Music
Stormzy
Despite a recent furore over a certain magazine cover, Stormzy is on top of the world. His debut album, Gang Signs & Prayer, went straight to No 1 last month and showcased the rapper’s range, encompassing the dynamism of battle-rap and softer meditations on spirituality and love, with appearances from Nao and Kehlani. His shows are just as formidable; expect a raft of guests and a charming host in Big Mike himself.
Olympia, Dublin, Wed; 29 March; The Limelight, Belfast, 31 March; touring to 4 May
Piano Day 2017
In 2017, everything from Melba toast to cleavages has its own special day. So it’s unsurprising that the piano also has a place in the cultural calendar – this Wednesday – allowing its many enthusiasts to tinkle on the ivories in celebration. Festivities are worldwide and in London include free events at the Barbican, EC2, where some of Piano Day founder Nils Frahm’s work will be performed by keyboard sextet Piano Circus. Elsewhere, Union Chapel, N1, hosts collabs between pianist Matthew Bourne and grime rapper Trim, on a bill of avant-garde piano music.
Sun Ra Arkestra
The visionary jazz cosmologist Sun Ra may have died back in 1993 but his spirit is well and truly kept alive by his backing band who show no sign of slowing down. Led by 92-year-old Marshall Allen, they’re a joyful and bewitching free jazz experience – and if you’re lucky, they’ll parade through the crowd, bringing drums to hit and a sense of real communal catharsis.
Con Club, Lewes, 28 to 30 March
See Music, p25
Podcasts
S-Town
True crime lovers, rejoice! This new podcast from producer Sarah Koenig promises to fill the Serial-shaped hole in your life: an in-depth exploration of an alleged murder in a sleepy Alabama town, forgoing the weekly broadcast of its predecessor for a bingeable simultaneous release on Tuesday.
Exhibitions
Jessica Warboys
Using painting, sculpture and film to explore nature’s mystical connection with humanity, Warboys makes art that dominates with both its ambition and sheer physical scale. For her first solo show in a UK national gallery, she’s worked on local beaches casting mineral pigments on to canvas before submerging them in the sea.
Tate St Ives, 31 March to 3 September
Tattoo: British Tattoo Art Revealed
By definition, documenting the history of a perishable artform is difficult. But with inking having transcended class, gender and age barriers in recent years, this show – feels timely. Pioneering female tattoo artist Jessie Knight, a commissioned collection covering 100 silicone arms and an archive of tattoo art’s hidden history all feature.
National Maritime Museum, Cornwall, until 7 January
Film
The Age of Shadows
Kim Jee-woon directs a 1920s-set Korean espionage thriller, where a police turncoat must decide if his loyalties lie with the resistance or the Japanese occupation.
Out now
Performance
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
Daniel Radcliffe and Joshua McGuire play the titular double act in Tom Stoppard’s absurdist tragic-comedy. McGuire, best known as the bumbling Angus on Lovesick, and Radcliffe, best known as … well, you know who, are a great fit as they navigate the world of wigs and ruffs. Look out for David Haig’s flamboyant turn as the Player, too.
Bourgeois & Maurice
Like something out of Mars Attacks! by way of camp east London nightlife, satirical duo B&M have worked their way up from the capital’s alt-cabaret scene to become modern-day musical hall stars. Their latest show, How to Save the World Without Really Trying – something we surely all wish to know the secret to – goes on tour.
From 31 March at Norwich Playhouse, ending at Wilton’s Music Hall, E1, in June
Lïnger
Former Riverdance principal Breandán de Gallaí duets with Nick O’Connell in this sensual and muscular contemporary Irish step dance piece. Lïnger doesn’t confine itself to dance alone, also incorporating photography, film and music into its immersive exploration of identity, sexuality and ageing.
