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2 months ago
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Going out: Cinema
The Brutalist
Out now
Architect László Toth (Adrien Brody) flees postwar Europe and sets up in Pennsylvania, where he attempts to piece his life back together. Guy Pearce plays the rich industrialist who recognises Toth’s talent; Felicity Jones is his estranged wife. Hotly tipped epic, directed by Brady Corbet (Childhood of a Leader, Vox Lux).
Flight Risk
Out now
Mel Gibson directs Mark Wahlberg in this thriller about a pilot transporting a government witness and an air marshal to trial despite various assassination attempts. Also starring Topher Grace (Spider-Man 3) and Michelle Dockery (The Gentlemen, Downton Abbey).
Presence
Out now
A family move into a new house and realise they are not alone. So far, so generic haunted house movie. But this chiller is directed by Steven Soderbergh, the man responsible for some of the most formally audacious twists on genre within the studio system. This time, he’s telling a ghost story from the POV of the ghost.
Aida: Met Opera Live
25 January, cinemas nationwide
A new production of Verdi’s Aida by Michael Mayer sees American soprano Angel Blue play an Ethiopian princess in one of opera’s greatest love triangles. Projections and animations bring ancient Egypt to life inside the Met opera house. Music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts. Catherine Bray
Going out: Gigs
Bullet for My Valentine, Trivium
26 January to 1 February; tour starts Cardiff
What’s better than one heavy metal band celebrating 20 years of an album? How about two. While Welsh rockers Bullet for My Valentine promise to rattle through their debut The Poison, fellow vest-wearers Trivium will celebrate their second album, Ascendancy, in full. Michael Cragg
Ateez
27 & 28 January, the O2, London; 30 January, AO Arena, Manchester
The eight-headed K-pop behemoth descend on the UK to celebrate their hugely successful 2024, which saw them chart two albums in the Top 5 on both sides of the Atlantic. Expect swaggering hip-hop bops a la new single Ice on My Teeth, plus a slick visual spectacular. MC
Nigel Kennedy
Barbican Hall, London, 29 January
UK virtuoso violinist Nigel Kennedy became a unique star for his sublime skills, louche vivacity and the sweep of his tastes. They’ll all be on display at this gig, bridging classical, jazz, rock, klezmer and plenty more. Guests from all over contemporary music will be joining him. John Fordham
La Voix Humaine
BBC Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff, 30 January
While the future of Welsh National Opera hangs in the balance, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales ventures into operatic territory with a semi-staging of Poulenc’s monodrama. Danielle de Niese is the suicidal protagonist Elle, and Jaime Martín conducts. Andrew Clements
Going out: Art
Brasil! Brasil! The Birth of Modernism
Royal Academy of Arts, London, 28 January to 21 April
A suitably epic subject for the main galleries of the RA’s Burlington House, this ambitious exhibition surveys the story of modern art in Brazil from the 1910s right through to the 1970s. Why did modernism take Brazil by storm? With artists Tarsila do Amaral, Alfredo Volpi, Rubem Valentim and more.
Gladiators of Britain
Dorset Museum & Art Gallery, Dorchester, to 11 May
Roman Britain was as addicted to gladiatorial games as anywhere else in the empire, as amphitheatres in Chester, London and other cities, and stunning finds of the enslaved fighters’ armour, bear witness. This British Museum touring exhibition includes discoveries from Maumbury Rings, Dorchester, a neolithic henge repurposed as an arena.
Heartwood (Sycamore Gap)
Baltic, Gateshead, to 2 March
After the much-loved Sycamore Gap tree on Hadrian’s Wall was wantonly felled, the National Trust commissioned the Grizedale-based artist Shona Branigan to make a series of prints directly from a disc of the tree’s trunk, recording its rings. Her prints capture the age and complexity of this ancient living thing.
Lives Less Ordinary
Two Temple Place, London, to 20 April
What defines a working-class artist? Is it in their roots, even if they are – like, say, Damien Hirst – now super-rich? Featured in this show are the likes of Hannah Starkey and Jo Spence, along with many other artists it sees as reflecting authentic British working-class experience. Jonathan Jones
Going out: Stage
Frankie Monroe
Soho theatre, London, 27 January to 1 February; touring 5 March to 11 April
Yorkshire comic Joe Kent-Walters won the newcomer prize at last year’s fringe with this extremely silly and slightly sinister riff on a bygone age of working men’s club acts; his alter ego Monroe is a gruff old-school entertainer whose deal with the devil comes back to haunt him. Rachel Aroesti
We Will Hear the Angels
Fruitmarket, Edinburgh, to 6 February
A melancholy tale, but aren’t they the ones with the sharpest linings of light? Five actor-musicians take to the stage at Edinburgh’s atmospheric Fruitmarket for Nicholas Bone’s sung-through story of heartbreak. With the music of Etta James and Orange Juice, these lonely hearts look to be lifted up through song. Kate Wyver
Elektra
Duke of York’s theatre, London, to 24 April
Daniel Fish transformed Oklahoma! from a fusty old musical into a seductive, electric guitar-twanging hit. Now the US director returns with Sophocles’s haunting family drama. Brie Larson is the lead and poet Anne Carson adapts. KW
The Rose international dance prize
Sadler’s Wells, London, 29 January to 8 February
A major new prize for choreography, with £40,000 for the winner. The shortlisted works from Kyle Abraham, Lia Rodrigues, Christos Papadopoulos and Marco da Silva Ferreira are being performed across two weeks. Lyndsey Winship
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Staying in: Streaming
Brian and Maggie
Channel 4, 29 January, 9pm
In 1989, Brian Walden – the Labour MP turned broadcaster – sat down with a politically vulnerable Margaret Thatcher. The pair were friends; Walden was trying to help – but many view the interview as one of the final nails in the coffin of her career. Steve Coogan and Harriet Walter lead James Graham’s dramatisation of a pivotal TV moment.
Idris Elba: Our Knife Crime Crisis
BBC One & iPlayer, 29 January, 9pm
The prime minister and the king are among those featured in the actor’s one-off documentary about the continued scourge of knife crime in the UK. Yet the programme’s priority is getting first-hand insight from those directly affected, including young offenders, youth workers and the families of the bereaved.
Paradise
Disney+, 28 January
A peaceful idyll populated by the extremely rich and famous is irrevocably shaken up by a disturbing murder in this new schadenfreude-friendly series from This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman. Sterling K Brown – who won an Emmy for his role in the aforementioned weepy drama – stars.
Mo
Netflix, 30 January
Comedian Mohammed Amer’s loosely autobiographical series about a Palestinian refugee living in Houston was met with glowing reviews in 2022. Now it’s back for more big-hearted, empathetic and impressively funny storytelling about the realities of immigration. RA
Staying in: Games
Eternal Strands
Out 28 January; PlayStation, Xbox, PC
The first of several original, colourful new fantasy games for 2025, from the former director of Dragon Age. The telekinetic-ish magic powers and gigantic fell creatures to slay are the highlights here.
Synduality
Out now; PlayStation, Xbox, PC
You are a mech paired with a magician in this third-person online shooter, heading out into a science-fiction future Earth to salvage vital materials as the rest of humanity hides underground, and returning with your spoils before you are crushed into a tin can by mutant robot aliens. Keza MacDonald
Staying in: Albums
FKA twigs – Eusexua
Out now
A play on “euphoria”, the title of the third album from art-pop practitioner Tahliah Barnett searches for a state of complete sensual wellness. While the loved-up title track tiptoes dreamily around a techno backbeat, the harder Drums of Death, a collaboration with UK electronic pioneer Koreless, tips into nightmare territory.
Mogwai – The Bad Fire
Out now
Created during a tumultuous time for the band (above) in the years following 2021’s chart-topping As the Love Continues, this 11th album channels that emotion into epic post-rock workouts such as Lion Rumpus. The relatively bouncy Fanzine Made of Flesh, meanwhile, fuses melodic indie with lyrics buried deep underground.
The Weeknd – Hurry Up Tomorrow
Out from 31 January
The Weeknd’s sixth album arrives on the back of three so-so singles, with only Timeless cracking the Top 10. Supported by the upcoming psychological thriller film of the same name, Hurry Up Tomorrow is the final part of a trilogy that started with 2020’s record-breaking After Hours.
Central Cee – Can’t Rush Greatness
Out now
A regular in both the UK and US charts thanks to last year’s Lil Baby-assisted UK drill banger Band4Band, and collaborations with the likes of Dave, Ice Spice and Drake, London rapper Central Cee finally releases his knowingly titled debut album. MC
Staying in: Brain food
UnReality
Podcast
Talia Augustidis’s fascinating anthology documentary series returns for a second outing, searching for the unusual in her everyday experiences. Episodes include a deep dive into dad jokes and the strange power of tarot cards.
A View from a Bridge
Instagram
Artist Joe Bloom’s Instagram account where he records the confessions of fellow creatives through a phone call may sound eccentric but its revelations are strangely compelling. Recent reflections come from musician Cat Burns and performer Akin Wright.
The Tattooist’s Son
Sky History, 27 January, 9pm
Gary Solokov, son of Auschwitz survivors who met while interned, fronts this compelling film tracing his parents’ lives and love story across eastern Europe, as well as confronting the impact of generational trauma on his experiences. Ammar Kalia
