Must See: Frieze
Frieze has well and truly come of age, turning 21 this year. To mark the occasion, the world-beating art fair is making moves and changing things up for the 60,000 art-lovers who visit. Smaller galleries offering lesser-known gems are set to have more prominence — your chance to find a new favourite — and a short walk away is Frieze Masters, displaying historic greats. Until October 13, frieze.com
Art Fix: Francis Bacon, National Portrait Gallery
Despite his fame as both a flâneur and bon viveur, Francis Bacon’s art speaks to an outlook on life as bleak and brutal as concrete. This showing of more than 55 works explores his genius from the Fifties until his death in 1992. It is, in a way, a showing of his life, with subjects including Lucian Freud, Isabel Rawsthorne, as well as his lovers Peter Lacy and George Dyer, of whom Bacon’s portraits are unusually tender. Until January 19, npg.org.uk
Hot Table: Café Francois, Borough Yards
Steadily but assuredly, Maison François has grown into its own skin since opening in 2020, and in doing so has become one of London’s best restaurants. Now its team are using that experience for Café François, which offers something akin to its French-leaning sibling, albeit more relaxed. A two-floor, all-day operation, go for pastries for breakfast, steak sandwiches and rotisserie chicken baguettes at lunch, and in the evening marquee dishes, like lobster or prime rib. Unusually, bigger groups are very welcome. cafefrancois.london
Screen Gems:
TV: Sweetpea, Sky Atlantic
Less coming of age, more coming of rage: adapted from CJ Skuse’s comic thriller, Sweetpea follows the story of Rhiannon Lewis, an overlooked wallflower needing more out of life. Her solution? Murder. Obviously. Ella Purnell stars in the six-part series, which, told from Rhiannon’s fabulously sweary perspective, is a hoot. A dark one, mind. October 10
Film: Hard Truths, London Film Festival
On the BFI London Film Festival rolls, and with it comes Mike Leigh’s latest, Hard Truths. His first film in six years, and already feted as one of his finest, it intimately details the strained bond between sisters Pansy (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) and Chantal (Michele Austin). Pansy’s crotchety, critical nature is driven by mental torment, but is pushing all those close to her away. A compassionate, densely layered look at the ties that bind. October 14, 16 & 20
The Big Read: Unleashed by Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson’s much-anticipated memoir is out today. Love him or loathe him, his book is the talk of the town (Johnson has a knack for attracting attention — you may have noticed). It covers his battles with coronavirus, the travails of his dog Dilyn and his mooted plan to launch an invasion of the Netherlands — believe it or not. Out now
Listen: Charlie XCX, Brat and It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat
Thought Brat summer was over? Think again. Charli XCX’s snot green era is set to roll on as her hit album has been reimagined entirely. Lorde and Billie Eilish have already done their bit, but listen out for the Tinashe and Bon Iver takes, too. Your next Uber ride is going to be a jam. October 11
Book Now: Expendable, Royal Court Theatre
Emteaz Hussain’s new play Expendable shines its light on the often-overlooked voices of Pakistani women, carefully charting the stories of young girls sexually exploited by predatory gangs in the UK’s northern towns. Hussain says its plot isn’t specific to, say, the Rotherham scandal — her poetic style offers a broader telling of these narratives — and instead, she aims to combat “the erasure and silencing of women at the heart of this experience”. Not set to be an easy watch, then, but a profoundly affecting one. Opens November 21, royalcourttheatre.com
Don’t Miss: Roots/Look Back in Anger, Almeida Theatre
John Osborne’s seething, era-defining play about class warfare — the one that gave rise to the idea of “angry young men” — has been brought back at the Almeida, paired with a revival of Arnold Wesker’s Roots. Both changed theatre; if you haven’t seen them yet, take this chance. Running in tandem, they share a cast, with Morfydd Clark, Iwan Davies and Billy Howle appearing in both. Until November 23, almeida.co.uk
