TV and film
A Bad Moms Christmas
This sequel to 2016’s unlikely hit comedy Bad Moms finds Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and Kathryn Hahn dealing with their respective moms (mums) – played by Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines and Susan Sarandon – over the festive period. Expect no cliche to be left unturned. Out on 3 November.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer
The Lobster director Yorgos Lanthimos returns with this disquieting psychological thriller starring Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell. The film, which won the Cannes award for best screenplay, centres on the latter’s relationship with a 16-year-old boy who appears to be intent on revenge, controlling Farrell with threats of supernatural consequence. Out on 3 November.
Look, let’s be honest, watching the second series of this is all we’re going to be doing this Halloween weekend. When we left, Eleven was somewhere bad, Will had returned from somewhere bad, no one cared about Barb, and Winona had taken down those telepathic lightbulbs. Expect more of all that. On Netflix now.
Theatre
Poison
Zubin Varla and Claire Price star in the UK premiere of Lot Vekemans’s critically acclaimed tale of coming to terms with heartbreaking loss. At Orange Tree theatre in London from 2 November.
Podcasts
Dirty John
Hosted by Christopher Goffard (who has also written a companion piece for the LA Times), this true-crime podcast focuses on the case of Debra Newell, an interior designer in southern California who gets embroiled in an unending nightmare with a man she meets on a dating site. Dirty John – which the New Yorker referred to as “journalism noir” – is available now on Wondery.
Exhibitions and festivals
Doc’n Roll film festival
With blockbuster superstar documentaries all the rage recently, here’s a welcome opportunity to celebrate the subcultures. This annual festival returns with L7: Pretend We’re Dead, an exploration of the grunge pioneers, alongside films about the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Tangerine Dream, Lee Ranaldo, Joe Cocker and basslines.
Various venues, London, 2-18 November
My Name Is Prince
London’s cavernous O2 Arena has been chosen as the venue for the first ever official exhibition dedicated to the Pretzelbodylogic hit-maker Prince Rogers Nelson. Running until 7 January, the exhibition showcases hundreds of never-before-seen artefacts direct from Paisley Park, including the cloud suit from the Raspberry Beret video, the shiny purple jacket from Purple Rain, a bunch of wiggly-shaped guitars and a diamond-studded cane from 2015. For £60 you can get the “VIP experience”, ie a glass of bubbly.
Monochrome: Painting in Black and White
Featuring more than 50 works, this exhibition at the National Gallery in London explores the tradition of painting in black and white over the last 700 years. Old masters rub shoulders with contemporary artists, but no painting fits the brief quite like Kazimir Malevich’s self-explanatory Black Square. From 31 October to 18 February.
Age of Terror: Art Since 9/11
Artists such as Ai Weiwei, Grayson Perry, Jenny Holzer and Shona Illingworth are all showcased in this exhibition of artists’ responses to war and conflict since the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. While the main exhibition runs until 28 May at the Imperial War Museum, there will be a special Conflict Café: Do We Live in an Age of Terror? debate at 11am on 28 October.
Music
Songs for the End of the World
Are you a fan of epic, experimental theatre and sweaty, raucous gigs? Have you pored over Philip K Dick’s post-apocalyptic novel Dr Bloodmoney while listening to David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust? If so, then you should probably head to Liverpool’s Playhouse on 31 October and/or 1 November to watch musician and theatre-maker Dom Coyote and his band the Bloodmoneys preparing for the end in a near-future dystopia called New Albion. There’s a full album on SoundCloud, too, if you’re interested.
