up comedy. And award-winning translator Peter MacMillan will be featured at the Foreign Correspondents' Club Book Break, speaking about his new translation of The Tales of Ise and One Hundred Poems, One Poem Each.

Thu 27 July - Tonight is the Tokyo version of F*ckup Nights, where people from startups tell us what went horribly wrong... for our entertainment (and learning). Usually some of the talks are in English and some in Japanese.There's also a talk tonight from the University of Oxford's Todd Hall on Japanese-Chinese relations at Tokyo University.

Fri 28 July - It's another last Friday of the month extravaganza! We'll be at Improvazilla - improv scenes in the first half, and a whole improvised musical in the second half. Much fun. There's also the poetry slam Drunk Poets See God, and if you fancy taking to the stage, the theme is Independence. And another cool gramophone concert.

Plan Ahead - things Layla is involved with that you might like

Thu 3 Aug - Perfect Liars Club returns! Book your tickets now for this show.

Fri 14 July - Tonight is Nerd Night, and the talks are about tsunami evacuation, the Large Hadron Collider, and best of all, Perfect Liars Club alumnus Elizabeth Tasker talking about whether we've found an Earth-like planet. Also, the Balls To The Wall stand-up comedy show is tonight in Roppongi. Tokyo Rainbow Reel LGBT+ film festival continues through to Monday. I saw A Date for Mad Mary this week already and it was fantastic. Also, remember the Broadway version of West Side Story is at Tokyu Theatre Orb in English all month.

Sat 15 July - A busy day. Kick off by seeing Good Will Hunting at Toho Shinjuku at 10am. It's on all week. Then spend the afternoon at a public symposium on Arts and Theories in a Post-Media World. You could just about squeeze in the last screening of A Date for Mad Mary at 6:10pm at Spiral Hall, before getting on the train from Omotesando to Shimokitazawa for That's What She Said, Tokyo's only all-woman comedy show. This was fantastic last time. Plus, your charming Perfect Liars Club host is in it, and two of your favourite Perfect Liars Club alumni, Dita and Christiane. See you there. Then after that, head up to Ikebukuro for an all-nighter of Woody Allen films. As you do.

Sun 16 July - Not much on today, so I suggest you join me at Spiral Hall for an afternoon at the Tokyo Rainbow Reel LGBT+ film festival. Starting at 11:30, there are five films on back to back.

Mon 17 July - It's the closing night party for Mes art show at Anagra Gallery near my house, in Kojimachi. Cool light-based installations.

Tue 18 July - Space Cafe is back, so let's nerd it up. Hear a space talk by Aurora Simeonescu from JAXA and come up with some clever questions.

Wed 19 July - We've not had a Trump event for a while. Try this one at Temple University: a talk about the Government of Japan and Trump's America.

Thu 20 July - Another famous UK comedian comes to the sunny climes of Tokyo. James Acaster will be doing a one-night-only stand-up comedy show at Good Heavens. You may want to get tickets in advance. Or if you like your comedy less endorsed but more judgemental, head to Stand up comedy at Double Tall Shibuya.

Fri 21 July - Edgy storytelling show Apocrypha is back at Bar Gari Gari and the topic this month is Oh What a Night. True stories told live in a bar. Or head to Asagaya for the Gamuso comedy and improv show.

Plan Ahead - things Layla is involved with that you might like

Wed 26 July - Pecha Kucha is one of Tokyo's coolest events, with arty talks in English and Japanese by artists, designers, and all sorts of interesting people. And this month I get to do a talk! See you there.

Thu 3 Aug - Perfect Liars Club returns! Book your tickets now for this show.

Fri 7 July - Tonight it's comedy and improv at Gamuso in Asagaya. Or a talk about translating poetry at Rikkyo University. Our friend Peter MacMillan has an art opening tonight at Toriizaka gallery in Hiroo, so that's where we're going. Also if you're in the mood for some London theatre, tonight is the first of a week's screening of National Theatre Live production The Deep Blue Sea at Toho Roppongi Hills and Toho Nihonbashi. Here's the Guardian review and it's great.

Sat 8 July - Tokyo Rainbow Reel LGBT+ film festival kicks off today. You may want to get your tickets in advance (we picked ours up from the giftshop on the ground floor of Spiral Hall). All films are in English or have English subtitles. But I'm not going tonight, because tonight I'm performing in my favourite comedy show in Tokyo: Comedy Sumo Slam! Come and hear two teams of comedians battle it out to be funny about current affairs and random topics! And cheer loudly for my team. It's at Two Dogs Taproom in Roppongi at 7pm. Also, Suffragette and I, Daniel Blake are playing as a double bill at the lovely Ginrei Hall cinema in Iidabashi, and Good Will Hunting is at 10am in Toho Shinjuku, all every day this week from today.

Sun 9 July - There's nothing specific on today. So we're going to  The Deep Blue Sea at Toho Nihonbashi. See you there? Otherwise, check out all the film options listed for Saturday. Apparently Sunday is a cinema day.

Mon 10 July - Open mic stand-up comedy tonight in Otsuka.

Tue 11 July - What says interesting Tuesday evening more than a nice talk at UN University about challenges to peacekeeping in the 21st century?

Wed 12 July - Head over to Shimokitazawa tonight for the Good Heavens Comedy Club weekly stand-up show. Or to either a talk at Temple University about Japan's modern castles or a talk at Lakeland University about Japan's progress towards gender equality in the workplace. Also tonight, the Broadway version of West Side Story kicks off at Tokyu Theatre Orb. It's in English and it's playing all month.

Thu 13 July - Tonight's the launch of TransPacific Poetics, a new collection of poetry, essays, and poetics committed to transcultural experimental witness in both hemispheres of the Pacific and Oceania. They promise poetry readings and a panel discussion.

Fri 14 July - Tonight is Nerd Night, and the talks are about tsunami evacuation, the Large Hadron Collider, and best of all, Perfect Liars Club alumnus Elizabeth Tasker talking about whether we've found an Earth-like planet. Also, the Balls To The Wall stand-up comedy show is tonight in Roppongi.

Plan Ahead - things Layla from Perfect Liars Club is performing at in the next month

Sat 15 July - It's the second all-female comedy show That's What She Said. I'm in it. Then after that, head up to Ikebukuro for an all-nighter of Woody Allen films. As you do.

Wed 26 July - Pecha Kucha is one of Tokyo's coolest events, with arty talks in English and Japanese by artists, designers, and all sorts of interesting people. And this month I get to do a talk! See you there.

Thu 3 Aug - Perfect Liars Club returns! Book your tickets now for this show.

Greetings everyone. I've been away all month but am zooming back into town in time for Perfect Liars Club on  Thursday! Be sure you've got your tickets. See you there. And in the meantime, the curse of July means it's quieter than usual, but do not fear: here's some fun things to do...

All week: There are old Hollywood musicals on all week at Cinemavera, plus Toho Nihonbashi is screening All About Eve every morning at 10am!

Fri 30 June - It's the last-Friday-of-the-month-madness! Well, July-curtailed madness Improvazilla brings you improvised comedy and a whole invented musical. There's a book talk by Jane Yamashiro on Japanese Americans who return to Japan (also on Tuesday). There's one of these cool gramophone concerts. And there's also a Drunk Poets See God poetry slam at Bar Gari Gari - the theme is 'cadillac'. Take your pick!

Sat 1 July - It's a poetry extravaganza today. In the morning go to a talk on Laurence Binyon. Then tonight is the launch of the 4th volume of Tokyo Poetry Journal, and their launch party at Tokyo Salon in Jingumae promises poems, music and drinks.

Sun 2 July - Nothing much on today at all. Better head to the movies.

Mon 3 July - There's an open-mic stand up comedy show at Otsuka tonight.

Tue 4 July - Jane Yamashiro is doing her talk at Temple about Japanese Americans in the Ancestral Homeland. And Meet Me in St Louis seems to be on at Cinemavera at 6:20pm.

Wed 5 July - Apparently nothing on tonight. Perhaps you should stay home and hone your lie detection techniques. Or go see Two Girls and a Sailor at Cinemavera.

Thu 6 July - Hooray, it's Perfect Liars Club tonight! Get on down to Good Heavens bar for the most fabulous show in Tokyo! You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll suspect. And you'll vote. There is no better way to spend a Thursday night.

Fri 7 July - Tonight it's comedy and improv at Gamuso in Asagaya. Or a talk about translating poetry at Rikkyo University. Also if you're in the mood for some London theatre, tonight is the first of a week's screening of National Theatre Live production The Deep Blue Sea at Toho Roppongi Hills and Toho Nihonbashi.

Plan ahead

Sat 8 July - Tokyo Rainbow Reel LGBT+ film festival kicks off today. You may want to get your tickets in advance. All films are in English or have English subtitles.

Lovely films running all month
Great news, short film fans: the brilliant and free Short Shorts Film Festival returns to Tokyo and Yokohama til June 25th. They all have English-language subtitles. We really loved this festival last year. Check out the schedule and book your (free) tickets now! Now you're in the film festival mood, EU Film Days are also on all month til 22nd June, so check out their schedule, which includes English language details for each film! From the 10th-23rd Ginrei Hall is showing a double bill of Maggie's Plan and Captain Fantastic.

Fri 2 June - The Gamuso comedy show brings stand up comedy and improv to Asagaya to finish off the week with some laughs.

Sun 4 June - I can't quite figure out exactly what Off the Page is, but I think acoustic music, photos, a panel discussing music, and some performance poetry at Infinity Books.

Mon 5 June - It's open mic comedy in Otsuka tonight - feel free to take the mic! Or head to Yotsuya for a free talk about Chefs, Trends and Tastes at the World's Top Restaurants by Crystyl Mo, founding editor of Time Out Shanghai.

Wed 7 June - Good Heavens Comedy Club is tonight in Shimokitazawa.

Thu 8 June - A bit random, but if you fancy it, head to a talk about the cultural history of hip hop in London.

Fri 9 June - Balls to the Wall stand up comedy is on tonight in Roppongi.

Sat 10 June - During the day, if you're feeling literary, head to the University of Tokyo's Komaba museum for talks on Literary Celebrity in Newspapers and Magazines: Australia between the Wars (2pm) and Capricious Captioning and Narrative Instability: Hugh Lofting’s Doctor Dolittle Newspaper Illustrations at 3. Later Comedy Sumo Slam is one of our favourite comedy shows in Tokyo: two teams of comics compete to be hilarious about current events.

Mon 12 June - It's open mic comedy in Otsuka tonight - feel free to get up and take the mic!

Tue 13 June - Hooray, tonight is Space Cafe, so all you space nerds head on over for talks by Chris Blackerby (NASA Attache to Asia) and Dr. Steven Rieder (RIKEN).

Wed 14 June - Good Heavens Comedy Club is tonight in Shimokitazawa.

Thu 15 June - Comedy tonight at Double Tall cafe in Shibuya.Or the first Tokyo Humanities Cafe is tonight. The TED-style talks by Tokyo-based academics promise topics like 'Defying the Victorian Faries' and 'A Midsummer Night's Dream: a digital reconstruction'. 

Fri 16 June - It's Nerd Nite Tokyo's first birthday. Go and celebrate with the usual nerdy talks in a bar, plus some extra birthday shenanigans. The Gamuso comedy show brings more stand up comedy and improv to Asagaya tonight. And this is the start of Cinemavera's old Hollywood musicals retrospective. Have an amazing time. It's on  til 7th July. Plus London's National Theatre Live is screening The Threepenny Opera at both Toho Nihonbashi and Roppongi every day from today til the 22nd. Don't miss it!

Sat 17 June - More quirky talks at the University of Tokyo's Komaba museum today: Literary Evangelicalism in the Late Nineteenth Century: from Romanticism to Sentimentality at 2pm and Illustration of the Novel and Reproduction Technologies at 3.

Sun 18 June - Nothing much on so why not head to the Threepenny Opera, performed in London and screened in Toho Roppongi and Nihonbashi cinemas every day til Thursday.

Mon 19 June - It's open mic comedy in Otsuka tonight - feel free to take the mic!

Tue 20 June - There's a random (actually, it's a terrifyingly specific) talk tonight on the culture of the coffee house and tea table in Britain 1650-1750. Also, the Embassy of Canada is doing a cool dialogue between Canadian and Japanese writers. Tonight: What's on the Mind of Women Writers Today? Authors: Madeleine Thien, Yukiko Chino and Hiiragi Nonaka. Register in advance.

Wed 21 June - Visiting comedian Adam Bloom (BBC Radio 4, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Perrier award winner, Chortle award nominee, Just for Laughs festival) headlines tonight in Shimokitazawa.

Thu 22 June - Cool arty talks from artists and architects and assorted others at the famed Pecha Kucha tonight - some talks are in English and some are in Japanese.

Fri 23 June - Tonight Apocrypha brings another evening of edgy and emotional performance storytelling for your delight. All stories are true. Also, Dr Sketchy's Anti-Art School has another fun evening of drawing burlesque performers, also delightful. And for the first time all year it doesn't conflict with Improvazilla. 

Sat 24 June - The final installment of quirky Saturday talks at the University of Tokyo's Komaba museum today: The boa constrictor at the nursery door: Anglophone literary culture in the English-language press of 1920s East Asia at 2pm and New Middlebrow Readerships: Serialised Novels in The Daily Mail Overseas Edition, 1919-1939 at 3.  Later, Comedy Sumo Slam is one of our favourite comedy shows in Tokyo: two teams of comics compete to be hilarious about current events. There's also stand up comedy in Asakusa.

Sun 25 June - Tonight head to Ebisu for a bilingual improv show, courtesy of Pirates of Tokyo Bay.

Mon 26 June - It's open mic comedy in Otsuka tonight - feel free to take the mic!

Tue 27 June - Author Fumio Matsuo is talking about her book on US-China relations tonight at the Foreign Correspondents' Club.

Wed 28 June - Good Heavens Comedy Club is tonight in Shimokitazawa.

Thu 29 June - Ian Condry from MIT is doing an interesting-sounding talk tonight on music and the new social economy in a post-capitalist 21st century.

Fri 30 June - It's the last-Friday-of-the-month-madness! Improvazilla brings you improvised comedy and a whole invented musical. There's a book talk by Jane Yamashiro on Japanese Americans who return to Japan. It's not online yet but I suspect there's also a Drunk Poets See God poetry slam at Bar Gari Gari. 

Coming soon

Thu 6th July - It's Perfect Liars Club! Buy your tickets now!

Fri 26 May -  It's the last Friday of the month, which means an array of interesting things to do! I'll be at Improvazilla, a really high quality improv show which includes an improvised musical. If you like poetry, you have choices: the Drunk Poets See God poetry slam at Bar Gari Gari or the Tohoku poetry reading with poets Peter Robinson and Masaya Saito at Books Kinokuniya. EU Film Days festival commences at the newly opened National Film Centre! (The opening film, Vojtech, is today at 4:30pm -  it's in Slovak, but has English subtitles.) There's Balls to the Wall comedy at Roppongi. There's another cool little gramophone concert. This and That cafe brings music and live art. If you like drawing burlesque performers, head over to Dr Sketchy's Anti-Art School. And there's a Disney concert on at Tokyu Theatre Orb all week.

Sat 27 May - At 1pm and 5pm there's a cool concert by Japan's philharmonic orchestra providing the soundtrack to Charlie Chaplin's film Street Light. I had such a pfaff trying to buy tickets on their insanely complicated website but was eventually successful, so come say hi at the 5pm show. Asakusa stand up comedy is tonight, associated with the Funny Japan project at Waseda University. There's an art opening for new Japanese portrait photography at 5pm in Ginza. In terms of English language cinema screening at nice cinemas all week from today, we have Eye in the Sky at Ginrei Hall, and Waseda Shochiku has a double bill of Trainwreck and The Nice Guys.

Sun 28 May - This is clearly improv weekend! Tonight check out a bilingual improv show by the Pirates of Tokyo Bay.

Mon 29 May - It's Otsuka's open mic comedy night tonight.

Tue 30 May - Boo, it's yet another Tuesday lull. Please would people start putting on more events on Tuesdays! In the meantime, cinema?

Wed 31 May - Pechakucha night returns to Superdeluxe in Roppongi tonight. Hear talks in English and Japanese by architects, artists, and other creative types. This show, which is a worldwide sensation, was born here in Tokyo. Also tonight, Good Heavens Comedy Club.

Thu 1 June - Perfect Liars Club is tonight! Oh yes, Tokyo's favourite (and only) story interrogation show comes to Shimokitazawa tonight at 8pm sharp (doors from 7pm). Four shocking tales, but only one is true. Can you spot the liar? Come and prove it tonight.

Fri 2 June - The Gamuso comedy show brings stand up comedy and improv to Asagaya to finish off the week with some laughs. And great news, short film fans: the brilliant and free Short Shorts Film Festival returns to Tokyo and Yokohama til June 25th. They all have English-language subtitles. We really loved this festival last year. Check out the schedule and book your (free) tickets now!

Got an event we should include next time? Email us.

Fri 19 May - The Diary of Anne Frank by Tokyo International Players' is on again tonight (til Sunday). Or hear a talk about the experiences of a Syrian refugee in Japan. Project Godie launches tonight, a cool platform to celebrate the links between north-east England and Japan, through dance, music, film and books (event details). Also, Gamuso comedy show in Asagaya is tonight.

Sat 20 May - Feeling literary? Go hear a talk about Australian books in the American marketplace in English this afternoon at 3:35 at Meisei University. There's more The Diary of Anne Frank by Tokyo International Players tonight. Or if you like your Saturdays cheerier, the Vega Comedy Show is tonight too. Also, I don't usually post about music, but Dr Seuss meets Jazz sounds charming.

Sun 21 May - Big decisions today: are you a scientist, an artist or a historian? Excitingly, the Pint of Science festival comes to Tokyo today only. It's 12-2 at Good Heavens, so settle down with some British food for lunch and enjoy talks and discussions on things such as Japanese robotics from an anthropology perspective. Or bring your pencils and pads for that lovely social drawing art event, PauseDraw at 4pm in Nagatacho. It's also the last day of The Diary of Anne Frank by Tokyo International Players today.

Mon 22 May - It's Otsuka's open mic comedy night tonight. Also Tokyo Cocktail Week kicks off today.

Tue 23 May -  Tokyo Space Cafe is tonight at Good Heavens. For Tokyo-based space geeks (and aspirational space geeks like me), this is one of the most interesting events of the month! Tonight the talk will be about a JAXA and a NASA mission: Rocks from Asteroids: The Hayabusa2 and OSIRIS-REx Space Missions.

Wed 24 May - It's Wednesday, which means it's Good Heavens Comedy Club.

Thu 25 May - If you can get there for 5pm, you may enjoy Waiting for a Whitman: Canadian Poetry and National Identity by Jeff Weingarten. It's at the University of Tokyo.

Fri 26 May -  Hold onto your hats, ladies and gentlemen: it's the last Friday of the month! I'll be at Improvazilla, a really high quality improv show which includes an improvised musical. But what else am I missing? If you like poetry, you have choices: the Drunk Poets See God poetry slam at Bar Gari Gari or the Tohoku poetry reading with poets Peter Robinson and Masaya Saito at Books Kinokuniya. EU Film Days festival commences at the newly opened National Film Centre! The opening film, Vojtech, is today at 4:30pm -  it's in Slovak, but has English subtitles. There's Balls to the Wall comedy at Roppongi. There's another cool little gramophone concert. And if you like drawing burlesque performers, head over to Dr Sketchy's Anti-Art School.

Coming soon

1 June - Perfect Liars Club returns! Grab your tickets now!

Fri 12 May -  For one night only, there's a performance of Twelfth Night by International Theatre Company London. English with Japanese subtitles. Nerd Nite is also tonight, with talks about race issues in Japan and the links between cancer and mathematics. As is Balls to the Wall comedy in Roppongi. Or hear a talk about the future of work at UN University. Many options! Enjoy!

Sat 13 May - For all you fit people, today is the Tokyo Yamathon. Then tonight it's Comedy Sumo Slam! Fantastic comedy gameshow where two teams of comics compete to be amusing on current affairs and off the cuff topics. I won't be able to participate due to the venue's lack of wheelchair access for a visiting friend, but this is always a smart, funny night! Oooh and cause for celebration (they disappointingly have failed to have a party; just an exhibition about puppet animation) - it's the re-opening of the National Film Centre! And up at Shin Bungeiza cinema in Ikebukuro, the Extreme Film Festival, an all-nighter with 3 out of 4 films in English.

Sun 14 May - It's quiet today. So for all you old film fans: This is the last week of the lovely Ernst Lubitsch retrospective at Cinemavera. I've seen several so far and this is hugely popular: standing room only, with literally about 30 people standing, people sitting in the aisles, etc. Check it out.

Mon 15 May - Back by popular demand for old movie fans everywhere, it's Monday at the Movies! Join us tonight at Good Heavens to drink beer and enjoy Our Man in Havana for free. Or if you want to try out some new stand up comedy material or hear new jokes, head to Otsuka's open mic comedy night.

Tue 16 May - Barry Lancet, who wrote The Spy Across the Table, is speaking at the Foreign Correspondents' Club on his book and how to be a successful writer. Tickets available if you email them.

Wed 17 May - If it's Wednesday, it's Good Heavens Comedy Club! Lots of laughs, lots of beer, lots of chips (of the British variety). Unless you want to hear analysis of the French election?

Thu 18 May - Two English-language plays in a single week? Impressive, Tokyo! Tonight is the first night of Tokyo International Players' production of The Diary of Anne Frank. Selling out fast.

Fri 19 May - The Diary of Anne Frank by Tokyo International Players' is on again tonight (til Sunday). Or hear a talk about the experiences of a Syrian refugee in Japan. Also, Gamuso comedy show in Asagaya is tonight.

Coming soon

26 May - EU Film Days festival commences at the newly opened National Film Centre!

1 June - Perfect Liars Club returns! Grab your tickets now!

Fri 5 May - A treat tonight: That's What She Said, Tokyo's first all-woman comedy show, complete with charity auction and other fun things. Your beloved Perfect Liars host Layla will be performing. Also, Gamuso comedy show in Asagaya is on tonight. And Towering Inferno is screening at Ikebukuro's Shin Bungeiza cinema who are having a Warner Bros retrospective this week.

Sat 6 May - Tokyo Rainbow Pride kicks off today in Yoyogi Park. There are all sorts of adjunct events if you like to party, picnic, or understand Japanese. Otherwise, head to Ikebukuro's Shin Bungeiza cinema to see Dirty Harry and/or Bullitt.

Sun 7 May - Tokyo Rainbow Pride and parade is today in Yoyogi Park. And at Ikebukuro's Shin Bungeiza cinema, Wild Bunch and/or Dirty Harry.

Mon 8 May - At 4:20 go to a free talk about Shakespeare's original accent. Also, today the three-day Tokyo Lift-Off Film Festival starts. The films are new indie films, they're either in English or have English subtitles, and the festival is at the Uplink in Shibuya. Or if you want classic cinema, head to the final day of Ikebukuro's Shin Bungeiza Warner Bros retrospective to see Rebel Without a Cause and/or East of Eden. There's also open mic stand up comedy tonight in Otsuka.

Tue 9 May - Tokyo Lift-Off Film Festival continues this evening.

Wed 10 May - Good Heavens Comedy Club is back with all the laughs tonight. Plus it's the final night of Tokyo Lift-Off Film Festival.

Thu 11 May - Oh glorious day! After you have patiently been waiting all month, finally, Perfect Liars Club is tonight! Make sure you get your tickets as it's going to be a good one. There's even a guest suspect/performer from the Washington DC Perfect Liars Club. Are you shrewd enough to spot the liar? The most fun night in Tokyo in our opinion.

Fri 12 May -  There's a performance of Twelfth Night tonight only by International Theatre Company London. English with Japanese subtitles. Nerd Nite is also tonight, with talks about race issues in Japan and the links between cancer and mathematics. Or hear a talk about the future of work at UN University. Enjoy!

Fab films to see all week - Born to be Blue (about jazz trumpeter Chet Baker) is screening at Ginrei Hall. For documentary fans, Don't Blink (about photographer Robert Frank) and The First Monday in May (the MET fashion gala) are at Le Cinema Bunkamura. For old film fans, the Ernst Lubitsch season at Cinemavera runs all this week with a different double bill every day. What a treat. As for your Toho daily 10am films, Rear Window is at Toho Nihonbashi and Shawshank Redemption at Toho Shinjuku. And of course around town you'll find Beauty and the Beast, Sing, Moana, La la Land, and more. Go wild.