Going out: Movies
Blink twice
Available now
Zoe Kravitz’s directorial debut, this psychological thriller stars Naomi Ackie as a cocktail waitress who is whisked away by an evil tech billionaire (Channing Tatum) on a private dream vacation. Fun fact: the film’s working title was Pussy Island. Very Trump-esque.
patella
Available now
Based on the antics of real-life rap trio Kneecap, this vibrant drama is set in post-conflict Belfast. When the two childhood best friends meet JJ Ó Dochaltaigh, a high school teacher, he decides to use music as an opportunity to fight for Irish to be recognised as an official language in Northern Ireland.
Crow
Available now
A direct adaptation of the 1989 comic book series, the new film sees Bill Skarsgård donning a trench coat and smearing the white face paint of Eric Draven, the musician who was murdered along with his fiancée (née FKA Twigs), before returning to life to exact revenge on his killers.
Cuckoo
Available now
When 17-year-old Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) moves into a villa in the Alps with her father (Dan Stevens), stepmother (Jessica Henwick) and mute half-sister Alma (Mila Liu), things soon start to go awry. This sci-fi horror is full of twists and turns. Katherine Bray
Going out: Gigs
Feeling supersonic… Bonnie “Prince” Billy. Photo: Urban Wyatt
Supersonic Festival
Various Venues, Birmingham, 30 August – 1 September
The Midlands experimental festival returns with a mix of gut-busting noise masters and ear-pleasing quirks, the latter represented by folk maverick Bonnie “Prince” Billy, while Atlanta punk band Upchuck bring the noise.
Niall Horan
The tour starts in Dublin on Saturday 3rd September
Since One Direction went “on hiatus” in 2016, Niall Horan has forged a comfortable, cozy solo career. Last year’s third album, The Show, celebrated his love of the sunny, cashmere-soft pop-rock that was on display on this arena tour. Michael Cragg
decoy
Cafe Oto, London, Thursday to August 31
Jason Yarde (Thursday), Camilla Nebbia (Friday) and Kossa Cole (August 31st) will join bassist John Edwards, pianist Alexander Hawkins and drummer Steve Noble for an exciting residency with an elite trio of British free improvisers. Expect the unexpected. John Fordham
Bristol Proms
Beacon, August 24-26
On Saturday, Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 will headline two concerts by the Paraorchestra, while on Sunday resident band Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra will perform after the BBC Singers, and on Monday there will be an oceanic CBeebies Prom. Andrew Clements
Going out: Art
A silver machine… “Light into Life” by Marc Quinn. Photo: Marc Quinn Studio
Marc Quinn
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, until 29 September
Renowned for his sensational depictions of the human body, the artist once carved a self-portrait out of his own blood and has now ventured into the gentler world of plant life. His giant painted metal flowers add a surreal, unsettling artistic dimension to your stroll through Kew’s natural wonders.
Hayley Barker
Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh, until 31 August
A dreamlike summer exhibition transporting us to moonlit gardens and Scottish islands, Californian artist Barker paints pastoral landscapes but also adds a touch of folkloric dread to his Magritte-esque depiction of the Ringing Stones on Tiree.
Elizabeth Frink
Yorkshire Sculpture Park, near Wakefield, until 23 February
Frink’s human busts and animal studies evoke ancient imagery in the shady woodlands and rolling hills of Yorkshire Sculpture Park. There’s an austere, archaeological feel to this contemporary British sculptor’s sculptures and drawings. She explores the essence of art, evoking Etruscan tombs and cave paintings.
Focus on nature
Natural History Museum, London, until 19 July 2025
The invention of photography gave scientists new tools to explore the natural world. From 19th century prints to more recent images, this exhibition reveals how the camera has taken natural history to new places and celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Jonathan Jones
Outing: Stage
Fist of fun…Jin Hao Li. Photo: Rebecca Nied Menear
Jing Hao Lee
Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, 24th and 25th August
This Chinese-born, Singapore-raised stand-up breathes new life into quirky comedy. In “Swimming in a Submarine,” she creates a hypnotic atmosphere as she fantasizes about life as a spider, a fish, and a plastic bag. Rachel Aloesty
Georgia State Ballet: Swan Lake
London Coliseum, August 28th – September 8th
The Georgian National Ballet, directed by former Bolshoi Ballet superstar Nina Ananiashvili, will perform the classic Swan Lake. Filling the void left by the Russian company that wasn’t invited, Ananiashvili is hoping to prove that her dancers are world-class performers. Lindsay Winship
Water Bodies
Ahoy Centre, Greenwich + Docklands International Festival, 27th to 31st August
Warsan Shire’s poignant poetry is given body and voice in this community-conceived production. Presented by Actors Touring Company and directed by Matthew Shear, Bodies of Water tells stories of displacement and refugees, accompanied by live music from oud player Rehab Azar. Kate Weiber
Brassed Off
Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, until 31 August
It’s the final week of five-star shows accompanied by live music from a local brass band. Based on the 1996 film, this story of a Yorkshire mining community is full of northern humour and great music. KW
Stay tuned: Streaming
Jeff Goldblum in Blowing in the Wind: Chaos. Photo: Netflix
chaos
Netflix, August 29
Jeff Goldblum’s brutish, tracksuit-clad Zeus is the star of this irreverent, thrillingly ambitious take on Greek mythology. Directed by Charlie Cobell (the maker of The End of the F***ing World), Chaos spies on a gods beset by infighting, paranoia and a long-overdue midlife crisis.
Sherwood
BBC One, 25 August, 9pm
James Graham’s brilliant 2022 drama, about lasting trauma in a former mining community in Nottinghamshire, felt like a standalone story, so it will be interesting to see how the playwright keeps the tale going for a second series, which sees David Morrissey, Lorraine Ashbourne and Perry Fitzpatrick all return.
There’s been a lot of murders in the building.
Disney+, August 27
“Only Murders” has become that increasingly rare gift of a truly great TV series that returns reliably year after year. In its fourth season, the New York detectives (Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez, all comedic perfection) move to Hollywood when they get an offer from a studio to adapt a true-crime podcast into a movie.
The Lord of the Rings: The Ring of Power
Prime Video, August 29
Epic fantasy may be the genre of the streaming era, so it makes sense that its inventor gets all the attention. The second installment in the film series based on Tolkien’s books (aka the most expensive TV show of all time) depicts the rise of supervillain Sauron and the forging of the multiple rings. RA
Staying at home: games
The big WoW… World of Warcraft: The War Within Digging Deeper Moira. Photo: Blizzard
World of Warcraft: The War Within
Available on PS5, XSX, XO, PS4, and PC on August 26th
Twenty years after its launch, the multiplayer online adventure World of Warcraft is releasing its tenth expansion, adding new regions to explore, new character classes, and endgame content.
Concorde
PS5, PC, Available Now
Sony’s online sci-fi shooter is entering crowded waters where titles like Overwatch and Valorant are already vying for attention. But the game’s bright world and strange alien characters look fun, and developer Firewalk Studios, founded by ex-Bungie staff of Halo and Destiny fame, knows what it’s doing. Keith Stuart
Stay: Album
New Romantic…Fontaine DC. Photo: Simon Wheatley
Fontaine DC – Romance
Available now
On their James Ford-produced fourth album, Dublin quintet Fontaine DC straddle genres with ease: lead single “Starburster” veers into frenetic art rock, hip hop and Björk’s “Army of Me,” while “Here’s the Thing” and “Favourite” effortlessly navigate ’90s American college rock and gritty indie melody respectively.
Sabrina Carpenter – Short and Sweet
Available now
After struggling to make an impact with her first five albums, the Disney-born Carpenter finally hit the jackpot not once but twice this year: April’s preternaturally addictive “Espresso” gave way to June’s preternaturally addictive “Please Please Please,” which was Carpenter’s ticket into the pop big leagues.
Magdalena Bay – Imagination Disc
Available now
LA-based duo Micah Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin return with the follow-up to 2021’s Mercurial World. Like their debut, Imaginal Disk fuses tense Y2K electropop with elements of spacey prog, all underpinned by Tenenbaum’s ghostly falsetto. Imaginal Disk somehow sounds like Kylie fronting MGMT.
Illuminati Hotties – Power
Available now
Producer and engineer Sarah Tuzin founded Illuminati Hotties in 2017 to showcase her own talents (she’s worked with Boygenius and Wise Blood, among others), and on this third album she balances the power of the delicate, bittersweet title track with the heaviness of The L.MC.
Staying at home: feeding your brain
Top of the Pops… Dad No. 1
#1 Dad
Podcasts
Comedian Gary Vidor hosts a candid and entertaining series in search of his con man father, Manny. Sharing childhood memories of retail and telecommunications fraud, Vidor tries to discover who his father has become today.
Asianometry
YouTube
This video essay channel provides in-depth and fascinating analysis of contemporary technological developments taking place in East Asia, covering everything from China’s thriving semiconductor industry to the collapse of South Korean conglomerate Daewoo.
A better start
BBC World Service, Tuesday
An insightful report exploring the ways modern medicine aims to improve the care of premature babies. With one in 10 babies born worldwide being born prematurely, this report explores the science behind the fight to save their lives. Amar Kalia