One of the key elements of Wharf Wellness is bringing people together to share experiences, knowledge and skills.
Dr Pippa Wood is a Canary Wharf-based personal trainer at Third Space and a practising psychologist – one of a number of experts set to take part in a panel discussion as part of the festival at 6pm on June 23, 2026 at Sea Lanes Canary Wharf.
Entitled Wellness Or Performance? Are We Driving Ourselves Into Exhaustion? the public event will consider changing attitudes to exercise and activity.
The other panellists will be Poppy Delbridge, founder of Rapid Tapping, Ross Gilbert, managing director of Sea Lanes, Zanna Van Dijk a content creator and author of Strong and host Adrienne Adhami of the Power Hour Podcast.
“Earlier on in my career, people would come to me with more aesthetic-focused goals – they wanted to get leaner and build more muscle,” said Pippa.
“Now, what I’m seeing with the majority of my PT clients is that they want to train for longevity, general health and wellbeing.
“They might be looking to address lower back pain, knee pain or low energy levels.
“They’re mindful of what may occur in the future, so they’re looking at exercise from a preventative standpoint – it’s a welcome change.”
Pippa grew up in Leeds and dabbled in dancing but “wasn’t very sporty”.
She started going to the gym as a teenager and found she really enjoyed it, experimenting with different classes and feeling good.
She’d also train with her rugby-playing dad every Saturday.
Third Space’s two clubs in Canary Wharf offer a wide range of facilities and classes at all levels of intensity – image by Third Space
discovering the gym
She said: “He was born in Australia and has always been active, so I followed that model and eventually got there.
“Exercise became a really big part of my life – it was energising and left me feeling ready to study.”
After qualifying as a trainer, studying psychology in London and completing her PhD in resilience and mental wellbeing in Leeds, she relocated to Australia.
Taking in Sydney and the Gold Coast “over five or six years” she engaged in further clinical training as a psychologist and worked in private practice before moving back to the UK.
In London she’s reinvigorated her role as a trainer alongside her work in mental health, separately but with each discipline informing the other.
“As a psychologist, I often see people in a clinical setting for treatment of anxiety and depression,” she said.
“When people incorporate more movement in their lives, the therapeutic benefits are very evident, especially when they set themselves relevant and achievable goals.
“From a physiological perspective, even 15 minutes of activity can do so much for the brain.
“It pumps more oxygenated blood, delivering dopamine, serotonin and endorphins to make us feel great.
“My background in psychology and my PhD have been super helpful in my career, whether it’s treating clients or on the gym floor.
“What I found in the research is that training harder isn’t always better, from a mental health perspective.
“Training smarter and being in tune with your body is key.
“We found more significant improvements in mental health with low to moderate exercise.
“Setting yourself goals and running a marathon and achieving that can be beneficial too, but a hard regime and a structured approach isn’t always beneficial for the way you feel.”
For Wharf Wellness, Third Space is teaming up with Friday Night Lates to offer special evening classes on June 24 – image supplied by Canary Wharf Group
pursuing fitness through enjoyment
“The whole ethos of Third Space is it’s about training for life,” added Pippa.
“That includes the social aspect as well as enjoying the exercise.
“It’s good to do things because we want to, not because we feel we have to.
“That really is super important.
“That’s one of the reasons I wanted to work at Third Space.
“My partner had brought me over to Canary Wharf and I just fell in love with the place.
“At the two clubs, people will experience very warm and welcoming spaces that offer a wide variety of classes to meet an incredible range of needs.
“The advice I give people is to keep an open mind and try different things to see what you like.
“Enjoying yourself is vital and it will help give you the confidence to navigate the equipment on gym floor.
“The feel is supportive – we’re all part of the same community working towards the same goal.”
key details: Wharf Wellness
Wellness Or Performance? Are We Driving Ourselves Into Exhaustion? is set to take place on June 23, 2026, at 6pm at Sea Lanes Canary Wharf.
Finding genuinely stirring locations for business events or celebrations can be challenging in the capital.
Take the South Western Railway service to Barnes, a few stops from Waterloo, however, and you’ll be close to more than 100 acres of habitat quite unlike anywhere else in the city.
The Wildfowl And Wetlands Trust’s London Wetland Centre opened its doors in 2000 – a sprawling site based round four disused Victorian reservoirs that’s home to hides, boardwalks, reed beds, ponds, large stretches of open water and plenty of vegetation.
The complex at its entrance includes a wide range of facilities including rooms for corporate hire suitable for 20 to 150 delegates.
Spaces include the Water’s Edge Room for large theatre-style set-ups and H20, a 90-delegate meeting room equipped with smart screens and a covered decking area with views over the site.
The surroundings are, of course, the main attraction.
The centre is a sprawling complex arranged around a series of disused reservoirs – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life
The centre is perhaps the only place in London where those attending corporate events can combine business with an opportunity to discover a breathtaking array of wildlife.
The site is not a zoo.
While some animals are looked after at the centre – including a charming, boisterous pair of otters – the majority are free to come and go as they please.
Walking around the site’s extensive network of footpaths, this makes for the constant and genuine thrill of the potential for a wild encounter.
The air is often thick with the calls of chiff-chaff, blue tit, crow, Egyptian goose, reed warbler, magpie and greylag goose.
On a recent visit to the site, my companion and I were astonished to come over a bridge and find ourselves a few feet from an almost completely motionless grey heron semi-camouflaged amongst the reeds.
The encounter lasted several minutes before the great bird took to its wings and flew a couple of leisurely circles around us before heading off over a hedge.
A grey heron at the London Wetland Centre – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life
a place to visit for leisure and business
The centre can also be visited on a more casual basis with day tickets starting at £17.10 for adults and £11.12 for children.
In addition to spotting a wide range of species of bird – think swifts darting over the waters to gobble up insects on the wing, swans preening and oyster catchers rearing chicks – there are plenty of activities to get involved with.
Pathways on the site include bouncing rope bridges and elevated walkways.
There’s also a picnic spot with percussion instruments, pond dipping, a well-stocked cafe and a gift shop.
Visitors can also attend daily talks on the centre’s two resident otters – Tod and Honey – and watch them being fed, while learning about this remarkable apex predator.
Fond of diving: A white-headed duck with a striking blue bill, spotted in Barnes – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life
The glass-fronted enclosure offers plenty of space for the audience to see and capture the animals’ playful movements as they scurry about, swim and roll in the dirt.
Everywhere there’s information, facts to absorb about the white headed duck (which has an iridescent blue bill) who loves to dive, for example.
Then there’s the water boatman who is the loudest animal relative to its size in the world.
Hides come fully equipped with bird guides and one is always staffed by a volunteer who’s ready with a telescope to help visitors get the most from the experience.
There’s a wealth of information to absorb, probably too much for a single visit, which is why many choose to become members at the centre.
This costs £54 a year for adults and includes unlimited access to WWT’s 10 sites.
The shrine marking the location of the fatal accident that killed Marc Bolan is near Barnes station – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life
visit Marc Bolan’s shrine
>> T-Rex lead singer and guitarist Marc Bolan has a deep connection to Barnes, having recorded elements of Prophets, Seers And Sages: The Angels Of The Ages at Olympic Studios there.
Tragically, the star also lost his life after the car he was travelling in left Gipsy Lane and crashed into a tree in 1977.
Today the site of the accident is marked with a shrine decorated by fans with statues, white swans and memorials to other members of the band who have since passed away.
It is located a few minutes walk south from Barnes station
Visit between 8am-10pm
key details: SWR Business Direct
SWR Business Direct is free to use and allows companies to book, plan and manage business travel across the whole of Britain.
There are no hidden fees or charges and no booking fees on tickets purchased via the service.
Joe says SWR Business Direct works on a fee-free model to help promote rail travel to businesses – image supplied by SWR
on track with SWR’s Joe Thurgood
Q
Many ticketing platforms charge fees for their services when I’m booking rail tickets.
How is SWR Business Direct different and how can it operate without charging them?
A
If you’ve ever booked a train ticket online, you’ve probably felt that little sting of annoyance when you get to the checkout page and see a booking fee tacked onto the price.
It feels like paying extra just for the privilege of buying the ticket.
This happens because most third-party platforms are middlemen – they have to charge those fees to stay in business and cover their overheads.
With SWR Business Direct, the most common questions I get are: “What’s the catch? How can they offer a full corporate booking suite for the entire National Rail network without charging a single penny in fees?”
The answer is actually pretty simple, once you look behind the curtain.
SWR is a train operating company, not just a middleman.
Our Business Direct tool isn’t built on skimming a couple of pounds off your transaction, it’s built on getting people onto trains and then supporting them after they have purchased the tickets.
By providing a high-quality, fee-free platform, we remove the barriers for businesses to choose rail over road or air.
It’s essentially a value-added service that keeps corporate clients loyal to rail.
SWR Business Direct also operates under a National Rail Contract with the Government.
Our goal is to incentivise railway travel by making it more efficient and accessible for everyone.
By offering tools like carbon reporting and automated expenses at no cost, we can help businesses meet their own sustainability goals while fulfilling their mission to modernise how we all travel.
There is no quick win by adding on a booking fee – the aim is to be your long-term partner in transit.
It’s a win-win where you get the same prices you’d find at the station kiosk alongside the heavy-duty reporting companies need.
Being unable to decode complicated written texts can affect all areas of a person’s life.
The charity says people with poor literacy are twice as likely to be unemployed and, for those in work, earn 60% less on average than those able to read well.
Then there are many wider social impacts – the challenges faced by children when their parents struggle with literacy, the shame and stigma the adults feel when masking a lack of ability and the extreme social exclusion of simply not having access to the same information as everybody else.
Worse still, marginalised communities are among the worst affected including ethnic minorities, ex-offenders and those living in poverty.
To help break those cycles, the trust recruits volunteers to act as reading coaches for adults.
Working with learning providers, they take part in free one-to-one sessions for people on courses to help them improve their skills, gain confidence and boost their employability and general wellbeing.
Being able to decode the written word is an essential life skill – image by Megan Lee / Pexels
giving something back
“My father left school at 13, so his education was interrupted,” said Declan Cashin, who volunteers as a reading coach through the Adult Literacy Trust at New City College’s Poplar campus.
“He could read, but it probably held him back.
“I’ve made a career out of reading and writing, I know the joy they can bring and how important these skills are, but I also understand how vulnerable someone can feel if they’re having trouble with them.
“I’ve been involved in voluntary work before, but that was usually over the phone or through text messaging.
“I missed interacting with people and being a reading coach is something you have to do in person, so it seemed the perfect thing to try.”
Born in Ireland, Declan knew he wanted to become a journalist at a young age but initially studied English at university after a teacher talked him out of it.
Nevertheless, after graduating he trained to be a reporter and spent years working in the media, moving to London more than a decade and a half ago.
Today he lives in Hackney and works in communications in Stratford having succumbed to the lure of a “steady desk job”.
Having discovered the Adult Literacy Trust online, he applied to become a volunteer, enrolled on its training programme and began one-to-one sessions earlier this year.
from interview to training
“The trust had an initial chat with me and then invited me for an interview to get a sense of my style and temperament – to ensure I had the right approach and level of empathy for the role,” said Declan.
“Part of that process was about remembering what it was like to learn a skill, recalling being bad at something and then learning to keep that in your head because it’s probably how the person you’re matched with will be feeling about reading.”
Volunteers, who must be 18 or older, complete training sessions across four modules that include topics such as the purpose of the coaching role, who the learners are, the skills and knowledge needed and safeguarding.
They are then matched with a reader and meet with them weekly during term time, typically for an hour.
“During training we were taken into classes at New City College to meet people who were using the trust’s service and to see how they were responding to it,” said Declan.
“One of the things I noticed was how much more seriously everyone seemed to be taking their education in comparison to a school classroom.
“These people are really dedicated.
“Older students often have many responsibilities – multiple jobs, kids and studying – and on top of that they’re taking time to improve their literacy.
“It’s incredible to see people making that effort to succeed.
“I learnt that people often come to the Adult Literacy Trust when they are aiming to get a particular job or responsibility within their career and that further education is a route to that.”
Declan said that, while those using the trust’s services were struggling with literacy, that didn’t mean they couldn’t read at all.
meeting for the first time
“I was matched with a learner from the charity’s waiting list and we met for our first session just to get to know one another,” said Declan.
“He was born overseas and came to the UK as a teenager, so his schooling was interrupted.
“His reading was actually already very good, but he wanted to gain confidence. He was also very clear that he wanted to maximise what he was getting from his course at the college.
“We sit in the library and read.
“At first we used the Metro newspaper because there are passages of different lengths and lots of different levels of complexity – everything from features to advertorials and sports stories.
“It was a good way to get a sense of his ability and what he was interested in, and then I could start to tailor the material.
“A couple of weeks later he brought his own book from home, and we’ve been reading some of that for the last few weeks.
“He knows what his issues are and what he needs to work on.
“He’ll run into certain words he needs to spend longer on.
“He can read very well, but it’s making sure the comprehension is there too.
“One of the things I’ve learnt from volunteers and the trust is that it’s crucial to make sure the learners are understanding what they are reading.
“It’s something that’s easy to take for granted if you don’t have that issue yourself.
“People want to improve their skills for many different reasons.
“It might be to read for themselves for pleasure, reading to their kids, understanding official documents or reading material related to their studies.
“We’re not there as teachers – we always refer learners back to their course leader to answer any questions on their studies – we’re there to help them develop the tools to engage with text, to break it down and to understand it.
“You certainly don’t have to be an expert on what they are studying.
“In the end, all you need to be is patient and constructive with your feedback to encourage them.
“English is a strange, irregular language – it’s not always easy to understand. With my guy, we go at his pace.
“We’ve been reading his book for the last few weeks.
“There might be certain words we need to spend longer on but that’s absolutely fine.
“Sometimes it’s about helping him understand that something isn’t actually very well written in the first place and why that might be.
“Getting through a few paragraphs is better than none.
“His book is quite academic and complicated, but seeing him dive into it and his confidence growing has been really wonderful.”
getting something back
Declan said volunteering with the charity had been a pleasant surprise since he began as a coach.
“It’s very rewarding,” he said.
“I get to come to New City College, which is so buzzy – filled with people who are getting on with things.
“It’s allowed me to meet people I perhaps wouldn’t have otherwise encountered and taking an hour out of my day to help someone is a real privilege.
“You also learn about yourself – how good you are at giving feedback and putting people at ease.
“It’s also about getting involved with something local that connects you to the people in the area you live and work in.
“I’ve got so much out of it, I come out of our weekly session feeling really pumped up.
“Everyone – the learners and the volunteers – are in this for the right reasons and it’s really inspiring.”
they say
The Adult Literacy Trust gathers regular feedback from service users. Here are some of their comments on the sessions it provides:
“It helps me to catch more, you know, so, with my teacher, I can ask him more questions. So, he is explaining more about what I’m interested in and I can talk with him about whatever I wish. It’s helping me a lot to improve my English.”
“Learning to read has opened so many doors for me. It wasn’t always smooth sailing, but my volunteer, Janine, stuck with me through it all. She never stopped encouraging me.”
“Because of her, I found the courage to apply for a job I never thought was possible – and I landed it. This programme has helped me read, but it’s much more than that – it’s been a turning point in my life.”
“Before, when they say we should read in class, well, I tried to put myself back. But now when it gets to my turn to read, I’m happy to, even if I make one mistake.”
“It helps you with your mental health and wellbeing because you are reading with someone that will listen to you. It’s really helpful to become, for a moment, separate from all the hustle and bustle around you.”
Source: Adult Literacy Trust
key details: Adult Literacy Trust
The Adult Literacy Trust is currently accepting applications from prospective volunteers for training sessions in September.
Those wishing to find out more can email the charity’s volunteer and training coordinator via laura@alt.org.uk for more details or visit the organisation’s website here.
“The showstopper is the roof terrace on top of the building with 360º panoramic views over London,” said Isabelle Asante, development director at Muse.
“You can see Canary Wharf, The Shard and the city skyline all around.”
The studios and one and two-beds on offer all come with private balconies, as well as access to communal residents’ terraces on the top and first floors.
Prices start at £325,000.
“I’ve been working on this project for about the last five or six years and I’ve seen it all the way through from design to delivery, which is really exciting,” said Isabelle.
“We’re genuinely proud of what we’re delivering here.
“The product here is fantastic and the prices are very competitive for the area.
“Since launch we’ve seen a lot of people coming to look at the development from Canary Wharf because this area is a more affordable proposition than the options directly around the estate.
“The development is on a site that was formerly occupied by council flats and single storey shops.
Isabelle Asante, development director at Muse – image supplied by Muse
“We’ve worked with Poplar Harca to deliver it and it’s a great example of urban regeneration.
“It’s taken a while to get it off the ground, but we always believed we could do it, we kept believing and it’s been such a labour of love.
“Working in this sector, you go into places like this because you want to change things for the better and provide a tangible benefit to the public.
“Thanks to Poplar Harca we’ve engaged with more than 500 people on the plans and we’re delivering a real mixed community here which is what will make the place somewhere really interesting and successful.
“As part of the scheme we’re reopening Stroudley Walk and delivering a new pocket park and public spaces for people to use as well as some retail units on the ground floor.
“There are even plans for a community cafe.”
All properties at Upper East Apartments come with private balconies – image supplied by Muse
an historic site
Reportedly the site of leading suffragette, Sylvia Pankhurst’s debut speech in the East End, Stroudley Walk is set to get a new lease of life as a connection between Bromley High Street and Bruce Road, benefiting both existing residents and those moving into the new scheme.
As for the apartments themselves, Isabelle said buyers could expect well sized homes that were “bright and airy”.
She said: “They’ve been designed for lots of entertaining with social space and open-plan kitchens and diners that open out onto balconies.
“From about the sixth floor up you get really great views over London and the layouts make it feel as though you’re bringing them inside with you.
“All of the properties are a good size – the studios are equivalent to a typical one-bed and they should really appeal to owner occupiers.
“Now construction has reached the stage it has, people will be able to come and see the exact apartment they’ll be buying, which is really valuable.
“The area is really vibrant. Many people locally have lived in the community for years and we really want to build on that.
“It’s a wonderful part of London.”
Upper East Apartments is located a four-minute walk from Bow Church station which offers direct DLR trains to Canary Wharf in 16 minutes. Stratford is two stops to the north.
The development is also within walking distance of Bromley-By-Bow and Bow Road stations for District and Hammersmith And City line services.
The scheme includes a rooftop terrace with views across the London skyline – image supplied by Muse
at a glance: Sustainability
Muse’s scheme includes the following planet-friendly measures
LED Lighting
High Performance Glazing
Smart Meters
Communal Heat Network Using Air Source Heat Pumps
Proposed Solar Arrays
Water Efficient Plumbing
Cycle Storage
Residents’ Allotments
Extensive Planting On-Site
key details: Upper East Apartments
Upper East Apartments by Muse is currently offering studio, one and two-bedroom apartments to buyers.
Buyers considering a move to Greenwich Peninsula have, in many senses, got everything laid out before them.
The area is home to the The O2 – the world’s most successful indoor arena, as measured by ticket sales – and it’s exactly these kinds of local facilities that make it an increasingly attractive place to put down roots.
Homes are currently on sale at Prime Point – a development by housing association L&Q located on West Parkside between Mary Magdalene All Through School and Central Park.
The scheme includes two bronze towers with the largest topping out at 29 storeys as well as lower rise brick-clad buildings.
Inside properties range from studios to three-bedroom apartments with prices starting at £399,950.
Buyers can expect floor-to-ceiling glazing, private outdoor space for all apartments and fully fitted kitchens with integrated Siemens and Bosch appliances.
The development also boasts a private roof terrace with views over the surrounding area, a lounge and a concierge service.
Located on Greenwich Peninsula, the homes are surrounded by an ever-growing complement of amenities – image supplied by L&Q
Prime Point has been ‘well received’
“We’re delighted to be delivering more new homes in Greenwich Peninsula – an exciting, fast-growing destination neighbourhood,” said Claire Brenlund, L&Q sales and marketing director.
“Sales at Prime Point have been well received and we expect continued strong demand here.
“Residents will have everything they need right on their doorstep, with many enjoying spectacular views of the City and beyond – making this the perfect place for a mix of local people, city workers and professionals to call home.”
There are multiple ways to secure an apartment at Prime Point, with L&Q offering those who reserve a property before May 31, 2026, a contribution of up to £29,750 towards stamp duty and £10,000 towards buying costs.
The housing association also offers a Rate Reducer scheme aimed at bringing down monthly mortgage costs.
Perhaps the greatest incentive to consider an apartment at Prime Point, however, is the location itself.
Well connected, the development is about eight minutes’ walk from North Greenwich Tube station, offering rapid connections to Canary Wharf, Stratford and the City via the Jubilee line.
The Peninsula is also well served by Uber Boat By Thames Clippers’ river bus services and the IFS Cable Car which takes passengers over the river to Royal Docks.
As the regeneration of the area continues, residents will benefit not only from the entertainment, shopping and drinking and dining venues in The O2, but a succession of other venues.
Design District delivers on street food and workspace alongside recent arrival The Dial, a microbrewery that’s seen Meantime return to making beer in the borough.
Other notable local attractions include luxury hotel complex Intercontinental The O2, cultural hub the Firepit Gallery and sailing venue the Greenwich Yacht Club.
The development also benefits from plentiful open space with multiple pathways, parks and locations to explore, all bounded by the Thames with views across to Royal Docks, Blackwall, the Isle Of Dogs and Canary Wharf to enjoy while out and about.
Buyers can expect fully fitted kitchens with integrated Siemens and Bosch appliances – image supplied by L&Q
key details: Prime Point
Homes at Prime Point on Greenwich Peninsula are on sale now through L&Q. Prices start at £399,950 for a studio apartment.
The venue’s private dining room is named Queenie Watts after the Isle Of Dogs singer and publican and can accommodate up to 21 guests around its brass-topped dining table.
Downstairs, the Hawksmoor Bar can be hired with a maximum capacity of up to 330 guests in the summer months including its terrace.
Inside, the space can fit 90 for dining with an option for semi-private hire accommodating 60 guests.
what about the facilities
The venue is well versed in events with the team able to arrange everything from appropriate food and drink to entertainment and DJs.
The venue has a private dining room called Queenie Watts – image supplied by Hawksmoor
what’s on the menu
Hawksmoor offers both canapés and bowl food options for organisers to consider, as well as a wide selection of drinks.
Sample menus can be found on the venue’s website, with parties able to take advantage of the team’s flexible approach.
all kinds of everything
The restaurant and bar are able to host not only summer parties, but networking events, business presentations, team nights out and private dinners as well as weddings for up to 100 people.
Menus are built around the brand’s steaks, seafood and seasonal sides, with plenty of options to suit all dining requirements.
The venue can cater for events with up to 330 guests – image supplied by Hawksmoor
key details: Hawksmoor Wood Wharf
Hawksmoor Wood Wharf is open daily for lunch and dinner.
Leeds-based Phoenix Dance Company returns to the East Bank venue, following the sell-out success of Inside Giovanni’s Room last year, to showcase a programme of four pieces.
“Interplay is all about artistic expression – what we wanted to do was to produce works that were varied and that ask what it means to express ourselves in different ways with specific reference to the idea of duality,” said Marcus Jarrell Willis, artistic director at Phoenix.
“The key is in the title we’ve given the show – it’s a way for us to remember that, while this is a dance programme with a unified theme, we don’t always have to take everything so seriously.
“Yes, there are meaningful messages in the different works featured, but it’s also about simply offering a full palette of dance so audiences can take what they want from it.
“I don’t have any intention of trying to prove anything with that, I just want it to be something that people can connect to.
“People may love all the works, just one or none of them.
“I just hope those watching feel something, that they are impacted by what they see and that they receive something.”
Phoenix Dance Company artistic director Marcus Jarrell Willis – image by Hugo Glendinning
choosing the works
For Interplay, Phoenix, which operates as a rep company, will present Marcus’ Next Of Kin, Ed Myhill’s Why Are People Clapping?!, Travis Knight and James Pett’s Small Talk and a new collaboration between Marcus and choreographer Yusha-Marie Sorzano entitled Suite Release.
Some are duets while others are ensemble works.
Marcus said: “The programme actually came together quite seamlessly.
“With one selected, immediately it tapped into my brain and I’d think of a complementary work to go with it – it all gelled.
“Small Talk came first – I’d been following Travis and James’ work already, connected and had a conversation.
“A year prior to them creating, I just invited them into the studio to have a jam session, to play and to see how they related, with no real expectation.
“Straight after that, there was something there, which led me to commission the work.
“I’d seen Ed Myhill’s piece years before in different iterations.
“He grew up in Leeds and has been a dancer for a long time in the National Dance Company Of Wales.
“When I first came to the UK to focus more on creating dance I was based in Cardiff and I’d viewed Why Are People Clapping?! digitally during lockdown and then seen it on stage.
“It’s set to Steve Reich’s Clapping Music, so people’s hands are the driving force that create the rhythm for the dancers.
“It’s really interesting to see something so unusual, but also about who is coming to our company.
“I’ve known Ed for a long time and I knew he’d bring a great energy to our studio and the culture of Phoenix.
“From there, I knew I wanted to restage Next Of Kin, which I choreographed and originally danced with a dear friend many years ago.
“I was quite precious about it at first, but I realised I wanted it to be reimagined with this company because there are such special relationships between the dancers and this is a work that draws on those.”
Ed Myhill’s Why Are People Clapping? features in the programme – image by Drew Forsyth
a step into the unknown
“Finally, there’s Suite Release, which has been an incredible project. It’s my first time co-creating,” said Marcus.
“I’ve cooperated on many projects but never with another choreographer and it was about recognising that, while I have responsibilities and expectations, I’m still learning as well.
“So, I dug deep into what that might look like, picked up the phone and called Yusha-Marie. We have a 25-year-plus journey together.
“We danced together and have been friends for many years and we have seen each other grow.
“I wanted to make sure that it was with someone who I felt comfortable with but who would still push me and that I could push.
“We’d spent all these years in different companies, continuously trying to enhance and perfect our crafts, with all these different styles and techniques.
“Our piece is about why we started dancing in the first place.
“She was a young girl, born in Trinidad who migrated to Miami, with her dad DJ-ing and I grew up in Houston, Texas with hip hop, r’n’b, house music and soul.
Phoenix Dance Company members perform Suite Release – image by Drew Forsyth
“I danced at the barbecues with my family and that’s where the moving started.
“So Suite Release is a big party.
“It allows the dancers to break free from all expectations.
“They know it’s on stage, but they have to dance like there’s nobody watching.
“Collaborating was really great, actually and I will admit I was a bit nervous.
“I hoped it wouldn’t ruin a friendship, but many of our ideas just pinged off each other.
“We do have our own singular ways of approaching our practice as creators, but we have a common goal.
“It was nice to be in the studio and work in that way.
“One of the other really lovely things was that the dancers in the company got to see me in a different light.
“We work and play hard in the studio, and so we always have openness.
“Having someone come from my beginnings into the space allowed them to see young Marcus hanging out with a friend, which then opened them up and made them more ready to go.
“It’s amazing and the four dancers have really held that essence throughout the tour we’ve taken Interplay on.
“It’s also been an experience that’s made me want to collaborate more.
“Even now I’m tapping into colleagues and friends that are trying to be involved in the more dramaturgical side of things.
“I feel I’ve opened up a whole new layer on how we, as a company, can collaborate too – we know how to bring creative people into the room, but what happens when we start producing?”
Small Talk by Pett Clausen Knight – image by Drew Forsyth
key details: Interplay
Interplay is set to run at Sadler’s Wells East for four performances from June 24-27, 2026.
Shows start at 7.30pm and last an hour and 50 minutes including an interval. Tickets start at £15.
Regeneration was very much the word when the Canary Wharf project was starting out.
But 35 years after One Canada Square was officially opened, it’s renewal and evolution that are everywhere.
Quietly, across the estate, structures that have stood for most of the last three decades have been refurbished and improved.
Some have been less obvious – 25 Cabot Square and One Cabot Square don’t look all that different from the outside but have enjoyed internal improvements.
Similarly, Citi’s £1billion refit of 25 Canada Square is also largely an internal affair that won’t massively alter the skyline.
But that’s not the only approach.
30 South Colonnade, once home to Reuters, has been transformed into YY London with glass and metal preferred as a much more open facade to the dated white marble cladding.
This striking glow-up was enough to attract Revolut as anchor tenant with Deutsche Bank and Until as neighbours.
25 North Colonnade has also had a polish, a rebrand as Cargo and may soon be back on the market for £250million having been fully let by owner Blackstone.
Canary Wharf Group itself is currently consulting on plans for a radical overhaul of 8 Canada Square, currently occupied by HSBC and possibly in line for a new life as a mixed use scheme with chunks carved out of its upper levels.
Canary Wharf Group development manager Sarah Moss is part of the team working on One Eden – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life
a new identity: One Eden
But perhaps the poster-child for the estate’s latest rebirth – a process that’s clearly playing a part in the rush of companies relocating to or within the Wharf – should be One Eden.
Located right opposite YY London, there are plans to take 33 Canada Square, originally part of Citi’s cluster, and give the structure its own identity at the head of Eden Dock.
The reason for this is that Canary Wharf Group’s approach to urban renewal schemes of this kind is significantly more complex than simply getting out the paint pots and laying some new carpet.
To find out more, Wharf Life sat down with development manager Sarah Moss, part of the team working on One Eden.
“With this kind of project, it’s about looking at an existing building with really brilliant bones and asking how we can transform it into a sustainable office space suitable for companies to use today and in the future,” she said.
“It’s my job, day-to-day, to deal with the architecture, that sustainability mission and to engage with occupiers so we can bring all these things together and make a really great product for our stakeholders.
“At present, Citi staff are using the building as they prepare to move into the tower next door when it’s refurbished so we’re gearing up to redevelop One Eden so a new occupier can move straight in.
“With schemes like this, it’s always a decision to be made – do you let the building as-is, do you do a light refurbishment or a major reinvention?
“We’ve looked at the market, at Canary Wharf and what we want this asset to be. It’s right in the middle of the estate and has such great potential to be a better class of building.
“Responding to occupier demand, we think we can deliver something really great for our customers.
“Our conclusion is that it’s a really well-structured building that can be made more sustainable.”
energy and regeneration
Originally from Australia, Sarah has spent the last eight years working in development in various roles for Lendlease, which brought her to the UK in 2022.
She joined Canary Wharf Group after a spell at British Land about seven months ago.
“Britain has these incredible regeneration projects and to be involved in them as part of my career was a real drive for me to come here,” she said.
“Canary Wharf was always somewhere we looked at when I was studying and working in Australia and I love the vibrancy of London.
“There’s always something to do and the drive to get things done.
“Everyone seems really engaged and excited to do things whether that’s working on projects like this or their social lives.
“I love the energy that the city brings.”
It’s not too much of a stretch to say that Canary Wharf Group’s plans for One Eden are squarely aimed at bringing fresh energy into the building.
Sarah said: “One of the really innovative features that we’re intending to bring to the tower is opening up an entrance on its lower level – so it’s right there when you emerge from the Jubilee line.
“It should really help the building come alive, creating new connections and allowing people to walk through.
“One of the things about the building is that it’s so well situated and we’re looking at including three retail spaces in the face of the building.
“That activation of the ground floor will be great – we know our occupiers value the friendliness it brings to a building and we want their staff and clients to feel that as well as making the spaces more permeable.”
retain and reuse
In addition to the changes on the lower levels, the plans include an extra floor with a pavilion structure and terrace, capping off the existing tower.
Sarah said: “We’re also looking at making the building a really functional space with end-of-trip facilities such as showers and bike storage for commuters coming in.
One of the most important things is that we’re modernising the structure in a sustainable way, re-using 97% of the substructure and superstructure.”
The plans would see One Eden become fully electric, with 62,000 tonnes of existing concrete retained in the structure and 47% less carbon produced in construction when compared with a new-build.
The project is targeting BREEAM Outstanding certification and will include 25,575sq ft of internal balconies and terraces laced with greenery as well as 19,644sq ft of outdoor terrace space.
Overall, One Eden comprises 545,000sq ft of workspace.
future-proofing the project
Making a space for workers of the future is also an opportunity to keep an eye on the future.
Undertaking this project has meant Canary Wharf Group delving into its paper archives to understand the existing structure so, as part of the renewal, much better records of the scheme will be created to aid similar refits in the decades to come.
Sarah said: “While the existing materials we have are excellent, we’ve been taking this opportunity to implement a really structured system of building information management.
“Everything is now 3D-modelled and tracked so we know we have really accurate information about what’s been built so that if people want to change part of the structure they will have those details instead of having to undertake fresh investigations.
“One of the questions we ask ourselves on projects like this is how we make these buildings last longer.
“What we hope is that, by collecting this information comprehensively, it will make it easier to redesign and refit in future.”
On the one hand, its production design, complete with consent paddles (“red means no and green means go”) and stickers over phone cameras, is intended to prime the audience for a raunchy male strip show – ironically the kind of depressing spectacle you might find for real just down the street.
On the other, it desperately wants to be a hard-hitting, subversive exploration of the dancers’ masculinity and vulnerability – the kind of thing critics might write the words “brave satire” about.
In the end, despite some solid direction and decent performances from the cast, it winds up being neither.
It flirts with a bunch of serious topics, but doesn’t have much to say about them. In no particular order, topics covered include penis size, sexuality, domestic violence, women’s desire, child estrangement, sex work, commitment, romantic dislocation, performative masculinity, consent and the potential for revenge porn.
Writer Dave Harris brushes up against these ideas in his script, but rarely dwells on them and offers little in the way of meaningful comment or conclusion. They just exist.
Darren Bennett as deadbeat dad and domestic violence perp Donny – image by Alex Brenner
For want of a better word, what we’ll call “the story” has the following premise.
Dancing Bear porn – where actors pretend to be male strippers and have sex with other actors pretending to be their audience – is popular online.
Recognising this, former porn performer, Margie, has set up a New Jersey club with three blokes offering audiences the offline experience – strippers who actually have sex with them.
These are Trae, Donny and Geoff and they are the real Dancing Bears.
But, pretty quickly, their tawdry show is under threat from a bunch of guys with larger cocks and better choreography. How will they save their club?
Despite Trae – the more sensitive of the three – having already explained at some length that his life leaves him dead inside (despite and, perhaps because of, the endless sex and adulation), each member of the trio is plunged into a kind of crippling, existential anxiety.
One of them cries mid-performance and everything so – you know – it’s heartfelt.
An unlikely saviour appears in the form of the literally virginal B, dispatched by her estranged mother Margie to sort out the show.
We discover her special skill is that she’s able to orgasm at will simply by shutting her eyes and thinking about her special planet.
This talent, along with her lack of interest in sex, renders her immune to the dancers’ charms as proved in a lengthy session where they press themselves all over her. She laughs at them.
Jessie Mei Li as B, left, with Donny, Kwami Odoom as Trae and and Geoff – image by Alex Brenner
Perhaps Harris thinks this makes her the ideal interrogator of their masculinity, but it also makes her a dubious choice as a fixer for an ailing sex club.
Suffice to say her prescription – that the guys just need to focus on their own pleasure and come up with a new presentation – feels flimsy.
That their efforts are rewarded with her first eyes-open orgasm from the midst of the crowd is a risible conclusion to what is a pretty silly play.
There’s a degree of fun in the execution. The chaps – played by Darren Bennett, Kwami Odoom and Dex Lee – squeeze every inch of humour out of the gags.
The latter pairing also thrill with muscles popping as they twirl and flex on the poles and at the audience.
It’s fair to say director Matthew Xia has his cast make the most of the set and do what they can with the text.
Even Jessie Mei Li has her moments as brittle construct B, a part that must be tough to scrape empathy out of.
But in the end, the feel is a play built on an uncontrolled brainstorm – a list of ideas about men, women, desire, lust, vulnerability masculinity and life – that just hasn’t been refined.
There’s only so much that good acting can achieve if the source material is a flaccid mishmash of topics thrust into a neon posing pouch and jiggled about in a bid to entertain.
For a genuine happy ending, perhaps the Real Dancing Bears ought to be allowed to quietly go out of business.
2/5
**
key details: Tender
Tender runs at Soho Theatre until June 26, 2026. Tickets cost £15 and can be booked here
Following the successful completion of a mammoth project to extend Excel London by 25%, the venue is enjoying something of a purple patch as it attracts new shows and ever-increasing numbers of visitors.
“Everything we do needs to be looked at through the lens of how we get to be the best event destination in the world,” said Jeremy Rees, who joined Excel in 2010 as sales director and took over as CEO in 2017.
“That comes from standards and values, but also from investment.
“It’s something we will strive to achieve every single time we improve something.
“For example: ‘Is our Wi-fi and 5G technology equal to what the best event destination in the world would offer?’.
“I would say today the answer is no, it needs to improve.
“We’ve assessed what it should be and have invested many millions of pounds, which means in a few months our new system will be up and running.
“When that happens, we will be the world’s most technologically-enabled event destination.
“We’re taking this approach across Excel.
“Our extension is world class and we’ve invested a lot in Immerse LDN, but we’ve also addressed a wide range of things in areas visitors don’t always see.
“We want to make it as easy as possible for our customers to have as good an experience as they can, so we’ve been improving the wider infrastructure behind the scenes and the visitor facilities to help achieve that.
“Every week we fixate on how we can make marginal changes to the inside and the outside of our buildings to make them as good as they can be.
“It’s also about being open to feedback and, in the events business, we’re lucky because we constantly get that from visitors and organisers.
“Then we have a framework in place for our teams to think about how we can respond to an issue and in what time scale.
“It might be something we need to plan ahead for, perhaps one, two or three years in the future, but what we have is a constant programme of change and development that asks how we can do things better.
“Expectations are constantly rising and we need to always be thinking about how we rise to meet them.”
Hyrox London has grown to see more than 40,000 competitors take part – image supplied by Excel London
shifting the dial
This process of consistent, iterative improvement – never standing still – is perhaps why the venue is busier than ever, recently attracting 250,000 visitors over just seven days from April 19-26, 2026.
Despite much of the capital slowed by a Tube strike, the east London venue hosted 10 events in the period, with the Elizabeth Line unaffected and playing a solid part in helping the exhibition centre record one of its busiest weeks since the 2012 Olympics.
Around 40,000 of those visitors travelled to Excel to collect their registrations for the 2026 London Marathon, with the venue noting that sport and fitness are playing an increasing role in its success.
“It’s an important part of what we do – it’s a sector that’s passion-led, tribal and one that reflects society,” said Jeremy.
“People are thinking more carefully about what they eat and how they look after their bodies and their minds.
“Two or three years ago brands like Hyrox were on their journey to growth.
“Now it’s gobsmackingly astonishing that last year more than 40,000 people took part in Hyrox London at Excel and this year more people will be doing it here than running the marathon.
“It’s a triumph, an event where people at any level can take part and compete for themselves while improving their fitness.”
Hyrox, which sees participants take on a succession of exercise challenges interspersed with 1k runs, held its first event at Excel in 2021 with 650 contestants.
Now hosting events across the globe, the brand has achieved enormous success and its 2026 edition – scheduled for December 5 and 6, 2026, in east London – will also feature Youngstars, its contest for those aged eight to 15.
Formula E returns to the venue this summer – image supplied by Excel London
a destination for competition
“That’s been one extreme, but sports and fitness in a broader sense have long been important for us,” said Jeremy.
“We’ve been hosting the London T100 Triathlon in various forms for 25 years and last year that saw around 6,000 athletes taking part and 25,000 fans attending the event.
“Formula-E has also been astonishing and will return this August.
“Technically it’s a great show and it’s been amazing to have cars break the indoor land speed record while racing through our building.”
On a wider point, Jeremy said it was Excel’s flexibility – the ability to become a race track while also having the likes of Gym Race, Turf Games, ATHX, Nike’s After Dark Tour and the London International Horse Show on its calendar – that was most attractive to organisers.
“This place is a global trade hub, a centre for ideas – somewhere people want to come to listen and learn,” he said. “Then they take those ideas away with them all around the world.
“I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much of an impact our extension has had – building a space organisers were asking for has seen them vote with their feet in the corporate market it was designed to serve.
“Large-scale technology events that once booked one year in advance are now booking three or even five years ahead because they know that our space fulfils their requirements.
“They’ve seen the results and they know there’s going to be even greater demand for it in the future.
“There’s also a real benefit for shows when they become associated with a venue – events such as the World Travel Market, for example.
“For those top tier brands, Excel offers an established ecosystem and the Elizabeth Line enables visitors to access that.
“Take Canary Wharf, for example, which is now three minutes away and has such an amazing selection of bars, restaurants and facilities.
“It’s that quality that is helping us attract these events to London.”
Excel London hosts the London International Horse Show, which is set to return to the venue from December 7-21, 2026 – image supplied by Excel London
