Going out: Cinema
Priscilla
Out now
Sofia Coppola has always been a film-maker with an impeccable sense of objects and surfaces, making her the perfect director for this story of Elvis Presley’s courtship, proposal and subsequent marriage to Priscilla. In this telling, she’s a living doll, the perfect acquisition for a king at the height of his power.
One Life
Out now
Anthony Hopkins and Johnny Flynn star as the older and younger versions of the British humanitarian Nicholas Winton, who helped save hundreds of European Jewish children from the Nazis as the second world war approached, and was reunited with many of them much later thanks to Esther Rantzen’s TV show That’s Life!.
Scala!!! Or, the Incredibly Strange Rise and Fall of the World’s Wildest Cinema …
Out now
Ali Catterall and Jane Giles gather together an eclectic collection of talking heads including John Waters to tell the story of the beloved former cinema in King’s Cross, London.
Night Swim
Out now
Haunted houses are so passé. For 2024, if you want to keep up with the Joneses, you’ll have to invest in a haunted swimming pool. More horror fare from Blumhouse, the production company that brought us Paranormal Activity, Insidious and M3GAN. Catherine Bray
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Going out: Gigs
Bring Me the Horizon
9 to 23 January; tour starts Cardiff
The Sheffield metallers tour arenas ahead of the release of Post Human: Nex Gen, the second instalment of their Post Human album series. Having collaborated with everyone from Ed Sheeran to rapper Lil Uzi Vert, this is another chance to cement their status as one of the UK’s biggest exports. Michael Cragg
Seb Rochford & Kit Downes
11 January, Kings Place, London; 12 January, Turner Sims, Southampton
Award-winning improviser-composers Kit Downes and Polar Bear founder Seb Rochford – two of the 21st-century UK jazz scene’s most imaginative originals – can spin an astonishing soundworld with just a piano and drum kit. They play music from Rochford’s ECM album A Short Diary, a haunting duo dedication to his late father. John Fordham
Jenůfa
Barbican Hall, London, 11 & 14 January
After The Cunning Little Vixen and Katya Kabanová, Simon Rattle and the LSO continue their series of Janáček operas with concert performances of Jenůfa, the work with which the composer first achieved international success. Asmik Grigorian takes the title role, with Katarina Karnéus as her stepmother, Kostelnička. Andrew Clements
The Lottery Winners
12 to 16 January; tour starts Newcastle upon Tyne
Released at the end of last April, unheralded Greater Manchester indie pop quartet the Lottery Winners’ fifth album, Anxiety Replacement Therapy, crashed into the UK album charts at No 1, beating out the likes of Jessie Ware and the National. They start 2024 with a triumphant victory lap ahead of new music. MC
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Going out: Art
Jannis Kounellis
Tate Modern, London, to June
The Artist Rooms collection of contemporary art presents a survey of the renowned Greek-born artist, who helped thrust art into our reality. Live birds became a trademark of his gripping installations: you can’t get much more real than that. See how he developed his vision across expected and unexpected media.
Andy Warhol: The Joseph Beuys Portraits
Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery, London, to 9 February
The portraits of Andy Warhol are mysteriously great. Rawly translated from photography to canvas, often in his later years to commission or on a gallerist’s suggestion, they are achingly profound. His images of the great German artist Joseph Beuys see into his soul to find historical shadows and inner doubts.
Rosemarie Castoro
Mostyn, Llandudno, to 24 February
This New York sculptor was one of a generation of artists who challenged the industrial cool of the “minimalist” movement. That said, her simple abstract forms will strike many as minimalist in the extreme. The difference is that she introduces references to lush, messy things like a painter’s brushstrokes.
Albrecht Dürer
Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, to 10 March
Everything from a giant cannon to Dürer’s design for his own shoes can be found in this cabinet of his curiosity. This Nuremberg Renaissance genius had an insatiable eye for wonders and new things. A fine survey of some of his incomparable prints. Jonathan Jones
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Going out: Stage
Bluey’s Big Play
Royal Festival Hall, London, to 7 January
The brilliant Bluey transfers to stage, with all the wit and flair of the original TV show. With a brand new story from creator Joe Brumm, this energetic production boasts charming puppets, non-stop action and joyfully inventive sets. Miriam Gillinson
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Chichester Festival theatre, to 7 January
This exuberant and witty take on the enduring fairytale features punchy music from Stiles and Drewe and sparkling direction from Justin Audibert – a lively treat for all the family. MG
English National Ballet: Giselle
London Coliseum, 11 to 21 January
A traditional, delicately romantic production of Giselle (made by Mary Skeaping in 1971, based on the 1841 original). It’s the story of a peasant girl who dies broken-hearted after being betrayed by a nobleman, and the vengeful spirits of other wronged women. One of ballet’s most haunting works. Lyndsey Winship
The Amazing Banana Brothers
Soho theatre, to 13 January
Expect the unexpected from LA-based clown Bill O’Neill’s Edinburgh smash, which features no siblings, just one man attempting to prat-slip on 1,000 banana skins. When the daft premise slides away, what’s left is an inventive riff on childhood trauma and familial antipathy. Rachel Aroesti
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Staying in: Streaming
Silverback
iPlayer & BBC Two, 7 January, 9pm
Mind-boggling camerawork and sonorously authoritative voiceovers are humans’ main contributions to nature documentaries these days. But this film, which chronicles conservation tactics in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, ends up being just as much about award-winning cameraman Vianet Djenguet as the 450lb alpha male gorilla he’s attempting to bond with.
Criminal Record
Apple TV+, 10 January
The best cop dramas have one thing in common: the bad guys are in-house. This new thriller stars Cush Jumbo as DS Lenker, who finds flaws in an old murder case conducted by a now uncooperative DCI Hegarty (Peter Capaldi). Is the latter simply protecting his professional reputation – or could there be a lot more on the line?
Zuckerberg: King of the Metaverse
Now & Sky Documentaries, 11 January, 9pm
Other tech tycoons may hog the headlines with their incendiary social media missives and eye-watering Vogue shoots, but Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg is a more discreet breed of capitalist overlord. This documentary aims to burrow beneath the Facebook founder’s inscrutable public facade, with contributions from colleagues and little-seen archive footage.
Darby and Joan
UKTV Play & Drama, 11 January, 8pm
Continuing the fine tradition of cosy detective series with titular puns on their protagonists’ names (A Touch of Frost, Rosemary & Thyme), this Aussie caper springs from a chance encounter in the outback between retired detective Jack Darby (Bryan Brown) and English nurse Joan Kirkhope (Greta Scaachi), who has travelled there to investigate her husband’s death. RA
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Staying in: Games
Outer Wilds: Archeologist Edition
Nintendo Switch, out now
The long-awaited Switch edition of this universally acclaimed space-time puzzler arrived in December. Players must work to prevent a supernova from destroying their solar system – an event that is replayed over and over till the puzzle is solved. A cosmic Groundhog Day. Keith Stuart
Tamagotchi Adventure Kingdom
Apple Arcade, out now
Tamagotchis have come a long way since the 90s. This ad-free, family friendly, Stardew Valley/Animal Crossing-inspired game for iPad and iPhone has you restoring an adorable world, from decorating houses to exploring a hot springs. Keza MacDonald
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Staying in: Albums
Itzy – Born to Be
Out 8 January
After last year’s Japanese-language album, Ringo, K-pop girlband Itzy, who have previously worked with the likes of Sophie and Oliver Heldens, return with this second Korean album. Featuring 10 tracks, including new single Untouchable, half of it will feature solo efforts for members Yeji, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, Yuna and the currently on hiatus Lia.
Ghetts – On Purpose, With Purpose
Out now
The follow-up to 2021’s UK No 2 hit Conflict of Interest album sees the east London rapper expand his sonic palette to include gospel, soul and Afrobeats. He’s in playful mode on lead single Laps, which features the South African musician and Beyoncé collaborator Moonchild Sanelly.
French Montana – Mac & Cheese 5
Out now
When Moroccan-American rapper French Montana isn’t collaborating with Doja Cat, Drake and Jack Harlow, he’s knocking out mixtapes. Mac & Cheese 5 is his 26th (compared with four studio albums), allowing him the freedom to create without all the boring bits such as label politics and promo.
Bill Ryder-Jones – Iechyd Da
Out 12 January
The producer and former Coral guitarist returns to his solo work with this first album since 2018’s Yawn. More expansive than previous indie-folk offerings – lead single This Can’t Go On is a gorgeous, string-drenched epic – it still includes smaller moments of introspection. MC
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Staying in: Brain food
The Maris Review
Podcast
Cultural critic Maris Kreizman’s thoughtful series interviews authors about their works and inspirations, often meandering to explore childhood memories and emotional insights. Highlights include memoirist Safiya Sinclair and novelist Justin Torres.
Intro to Large Language Models
YouTube
AI can seem like an overhyped nuisance or a terrifying unknown. Thankfully, Andrej Karpathy’s one-hour lecture on large language models such as ChatGPT is a detailed and accessible starting point on the technology.
The Approach
BBC World Service, 9 January, 9.30am
Mountaineer Adriana Brownlee investigates the changing face of her extreme sport as climate change shrinks permafrost, making climbs more unpredictable than ever. Talking to climbers on the ground, Brownlee paints a worrying picture. Ammar Kalia
