From Saipan to Take That: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead
SaipanOut now As the Irish national team descend on a small island in the Pacific to prepare for the 2002 World Cup, an epic falling out between manager Mick McCarthy (Steve Coogan) and top player Roy Keane (Éanna Hardwicke) is looming, in this sports drama loosely based on the infamous real-life spat,No Other ChoiceOut nowKorean auteur Park Chan-wook (Oldboy) enlists Squid Game’s Lee Byung-hun to lead this dark comedy about a man who has recently been made redundant but is so committed to reclaiming his role that he feels he has “no other choice” but to resort to murder,H Is for HawkOut nowBased on the novel by Helen Macdonald, this drama sees Claire Foy play a woman mourning the loss of her father become on the idea of training a hawk,This project isn’t necessarily a natural fit with her life as a graduate fellow at Cambridge,Directed by Philippa Lowthorpe and also starring Brendan Gleeson and Lindsay Duncan.
The History of SoundOut nowPaul Mescal (Hamnet) plays a talented singer and Josh O’Connor (The Mastermind) a committed musicologist who become lovers in this early 20th century-set romantic drama from Oliver Hermanus (Living).Based on a couple of short stories by Ben Shattuck, it premiered at Cannes last year in the main competition.Catherine BrayJason Derulo29 January to 9 February; tour starts GlasgowRidiculous and often ridiculously entertaining, Talk Dirty hitmaker and now one of the most followed TikTok stars in the world Jason Derulo arrives in the UK for an mammoth arena tour.Expect OTT dancing and enduring bangers such as Whatcha Say and Want to Want Me.Michael CraggHannah DiamondPhonox, London, 30 JanuaryThe PC Music acolyte returns, three years after second album Picture Perfect, with a new live experience, HD Heaven.
Prone to futuristic world-building, and with the promise of various special guests, it’s likely to be a visual and sonic onslaught anchored by Diamond’s experimental pop nous,MCEarth and Other Planets: Britten Sinfonia with Stevens & Pound and Robert MacfarlaneMilton Court, London, 28 January; Norfolk Events Centre, Norwich, 29 January; West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge, 30 JanuaryFolk duo Delia Stevens and Will Pound collaborate with the Britten Sinfonia and Macfarlane to reimagine Holst’s The Planets in a version of the orchestral suite that includes their newly written Earth,The folk-themed concert will also feature Britten’s rarely heard Suite on English Folk Tunes: A Time There Was, which he dedicated to the memory of Percy Grainger, alongside Grainger’s own Lincolnshire Posy, based on songs he collected more than a century ago,Imogen TildenMarsalis Trumpet Concerto/Brighton Philharmonic OrchestraBrighton Dome Concert Hall, 24 JanuaryThe Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra under Joanna MacGregor’s baton performs the blues, swing, Latin and contemporary-classical kaleidoscope of Wynton Marsalis’s panoramic 2023 Trumpet Concerto with exciting young Nigerian-Scottish trumpet virtuoso Aaron Azunda Akugbo, on an eclectic programme also featuring music from Michael Nyman’s The Draughtman’s Contract, jazzy variations on Henry Purcell,John FordhamAndy WarholLakeside Arts, Nottingham, 24 January to 19 AprilAs the US changes, does our understanding of this most American artist also change? Arguably we are still catching up with Andy.
His cold analysis of a future dominated by cheap celebrity that disguises a monotonous sameness has never looked more plausible.He never said it would be a utopia.Julia PhillipsBarbican Centre: The Curve, London, 30 January to 19 AprilThis Germany-born artist is a sculptor of acutely modern unease.Casts of her own body, strangely rendered in shiny ceramic, are juxtaposed with steel frames, sharp tools and other pieces of technology.Her jarring collisions of flesh and metal suggest the new machine age, in the spirit of Berlin dada.
Georg BaselitzCristea Roberts Gallery, London, to 28 FebruaryThe veteran painter and sculptor – who has spent a life expressing the human condition, from scabrous “degenerate” early works to upside-down pictures and historical provocations – is having a brilliant, honest old age,He marks his 88th birthday in typically defiant and dangerous style with depictions of the German eagle,Caroline WalkerPallant House Gallery, Chichester, to 26 AprilRealist, on the surface almost placid, paintings that explore the experience of motherhood,A mother sits with her children in one scene, and we wonder what her thoughts and feelings are in this stilled moment of everyday life,Another painting looks from the outside, at a child in a room.
Jonathan JonesPaul Taylor Dance CompanyRoyal Ballet & Opera: Linbury Theatre, London, 27 to 31 JanuaryPaul Taylor was one of the most important, and popular, figures in American modern dance, from the 1950s onwards.The company hasn’t been to the UK for two decades (Taylor died in 2018) so this is a long-overdue visit, with two programmes featuring Taylor classics and new works.Lyndsey WinshipRosalie Minnitt: ClementineTheatr Clwyd, Mold, 24 January; touring to 7 JuneSince debuting in 2022, Minnitt’s one-woman Regency heroine spoof has gradually blossomed into a word-of-mouth hit.Combining period drama parody with knowing anachronism, Clementine draws clever parallels between its protagonist’s eye-wateringly desperate search for a husband and the nightmare of modern dating.Rachel AroestiArcadiaOld Vic theatre, London, 24 January to 21 MarchThe late Tom Stoppard’s dazzling classic – a century-hopping swirl of intellect and romance – is staged at the Old Vic for the first time.
Directed by Carrie Cracknell and starring Seamus Dillane, Leila Farzad, Angus Cooper and Prasanna Puwanarajah.Miriam GillinsonOur TownSwansea Grand theatre, to 31 January; touring to 28 MarchThe inaugural production for Michael Sheen’s Welsh National Theatre tours Wales and then transfers to London’s Rose theatre in February.Sheen leads an all-Welsh cast in Thornton Wilder’s achingly moving play, which quietly tracks the passing of time in a small town.MGWonder ManDisney+, 28 JanuaryMarvel has its cake and eats it with this mind-bendingly meta drama set in a world plagued by superhero fatigue.Wannabe actor Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and past-it thesp Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley) are both desperate for roles in a Wonder Man reboot – but could the former be a far better fit for the lead than he first appears?Under Salt MarshSky Atlantic & Now, 30 January, 9pmThis brooding Wales-set thriller from rising film-maker Claire Oakley is more bone-chiller than winter warmer.
Starring Rafe Spall and Yellowstone’s Kelly Reilly, it kicks off with a detective turned teacher discovering the body of a pupil; the ensuing investigation unites police dysfunction, small-town suspicion and climate crisis-abetted natural disaster,Take ThatNetflix, 27 JanuaryBetween the BBC’s the BBC’s Boybands and Girlbands Forever strand and Sky’s Boyzone doc, sensitive yet rollickingly entertaining programmes about our favourite 90s pop stars are everywhere,Now it’s Barlow and co’s turn to get the nostalgia treatment with this chronicle of the group’s dizzying heyday plus their spectacular comeback in the 2000s,Mission to Space With Francis BourgeoisChannel 4, 25 January, 6,45pmBest known as the TikTok trainspotter, social media sensation Bourgeois goes off the rails in this programme about the reality of becoming a professional astronaut.
From G-force training with Tim Peake to tests in zero gravity, the life-affirmingly anorakish 25-year-old will discover if he has what it takes to make it in space.RADispatchSwitch & Switch 2; out 28 JanuaryThis story-driven game about a former superhero dispatcher working at a call centre has delighted everyone who’s played it, and is now out on Nintendo’s Switch consoles.It has an extraordinarily strong cast of superheroes and villains whom you must dispatch on jobs around a mirror-world Los Angeles, and is written with wit and warmth.TR-49PC; out nowIn a forgotten church basement, a second world war-era computer is discovered.Within, swaddled in strange code, are books, poems, diaries… and people? A mystery game from the excellent developer behind A Highland Song and Expelled!.
Keza MacDonaldIDK – Even the Devil SmilesOut nowUK-born, US-raised rapper IDK follows up 2024’s fifth album, Bravado + Intimo, with this 15-track mixtape.Shaped by his incarceration as a teen, tracks such as the Pusha T-assisted Life 4 a Life prowl around sinister production from Kaytranada, while a posthumous verse from DMX burns through Start to Finish.Ari Lennox – VacancyOut nowAcross her first two albums, Washington DC’s Ari Lennox conjured up a feeling of pleasure for pleasure’s sake, channeling 90s neo-soul and modern R&B into date-night anthems.That continues on this third record, which features the languid single Under the Moon, plus production from Jermaine Dupri and Tommy Brown.Louis Tomlinson – How Did I Get Here?Out nowHaving dabbled in dour Britpop-adjacent rock on his first two solo albums, the erstwhile One Directioner lightens up on this new record.
Featuring songwriting contributions from Theo Hutchcraft (Hurts) and David Sneddon (Lewis Capaldi), the singles Lemonade and Palaces are imbued with a genuine sense of fun,Agnes – Beautiful MadnessOut nowDespite her commercial peak in the UK being long gone (2009’s Release Me was a Top 3 smash), Swedish pop singer Agnes (below) has built a fervent cult following, bolstered by 2021’s Abba-esque opus, Magic Still Exists,This belated follow-up features glistening dance-pop, sweat-soaked electro and a bop called Uterus & Universe,MCEye of the Duck: Lord of the Rings SpecialPodcastIn-depth cinema series Eye of the Duck presents a three-part special exploring Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth, featuring a mammoth four-hour opening episode on the making of 2001’s The Fellowship of the Ring and its enduring legacy,University of Chicago Assyrian DictionaryOnlineWith its origins in ancient Mesopotamia, Assyrian is one of the world’s oldest languages.
This free dictionary from the University of Chicago took 90 years to assemble and explores fascinating contexts for these early words,Hungary: The Alternative to OrbanBBC World Service, 29 JanuaryIn April, Hungary faces new parliamentary elections and for the first time since his initial election in 2010, far-right leader Viktor Orban is falling behind in the polls,Nick Thorpe meets opposition activists and voters,Ammar Kalia
Starmer allies urge him to block Andy Burnham from running in byelection
Keir Starmer’s allies are urging him to block Andy Burnham from running in the Gorton and Denton byelection, after the Greater Manchester mayor declared his intention to stand, setting up a potential fight for the prime minister’s political future.Burnham said on Saturday he wanted to contest the seat after the sitting MP, Andrew Gwynne, said he intended to stand down.Burnham’s allies – including ministers, MPs and trade union chiefs – say that as one of the country’s most high-profile and popular Labour politicians, he must be allowed to fight the seat and attempt a return to parliament.But with the Manchester mayor having made no secret about his leadership ambitions, those close to the prime minister were on Friday night urging him to take steps to prevent Burnham standing.“If Keir doesn’t make the call [to block Burnham], it’s game over,” said one
‘The best interests of our party’: Andy Burnham’s letter to Labour NEC in full
Dear Chair,I write to seek the permission of the NEC to enter the process for the selection of Labour’s candidate for the forthcoming Gorton and Denton byelection.This has been a difficult decision for me to make and I thought it would help members of the NEC if I shared my reasoning in reaching it.Of course, nobody wanted or expected a byelection at this time and I have given careful thought to what is in the best interests of our party and the city-region I represent.With that in mind, I have come to the conclusion that this is the moment to mount the strongest possible defence of what we stand for and what we have built in this city over many generations.Manchester inspires because it is a place that has always stood for the equality of all people, right back to the cotton workers of 1862 who refused to handle slave-picked cotton
Red meat, no lettuce: Nigel Farage and Liz Truss attend private lunch after week of Tory defections
If it was on the menu, a side helping of lettuce never made it to the table. Over blood-red steak and chips, Nigel Farage and Liz Truss came together on Monday for a discreet lunch at a swish Mayfair club, organised by a climate-denying US thinktank.Lois Perry, a former leader of the far-right Ukip party who is now Europe director of the Heartland Institute, posted photographs, now deleted, on X of Farage addressing others, including Truss, at the meal.While Reform UK appears to be keeping the former prime minster at arm’s length publicly, despite welcoming other former Tories, the gathering at Mark’s Club organised by the Heartland Institute raises potentially fresh awkward questions for the party.“Liz Truss would not be welcome in Reform UK,” the party’s press team replied within seven minutes of being asked by the Guardian if the party would ever allow the UK’s shortest-serving prime minister into its ranks
Starmer faces pressure not to block Andy Burnham’s return to parliament
Keir Starmer is facing mounting pressure not to block Andy Burnham from making a comeback to parliament, with Angela Rayner planning to urge No 10 to let him stand in a forthcoming byelection.The prime minister’s allies have been trying to prevent Burnham’s return as a candidate in the Greater Manchester seat of Gorton and Denton, amid fears he could challenge the leadership.However, a string of Labour MPs and the boss of Britain’s biggest union, Unison, warned on Friday that the party must ensure a democratic process and avoid a stitch-up.Rayner, the former Labour deputy leader, is understood to be supportive of Burnham standing if he wants to, and is expected to argue he should be allowed to when she speaks at Labour’s north-west regional conference on Saturday.The timeline for candidates to make a decision is extremely tight, with applications opening at 5pm on Friday, a deadline to seek permission from the national executive committee (NEC) 24 hours later, and applications closing on Sunday shortly before midnight
Nigel Farage’s trip to Davos hosted and paid for by family trust of billionaire
Nigel Farage’s trip to Davos this week was hosted and paid for by the $10bn family trust of an Iranian-born billionaire, the Guardian has learned.The leader of Reform UK has been touring Davos this week, giving speeches in which he pledged to tax banks and “fight the globalists”.But in a surprising entry, he is listed on the programme for the World Economic Forum as a member of parliament and a representative of HP Trust, which describes itself as the “family office of Sasan Ghandehari” with a portfolio value in excess of $10bn (£7.4bn).A representative for the trust said Farage had been invited to Davos by Ghandehari, a venture capitalist, as an honorary and unpaid adviser to his impact investment portfolio focused on philanthropic activities, particularly in the Middle East
UK politics: Trump’s Nato claims ‘insulting and frankly appalling’, says Starmer –as it happened
Keir Starmer has condemned Donald Trump’s claim that Nato allies did no properly fight alongside the US in Afghanistion. In a pooled clip that has just been broadcast, he sounded genuinely angry.Starmer said:Let me start by paying tribute to 457 of our armed services who lost their lives in Afghanistan.I will never forget their courage, their bravery and the sacrifice that they made for their country.There are many also who were injured, some with life-changing injuries
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