Adolescence writer Jack Thorne takes on the classic tale of deserted schoolboys, while the US band warm up for a pummelling summer of alt metal100 Nights of HeroOut nowMaika Monroe plays a woman shut up in a castle with her husband’s handsome and seductive best friend (Nicholas Galitzine) who has made a wager that he can tempt her to stray from her marriage.Sharp-witted maid Hero (Emma Corrin) clocks what’s going on and does her best to foil the dirtbag’s schemes, in this fairytale fantasy from Julia Jackman.Charli xcx also stars.My Father’s ShadowOut nowṢọpẹ́ Dìrísù (Slow Horses) stars in a semi-autobiographical debut from Akinola Davies Jr in which an estranged father travels through the city of Lagos in Nigeria with his two young sons during a day of violent unrest following the 1993 election crisis.HamletOut nowSomething is rotten in the state of England: Riz Ahmed plays Shakespeare’s famous Dane as a scion of a wealthy British South Asian family in Aneil Karia’s modern take on probably the most famous play of all time.

Also starring Morfydd Clark, Joe Alwyn and Sheeba Chaddha,The Chronology Of WaterOut nowKristen Stewart makes her directorial debut with an adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch’s cult hit memoir,Imogen Poots plays Yuknavitch, who begins her academic career on a swimming scholarship and is later selected to work with One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest author Ken Kesey on a collaborative novel,Catherine BrayDeftones12 to 20 February; tour starts BirminghamAhead of a busy festival summer, including London’s Outbreak in August, the US alt-metallers pop over for an arena tour,With last year’s pummelling Private Music continuing their streak of distinctly above average albums, these shows should act as the perfect warm-up.

Michael CraggMikaAO Arena, Manchester, 11 February; OVO Arena, London, 12 FebruaryNow perhaps best known as a judge on railway station-based music competition The Piano, Mika returns to showcase his own florid pop with a arena tour in support of new album, Hyperlove.Songs such as the unabashed banger Modern Times should nestle nicely alongside hits Grace Kelly and Love Today.MCScottish Opera: Fujikura’s The Great WaveTheatre Royal Glasgow, 12 & 14 February; touring to 21 FebruaryBorn in Japan, composer Dai Fujikura moved to the UK as a teen.His delicately beautiful music is rooted in both cultures.In a Scottish-Japanese collaboration, Fujikura’s fourth opera explores the life of artist Katsushika Hokusai.

Its world premiere is conducted by Stuart Stratford and directed by Satoshi Miyagi.Flora WillsonGwilym Simcock & Emma RawiczWatermill Jazz, Dorking, 10 FebruaryThe duo of multi-genre piano virtuoso Gwilym Simcock and UK saxophonist Emma Rawicz – the latter an inspired juggler of classic jazz-sax methods and the cutting edge from her student days – is a jewel of European new music.They play pieces from their album Big Visit and much more on this gig.John FordhamGwen JohnNational Museum Cardiff, 7 February to 28 JuneThis defiant artist braved isolation and poverty to find freedom.As a result she is one of the few early 20th-century British artists who stands as a modern great.

From her adventures as Rodin’s model and lover, to her discovery of religion and spirituality, she went her own way.Lucian FreudNational Portrait Gallery, London, 12 February to 4 MayThe harsh, beautiful truth of Lucian Freud’s art relies on no tricks, no theory – just relentless looking.This exhibition follows his unsentimental observations of people through sketches and drawings on to the canvas.How much of his painting was done eye-to-eye with his subjects and how much planned beforehand?Seurat and the SeaCourtauld Gallery, London, 13 February to 17 MayDotty delirium rules the waves in the great pointillist’s eerie views of the seaside.Seurat saw something sad, sublime and scintillating in unpopulated harbours, purple rocks and most uneasily of all, northern France’s Channel of Gravelines which he made an icon of alienation and emptiness.

Monet through the mincer.Quentin BlakeThe Sherborne, Sherborne, to 12 AprilThere’s more than one way to draw the essence of people.Where Freud was remorseless, the veteran illustrator Quentin Blake is famously whimsical – but the 100 portraits he shows here, all drawn in 2025, prove what an acute and memorable artist he is.He also shows witty fantasies of flight.Jonathan JonesVittorio AngeloneNottingham, 11 February; Manchester, 12 February; Liverpool, 13 February; touring to 18 AprilThe title of the Northern Irish comedian’s show gives you an idea of clever provocation you’re in for: irreverently referencing the hit TV series about the Troubles, You Can’t Say Nothing Any More grapples with the omertà around the conflict.

Rachel AroestiBirmingham Royal Ballet: Don QuixoteBirmingham Hippodrome, 12 to 21 February, touring to 25 AprilAs a 16-year-old, Carlos Acosta won the Prix de Lausanne dancing a solo from the ballet Don Quixote,Decades later he made his own sunny version of that same ballet, filled with Spanish heat and light, and now performed by the company he directs,Lyndsey WinshipShadowlandsAldwych theatre, London, to 9 MayA true story of faith and love, doubt and desire – and a life-changing romance between author CS Lewis and poet Joy Davidman,A hit when it debuted in 1989, its revival stars Hugh Bonneville and Maggie Siff,Miriam GillinsonLark Rise to CandlefordWatermill theatre, Newbury, to 14 MarchWatermill theatre’s ensemble of actor-musicians work their magic on the much-loved novel about a young girl who moves from the isolation of the Cotswolds to the bustling market town of Candleford.

MGLord of the FliesiPlayer & BBC One, 8 February, 9pmFew stories loom larger in the national imagination than William Golding’s tale of the schoolboys stranded on a desert island, so who better to helm a new version than the current king of British TV writing, Adolescence’s Jack Thorne? With a cast of young unknowns, it could well mimic his previous hit’s starmaking powers, too.How to Get to Heaven from BelfastNetflix, 12 FebruaryWriter Lisa McGee returns with her first post-Derry Girls project, a conspiracy caper about a trio of pals who decide to search for an estranged schoolmate after she sends a cryptic cry for help.Expect the goofy slapstick and aggy bickering that characterised McGee’s beloved sitcom alongside true-crime-pastiching thrills.Small ProphetsiPlayer & BBC Two, 9 February, 9pmMagic, mystery and magnificent comic acting abound in Mackenzie Crook’s new drama.Distraught by the disappearance of his partner seven years earlier, Michael (Pearce Quigley) decides to follow a spell for summoning miniature soothsaying spirits.

What could possibly go wrong? Michael Palin, Paul Kaye, Sophie Willan and Jon Pointing co-star,Becoming Victoria WoodU&Gold, 12 February, 9pmThe warmth and relatability of her wickedly sharp comedy cannot be overstated, yet Victoria Wood was never an open book,In this documentary, friends including Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders and Maxine Peake recall the real Wood, as exclusive archive material unpacks her inner life,RANioh 3PC, PS5; out nowYou may not feel like the world needs yet another samurai action game, but Nioh does it differently: fighting feels super intense and consequential, and your foes are all horrible ghosts and demons,If you remember the classic samurai series Onimusha, you’ll know what’s up.

MewgenicsPC; out 10 FebruaryA game about cats that is – and this is important – not at all cute.Instead this dungeon-delver about mutating felines channels the gross-out surrealism of Ren and Stimpy.It’s also up to 200 hours long, so this is in no way a game for the faint-hearted (or weak-stomached).Keza MacDonaldElla Mai – Do You Still Love Me? Out now After struggling to make headway in the UK, Londoner Ella Mai went to the US, scored a Top 10 with Boo’d Up and quietly established herself as an R&B mainstay.This third album continues her relationship with super-producer Mustard, their alchemy showcased on the retro-sounding 100.

Nick Jonas – Sunday BestOut nowFive years after his last solo album, the full-time Jonas brother and part-time member of the Jonas Brothers returns with the reflective Sunday Best,Featuring 11 songs focusing on his recent life changes – marriage and fatherhood, basically – it’s led by the muted single, Gut Punch,J Cole – The Fall OffOut nowAfter getting caught up in, then quickly exiting, the Kendrick Lamar/Drake beef in 2024, Grammy-winning rapper J Cole has focused on this long-mooted seventh album,Having started working on it back in 2016, and with rumours that it’s his final one, there’s a lot riding on it,Beverly Glenn-Copeland – Laughter in SummerOut nowNow 82, and facing severe illness, Beverly Glenn-Copeland shows no signs of slowing down, with this album of new songs and reinterpretations following 2023’s acclaimed The Ones Ahead and its subsequent tour.

Featuring vocals from his wife, Elizabeth, it’s an album full of soul and devotion.MCTrapped HistoryPodcastAn insightful and engaging exploration of forgotten historical figures, this series features guests such as writer Sathnam Sanghera and artist Habib Hajallie analysing the impact of Indian independence leaders, Britain’s first Black sports star and others.InspiraggioYouTubeYouTuber Erick Giraldo’s weekly video essays on art history present fascinating deep dives into early works by Michelangelo, Da Vinci’s distinct brushstrokes and 17th-century Dutch artists’ ability to create illusions through the use of perspective.The Hunger Game Radio 4 & BBC Sounds, 9 February, 1.45pmAs weight-loss jabs continue to proliferate, this five-part series presented by professor Giles Yeo reveals the latest research on their long-term effect, as well as the ethical dilemmas surrounding their prescription.

Ammar Kalia