From Wild Horse Nine to Kings of Leon: your complete entertainment guide for the week ahead
John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell team up in a typically offbeat Martin McDonagh comedy, and the Followill brothers reach album No 10 in rustic mode
Contents
Going out:Cinema
Wild Horse Nine
Out now
John Malkovich looks set to be nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of an ageing CIA agent with terminal cancer who is sent to Easter Island with his younger colleague (Sam Rockwell) in this dark comedy drama from Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin).
La Bola Negra
Out now
Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi were inspired by Lorca’s unfinished four-page fragment of the same name to create this epic Spanish queer drama spanning three timelines, with an international cast including singer-songwriter Guitarricadelafuente, Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close.
I Play Rocky
Out now
Back in 1975, a struggling actor by the name of Sylvester Stallone wasn’t getting the parts he wanted – so he gave himself three days to write a juicy role. The result was Rocky and the character was so good he had to fight to play it. Anthony Ippolito stars as Stallone in this feelgood dramatisation of the story behind one of cinema’s most famous roles.
One in a Million
Out now
Winner of the audience award at the Sundance film festival, this documentary follows a girl across an extraordinary decade in her life: from her childhood in Syria to adult life in Germany. Directed by Itab Azzam and Jack MacInnes. Catherine Bray
Going out: Gigs
Simple Things festival
Various venues, Bristol,7 November
For the first time in its 12-year history, Bristol’s festival celebrating boundary-pushing music has employed guest curators in the shape of Squid, Shabaka, Jeremy Deller and Cobrah. Alongside their picks are the likes of Hannah Diamond, My New Band Believe and the Avalanches. Michael Cragg
London jazz festival
Various venues,13to 22 November
This ever imaginative 10-day festival’s opening night includes spectaculars such as the star-packed John Coltrane centenary celebration (Barbican Hall) and vocal showcase Jazz Voice (Royal Festival Hall), while small-band gems such as saxophonist Jean Toussaint’s JT5 (also Friday, World Heart Beat Embassy Gardens) will be happening all over town. John Fordham
SBTV20
The O2, London, Wednesday
The great and the good of the UK grime scene will appear at this 20th-anniversary celebration of the pioneering music platform SBTV. The event, which features Chip, Ms Banks and Tinie Tempah, will also honour the legacy of SBTV’s founder, Jamal Edwards MBE, who died in 2022. MC
Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius
The Glasshouse, Gateshead,8 November
The epic oratorio at the heart of the 2025 film The Choral is a blockbuster even without Ralph Fiennes and co. The Royal Northern Sinfonia, local amateurs and a vast choir perform this choral favourite with top-flight soloists Sarah Connolly, Benjamin Hulett and Roderick Williams. Dinis Sousa conducts. Flora Willson
Going out: Art
Constantinople to Istanbul: One City, Two Empires
V&A, London,7 Novemberto9 May
This big, ambitious exhibition looks at 1,600 years of art, design, antiquities and rarities such as the 11th-century Enkolpion of Constantinos, from a city that acts as a cultural bridge between Europe and Asia, east and west, and Islam and Christianity.
Georg Wilson
Gainsborough’s House, Sudbury,8 Novemberto 18 April
Young painter Georg Wilson takes an ecological, folkloric, atmospheric approach to landscape painting, which means she should fit in perfectly in the historic surrounds of Thomas Gainsborough’s old gaff.
Ade Adesina
City Art Centre, Edinburgh,7 Novemberto 11 April
Aberdeen-based printmaker Ade Adesina uses woodcuts, etchings, linocuts and screenprints to tackle big themes of colonial history and the climate crisis, all with dramatic starkness and intense detail.
Katie Shannon
Goldsmith’s Centre for Contemporary Art, London, to 13 December
The latest artist to take over GCCA’s experimental Episodes series, where they give a platform to young creatives, is Katie Shannon, with a new body of work looking at lost musical histories and “feminist rereadings of time and space”. Eddy Frankel
Going out: Stage
The Adam and Joe Show
Royal Albert Hall, London,11 November; Beacon Hall, Bristol, 5 December
It has been 30 years since Buxton and Cornish’s cult comedy series was first broadcast. To celebrate, the duo revisit its highlights – toy movies; BaaadDad et al. Rachel Aroesti
Cloud 9
National Theatre: Lyttelton, London, to 13 January
Dominic Cooke revives Caryl Churchill’s typically inventive, time-bending, mind-boggling play. It begins in Victorian colonial Africa then jumps to 70s London, with the cast performing theatrical gymnastics along the way. Miriam Gillinson
Owain& Henry
Wales Millennium Centre: Donald Gordon theatre, Cardiff, to 28 November
Michael Sheen stars as Owain Glyndŵr, a Welsh lord who rebelled against Henry IV after being declared an outlaw. Written by Olivier winner Gary Owen with a cast including Sophie Melville, Linus Roache and Rakie Ayola. MG
Humanhood: Vortex
Sadler’s Wells East, London,10 to 14 November
Hypnotic movement from the Birmingham-Barcelona-based duo Humanhood and their company. Artistic directors Julia Robert and Rudi Cole have developed a method that’s somewhere between dance and a spiritual practice. Lyndsey Winship
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Staying in: Streaming
12 12 12
Apple TV, 13 November
A heist: 12 months to plan, 12 hours to execute and 12 days to see whether you’ve got away with it. That’s according to this neat, numbersy cat-and-mouse thriller starring Jamie Dornan as the criminal mastermind behind a Zurich bank vault robbery and Anthony Mackie as the FBI agent on his tail.
Hunting Alice Bell
Channel 4, 11 November, 9pm
The Guardian’s film critic Peter Bradshaw and his schoolmate David Baddiel once co-starred in a sitcom; now they’ve reunited to create this internet vigilante thriller about a group of women who are all rumoured to be the accomplice of an infamous serial killer (Simon Pegg) living under a new identity.
The Good Daughter
Sky Atlantic & Now, 12 November, 9pm
Rose Byrne lends her exceptional acting chops to Karin Slaughter’s own adaptation of her characteristically disturbing 2017 novel about the secret truths behind a horrific attack that continues to haunt two sisters. Brendan Gleeson and The White Lotus’s Meghann Fahy also star.
Cunk on Cinema
BBC Two & iPlayer, 12 November, 10pm
It has been 13 years since “computer typist” Philomena Cunk first appeared as a talking head on Charlie Brooker’s Weekly Wipe; since then Diane Morgan’s alter ego has found fame as a very confused documentarian. Her latest series sees her grill doyens of the film industry in bewildering style. RA
Staying in: Games
The Devil’s Due
PC; out10 November
It’s a classic story: you’ve lost a card game with the devil, and now you must make your way out of hell by defeating all of his minions at poker. Inventive cheating and a characterful collage-esque look make this a trip to hell worth considering.
Shrek 2: Remastered
All platforms; out 10 November
I’m not sure anyone expected this rerelease of the 2004 movie tie-in, which was surprise-announced just a few weeks ago, but it’s here to capitalise on the run of Shrek nostalgia that has already resulted in an immersive experience, a musical and several Shrek-themed raves. Keza MacDonald
Staying in: Albums
Kings of Leon – O My Beloved
Out now
On their 10th album, the Followills get reflective. Self-produced, rustic and rooted in nostalgia, O My Beloved looks back at their career, their family life and the moments that shaped them, with the sweet, country-tinged My Whole World a painting of domestic bliss.
Shygirl – Swallow!
Out now
The artist born Blane Muise channels the likes of the Prodigy, William Orbit-era Madonna and the more interesting aspects of indie on this second album. Songs such as lead single Alyse also bolt on plush string arrangements, creating a sound that feels both decadent and dirty.
Skepta – The Fork and Knife
Out now
Seven years after his last album, the rapper and producer returns with a record rooted in the sounds of modern Britain. Absorbing everything from grime to house to jungle, its lyrics explore identity and strengthgain-produced Victory Lap is pure party
La Roux – Old Flames
Out now
Never one to be rushed, 00s electropop survivor Elly Jackson, AKA La Roux, follows up 2020’s occasionally brittle Supervision with this warmer album. The minimalist throb of Babyline stands out on a record focused on fresh starts. MC
Staying in:Brain food
Talking Common
Podcast
This engaging new series from author Josh Connolly departs from the usual self-help format and looks for answers to personal problems in community solutions. Guests include the musician Sonny Green on breaking the generational cycle of addiction issues.
International Intrigue
Online
This daily newsletter briefing from former diplomats is one of the most concise and thorough rundowns of complex geopolitical issues available. Recent topics feature the race for a new UN chief and the EU’s Arctic Strategy.
The Life Scientific
BBC World Service, Monday, 8.32pm
Associate professor of chemistry Asel Sartbaeva reveals how her research into silica materials has the potential to free lifesaving vaccines from needing to be constantly refrigerated and therefore reducing their risk of becoming spoiled in transit. Ammar Kalia
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