March 2023's must-sees

The myth of Phaedra, the Cretan princess who fell in love with her own stepson, has inspired playwrights from Euripides to Racine, and now hotshot director Simon Stone brings this tragic tale into the 21st century with a new production at the National Theatre. Phaedra stars Janet McTeer (currently best known for Ozark) as the doomed heroine, whose passion ends up destroying her, with Assaad Bouab (from hit TV show Call My Agent) making his British stage debut as her stepson Hippolytus.

The American artist Alice Neel, who died in 1984, lived and worked in New York, painting portraits of her neighbours, friends and members of the city's vibrant underground arts and political scenes. Monitored by the FBI and ignored during the years when abstract art ruled the roost, Neel's reputation has risen rapidly in recent years, and she's now counted among the American greats. This new Barbican show is a rare chance to see over 70 of her most vibrant portraits.

One of London's most remarkable museums is tucked away in the heart of University College London's campus in Bloomsbury. Despite its modest size, the Petrie Museum boasts a globally important collection of Egyptian and Sudanese archaeology, with some 80,000 items packed into a wonderfully quirky and atmospheric space. Among the highlights are a 7,000-year-old dress, art from Akhenaten's city at Amarna, and a superb series of Roman mummy portraits, whose lifelike features offer a moving insight into the ancient world.

London was the home of both James Bond and his creator, Ian Fleming, and the city has provided many iconic locations for the Bond films over the years. Join a knowledgeable guide for a walking tour of central London, and learn where fantasy meets reality, taking in both movie locations and the actual places associated with Britain's spymasters, many of which are in Mayfair, as our latest Untold Stories video reveals. Tours last two-and-a-half hours, and take place each Saturday.