Going out: Cinema
See How They Run
Out now
Showbusiness can be murder, quite literally, in this comic whodunnit. A Hollywood producer attempts to turn a popular play into a film, only to be stymied by the deaths of various members of the production, prompting an investigation by officers played by Sam Rockwell and Saoirse Ronan.
Bodies Bodies Bodies
Out now
Marketed as the ultimate Gen Z slasher, this is in fact a delicious throwback to the dark and edgy horror-comedies of the 1990s, in which an array of repellent and rich teenagers meet various grisly demises, to the grief of absolutely no one. Pete Davidson and Rachel Sennott are the standouts in a fun cast.
Crimes of the Future
Out now
Canadian body horror godfather David Cronenberg – he of The Fly, Videodrome and Crash (the sexy one, not the Oscar bait) – has gathered together a stellar cast for his latest entertaining slice of psychological and physical dissection, in the delectable form of Viggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux and Kristen Stewart.
Both Sides of the Blade
Out now
Claire Denis is on compelling form with this slow-burn exploration of a long-term relationship compromised by the reappearance of a former lover. Juliette Binoche and Vincent Lindon are thoroughly plausible as a couple confronting infidelity and a possible breakup. Catherine Bray
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Going out: Gigs
Repercussion festival
Various venues, Manchester, 10 September
Taking place across six stages, including the 10,000 capacity Depot, Manchester’s day-to-night dance music festival returns for its second year. The lineup is frankly ridiculous, featuring Jamie xx, Little Simz, Goldie, Fred Again.., Jamz Supernova, Sherelle and Mr Scruff. Michael Cragg
Aminé
10-17 September, tour starts O2 Academy Brixton, London
The Portland rapper returns to the UK with last year’s album, TwoPointFive, in tow. Brighter and more cartoonish than 2020’s US Top 20 album Limbo, its 12 songs average around the two-minute mark but each one crams in as much as possible, with the giddy Colors touching the hem of hyperpop. MC
London Symphony Orchestra
Barbican Hall, London, 11 September
In keeping with tradition, Simon Rattle begins the season – his last as the LSO’s director – with a programme of British music. Daniel Kidane’s Sun Poem, co-commissioned by the LSO, is the new work; it’s followed by Frank Bridge’s neglected masterpiece Enter Spring, and Elgar’s majestic Second Symphony. Andrew Clements
Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah
Koko, London, 13 September
The New Orleans trumpeter-producer returns with his ever-expanding jazz, hip-hop, blues and rock crossovers, and traditional-to-electronic self-made instruments. New Orleans’s west African connections are a fascinating feature of his work. John Fordham
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Going 0ut: Art
Winslow Homer
National Gallery, London, 10 September to 8 January
This great American painter, who lived through the civil war and documented the aftermath of slavery, went on to paint churned-up, romantic seascapes with foam-flecked echoes of Courbet and Turner. His eye for social injustice sees disaster at sea as an image of America’s turmoil.
Mounira Al Solh
Baltic, Gateshead, to 2 October
This artist, who lives in Lebanon and the Netherlands, uses embroidery, writing, performance, film, drawing and painting to tell the stories of people – especially women – who have been forced to leave their homes by war and violence. She presents moving, real-life tales of upheaval and the experience of migration.
Edward Lear
Ikon, Birmingham, 9 September to 13 November
The high priest of Victorian nonsense was also a brilliant and adventurous landscape artist. While Constable and Turner had stayed in Europe, Lear loved to travel in the Middle East and north Africa. His on-the-spot sketches capture a world in motion in an age of massive global change.
Gainsborough
Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire, to 30 October
The Pink Boy, recently restored, was painted by Gainsborough in 1782 and probably portrays Francis Nicholls. Dressed in a flamboyant costume inspired by the cavalier portraits of Van Dyck, this long-haired boy who would come to manhood in the Romantic age is compared here with other Gainsborough portraits. Jonathan Jones
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Going out: Stage
Who Killed My Father
Young Vic, London, to 24 September
Ivo van Hove directs the peerless Hans Kesting in this one-man play, which sees a son return home to his damaged and dying dad. Who is responsible for his father’s ruin? Prepare to be devastated. Miriam Gillinson
The Glass Menagerie
Royal Exchange theatre, Manchester, to 8 October
Atri Banerjee directs Tennessee Williams’s oddly glittering memory play, with Geraldine Somerville starring as the family matriarch Amanda Wingfield. MG
Made in Leeds: Three Short Ballets
Leeds Playhouse, 10 to 17 September
Three one-act premieres from Northern Ballet. There’s work by Ballet Black’s Mthuthuzeli November and Stina Quagebeur of English National Ballet, but most intriguing is a piece based on Casanova’s memoir, by Dickson Mbi, a powerful hip-hop dancer. Lyndsey Winship
Greenwich comedy festival
National Maritime Museum, London, 14-18 September
A traditional herald of the autumn, this festival’s mixed-bill, open-air gigs are usually populated by the cream of UK standup – and that’s certainly the case this year, with sets from Simon Amstell, Ted Lasso star Brett Goldstein, Rosie Jones and Sophie Duker. Brian Logan
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Staying in: Streaming
Frozen Planet II
11 September, BBC One and BBC iPlayer
After an 11-year wait, this sequel to the landmark nature doc comes with a specially commissioned song, Take Me Back Home, by Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer and pop star Camila Cabello. But Sir David Attenborough is still the real star of the show; him and those emperor penguins.
American Gigolo
10 September, Paramount+
The 1980 Paul Schrader thriller charged the erotic fantasies of a generation. Now Jon Bernthal is slipping into Richard Gere’s old Armani suits (they fit like a dream) to cruise the streets of LA, solve crimes and seduce wealthy women. Rosie O’Donnell has a supporting role and Ray Donovan’s David Hollander as showrunner also bodes well.
Sins of Our Mother
14 September, Netflix
Netflix true-crime docs are near-everyday occurrences, but this wild case is – thankfully – unique. How did Lori Vallow go from being a loving, responsible mother of three to a woman standing trial for murder? The answer involves doomsday cults and beach weddings, and is told from the perspective of her only surviving child.
Thursday Night Football
15 September, Prime Video
All five seasons of Emmy-winning drama Friday Night Lights have been streaming on Amazon Prime for a while now and Connie Britton’s smile has undoubtedly drummed up international interest in the all-American sport. Now newcomers can watch regular NFL season games, plus swot up with real-time stats via the X-ray function. Ellen E Jones
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Staying in: Games
Metal Hellsinger
Out Wed, XBox Series X/S, PS5, PCOut 15 September, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC
Doom fans and metalheads should keep an eye on this action shooter, in which you slay demons to a heavy metal soundtrack.
Sunday Gold
Out 13 September, PC
A lively point-and-click adventure game about a bunch of cockney mobsters getting into scrapes in a dystopian London. Keza Macdonald
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Staying in: Albums
Oliver Sim – Hideous Bastard
Out now
With his rich baritone, Oliver Sim anchored the emotional heft of his band the xx’s songs. On his solo debut, which features production from bandmate Jamie xx, Sim explores issues around identity and shame, specifically in relation to his teenage HIV diagnosis. His songs are both dramatic and cathartic.
Santigold – Spirituals
Out now
Genre agnostic alt-pop pioneer Santi White returns with her first album in six years. Spirituals, which is being released alongside a new skincare range and a tea collection of the same name, features input from British producer SBTRKT, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner and the Weeknd collaborator Illangelo.
Sampa the Great – As Above, So Below
Out now
During the pandemic rapper Sampa Tembo returned from Australia, where she’d lived since 2013, to her home in Zambia. The country’s influence and rich heritage permeates this second album, specifically single Never Forget’s celebration of Zamrock, a genre born in the 70s that melds traditional Zambian music with psych rock.
Jockstrap – I Love You Jennifer B
Out now
Fusing the distorted electronics of producer Taylor Skye with singer Georgia Ellery’s windswept orchestral flourishes and cherubic coo, the brilliantly named duo aim to discombobulate. Recent single Glasgow, for example, touches on crystalline baroque pop, indie jangle and artful, found sound collage. MC
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Staying in: Brain food
Talks at Google
YouTube
This corporate interview series from Google isn’t just about business and productivity. Its starry guests include musician Angélique Kidjo, comic Bowen Yang and actor Matt Damon exploring everything from the nature of creativity to the need for water conservation.
American History Hit
Podcast
Dan Snow’s long-running series that chats its way through formative moments in history launches a spin-off show focused on American events. Presenter Don Wildman delves into the declaration of independence, the Hollywood blacklist of the 1950s and more.
Stolen: Hunting the Art Thieves
Sunday, 8pm, BBC Two
According to this three-part series, art worth £4bn is stolen each year. We follow the dramatic stories behind some of history’s biggest heists, beginning with two £10m Turner paintings stolen from the Tate in 1994. Ammar Kalia
