Going out: Cinema
There’s Something in the Barn
Out now
Moving to a new country to open a B&B is not the sort of endeavour that ever seems to go terribly well in horror films. In this Norwegian horror-comedy, the barn attached to a Scandinavian dream home comes fully stocked with mystical elves who must be kept happy or else. And guess what? They aren’t, with undesirable consequences.
Eileen
Out now
Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie star in a daring melodrama from director William Oldroyd, who made an auspicious debut with Lady Macbeth in 2016. This new yarn is based on the Ottessa Moshfegh novel about an intense relationship that spirals dangerously out of control in 1960s Massachusetts.
Fallen Leaves
Out now
Film festival favourite Aki Kaurismäki played in competition at Cannes this year with this new drama, starring Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen as two lonely people who meet by chance in Helsinki, in a exploration of the possibilities of human connection.
Femme
Out now
Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and George MacKay make a sizzling on-screen pairing in this neo-noir thriller about a drag queen who spies a potentially dangerous way to get revenge on his attacker after being beaten up after a gig. Gripping debut from talented new writer-directors Sam H Freeman and Ng Choon Ping. Catherine Bray
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Going out: Gigs
Chappell Roan
Heaven, London, 7 & 8 December
Fusing the emotional songwriting of Olivia Rodrigo with the camp of a drag queen, Chappell Roan’s excellent debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, is a tour de force of OTT pop. Expect a riot of love and friendship, or as Roan would have it, a Femininomenon. Michael Cragg
Shygirl
2 to 6 December; tour starts London
Fully recovered from a respiratory condition that saw her cancel October’s US tour with Tinashe, filth-pop purveyor Shygirl plays a handful of UK dates in support of recent single Thicc. The tour starts in London’s new dance mecca Drumsheds, alongside the Sugababes, before moving to Glasgow, Bristol and Brighton. MC
The Turn of the Screw
Ustinov Studio, Bath, 2 to 23 December
The Ustinov Studio’s artistic director Deborah Warner has made a point of including concerts and opera in her programmes. Britten’s chamber opera is the latest venture; it’s directed by Isabelle Kettle an, with Sarah Gilford and Anna Cavaliero sharing the role of the Governess, and Xavier Hetherington as Peter Quint, conducted by Richard Hetherington. Andrew Clements
Christine Tobin & Phil Robson
Perth theatre, 2 December
The life-partnership of Dublin-born singer-songwriter Christine Tobin and virtuoso guitarist Phil Robson is mirrored in their intuitiveness as a duo. The poetic Tobin is home after five years in New York; her album Returning Weather reflects on identity, belonging, and the many meanings of home. John Fordham
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Going out: Art
Women & Water
Women’s Art Collection, Murray Edwards College, Cambridge, to 25 February
Swimming is important to Tracey Emin, who not only has a pool at her home in France but, more hardily, swims in the sea off Margate. She and the other artists in this show explore water and its mythological associations. With Elizabeth Frink, Eileen Cooper and more.
The Printmaker’s Art: Rembrandt to Rego
Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, 2 December to 25 February
Artists have been printing images on paper ever since the dawn of the print age in the 1400s. The Renaissance genius Dürer, whose engravings and woodcuts embrace the Apocalypse and the everyday, shows alongside Goya, Picasso, Tracey Emin, Hokusai and many more in this celebration of a democratic art.
Pesellino
National Gallery, London. 7 December to 10 March
Take a trip to Florence, six centuries ago. Before his death at 35, Francesco Pesellino became a sucess in the art capital in Italy. Dominated by the wealthy Medici, Florence was full of rivalrous artists but Pesellino made his name with tender, sensitive paintings of saints and heroes.
Antony Gormley
White Cube Bermondsey, London, to 28 January
The title of this show, Body Politic, goes to the heart of Gormley’s work: a direct attempt to put the human physical presence into art, often by casting his own body. But he’s also interested in science and technology and here attempts to portray the human condition in today’s world. Jonathan Jones
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Going out: Stage
Mat Ewins
Soho theatre, London, 4 to 9 December
The stalwart standup’s latest show may be called Mr TikTok, but with just 1,200 followers, king of gen Z’s favourite social media platform he very much ain’t. That says more about the algorithm than the quality of Ewins’ marvellous tech-abetted comedy, though: his wacky, tricksy and wildly inventive multimedia creations deserve a significant audience. Rachel Aroesti
The Enfield Haunting
Ambassadors theatre, London, to 2 March
Paul Unwin’s intriguing new play is based on a real-life event, when a working-class family in 1970s north London became the centre of an extraordinary poltergeist event. Starring Catherine Tate as a single mum protecting her family and David Threlfall as a ghost hunter.
The Snow Queen
The Royal Lyceum Edinburgh, to 31 December
Morna Young has penned a Scottish adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s festive classic, which sees a brave young lass from Edinburgh try to rescue her friend Gerda from the fearsome Snow Queen’s frozen kingdom. For ages 4 and above. Miriam Gillinson
The Three Jolly Ghosts of Christmas
2 to 30 December; starts Wooler and Berwick-upon-Tweed
A new family show (age 7+) from Eliot Smith Dance takes a tour around small community venues in Northumberland. Performed by a cast of four, the story is based on Dickens’ Christmas Carol, and after the half-hour show there’s a workshop for everyone to join in. Lyndsey Winship
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Staying in: Streaming
Smothered
Sky Comedy & Now, 7 December
Chaotic zillennial Sammy and responsible Tom just want no-strings fun in this new romcom from writer Monica Heisey (Schitt’s Creek; Really Good, Actually), but strings prove pretty non-negotiable once Sammy discovers Tom has a daughter. Will they work it out, or will the prospect of a blended family prove too much for their already unlikely entanglement?
Platform 7
ITVX, 7 December
Top Boy fans will already be well acquainted with the exceptional Jasmine Jobson, whose scene-stealing performance in the gang drama’s final series made it a TV highlight of 2023. Now she’s getting her own star vehicle with this spooky thriller adapted from Louise Doughty’s novel about a woman who witnesses a horrific incident at a train station.
Disappeared: The Case of the Missing 43
BBC Two & iPlayer, 7 December, 9pm
In 2014, 43 students from a teacher training college in Guerrero, Mexico were abducted, never to be seen again. The country’s authorities say they were handed to a local drug cartel by police, but that version of events is widely disputed; whatever the truth, horrifying brutality and staggering corruption were undoubtedly in play. This documentary tries to make sense of the tragedy.
Mayfair Witches
BBC Two & iPlayer, 6 December, 9pm
Hot on the heels of the new adaptation of Interview With the Vampire comes another entry in the Anne Rice TV universe. This one features Alexandra Daddario – who was so memorable as unhappy newlywed Rachel in the first series of The White Lotus – as a neurosurgeon who discovers she’s the latest in a long line of witches. Rachel Aroesti
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Staying in: Games
Disney Dreamlight Valley
PlayStation, XBox, Switch, PC, Mac; out 5 December
You probably already know someone who’s developed a mildly problematic addiction to this Disney meets Animal Crossing game during its early access release period – its final version is out this week. Beware.
A Highland Song
Switch, PC, Mac; out 5 December
Moira McKinnon wants to run away to the sea, and so you help her run and climb across the Highlands to get there, soundtracked by Scottish folk music, wind and rain. Keza MacDonald
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Staying in: Albums
Peter Gabriel – i/o
Out now
The former Genesis frontman has been working on this 10th solo album since 1995. In a very Peter Gabriel move, all 12 of its richly experimental tracks have already been released, with a new one dropping alongside every full moon in 2023.
Thy Slaughter – Soft Rock
Out now
PC Music founder AG Cook reconnects with fellow sonic visionary Easyfun as Thy Slaughter for the first time since 2015. While songs like Reign and Sentence are frenetic electro explosions, the slowly unfurling Lost Everything, co-written by the late Sophie and featuring Ellie Rowsell of Wolf Alice, is hugely moving.
Dove Cameron – Alchemical: Volume 1
Out now
The 27-year-old former Disney star, who made her first foray into pop in 2019, finally gets round to releasing an album. Anchored by 2022’s queer anthem and UK Top 10 single, Boyfriend, it’s a collection of powerful, decadent-sounding electropop packed with earworms like the bolshie Breakfast.
Love Minus Zero – L’Ecstasy
Out now
Production mavericks Hudson Mohawke and Tiga come together for their debut album as Love Minus Zero. Full of delicious electronic odysseys such as the Jesse Boykins III-assisted acid-house fever dream, Silence of Love, it also features vocal contributions from Channel Tres on the masturbation anthem, Feel the Rush. MC
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Staying in: Brain food
Blank Check
Podcast
Taking an encyclopaedic approach, this long-running series reviews the filmography of Hollywood’s greatest directors, focusing on one film an episode and a director a series. David Fincher is the latest to be analysed in forensic detail.
Tracklib
YouTube
Breaking down the art of sampling with colourful visuals, this series of videos displays the intricate production behind some of music’s biggest hits. Begin with Daft Punk’s One More Time to understand the French duo’s mighty skill.
Climate Dispatches
WaterBear
This charming animated series follows the stories of three young climate activists fighting for positive change in their communities. From the Philippines to Kenya and the Peruvian Amazon, we hear how carbon emissions are urgently endangering lives. Ammar Kalia
