Five of the best … films
Jojo Rabbit (12A)
(Taika Waititi, 2019, Czech Republic/New Zealand/US) 108 mins
Taika Waititi is one of Hollywood’s more improbable success stories: from Flight of the Conchords, through the vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows, to Thor 3 (and 4), he can seemingly do no wrong. But the jury is out on this Hitler comedy, in which Waititi plays a buffoonish Adolf, the figment of a German boy’s imagination. Out New Year’s Day.
Little Women (U)
(Greta Gerwig, 2019, US) 135 mins
Greta Gerwig establishes herself as a major-league director with this follow-up to her much-admired Lady Bird. Adapting the perenially popular American kids’ classic, Gerwig brings together a top-notch cast, led by Saoirse Ronan, and emphasises the gentle feminism of
the March family’s story. A best picture Oscar nomination surely awaits.
Long Day’s Journey Into Night (12A)
(Bi Gan, 2018, China/Fra) 138 mins
Not, in fact, an adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s chronicle of crippling family dysfuncton, but a lengthy, dreamlike noir that has gone down a storm in its home country. Partly filmed in 3D, this comes on like a Chinese Leos Carax, as a drifter (played by Huang Jue) returns to his home town and starts to search for a mystery woman. Prizing visual style over thematic clarity, this is great to look at but can be tricky to get a proper handle on.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (12A)
(JJ Abrams, 2019, US) 142 mins
The final chunk of the grandly titled Skywalker Saga wraps up the nine-strong soap opera that has been the Star Wars story so far – and that doesn’t even include the various “anthology” films or the recent Mandalorian TV series. Now that Luke, Leia and co are history, the baton is being handed to a new generation – headed by Marvel’s Kevin Feige – to keep the cash tills ringing. Now that’s a responsibility.
Cats (U)
(Tom Hooper, 2019, UK/US) 110 mins
Having appalled global film audiences with a nightmarish trailer launch – featuring the unedifying sight of James Corden, Judi Dench and Jennifer Hudson messing about in cat fur on oversized tables – this will be counting on the proven appeal of Andrew Lloyd Webber to pull it through. Will that be enough?
It will have to be.
AP
Five of the best … rock, pop & jazz
Mark Ronson
Headlining Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations is a pretty good way to round out a not exactly terrible year for the expertly coiffured Mark Ronson. February saw him win an Oscar and two Grammys, while June’s collab-heavy Late Night Feelings album peaked inside the UK’s top five. Celebrate the start of 2020 with some sad bangers and, let’s be honest, at least five plays of Uptown Funk.
Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, New Year’s Eve
Annie Mac
DJ, curator of both festivals and compilation albums, and occasional TV presenter, Annie Mac has blazed a pretty imperious trail across music this decade. Here she is joined by a host of DJs who, like Mac, come at dance music from varying angles, including Rudimental, Groove Armada, Artwork and Krystal Klear.
Mayfield Depot, Manchester, New Year’s Eve
Craig David & TSS
You are about to feel old. Next year marks the 20th anniversary of Born to Do It, David’s career-launching debut that helped popularise UK garage, beanie hats and the phrase “chilled on Sunday”. There is a big 2020 arena tour to celebrate, obviously, but before that, why not see in the new year with pop’s nicest man in a fancy hall in Westminster?
Westminster Central Hall, SW1, New Year’s Eve
Shaka Loves You
Jamie and Marty, AKA Shaka Loves You, or “SLY” as their bio has it, are perhaps the ultimate cross-generational party band. Fusing funk, soul, disco and hip-hop, they have supported everyone from George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic to the Jacksons to Will Smith’s friend DJ Jazzy Jeff. Craig Charles has suggested that if you’re not a fan you could “throw away your ears”. Bit much, to be honest.
Nice’n’Sleazy, Glasgow, Saturday 28 December; Hard Rock Cafe, Glasgow, New Year’s Eve
MC
Scott Hamilton Quartet
The 65-year-old expat American saxophonist Scott Hamilton – a perennially popular jazz itinerant around Europe – keeps confirming that his glowing tone and effortless mainstream swing are as seductive as ever. Hamilton’s regular London band, including pianist John Pearce, are at his side on these gigs.
Pizza Express Jazz Club, W1, New Year’s Day, Thursday 2 & Friday 3; touring to 16 January
JF
Two of the best … classical concerts
Pavel Kolesnikov
Even if it is not always entirely obvious, there is generally a deeper rationale in Pavel Kolesnikov’s programme planning than just selecting works that fit together nicely. But the theme of his latest Wigmore recital is a pretty obvious one. Works connected with the night dominate his choice, whether obviously, as in Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, one of Schumann’s Op 23 Nachtstücke, and the Night’s Music movement from Bartók’s suite Out of Doors, or more obliquely, in a Chopin sequence that begins with the Fantaisie-Impromptu and ends with the “Raindrop” Prelude. Kolesnikov’s programmes can sometimes seem rather bitty, but as well as the Moonlight Sonata, he also includes Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata Op 53 in this one, which should be more than enough to demonstrate that he is one of the most gifted pianists of his generation.
Wigmore Hall, W1, Friday 3 January
Messiah
Wherever you are in the weeks leading up to Christmas, there is never a shortage of performances of Handel’s best-known oratorio. But chances to hear Messiah in the aftermath of the festivities are much less common. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra has kept its seasonal performance in reserve for just this time, inviting the Handel specialist Nicholas McGegan to conduct it, with a classy quartet of young soloists – Rowan Pierce, Diana Moore, Nicholas Mulroy and William Berger – and the RSNO’s own chorus. It is likely to be a broadly traditional performance, but no doubt McGegan’s period-instrument experience in baroque repertoire will be added into his interpretation, too.
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Thursday 2 January
AC
Five of the best … exhibitions
Kara Walker
One of the best artworks of 2019 is Walker’s colossal fountain in the Tate’s Turbine Hall. At first sight, it is the most traditional sculpture ever created for this gargantuan space: a proper fountain that echoes Victorian art. But it is covered with satirical statuary that tells a savage history of racial injustice. A furious figurative romp.
Tate Modern, SE1, to 5 April
Elizabeth Price
There is nothing like a ghost story at Christmas. You could curl up with MR James or, if you really want to scare yourself silly, visit this exhibition. Price makes video art that is as atmospheric as the best horror. Her tales of terror combine chilling images, macabre facts and disturbing sound to ensnare you in darkness.
The Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, to 1 March
Turner in January
This Hogmanay highlight is one of the most laudable events in the art calendar, as the watercolours of Britain’s greatest landscape artist and the godfather of modern painting are given their month in the winter sun. Scotland was one of Turner’s favourite places, where he befriended Walter Scott and took a steamer to Fingal’s Cave. His watercolours capture the romantic forces of sea, sky and storm.
Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, New Year’s Day to 31 January
Leonardo: Experience a Masterpiece
Paintings of the infancy of Christ are trending at this time of year but none is stranger than Leonardo da Vinci’s The Virgin of the Rocks. The National Gallery owns the second version of this surrealistic scene, which he painted after the first was rejected for being borderline heretical. It depicts Mary, Jesus, a young John the Baptist and an angel in a deserted mountainous landscape surrounded by blue water. You sink into this enigma as into a dream.
The National Gallery, WC2, to 26 January
Troy: Myth and Reality
The heroes of Troy fight and die all over again in this fascinating resurrection of a war somewhere between legend and history. Achilles, Helen and the rest who populate Homer’s epic poems are portrayed on ancient Greek red figure vases, in frescoes from Pompeii and even an abstract painting by Cy Twombly. The emotion and drama of the Trojan war makes classical art immediate and moving.
British Museum, WC1, to 8 March
JJ
Five of the best … theatre shows
Mary Poppins
Feeling a bit cooped up inside with the family? Mary Poppins will remedy that. The 2004 production, directed by Richard Eyre and Matthew Bourne, returns to the West End with the impressive Zizi Strallen starring. There are extra songs from George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, dazzling dance routines and a cracking cameo from Petula Clark as the Bird Woman.
Prince Edward Theatre, W1, to 7 June
Ghost Quartet
For those looking for something a little different, this is the final week of Dave Malloy’s ghostly song cycle, directed by Bill Buckhurst. It is about broken hearts and shattered memories, haunted lovers and two sisters lost in time. With a fragmented narrative and eerie atmosphere, in the intimate new Boulevard Theatre it will cast a spell over you.
Boulevard Theatre, W1, to 4 January
Swive [Elizabeth]
Playwright Ella Hickson and director Natalie Abrahami are joining forces to rewrite the story of Elizabeth I. Political mastermind, resolute survivor – or how’s about a kingless queen? From the creator of The Writer and the playhouse that brought us Emilia, this should be stirring stuff. Nina Cassell and Abigail Cruttenden head up the cast.
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre: Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, SE1, to 15 February
Six
This madly successful musical continues its whirlwind tour of the UK before the show jets off to Broadway. Every run seems to be adding extra dates: there is something about this bold show – part gig, part drama, part rally – that has captured the public’s imagination. It features the six wives of Henry VIII, who take to the mic to tell their tales and rewrite history.
The Lowry, Salford, to 5 January; touring to 25 July
& Juliet
For the pop fans among us all. And the musical fans. And anyone who fancies themselves a feminist. & Juliet opened to rave reviews and is based on the songs of pop-composer extraordinaire Max Martin, who has written for Britney Spears, Katy Perry, ‘NSync and heaps more. It is a sort of pop-themed panto, which rewrites Shakespeare’s tragedy and sees Juliet refuse death and sing her heart out instead. Miriam-Teak Lee (pictured, below) shines in the title role.
Shaftesbury Theatre, WC2, to 4 July
MG
Three of the best … dance shows
Birmingham Royal Ballet: The Nutcracker
Dancing dolls, giant rats having a rumpus and a magical snowy wonderland: all essential elements of festive fave The Nutcracker. Birmingham Royal Ballet brings Peter Wright’s production to the Royal Albert Hall for an in-the-round spectacle with a live orchestra and projections by 59 Productions.
Royal Albert Hall, SW7, Saturday 28 to Tuesday 31 December
Ballet Theatre UK: The Wizard of Oz
This small, independent company of young dancers performs reworked classic ballets and stories from film and literature. Choreographed here by its artistic director Christopher Moore, the troupe offers a family-friendly trip down the Yellow Brick Road.
Brighton Dome, Saturday 28 & Sunday 29 December; touring to 2 February
Moscow City Ballet: The Sleeping Beauty
This company may not be in the premier league of Russian ballet, but it has spirit and some strong performers. Sleeping Beauty features the famously perilous balances of the Rose Adagio and a beautiful Tchaikovsky score.
Chichester Festival Theatre, Thursday 2 to 5 January; touring to 8 February
LW
