Film
My Cousin Rachel
It’s summer! So no better time to watch Rachel Weisz and Sam Claflin have a gothic posh-off in this new adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s novel, with Weisz as the mysterious, possibly murderous titular seductress and Claflin her revenge-seeking cousin.
In cinemas now
Dispossession: The Great Housing Swindle
Maxine Peake narrates a doc that lays bare the UK’s housing crisis, focusing primarily on the council house deficit that has caused abject misery for thousands. Starting with Thatcher’s Right to Buy scheme, Paul Sng’s film tragically traces the ways Britain has spectacularly failed to house its citizens.
Various venues, to 20 August
Stage
Ignition dance festival 2017
Another highlight of the dance calendar, Ignition’s fourth edition will showcase new works from seven specially selected “mid-career” choreographers. You could very well spot a future Wayne McGregor or Sleep here, such as the duet from avant-garde cabaret show Thick and Tight – AKA Eleanor Perry and Daniel Hay-Gordon.
At Rose theatre, Kingston upon Thames, 16-17 June
Penn & Teller
Sometimes we all need a bit of magic (and ribald humour) and that’s a combo this Las Vegas duo have been trotting out for more than 40 years now. Catch them in Manchester and Glasgow.
At O2 Apollo Manchester, 10-11 June, then SEC Armadillo, Glasgow, 15-16 June
Woyzeck
Before he got to the Star Wars level of fame, John Boyega – as he revealed in a recent Guardian live Q&A – did everything from model in college brochures to give out free tasters at Victoria station. Now he’s a leading man – and on the stage, too, as currently proved by his star turn in Jack Thorne’s production of the revolutionary work Woyzeck, the tale of a young soldier and his girlfriend and daughter in 1980s Berlin, just before the wall comes crashing down. There’s just two weeks left to catch Boyega’s powerful showing as the tragic hero.
At the Old Vic, SE1, until 24 June
Room
Emma Donoghue’s moving book was adapted into a film in 2015 and won numerous awards for its sensitive portrayal of a mother and son locked in a purpose-built room with only their imaginations and each other for company. Now it’s a play, with additional songs by Kathryn Joseph and the play’s director, Cora Bissett.
At Dundee Rep, 13-17 June, then Abbey theatre, Dublin, 24 June to 22 July
Greenwich Dances 2017
Promising up-and-coming dance performances and workshops as part of Greenwich Dance’s new summer programme, including a show from Frauke Requardt about the slipperiness of motherhood; an evening of food and moves from Boy Blue Entertainment; and, on 27 June, a discussion with dance trio Nora about diversity in dance.
At various venues, 16 June to 7 July
Music
The Space Lady
The San Franciscan artist’s story is a truly oddball one: a busker who was discovered playing cosmic covers of popular rock songs on her Casiotone MT-40 keyboard in Haight Ashbury, complete with baffling Viking helmet. Now a celebrated outsider artist, she brings her eerie psychedelia to the UK.
Various venues, 15-20 June
Manchester With Love
Following last week’s benefit concert, musicians come together once again to raise funds for those killed and injured in the bomb attack at Ariana Grande’s Manchester gig. All proceeds from the upcoming Manchester With Love compilation album will go to the Red Cross and Manchester’s emergency fund, with more than 100 artists from the city taking part. Artists announced so far include Jane Weaver, A Certain Ratio, Illum Sphere, GoGo Penguin, Henge, Bipolar Sunshine, Matthew Halsall and Herron.
Available from 19 June via Bandcamp and Boomkat
Exhibitions
Cass Presents: Jake and Dinos Chapman
Instagram filters at the ready: sculpture enfants terribles the Chapman brothers have installed their three large-scale copper dinos in the gardens of Cass Sculpture Foundation near Goodwood, while inside there’s their Animal Farm-inspired display, Two Legs Bad, Four Legs Good.
At Cass Sculpture Foundation, West Sussex