Five of the best … films
1917 (15)
(Sam Mendes, 2019, UK/US) 119 mins
Having scooped two – somewhat unexpected – Golden Globe awards, Sam Mendes’s first world war drama is now set fair for a major assault on the Oscars. Spun out (with writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns) from a story Mendes heard from his grandfather, 1917 follows two soldiers as they head across no man’s land to deliver a vital message. An immersive tour de force of apparently unbroken takes.
Uncut Gems (15)
(Josh and Benny Safdie, 2019, US) 135 mins
Adam Sandler turns in a dynamic, brilliant performance in Uncut Gems as gem-dealing hustler Howard Ratner, selling jewels as he tries to pay off the loan sharks. The Safdie brothers (of Good Time renown) direct at a hundred miles an hour; their frenetic style bringing out the best in Sandler, who is leagues ahead of his more customary gormless comedy persona.
Seberg (15)
(Benedict Andrews, 2019, UK/US) 102 mins
Here is a real Hollywood tragedy: Jean Seberg, the elfin, pixie-cropped star of Saint Joan and Breathless, who rattled the FBI’s cage by getting involved with the Black Panthers, ending up on the receiving end of a Cointelpro anti-subversion operation. Kristen Stewart, who knows a thing or two about being the subject of unwelcome intrusion, plays Seberg, the immaculately tailored exponent of radical chic.
Little Women (U)
(Greta Gerwig, 2019, US) 135 mins
Greta Gerwig has made a major step up from Lady Bird: taking on a beloved, all-time classic is never easy. And she’s very much cracked it with Little Women, scoring a decent commercial return as well as rave reviews across the board (notwithstanding a small-scale rumpus over a male/female divide in its audience). Even if the Golden Globes failed to notice her, she’s got every chance of an Oscar nomination this week.
El Topo (18)
(Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1970, Mex) 124 mins
One of the more berserk products of the counter-culture era, El Topo is directed by and stars Chilean film-maker Alejandro Jodorowsky (who would complete one more film, The Holy Mountain, before effectively disappearing for a decade and a half). Jodorowsky plays a black-clad gunslinger seeking mystical insights: after shooting down a series of symbolic opponents he ends up in a cave with a tribe of outcasts. It may not make sense, but who cares?
AP
Five of the best … rock, pop & jazz
Slipknot
Time has not mellowed Slipknot, thankfully, and the nu-metal troupe will not be making a comeback with nice new haircuts for an all-acoustic tour. No, instead, the Iowa shouters return in full gimp-masked splendour to offer the terrifying sounds of new album We Are Not Your Kind – an “art record”, according to percussionist Shawn “Clown” Crahan. Good times!
Dublin, Tuesday 14; Manchester, Thursday 16; Newcastle upon Tyne, Friday 17; touring to 25 January
Five Day Forecast
Dismayed at being back in the grips of the working week again? Relieve corporate gloom at this annual festival from music website The Line of Best Fit, which runs on weekday evenings. Tip-top talent includes sweet-voiced US singer-songwriter Frances Quinlan, dreamy Irish combo Just Mustard and winsome Philly outfit the Districts.
The Lexington, N1, Monday 13 to Friday 17 January
Day6
The a-ha of K-pop, hit-making Korean combo Day6 are that rarest of beasts: a boyband whose pouty members write their own songs and perform them, on actual instruments. The result is the kind of sunny power-pop that might occur if Green Day started covering ELO songs (in Korean, obviously). Extra points for song titles including Lovely Girl, Hi Hello and I Like You.
02 Academy Brixton, SW9, Sunday 12 January
Noah Gundersen
Seattle pop troubadour Noah Gundersen got an early break in 2013 with a track featured on The Vampire Diaries, the perfect showcase for his growly, polished sound. But he’s at his best stripped right back, as on 2018’s collab with Phoebe Bridgers, Killer + the Sound. This tour offers fittingly intimate settings for songs from Gundersen’s last LP, the super-sincere Lover.
Union Chapel, N1, Thursday 16; Gorilla, Manchester, Friday 17; touring to 20 January
SH
Liran Donin’s 1000 Boats
Tel Aviv-born bassist and composer Liran Donin is a cornerstone of former Mercury-nominated sax-blasters Led Bib, but his own folk-jazzy 1000 Boats band reveals imaginatively different dimensions to his work. The soundworlds of Hermeto Pascoal, fellow bassist Avishai Cohen, Carla Bley and uninhibited free-jazz meet in this kaleidoscopically lyrical group.
The Lescar, Sheffield, Wednesday 15; 1000 Trades, Birmingham, Friday 17 January
JF
Three of the best … classical concerts
Prisoner of the State
Musically, 2020 is going to be dominated by events marking the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. The BBC Symphony Orchestra, along with the BBC Singers, get their tribute under way with the European premiere of a concert opera by David Lang that updates the story of Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio, to the present day. It stars Claron McFadden and the staging is directed by Elkhanah Pulitzer; Ilan Volkov conducts.
Barbican Hall, EC2, Saturday 12 January
Scottish Inspirations
Two premieres and a rarely heard 19th-century symphony linked by their Scottish associations make up the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra’s first concert of the year, conducted by Thomas Dausgaard. Bent Sørensen’s Enchantress: 5 Intermezzi for Orchestra takes its title from a poem by Walter Scott, while The Sail of a Flame, Emma-Ruth Richards’s song cycle for mezzo-soprano and orchestra, sets texts by modern Scottish poets. The revival is the Gaelic Symphony by Amy Beach, based on Scottish, Irish and English folk tunes.
City Halls, Glasgow, Saturday 12 January
Sukanya
This year sees the centenary of the birth of Ravi Shankar, and the London Philharmonic are marking the anniversary with a revival of their 2017 semi-staging of the composer-sitarist’s only opera. Based upon a story from the Mahabharata, Sukanya is scored for Indian and western instruments, and involves dancers as well as singers; David Murphy conducts the performance, which is directed by Suba Das and choreographed by Gauri Diwakar, with Susanna Hurrell in the title role.
Royal Festival Hall, SE1, Wednesday
AC
Five of the best … exhibitions
Essex Road 6
The great Adam Chodzko is among the participants in this group show. Chodzko’s disconcerting interventions on the border of art and life (Fluid Dynamics; The Raising of the Quail, pictured) are always worth investigating. Other good artists here include Ayo Akingbade, Rebecca Lennon, Patrick Goddard, Melanie Smith and Webb-Ellis.
Tintype Gallery, N1, to 9 February
Digital Strata
The London Arts Board sounds authoritative but it’s just an old billboard on a Camberwell street corner where upcoming artists create public projects. Seungwon Jung’s is about the nature of time. She uses the imagery of geological strata, layers of rock that reveal millions of years of time, to explore the “deep time” of memory.
London Arts Board, SE5, to 2 February
Damien Hirst
So much that passes for contemporary art is smooth, smart and completely forgettable. Damien Hirst is a monster in this mainstream, as hated by cool arty people as he is by any traditionalists who may survive. And that’s why he matters. His giant bronze sculptures stick out like sore thumbs on this sculpture park’s rolling hills – luridly painted lifelike statues that are both ugly and compelling.
Yorkshire Sculpture Park, near Wakefield, to 1 April 2022
Hello, Robot
Fantasies of intelligent and mobile machines have stalked the modern imagination from Fritz Lang’s Metropolis to The Terminator and beyond. But are our robot dreams – and nightmares – becoming real? This exhibition mixes the latest strides in robotics with the rich legacy of science fiction to explore the boundaries of technology. The Star Wars droids make a timely guest appearance. But are their real-world cousins as characterful?
V&A Dundee, to 9 February
Feast & Fast
Food has obsessed painters ever since ancient Greek artists competed to fool birds into pecking their pictures of fruit. But the painting of food reached its apogee in the 17th century when Caravaggio’s black grapes pointed the way to richly real displays of Dutch cheeses, beer and lobsters and Spanish celery and meat. This show surveys a truly delicious theme from 1500 to 1800.
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, to 26 April
JJ
Five of the best … theatre shows
Uncle Vanya
One of the first big-hitters of the theatrical year arrives and it’s set to be a cracker. This adaptation is penned by Conor McPherson, whom you can always depend on to create something special. A stunning cast includes Toby Jones (always an enigma) in the title role, plus Richard Armitage (always powerful) and Ciarán Hinds (always devastating). Directed by Ian Rickson.
The Harold Pinter Theatre, SW1, Tuesday 14 January to 2 May
Guys and Dolls
Director Robert Hastie has created a sparkling new take on Frank Loesser’s musical about seductive sinner Sky Masterston and the woman who might just save his soul. The whole cast is clearly having a ball but Natalie Casey (pictured) and Martin Marquez steal the show as long-time lovers (and squabblers) Miss Adelaide and Nathan Detroit.
Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, to 18 January
Scenes With Girls
Miriam Battye has been steadily making a name for herself with intriguing plays for the National Youth Theatre and Manchester’s Royal Exchange. Her latest drama is about close friends Tosh and Lou who’ve grown up together – just the two of them (and their own special language) against the world. What future do they imagine for themselves? Lucy Morrison directs Rebekah Murrell, Tanya Reynolds and Letty Thomas.
Royal Court, SW1, Wednesday 15 January to 22 February
West Side Story
It’s your last chance to see Nikolai Foster’s bold take on Leonard Bernstein’s masterful musical. Even the most innovative shows can end up being predictable but this West Side Story feels timely and new. There’s original choreography from Ellen Kane, and a real sense of danger and spontaneity underpins all those clicks and high kicks. Romantic leads Adriana Ivelisse and Jamie Muscato make sure this Romeo and Juliet-inspired musical is still shot through with tenderness.
Curve Theatre, Leicester, to 18 January
Beckett Triple Bill
This is quite a coup for fringe theatre Jermyn Street. Trevor Nunn is directing a triple bill of Beckett plays: Krapp’s Last Tape, Eh Joe and The Old Tune. The big-hitting cast features Niall Buggy, James Hayes, David Threlfall and Beckett actor extraordinaire Lisa Dwan. It’s a rare chance to see these special and haunting plays all in one go, and they should feel particularly intense in this intimate venue.
Jermyn Street Theatre, SW1, Wednesday 15 January to 8 February
MG
Three of the best … dance shows
English National Ballet: 70th Anniversary Gala
Originally called the London Festival Ballet, ENB celebrates its 70th birthday – looking pretty spry for 70, you have to say – with a feast of dance nuggets from down the years. There’ll be extracts from ballets by George Balanchine, Rudolf Nureyev, Roland Petit, William Forsythe, Akram Khan and more.
London Coliseum, WC2, Friday 17 & 18 January
Compagnie HMG: 3D
London international mime festival always throws up unexpected oddball delights and Jonathan Guichard’s 3D could be one of them. An acrobat and wire-walker, Guichard’s intimate show is based on a specially constructed piece of circus equipment that looks like a giant longbow.
Jacksons Lane, N6, Saturday 11 & Sunday 12 January
Strictly Come Dancing: The Live Tour
For when you’re having withdrawal symptoms from the dazzling smiles, unerring positivity and ballroom dance-based bonding that is Strictly, the live tour comes to the rescue. The 2018 winner Stacey Dooley hosts all your faves.
Arena Birmingham, Thursday 16 to 19 January; touring to 9 February
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