The must-see: White Rabbit Red Rabbit
Until Nov 9 at Soho Place, sohoplace.org
Does experimental theatre fill you with fear? Try Nassim Soleimanpour’s project, which has an A-list cast lined up. The premise: each night, a different actor will step on the stage without having rehearsed or even seen a script. What happens next is anybody’s guess. Who’s up for it? Minnie Driver, Toby Jones, Michael Sheen, Daisy Edgar-Jones and more.
Art fix: Frank Auerbach: Portraits of London
Opens on October 4 at Offer Waterman & Francis Outred, waterman.co.uk
Frank Auerbach famously dubbed London as “this raw thing…This extraordinary, marvellously unpainted city.” Unpainted? He soon put paid to that, and this show brings together arguably the very best of his London works, chosen from his sprawling, seven-decade career. See the crowds on Oxford Street, the great greens of Hampstead Heath and more through the eyes of one of Britain’s truly great artists.
Hot table: Home Kitchen
Primrose Hill, homekitchenlondon.org
Let’s look at the food first, which is put together by Adam Simmonds (Ynyshir, Le Manoir et al). In what used to be Odette’s, Simmons is promising fine dining as befits his two-star experience, though it’s keenly-priced, with six courses of modern British cooking at £65. But Home Kitchen is about something else: Simmons aside, it will be staffed by the homeless, who will be paid above the London Living Wage, receive full training, and have travel expenses covered. Something to raise a glass to.
Screen Gems:
Joker: Folie à Deux
In cinemas from October 4
Back in January, this was the 2024 release everyone was chattering about. And chatter they still are, only for slightly different reasons. In a bid to lighten the mood from the bleak first Joaquin Phoenix Joker (why so serious?), Lady Gaga has been hauled aboard and, well, now it’s a musical. At its Venice premiere last month, the crowd didn’t warm to the bonkers concept. Worth a look, if only for the audacity of it all.
Showtrial, season two
From October 6 on BBC One
After an acclaimed first season, Showtrial returns with a new gaze, moving from the death of a student to that of a climate activist. Discovered in the clutches of death, he manages to out his killer as a serving policeman. Cue a media circus, into which defence solicitor Sam Gill (Adeel Akhtar) must step. Promises to be a gripping, talk-about-it-in-the-office run of episodes.
The big read: The Eagle and the Hart, Helen Castor
Out now at all good bookshops
If it was good enough for Shakespeare, it’s good enough for us. The acclaimed medieval historian Helen Castor (She-Wolves, Joan of Arc) returns after a decade’s hiatus with the tragic tale of Richard II and Henry IV (also subjects of plays by Billy from the Midlands). The Eagle and the Hart brings the 14th century to life in all its gaudy colour, terrifying bloodletting and high drama. A book to feast on.
Listen: Honey, Caribou
Out October 4
Ever-versatile DJ and producer Dan Snaith returns with Caribou’s first in four years, and this time he wants us to cut a rug. More dancefloor-focused than previous outings, Honey is a love letter to late nights in the club, mixing in grimy basslines, garage flavours and some thumping house, all tied together by playful vocal samples. Don’t skip the collaboration with Four Tet’s Kieran Hebden.
Don’t miss: Never Let Me Go
Until October 12 at the Rose Theatre, rosetheatre.org
After directing The Remains of the Day to considerable praise, director Christopher Haydon is returning to Kazuo Ishiguro’s back catalogue. If it ain’t broke…This time, Haydon will stage Never Let Me Go, which asks the question: what if your reason for being was not about your own life, but making someone else’s possible? Your dreams, loves, desires, all suddenly rendered irrelevant. Sizeable, meaningful themes to get into — and all perfect fodder for a heart-rending night at the theatre.
Book now: 30 Years of Bugged Out
From November 9 at Drumsheds, drumshedslondon.com
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Celebrating one of the most successful club nights to ever hit the UK, Bugged Out! returns to London for its 30th anniversary celebrations. Starting back in ’94 in Manchester’s now-closed Sankeys Soap club, this big night out went on to platform names including Daft Punk and the Chemical Brothers. The line-up at Drumsheds this November features a DJ set from the latter, alongside another from Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip, Modeselektor and a live performance from Octave One.
