Going out: Cinema
Fjord
Out now
Romanian auteur Cristian Mungiu’s latest stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve in a Norway-set drama about a Romanian couple whose five children are taken from them by the state. Based on real events, it looks at how an intersection of immigrant status, religious beliefs and prejudice may have contributed to the separation.
How to Rob a Bank
Out now
Not to be confused with the Netflix true-crime doc of the same name, this action comedy sees a gang of bank robbers, in modern parlance, “posting through it”, ie documenting their heists on social media, thereby handing the police a few free clues. Nicholas Hoult leads a cast including Zoë Kravitz, Pete Davidson and John C Reilly.
Prima Facie
Out now
Writer Suzie Miller adapts her own stage play, with Cynthia Erivo taking on the role originated by Jodie Comer of a barrister who specialises in defending those accused of sex crimes, but whose perspective shifts after she herself is sexually assaulted and has to give evidence. Susanna White directs.
Being Heumann
Out now
Disability rights activist Judith Heumann, known as the “Mother of the Disability Rights Movement”, is portrayed by Ruth Madeley in this biopic, which dramatises Heumann’s fight for civil rights protection for people with disabilities. Catherine Bray
Going out: Gigs
Beabadoobee
14 to 18 November; tour starts Glasgow
In the space of four albums of sweet and sour alt-rock, Londoner Bea Kristi has scored two UK chart-toppers, a US Top 10, and now an arena tour. The vast venues make sense: recent album Pylon is full of blossoming choruses and relatable angst. Michael Cragg
London jazz festival
Various venues, to 22 November
The second week of the spectacular London jazz festival includes vocalists Lizz Wright and Melody Gardot (15 & 16 Nov), avant-funk explorers GoGo Penguin (16 & 17 Nov), postbop originals Artemis (17 Nov), Andy Sheppard (18 Nov) and Jasper Høiby (19 Nov). John Fordham
The Marriage of Figaro
Bradford Arts Centre, 17 & 18 November; touring to 25 November
Bradford opera festival gives Mozart’s revolutionary hit a Yorkshire twist: a new English-language adaptation by Ian McMillan transports this class comedy to 1970s Bradford, complete with nods to Bollywood and an ensemble of western and Indian classical musicians. Flora Willson
Hayden Thorpe
14 to 19 November; tour starts Kendal
After his band, baroque four-piece Wild Beasts, split in 2018, Hayden Thorpe and his florid vocal stylings immediately set about on his solo journey. With two years having passed since his third album, 2024’s Ness, these shows should see him road-test some new material. MC
Going out: Art
Louise Giovanelli
White Cube Mason’s Yard, London, 20 November to 16 January
One of the UK’s most exciting young painters returns with new works dealing with her favourite themes: curtains, hair, female screen idols and the cinematic kiss. It’s dramatic, dreamy, ultra-theatrical and quasi-religious art.
David Nash
The Burton at Bideford, 14 November to 17 January
He is best known for shaping living trees into immersive sculptural installations, but this Devon show looks at how drawing has always been central to shaping David Nash’s approach to depicting and working with the natural world.
Ryan Gander
Towner Gallery, Eastbourne, 14 November to 11 April
For his first UK institutional show in almost 20 years, playful conceptualist Ryan Gander turns up the humour dial with a series of installations featuring animatronic mice, repurposed toys and paintings of balloons.
Angela Harding
Yorkshire Sculpture Park, near Wakefield, 14 November to 28 February
Linocuts, oil paintings and decorated wooden birds by this hugely respected illustrator, returning to Yorkshire Sculpture Park 10 years after her last show with more nature-loving ecological imagery. Eddy Frankel
Going out: Stage
Rosie Holt
Maidenhead, 14 November; Birmingham, 19 November; touring to 5 March
Holt and her MP alter ego (originally Tory, now Labour) return to poke fun at the political classes in a madcap current affairs pastiche underpinned by a more heartfelt meditation on the sexism faced by women in the public eye. Rachel Aroesti
Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella
Plymouth Theatre Royal, 16 to 21 November; touring to 8 May
A revival of Bourne’s Cinderella, which turns the fairytale into a wartime romance set in London during the blitz. Dancing with the drama of Prokofiev’s fantastic score, it’s a love story that also nods to the darkness of real events. Lyndsey Winship
Nine Night
Kiln theatre, London, to 2 January
Amit Sharma revives Natasha Gordon’s sparkling hit, about a Jamaican family gathering in their suburban London home for the traditional nine nights of grieving after the death of beloved matriarch Gloria. Miriam Gillinson
Cranford
Orange Tree theatre, London, to 16 January
The Orange Tree has a reputation for brilliant festive shows that feel both cosy and contemporary. This year, Josh Roche stages Elizabeth Gaskell’s sumptuous novel, with Tamsin Grieg as the intriguing woman at the centre of 1840s Cranford. MG
Staying in: Streaming
The Altruists
Netflix, 19 November
From Artificial to You Can See Everything, tech’s most infamous billionaires are all over our screens at present. This drama relates the spectacular rise and fall of crypto boss Sam Bankman-Fried (Say Nothing’s Anthony Boyle). Julia Garner co-stars as his girlfriend and business partner, Caroline Ellison.
Bill’s Included
BBC One & iPlayer, 20 November, 9.30pm
The predicaments of landlords don’t usually tug at the heartstrings, but an exception may well be made for Rob Brydon’s Bill, a lonely divorcee who tries to befriend the students he rents his spare rooms to in this cross-generational houseshare sitcom from comedy duo the Pin.
Honey
BBC One & iPlayer, 14 November, 9pm
Early 1980s East Berlin is the irresistibly retro setting for this zany and stylish new cold war spy thriller from Emma Moran (Extraordinary), in which a rookie MI6 agent joins forces with a CIA operative to take down a Stasi officer. Ann Skelly and Rory Kinnear star.
When a Witness Recants
HBO Max, 18 November
Made in collaboration with Ta-Nehisi Coates, this devastating documentary by Dawn Porter hears from the three Baltimore men who served 36 years in prison for a murder they didn’t commit – as well as the schoolboy who was forced to provide false testimony against them. RA
Staying in: Games
Grand Theft Auto VI
PS5/Xbox; out 19 November
Well, it’s the big one. Thirteen years of memes in the making, Rockstar Games’s Florida-inspired crime opus is upon us. It stars a criminal couple on the run, Jason and Lucia, and as well as taking them on stick-ups, car thefts and all the usual cop-baiting shenanigans, you can also take them on cute little dates, which is certainly new for GTA. Only a game this vast could ever hope to live up to the hype.
Spirit Crossing
PC, Switch, Switch 2; out now
In a world above the clouds, players work together to make a home, coming together to build towns, protect them (and each other) from storms, and help guide lost spirits. A welcoming, optimistic hangout of a game. Keza MacDonald
Staying in: Albums
U2 – Carnaval de Luz
Out now
On their first album of new material in nine years, U2 sound more invigorated than they have since popping music on people’s phones without permission back in 2014. Ragged single Silencio rattles along like a much younger band, while Street of Dreams is classic widescreen Bono.
Snoh Aalegra – Legendary Love
Out now
Sweden-born, LA-based Snoh Aalegra drapes her silk-soft voice over 13 new songs, headlined by beautiful lead single I Love You. Full of vintage Prince-isms in the production and a luxurious chorus, it’s very nearly matched in quality by the slowburn ballad Just Friends.
Royal Blood – Dead Company
Out now
Worthing rockers Royal Blood, AKA Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher, return after a short hiatus with this fifth album. Mixed by Alan Moulder (Depeche Mode, Foo Fighters), songs such as the blistering title track and Swallow the Bomb’s sweary chorus seem ripe for next summer’s festivals.
Say Now – Say What You See
Out now
Since launching as Needanamebro in 2022, UK girlband Say Nowhave been searching for a sound, flitting between 90s R&B (Brick By Brick) and Raye-penned breakup anthems (Supermarket). On this six-track EP – executive produced by PinkPantheress – the trio comfortably ride a suite of punchy dance-pop bops. MC
Staying in: Brain food
This Is Our Story With Seth Pinnock
Podcast
London-based youth charity Symphony Co’s new audio series hosted by founder Seth Pinnock gets into the deep questions of purpose and creativity with celebrity guests, including the actor Billy Porter.
Antony Cooke
Substack
Home chef Antony Cooke’s newsletters are full of recipes that blend readily available ingredients with a touch of restaurant glamour. Follow along to make everything from a Mexican-inspired squash soup to a showstopping fish pie.
Kazakhstan’s Chess Gambit
BBC World Service,
19 November, 9.32am
Keen to develop their homegrown chess talent, the Kazakh government introduced state-led initiatives to encourage young people to take up the game. Journalist Zoe Strimpel investigates how chess has since become central to Kazakhstan’s nation building. Ammar Kalia