Going out: Cinema
Blink Twice
Out now
Zoë Kravitz makes her directorial debut with this psychological thriller, starring Naomi Ackie as a cocktail waitress who is whisked away by a sinister tech billionaire (Channing Tatum) to a dream vacation in a private resort. Fun fact: the film’s working title was Pussy Island. Very Trump.
Kneecap
Out now
Based on the antics of real-life rap trio Kneecap, this livewire drama is set in post-Troubles Belfast. When two childhood best friends cross paths with high school teacher JJ Ó Dochartaigh, he sees music as an opportunity to fight for the right to have the Irish language recognised as an official language of Northern Ireland.
The Crow
Out now
A direct adaptation of the 1989 comic-book series, this new take sees Bill Skarsgård draping himself in the trenchcoat and plastering on the white facepaint of Eric Draven, a musician murdered alongside his fiancee (FKA twigs), and subsequently resurrected to wreak revenge on the perpetrators.
Cuckoo
Out now
When 17-year-old Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) moves into an Alpine des res with her dad (Dan Stevens), stepmother (Jessica Henwick) and mute half-sister Alma (Mila Lieu), it’s not long before things take a turn for the weird in this sci-fi horror with plenty of bonkers twists. Catherine Bray
* * *
Going out: Gigs
Supersonic festival
Various venues, Birmingham, 30 August to 1 September
The Midlands experimental festival returns with more bowel-rupturing noise merchants and ear-soothing mercurials. The latter is represented by folk one-off Bonnie “Prince” Billy, while Atlanta punk band Upchuck bring the noise.
Niall Horan
Saturday to 3 September, tour starts Dublin
Since One Direction went on “hiatus” back in 2016, Niall Horan has built himself a nice, comfy solo career. Last year’s third album, The Show, celebrates his love of sun-dappled, cashmere-soft pop-rock, showcased on this arena tour. Michael Cragg
Decoy
Cafe Oto, London, Thursday to 31 August
Edgily exciting residency for this elite core trio of UK free-improvisers, with Jason Yarde (Thu), Camila Nebbia (Fri) and Xhosa Cole (31 Aug) joining bassist John Edwards, pianist Alexander Hawkins and drummer Steve Noble. Expect the unexpected, and then some. John Fordham
Bristol Proms
Beacon, 24 to 26 August
On Saturday, Mozart’s 40th Symphony is the centrepiece of two concerts from the Paraorchestra, while on Sunday the BBC Singers are followed by the resident band, the Bournemouth Symphony, before Monday’s oceanic CBeebies Prom. Andrew Clements
* * *
Going out: Art
Marc Quinn
Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, London, to 29 September
Famous for sensational depictions of the human body, the artist who once sculpted a self-portrait out of his own blood is now taking on the gentler world of plants. His gigantic painted metal blooms add a surreal, unsettling artistic dimension to a stroll among the natural wonders of Kew.
Hayley Barker
Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh, to 31 August
A dreamy summer exhibition that transports you to moonlit gardens and Scottish islands. California artist Barker paints pastorals yet adds a touch of folk horror in her Magritte-like depiction of the Ringing Stone on the Isle of Tiree.
Elisabeth Frink
Yorkshire Sculpture Park, near Wakefield, to 23 February
Primeval images haunt the shady woods and expansive hilly landscapes of Yorkshire Sculpture Park in Frink’s busts of people and studies of animals. This modern British sculptor’s statues and sketches have a stripped, archaeological quality. She evokes Etruscan tombs and cave paintings in her search for the essence of art.
Nature in Focus
Natural History Museum, London, to 19 July 2025
The invention of photography gave scientists a new tool with which to explore the natural world. From 19th-century prints to the latest in imaging, this exhibition reveals how the camera takes natural history to new places, and celebrates 60 years of the museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Jonathan Jones
* * *
Going out: Stage
Jin Hao Li
Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, 24 & 25 August
Whimsical comedy gets a new lease of life from this China-born, Singapore-raised standup. Swimming in a Submarine showcases his hypnotic vibe via daydreams about life as a spider, fish and plastic bag. Rachel Aroesti
State Ballet of Georgia: Swan Lake
London Coliseum, 28 August to 8 September
Directed by former Bolshoi Ballet superstar Nina Ananiashvili, the State Ballet of Georgia offers a classic Swan Lake. Filling the gap left by disinvited Russian companies, Ananiashvili is keen to show her dancers are of the same world-class calibre. Lyndsey Winship
Bodies of Water
Ahoy Centre, Greenwich + Docklands international festival, 27 to 31 August
Warsan Shire’s gut-wrenching poetry is given body and voice in this community-devised production. Presented by Actors Touring Company and directed by Matthew Xia, Bodies of Water shares stories of refuge and refugees, with live music from oud player Rihab Azar. Kate Wyver
Brassed Off
Stephen Joseph theatre, Scarborough, to 31 August
It’s the final week of the five-star show performed with live music from local brass bands. Based on the 1996 film, this tale of a Yorkshire mining community draws on northern humour and good music. KW
* * *
Staying in: Streaming
Kaos
Netflix, 29 August
Jeff Goldblum as a savage, tracksuited Zeus is in the driving seat of this irreverent and thrillingly ambitious riff on the Greek myths. Helmed by Charlie Covell (creator of The End of The F***ing World), Kaos spies on the gods as they are besieged by infighting, paranoia and late-onset midlife crises.
Sherwood
BBC One, 25 August, 9pm
James Graham’s exceptional 2022 drama about long-festering trauma in a former Nottinghamshire mining community felt like a standalone story. So it will be fascinating to see how the playwright sustains the narrative for series two, with David Morrissey, Lorraine Ashbourne and Perry Fitzpatrick all returning.
Only Murders in the Building
Disney+, 27 August
Only Murders has become that increasingly rare gift: a truly great TV series that reliably returns every year. This fourth season sees our sleuthing New Yorkers (Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez; all comic perfection) up sticks to Hollywood after a studio offers to turn their true-crime podcast into a film.
Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Prime Video, 29 August
Epic fantasy may well be the defining genre of the streaming era, so it’s only right that its inventor should get a look in. Series two of this adaptation of the Tolkein books – AKA the most expensive TV show ever made – chronicles uber-baddie Sauron’s rise and the forging of multiple rings. RA
* * *
Staying in: Games
World of Warcraft: The War Within
PS5, XSX, XO, PS4, PC, out 26 August
Twenty years after its launch, multiplayer online adventure World of Warcraft is releasing its 10th expansion. There will be new regions to explore as well as fresh character classes and endgame content.
Concord
PS5, PC, out now
Sony’s online sci-fi shooter is heading into crowded waters, with titles such as Overwatch and Valorant already fighting for attention. But the game’s bright worlds and weird alien characters look fun, and developer Firewalk Studios was created by former staff of Bungie (of Halo and Destiny fame), so they know what they’re doing. Keith Stuart
* * *
Staying in: Albums
Fontaines DC – Romance
Out now
On their James Ford-produced fourth album, Dublin quintet Fontaines DC zigzag across genres with ease. While lead single Starburster channels frenzied art-rock, hip-hop and a hint of Björk’s Army of Me, Here’s the Thing and Favourite nimbly traverse 90s US college rock and jangly indie melodicism respectively.
Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet
Out now
After struggling to make an impact with her first five albums, the Disney alumna has finally struck gold, not once but twice, this year. April’s supernaturally addictive Espresso was replaced at No 1 in the UK by June’s supernaturally addictive Please Please Please, setting this album up as Carpenter’s ticket to pop’s big leagues.
Magdalena Bay – Imaginal Disk
Out now
LA-based duo Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin return with the follow-up to 2021’s Mercurial World. Like that debut, Imaginal Disk fuses twitchy, Y2K electropop with elements of spaced out prog, all anchored by Tenenbaum’s ghostly falsetto. Image somehow sounds like Kylie fronting MGMT.
Illuminati Hotties – Power
Out now
Producer and engineer Sarah Tudzin started Illuminati Hotties in 2017 to showcase her talents (she’s worked with the likes of Boygenius and Weyes Blood). On this third album she balances the delicate, bittersweet title track Power with the heaviness of The L. MC
* * *
Staying in: Brain food
#1 Dad
Podcast
Comic Gary Vider hosts a frank and entertaining series in search of his conman father Manny. Recounting childhood memories of his retail and telecoms scams, Vider aims to find out who his dad has become today.
Asianometry
YouTube
Covering everything from the thriving Chinese semiconductor industry to the fall of the Korean conglomerate Daewoo, this video essay channel provides detailed and engaging analysis on the modern tech developments being produced in east Asia.
A Better Start
BBC World Service, Tuesday
An insightful report investigating the ways that modern medicine is aiming to produce better care for infants born early. With one in 10 babies born preterm globally, this explores the science fighting to keep them alive. Ammar Kalia
