Going out: Cinema
Love Me Tender
Out now
Vicky Krieps heads up Anna Cazenave Cambet’s drama about a woman who splits amicably from her husband to follow her dream of becoming a writer, but then falls for a woman – at which point, the ex-hubby files for sole custody of their child. Also starring Monia Chokri and Antoine Reinartz.
Edinburgh international film festival
Various venues, 13 to 19 August
The world’s oldest continuously running film festival returns with a programme that includes 10 films competing for a £50K prize; plus the UK premieres of I Want Your Sex by Gregg Araki and Lance Hammer’s Queen at Sea; and special guests doing talks including Kenneth Branagh, Ewan McGregor and Bruce Dern. There’s also a screening and club-night celebration for Trainspotting’s 30th anniversary.
Ice Cream Man
Out now
Eli Roth directs a slasher about an ice-cream man who turns children into homicidal maniacs. You’re probably either in or out by this point but, in case it makes a difference, the film stars Ari Millen of Orphan Black fame as the titular dispenser of summer treats.
A Child of My Own
Out now
A true-crime docudrama based on the real-life case of a Mexican woman who abducted a baby from the hospital where she worked as a nurse. Chilean director Maite Alberdi’s factual account is interwoven with a telling of the story from the perpetrator’s point of view. Catherine Bray
Going out: Gigs
Joji
Dublin, 11 August; London, 13 August; touring to 16 August
The Japanese-Australian YouTube prankster turned serious musical artist arrives in arenas in support of February’s fourth album of ornate electronic ballads, Piss in the Wind. The night’s singalong moment is likely to be Glimpse of Us, which is now on 1.8bn Spotify streams and counting. Michael Cragg
John Grant with Richard Hawley
Kelvingrove Bandstand, Glasgow, 10 August
Originally brought together in 2023 as part of the Manchester international festival, Grant and Hawley reunite for this unique collaboration celebrating the work of late country star Patsy Cline. With Cline’s songs steeped in romance and heartbreak, expect them to come to life anew on a Glasgow bandstand. MC
The Galloping Cure
Festival theatre, Edinburgh, 9 to 12 August
Advertised as “an opera for the opioid age”, this is the latest collaboration between Missy Mazzoli, one of the most successful composers working in opera today, and librettist Royce Vavrek, dubbed “the indie Hoffmannsthal”. Its world premiere production by Scottish Opera is a musical must-see at this year’s Edinburgh international festival. Flora Willson
Denys Baptiste, Gary Crosby, Cassie Kinoshi
Bristol Beacon: Lantern Hall, 8 August
Joining the BBC’s wider Proms season, this live-broadcast Radio 3 Bristol concert showcases successive generations of African-Caribbean jazz artists who have transformed the UK scene over the past half-century. Soulful Coltrane-inspired saxophonist Denys Baptiste, Jazz Warriors co-founder Gary Crosby and saxophonist/composer Cassie Kinoshi highlight this diversely creative gig. John Fordham
Going out: Art
Kira Freije
Modern Art Oxford, to 16 August
It’s your last chance to catch a clutch of exhibitions this week before they close, including strange, lifesize figures frozen in moments of emotional anguish created by Freije, who is nominated for this year’s Turner prize.
New Contemporaries 26
Mima, Middlesbrough, to 16 August
There’s no better place to spot the art stars of the future than the annual New Contemporaries exhibition, which brings together work by recent graduates and early-career artists.
Rachel Maclean: They’ve Got Your Eyes
Fact, Liverpool, to 16 August
This Scottish artist combines film and sculpture, fairytale and horror for a terrifying immersive exploration of AI and how it’s tearing apart the idea of art and authorship.
Flare-Up
Goldsmith’s Centre for Contemporary Art, London, to 16 August
Health and illness are the focus of this show about the body and disability, featuring a stellar lineup of artists including Derek Jarman, Félix González-Torres and Racheal Crowther. Eddy Frankel
Going out: Stage
A History of Paper
Pitlochry Festival theatre, 9 August to 19 September
Oliver Emanuel and Gareth Williams’s thoughtful and romantic new musical charts a burgeoning relationship between a man and woman through the scraps of paper they leave behind – tickets, letters, menus and shopping lists. Alan Cumming and Shirley Henderson star. Miriam Gillinson
Love’s Labour’s Lost and Much Ado About Nothing
Thomas’s College, Richmond, to 22 August
This enticing Shakespearean double bill transforms his two comedies into a sweeping single love saga set around the second world war. MG
Kevin Bridges
8 August to 20 February; tour starts York
The Glaswegian comic’s gritty, relatable and masterfully constructed observational fare made him a standup institution in his homeland long ago. Now, more than two decades on from his debut, the (still only) 39-year-old heads back out on the road with new show Here If You Need Me. Rachel Aroesti
Tchaikovsky: Child of Glass
Opera Holland Park, London, 13 to 15 August
A music-dance-drama about the life and forbidden loves of composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. This is a real meshing of forms, the play written by Tama Matheson (artistic director of the Brisbane Shakespeare festival), with pianist Jayson Gillham playing live, and Royal Ballet soloist Téo Dubreuil performing choreography by Stephen Wicks. Lyndsey Winship
Staying in: Streaming
Warren’s Vortex
Now & Sky Comedy, 10 August, 9pm
This sister show to the New Zealand comedy Wellington Paranormal (itself a What We Do in the Shadows spin-off) sees a teenage girl fall into the transdimensional wormhole her dad has been hiding in his shed, leading the pair into a host of absurd alternate timelines.
Hit Point
U&Dave, 13 August, 9pm
Misfits creator Howard Overman’s twisty romcom-thriller ramps up the standard-issue police procedural suspense with a hefty dose of sexual tension. Saffron Hocking and Nick Blood are two detectives trying not to get distracted by their mutual attraction while investigating a gangland robbery that doesn’t quite add up.
A House Through Time
iPlayer & BBC Two, 13 August, 9pm
David Olusoga’s particular brand of braininess may not have made him much of a Traitor hunter, but the softly spoken historian is the perfect fit for this gently fascinating series which chronicles British life through the prism of a single dwelling. This sixth instalment focuses on an Edinburgh home that dates back to 1765.
Mourinho
Netflix, 11 August
The Special One (a nickname he loudly disavows in the trailer while standing in front of a huge self-portrait) and his 20-year winning streak is the subject of this new series from Joe Pearlman, director of arch documentaries on Robbie Williams and Bros. Ferguson, Terry, Lampard, Ibrahimović and Drogba are among the talking heads. RA
Staying in: Games
Agent 64
PC, out 11 August
Aimed squarely at those who played and loved GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64 nearly 30 years ago, this homage keeps the lo-fi graphics and much-loved split-screen multiplayer mode but has its own story campaign and the ability to play online. Relive your youth – now with updated modern design.
Servant of the Lake
PC, out 13 August
Eye-catching for its charming mix of bold line-drawn characters and muted sketched backgrounds, this point-and-click adventure hs charming characters and hides a darker mystery. Jordan Erica Webber
Staying in: Albums
Flo – Therapy at the Club
Out now
The British R&B trio return with the follow-up to their Grammy-nominated debut, Access All Areas. Led by the salacious banger Leak It and the retro-soul stomper Remedied, the album also features throwback soul jams on the title track and Don’t Break Her Heart.
Overmono – Pure Devotion
Out now
Welsh brothers Tom and Ed Russell continue to push the boundaries of electronic music on this follow-up to 2023’s debut, Good Lies. As well as incorporating vintage synthesisers and destabilising vocal techniques, the pair also literally baked a crash cymbal in the oven. Why not?
Ravyn Lenae – Blue Island
Out now
After releasing a couple of if-you-know-you-know alt-pop albums, Chicago singer-songwriter Lenae scored an unexpected smash last year with Love Me Not. As a result, this third album should garner more attention, and thankfully songs such as the Solange-esque Saturday Night and the loping Handle live up to the hype.
The Anchoress – As We Once Were
Out now
When she’s not hosting her own podcast, or writing books about epic poetry, Welsh polymath Catherine Anne Davies also makes music. On her first album of new material in five years, her decadent art-rock is augmented by guests including Gwenno and James Dean Bradfield. MC
Staying in: Brain food
Writer’s Routine
Podcast
Dan Simpson’s long-running series finds nuggets of wisdom in writers’ mercurial schedules. A treasure trove of advice for anyone looking to be creative, Simpson’s bestselling guests explore how to build confidence and set your own pace.
Bayeuxmuseum.com
Online
As the Bayeux tapestry prepares to open to the public at London’s British Museum, this high-resolution interactive panorama from Normandy’s Bayeux Museum allows those who can’t get their hands on tickets to experience the next best thing.
Women Not Included: Drugs and Clinical Trials
BBC World Service, 10 August, 8.30pm
Dr Ella Hubber’s investigation into the ways that women have been overlooked across decades of research is a deeply troubling yet necessary listen. Alongside expert commentary, she explores how biological differences affect the ways drugs work. Ammar Kalia
