Check out the Melan Magazine July Out & About roundup if you’re looking for a roundup of events, theatre and art activities to add to your July plans.

How are you coping in this heat? One way to combat the extreme temperatures is to look for a fun activity or event, chances are air conditioning comes as standard! This month, our roundup includes musicals, theatre and a comedy special. All served against a backdrop of Black excellence; there’s something for everyone.

If you attend any of these events we’d love to hear about it; let us know how it went in the comments.

To share your events for future roundups, email: info@melanmag.com

Watch: I’m Every Woman – The Chaka Khan Musical, starring Alexandra Burke

Calling all fans of Chaka Khan! Now’s your chance to see the acclaimed I’m Every Woman – The Chaka Khan Musical starring multi-platinum recording artist and award-winning actress Alexandra Burke. For a limited time, the Sister Act and The Bodyguard star will be playing the soul legend at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre for a limited time – 22 July – 27 September.

I’m Every Woman – The Chaka Khan Musical tells the journey of the woman behind the icon and charts her rise to stardom. Be ready to sing along to some of her greatest hits, such as I Feel For You, Tell Me Something Good, Ain’t Nobody, Sweet Thing, Higher Love and Through the Fire.

Date: Sunday 22 July – 27 September 2026
Run time: 2 hours 20 minutes plus an interval
Venue: Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, 3 Fulton Rd, Wembley Park, London HA9 0SP
Buy tickets

Don’t miss Tender, a queer love story at Bush Theatre

Tender by Eleanor Tindall is a queer love story, which tells the story of two women who find each other without knowing they were looking. The play stars Francesca Amewudah-Rivers who plays Ash (School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play (Lyric Hammersmith); and Nadi Kemp-Sayfi (Sherlock Holmes (Regent’s Park Open Air).

Playing for a strictly limited run, Tender promises to subvert your expectations of queer love stories. This upscaled production reunites the original creative team behind the 2024 sold-out Studio hit.

Tender writer Eleanor Tindall said: “Being given the opportunity to explore what extra dimensions the play could take on with a bit more breathing space, and to bring Ivy and Ash’s rollercoaster story to a wider audience, is such a privilege.”

Date: 9 July to 1 August 2026
Venue: Bush Theatre, 7 Uxbridge Road, Shepherd’s Bush, London, W12 8L
Buy tickets or call the Box Office on 020 8743 5050.

Join the Caribbean Takeover at the National Maritime Museum

The National Maritime Museum invites you to their join their annual free, family-friendly Caribbean Takeover, curated in collaboration with the Caribbean Social Forum.

The event, now in its fifth year at the museum, is a celebration of Caribbean culture history and heritage for visitors of all ages. This year, the event focuses on the 60th anniversary of Notting Hill Carnival, celebrating the enduring influence of Caribbean culture in Britain.

Visitors can expect live music and dance performances, talks and discussions, creative workshops and community-led displays. Highlights include steel pan music and African drumming and interactive experiences that bring Caribbean histories and cultural traditions into the museum setting.

Venue: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
Date: 25 July 2026
Time: 10am – 5pm
Admission: Free
Learn more

Don’t miss Last Goal Wins by Justice Ezi

Last Goal Wins by Justice Ezi is part of the Ryan Calais Cameron Season playing at the Broadway Theatre in Catford from 1 July until October.

Support the new Ryan Calais Cameron Season, a development and production programme aimed at ushering in the next generation of British playwrights, by going to see this wonderful new play.

The Last Goal Wins follows two young footballers, Victory and Youssef, as they compete for the final spots on the Nigerian national team. They are both confident that it is finally their time, but a last-minute recruit changes everything and threatens the future of both players. The football trials set the stage for an incisive look at Nigeria. Tackling themes of identity, racism and power within the sport. The drama reflects on why players represent other nations and is shaped by Justice’s own Nigerian-British experience.

Date: 1-12 July
Venue: Broadway Theatre, Catford, Rushey Grn, London, SE6 4RU
Buy tickets

Watch: That Four Letter Word

‘That Four Letter Word’ is a bold new production by Black women exploring love in all its forms. Hosted by the award-winning theatre initiative ‘Ain’t I A Woman’?’, created and directed by Landé Belo, That Four Letter Word, is a new production exploring one of humanity’s most misunderstood concepts: love.

Inspired by bell hooks’s notion that “love is an action, never simply a feeling”, the production challenges romantic myths and asks what it really means to practise love – in our relationships, our choices and ourselves. Set across three contrasting worlds – a museum of memory, a tech boardroom and a couple’s bedroom – the production explores the courage, complexity and beauty of loving and being loved. Each story (Safekeeping, Pivot, Heat) reveals love as something messy, demanding, and deeply human.

Date: Tuesday 14 to Saturday 18 July
Time: Starts 7pm
Venue: The Bread & Roses Theatre, 68 Clapham Manor Street, Clapham, London, SW4 6DZ
Buy tickets

Celebrating Bromley’s Black Heroes at Soul Food Café

The Black Heroes Foundation invites you to an evening to celebrate the achievements of Black people who have shaped Bromley, South London and beyond. Founded in 2016 by Joyce Fraser OBE, the charity was established following the death of her husband, the late Flip Fraser.

This event sees the Black Heroes® Soul Food Café coming to Bromley Little Theatre for the first time. Visitors will enjoy an evening filled with music, song, storytelling, spoken word, video, open mic, shared memories and community celebration.

Don’t miss the chance to discover the stories behind some of the area’s remarkable Black figures, including Dina Asher-Smith, Malorie Blackman, Rio Ferdinand, David Haye and others.

Date: Tuesday 14 July 2026
Venue: Soul Food Café, Bromley Little Theatre, North Street, Bromley, BR1 1SB
Doors open: 6.30pm
Book tickets

Val McCalla, founder of The Voice newspaper honoured on Windrush Day

Black Minds Matter UK presents It’s A Laughing Matter charity comedy night

Black Minds Matter UK, the charity providing culturally appropriate professional mental health support to Black individuals and families across the UK, is hosting ‘It’s A Laughing Matter’ at Theatre Peckham, and you’re invited.

Actor and presenter Chizzy Akudolu is in charge of hosting duties at the charity comedy night on Sunday 26 July 2026. Expect a stellar line up of established and emerging Black British comedy talent.

All proceeds from ticket sales go directly to Black Minds Matter UK to support the charity’s mission of making mental health support accessible to the Black community.

Black Minds Matter UK CEO, Danielle Bridge, said: “Every ticket bought helps Black Minds Matter UK continue its mission to provide professional, culturally informed mental health support. We are inviting people to come out, laugh with us, stand with us and be part of sustaining this work.”

Date: Sunday 26 July 2026
Venue: Theatre Peckham, 221 Havil Street, London, SE5 7SD
Doors: 6.45pm
Tickets: £25 standard, with final release tickets at £30 closer to the event
Book tickets

The post July 2026 Melan Out & About: Everything you need to see and do first appeared on Melan Magazine.