The hot 100 films, gigs, exhibitions and TV shows to see this spring
April 1
Comedy | Yippee Ki Yay
Die Hard superfan Richard Marsh re-enacts the blockbuster as a one-man show in rhyming verse, with detours to tell the story of how he married his equally Bruce Willis-obsessed wife. Funny, geeky and heartwarming.
Wyvern Theatre, Swindon (ykylive.com), and touring
Exhibitions | Soutine / Kossoff
The first ever show focusing upon the artistic relationship between British artist Leon Kossoff, who died four years ago, and the modern Belarusian painter Chaim Soutine, whose electrifying School of Paris portraits were shown at the Courtauld in 2017.
Hastings Contemporary, East Sussex (hastingscontemporary.org), until Sept 24
TV | Malpractice
From the makers of Line of Duty and the director of Boiling Point, this five-part medical thriller written by a former doctor follows the pressures and politics of an investigation into the actions of a doctor (The Virtues’ Niamh Algar) after a patient’s death.
ITV1, date TBC
Comedy | Amy Gledhill: The Girl Before The Girl You Marry
This naughty, giddy hour of anecdotes from a disastrous love-life is a superb stand-up debut from Hull’s Gledhill, best known as one half of Mighty Boosh-ish sketch duo The Delightful Sausage.
Soho Theatre, London W1 (amygledhill.co.uk), until April 22, and touring
April 2
Pop | Elton John
The longest goodbye in pop history continues with a final run around Britain’s arenas, including 10 dates at London’s O2 and concluding with his last ever UK appearance at Glastonbury Festival. You’re gonna miss him when he’s gone.
The O2 Arena, London SE19 (eltonjohn.com), and touring
April 3
Exhibitions | The Rossettis
The first Tate retrospective for the Pre-Raphaelite painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti, interweaving his gorgeous pictures with poetry by his sister, Christina, and rare surviving watercolours and drawings by his wife, Elizabeth.
Tate Britain, London SW1 (tate.org.uk), until Sept 24
Books | Beyond the Wall by Katya Hoyer
East Germany is too often a caricature (Trabants, the Gestapo, beige), but this “warts and all” account offers a fascinating new picture of the GDR, from high politics to street life.
Penguin
Comedy | Jazz Emu:You Shouldn’t Have
The last chance to catch one of the funniest shows of 2022. Archie Henderson’s preening Europop character Jazz Emu tells the story of his public disgrace in an hour of sublime musical comedy.
Soho Theatre, London W1 (sohotheatre.com), until April 8
April 7
Film | Super Mario Bros
Three decades after the release of that odd Bob Hoskins outing we don’t talk about, the Nintendo mascot gets a CG animated feature, courtesy of the Minions manufacturers at Illumination Entertainment.
Cinemas
Film | The Pope’s Exorcist
Playing real-life papal cohort Father Gabriele Amorth, Russell Crowe unearths a Vatican conspiracy buried for decades, while grappling with the demonic possession of a young boy. Julius Avery (Overlord) directs.
Cinemas
April 12
Theatre | Hamnet
Maggie O’Farrell’s award-winning novel about Hamnet Shakespeare (1585-1596) and his mother, with due reference to father William, reopens the RSC Swan in an eagerly awaited adaptation by Lolita Chakrabarti.
Swan, Stratford upon Avon (www.rsc.org.uk), until June 17; Garrick, London WC2 (nimaxtheatres.com), Sept 30-Jan 6
Pop | Sam Smith
The non-binary superstar takes their unusual mix of tremulously tender soul and brazenly provocative dance pop out on the road. Expect sensational vocalisations and possibly even more sensational costumes.
Utilita Arena, Sheffield S9 (samsmithworld.com), and touring
April 13
Dance | A Streetcar Named Desire
Created in 2012, this absolute knockout of a show hasn’t been revived since 2015. Punchy, pacy and very grown-up, it does Tennessee Williams’s 1947 masterpiece full justice, tugging at the heartstrings even as it shreds the nerves.
Theatre Royal, Glasgow (scottishballet.co.uk), until April 15 and touring
Theatre | Private Lives
Fifty years after Noël Coward’s death, his reputation still glitters – not least thanks to this scintillating comedy of star-cross’d divorcees. Stephen Mangan and Rachael Stirling are the exes honeymooning with their new partners in the same hotel. Michael Longhurst directs.
Donmar Warehouse, London WC2 (donmarwarehouse.com), until May 27
April 14
Film | Renfield
The Dracula Cinematic Universe, if such a thing exists, gets a comedy-horror spin in present-day New Orleans, with Nicholas Hoult as the bug-munching lackey desperate to escape his servitude to Nicolas Cage’s Count.
Cinemas
April 15
Classical | Apollo’s Fire
This terrific US-based ensemble visits areas that other “early music” groups leave untouched. For their three-day residency at St-Martin-in-the Fields they’re bringing a feast of Vivaldi, but it’s the concert focusing on music of the Jewish and African diasporas on April 17 that promises to be revelatory.
St Martin-in-the-Fields London (stmartin-in-the-fields.org), until April 17
April 17
Opera | Innocence
Scandi-noir meets opera with the UK premiere of an adaptation of Sofi Oksanen’s novel by the leading Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, who creates atmospheric music for this dark tale. Conductor Susanna Malkki (also Finnish) leads a powerful staging by Simon Stone, with outstanding singers including Sandrine Piau and Christopher Purves.
Royal Opera House, London WC2 (roh.org.uk), until May 4
April 18
Theatre | Dancing at Lughnasa
Brian Friel’s Olivier-winning play about five sisters living in rural Donegal in the summer of 1936 had its UK premiere at the National in 1991; now Josie Rourke brings it to the Olivier stage with a crack cast headed by Siobhan McSweeney and Louisa Harland, with Ardal O’Hanlon as their missionary brother.
National’s Lyttelton Theatre (nationaltheatre.org.uk), until May 27
April 19
Dance | Nederlands Dans Theater
The mega-sleek contemporary Dutch troupe return to these shores with a promising new programme that embraces work by three noted choreographers: Gabriela Carrizo, Jiří Kylián and (here collaborating tantalisingly with Complicité’s Simon McBurney) the Canadian wonder that is Crystal Pite.
Sadler’s Wells, London EC1 (sadlerswells.com), until April 22
April 20
Exhibition | Hilma af Klint and Piet Mondrian: Forms of Life
Curated by Tate Modern’s outgoing director, Frances Morris, this unusual show pairs (even though they never met) two of the 20th century’s “most imaginative artists” associated with abstraction: the visionary Swedish painter Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) and her Dutch contemporary, Piet Mondrian (1872-1944).
Tate Modern, London SE1 (tate.org.uk), until Sept 3
Theatre | Ain’t Too Proud
Subtitled “The Life and Times of the Temptations”, this Broadway musical follows the rise of the chart-topping 1960s group from Detroit, with “My Girl”, “What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted” and “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” in the jukebox mix.
Prince Edward Theatre, London W1 (delfontmackintosh.co.uk), until Oct 1
April 21
TV | Dead Ringers
Rachel Weisz makes her first major foray into TV by playing twin gynecologists in this remake of David Cronenberg’s bloody 1988 psychosexual horror. Double trouble is an understatement.
Amazon Prime Video
April 28
Film | Peter Pan and Wendy
Disney’s next in-house remake of an animated classic should hopefully buck the series’ decline: it’s from David Lowery, whose 2016 reworking of Pete’s Dragon remains the pick of the bunch.
Disney+
TV | Citadel
Amazon is going big guns with this ambitious sci-fi drama starring Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas as former spies. The Russo brothers’ series is reportedly the second-most expensive TV show ever made.
Amazon Prime Video
Comedy | Machynlleth Comedy Festival
Jayde Adams, Nish Kumar and James Acaster are among the bigger names testing out new material at this “secret” festival, in an idyllic Welsh market town. And for young comedy fans, there’s Marcel Lucont’s award-winning Les Enfants Terribles: A Gameshow for Awful Children.
Various venues, Machynlleth (machcomedyfest.co.uk), until April 30
Film | Polite Society
Nida Manzoor’s infectiously perky action comedy has a high-kicking British Pakistani teen springing her elder sister from a shadowy arranged marriage plot. Think early Edgar Wright with (even more) martial arts.
Cinemas
Film | The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Based on Rachel Joyce’s Booker-longlisted debut from 2012, this gentle yarn stars Jim Broadbent as a timid pensioner who walks the length of the country to visit an old friend in a Berwick hospice. Cinemas
April 29
Pop | Duran Duran
The old romantics stuff their shoulder pads one more time to take 2022’s Future Past album on the road. Displaying a longevity few might have anticipated, last year the 80’s wild boys were inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.
AO Arena, Manchester (duranduran.com), and touring
May 2
Theatre | The Motive and the Cue
Sam Mendes directs a new play by Jack Thorne about the behind-the-scenes drama of the 1964 production of Hamlet directed by John Gielgud and starring Richard Burton that took Broadway by storm. Johnny Flynn is Burton, Mark Gatiss is Gielgud and Tuppence Middleton plays Elizabeth Taylor.
National’s Lyttelton Theatre, London SE1 (nationaltheatre.org.uk), until July 15
TV | A Small Light
An intriguing new angle on the Anne Frank story tells of secretary Miep Gies (Bel Powley), who – with husband Jan (Joe Cole) – helped to hide Anne and her family at the request of her boss, Otto (Liev Schreiber). It was Miep who found and preserved Anne’s diary.
Disney+
May 3
Film | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3
Marvel’s Phase Five proceeds apace: everyone’s back, including writer-director James Gunn, as the heroes led by Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord reunite to dice with danger and crack wise.
Cinemas from May 3
Classical | Manchester Collective
The UK’s most innovative classical ensemble teams up with Scottish guitarist Sean Shibe for two world premieres, music by neglected African-American minimalist Julius Eastwood, and much else.
St George’s, Bristol (manchestercollective.co.uk), and touring
May 4
Books | August Blue by Deborah Levy
In this absorbing novel, Deborah Levy, twice a Booker shortlistee, lends her cool style to the tale of a young concert pianist who travels Europe in search of her doppelgänger.
Hamish Hamilton
Books | No More Secrets by Betty Webb with Kerry Howard
In 1941, a teenage Webb entered a “totally unknown world”: Bletchley Park. Now, on the cusp of turning 100, she revisits her years breaking Nazi and Japanese codes. Mardle
Theatre | August in England
Lenny Henry stars in his playwriting debut, addressing the Windrush scandal; he plays a fruit and veg-shop owner – and big-hearted family man – who suddenly faces deportation, but won’t go quietly.
Bush Theatre, London W12 (bushtheatre.co.uk), until June 10
Exhibitions | Luxury and Power: Persia to Greece
Exquisitely crafted artefact or political tool? A luxury object could be both during the first millennium BC, as proven by this dazzling exhibition, brimming with precious items once coveted by democratic Athens and the royal court of Persia.
British Museum, London WC1 (britishmuseum.org), until Aug 13
Theatre | The Vortex
Noël Coward’s sprightly 1924 succes de scandale about a well-to-do married woman who takes younger lovers and her coke-addicted (and implicitly homosexual) son is revived by Daniel Raggett; Lia Williams and Joshua James Oedipally spar.
Chichester Festival Theatre (cft.org.uk), until May 20
TV | Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
Netflix knew what they were doing with Bridgerton, and so the universe expands with this prequel series in which the quick-witted Charlotte falls in love with a young King George III.
Netflix
May 5
Pop | Ed Sheeran
The troubadour superstar has described his stripped-back fifth album “-” (pronounced “Subtract”) as opening a “trapdoor to his soul”. On the evidence thus far, his soul appears to be stuffed with pop hooks. Sure to be this year’s most inescapable album.
Asylum
May 6
Exhibitions | Saint Francis of Assisi
More than 40 artworks, spanning seven centuries, and assembled by the National Gallery’s director, Gabriele Finaldi, exploring the life and legacy of the revered penitent and preacher, here positioned as an “early environmentalist” and “social radical”.
National Gallery, London WC2 (nationalgallery.org.uk), until July 30
Classical | Brighton Festival
The standout classical event at this year’s festival has to be the new Piano Concerto from Swedish composer Magnus Lindberg, with the flamboyantly gifted Yuja Wang as soloist, but there’s also quiet intensity from the Britten Sinfonia and Shakespeare-inspired song from Roderick Williams and Mark Padmore.
Various venues, Brighton (brightonfestival.org), until May 28
May 9
Theatre | Operation Mincemeat
The story of how British military intelligence duped the Germans into believing they had no plans to invade Sicily – using a tramp’s corpse disguised as a Royal Marine courier – has been turned into a funny yet stirring musical. Now it’s storming the West End.
Fortune Theatre, London WC2 (OperationMincemeat.com), until July 8
Books | The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks
The “nicest man in Hollywood”, with one short-story collection to his name, presents his first novel, about the making of a superhero film. Expect cartoonish characters, brisk dialogue and folksy nostalgia.
Hutchinson Heinemann
May 10
Theatre | 4000 Miles
Amy Herzog’s admired comedy about a 21-year-old landing in his grandmother’s Manhattan pad was poised to run at the Old Vic with Timothée Chalamet before Covid struck. Now Eileen Atkins teams with Sebastian Croft to give us this odd couple tale, under the direction of Richard Eyre.
Minerva Theatre, Chichester (cft.org.uk), until May 10
May 11
Books | Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson
Nelson’s first novel, Open Water (2018), was a sleeper hit, leading British “best debut” lists. This deftly written follow-up, about a young Londoner lost in music and searching for a future, will be bigger.
Viking
TV | Tom Jones
Not the Welsh crooner, but Henry Fielding’s roguish protagonist is the latest old-timer to be given a makeover. The creators of Poldark and Victoria team up with Vanity Fair writer Gwyneth Hughes for, in her words, the “mother of all romcoms”.
ITVX
May 13
Dance | Universe: A Dark Crystal Odyssey
Together with his crack contemporary troupe, Wayne McGregor reimagines Jim Henson’s much-loved 1982 adventure as a kind of paean to our ailing Planet Earth.
Royal Opera House’s Linbury Theatre, London WC2 (roh.org.uk). in rep until June 4
Exhibitions | Gwen John: Art and Life in London and Paris
The first major retrospective in two decades for the Welsh artist (and sister of the bohemian painter Augustus) who settled permanently in Paris, where she conducted a 10-year affair with the famous sculptor Auguste Rodin.
Pallant House Gallery, Chichester (pallant.org.uk), until Oct 8
May 16
Books | Marcia Williams: The Life of Lady Falkender by Linda McDougall
Was she the true ruler of Harold Wilson’s No 10? And did she write the “lavender list”? The first life of the late Lady Falkender digs into a deeply controversial political figure.
Biteback
May 17
Pop | Beyoncé
Surely the reigning pop superstar of our times, Queen Bey descends upon the UK for a stadium tour channelling last year’s escapist superclub dance album Renaissance and over 25 years of R’n’B bangers.
Principality Stadium, Cardiff (beyonce.com), and touring
Theatre | Once On This Island
A revival of the 1995 Olivier-winning musical that’s a Caribbean retelling of The Little Mermaid. Gabrielle Brooks plays peasant girl Ti Moune, Stephen Ardern-Sodje her upper-class French love-interest.
Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London NW1 (openairtheatre.com), until June 10
May 18
Books | Lady Caroline Lamb by Antonia Fraser
The queen of biography turns to the wild girl of the Georgian era. Byron’s lover “Caro” dabbled in drugs and caused riots at parties – but may have been the victim of those around her.
Pegasus
Theatre | Brokeback Mountain
Mike Faist (Spielberg’s West Side Story) and Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea) star in a new stage adaptation of Annie Proulx’s tale of furtively amorous sheep-herders, with live music from Eddi Reader.
Sohoplace, London W1 (sohoplace.org), until Aug 12
May 19
Film | Fast X
$340m?!! Only the Avengers and Pirates franchises have yielded costlier sequels. Charlize Theron’s Cipher teams up with Jason Momoa’s Dante, whose dad got killed in Fast Five, to come after the hot-rod crew yet again.
Cinemas
TV | Ten Pound Poms
More than a million Brits emigrated to Australia between the 1940s and 1970s. Danny Brocklehurst dramatises the adventures of a disparate group, including Michelle Keegan’s nurse Kate, leaving post-war Britain for a new life Down Under.
BBC One, date TBC
Film | Beau is Afraid
We never entirely know what Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar) has up his sleeve for A24, but we do know Joaquin Phoenix is playing a deeply paranoid individual on an existential odyssey. It will hit hard.
Cinemas
TV | Steeltown Murders
The rape and murder in 1973 of three teenage girls in Llandarcy remained unsolved for 30 years, until a breakthrough in forensics helped police finally find Welsh serial killer Joseph Kappen. Philip Glenister, Keith Allen and Gavin & Stacey’s Steffan Rhodri star.
BBC One, date TBC
Film | Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
The beloved Judy Blume coming-of-age novel has finally been adapted for the screen by The Edge of Seventeen writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig. Ant-Man’s Abby Ryder Fortson takes the (mortal) title role.
Cinemas
May 22
Pop | Harry Styles
The all conquering leading man from One Direction cements his superstar status with another stadium tour. With sleek songcraft blending 80s fizz with 70s harmonies, Harry has deservedly become British pop’s new prince charming.
Coventry Building Society Arena (hstyles.co.uk), and touring
Pop | Def Leppard / Mötley Crüe
Two of the world’s most gloriously outlandish glam metal bands unite for an evening of anthemic power chords and blazing solos. Be sure to bring your air guitar.
Bramall Lane Stadium, Sheffield (defleppard.com) and touring
May 25
Theatre | Aspects of Love
A reimagined chamber staging by Jonathan Kent of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s swoony 1989 musical that flings different amorous relationships into the same pot. Michael Ball, who rose to fame singing its anthemic number Love Changes Everything, leads the cast.
Lyric Theatre, London W1 (aspectsoflove.com), until Nov 11
TV | Maryland
Two sisters are reunited in this three-part drama created by Suranne Jones. She plays one of them, Eve Best the other, while Stockard Channing, George Costigan and Hugh Quarshie make up an intriguing cast.
ITVX/ITV1
Books | Whips by Cleo Watson
Sex, lies and more sex in contemporary Westminster? Expect this debut novel by Boris Johnson’s ex-aide to be the talk of the town – especially if, as rumour suggests, some characters seem suspiciously recognisable.
Corsair
May 26
Theatre | Rose
A tour de force by Maureen Lipman, in which she holds the stage for several hours as the elderly Jewish heroine of Martin Sherman’s play, reflecting with wry humour and sobering wisdom on her survival in Nazi occupied Europe and escape to the supposed promised land of America.
Ambassadors Theatre, London WC2 (atgtickets.com), until June 18
Exhibitions | Hurvin Anderson: Salon Paintings
Brilliant paintings of a barbershop in Brum – including, we’re promised, a large new composition to conclude the series – by the self-effacing artist Hurvin Anderson, who deserves to be a household name.
The Hepworth, Wakefield (hepworthwakefield.org), until Nov 5
Film | The Little Mermaid
Disney gives the live-action musical makeover to another old chestnut, with Rob Marshall at the helm, US singer Hailee Berry as Ariel, and Melissa McCarthy as everyone’s favourite sea witch, Ursula.
Cinemas
May 27
Pop | Muse
The Devon schoolfriends’ prog pop / heavy rock hybrid teeters on the edge of comical absurdity, yet is delivered with the swagger, skill and adventure to provide astonishing blockbuster mega entertainment. The apocalypse has never sounded like so much fun.
Home Park Stadium, Plymouth PL2 (muse.mu) and touring until June 25
May 29
Pop | Arctic Monkeys
Curiously, the Arctic Monkeys are simultaneously Britain’s favourite millennial singalong rock band and a vehicle for Alex Turner’s archly literary experimental art pop. The biggest stadium tour of their confusing career will conclude at Glastonbury Festival.
Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol (arcticmonkeys.com), and touring
May 30
Pop | Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
Still defying the march of time at 73, the boss is back with the “heart-stopping, pants-dropping, hard-rocking, booty-shaking, love-making, earth-quaking, Viagra-taking, justifying, death-defying, legendary” E Street Band. Catch him while you can.
BT Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh (brucespringsteen.com), and touring
June 2
Film | Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Marvel’s junior web-slinger Miles Morales returns in the second chapter of an animated trilogy whose first instalment’s blend of hand-drawn and computer-generated art set studio cartoons on a snazzy new path.
Cinemas
Jazz | Ayoob Aftaz & Vijay Iyer
Aftaz, a singer reinventing the tradition of Pakistani sacred songs or ghazals, is joined by Iyer, a jazz pianist and composer who has rediscovered his Indian roots. The combination should be fascinating.
Barbican London EC2 barbican.org.uk
June 6
Theatre | Patriots
A West End transfer for Peter Morgan’s timely drama about Vladimir Putin’s oligarch-assisted, then oligarch-trouncing ascendancy. Tom Hollander stars in the pivotal king-maker role of Boris Berezovsky. Rupert Goold directs.
Noël Coward Theatre, London WC2 (patriotstheplay.com), until Aug 19
June 8
Dance | Apollo / Interlinked / ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Cafe
1 Body justified: BRB’s mixed bill combines Balanchine’s luminous 1928 masterpiece Apollo, young Brazilian choreographer Juliano Nunes’s Interlinked (2022) and David Bintley’s lovely, gently eco-minded 1989 ‘Still Life’, set to the Penguin Café Orchestra’s alt-pop.
Birmingham Hippodrome (brb.org.uk), until June 10
Theatre | Groundhog Day
A return for Tim Minchin’s superlative musicalisation of the 1993 rom-com about a weatherman trapped re-living the same day in small-town Pennysylvania. The witty score is matched by the stage-artistry of director Matthew Warchus.
Old Vic, London SE1 (oldvictheatre.com), until Aug 12
Opera | Tristan und Isolde
Wagner’s great tragic tale of passion, with some of the most voluptuous love music ever written, comes to Grange Park in a staging “inspired by Wagner’s original set designs”. Gwen Hughes Jones and Rachel Nicholls star.
Grange Park Opera, West Horsley, to July 9
June 9
Classical | Aldeburgh Festival
As ever the Aldeburgh Festival astonishes with its sheer ambition, with 35 world premieres, a mini-festival of eight visiting string quartets, and a centenary celebration of the great modernist György Ligeti.
Various venues, Aldeburgh (brittenpearsarts.org), until June 25
Theatre | Assassins
US presidential assassins – including Danny Mac’s John Wilkes Booth – take to the stage in Sondheim’s carnivalesque history lesson, directed by Polly Findlay.
Chichester Festival Theatre (cft.org.uk), until June 24
Film | Chevalier
Kelvin Harrison Jr stars in this jaunty period piece about Joseph Bologne, the dashing French-Caribbean violinist who took 18th-century Paris by storm. Samara Weaving plays the married salonnière who catches his eye.
Cinemas
Film | War Pony
Riley Keogh marks her directing debut, as does Gina Gammell, with this rugged tale of three young men on a Native American reservation, featuring a cast of newcomers and a blazingly charismatic turn from Jojo Baptiste Whiteing.
Cinemas
Opera | Orfeo ed Euridice/Dido and Aeneas
A big, unusual double bill of baroque and classical opera: Purcell’s taut, fast-moving tragedy Dido and Arenas is paired with Gluck’s immortal Orfeo ed Euridice, with Heather Lowe as both Dido and Orfeo. Harry Christophers conducts his superb Sixteen choir and orchestra.
Grange Festival, Hampshire (thegrangefestival.co.uk), until June 28
June 10
Pop | The Weeknd
Canadian R’n’B provocateur Abel Tesfaye’s immaculate blend of artful invention and sensuous seduction has made him as one of the most-streamed artists of our times.
Etihad Stadium, Manchester (theweeknd.com), and touring
Exhibitions | Liverpool Biennial
Britain’s largest free festival of contemporary visual art, taking over historic buildings and “unexpected spaces” in the city, as well as galleries, returns for its 12th edition, this time inspired by the isiZulu word “uMoya”, meaning “spirit”, “breath” and “wind”.
Various venues, Liverpool (biennial.com), until Sept 17
Opera | Dialogues des Carmelites
A Glyndebourne debut for this remarkable all-female opera by Poulenc about nuns caught up in the French Revolution, full of yearningly beautiful music leading to a devastating conclusion. Returning after his triumph with Handel’s Saul is director of the moment Barrie Kosky; Sally Matthews and Katrina Dalayman lead the cast.
Glyndebourne, East Sussex (glyndebourne.com), until July 29
Opera | Hansel and Gretel
Humperdinck’s immortal version of the Grimms’ fairy tale will bring a touch of magic to Holland Park Opera, as the children (Charlotte Badham and Laura Lolita Perešivana) explore the forest of their dreams. The composer’s rhapsodic score, full of memorable melodies, is conducted by Kârin Hendrickson.
Opera Holland Park, London W8 (operahollandpark.com), until June 23
June 13
Theatre | When Winston Went to War with the Wireless
A cumbersomely titled but intriguing new play from Jack Thorne, examining the battle between the Government’s British Gazette, edited by Churchill, and the BBC during the 1926 General Strike.
Donmar Warehouse, London Wc2 (donmarwarehouse), until July 29
June 14
Comedy | Bristol Comedy Garden
Alan Davies makes a rare return to stand-up at this music festival-style outdoor shindig. Tim Key, Phil Wang, Sara Pascoe, Dylan Moran and Nina Conti rub shoulders on a stellar bill.
Queen Square, Bristol (bristolcomedygarden.co.uk), until June 18
Theatre | Frank and Percy
The indefatigable Ian McKellen treads the boards yet again, this time opposite Roger Allam in a new play by Ben Weatherill about an “elder statesman” and a widowed school-teacher who bond on a park bench.
Theatre Royal, Windsor (theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk), until July 22
June 15
Pop | Isle of Wight Festival
Festival season gets off to a thrilling start with the return of Jarvis Cocker’s iconoclastic Britpop heroes Pulp. They’re joined by George Ezra, Chemical Brothers, Robbie Williams, Blondie, Human League, Niall Horan, Anne-Marie and Manic Street Preachers.
Seaclose Park, Newport, Isle of Wight (isleofwightfestival.com), until June 18
Books | France on Trial: The Case of Marshal Pétain by Julian Jackson
Few biographies have had the majesty of A Certain Idea of France, Julian Jackson’s 2018 take on Charles de Gaulle. Now he turns to le général’s comrade-turned-foe, tracing Pétain’s arc from national hero to Vichy figurehead.
Allen Lane
June 16
Film | The Flash
Warner Bros’ much-delayed DC superhero vehicle has now apparently been reworked into a whole-franchise reboot. Ezra Miller stars, but Michael Keaton’s return as Batman entices most.
Cinemas
Film | Elemental
Pixar gets back to basics, imagining a city where all four elements scrappily cohabit. A fire sprite and a water sprite, who assume they’re enemies, learn that they have more in common than they ever knew.
Cinemas
June 20
Theatre | Dear England
Joseph Fiennes stars as Gareth Southgate in the latest state-of-the-nation epic by James Graham, directed about Rupert Goold, about the “gentle revolution” effected by the England manager since 2016, and his footballing journey before that.
National’s Olivier Theatre, London SE1 (nationaltheatre.org.uk), until Aug 11
June 21
Theatre | The Pillowman
After success with The Banshees of Inisherin, Martin McDonagh is back in the theatre – as is Lily Allen, joining with Steve Pemberton for the first London revival of McDonagh’s black comedy about totalitarianism, parental abuse and the roots of creative inspiration since its 2003 premiere.
Duke of York’s Theatre, London WC2 (pillowmanplay.com), until Sept 2
Pop | Glastonbury Festival
The big one. Elton waves goodbye to the UK, the Arctic Monkeys tease fans with impossible singalongs and Guns N’ Roses set off some explosions. Plus Lizzo, Lana Del Rey, Cat Stevens and a cast of thousands at Britain’s ultimate festival.
Worthy Farm, Somerset (glastonburyfestivals.co.uk), until June 25
June 22
Exhibitions | National Portrait Gallery reopens
Following the most significant redevelopment in its 167-year history, including a top-to-bottom rehang of its permanent collection, the National Portrait Gallery, closed since 2020, finally reopens to the public.
National Portrait Gallery, London WC2 (npg.org.uk)
Theatre | Mrs Doubtfire
Gabriel Vick takes on the role – immortalised on screen by Robin Williams – of Daniel, the jobless divorced dad who rustles up the alter-ego of Scottish nanny Euphegenia Doubtfire. “Rip-roaringly funny”, we said of its 2021 Broadway premiere.
Shaftesbury Theatre, London WC2 (mrsdoubtfiremusical.co.uk), booking until Jan 13
June 23
Film | Asteroid City
Many Wes Anderson favourites grace this supercharged romcom, set in and around a Junior Stargazer convention in 1955, but the ensemble – Tom Hanks! Margot Robbie! Jarvis Cocker! – is more of a constellation than ever.
Cinemas from June 23
Film | No Hard Feelings
Here’s an appetisingly daft-looking sex comedy whose premise just screams “early Noughties”: Jennifer Lawrence plays a frisky young woman who is hired by two anxious parents to deflower their reclusive teenage lad.
Cinemas
TV | Best Interests
Prepare to emerge shell-shocked from this utterly brilliant four-part series from Jack Thorne about a married couple (Sharon Horgan and Michael Sheen) who must make the horrendous decision over whether to let their daughter live or die.
BBC One, release date TBC
June 24
Exhibition | Reframing Reynolds: A Celebration
Marking the 300th anniversary of Reynolds’s birth on the outskirts of Plymouth, this ambitious show promises to “reframe” the celebrated portrait painter and advocate of the “Grand Style”, who became the first president of the Royal Academy of Arts.
The Box, Plymouth (theboxplymouth.com), until Oct 29
June 30
Film | Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Harrison Ford’s final outing as the swashbuckling archeologist finds Indy tangling with a cabal of ex-Nazis in the US space programme. It might be the 1960s, but some skillsets just don’t date.
Cinemas
