Going out: Cinema
The Nature of Love
Out now
When married 40-year-old philosophy prof Sophia (Magalie Lépine Blondeau) hires rough-and-ready handyman Sylvain (Pierre-Yves Cardinal) to renovate her weekend home, sparks fly quicker than you can say Lady Chatterley, in this sexy Canadian romp about desire v compatibility.
Unicorns
Out now
Single dad Luke (Ben Hardy) works as a mechanic in Essex, and is surprised to find himself attracted to Muslim drag queen Aysha (Jason Patel) in this tender British romance from directors Sally El Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd.
MaXXXine
Out now
In 2022, Ti West gave us X, a zippy 1979-set slasher about a pornographic shoot gone very wrong. He followed that later that same year with Pearl, a prequel set in 1918, delving into the origins of the first film’s villain. Now the franchise zips forward to 80s Hollywood, to find out what the lone survivor of X has been up to since then.
The Conversation (50th anniversary)
Out now
Restored from the original negative for the first time, Francis Ford Coppola’s paranoid thriller turns 50. Starring Gene Hackman in one of his finest roles, it sees surveillance expert Harry Caul fall prey to the same methods that he uses himself. A timeless classic. Catherine Bray
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Going out: Gigs
Love Supreme festival
Glynde Place, near Lewes, 6 & 7 July
True to its decade-old programming style, Love Supreme again presents a raft of sonic diversity, from charismatic brass star Trombone Shorty and jazz-fusion percussion giant Manu Katche, to piano whirlwind Hiromi, and soul diva Chaka Khan. John Fordham
TRNSMT
Glasgow Green, 12 to 14 July
While choosing all-male headliners Liam Gallagher, Gerry Cinnamon and Calvin Harris feels slightly uninspired, the Scottish festival makes up for it elsewhere, with breakout pop star Caity Baser, gloriously eccentric Irish storyteller CMAT and pummelling rock duo Nova Twins. Michael Cragg
Jazmine Sullivan
Gunnersbury Park, London, 6 July; Manchester Apollo, 7 July
After headlining new west London fest The Recipe, the multiple Grammy-winning R&B superstar heads to Manchester. Expect songs from her three emotionally vulnerable albums, plus 2021’s critically lauded Heaux Tales EP. MC
New Year
Dream Tent, Birmingham, 7 to 13 July
Michael Tippett’s fifth and last opera has not had a British staging since 1990. Birmingham Opera’s production of this sci-fi fairytale is directed by Keith Warner, with Alpesh Chauhan conducting the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Andrew Clements
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Going out: Art
Leonora Carrington
Newlands House, Petworth, 12 July to 26 October
This English upper-class renegade surrealist spent most of her life in Mexico, dying there in 2011 at the age of 94. She might think it pleasantly surreal that one of her paintings recently sold for £22.5m, making her the most expensive female British artist. This exhibition reveals why.
Henry Moore
Courtauld Gallery, London, 8 July to 22 September
Moore’s most memorable works are not sculptures but drawings. During the blitz, the best known British modern artist of his day set his chisel aside and spent the nights depicting Londoners trying to sleep in tube stations that were used as deep shelters. Haunting stuff.
Six Lives
National Portrait Gallery, London, to 8 September
Some of the earliest portraits in the NPG depict the women unlucky enough to be married to that Renaissance monster Henry VIII. Here they all come to life, their real lives recovered and their individuality celebrated.
Chris Ofili
Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh, to 5 October
Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios preserves a craft and keeps it living in contemporary art. Here you can see weavers at work and admire the tapestries they create in collaboration with renowned artists. Ofili worked with them to create his mythological artwork The Caged Bird’s Song, which here returns to its nest. Jonathan Jones
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Going out: Stage
Chloe Petts
The Lights, Andover, 8 July; Octagon theatre, Bolton, 12 July; touring to 25 August
Few comics have broken through with the apparent effortlessness of 30-year-old Petts. Her new show unites her experiences of school bullies and internet trolls. Rachel Aroesti
The Devil Wears Prada
Theatre Royal: The Lyric, Plymouth, 6 July to 17 August
Elton John has written the score, triple-Tony winner Jerry Mitchell has choreographed it, and Desperate Housewives’ Vanessa Williams plays the ferocious Miranda Priestly. Catch this starry adaptation of the beloved movie before it heads to the West End. Kate Wyver
London clown festival
Soho theatre & Jacksons Lane, London, 8 to 26 July
Clowning can mean anything these days. For a taste of what it can be, head to the opening cabaret at Soho theatre or try one of the festival’s hour-long shows. KW
BalletLorent: The Becoming
John Marley Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne, 11 to 13 July
Liv Lorent is known for family shows, but this is for grownups. The Becoming is a dance of transformations, drawing on iconic images of dancers from the 20th century. Lyndsey Winship
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Staying in: Streaming
Sunny
Apple TV+, 10 July
Robot companions are a sci-fi cliche – yet AI advances mean our electric friends have never seemed more unsettling. Cue this eerie new series, starring Rashida Jones as an American grieving her husband and son in Japan alongside a domestic robot. But is Sunny as benign as they seem?
Spent
iPlayer & BBC Two, 8 July, 10pm
Michelle de Swarte is Mia, a loudmouth former catwalk model with “an aversion to cheap shit” in this loosely autobiographical new sitcom. Unfortunately, Mia’s dwindling success and spendthrift attitude mean she’s also broke, so she returns to London to escape bankruptcy and reconnect with her roots.
The Turkish Detective
iPlayer & BBC Two, 6 July, 9pm
Barbara Nadel began her series of Istanbul-set crime novels 25 years ago; now her hard-living detective Çetin İkmen finally comes to the small screen. This Turkish-English series – adapted by Skins writer Ben Schiffer – beds down in the chaotic contemporary cityscape, while also providing a crash course in Turkish history and tradition.
Vikings: Valhalla
Netflix, 11 July
The colossally popular, slightly less historically sober sequel to Vikings wraps up the stories of its trio of real-life heroes – king Harald Sigurdsson and Norse explorer siblings Leif Erikson and Freydís Eiríksdóttir – with a gore-splattered, proverb-peppered third and final season. RA
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Staying in: Games
Anger Foot
PC, out 11 July
A ludicrous action game where you lace up stylish trainers and use them to literally kick the daylights out of everything in your path. Is this the dumbest thing we’ve ever seen? Yes. Does it look fun? Also yes. We’ve all got to get our kicks somehow.
Once Human
PC, out 9 July
OK, it’s another multiplayer survival game, but wait for it: instead of trying to fight zombies, it’s Lovecraftian horrors instead. An open-world game that looks like a hillbilly survivalist Dark Souls. Keza MacDonald
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Staying in: Albums
Kasabian – Happenings
Out now
Serge Pizzorno et al return with their second album as a four-piece after the departure of frontman Tom Meighan in 2020. Inspired by the psych bands of the 1960s, Happenings has a purposefully joyful feel, as showcased by the buoyant Darkest Lullaby.
KOKOKO! – Butu
Out now
Based in Kinshasa, KOKOKO! make experimental electronic music often using homemade instruments. Continuing to shed light on the political issues facing their country, Butu is led by the propulsive, 90s dance-inspired banger Mokili.
Molly Nilsson – Un-American Activities
Out 7 July
For Swedish-born, Berlin-based Nilsson’s 11th album she ventured to California, recording in the former home of Lion Feuchtwanger, writer, poet and early opponent of the Nazi regime in 1930s Germany. Songs like the melodic synthpop of Excalibur continue her lyrical exploration of freedom and oppression.
Eves Karydas – Burnt Tapes
Out now
A star in her native Australia, where she’s supported Dua Lipa and George Ezra, Karydas builds on the promise of 2018’s debut Summerskin with this belated follow-up. Sunday Drive is hazy dream-pop par excellence, while Take 2 brings the tempo down. MC
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Staying in: Brain food
The Youth Development Center
Podcast
Shining a much-needed light on the abuses that occur in juvenile detention centres, this often harrowing series exposes how a facility in New Hampshire harmed many of the children it was responsible for.
Ben Reads Good
YouTube
One of the more accessible book-focused accounts on YouTube, Ben’s short, sharp videos take in weekly book news, short reviews, prize predictions and recommendations of hidden gems.
Blue Carbon
WaterBear
DJ and environmental toxicologist Jayda G fronts this fascinating film investigating how coastal ecosystems can mitigate the climate crisis. She reports from at-risk shorelines – and provides an accompanying score. Ammar Kalia
