Going out: Cinema
Deadpool & Wolverine
Out now
Way back when, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) was the irreverent, rebellious one, in contrast to the more earnest X-Men such as Professor Xavier. Now he’s paired with Deadpool, the guy who represents the zenith (or nadir) of snook-cocking superhero snark. Comic-book quippery with Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.
About Dry Grasses
Out now
Turkish auteur Nuri Bilge Ceylan is perhaps the leading purveyor of chatty Chekhovian drama currently working. For his ninth feature, he’s sticking to that signature approach, working from co-writer and art teacher Akin Aksu’s diary of three years spent in a remote part of Anatolia.
I Saw the TV Glow
Out now
In this hip drama from Jane Schoenbrun (We’re All Going to the World’s Fair), two teen misfits explore their identity through a shared love of a Buffy-esque TV series called The Pink Opaque. Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine star.
The Echo
Out now
Poetic documentary film-maker Tatiana Huezo portrays the emotional labour of women in three families in an intergenerational study of the ups and downs of life in a sparsely populated farming region in northern Mexico. Winner of the documentary award at the Berlin film festival. Catherine Bray
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Going out: Gigs
Cloud X festival
Crystal Palace Park, London, 2 August
Championing R&B, soul and sonic experimentalists, Cloud X returns to south London with another intriguing lineup. Highlights include London-based soul-barer Berwyn, genre-agnostic Swiss star Priya Ragu and UK rap titan Ghetts. Keep an eye out, too, for singer and recent star of the hit TV show Queenie, Bellah. Michael Cragg
Wilderness festival
Cornbury Park, near Oxford, Thursday to 4 August
Billed as a four-day party of “escapism, high jinks and wholesome hedonism”, Wilderness offers up a plethora of comedy, art and wellbeing … oh and some music. Artists having a singsong in a big park include the returning Michael Kiwanuka, festival favourite Jessie Ware and hip-hop greats De La Soul. MC
Curtis Stigers
Birmingham Town Hall, 2 August
To be a modern crooner devoid of that timeworn style’s cliches is some achievement, but the American singer and jazz saxophonist Curtis Stigers does it effortlessly. He brings muscle and realism to classic and original songs – such as his model Frank Sinatra, through a profound understanding of jazz dynamics and timing. John Fordham
Stabat Mater
Worcester Cathedral, 27 July
The centenary of the death of Charles Villiers Stanford has been one of this year’s less marked musical anniversaries. But the opening orchestral concert of the 2024 Three Choirs festival marks it with a performance of Stanford’s large-scale Stabat Mater. It is conducted by Samuel Hudson, and the concert also includes The Hymn of Jesus by another of this year’s anniversarians, Gustav Holst. Andrew Clements
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Going out: Art
Peter Kennard
Whitechapel Gallery, London, to 19 January
Before contemporary art went mainstream, it was often in protest art that you’d see daring uses of dada collage. Peter Kennard is the giant of that. His 1980s montages in support of CND and against Margaret Thatcher were made for the political frontline. Today they have a grainy nostalgia.
Andy Hollingworth
Showtown, Blackpool, to 23 February
What better choice for the first exhibition at this new Blackpool “museum of fun and entertainment” than a photographer who specialises in portraits of comedians? A series of snaps of Rowan Atkinson making an impressive range of Mr Bean-ish faces and a black-and-white study of Victoria Wood are among the highlights.
Goshka Macuga
Mithraeum Bloomberg Space, London, to 18 January
This one-off London space juxtaposes archaeology with contemporary art as you look at installations above the ruins of the Roman temple of Mithras. It’s not always a good fit, but Macuga responds directly to the remains by creating an immersive cave-like experience that explores London’s past from Mithras to the blitz.
Bees
World Museum, Liverpool, to 5 May
Shrink yourself down to the size of a bee to enter an actual hive and experience the world from a bee’s point of view. OK, not quite. But this exhibition does promise to immerse you in 120m years of bee existence with soundscapes, projected images and opportunities to interact. Jonathan Jones
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Going out: Stage
Emma Sidi
Pleasance Courtyard Upstairs, Edinburgh, 31 July to 25 August
Westminster’s decade of chaos has turned political comedy into a precarious enterprise: satire now requires daily rewrites. Yet Sidi’s new show – in which the reliably excellent Starstruck star imagines the inner life of Partygate inquiry leader Sue Gray – is inventive enough to withstand accusations of rehashing old news. Rachel Aroesti
Pericles
Swan theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, to 21 September
One of Shakespeare’s lesser-staged romances, Pericles is rich with tricks and miracles, as grief and rebirth circle each other. Alfred Enoch leads in an new production, an RSC debut from the company’s for new co-artistic director Tamara Harvey. Kate Wyver
Fiddler on the Roof
Regent’s Park Open Air theatre, London, to 21 September
If you enjoyed the recent star-spangled Cabaret, this new production features many of the same creatives. Jordan Fein directs a classic of love and revolution, with design by the brilliant Tom Scutt. KW
David Hoyle and the Glitterbomb Dancers
The Old Woollen, Leeds, 2 August
Avant-garde performance artist and queer cabaret veteran Hoyle is joined for a one-off show by the exuberant Glitterbomb Dancers, a Leeds-based LGBTQ+ dance troupe. Expect spandex, sexy dancing, art and activism. Lyndsey Winship
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Staying in: Streaming
Fantasmas
Now & Sky Comedy, Thursday 4 August, 9pm
Salvadoran-American writer-actor Julio Torres – of SNL and cult horror-comedy Los Espookys fame – lets his uniquely surreal mind’s eye run riot in this bizarre story of a man who can commune with inanimate objects. It has received rave reviews in the US, and boasts cameos from Emma Stone, Paul Dano, Amy Sedaris and more.
Saucy! Secrets of the British Sex Comedy
Channel 4, Sunday 28 July, 10pm
Simon Sheridan’s 2001 book Keeping the British End Up chronicled the rise and fall of this country’s “sex comedy” industry; the risque 70s movies that made the mainstream that bit smuttier. Now he’s turned it into a documentary, featuring input from stars of films including Confessions of a Window Cleaner and Come Play With Me.
Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple
Now & Sky Documentaries, Sunday 28 July, 9pm
You may know him as Tony Soprano’s right-hand man or perhaps as a member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band: either way, Van Zandt deserves more than just sidekick status. This documentary puts the bandana-donning New Jersey renaissance man centre stage, tracing his remarkable career through the decades.
A Storm Foretold
iPlayer & BBC Four, Tuesday 30 July, 10pm
The Danish director Christoffer Guldbrandsen shines a light into the toxic Maga movement by tracking political consultant/provocateur Roger Stone from the tail end of the Trump presidency to the 6 January 2021 attack on the Capitol. RA
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Staying in: Games
Thank Goodness You’re Here!
Out 1 August, all platforms
A surreal slapstick comedy game set in a fictional Yorkshire that looks like a playable Viz comic. You play a tiny travelling salesman trying to solve the bizarre problems of the residents of Barnsworth.
Sims 4 Lovestruck
Out now, PC, Mac, Xbox, PlayStation 4/5
The latest expansion for The Sims opens up new romantic/erotic possibilities for your little computer people, including - and I don’t know why anyone might want this – an imaginary version of Tinder to swipe right on behalf of your lovelorn Sims. Keza MacDonald
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Staying in: Albums
Ice Spice – Y2K!
Out now
Since going viral on TikTok with 2022’s Munch (Feelin’ U), New York rapper Isis Gaston has secured three US Top 10 singles and a handful of Grammy nominations. After a flurry of ad-hoc singles, Y2K! is Gaston’s debut album and features cerebral recent single Think U the Shit (Fart).
Porter Robinson – Smile! :D
Out now
Dissatisfied with finding himself lumped in with the sweaty bro culture of EDM, North Carolina DJ and producer Porter Robinson has gradually sidestepped closer to a lighter pop sound. That continues on this third album, with the single Cheerleader featuring Robinson’s keening vocals over a Phoenix-esque backing track.
Mustard – Faith of a Mustard Seed
Out now
Currently riding high as the producer of Kendrick Lamar’s beef-quashing, Drake-destroying Not Like Us single, producer Mustard unleashes his fourth solo album. Travis Scott adds a typically lascivious verse to the laid-back lead single Parking Lot, while rumoured guests include Future and Charlie Wilson.
Empire of the Sun – Ask That God
Out now
Singer-songwriter Luke Steele and producer Nick Littlemore, AKA one-third of the hugely successful dance act Pnau, return with the first Empire of the Sun album in eight years. Like previous efforts, Ask That God marries sun-kissed melodies and galloping synth-pop to psychedelic lyrics that don’t particularly stand up to close criticism. MC
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Staying in: Brain food
Move to Live With Akram Khan
Podcast
The choreographer hosts an insightful series discussing how the ways we move our bodies affect our lives. Guests include the actor Andy Serkis on finding inspiration from his cat, and ballerina Francesca Hayward on leaping.
Wellcome Collection Stories
Online
The Wellcome Collection curates an online archive of fascinating articles on topics relating to health and medicine. Highlights include essays about the medieval links between the stomach and our emotions, and the biases of genetic counselling.
Atomic People
BBC Two, Tuesday, 9pm
Moving and often shocking, this film details testimonies from the hibakusha – the name given to survivors of the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945. Now in their 80s, those testifying remember growing up in the aftermath of tragedy. Ammar Kalia
