Music
Jessie Ware
After a three-year gap, dinner-party favourite Jessie Ware is back with more sophisticated hush-pop in the shape of Glasshouse. Top-tier collaborators including Benny Blanco, Ryan Tedder and, erm, Preston from the Ordinary Boys, all offer songwriting help to songs that lean closer to Radio 2. Out on 20 October.
George Michael
As the anniversary of his death approaches, the George Michael legacy campaign kicks into overdrive. There’s a Channel 4 documentary, Freedom, airing on Monday and a deluxe reissue of 1990’s Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1 that, alongside some rarities and an unnecessary Nile Rodgers remix, also comes with 1996’s MTV Unplugged album. Out on 20 October.
Hit Parade
This monthly podcast from pop critic Chris Molanphy explores various facets of the music landscape, from the Beatles monopolising the Billboard charts in the 60s to the charity megasingles of the mid-80s. This month’s edition is the most interesting, looking at how in the 90s labels squeezed out the single by focusing on overpriced albums by the likes of Alanis Morissette.
Exhibitions
Harry Potter: A History of Magic
Having saturated the world of books, films and cash-in theme parks, JK Rowling’s evergreen creation now gets an exhibition. Featuring rare books, manuscripts and magical objects that inspired the spirit of Potter world, the exhibition also includes Rowling’s original drawings and drafts.
At the British Library, NW1, from 20 October until 28 February
Shonky: The Aesthetics of Awkwardness
Curated by John Walter, Hayward Touring’s latest Curatorial Open exhibition challenges the negative association of shoddy or unreliable art, suggesting a more celebratory definition of “shonkiness” and how it can be used to explore a range of issues including gender, identity, beauty and the body. Artists include Arakawa and Madeline Gins, Plastique Fantastique and Cosima von Bonin.
At Mac, Belfast, from 20 October until 14 January; DCA, Dundee, from 10 March until 27 May; and Bury Art Museum and Sculpture, from 23 June until 15 September
Wim Wenders’ Polaroids
Subtitled Instant Stories, this exhibition features more than 200 of Oscar-nominated film-maker Wim Wenders’ rarely seen, diary-like Polaroids encompassing portraits of cast and crew, friends and family, street-photography and landscapes taken between the early 1970s and mid-80s. It also features some moving images, too, if that’s your vibe.
At The Photographers’ Gallery, W1, from 20 October until 11 February
Festivals
Cambridge film festival
Cambridge film festival prides itself on attracting the big names without losing its sense of intimacy. Previous success stories have included showing an early 1996 short by a certain Christopher Nolan, while this year’s lineup includes the likes of the Steve Carrell-starring tennis drama Battle of the Sexes; Tangerine director Sean Baker’s The Florida Project; and the Angelina Jolie-produced Afghanistan-set animation The Breadwinner.
At various venues, Cambridgeshire, 19-26 October
Film
The Death of Stalin
Featuring a fairly ridiculous ensemble cast including Jeffrey Tambor, Steve Buscemi and Andrea Riseborough, Armando Iannucci’s film about the Soviet power struggles caused by Stalin’s death has already upset the Russian government while receiving unanimous pre-release praise. Judge for yourself from 20 October.
Theatre
Christmas Eve
Niamh Cusack stars in Daniel Kehlmann’s suspense thriller in which a woman is dragged in for questioning the night before Christmas.
At Theatre Royal, Bath, from 19 October until 18 November
Podcasts
Cults
This podcast from the hosts of Serial Killers, Greg Polcyn and Vanessa Richardson, explores what really goes on in a cult, as well as trying to work out why cult leaders behave that way in the first place. Earlier episodes focus on Charles Manson, while another investigates the decidedly odd Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettle, AKA “the UFO two”.
