Going out: Cinema
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and SnakesJust when you thought it was safe to go back into the Arena. After the original trilogy wrapped up in 2015, it’s time for a return to totalitarian Panem, with Districts once more pitted against elites in the Capitol, in this adaptation of Suzanne Collins’s prequel.
Saltburn
Out now
Starring Barry Keoghan as a Talented Mr Ripley type initially dazzled by his smooth college chums at Oxford, Emerald Fennell’s follow-up to Promising Young Woman could be seen as a sort of cautionary tale for toffs who think it might be amusing to invite a member of the working class into their rarefied milieu.
Is There Anybody Out There?
Out now
Twentysomething documentary-maker Ella Glendining is looking to connect with other people like herself – in some ways a universally relatable quest. But Glendining has to search harder than most: born with no hip joints and short femurs, her condition is so rare that it doesn’t have a name.
May December
Out now
In this superb melodrama from Todd Haynes, Natalie Portman plays an actor researching her latest role by spending time with the person her character is based on. Step forward Julianne Moore, as a former high-school teacher three decades into a relationship with her former student (Riverdale’s Charles Melton). Catherine Bray
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Going out: Gigs
Anne-Marie
20 to 29 November; tour starts Cardiff
Three albums in, Essex’s Anne-Marie can still be relied on to knock out bops such as this year’s Shania-assisted thigh-slapper Unhealthy. That single was taken from her album of the same name, which will get a good showing here alongside hits such as Ciao Adios and Rockabye. Michael Cragg
Cigarettes After Sex
18 to 26 November; tour starts Manchester
The Texas trio, led by Greg Gonzalez, arrive in the UK ahead of their third album. Recent singles suggest they’re not deviating from their ethereal goth-tinged dream pop, so expect a lot of dry ice and a reliance on mood over movement. MC
London Jazz festival
Various venues, to 19 November
The festival packs 90-plus gigs into its closing weekend, presenting US composer-improviser Tyshawn Sorey ( 18 & 19 Nov); and European power quartet 4 Wheel Drive (18 Nov); Snarky Puppy’s Bill Laurance and Michael League (19 Nov); pianist Nikki Iles with Germany’s NDR Bigband (19 Nov), and lots more. John Fordham
Huddersfield Contemporary Music festival
Various venues, Huddersfield, to 26 November
The opening weekend of this year’s fest features UK premieres of two recent major works by Rebecca Saunders. The Oslo Sinfonietta introduces Skull, influenced by Haruki Murakami (18 Nov); while Ensemble Nikel and Noa Frenkel bring Us Dead Talk Love, setting texts by Ed Atkins (19 Nov). Andrew Clements
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Going out: Stage
The Dante Project
Royal Opera House, London, 18 November to 2 December
The return of Wayne McGregor’s all-star interpretation of Dante’s Divine Comedy. Thomas Adès’s rich score brings new colours to McGregor’s movement, and Tacita Dean’s transfixing films make the last act a visual feast. Lyndsey Winship
Fred Armisen
24 November to 5 December; tour starts London
SNL alumnus and Portlandia co-creator Armisen is indie comedy royalty and also has a sideline in music (he’s currently bandleader on Late Night with Seth Meyers). Now he merges his twin loves in Comedy for Musicians But Everyone Is Welcome, which wrangles muso observations into crowd-pleasing gags. Rachel Aroesti
A Woman Walks Into a Bank
Theatre 503, London, 21 to 30 November
Winner of Theatre 503’s international playwriting award, Roxy Cook’s new play is a wild romp through modern Moscow, where an old woman is conned into taking out a high-interest loan – kickstarting a catastrophic series of events. Miriam Gillinson
Macbeth
The Depot, Liverpool, to 20 December
Emily Burns’s adaptation will be staged in a custom-built space, designed to pull the audience into the action. Ralph Fiennes and Indira Varma star as the Bard’s doomed couple, hell bent on the throne.. MG
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Going out: Art
Lumiere
Durham venues, to 19 November
It’s the middle of November, a dreary month, so what better than a weekend of light art to illuminate the dark afternoons and nights? Durham, with its awe-inspiring cathedral, makes a beautiful backdrop, and there are works in nearby Bishop Auckland, too. Ai Weiwei is among the light magicians.
Monica Sjöö
Modern Art Oxford, 18 November to 25 February
Stone circles and God herself appear in Sjöö’s visionary paintings. Meeting the Ancestors at Avebury imagines a matriarchal society behind the neolithic site in the English countryside. God Giving Birth depicts the female deity. Like an eco-feminist Blake, here is an artist with her own philosophy shared in dreamlike images.
Georg Baselitz
Cristea Roberts Gallery, London to 22 December
When he started making art in postwar Berlin, this visceral expressionist got banned for obscenity. He is still provocative, as shown by this explicit exhibition of upside down depictions of couples making love.
Leon Kossoff
Annely Juda Fine Art, London, to 20 January
The art of Leon Kossoff cuts with a palette knife into deep layers of memory and place. His depictions of London’s East End have an authenticity that will never fade. When he looks at a church or swimming pool he seems to see not just one moment but an entire history. Jonathan Jones
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Staying in: Streaming
Squid Game: The Challenge
Netflix, 22 November
What if Squid Game was real (without the whole death thing)? That’s the premise of this new UK-based series from Netflix, which capitalises on the global mania for the 2021 dystopian Korean drama with a spin-off gameshow with a $4.56m cash prize.
Such Brave Girls
BBC Three & iPlayer, 22 November, 10pm
This pitch black comedy is Nighty Night for the TikTok generation. Forget Live, Laugh, Love – sisters Josie (Kat Sadler) and Billie (Lizzie Davidson) are more trauma-fetishising Death, Silence, Hate types. In episode one, the dysfunctional duo meet their mum’s new boyfriend. But will depressed Josie’s long face stop him performing in the bedroom? (Spoiler: yes it will.)
Boat Story
BBC One & iPlayer, 19 November, 9pm
Daisy Haggard (Back to Life) and Paterson Joseph (for ever Johnson from Peep Show for some of us) play two down-on-their luck strangers who discover a load of drugs on the titular vessel in this deadpan thriller. Will they try to sell them? Of course! Will it all go to plan? What do you think?
Archie
ITVX, 23 November
Before there was Hollywood icon Cary Grant, there was Bristol boy Archibald Leach, who had a deeply traumatic childhood. Made in collaboration with Grant’s daughter and ex-wife, this Jason Isaacs-starring biopic traces the actor’s radical transformation from one man to another. RA
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Staying in: Games
Persona 5 Tactica
PlayStation, Xbox, PC, Nintendo Switch, out now
The Phantom Thieves, teen stars of Japanese cult RPG Persona 5, return in this stylish and adorable strategy game.
Sociable Soccer 24
PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, out now
For anyone who remembers Sensible Soccer, this arcade game from its original creator Jon Hare is a must. It’s fast and intuitive, like Subbuteo on a screen. Keza Macdonald
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Staying in: Albums
Dolly Parton – Rockstar
Out now
Inspired by her 2022 nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, country great and all-round excellent human Parton decided to lean into the titular genre for her 49th album. Across its 30 songs, she mixes originals with covers of the likes of Rolling Stones, Heart and goddaughter Miley Cyrus.
Jaakko Eino Kalevi – Chaos Magic
Out now
Finnish singer-songwriter and former tram driver Jaakko Eino Kalevi’s knack for crafting supple soft-pop continues on this fourth album. Created in his new home of Athens, it adds a sun-dappled spin to his fusion of neon synthpop, psych and cosmic jazz, as showcased on the lead single I Forget.
2 Chainz & Lil Wayne – Welcome 2 Collegrove
Out now
After their 2016 album ColleGrove was curtailed by label politics, 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne try again on this belated sequel. Playful, braggadocious lead single Presha, produced by Bangladesh (Beyoncé, Nick Minaj), all looped whistle riffs and rib-rattling beats, is a pretty good taster for what’s to come.
Danny Brown – Quaranta
Out now
Detroit rapper Brown follows up March’s excellent collaborative album with Jpegmafia with this sixth solo effort. Billed as a spiritual successor to 2011’s breakthrough, XXX, it dials down some of his gonzo spirit in favour of searing honesty and, on the title track, self-reflection. MC
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Staying in: Brain food
Stamped From The Beginning
Netflix, Monday
Ibram X Kendi’s bestselling 2016 book of the same name is given an impressionistic visual treatment in this engaging film, blending animation with academic commentary on the long history of anti-racist movements in the US.
Namedropping
Podcast, out now
For those of us with names we often have to spell to others, this series is essential listening. Featuring a range of artists and experts, we hear how their unique names have informed their lives and work.
60 Second Docs
YouTube, out now
The platform 60 Second Docs hosts a fascinating range of bite-sized films across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Get glimpses into the unusual lives of everyone from elderly gamers to whale guardians and breast milk donors. Ammar Kalia
