Going out: Cinema
If
Out now
In what has to be one of the more enviable showbiz lives, John Krasinski has played Jim in The Office, married Emily Blunt, and written and directed acclaimed horror franchise A Quiet Place. Now he turns his hand to family entertainment, writing and directing this part-animated fantasy about imaginary friends made visible with a little help from Ryan Reynolds and Steve Carell.
Two Tickets to Greece
Out now
If the summer hols feel far away, take a vicarious tour around the Greek islands. We join reunited childhood friends Magalie (Laure Calamy) and Blandine (Olivia Côte) for an odd-couple holiday, with a small role for Kristin Scott Thomas as a bohemian artist called – wait for it – Bijou.
Tiger Stripes
Out now
In this Malaysian allegory for the changes that come with adolescence, 12-year-old Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal) finds her body altering in unexpected ways, in response to both adolescent hormones and the savage social pressures of tween life. A debut with teeth from director Amanda Nell Eu.
Hoard
Out now
Breakout actor Saura Lightfoot Leon stars opposite Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things) in a squelchy, pungent coming-of-age story from debut director Luna Carmoon, who brings a raw, muscular sense of technique to an autobiographical story of sex, trauma and foster care. Catherine Bray
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Going out: Gigs
Danny Brown
22 to 29 May; tour starts London
It was a busy 2023 for Detroit rapper Danny Brown. As well as releasing a face-melting collaborative album with Jpegmafia, he released his sixth solo album, Quaranta. A more sombre affair, it should offer some time to catch your breath among bangers such as 2016’s Ain’t It Funny. Michael Cragg
Voices from the East
Royal Festival Hall, London, 19 May
In his final months as the Bournemouth Symphony’s chief conductor, Kirill Karabits presents a day-long showcase of the little-known works from eastern Europe – Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Armenia and his native Ukraine – that he has championed so magnificently during his 15 years at the helm in Poole. Andrew Clements
Hovvdy
21 to 28 May; tour starts Glasgow
Five albums in, Austin’s Charlie Martin and Will Taylor seem to have hit their stride. Their recent self-titled record refines their slow-burn indie into atmospheric vignettes such as the tactile Bubba. Expect a laid-back, richly emotional night. MC
Manchester jazz festival
Various venues, to 26 May
The popular and now 28-year-old festival presents its signature mix of cutting-edge jazz from across many styles. Highlights this year include subtle saxophonist Trish Clowes with piano partner Ross Stanley; piano great Julian Joseph; and Tim Garland’s Lighthouse supertrio, beginning a long UK tour. John Fordham
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Going out: Art
Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk
V&A Dundee, to 5 January
This survey of one of Japan’s most celebrated garments ranges from 17th-century silk paintings and woodblock prints to shimmering masterpieces of couture, straight off the catwalk. It includes a delicately designed floral kimono that Freddie Mercury owned alongside examples made as long ago as the 1600s.
Judy Chicago
Serpentine North Gallery, London, 23 May to 1 September
You can’t accuse this feminist pioneer of following artistic fashions. In the 1970s she created her own illuminated manuscript entitled Revelations – a project seemingly more medieval than modern. As it is published for the first time, this exhibition follows its themes to reveal the importance of drawing to her art.
The Shape of Things
Pallant House Gallery, near Chichester, to 20 October
Artists as various as Duchampian pop genius Richard Hamilton, spooky caster of everyday things Rachel Whiteread and surrealist photographer Lee Miller appear in this survey of modern British still life. This ancient genre, which goes back to ancient Egypt and Rome, has adapted very nicely to the age of the readymade.
Isa Genzken
Hauser & Wirth, London, to 27 July
Possibly the most authentically punk artist around, this German provocateur whips up collages and assemblages out of scrap that have a perverse poetry. Here, she shows a typically disconcerting work inspired by the Wasserspeier – gargoyles – of Cologne Cathedral, translating their gothic style into the language of dada. Jonathan Jones
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Going out: Stage
Norfolk & Norwich festival
Various venues, to 26 May
A couple of dance shows well worth seeking out at the Norfolk arts fest: Rachel Ní Bhraonáin’s Mosh, about the culture of the heavy metal moshpit (23 to 25 May), and the autobiographical An Accident/A Life, about dancer Marc Brew’s life-changing car accident, made with choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (24 & 25 May). Lyndsey Winship
Catherine Bohart
Touring to 10 October
“Settling down” may sound peaceful, but the mid-30s transition from young adulthood to just adulthood tends to be fraught with panickedconfusion. Thankfully, Irish comic Bohart is here to whip all that self-doubt and stress into an hour of taut, sharp and slightly manic hilarity. Rachel Aroesti
The Women of Llanrumney
Sherman theatre, Cardiff, to 1 June
Azuka Oforka’s striking new play grapples with Wales’s colonial past. Set in 18th-century Jamaica, The Women of Llanrumney follows two women enslaved by a Welsh family. Around them, rebellion builds. Based on the real-life Morgan family, from Cardiff, the show has the makings of a searing historical drama. Kate Wyver
Metamorphoses
The Cockpit, London, to 1 June
A queer reimagining of Ovid’s poem, this production features an all-trans cast. Unearthing trans narratives within the text, JimmyJ’s new script aims for beauty and brutality as it delves into the idea of radical transformation. The show has a pay-it-forward scheme offering free tickets to queer and trans people. KW
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Staying in: Streaming
Insomnia
Paramount+, 23 May
The first Sarah Pinborough book-to-TV adaptation resulted in the oddly compulsive Netflix thriller Behind Her Eyes – and this TV version of her 2022 novel promises another wild ride. Vicky McClure traces the psychological descent of a woman who finds herself unable to sleep on the eve of her 40th birthday – much like her late mother.
Rebus
BBC One, 18 May, 9.25pm
It has been 17 years since the self-destructive inspector last graced our screen transplanted from the 90s to the present days – high time, then, to return to Edinburgh for a new TV version of Ian Rankin’s modern classic detective novels. Led by Richard Rankin (no relation), this Rebus acts as a midlife origin story.
The Nevermets
Channel 4, 24 May, 10pm
Technology has opened up umpteen avenues to romance: some have become ordinary to the point of cliche, others remain mind-bendingly strange. This new documentary introduces an example of the latter, chronicling relationships that started online and stayed there: these are committed couples who have never met in person. See what happens when they finally do.
Trying
Apple TV+, 22 May
Long-running terrestrial TV comedies are thin on the ground. Over on the streamers, things are different: this bittersweet series about a couple (Esther Smith and Rafe Spall) entering the adoption process has been given ample time to bed in. Now, series four jumps forward six years to showcase a whole new set of struggles. RA
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Staying in: Games
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
PC, XSX; out 21 May
The harrowing yet brilliant mythological adventure returns with tortured hero Senua embarking on a brutal journey through Iceland. Once again the character’s mental state provides a key focus amid the usual video game combat.
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
PC, Switch; out now
Created by award-winning Swedish studio Simogo, Lorelei is a surreal puzzle adventure set in a remote hotel somewhere in central Europe. Expressionistic visuals and a non-linear narrative make this an intriguing prospect. Keith Stuart
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Staying in: Albums
Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft
Out now
After retreating slightly from the spotlight on 2021’s tortured, sarcastically titled Happier Than Ever, Eilish says this third album is about rediscovering “the girl that I was”. She’s there in the menacing, electronic pulse of Chihiro, while Lunch is a lustful ode to sexual experimentation.
Bright Light Bright Light – Enjoy Youth
Out now
On his fifth album, Rod Thomas – Wales’s best pop export since Lisa Scott-Lee – focuses on pure joy. You Want My … struts like a camper Pet Shop Boys, while Heartslap, produced by Jon Shave (Girls Aloud, Charli XCX), is a 90s throwback dance anthem in waiting.
Zayn – Room Under the Stairs
Out now
The erstwhile One Directioner returns with a new sound on this fourth album. Co-produced by Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile), Room Under the Stairs ditches the Weeknd-esque feel of Pillowtalk, and the garage-lite pop of last year’s Love Like This, for a more stripped-back, emotionally raw acoustic sound.
Beth Gibbons – Lives Outgrown
Out now
Thirty years after the emergence of Portishead, their mercurial frontwoman finally releases her debut solo album. Touching on “motherhood, anxiety, menopause and mortality”, the James Ford-assisted Lives Outgrown is suffused with Gibbons’s unique sense of symphonic sadness as showcased on the mournful lead single, Floating on a Moment. MC
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Staying in: Brain food
Louisiana Channel
YouTube
Denmark’s Louisiana Museum of Modern Art has amassed a fascinating collection of video interviews with artists and writers, including the late author Paul Auster on his relationship to postmodernism, and artist Jeremy Deller on billionaire collectors.
Painting of the Week
Podcast
Film director Phil Grabsky and art enthusiast Laura Bentham front this series discussing the unique appeal of works of art. Highlights include a moving discussion on Yvonne Gilleece’s Aids Memorial Quilt.
Labelling the World
BBC World Service, 18 May, noon
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is the official classification handbook for psychiatrists in the US. With labelled disorders proliferating, ADHD musician Jay Emme investigates whether the DSM helps or hinders. Ammar Kalia
