From The Magic Faraway Tree to 5 Seconds of Summer: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead
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Going out:Cinema
The Magic Faraway Tree Out now A family relocate to the countryside where they find a magic tree that transports them to a fantasy realm in this family adventure. Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2) adapts the Enid Blyton series for the big screen, with Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy starring as Mr and Mrs Thompson.
They Will Kill You Out now This latest eat-the-rich horror, directed by Kirill Sokolov, pits plucky ex-con Asia (Zazie Beetz) as a woman who answers a bad-faith “help wanted” ad against the inhabitants of a luxurious but demonic New York apartment complex that demands regular human sacrifices from its cult of devotees.
Splitsville Out now Billed as an unromantic comedy about four people navigating the opportunities and pitfalls of ethical non-monogamy, this modern farce follows two couples as they make up and break up in different combinations. With Dakota Johnson, Adria Arjona, Kyle Marvin (who also co-wrote the script) and Michael Angelo Covino (who also directed and co-wrote).
Orwell: 2+2 = 5 Out now Raoul Peck directs an award-winning documentary about George Orwell, the profound influence of whose novels and essays endures as unfortunate parallels between present-day political strategies and his work evolve. Damian Lewis narrates. Catherine Bray
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Going out: Gigs
5 Seconds of Summer Glasgow, 30 March; Birmingham, 31 March; London, 2 April; tour continues to 5 April The proud creators of six albums varying from 1D-aping pop-rock to darker-hued dance experiments, Australian boyband 5SOS have surpassed their own expectations when it comes to career longevity. These arena shows should distil their time into a fun 90 minutes. Michael Cragg
Manchester punk festival Various venues, 3 to 5 April With more than 140 bands playing across seven venues, there should be something for every punk fan at this year’s celebration of all things loud and sweaty. Headliners include hardcore noise merchants Fucked Up and San Francisco punks Dead to Me. MC
The Bad Plus Barbican Hall, London, 30 March Pianist Keith Jarrett’s Standards Trio have long been celebrated as one of the greats – but his lesser-known 1970s American Quartet were close behind. Saxophonist Chris Potter and pianist Craig Taborn celebrate that group’s memorable music. John Fordham
Martha Argerich & Dong Hyek Lim Royal Festival Hall, London, 2 April It’s hard to believe one of the world’s greatest pianists turns 85 this year. Still touring internationally, the Argentinian Argerich is joined for her latest UK appearance by her Korean sometime protege for duets and two-piano works by Schubert, Mozart and Rachmaninov. Flora Willson
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Going out: Art
Konrad Mägi Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, to 12 July The cold, bright skies of northern and Baltic Europe are pixelated into shards of strong colour by this Estonian modernist, who was a contemporary of Munch and Matisse. Mägi draws on pointillist dots and expressionist colour and is attracted to intense, brooding subjects, from eerie portraits to wild rural vistas.
Joan Eardley Modern Two, Edinburgh, to 28 June The gritty, romantic painter who depicted both tough city streets and windswept landscapes in post-second world war Scotland gets a closer look. Eardley is a strong and admirable artist whose eye for beauty and sadness enabled her to see Scottish life and scenery with great conviction and truth. No glamour, just honesty.
Yasmine Robinson CCA Derry, to 6 June This abstract painter who works in Belfast has a fierce, impassioned sense of colour that makes me think of both the German expressionist Franz Marc and the romantic English colourist Howard Hodgkin. Good stuff in other words. Big wild blobs of red, yellow and blue collide like thunderclouds of emotion.
Dia Al-Azzawi Richard Saltoun Gallery, London, to 9 May This British-Iraqi artist has lived in London since 1976 yet this is only his second show there. Originally trained as an archaeologist and curator, he became a painter with a cool, elegant semi-abstract style influenced by Matisse and Picasso, who draws on the Arabian Nights and classic love poetry. Jonathan Jones
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Going out: Stage
Copenhagen Hampstead theatre, London, to 2 May Michael Frayn’s intricately woven play is set during the height of the second world war, and explores a mystifying real-life meeting between German physicist Werner Heisenberg and his former mentor, the Danish scientist Niels Bohr. From director Michael Longhurst and starring Alex Kingston and Richard Schiff. Miriam Gillinson
Phoenix Dance Company: Interplay Leeds Playhouse, 31 March to 2 April A quadruple bill from the Leeds contemporary dance company. Highlights include Suite Release, which harks back to 90s hip-hop and the simple joy of dancing with friends, and Why Are People Clapping? a clever, playful piece based on Steve Reich’s Clapping Music. Lyndsey Winship
Tom Davis Dorking Halls, 28 March; tour continues to 8 November Over the past decade, Davis has provided a sidesplitting stream of loud and ludicrous characters, all while having countless deep and meaningfuls with Romesh Ranganathan on their podcast Wolf & Owl. His standup lands somewhere in between, as the 46-year-old dissects his psyche with goofy-geezer energy. Rachel Aroesti
Private Lives Royal Exchange, Manchester, to 2 May Director Blanche McIntyre – whose productions always have such clarity and depth – revives Noël Coward’s gloriously vitriolic play about a divorced couple honeymooning in the same hotel. A sparkling cast includes Jill Halfpenny. MG
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Staying in: Streaming
Babies BBC One/iPlayer, 30 March, 9pm Writer-director Stefan Golaszewski (Him & Her, Marriage) brings his distinctive – and sometimes divisive – brand of social realism to this incredibly moving drama about miscarriage and toxic masculinity. Paapa Essiedu and Siobhán Cullen play a couple struggling with the loss of a baby.
Your Friends & Neighbors Apple TV, 3 April Jon Hamm returns as Coop, the man keeping up appearances in his monied suburban enclave by stealing from his wealthier pals, in this arch comedy-drama. Last season saw our antihero almost jailed for murder – this time there’s another threat: a smarmy new neighbour (James Marsden) who may have cottoned on to his grift.
XO, Kitty Netflix, 2 April As the creator of The Summer I Turned Pretty – a teen drama that hit a nerve with millennial audiences – Jenny Han was behind one of last year’s most talked-about TV finales. Now she’s back with season three of her other YA romance, about a Korean-American student who gets a culture shock when she moves to Seoul.
The Young Offenders BBC One/iPlayer, 3 April, 9.30pm An impressive fifth series for this rambunctious Irish comedy about chaos-magnet pals Jock and Conor. Having spent the previous instalment banged up in separate prisons – one in Colombia, one in Cork – the pair are now reunited in their home town, but trouble won’t be far away. RA
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Staying in: Games
Super Mario Bros. Wonder Out now; Switch 2 One of the best 2D Mario games, and certainly the weirdest, with its elephant transformations and trippy mid-level breakdowns, has been updated for Nintendo’s new console. It’s got a bunch of new multiplayer features that are especially good for families.
Hozy Out Monday; PC Clean, renovate and decorate the long-neglected houses of your home town in this novel combination of the award-winning puzzle game Unpacking, surprising mega-hit PowerWash Simulator and the house-building bit from The Sims. The diorama art style and vibey lighting promise a soothing experience. Keza MacDonald
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Staying in: Albums
Raye – This Music May Contain Hope Out now Five years after freeing herself from her previous label, the now independent Raye is the proud owner of seven Brit awards, a Grammy and two chart-topping singles. One of those is the retro-soul stomper Where Is My Husband!, which appears on this second album, alongside tear-stained ballad Nightingale Lane.
Charlie Puth – Whatever’s Clever! Out now US singer-songwriter Puth’s loved-up fourth album wraps featherlight production around sweet songs such as Home, featuring Japanese superstar Hikaru Utada. Elsewhere, Kenny G adds sax appeal to the gloriously OTT Cry, while other guests include Ravyn Lenae and Jeff Goldblum.
Robyn – Sexistential Out now Despite an eight-year gap between albums, Robyn’s place in the pop canon has only been further cemented via recent tributes from the likes of Charli xcx and Harry Styles. Sexistential adds to her legacy via playful hook-up bops (the title track) and, on Blow My Mind, emotional odes to her young son.
Snail Mail – Ricochet Out now Since the release of Lindsey Jordan’s second album as Snail Mail in 2021, the Maryland native has had vocal surgery and made her acting debut in surreal cult classic I Saw the TV Glow. These ups and downs of adult life are channelled into Ricochet’s 90s alt-rock, specifically the widescreen Dead End. MC
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Staying in:Brain food
The Overturn Podcast Following the families fighting for loved ones who they feel have been victims of miscarriages of justice, this moving series highlights the worrying fractures in the justice system and the often lonely journey to resolution.
History of Simple Things YouTube A YouTube counterpart to 00s US cable stalwart How It’s Made, this channel explores the engrossing production process behind everyday items such as oregano and almond milk, as well as the etymology of terms such as restroom.
The Saltmakers BBC World Service, 2 April, 9.32am Chhavi Sachdev’s investigation into the nomadic lives of the Gujarati Agariya tribes is a fascinating example of how the climate crisis is affecting an ancient way of life and destabilising a vital and traditional salt production process. Ammar Kalia
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