Victoria and Albert’s May late-night opening

There’s just few days until the Victoria and Albert’s May late-night opening. Think this is a pretty late warning for what essentially consists of turning up at an art gallery at night? Well, maybe… but this time you’ll need at least a few days to prepare your surrealist ball gown.

Just like the last Friday of every month, on the 25th you can wander the V&A in the dark, for free, between six thirty and ten o’clock. It’s certainly a fantastic time to see the museum, and if you get bored after seventy nineteenth-century silver duck tureens then you can just sneak around pretending you’re a surreptitious art thief (note: do not actually steal anything). Or you can think about how creepy the disembodied-head marble busts of famous Victorians look at night (hint: very).

This month, though, there’s an added reason to go. To tie in with their Surreal Things exhibition, the V&A is encouraging visitors to dress up in surreal costumes and listen to music from 1920s and contemporary surrealists. They’ll also be raffling off a piece of Jeffrey Archer’s fence, and showing live performances like “tantalising lobsters”, “Lady G Luck’s shrimp lady dance” and “Marisa Carnesky’s levitation piece” — though finding out what these actually are might have to wait for the ball.

The Surreal Things exhibition itself will be open throughout the evening, and so will the Surreal Things shop, so there’ll be plenty of opportunity to pick up a bowler hat to complete your surrealist look. Sure, you don’t have to be wearing a costume to get in, but come on, how often do you get the opportunity to wear a surrealist ball gown outside the privacy of your own living room?

The Victoria and Albert Late Night Surrealist Ball:The V&A, South Kensington, SW7 2RL; 25 May, 6:30 to 10 p.m.