Going out: Cinema
The Instigators
Out now
Matt Damon and Casey Affleck return to their Boston roots for this heist comedy, in which two ne’er-do-wells spot an opportunity to score big bucks by targeting a corrupt politician. When – inevitably – it all goes south, their therapist (Hong Chau) finds herself mixed up in the getaway.
Borderlands
Out now
Director Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Hostel) has assembled a real crack squad for this big-screen take on the popular video game, with Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Jamie Lee Curtis reporting for duty as a rag-tag gang of misfits teaming up for some high-octane, space-based adventure.
Sky Peals
Out now
Ever felt you don’t fit in? This slow-burn debut drama from Moin Hussain explores the life of a thirtysomething night shift worker whose sense of displacement could stem from his mundane life … or does his late father’s belief that he hailed from another planet have something to do with it?
Caligula
Out now
They don’t make ’em like this any more … except when they do. This new version of the 1979 Roman romp starring Malcolm McDowell and Helen Mirren goes back to the rushes to cut together something closer to what was originally intended when film-makers first set out to create a decadent vision of how absolute power corrupts absolutely. Catherine Bray
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Going out: Gigs
Bludfest
Milton Keynes Bowl, 11 August
Curated and headlined by Doncaster’s finest, Dominic Harrison, AKA Yungblud, this one-day fest is genre-diverse. So alongside his occasionally cartoonish goth-pop you can see proggy US rapper Lil Yachty, bare-chested punkers Soft Play and scrappy soul singer Lola Young. Michael Cragg
Noah Kahan
13 to 22 August, tour starts Manchester
Originally teased in 2020, US singer-songwriter Kahan’s country-folk single Stick Season made a small dent before disappearing. After going viral on TikTok in 2022, however, it eventually peaked in the US Top 10, and topped the charts here. This UK arena tour caps Kahan’s fairly ludicrous past few years. MC
Oddgeir Berg Trio
Watermill Jazz, Dorking, 13 August; Fleece Jazz, Colchester, 14 August
In some moods, the skilful Oslo-based trio led by Norwegian pianist Oddgeir Berg reflects the meditative keyboard music of his famous compatriot Tord Gustavsen, and in others the hard-rocking drama of the late Esbjörn Svensson. Berg is moving deeper into these absorbing new fusions with this fast-rising outfit. John Fordham
Oedipus Rex
National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, 12 to 19 August
Scottish Opera presents Stravinsky’s majestic opera-oratorio as an immersive staging directed by Roxana Haines, with a 100-strong community chorus and the audience promenading through the museum. Andrew Clements
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Going out: Art
An Irish Impressionist
Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh to 27 October
Belfast-born painter Sir John Lavery is reclaimed from his career as a late Victorian and Edwardian society portraitist. He was, as this exhibition touring from Dublin’s National Gallery of Ireland shows, far more vital: a dashing, even experimental painter of landscapes and beach scenes inspired by expressionism.
Mark Rothko: The Seagram Murals
Tate St Ives, to 5 January
These bloody portals to nothingness are among the greatest masterpieces of modern art. It’s hard to believe Rothko’s red, black and purple paintings were originally intended to decorate a restaurant, for they speak to the soul, not the body. Inspired by Pompeii and Michelangelo, here are paintings for the ages.
Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies
British Museum, London, to 18 August
This is a rare display of a beautiful work made in China between the fifth and sixth centuries AD to chastise an empress. It’s a handscroll that was designed to be held and slowly unrolled, revealing a series of instructive scenes, replete with characterful portraits, everyday detail and dreamy landscapes.
Naomi Rincón-Gallardo
Hayward Gallery, London, to 1 September
This film in the Hayward’s project space features a cast of “vermin” including a bat, scorpion, snake and frogs. All these creatures feature in the myths of ancient Mexican cultures. They’ve returned now to communicate with dead souls by radio and explain how the legacy of colonialism shapes today’s world. Jonathan Jones
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Going out: Stage
Harriet Kemsley
Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh, to 12 August; touring 12 September to 16 November
The sarcasm drips off Kent-born Kemsley’s new show title: Everything Always Works Out for Me, a riff on the messy millennial comic’s recent divorce. Rachel Aroesti
Shifters
Duke of York’s theatre, London, 12 August to 12 October
Benedict Lombe’s romantic odyssey sold out at the Bush theatre earlier this year. Now it gets a bigger stage to revive this looping, smouldering story of first love. Heather Agyepong and Tosin Cole reprise their roles as lovers and dreamers. Kate Wyver
Hamlet
The Lyceum, Edinburgh, 15 to 17 August
Performed by a team of actors with Down’s syndrome, this retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy centres the importance of community. Weaving the text with the performers’ stories, the Peruvian production is sure to be a highlight of the Edinburgh festival. KW
Scottish Dance Theatre
Zoo Southside, Edinburgh, 13 to 25 August; touring 3 to 28 September
A double bill from the Dundee troupe. In Moving Cloud the choreography of Sofia Nappi from Italy meets a soundtrack of Scottish folk, while Roser López Espinosa’s The Flock is inspired by the migration of birds. Lyndsey Winship
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Staying in: Streaming
Bad Monkey
Apple TV+, 14 August
Aside from his sublime turn as Freddy Funkhouser in Curb Your Enthusiasm, Vince Vaughn has been largely absent from our screens in recent years. This irreverent crime drama puts that right. Vaughn stars as a disgraced detective who is dragged into Florida’s underworld by a dismembered arm; Jodie Turner-Smith, Rob Delaney and Zach Braff also star.
Daddy Issues
iPlayer & BBC Three, 15 August, 9pm
This novel twist on the odd-couple comedy stars Sex Education’s Aimee Lou Wood as wild child Gemma, who unexpectedly finds herself pregnant – then realises she has only her nice-but-deadbeat dad and flatmate (David Morrissey) for support and company. But might the new baby be the making of them both?
The Body Next Door
Sky Documentaries & NOW, 11 August, 9pm
Lee Sabine told neighbours that when she died they should display her old medical skeleton in the attic to spook any new occupiers of her home in Beddau, south Wales. Events subsequently snowballed to reveal one of the most bizarre and shocking true crime stories in recent memory; now a three-part documentary series.
Emily in Paris
Netflix, 15 August
The ultimate mindless comfort watch returns for a fourth series (split into two parts. as tentpole Netflix shows now tend to be), to chronicle our titular heroine’s struggle to decide between two dishy beaus: will banker ex-boyfriend Alfie win her back, or will she seal the deal with longtime crush Gabriel in the wake of his disastrous wedding?. RA
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Staying in: Games
The Crush House
PC, out now
Both a satire of and tribute to Y2K reality TV, this bubblegum-coloured game has you casting and producing a dating show, trying to stay on air for long enough to figure out what’s going on at the nefarious network.
Dredge: The Iron Rig
All platforms, out 15 August
An excellent excuse to return to last year’s eldritch-horror fishing game, this expansion adds a rig full of most probably evil scientists to Dredge’s unsettling seas. Keza MacDonald
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Staying in: Albums
Ravyn Lenae – Bird’s Eye
Out now
After scoring a wealth of critical acclaim for her 2022 debut Hypnos, Chicago singer-songwriter Lenae returns with this follow-up executive produced by DJ Dahi (Kendrick Lamar, Kali Uchis). While Love Is Blind is a gorgeous, honeyed R&B ballad, the skipping Love Me Not leans into soft-focus indie rock.
J Balvin – Rayo
Out now
One of the best selling Latin artists, J Balvin has worked with everyone from Madonna to Rosalía via Ed Sheeran and Cardi B. On this long-awaited sixth solo album he teams up with Spanish singer Saiko on the stuttering Gaga, while Puerto Rican reggaeton great Chencho Corleone joins for party-starter Polvo de tu Vida.
Fucked Up – Another Day
Out now
Led by frontman Damian Abraham’s throat-shredding growl, Canadian hardcore rabble Fucked Up have spent decades fusing noisy bloodletting with solidly melodic foundations. That continues on this hasty follow-up to last year’s One Day. Single Stimming is a gloriously OTT slab of ear-piercing emotional release.
That Woman – Find Joy
Out now
Josephine Vander West, one half of the alt-pop duo Oh Wonder alongside husband Anthony Vander West, steps out for a solo debut. Tracks such as Joy and Change are rumbling synthpop heaters, but it’s the striking Hymn for a Woman, in all its stripped-back glory, that stands out. MC
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Staying in: Brain food
Embedded: Tested
Podcast
NPR presents this fascinating investigation into the culture wars surrounding women’s professional sports. We hear how athletes are disqualified or encouraged to dope to meet new eligibility criteria.
History Hit
YouTube
Broadcaster Dan Snow’s history-focused brand has grown to encompass much more than just a popular podcast series. Regular video essays enlist experts to explain everything from medieval libidos to the brutal nature of battlefield surgery.
Going Bananas
BBC World Service, 13 August
The world’s most popular banana is now under threat from a killer fungus ravishing plantations. This entertaining documentary speaks to the farmers forced to abandon their livelihoods and the scientists rushing to find a cure. Ammar Kalia
