ARTS & CULTURE - TIME WELL SPENT AWARD WINNERS

AG
Aug 26
6 min read

Announcing London's WINNING Musical, Play, Culture Venues and Art Events in the Time Well Spent Awards 2025

YOU have spoken, via tens of thousands of votes over the past six months, to crown London's BEST musical, play, immersive experience, culture venues and events for the Time Well Spent Awards 2025.

And the winners are...

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LONDON'S BEST MUSICAL

WINNER: Wicked

One of the most successful musicals of all time, Wicked has been defying gravity for 18 years, with its untold story of the Witches of Oz.

The smash hit welcomes people to the Land of Oz to discover the background of misunderstood green witch, Elpheba and blonde, popular witch Glinda and the very different paths their lives take after meeting the Wizard of Oz.

The dark and magical fairytale has bagged more than 100 major international awards including three Tony Awards, two Oliviers and ten WhatsOnStage awards.

Wicked, Apollo Victoria Theatre, 17 Wilton Rd, Pimlico, London SW1V 1LG

2025 Nominees: Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, Hadestown, The Devil Wears Prada, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Hamilton, The Book of Mormon, The Lion King. Read more

LONDON'S PLAY OF THE YEAR

WINNER: Stranger Things: The First Shadow

Brought to life by a multi-award-winning creative team, who take theatrical storytelling and stagecraft to a whole new dimension, this gripping stage prequel takes you right back to the beginning of the Stranger Things story – and may hold the key to the end.

The production takes place in Hawkins, 1959, nearly 20 years before the world in the hit Netflix supernatural juggernaut.

When new student Henry Creel arrives, his family finds that a fresh start isn’t so easy, and the shadows of the past have a very long reach.

It features groundbreaking special effects - including a monstrous US naval vessel being pulled into a parallel dimension - and a beautifully tragic story of a troubled boy with superpowers and his conflict between good and evil.

Stranger Things: The First Shadow, The Phoenix Theatre, Charing Cross Rd, London WC2H 0JP

2025 Nominees: My Neighbour Totoro, The Brightening Air, Witness for the Prosecution, Unicorn, The Mousetrap, The Play That Goes Wrong. Read more

LONDON'S EXHIBITION OF THE YEAR

WINNER: Cute Exhibition

The Hello Kitty-filled, Cute exhibition was catnip for the Instagram generation; an adorable, fluffy playground for children and a fascinating journey through the rise of cuteness in contemporary culture for anybody keen to look deeper than the hearts and doe eyes.

The Somerset House show was a slick, huge and sickly sweet juggernaut, crammed with 'adorable' art and immersive installations by more than 50 artists, including a dreamscape sleepover room; Hello Kitty disco; a shrine to plushies and games arcades. But beneath the sugar was a compelling story about the history of cute, its powerful links to capitalism and its unsettling, emotional manipulation.

Somerset House, Embankment Galleries, South Wing

Nominees: Yoko Ono: Music for the Mind, When Form Comes Alive, The World of Tim Burton, Leigh Bowery! Jason and the Adventure of 254, Balloon Museum: EmotionAir, Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art, Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur, Anthony McCall - Solid Light at Tate Modern, Barbie: The Exhibition, Rong Bao is Me. Read more

LONDON'S BEST IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE

WINNER: Frameless

Situated in Marble Arch, Frameless is the largest, permanent multi-sensory experience in the UK.

Boasting four, themed galleries - Beyond Reality, Colour In Motion, The World Around Us and The Art Of Abstraction - with some of the world’s greatest works of art exploding across the walls, floors and ceilings of a 30,000 sq ft space.

You can step inside more than 43 masterpieces by 28 artists, including Kandinsky, Monet, Van Gogh, Klimt, Munch, Monet, Rembrandt, Dali and Cezanne with musical scores accompanying each brushstroke.

Frameless, Marble Arch, London W1H 7FD

2025 Nominees: Phantom Peak, Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds: The Immersive Experience, Paddington Bear Experience, Mamma Mia! The Party, The Lost Estate: 58th Street, Shrek’s Adventure, The London Dungeon, Avora Family Experience, The FRIENDS Experience: The One in London. Read more

LONDON'S BEST ART GALLERY

WINNER: National Portrait Gallery

When it opened in 1856, it was the first national public gallery in the world that was dedicated to portraits.

It now houses the world’s greatest collection of portraits, spanning six centuries - from global icons to local champions, national treasures to unsung heroes - telling the story of Britain through portraits, using art to bring history to life and explore living today

National Portrait Gallery, St Martin's Place, London, WC2H 0HE

2025 Nominees: Tate Modern, Saatchi Gallery, Royal Academy of Arts, Hayward Gallery, Serpentine, The Wallace Collection, Whitechapel Gallery, White Cube. Read more

LONDON'S BEST MUSEUM

WINNER: Natural History Museum

This world famous museum is free and brimming with 80 million specimens, from dinosaur skeletons, to a jaw-dropping life-sized blue whale model, giraffes and gorillas. Kids love its interactive learning opportunities, from earthquake simulators, an animatronic T-Rex you can stomp with and the extraordinary Visions of Nature, Mixed Reality show, to explore the natural world in 2125.

Natural History Museum, Cromwell Rd, South Kensington, London SW7 5BD

2025 Nominees: The British Museum, Science Museum, Design Museum, Horniman Museum, Queer Britain, London Mithraeum, The V&A, Museum of Comedy, London Transport Museum, The Handel Hendrix Museum, Moco Museum

LONDON'S BEST CINEMA

WINNER: The Prince Charles Cinema

The iconic picture house has cemented its reputation as the world's greatest cult cinema, with mega-fans including John Waters and Quentin Tarantino.

The cinema, which specialises in cult repertory screenings, is so loved, that in just one day, 100,000 people signed a petition to block its landlord's attempt to drive the cinema out of Leicester Square.

It has since been designated as an Asset of Community Value by Westminster Council (one of just six asstes in this designation for its independent ethos, unparalleled programming and close relationship with the local community.

And our readers agree, in a landslide vote to to crown it London's Best Cinema in this year's Time Well Spent Awards.

The Prince Charles Cinema, 7 Leicester Pl, London WC2H 7BY

2025 Nominees: ArtHouse, Crouch End, Electric Cinema, Notting Hill, Soho Hotel Cinema, Ham Yard Hotel Cinema, Rooftop Film Club, Shoreditch, Ritzy Cinema, Brixton, Genesis Cinema, Whitechapel, The Castle Cinema, Homerton, The Troxy

LONDON'S BEST GIG VENUE

WINNER: 02 Academy Brixton

This legendary, Grade II listed Art Deco venue is world famous for hosting live music, club nights, comedy shows and more.

The beautiful venue, crowned by a 140ft dome ensures everybody gets a top view of the iconic (and Europe's largest) fixed stage, with a beautiful design inspired by Venice’s Rialto bridge.

Opening in 1929 as the Astoria,it was transformed in 1983 into the Brixton Academy we know and love today, welcoming perforamances by everybody from Kings of Leon, Amy Winehouse, and The Clash, to Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Kasabian, and Blur.

O2 Academy Brixton, 211 Stockwell Rd, London SW9 9SL

2025 Nominees: Royal Albert Hall, 100 Club, Union Chapel, Hundred Years Gallery, Cafe Otto, Mascara Bar, Kentish Town Forum, EartH, Bush Hall, Moth Club, Omeara, Colours, Sebright Arms, Old Blue Last

LONDON'S BEST CLUB

WINNER: MOTH Club

Opening in1972 as an ex-serviceperson’s club, this much-loved Hackney institution has been transformed in the past decade into a vital hub for live music, comedy, film nights, and club events, hosting artists including Lady Gaga, Jarvis Cocker and Dave Grohl and providing a platform for rising stars.

This award shows how loved it is by Londoners, who voted in their droves - crucially, more than 20,000 people have also signed their petition to stop one of the capital's most loved grassroots venues from being threatened by proposals to build multi-storey flats over it.

Congratulations to MOTH Club - and long may Londoners fly towards your lights.

MOTH Club, Valette St, London E9 6NU

2025 Nominees: Fabric, The Cause, Corsica, Colour Factory, XOYO, Village Underground, The Carpet Shop, Dalston Superstore, Oslo, 93 Feet East, Brixton Jamm

LONDON'S BEST FESTIVAL

WINNER: BST Hyde Park

Each summer, for three weeks, London's biggest royal park is transformed into one of the UK's biggest festivals.

Its superstar headliners have included Sir Elton John, Kylie, the Rolling Stones, Taylor Swift and Pearl Jam.

And if you miss out on Glasto tickets, there's a good chance you'll see the Pyramid Stage sets here, instead.

The festival includes Open House, eight days of free, and dog-friendly events and experiences, which have included Pride in London's official pre-party, outdoor cinema, Darts Champtionhips and live music.

BST Hyde Park