Going out: Cinema
The Running Man
Out now
Edgar Wright directs this reimagining of the 1987 sci-fi cult classic based on Stephen King’s 1982 novel, which envisioned a fictional America of 2025 sliding into totalitarianism. Glen Powell stars as the contestant attempting to survive a deadly televised game.
Now You See Me: Now You Don’t
Out now
This third film in the magic-heist franchise reunites Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco and Isla Fisher as the Four Horsemen. Directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland), the new instalment sees the gang target a massive diamond. Expect more sleight-of-hand shenanigans.
Exhibition on Screen: Caravaggio
Out now
This new instalment of the Exhibition on Screen series explores the short but eventful life and timeless art of Caravaggio. Co-directed by David Bickerstaff and Phil Grabsky, it blends commentary, on-location footage, dramatic recreations and HD access to key works.
Alpha
Out now
French director Julia Ducournau got off the starting blocks in 2016 with the shocking cannibal horror Raw, followed by the Palme d’Or-winning and bonkers (in a good way) Titane. Her latest is a slight change of pace, a tale of a 13-year-old whose new tattoo could see her contract a deadly disease that turns sufferers to marble. Catherine Bray
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Going out: Gigs
Model/Actriz
Bristol Beacon, 17 November; touring to 26 November
Ignited by frontman Cole Haden’s magnetic charisma and propensity for flinging himself into the crowd, Boston noise merchants Model/Actriz have become one of rock’s most interesting live acts. They arrive in the UK on the back of May’s Pirouette album, which features the throbbing dance-punk behemoth Cinderella. Michael Cragg
Smerz
Stereo, Glasgow, 16 November; touring to 20 November
On Catharina Stoltenberg and Henriette Motzfeldt’s album Big City Life, a night out is laid bare via smudged alt-pop, trip-hop and skewed dance music. Songs about a night out on a night out: sounds perfect, no? MC
London jazz festival
Various venues, 15 to 23 November
This spectacular festival returns with more than a week of performances reflecting jazz’s ever-changing landscape. Stars include German piano virtuoso Michael Wollny and saxophonist Emma Rawicz (16 November), Ethio-jazz legend Mulatu Astatke (16 & 17 November) American drummer-composer Makaya McCraven (19 November), and dozens more. John Fordham
Osmo Vänskä/CBSO
Symphony Hall, Birmingham, 19 November; Bristol Beacon, 20 November
Once a familiar figure in British concert halls, Osmo Vänskä conducts here only rarely nowadays. Here, Shostakovich’s final symphony, the 15th, takes up the second half of the programme, while before it Vänskä conducts a sequence of shorter works by Sibelius, including the tone poem The Bard and the gorgeous, soaring Luonnotar. Andrew Clements
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Going out: Art
David Hockney
Annely Juda, London, to 28 February
There’s no let-up for Britain’s most beloved contemporary artist. In the spring, Hockney opened an extraordinary retrospective in Paris that proved his art since 2000 fizzes as much as his 60s classics. Here he unveils the paintings he’s done since. He never stops seeing life’s beauty.
Saodat Ismailova
Baltic, Gateshead, to 17 June
The period of perestroika under the USSR’s last leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, was a surreal time in the eyes of Uzbek film artist Ismailova. She revisits that strange historical moment in her film Swan Lake which remembers how Tchaikovsky’s ballet was played on TV for 24 hours as the USSR collapsed.
Roger Fry
Charleston, East Sussex, 15 November to 15 March
Twentieth-century painter Fry was the art critical voice of the Bloomsbury Group, an early champion of Cézanne, Van Gogh and other modernists. He also spearheaded the idealistic Omega Workshops. How does his own art hold up today?
Taylor-Wessing Photo Portrait Prize
National Portrait Gallery, London, to 8 February
Everyone takes, and poses for, “photo portraits” but what lifts that phone snap or selfie into a work of art? There are many chances to meditate on the aesthetics of photography here as enthusiasts and pros compete to give their images of friends, family or strangers that extra special something. Jonathan Jones
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Going out: Stage
Little Mermaid
New Vic theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme, to 24 January
A Christmas show with a little extra sparkle and dramatic flair. Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale about a young mermaid – who dreams of a world beyond the ocean – is brought to life with circus, storytelling and live music. MG
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
Soho Place theatre, London, 17 November to 21 February
The very first stage adaptation of John le Carré’s captivating novel about a disillusioned British intelligence officer on one last mission. It’s penned by the ever thoughtful David Eldridge, directed by Jeremy Herrin and stars Rory Keenan and Agnes O’Casey. Miriam Gillinson
Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes
Plymouth Theatre Royal, 17 to 22 November; touring to 9 May
A 10th-anniversary tour for Matthew Bourne’s wonderfully atmospheric recreation of Powell and Pressburger’s film The Red Shoes, with Lez Brotherston’s detailed designs. Ashley Shaw returns in the Moira Shearer role of aspiring ballerina Victoria Page (along with a number of alternate casts), embroiled in a story of passion and obsession. Lyndsey Winship
Will Adamsdale
Front Room theatre, Weston-super-Mare, 20 November; touring to 30 November
AI has finally started to creep into comedy – albeit mostly in hearteningly creative ways (see: the recent outputs of Luke McQueen and Adam Buxton). Now, Perrier winner Adamsdale gets in on the act with a show about writing a sitcom script in collaboration with ChatGPT. Rachel Aroesti
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Staying in: Streaming
Wild Cherry
BBC One & iPlayer, 15 November, 9pm
In her exceptional 2022 drama Mood, writer-actor Nicôle Lecky masterfully navigated the boundary between aspiration and transgression; her new series about two wealthy schoolgirls whose thirst for revenge gets out of hand hits the same sweet spot. Eve Best and Carmen Ejogo play the mothers picking up the pieces.
The Death of Bunny Munro
Sky Atlantic & Now, 20 November, 9pm
Matt Smith leads this adaptation of Nick Cave’s cinematic novel about a young boy whose mother dies and whose greasy lothario father takes him on a road trip across the south coast in an attempt to navigate their mutual grief. Lindsay Duncan, David Threlfall and Robert Glenister co-star.
Summerwater
Channel 4, 16 November, 9pm
A group of families staying by a remote Scottish loch end up on the holiday from hell in this new drama based on Sarah Moss’s acclaimed, anxiety-ridden novel. The ensemble cast features Dougray Scott, Shirley Henderson and The White Lotus’s Arnas Fedaravičius.
King of Lies: Football’s Greatest Con
Sky Documentaries & Now, 16 November, 9pm
The year is 2009 and financially stricken football club Notts County is purchased by a mysterious buyer – but everything is most certainly not what it seems in this tale of outrageous grift involving fictional Bahraini billions, a trip to North Korea, Sven-Göran Eriksson and Harry Potter villain Voldemort. RA
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Staying in: Games
Kirby Air Riders
Switch 2; out 20 November
This unexpected sequel to a fan-favourite GameCube racer may seem overwhelming with its high speeds and deluge of colours, but it’s surprisingly simple to play: vehicles accelerate automatically, letting you focus on steering and the deployment of speed boosts and abilities.
The Berlin Apartment
PS5, Xbox Series, PC; out 17 November
Essentially a collection of short stories set in a single Berlin apartment over the course of a century, each tale not only changes the inhabitants, decor and furniture, but also how the game itself plays. Matthew Reynolds
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Staying in: Albums
Celeste – Woman of Faces
Out now
Four years after her chart-topping debut album, jazz-tinged singer-songwriter Celeste returns with this emotionally raw follow-up. Woman of Faces and On With the Show deal with desolate heartbreak and resilience over piano and big Disney strings, while This Is Who I Am is like a lost Bond anthem.
Summer Walker – Finally Over It
Out now
The third and most definitively titled part of R&B superstar Summer Walker’s breakup trilogy, following 2019’s Over It and 2021’s Still Over It, arrives in time for the self-reflective winter nights. Let the pillow-soft, enrapturing single Heart of a Woman warm your cockles.
FKA twigs – Eusexua Afterglow
Out now
Initially conceived as a deluxe version of January’s Mercury-nominated Eusexua, this 11-track follow-up features a collaboration with PinkPantheress and the blissed out, deconstructed electronica of lead track Cheap Hotel. She’s clearly on a creative roll: July’s single Perfectly doesn’t even make the cut.
5 Seconds of Summer – Everyone’s a Star!
Out now
After celebrating their 10th anniversary as a full-time band, and musically experimenting via various solo projects, Australian pop-rock rabble 5 Seconds of Summer regrouped last year wanting to push things forward. The result is this sixth album’s tongue-in-cheek tone, Y2K aesthetic and playful, Prodigy-lite single Not OK. MC
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Staying in: Brain food
Asia Specific
Podcast
Singapore-based journalist Mariko Oi hosts this new BBC series exploring the week’s biggest news stories in Asia. Regional reporters discuss everything from economic developments to Trump’s ongoing impact, with video episodes also available on YouTube.
Paper and Light
YouTube
Paper and Light examines the dying art of hand-drawn movie posters, featuring love letters to Saul Bass’s hundreds of designs for the eerie eyes depicted on The Shining’s artwork and Drew Struzan’s intricate drawings for the Indiana Jones movies.
Jools Holland’s New Orleans Jukebox
BBC Four, 16 November, 9.30pm
Jools Holland’s 1985 documentary explored the musical heritage of New Orleans, with rare performances from local legends Fats Domino and Lee Dorsey. This version adds new commentary and unearthed footage. Ammar Kalia
