Going out: Cinema
Monster
Out now
Japanese maestro Hirokazu Kore-eda (After the Storm) returns with a family drama that won best screenplay at Cannes. When a young boy (Sōya Kurokawa) starts to behave oddly, his mother (Sakura Andō) heads to his school to see what’s going on, setting in motion a shocking sequence of events.
Drive-Away Dolls
Out now
Ethan Coen’s first solo fiction feature, co-written with wife and regular Coen brothers collaborator Tricia Cooke, harks back to wacky capers such as Raising Arizona, which blended comedy and violence. Set in 1999 Philadelphia, Margaret Qualley stars as a freewheeling lesbian recently dumped by her girlfriend (Beanie Feldstein).
Banel & Adama
Out now
A low-key story of two lovers, Banel (Khady Mane) and Adama (Mamadou Diallo), writer-director Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s tale is set in Sahel in Senegal, paying striking attention to the earthy landscapes and blistering sun that surround the couple. Arresting visual compositions involving parched herds of cattle compliment a bittersweet fable of fate and free will.
Close-Up on Yvonne Rainer
Close-Up Film Centre, London, to 30 March
An under-the-radar name whose experimental films explore the contradictions between public and private life, Yvonne Rainer worked as a dancer and choreographer before turning her attention to film. Catch three of her rarely-screened works – The Man Who Envied Women (), Kristina Taking Pictures (17 March) and Murder and Murder (17 March) in east London. Catherine Bray
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Going out: Gigs
Nick Mulvey
16 to 21 March; tour starts Leeds
The former founding member of jazz experimentalists Portico Quartet tours to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his folk-leaning debut album, First Mind. Expect a smattering of songs from his most recent album, New Mythology, too. MC
Madison Beer
22 March to 2 April; tour starts Manchester
Inspired by Lana Del Rey, Tame Impala and the Beach Boys, Beer’s second album, Silence Between Songs, expanded on the New Yorker’s immaculate pop template. She gets the chance to showcase that shift, plus new single, Make You Mine, on this UK tour. Michael Cragg
Our Mother
Stone Nest, London, 20 to 23 March
Giovanni Pergolesi’s setting of the Stabat Mater, the medieval poem describing the suffering of Christ’s mother during the crucifixion, is one of the most haunting of baroque liturgical works. This theatrical treatment, directed by Sophie Daneman, features four singers of different generations led by soprano Emma Kirkby, with music by Alex Mills. Andrew Clements
Kyoto Jazz Massive
19 to 25 March; tour starts Manchester
Merging jazz-funk, house, electro and more, this inspired creation of Kyoto DJ-remixers the Okino Brothers became a global jazz-dance phenomenon. Now with a transformed lineup, they return for a 30th-birthday tour. John Fordham
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Going out: Art
Tropical Modernism
V&A, London, to 22 September
Modernist architecture was not just a style but a utopian attempt to remake humanity, at its most fervent in the ideal cities of Le Corbusier. What happened when that social dream was adopted and reinvented by African and Indian architects (work pictured) to imagine a new world in the 1950s and 60s?
A Spirit Inside
Compton Verney, Warwickshire, 21 March to 1 September
Is women’s art more “spiritual” than the work of men? There’s plenty of soulful stuff here to help you ponder that question. Lose yourself in the sublime mystery of Bridget Riley’s abstract art or dive into the folkloric darkness of Paula Rego, the contemplative ceramics of Claudia Clare and Leonora Carrington’s dreams.
Picturing Childhood
Chatsworth, Derbyshire, 16 March to 6 October
What was it like to be a child in Elizabethan England? See for yourself in a charming Tudor painting of formally dressed yet happy-seeming kids by the enigmatic Master of Warwick. It’s one of the stars of this survey of 500 years of images of childhood from Chatsworth’s fine collection.
Rediscovering Gems
British Museum, London, to 2 June
The British Museum honestly tackles a tricky subject in this exhibition about precious stones and the people who have collected them down the centuries. It includes objects that were stolen from the BM in the notorious recent rifling of its collection. These were recovered. Hopefully more will eventually be returned. Jonathan Jones
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Going out: Stage
An Evening With The Fast Show
18 March to 14 April; tour starts Stoke-on-Trent
Theatres have been stuffed with classic TV comedies lately, but this live revival of Paul Whitehouse and co’s era-defining sketch show might be the most potent nostalgia trip yet, as the comedy ledges re-enact beloved skits. Rachel Aroesti
Kidd Pivot/Crystal Pite & Jonathon Young: Assembly Hall
Sadler’s Wells, London, 20 to 23 March
After their 2015 hit Betroffenheit, Canadian choreographer Pite and actor-playwright Young have continued to collaborate. Assembly Hall is their latest creation; its unlikely setting is the AGM of a group of medieval re-enactors. Lyndsey Winship
Minority Report
Birmingham Rep, 22 March to 6 April; Lyric Hammersmith, London, 19 April to 18 May
Sci-fi is so rarely done on stage. From the makers of Life of Pi, this adaptation of Philip K Dick’s dystopian tale could be a gamechanger. With a female lead to challenge male violence, it looks pacy, ambitious and fun. Kate Wyver
Richard, My Richard
Shakespeare North Playhouse, Liverpool, to 30 March; Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds, 11 to 27 April
To watch a writer leaping from one medium to another is always a thrill. This debut play from bestselling author Philippa Gregory (The Other Boleyn Girl) is a tender portrait of Richard III, with the story of the ruthless era guided on stage by the women of the court. KW
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Staying in: Streaming
Palm Royale
Apple TV+, 20 March
A woman is shamelessly, indefatigably determined to infiltrate one of the most exclusive resorts in the late-1960s US in this deliciously camp and visually delectable new series, which stars Kristin Wiig and a raft of great names including Laura Dern, Allison Janney, Carol Burnett and Ricky Martin.
3 Body Problem
Netflix, 21 March
How on earth do you follow a show like Game of Thrones? Creators DB Weiss and David Benioff (finally) answer that question with this uber-high-budget adaptation of Chinese author Liu Cixin’s sci-fi trilogy, whose story takes in astrophysics, virtual reality and an alien invasion.
The Gone
iPlayer & BBC Four, 16 March, 9pm
This knotty police procedural revolves around the murder of a young Irish couple in a New Zealand backwater, a crime that’s laden with cultural baggage from both ends of the Earth. Grey’s Anatomy’s Richard Flood stars as a Irish maverick cop, Acushla-Tara Kupe his rookie Kiwi counterpart.
Twisted Metal
Paramount+, 21 March
Live-action adaptations of video games can be hit and miss, but this version of the 90s car-battle franchise never asks to be taken seriously. Set in a post-apocalyptic world of walled cities, it turns the deadly delivery mission forced upon John Doe (Anthony Mackie) into a horrifying comedy complete with a murderous clown antagonist. RA
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Staying in: Games
Princess Peach: Showtime!
Out 22 March; Nintendo Switch
Ridiculously, it has taken this long for Nintendo’s pink princess to star in her own game: a cabaret variety act where she takes centre stage.
Lightyear Frontier
Out 19 March; PC, Xbox
A gardening simulator, except you’re on another planet, and you’re in a giant robot suit that sprays water and fertiliser instead of bullets. Peaceful and intriguing. Keza MacDonald
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Staying in: Albums
Justin Timberlake – Everything I Thought It Was
Out now
Six years after his last album, the disastrous, plaid-sporting, Americana-lite opus Man of the Woods, Timberlake returns to his more well-trodden pop-R&B path on this belated follow-up. Timbaland, Cirkut and ubiquitous hitmaker Calvin Harris help out on production, while old muckers ‘NSync appear on Paradise.
Kacey Musgraves – Deeper Well
Out now
After exploring love on 2018’s breakthrough Golden Hour, and divorce on 2021’s follow-up Star-Crossed, country-pop superstar Musgraves takes stock on this quieter sixth album (she describes it as “soft nature cottage witch”). Let meditative title track and twangy single Too Good to Be True transport you to a Nashville front porch.
Four Tet – Three
Out now
Having spent most of 2023 playing sold-out shows with unlikely musical playmates Fred Again and Skrillex, electronic music boffin Kieran Hebden returns with the first Four Tet album in four years. Full of effervescent sonic explorations, it’s anchored by the gorgeous, eight-minute-long Three Drums.
Tierra Whack – World Wide Whack
Out now
The DayGlo singer and rapper, famed for her brevity (2018’s Whack World featured 15 one-minute-long songs), expands on her sonic palette on this first full-length album. While the funk-focused Shower Song details her morning cleanliness habits, 27 Club sees Whack lay bare her darker days. MC
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Staying in: Brain food
Now Here
Podcast
Journalist May Robson’s ingenious series examines how communities across the UK are redefining their relationships to the land they live on, from the Scots buying back their island to the radical history of Birmingham’s allotments.
AI Generated Videos Just Changed Forever
YouTube
Tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee analyses the rapid development of videos created by AI software in this visual essay, highlighting the remarkable processing power of OpenAI’s Sora and realising its troubling impact on his own career.
The Exiles: Secretly Deported
PBS America, 18 March, 9.05pm
This eye-opening two-part series traces the deportation of hundreds of Chinese soldiers from the UK and Australia after the second world war. Their descendents now follow the paper trail to try to reunite their families. Ammar Kalia
