Events
Halloween
Looking to get scared senseless this weekend? There are a host
of Halloween events across the country. Live-action terror attraction House Of The Dead (pictured, above) has taken over both Manchester’s Printworks and Kent’s Bluewater Shopping centre. Birmingham boasts both a chilling theatrical take on Oscar Wilde with The Canterville Ghost at the suitably titled Coffin Works and an immersive horror experience at Aston Hall. For a slightly more refined Halloween experience, catch Museums At Night, which features a range of nocturnal events, from Sunderland to south Wales.
Illuminations
From an evening curated by pop duo Let’s Eat Grandma (above) and music performed in darkness to a warehouse screening of cult hit Run Lola Run, this east London festival presents an plethora of intriguing one-offs taking in music, film and art.
Various venues, London to 11 Nov
Sunday Papers Live
Struggling to get through a mountain of weekend newspaper supplements? Here’s a less arduous alternative. Seeking to provide you with a live version of your Sunday paper, this event offers up talks, cultural performances and even a live-action crossword. This weekend’s do, held at London’s Cecil Sharp House, NW1, includes a discussion on the US election featuring recent Green party candidate Larry Sanders (brother of Bernie), a consideration of how the UK left can rise again and even a roast dinner!
Cecil Sharp House, NW1, 30 Oct
Television
Imagine: The Seven Killings Of Marlon James
Last year’s Booker-winner – and one-time designer of Sean Paul’s record sleeves – profiles his home of Jamaica with help from Imagine’s ponderer-in-chief Alan Yentob. Weaving in the plots of James’s provocative novels, it should be a fascinating survey.
Imagine: The Seven Killings Of Marlon James airs, Saturday, 9.30pm, BBC2
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Rachel Bloom’s sitcom, streaming on Netflix, is that rarest of things: a musical comedy you might actually laugh at. Bloom stars as Rebecca Bunch, a lawyer who jettisons a high-flying career to move to the middle of nowhere to try and win over a childhood crush. There’s deep trauma behind this irrational decision, which the show digs into with mordant wit. Plus the songs are great, too.
Available now
Film
Train To Busan
A decade on from Snakes On A Plane we get Zombies On A Train. Yet this Korean horror movie looks a more accomplished, inventive and affecting work than that description might suggest. A zombie infection afflicts a high-speed locomotive from Seoul to its titular destination, causing mass panic, lots of gore and some great World War Z-style set pieces. Perfect Halloween fare for the discerning hipster horror fan.
In cinemas now
Leeds international film festival
England’s largest film festival outside of London has plenty on
offer this year, including early previews of Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson and oddball German comedy Toni Erdmann, plus a screening of Julian Barratt and Simon Munnery’s hotly tipped farce Mindhorn (above), followed by a Q&A with its creators. The whole thing kicks off on Thursday.
Various venues, Leeds, to 17 Nov
Magazine
Printed Pages
This magazine is from creative-design blog It’s Nice That, so you know it looks lovely. But it also features interviews with photographers and illustrators, plus
a tribute to the late Zaha Hadid.
Exhibitions
Yves Klein
He’s most closely associated with the deep, dazzling International Klein Blue he developed in 1960, but the French artist’s visions go far beyond his ultramarine obsession. A five-star Tate Liverpool retrospective showcases sponge sculptures (above), the scorched distortions of his Fire Paintings and his infamous use of female bodies as paintbrushes.
Music
Sound festival
Concentrating on classical music innovation in its native Scotland and beyond, highlights of this festival includes a special focus on the modern string quartet, a Bitches Brew evening celebrating female composers, and the premiere of a co-production from three European ensembles, which features a performance of Kagel’s totalitarianism-critiquing Mother Of All Speeches by the inimitable Simon Callow.
