July 11
THEATRE Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain
Drive-in historical larks: watch live stage antics through the windscreen while listening via the car radio. Features tales of Boudicca, Guy Fawkes, Queen Victoria and “Richard III, who in 1485 famously bought a long-stay ticket for a car park in Leicester”. Car Park Party, Henley-on-Thames (carparkparty.com), then touring until Aug 31
ART Art Nouveau
You know it when you see it, all flowing lines and organic shapes. This stunning University of East Anglia show collects over 150 works by 30 artists – sculpture, painting, jewellery, prints – in the dominant fin-de-siècle style. Sainsbury Centre, Norwich (sainsburycentre.ac.uk), until Dec 31
COMEDY The Drive-In Club
The summer’s starriest drive-in offers solo shows from a plethora of top acts: Bill Bailey, Omid Djalili, Adam Kay, Nish Kumar, Shappi Khorsandi, Reginald D Hunter, Eddie Izzard, Marcus Brigstocke and Stephen K Amos. The Drive-In Club, London NW4 (thedrivein.club), until Aug 9
CLASSICAL Akademie für Alte Musik: Beethoven Symphonies
A new recording of Beethoven’s groundbreaking first two symphonies by a top German ensemble, released for the 250th anniversary of his birth. Harmonia Mundi
ART Elisabeth Frink’s Studio
Thankfully, the dramatic fire at Messums Wiltshire last month didn’t burn down their beautiful 13th-century tithe barn, which houses this reconstruction of Frink’s studio. Messums Wiltshire, Tisbury (messumswiltshire.com), to Oct 18
THEATRE Rambling Revellers
Missing theatre and wishing it could come to your doorstep? Help is at hand from this London-based company – whose new “roaming” arm offers private in-person performances of scenes from classic British plays. London (revelsinhand.com)
CLASSICAL Fidelio Unbound
Twenty-seven concerts from top-rank young classical performers including Pavel Kolesnikov, Alina Ibragimova and Steven Isserlis in an intimate restaurant setting. The dinner-plus-concert is not cheap at £100, but remember: these musicians haven’t earned in months. Fidelio Orchestra Café, London EC1 (fideliorchestra.art), until Aug 13
COMEDY Mark Watson’s Carpool Comedy Club
Watson’s roadshow has a brilliantly curated line-up, mixing well known names (Dara O’Briain, Sara Pascoe, Josie Long) with future stars (Jess Fostekew, Sara Barron). Luton Hoo Estate (driveanddinetheatre.com), until tomorrow then touring until Aug 2
FILM @ The Drive-In
Hits old and new to be enjoyed from the comfort of your vehicle. Titles include Back to the Future, A Star is Born and, naturally, Cars. Circus Field, London SE3 (atthedrive.in), until tomorrow then touring until Oct 4
July 12
ART Anish Kapoor
The grounds and historic interiors of Houghton Hall offer a dramatic setting for an exhibition of 24 sculptures by Kapoor, including major works in mirror and stone such as Sky Mirror (2018). Houghton Hall, Norfolk (houghtonhall.com), until Nov 1
JAZZ Sunday Jazz Lunch
The Belgravia restaurant with “the widest selection of Cuban cigars in the world” has a new boast: first UK jazz venue to present live music since lockdown. Sundays offer a socially distanced jazz trio, while Frank Sinatra tribute act Stephen Triffitt sings Tuesday-Saturday. Boisdale, London SW1 15 (boisdale.co.uk), daily
COMEDY Drive In Comedy Night
This drive-in has a varied first-night bill: acerbic Glaswegian Fern Brady, YouTuber Seán McLoughlin, Jamali Maddix and Tom Houghton, a man so posh he lives in the Tower of London. Troubadour Meridian Water, London N18 (thedrivein.london), then Aug 3 and Aug 10
July 14
ART Radical Figures
Anyone with even half an interest in contemporary painting should make a beeline for this intoxicating show, featuring memorable work by 10 figurative painters, including Michael Armitage, Cecily Brown, Daniel Richter and Dana Schutz. Whitechapel Gallery, London E1 (whitechapelgallery.org), to Aug 30
TV The Plot Against America
Perhaps only a writer as gifted and confident as David Simon could take on Philip Roth’s chillingly plausible counter-factual history imagining the US in the grip of fascism. Winona Ryder, Zoe Kazan and John Turturro star. Sky Atlantic
July 15
ART Tullio Crali
The first UK exhibition of paintings and drawings by the Italian futurist painter and pilot Tullio Crali (1910-2000) is as revelatory as it is vertigo-inducing. He used his first-hand experience in the cockpit to capture the sublime drama of flight. Estorick Collection, London N1 (estorickcollection.com), until Aug 30
July 16
ART Picasso and Paper
Don’t miss this welcome second chance to catch one of the exhibitions of the year so far. This colossal show of more than 300 of Picasso’s works, exploring his imaginative uses of paper, contains a host of surprises and moments of delightful frivolity and mischief. Royal Academy, London W1 (royalacademy.org.uk), until Aug 2
ART Tillage: John Newling
Works from the British artist’s 40-year career will feature alongside new commissions, including a musical performance. Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft (ditchlingmuseumartcraft.org.uk), until April 30, 2021
July 17
COMEDY Car Park Comedy
The line-ups haven’t been announced yet for these drive-in shows at Henley, Northampton, Newbury, Chelmsford and Powderham Castle. But with acts picked by London’s Comedy Store, the standard is likely to be high. Car Park Party, Northampton (carparkparty.com), then touring until Aug 15
CLASSICAL The Proms Live
The First Night and last two weeks of the 2020 Proms will take place live on stage for a limited audience, with six weeks of broadcasts from the archive in between. Performers include Simon Rattle, Mitsuko Uchida and Anoushka Shankar. Royal Albert Hall, London SW7 (royalalberthall.com), then Aug 28-Sept 11
POP The Pretenders: Hate for Sale
Chrissie Hynde is on imperious form on the 11th album by her gunslinging new wave rock and roll gang. James Walbourne’s thrilling guitar perfectly offsets Hynde’s languorous, sensual vocals. BMG
TV Cursed
Frank Miller, the comic-book maven who reinvented Batman and Daredevil, reimagines Arthurian myth from the point of view of Nimue (Katherine Langford), the girl who became the Lady in the Lake. Netflix
POP Ellie Goulding: Brightest Blue
On her fourth album, the girl with the built-in vibrato draws on her sensitive singer-songwriter side, and plays multiple instruments. Polydor
FILM Clemency
Alfre Woodard gives an Oscar-worthy performance as a prison warden in Chinonye Chukwu’s blistering death row drama. In cinemas
July 21
COMEDY Pop-up Picnic
The UK’s first fully open-air post-Covid comedy festival, promises music and live stand-up from Ahir Shah, Jayde Adams and Simon Brodkin, among others. Hill View Farm, Oxfordshire (popup-picnic.com), until July 26
CLASSICAL Glyndebourne Summer Concerts
Picnic while the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment perform a delightful open-air programme of Beethoven, Mozart and Dove. Glyndebourne, Sussex (glyndebourne.com), in rep until Aug 9
July 22
ART We Will Walk
An eclectic show of quilts, paintings, sculpture, photography and music by African Americans who lived through the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Turner Contemporary, Margate (turnercontemporary.org), until Sept 6
ART Alan Davie and David Hockney: Early Works
Vibrant semi-abstract paintings by a titan of post-war British art: Alan Davie. He influenced the young Hockney’s style, and their works in several media are combined for this smart, companionable show. Towner Eastbourne (townereastbourne.org.uk), until Sept 20
July 23
POP Cream Classical Ibiza
At this drive-in disco, Cream Classical perform dance hits with a full orchestra and DJ. Central Docks, Liverpool Waters (livenation.co.uk); touring to Aug 22
BOOKS Why Didn’t You Just Do What You Were Told? by Jenny Diski
One of the most electrifying memoirists of her generation, Diski chronicled both the cancer that would kill her, and her awkward adoption by Doris Lessing, in essays for the London Review of Books. Four years after her death, here’s a superb volume of autobiographical fragments, written for that magazine, from 1992 until her diagnosis in 2014. Bloomsbury
POP Nick Cave: Idiot Prayer
The great Australian singer-songwriter performs solo at the piano in a one-off ticketed stream, filmed in the empty, but elegant West Hall of Alexandra Palace in London. nickcave.com
July 24
POP Courtney Marie Andrews: Old Flowers
One of the most acclaimed Americana singer-songwriters of recent years, Andrews returns with a beautiful album of elegantly nuanced, bittersweet gems. Like Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris wrestling with the daily dramas of blue-collar life in Trump’s America. Loose Music
FILM How to Build a Girl
Booksmart’s Beanie Feldstein puts on her best Wolverhampton accent for this West Midlands-set coming-of-age drama, adapted from the semi-autobiographical novel by music journalist-turned-columnist Caitlin Moran. 15 cert, 104 min, Amazon Prime
FILM The Traitor
Italy’s Marco Bellocchio returns with this strapping Mafia biopic about the mobster-turned-informer Tommaso Buscetta, whose testimony helped convict nearly 400 members of the Cosa Nostra in the late-1980s. In cinemas
July 27
ART Aubrey Beardsley
Drop-dead gorgeous designs and drawings by the dandyish, consumptive purveyor of fin-de-siècle filth, who defined the look of the decadent 1890s, before his early death, aged 25. Tate Britain, London SW1 (tate.org.uk), until Sept 20
ART Naum Gabo
All the Tates reopen today. Tate Modern’s Warhol show is slick, but for greater insight, head to St Ives for the first British retrospective in over 30 years for the Russian-born Gabo (1890-1977), who spent several years in Cornwall, making sleek, futuristic sculptures with refinement and poise. Tate St Ives (tate.org.uk), until Sept 27
July 28
POP The Streets
Mike Skinner’s band paved the way for the ascendancy of UK hip hop with an audacious blend of garage beats and kitchen sink drama. Skinner’s always had a cinematic bent, so these drive-in shows should be well suited to his rowdy yet moving performances. Leeds East Airport (livenation.co.uk), and touring until Aug 12
July 30
FILM The Luna Cinema
Crowd-pleasers in picturesque surroundings (such as Leeds Castle and Blenheim Palace) is the name of the game for this open-air cinema. This year, they’re also running a separate drive-in season. Various venues (thelunacinema.com), until Oct 3
July 31
FILM Proxima
Astronauts reckoning with parenthood has become a cinematic fad. Alice Winocour’s drama, with Eva Green as a mother bound for Mars, brings a feminist spin to the trend. 12A cert, 107 mins, in cinemas
POP Beyoncé: Black Is King
The R’n’B superstar has written, directed and stars in a visual adaptation of last year’s Lion King: The Gift album, an afro-futurist reimagining of the classic Disney film. With cameos from husband Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar and more, this could be something special. Disney +
JAZZ Thelonious Monk: Palo Alto
In the summer of 1968 a young anti-racism protester in Palo Alto invited Monk to play at his high school. The bootleg recording made by the school janitor lay undiscovered for a half-century. Now it’s finally released. Impulse!
TV A Suitable Boy
After War and Peace and Les Miserables, Andrew Davies condenses another period epic of love and conflict down to a mere six episodes: this time, it’s Vikram Seth’s beloved post-Partition Indian novel. BBC One, exact date TBC
August 1
ART Bill Brandt/ Henry Moore
One photographer, one sculptor, both central figures in 20th-century art. This sombre show reveals similarities in how the pair portrayed deprivation in Britain and the ravages of war. The Hepworth Wakefield (hepworthwakefield.org), to Nov 1
THEATRE Twingo
As the Government has allowed for bingo sessions, Tweedy the clown’s live show is a nominal gaming session (for charity) with a lot of clowning around. The Barn is also planning a six-hander Midsummer Night’s Dream with outdoor dining. Barn Theatre, Cirencester (barntheatre.org.uk); dates TBC
August 4
THEATRE Six
The first West End musical to perform after lockdown – Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’s global runaway hit about Henry VIII’s wives, combining rebellious urban sounds with a blade-sharp wit – visits a dozen drive-in sites for Covid-safe consumption. The National Bowl, Milton Keynes (sixthemusical.com), until Aug 9 then touring until Sept 12
ART Cao Fei
The first show at a British public gallery for this exciting Chinese artist whose film works question how technology is transforming our lives. It’s a blast. Serpentine Gallery, London W2 (serpentinegalleries.org), until Sept 13
BOOKS Midnight Sun by Stephanie Meyer
The Twilight saga of YA novels about Bella and her vampire lover Edward has sold 160 million copies. Since 2008, fans have waited for a promised companion novel, told from Edward’s point of view. Twelve years later, here it is. Atom
ART Denzil Forrester
Mesmerising paintings of packed dance floors in East London clubs and open-air parties in Jamaica by an under-sung British artist. Nottingham Contemporary (nottinghamcontemporary.org), from Aug 31
TV Little Birds
Juno Temple leads an intriguing cast (alongside Amy Landecker and Jean-Marc Barr) in a miniseries set in Tangier, inspired by Anaïs Nin’s erotic stories. Sky Atlantic
TV Anthony
Jimmy McGovern’s drama examines the racist 2005 murder of Liverpool law student Anthony Walker (Toheeb Jimoh); Walker’s mother Gee, a longtime friend of McGovern, advised the writer. BBC One, exact date TBC
August 5
ART An Outbreak of Talent
Open for just three days in March before a different kind of outbreak intervened, this show highlights the gifted bunch who studied at the Royal College of Art in the 1920s, including Eric Ravilious and Edward Bawden. It reopens alongside Drawn to Nature, a look at how Gilbert White’s nature writing inspired artists from Nash to Piper. Pallant House, Chichester (pallant.org.uk), until Nov 1
CLASSICAL Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason
Star cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and his equally-talented pianist sister Isata are visiting drive-in venues in Liverpool, Cheltenham, Newmarket and London. Central Docks, Liverpool Waters (livenation.co.uk), then touring until Aug 8
August 6
BOOKS Summer by Ali Smith
Smith’s seasonal quartet, begun in 2016, sets perennial themes against topical backdrops – Brexit, Trump, the refugee crisis. Always playful, the novels are linked by a shared jeu d’esprit rather than common characters. Hamish Hamilton
TV Mandy
Last year’s comedy short from Motherland’s Diane Morgan, about “a woman who really wants a sofa and will stop at absolutely nothing to get it”, has been commissioned for a full series. Now there’s another thing that Mandy (Morgan) really wants – a business breeding Doberman Pinschers. BBC Two, exact date TBC
BOOKS Meanwhile in Dopamine City by DBC Pierre
The Australian novelist won the 2003 Booker with his debut, Vernon God Little, a black comedy about a school massacre in Texas. Now comes his first novel in a decade – a satire about trying to raise a child in the 21st century. Faber
TV The African Novel With David Olusoga
Historian David Olusoga explores how the African novel became a global phenomenon. He begins with writers such as Wole Soyinka and Ousmane Sembène, who came of age around the time of independence, assisted by the small London publishing house, Heinemann, that launched its African Writers Series in 1962. BBC Four, exact date TBC
BOOKS A Saint from Texas by Edmund White
From the prolific essayist, memoirist, biographer (his subjects include Proust and Rimbaud), playwright and novelist comes an epic novel about two rich Texan sisters in the 1950s, one of whom becomes a Parisian socialite, the other a Catholic saint. Bloomsbury
TV Squeamish About…
We first saw Matt Berry’s spoof historian Michael Squeamish in last year’s one-off mockumentary The Road to Brexit. Now he’s back with a series of 15-minute satirical “investigations” of different topics. BBC Two, exact date TBC
BOOKS Clean by James Hamblin
The pandemic has made us venerate hygiene like never before. Hamblin’s provocative book asks the unfashionable question: are the trillions of bacteria that we relentlessly scrub away integral to our immune system – and if so, is cleanliness hurting our health? Bodley Head
August 7
OPERA Benvenuto Cellini
A DVD recording of the concert version of Berlioz’s exuberant early opera that was a huge success at last year’s BBC Proms. Michael Spyres sings the title-role of the swashbuckling Roman goldsmith and John Eliot Gardiner conducts. Château de Versailles
ART Gauguin and the Impressionists
Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas and Gauguin are all represented in this blockbuster show of 60 works on loan from Denmark’s Ordrupgaard Collection, many of which have never been seen in the UK. Royal Academy, London W1 (royalacademy.org.uk), until Oct 18
POP Deep Purple: Whoosh!
There is nothing progressive about Deep Purple’s heavy blues mix of keyboards, twiddly guitars and portentous lyrics. Yet Ian Gillan remains a powerhouse vocalist and, 52 years and 21 albums on, the old war horses are still smoking. EarMusic
August 11
ART Johanna Unzueta
This is a forcibly political show: the Chilean artist uses a broad range of work, from garments to sculpture and film, to examine the relation of labour to product. All creation requires tools, she says – but some is bound up with exploitation. Modern Art Oxford (modernartoxford.org.uk), closing date TBC
POP Dizzee Rascal
The original grime star brings his dazzling wordplay, commercial beats and megawatt charisma to the drive-in circuit. University of Bolton Stadium (livenation.co.uk), and touring until Aug 29
ART Toyin Ojih Odutola
Odutola is a storyteller: her charcoal drawings, designed to be episodic, are like graphic novels, a kind of futuristic noir. This exhibition, in The Curve gallery, will twin her visuals with a “soundscape” by sound artist Peter Adjaye. Barbican, London EC2 (barbican.org.uk), until Jan 24, 2021
August 12
OPERA Mesdames de la Halle
An al fresco production of a rarely performed Offenbach farce about the amorous intrigues of lady vendors at Paris’ famous food market will be the first staged opera in the UK since March. Glyndebourne, near Lewes (01273 815000), until Aug 28
TV Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Disney’s streaming service expands its cinematic universe with this six-part series from Marvel. It sees Captain America’s allies, Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) team up for a “worldwide adventure that puts their abilities to the test”. Disney+, exact date TBC
FILM Tenet
Time travel – or possibly reversal – is the latest conceptual frontier to be crossed by Christopher Nolan in this hotly anticipated blockbuster. John Davtwinid Washington and Robert Pattinson star. In cinemas
August 13
OPERA Savitri
Hampstead Garden Opera presents Holst’s fable of wifely love. Thomas Payne will conduct Julia Mintzer’s al fresco staging. Lauderdale House, London N6 (020 8348 8716), also Aug 15, 20, 22
ART Abel Rodríguez
Rodríguez, based in Colombia, is an elder of the Nonuya group, displaced by civil war. His intricate rainforest paintings betray the heartbreak of exile: the leaves swirl with spellbinding energy. Baltic Gateshead (baltic.art)
BOOKS A Lover’s Discourse by Xiaolu Guo
Guo’s first novel since her harrowing 2017 memoir, Once Upon a Time in the East takes the form of fragments of conversation between a Chinese woman newly arrived in London and her lover. Chatto & Windus
TV Harlots
Set in an 18th-century London brothel, this drama, starring Samantha Morton, Lesley Manville and Jessica Brown Findlay, drew a decent following on ITV Encore, but only aired for two series. It has now been rescued by the BBC, who will reshow the first two series, with a third to follow later. BBC Two, exact date TBC
BOOKS Sisters by Daisy Johnson
Johnson was shortlisted for 2018’s Booker Prize for her topsy-turvy novel about canal life, family secrets and a transgender Oedipus, Everything Under. Now comes her follow-up, a scorching tale of two teenage sisters, their shared trauma – and a haunted house. Jonathan Cape
August 14
POP Katy Perry
The US pop powerhouse, who is heavily pregnant with her first child with actor Orlando Bloom, has promised to release her sixth, as yet untitled album “quarantined or not”. If she can get back to the witty bangers that made her famous, Perry has the charisma to beat the pack. Capitol
TV Lovecraft Country
Melding the creeping terror of HP Lovecraft’s fiction with the real horror of 1950s Jim Crow America, this series follows a young black man (Jonathan Majors) searching for his father (Michael K Williams). Sky Atlantic, exact date TBC
FILM Bill & Ted Face the Music
Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter’s loveable Californian metalheads return after 29 years for this long-delayed encore, in which they have 78 minutes to write a song that can save humankind. In cinemas
August 15
POP Two Door Cinema Club
The uplifting Northern Irish indie rockers launch an outdoor concert series at Newcastle Racecourse, where bubble groups will be able to view them from 500 separate platforms, holding up to 2,500 people in total. Virgin Money Unity Arena, Newcastle (virginmoneyunityarena.com)
August 17
ART Two Hundred Years of John Ruskin
The great art critic’s influence is explored through works by Turner, Millais and Burne-Jones, as well as a host of manuscripts and artworks from Yale’s Ruskin collection, many of them never before seen in this country. Watts Gallery, Compton, Surrey (wattsgallery.org.uk), until Nov 2
August 18
BOOKS Hitler’s Northern Utopia by Despina Stratigakos
Stratigakos’s ingenious 2015 Hitler at Home looked at the Führer’s execrable taste in home furnishings. Now comes a study of Hitler’s little-known plans to turn Norway into an Aryan paradise, which started with a wartime building programme to create new cities and a scenic superhighway up the coast. Princeton
TV Semi-Detached
A sitcom in which each episode is told in real-time. Lee Mack stars as a wedding DJ who just wants a quiet life. Fat chance: he has a newborn baby with his much younger wife; his ex and their teenage daughter live just across the road; his brother is a convict and his father a drug addict. BBC Two, exact date TBC
August 20
BOOKS Summerwater by Sarah Moss
Might Moss become a household name with this slyly humorous novel set on the longest day of the year? It finds 12 people cooped up in a Scottish cabin park, unaware of impending disaster. Picador
TV Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing
This charming series returns for a welcome third run. Once again, Paul Whitehouse ropes in Bob Mortimer for a calming trip of fishing and chewing the fat. BBC Two, exact date TBC
ART Young Rembrandt
Explore the Dutch master’s first decade as an artist. This show features 34 of his paintings, including the newly discovered Let the Little Children Come to Me (1627–8). Ashmolean, Oxford (ashmolean.org), dates TBC
BOOKS Must I Go by Yiyun Li
Li’s Where Reasons End, which dealt obliquely with the suicide of her son, was one of the most memorable novels of 2019. She returns to the theme of the suicide of a child in this epistolary novel, in which an old woman writes to her dead former lover. Hamish Hamilton
TV The Deceived
Derry Girls writer Lisa McGee’s thriller casts Emily Reid as a student who falls for her married lecturer with tragic results. Channel 5, exact date TBC
BOOKS Munkey Diaries by Jane Birkin
These frank, vulnerable and perceptive diaries by the 1960s sex symbol tell of her schooldays, her failed teenage marriage to the composer John Barry, her whirlwind romance with Serge Gainsbourg and the pain of leaving him 10 years later. W&N
POP Gary Numan
“Here in my car/ I feel safest of all/ I can lock all my doors/ It’s the only way to live/ In cars.” If ever an artist was made for the drive-in, it is Gary Numan. The electro pop star takes his squalling synths and android vocals on the road. Lincolnshire Showground, Lincoln (livenation.co.uk); touring to Sept 5
BOOKS The Fleet Street Girls by Julie Welch
Welch, the first female football reporter, tells the story of other trailblazing female journalists, such as the Daily Telegraph war correspondent Wendy Holden and the interviewer Lynn Barber. Trapeze
August 21
FILM Mulan
Cinemas are banking on Disney’s live-action remake of their 1998 animated epic to draw (socially distanced) crowds. It should do just fine. 12A cert, in cinemas
POP The Waterboys: Good Luck, Seeker
With a third album in four years, band leader Mike Scott has raided his back catalogue of lost tapes and lyrics for a journey into the mystic, drawing together threads from a diverse career of epic, folk-tinged Celtic rock and soul. BMG
FILM Babyteeth
This Australian comic drama drew comparisons to Jane Campion when it premiered at Venice last year. Eliza Scanlen stars as a seriously ill teenager who falls in love with a drug dealer. 15 cert, in cinemas
August 22
POP Supergrass
The Britpop band, reunited last year after a decade apart, bring their pop-rock to Newcastle’s new Covid-safe arena. Virgin Money Unity Arena, Newcastle (virginmoneyunityarena.com)
August 25
THEATRE Sleepless
Potentially the first big indoor show of the season – a new musical based on the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan 1993 hit rom-com Sleepless in Seattle. Pending government permission. Troubadour Wembley Park, London HA9 (sleeplessthemusical.com), until Sept 27
August 27
BOOKS Blue Ticket by Sophie Mackintosh
Mackintosh’s 2018 debut was The Water Cure, a novel about a mother and her three daughters trapped on an island, who believe they are being kept safe from the violently patriarchal world across the water. Her follow-up imagines a dystopia where a lottery assigns you motherhood – or freedom. Hamish Hamilton
TV I Hate Suzie
The life of a fading star (Billie Piper, giving it everything) crumbles when intimate photos of her are leaked, in Lucy Prebble’s ingenious new series. Sky Atlantic
BOOKS Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald
This nature writer’s long-awaited follow-up to her influential 2014 memoir H Is for Hawk is a treat: dive into essays about headaches and high-rises, catching swans and farming ostriches. Jonathan Cape
BOOKS Death in Her Hands by Ottessa Moshfegh
Moshfegh returns to the violent timbre of her debut novel Eileen: her new thriller begins with a body in a wood, and a woman of fragile sanity left to piece together the puzzle. Jonathan Cape
August 28
FILM The New Mutants
Covid derailed your film’s release? Pah! This young-adult-skewing X-Men spin-off has been postponed and reworked four times in two years. Will it be worth the wait? Not yet rated, no running time available, in cinemas
THEATRE Greenwich+Docklands international festival
Installations celebrating the NHS, outdoor theatre, and dance with social distancing form part of this annual arts festival, as reconceived for the Covid age.Various venues (festival.org/gdif), until Sept 12
August 29
TV When Bob Marley Came to Britain
In the 1970s, Britain became a second home to Jamaica’s most famous son. This film looks at Marley’s impact on the UK during a time of social and civil unrest. BBC Two
August 30
POP The Libertines
Expect big fist-waving tunes (at a safe distance) from Britain’s most unapologetically dissolute garage rock heroes. Virgin Money Unity Arena, Newcastle (virginmoneyunityarena.com)
Contributors: Dominic Cavendish, Rupert Christiansen, Robbie Collin, Tristram Fane Saunders, Catherine Gee, Ivan Hewett, Neil McCormick, Iona McLaren, Cal Revely-Calder, Alastair Sooke