One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. PLATO You'll draw on some of the great political philosophers to guide you through an outline of the workings of power. What is power? How does it work on us? How, and when, should we try to make it, get it, and use it? In this class you will ask idealistic questions and offer realistic answers. If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be? And now for the tough part: how would you do it? You look at examples of successful political change made by the reformers and revolutionaries of the past, and ask how political change – both big and small – might most effectively be brought about today. Throughout the session you proceed with two assumptions: that it’s better to be a participant than a spectator, and that is indeed possible to effect change.

40 Winks is an historic,four storey Queen Anne townhouse built in 1717, now home to interior designer David Carter.Its rooms have long been used at backdrops for fashion shoots and accommodation for celebrities- but now they are being opened up to us mere mortals! A dresscode of pyjamas, nighties and dressing gowns will be rigorously enforced, guests are advised to bring along a small cushion, a teddy bear and anything else that makes them feel warm and cosy. Nanny and Matron may be brought too (but you will have to pay for them as well…). Complimentary hankies will be provided should guests be moved to tears.

Think tanks from across the political spectrum go head-to-head to debate key political issues at this opening event in our Election 10 series, hosted by Rory Bremner. Based on the model of a sound-system clash, the leading minds of the UK's think tanks compete to impress the audience with the power of their ideas. Policy Exchange, The Fabian Society, Royal Society for the Arts and Public Policy Research are all signed up. Calling on star witnesses to support their arguments, topics will include the environment, education, social policy, Europe, civil liberties and the economy, discussed in a series of tightly timed sessions.

Love is in the air. Love is on the radio, advertised between television programmes telling us how to conduct our relationships, on chocolate bars, on posters for sweaty nightclubs. From Shakespeare to Celebrity Big Brother, love dominates our thoughts, our conversations and our desires. So what is this feeling called Love? The night will begin with the revolutionary premier of Speed Debating: get in pairs to discuss the issues of the day. There will be a mezzanine cinema showing short films, YouTube clips and presentations. The night will close with an hour of music including live performances and a music medley of the world's finest love songs. At the heart of the event beats a three-part discussion about love in 2010 bringing together activists, academics, authors and troublemakers. At the heart of the event beats a three-part discussion about love in 2010 bringing together activists, academics, authors and troublemakers. Beginning with ‘Love for Sale’, look at how romance and sex have been commercialised while celebrating resistances to appropriation. The second session will focus on ‘Love and Hate’, examining the ways some forms of love – LGBT, cross-cultural and polyamorous relationships – are marginalised and how people are challenging this. Finally, ‘Love thy Neighbour’ discusses the state's role in the type of love that’s valued- monogamy, marriage, the family- and what that means for society. Can we imagine a world where love is liberated and celebrated in all its forms?

At Future Human, guests will be invited to open their minds, become a part of the show and debate important ideas of the age with pioneering thinkers. As they do so, they’ll find themselves immersed in an interactive, brain-spinning spectacle where intellectual exotica can be washed down with a fine lychee margarita.Brainchild of BAD IDEA press, this is set to be at the forefront of the new 'THINK' movement we predicted...*blows own trumpet*

Macbeth is dead. Under cover of night, an English army has swept through the landscape, killed the tyrant and taken the seat of power. Attempting to restore peace and put in place a new ruler, the commanding officer is beset by a brutal guerrilla uprising and simmering discontent amongst his own inexperienced troops. Struggling to grasp the alien customs and politics of this harsh country, he finds himself drawn towards the tyrant’s powerful widow in search of someone to share his burden of responsibility. Increasingly isolated from his own men and Scottish allies alike, his efforts to restore order appear futile as the situation spins out of control.

Let Anya Hindmarch tattoo you this Valentine's Day! Visit Anya's pop up Tattoo Parlour at our Ledbury Road store and get Inked Up for the big day. Prepare to celebrate Valentine's Day in flirtatious fashion at Anya Ink, choosing your preferred tattoo style and body part! Pop in with friends, be adventurous and get ready to be decorated with whimsical, (temporary) body art by Anya's sexy in-store tattooist. Super!

11 Feb – 4 Mar. Presenting the visionary world of the Italian photographer Marco Sanges. Every sequence tells a unique, multi-layered story, creating a highly personal, imaginary cinema. This body work takes shape in this truly vintage exhibition called Big Scenes. Marco Sanges's works are narrative based, always evoking a feeling of mystery and the sense of a sensual, uncanny world just out of grasp. On the 11th of February, the preview night will reveal a live installation co-deviced with director Alberto Bona, and Big Scenes will make the spectator enter a night of decadence: performances and screenings will unveil an exhibition. Special guests include controversial artist Gavin Turk and legendary composer Michael Nyman, whose music will be specially performed live by a string quartet.

11 - 20 Feb. Examining the nature of love, an unrelenting force, which pervades all our lives from the moment we are born until the day we die. A Red Threatening Sky combines performance, art installation and investigative interaction to create Club Aethereus - a strange and surreal underworld of Gnostic Noir. A place where crime, passion, the sacred and profane all cast one shadow.

For Bayley woman is a masterpiece; the perfect fusion of form and function. Feminine curves, proportions, fissures and orifices, Stephen insists, have inspired designers from architects to car-makers for centuries. So is this a useful re-evaluation of the female body or a sexy makeover of female objectification? Stephen discusses these issues.

Performing are four collaborative acts who are currently at the forefront of exploring the grey areas of sci-fi electronics, discoball jazz, neo-classical, laptop soul, and 22nd-century techno - each one renowned for flipping the formula and getting creative with their own methodologies. The superb line-up includes: Carl Craig, Francesco Tristano, Moritz von Oswald, Matmos, Bugge Wesseltoft, Henrik Schwarz and Terre Thaemlitz as DJ Sprinkles.

Each round of the event involves 2 teams playing 3 songs each - head to head like a boxing match - with the crowd deciding who goes onto the next round.

There will be a huge variety of things to see and do, including collaborative drawing and live screen printing where you can make your own poster of the day. In the evening there will be a party to celebrate the first birthday of the Alternative Press Fair with an open mic night for all comers to try, also featuring poetry, spoken word and music.

Before going out for dinner and celebrating their love, guests can enjoy a fun and entertaining evening of love stories … and more. Stories will come from both the past and present, from local people and more well-known writers and artists. During the event, guests will also be able to drop their own stories or love dilemmas into a glass to be picked up by Evie, reinterpreted and read out (anonymity assured). Short theatre pieces will be performed and a video jockey will mix found footage and stills of found photos to accompany Evie’s stories.

A huge warehouse full of live and recorded 'Dates'. You arrive, see who you want to date, date them, date everyone, stay for the band, dance, go home alone...? Surely not! Live Art Speed Date is an event like no other. LASD is a vibrant fairground of private encounters between artist and audience. In a large room artists occupy booths, tables, and dark corners where they perform their four-minute-long ‘date’ to their guest. The audience are given cards for the date they want, and when not ‘dating’ engage in auto-dates and other playful interactions. The whole event is tremendous fun but behind the playfulness and the action is a structure that allows large numbers of artists and audience access to each other, opens discussions between audience members as to what they have experienced, examines the phenomenon of the encounter, and tests the boundaries of performance. LASD comments on the current trend for intimate, one-on-one theatre by socialising the event, explicitly acknowledging a human's need for intimacy and asking if briefer is better.