Going out: Cinema
Wicked Little Letters
Out now
Based on a real scandal that rocked a 1920s seaside town in England, revolving around the author of a series of obscene poison-pen letters, this comedy-mystery stars Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley alongside a cast of stalwarts including Timothy Spall and Joanna Scanlan.
Perfect Days
Out now
Starring Koji Yakusho, who nabbed best actor at last year’s Cannes film festival for his troubles, this return to fiction for director Wim Wenders celebrates Japanese culture, with a Tokyo-set story of a caretaker whose job cleaning toilets is balanced with a passionate love of the arts.
Vanya: NT Live
Out now
Filmed live during its sold-out West End run, this production sees Andrew Scott take on multiple roles in Simon Stephens’s one-man version of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. Also starring in All of Us Strangers, that Hot Priest from Fleabag is on a roll.
Shoshana
Out now
Prolific British director Michael Winterbottom returns with a political thriller set in 1930s Tel Aviv. When a member of the British Palestine police anti-terrorist squad (Douglas Booth) falls in love with the daughter of a socialist Zionist (Irina Starshenbaum), politics and romance collide. Catherine Bray
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Going out: Gigs
OMD
Tour starts Manchester, 1 to 27 March
In the late 90s, electronic pioneer Stuart Kershaw and Andy McCluskey felt so out of the loop of what people wanted from them that they helped put together Atomic Kitten. Now, 25 or so years later, his band OMD have produced a No 2 hit with their 14th album, Bauhaus Staircase.
Chase & Status
O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester, 1 & 3 March
Enduring drum’n’bass pioneers Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status) had a spectacular 2023, scoring two UK Top 10 singles and a Top 5 album with November’s 2 Ruff, Vol 1. They head to Manchester with their litany of bangers for two celebratory shows. Michael Cragg
Big Bruckner Weekend
The Glasshouse, Gateshead, 1 to 3 March
The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Hallé and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestras join the Royal Northern Sinfonia in celebrating the bicentenary of Anton Bruckner’s birth. There are performances of the Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Symphonies, as well as his F minor Mass and String Quintet. Domingo Hindoyan, Mark Elder, Alpesh Chauhan and Thomas Zehetmair conduct. Andrew Clements
Jon Lloyd Quartet
606 Club, London, 27 February; Soundcellar, Poole, 29 February
When saxophonist Jon Lloyd emerged on the UK jazz scene three decades back, he was a formidable free-improviser – nowadays his work is more melodic and compositionally shapely, but his improv sharpness and cliche‑avoidance still distinguish him. Lloyd’s quartet with brilliant jazz/classical pianist John Law launches new album, Earth Songs. John Fordham
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Going out: Art
When Forms Come Alive
Hayward Gallery, London, to 6 May
Sculptures that burst into space, immerse the onlooker, defy gravity and lots of other entertaining fun stuff. Artists including Phyllida Barlow, Franz West, EJ Hill, Holly Hendry, Tara Donovan and Eva Fàbregas star in this survey of postmodern, postindustrial art. A theme park for adults, and why not?
Angelica Kauffman
Royal Academy, London, 1 March to 30 June
Friend of Goethe, Royal Academician, Kauffman became famous in 18th‑century Europe as a practitioner of the neoclassical style, depicting contemporaries dressed up as ancient Romans. There’s no doubting her success in defying patriarchal norms, but how captivating and personally expressive is her art to modern eyes?
Yinka Shonibare
The Box, Plymouth, to 23 June
Imperial powers are represented as dummies in finely coloured clothing, playing on a seesaw as they vie for supremacy. Shonibare skewers Europe in the early 20th century when nation states, their treasuries bloated with the colonisation of Africa at its peak, played power games that led to world war.
Nahem Shoa
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, to 31 March
Masterpieces in the Walker’s outstanding collection are confronted with tough contemporary questions about the legacy of slavery and empire. Paintings by Shoa, including The Back of Gbenga Ilumoka’s Head, which the gallery has recently purchased, are shown in uneasy conversation with works by Joseph Wright of Derby, Hockney, Freud and more. Jonathan Jones
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Going out: Stage
Rob Brydon
Touring to 26 March
A comedian swapping joke-telling for serious musical endeavour usually ends up being self-indulgent and cringeworthy – but there’s no chance of that with Brydon’s funny bones. His Night of Songs and Laughter features anecdotes and impersonations (Michael Caine! Steve Coogan!) amid the eclectic tunes. Rachel Aroesti
Nachtland
Young Vic, London, to 20 April
Marius von Mayenburg’s dark new satire follows two siblings who must decide what to do when they find an old painting bearing Hitler’s name stashed in their father’s home. Keep or destroy? A striking cast includes Jenna Augen, Jane Horrocks and John Heffernan. Miriam Gillinson
Starter for Ten
Bristol Old Vic, 29 February to 30 March
With the TV adaptation of One Day lighting up Netflix, David Nicholls is having a(nother) moment. This musical adaptation of his student romance, set at Bristol University, features an 80s-inspired score from Tom Rasmussen and stars Adam Bregman and Mel Giedroyc. MG
May Contain Food May Contain You
Tour starts Teddington, 24 February to 13 April
Witty dance-theatre from company Protein on the theme of food, and all the social, cultural and sensory associations that come with it. Audiences are invited to bring food to share, while the performers bake a sticky ginger pudding live on stage. Lyndsey Winship
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Staying in: Streaming
Shōgun
27 February, Disney+
Based on James Clavell’s 1975 literary sensation – inspired by the 1600s exploits of William Adams, the first Englishman to reach Japan – this new historical drama turns the culture clash between an Elizabethan man and feudal Japan into a raunchy, white-knuckle romp.
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin
1 March, Apple TV+
Get over the strangeness of seeing Noel Fielding liberated from both the Bake Off tent and the scrappily surreal world of The Mighty Boosh, and you’ll find his leftfield dandy-ness remains very much intact as he takes on the notorious 18th-century highwayman in an offbeat period piece packed with great British comedy talent.
Things You Should Have Done
29 February, 9pm, iPlayer/BBC Three
Her pandemic-themed sitcom parodies made Lucia Keskin a breakout social media star during lockdown. Now she has an old-fashioned marker of success too: her own sitcom, which follows a “stay-at-home-daughter” finally forced to stand on her own two feet.
The Jury: Murder Trial
26 February, 9pm, Channel 4
Juries’ workings are mired in secrecy and confusion. This groundbreaking new series restages a real murder trial with two separate juries, to shed some light on the problems that arise when jurors make binding legal decisions without understanding the law itself. RA
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Staying in: Games
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
29 February, PS5
The second part of a jaw-droppingly ambitious remake of Square Enix’s classic role-playing game sees Cloud and his party of plucky eco-terrorists get their hearts broken all over again.
Pacific Drive
Out now, PC, PS5
Take a rundown car out into a supernaturally afflicted Pacific north-west and see if you can come back alive. Think Annihilation, but it’s a road trip. Keza MacDonald
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Staying in: Albums
Nadine Shah – Filthy Underneath
Out now
Tyneside alt-rock singer-songwriter Shah has never shied away from exploring big topics, be it political injustice on 2017’s Holiday Destination or misogyny on 2020’s followup, Kitchen Sink. On Filthy Underneath, created after battles with PTSD and addiction, Shah lays everything bare, as on Twenty Things, which charts her time in rehab.
MGMT – Loss of Life
Out now
Having been freaked out by sudden fame following 2007’s debut Oracular Spectacular, Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser have edged further and further away from that album’s festival-slaying, dance-rock sweet spot with each subsequent release. This fifth album finesses their psych credentials as well as adding touches of prog and folk.
Erika de Casier – Still
Out now
Having branched out into K-pop hitmaking via her work on 2023’s excellent NewJeans single Super Shy, the Danish singer-songwriter-producer returns with her third album of tactile R&B and liquid drum’n’bass. Blood Orange, They Hate Change and Shygirl add to that sonic palette as De Casier charts a relationship’s steady decline.
Allie X – Girl With No Face
Out now
While 2020’s Cape God album focused on organic instrumentation, this playful followup finds Canadian Alexandra Hughes focusing on big synthpop. Created during lockdown, and self-produced, it’s an album that channels Hughes’s darker thoughts into perfectly packaged pop – see recent single Off With Her Tits. MC
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Staying in: Brain food
What Is Owed?
Podcast
Reporter Saraya Wintersmith’s fascinating series examines the case for slavery reparations in the city of Boston, where slavery was first legalised among American colonies and where national reparations legislation has since been drafted.
matttt
YouTube
YouTuber matttt’s channel is a treasure trove of niche yet engaging essays on the history of comic books and their animators, from the uncredited creator of Donald Duck to the cult legacy of Spiderman’s Todd McFarlane.
Apocalypse: Stalin
Mon, PBS America
Despite its melodramatic title, this three-part series (nightly until Wednesday) provides a sobering analysis of Stalin’s rise to power, and its brutal human toll. Ammar Kalia
