Going out: Cinema
BFI London film festival
8 to 19 October
The annual smorgasbord of cinema returns to the UK capital (and beyond, via various regional satellite screenings), offering a selection of the best major international festival premieres, from Cannes to Venice. Catch the latest from Richard Linklater and Lynne Ramsay, as well as Guillermo del Toro’s new Frankenstein.
Urchin
Out now
Harris Dickinson has been making a name for himself as a homegrown British star on the rise able to hold his own opposite the likes of Zac Efron (The Iron Claw) and Nicole Kidman (Babygirl). But here he steps behind the camera for his directorial debut, about a young hustler (Frank Dillane) struggling to make a life for himself on the streets of London.
Him
Out now
Starring Marlon Wayans, Tyriq Withers and Julia Fox, this new sports horror from Jordan Peele’s production company … wait, what? “Sports horror”? Yep, that’s the genre, mashing tropes from sports movies and horror together, to give us a story about a would-be American football star who enters a world that isn’t all it seems.
Plainclothes
Out now
Winner of a Special Jury award at the Sundance film festival, Carmen Emmi’s debut sees an undercover cop (Tom Blyth) in 1990s New York tasked with entrapping gay men, only to fall hard for one of his targets (Russell Tovey). Catherine Bray
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Going out: Gigs
John Grant
Dublin, today; touring to 17 October
Last seen on a UK stage in July as part of Jonathan Watkins’s reimagining of Christopher Isherwood’s A Single Man, John Grant returns to his more usual fare with this run of gigs. That involves digging into a vast discography of experimental but deeply emotional vignettes anchored by his soulful baritone. Michael Cragg
No Bounds festival
Various venues, Sheffield and Rotherham, 10 to 12 October
Celebrating “art, music, technology, community, and radical joy” across 16 venues, this experimental fest boasts headliners including electronic producer Joy Orbison, while the support is stacked with dancefloor-based noise merchants including Factory Floor, Beatrice Dillon and Sheffield-born DJ 96 Back. MC
Arnie Somogyi and Mark Edwards: The Ellington Piano Project
7 to 12 October; tour starts Manchester
Imaginative and very experienced UK instrumentalist composers Arnie Somogyi (bass) and Mark Edwards (piano) co-lead a subtly personal tribute to Duke Ellington – adapting ideas from his last album to celebrate his magic anew, with a fine contemporary band including fast-rising young Dutch sax newcomer Gideon Tazelaar. John Fordham
Dublin Jack
Dublin, 7 October; London, 9 October; Belfast, 14 November
The Belfast Ensemble give the first performances, in concert, of Conor Mitchell’s latest opera. It’s a darkly comic portrait of Jack Saul, described as “one of Ireland’s most infamous erotic exports”, whose work as a rent boy in Victorian London led to his notorious trial. Andrew Clements
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Going out: Art
Betty Parsons
De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill on Sea, 4 October to 18 January
Best known as a Manhattan gallerist who championed the freewheeling work of Jackson Pollock, Parsons gets her due as a painter in her own right. She escaped from the art business into her studio as often as she could. Her paintings are abstract and colourful, transporting you to America’s golden age.
Gilbert & George
Hayward Gallery, London, 7 October to 11 January
The pioneers of performance made their name in the 20th century, with compelling, mysterious actions such as The Singing Sculpture and “pictures” that commented on Britain in the age of punk. Here, their 21st-century works are brought together, starring London alongside themselves in images of urban mayhem, desire and death.
Nordic Noir
The British Museum, London, 9 October to 22 March
Not the TV genre – but apparently it’s just caught up with the British Museum’s prints and drawings department, which uses the well-worn term for a show of Scandinavian art. Edvard Munch’s prints live up to the title. There are also works by Olafur Eliasson, the GRAS Group and more.
Downland
Wiltshire Museum, Devizes, 4 October to 24 January
Britain’s Neolithic landscapes have inspired land artists and visionaries, past and present. William Blake and John Constable both depicted Wiltshire’s most famous monument, Stonehenge. This exhibition curated by archaeologist and artist Dr Rose Ferraby explores how this and other Wiltshire sites still inspire art, with work by Paul Nash included. Jonathan Jones
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Going out: Stage
Hamlet
National Theatre: Lyttelton, to 22 November
New deputy artistic director Robert Hastie – whose productions always have such gusto and spirit – starts his tenure at the National with a fearless and funny take on Shakespeare’s momentous tragedy. Hiran Abeysekera stars. Miriam Gillinson
Lost Atoms
Curve, Leicester, 4 October; touring to 28 February
It’s the last night at the Curve ahead of a major tour for Frantic Assembly’s 30th-anniversary production. Anna Jordan’s show explores how love shapes our lives and memories and is infused with the company’s trademark physicality and flair. MG
Ballet Black: Shadows
Watford, Wednesday; touring to 29 November
If you’ve read Oyinkan Braithwaite’s hit novel My Sister, the Serial Killer then this double bill from Ballet Black will be worth seeing. Artistic director Cassa Pancho has made a dance take on the darkly comic thriller. You might not think of ballet and crime scenes going together, but it works. Lyndsey Winship
Emma Doran
Bangor, today; touring to 24 April
On her socials, the Irish standup reports from motherhood’s frontline with a mixture of bone-dry humour, gossipy divulgence and a mild whiff of chaos. It’s the vibe she brings to this tour Emmaculate, which covers her unusual family life – she had her eldest at 18 – plus plenty of universal parenting conundrums. Rachel Aroesti
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Staying in: Streaming
Film Club
BBC Three & iPlayer, 7 October, 9pm
Sex Education’s Aimee Lou Wood has been the magic ingredient in many a TV drama; now she’s created her own, alongside Ralph Davis. Two best friends, Evie (Wood) and Noa (Nabhaan Rizwan), watch a film together every week – but rather than cinephilia, the pair are motivated by a secret love for each other.
The Celebrity Traitors
BBC One & iPlayer, 8 October, 9pm
The original UK version of The Traitors benefited no end from the decision to cast civilians rather than the Z-listers and reality stars who populate the rest of the franchise. It also meant this long-awaited celebrity spin-off has been able to attract a magnificent cast – Alan Carr! Jonathan Ross! Celia Imrie! – guaranteed to have you in stitches.
Victoria Beckham
Netflix, 9 October
Her cameos in her husband’s eponymous Netflix documentary were pure gold, so hopes are high for Posh’s own fly-on-the-wall series. Ostensibly, it will chronicle her fashion brand, but the actual draw is the tabloid-friendly domestic rollercoaster that’s long been the real family business.
The Last Frontier
Apple TV+, 10 October
In this nightmarish Alaska thriller, when a prison transportation plane crash-lands on his turf, rounding up the violent inmates is the sole responsibility of US marshal Frank Remnick (Jason Clarke). But when one terrifying escaper named Havlock (Dominic Cooper) begins targeting him, a wider conspiracy unfurls. RA
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Staying in: Games
Battlefield 6
PC, PlayStation, XBox; out 10 October
Expect booms, rat-tat-tats and no small quantity of kablammos from this latest entry in the long-running military multiplayer series, in which 64 players at a time lay waste to vast, beautiful and entirely destructible environments.
Little Nightmares III
Switch, PC, PlayStation, XBox; out 10 October
Don’t let the cutesy visuals fool you; this phantasmagorical platform puzzle-horror is often genuinely scary, plucking imagery straight out of your most mattress-dampening childhood night terrors. If you’re a bit of a wuss, it’s OK: you can team up with a pal in co-op mode. Luke Holland
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Staying in: Albums
Dodie – Not for Lack of Trying
Out now
The Essex-born singer-songwriter returns with this belated follow-up to her Top 3 2021 debut, Build a Problem. While the tellingly capitalised and punctuated I’M FINE! is elegant symphonic soft-rock, it’s on I Feel Bad for You, Dave that Dodie experiments, pairing bossa nova with a takedown of a sad keyboard warrior.
Upchuck – I’m Nice Now
Out now
Recently signed to Domino records, the Atlantan punk rabble return with this Ty Segall-produced third album. Politically charged, gloriously abrasive and coiled like a spring, songs such as Tired and Forgotten Token highlight singer KT’s ferocious delivery.
Taylor Swift – The Life of a Showgirl
Out now
On her 12th album, and fifth since 2020, Swift reconnects with Swedish pop hitmakers Max Martin and Shellback for the first time since 2017’s Reputation. It’s an intriguing move, suggesting the global megastar and cultural omnivore is keen to somehow become more ubiquitous. Sabrina Carpenter is the only guest on the 12-track album.
Say She She – Cut & Rewind
Out now
Say She She, AKA Piya Malik, Sabrina Cunningham and Nya Gazelle Brown, tackle near-future dystopia (She Who Dares) and bigotry (Disco Life) on this follow-up to 2023’s breakthrough, Silver. The political themes are couched in elegant three-part harmonies, sleek disco and a unique blend of psychedelic soul and funk. MC
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Staying in: Brain food
From the Minds of Jazz Musicians
Podcast
Jazz historian Dave Schroeder’s dive into the lives of great improvisers begins with a tribute to the late saxophonist David Sanborn. Another highlight of the series is Billie Holiday collaborator Mike Mainieri sharing his tales.
How Comedy Was Destroyed by an Anti-Reality Doomsday Cult
YouTube
Don’t be fooled by the dramatic title. This video essay from anonymous channel The Elephant Graveyard is an incisive and expertly researched analysis into the current wave of populist American comedy spearheaded by podcaster Joe Rogan.
Global Dancefloor: Saigon
BBC World Service, 9 October, 9.30am
Following 2024’s episode on the nightlife of Tbilisi, Frank McWeeny returns with dancefloor tales from Saigon. With 70% of the Vietnamese population under 35, he discovers a generation defining themselves away from war. Ammar Kalia
