Going out: Cinema
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Out now
Dr Robotnik (Jim Carrey) becomes a paid-up member of the school of thought that says if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, teaming up with former adversaries Sonic, Tails and Knuckles against new kid on the block Shadow the Hedgehog, voiced by Keanu Reeves.
Better Man
Out now
One of the buzziest and most outlandish propositions for a film this year, this is that Robbie Williams film you’ve heard about where the erstwhile Take That star is depicted by an ape, or, to be more precise, a chimpanzee. The Greatest Showman’s Michael Gracey directs.
The Order
Out now
Jude Law stars as Terry Husk, a real-life FBI agent who went undercover with a white-supremacist group led by the neo-Nazi Bob Mathews, in this timely drama from the talented director Justin Kurzel (Snowtown, Nitram).
La Cocina
Out now
Based on the 1957 stage play The Kitchen by Arnold Wesker and written and directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios, this new version reimagines the kitchen in question as belonging to a Times Square tourist trap restaurant where white waitresses take orders for a staff of mostly undocumented migrants. Catherine Bray
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Going out: Gigs
Spector
100 Club, London, New Year’s Eve
If you fancy seeing in the new year with guitars, London’s famed 100 Club hosts enduring indie darlings Spector as part of music mag Dork’s end-of-year party. Their fourth album Here Come the Early Nights came out in 2023, and support will come from Leeds quartet L’Objectif. Michael Cragg
Joy Orbison
The Prospect Building, Bristol, New Year’s Eve
London’s premier purveyor of house, UKG, drill and dubstep, Peter O’Grady, heads to Bristol for this New Year’s Eve blowout. Expect to hear this year’s huge Flex FM (Freddit), as well as a selection of his biggest bangers, plus a stacked lineup of DJ talent including Special Request and Mella Dee. MC
Nicky Spence
Wigmore Hall, London, 29 December
Most of the country’s concert halls go into hibernation between Christmas and New Year, but for those desperate for a fix of live music, the Wigmore Hall can always be relied upon. This year’s concerts include a recital by Wigmore artist-in-residence Nicky Spence. Partnered by pianist Dylan Perez, the Scottish tenor sings a Shakespeare-themed programme, ranging from Purcell to Peter Dickinson. Andrew Clements
Liane Carroll
Verdict Jazz Club, Brighton, 28 December; 606 Club, London, 2 January
The great UK singer-pianist Liane Carroll has sounded spellbinding for three decades, but her midlife subtlety and emotional range seem to be taking her even closer now to classic songs she loves most, from Hoagy Carmichael to Tom Waits, and a raft of others. John Fordham
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Going out: Art
Picasso Printmaker
British Museum, London, to 30 March
There’s a fairytale enchantment to Picasso’s graphic art. He tells tales of satyrs, minotaurs and other mythological creatures with etched lines that are so lifelike you hear the breathing of a bull through matted black fur. The love life of Raphael and the pain of poverty also hold you. Genius.
Turner in January
Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, New Year’s Day to 31 January
The wild and stormy art of JMW Turner is perfect for winter. This annual exhibition of his watercolours is a bracing treat, a breath of Romantic fresh air. This year there’s variety: instead of its own Turners, the Scottish National Gallery borrows those held by the National Gallery of Ireland.
The Great Mughals
V&A, London, to 5 May
You could do a lot worse for a festive outing than visit the palaces of the early Mughal emperors in the Indian subcontinent of the 1500s and 1600s. This exhibition takes you to the Taj Mahal and the civilisation that created it, with ravishing rugs and intricate paintings – glimpses of paradise.
Pirates
National Maritime Museum, Falmouth, to 5 January
You can’t get a better family outing for the Christmas holidays than a blockbuster show about pirates. This exhibition explores both history and mythmaking, enjoying the modern cult of pirates that began with Treasure Island, but also exposing what life and death were like for real pirates 300 years ago. Jonathan Jones
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Going out: Stage
Jack and Michael Whitehall
Portsmouth, 2 January; Brighton, 3 January; touring to 4 Jan
Parent-child travel TV is now everywhere (practitioners include Romesh Ranganathan, Matt Baker and Bradley Wash), but the Whitehalls were among the first to mine banter from intergenerational globe-trotting. Now the puppyish comic and his haughty dad take to the stage to dish details about the adventures seen on their various series. Rachel Aroesti
Little Penguin’s First Christmas
Lowry theatre, Manchester, 28 December to 5 January
For little ones and their larger companions, the Lowry offers an immersive show in a winter wonderland. Designed for children aged 0-36 months, this sensory show with puppetry and original music could be a baby’s magical first theatrical experience – and a gentle break for a parent. Kate Wyver
Ballet Shoes
National Theatre: Olivier, London, to 22 February
For those seeking a reprieve from panto, acclaimed director Katy Rudd’s (The Ocean at the End of the Lane) exquisite adaptation of Ballet Shoes fits the bill. Aching with hope and ambition, this expansive story of found family seeks kindness at every turn. The cast, costume and choreography are glorious. Take tissues and someone you love. KW
Birmingham Royal Ballet: The Nutcracker
Royal Albert Hall, London, 29 December to New Year’s Eve
This in-the-round version has all the magical ingredients you’d expect from the Christmas tradition – waltzing snowflakes, Sugar Plum Fairy –, and Tchaikovsky’s melody-packed music, played live by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. Lindsey Winship
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Staying in: Streaming
Lockerbie: A Search for Truth
Now & Sky Atlantic, 2 January, 9pm
Colin Firth plays bereaved father Jim Swire in this adaptation of the latter’s memoir about his decade-long quest to find the real perpetrators of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in December 1988 – still the deadliest terrorist attack in UK history. Mark Bonnar and Sam Troughton co-star.
The Traitors
iPlayer & BBC One, New Year’s Day, 8pm
Reality TV will peak early in 2025 thanks to the return of the genre’s most gratifying format. Join Claudia Winkleman and a ragtag troupe of potential master manipulators as they charm, cheat and form shaky coalitions while attempting to win both pop-cultural ubiquity and a big money prize.
Missing You
Netflix, New Year’s Day
Netflix’s uncannily transatlantic UK-set adaptations of Harlan Coben thrillers invariably combine famous faces (here: Ashley Walters, Lenny Henry, Steve Pemberton), a mind-boggling mystery (this one involves a woman spotting her missing fiancé on a dating app) and a bonkers conclusion. The upshot? One bizarrely compulsive binge-watch that will make any sofa-bound day fly by.
The Split: Barcelona
iPlayer & BBC One, 29 December, 9pm
Abi Morgan’s smart yet soapily entertaining legal drama – which officially concluded in 2022 with divorce lawyer Hannah (Nicola Walker) severing ties from her own husband Nathan (Stephen Mangan) – returns for a special double bill, as Hannah and family attend a Spanish wedding where new sparks fly. RA
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Staying in: Games
Slopecrashers
PC, Xbox, Switch, Mac
Animals on snowboards tear down mountains, doing their best to get in each other’s way. A fun, chaotic, seasonally appropriate Mario Kart-inspired multiplayer game to try out with family over the holidays.
Steep
PC, PS4, Xbox
If you wish you were going on a snowsports holiday, Steep remains the best video game approximation of an Alpine adventure, with skiing, snowboarding and wingsuits in gloriously snowy mountainous surroundings. Keza MacDonald
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Staying in: Albums
Olivia Dean – Live at Eventim Apollo
Out now
Recorded across three sold-out nights at the west London venue, this 20-track album captures the Brit-nominated artist in her element. Featuring songs from her Mercury shortlisted debut, 2023’s Messy, it also features a gorgeous version of recent single, Touching Toes.
Babymorocco – Amour
Out now
Morocco-born, London-based Clayton Pettet went from provocative art student to lockdown viral music sensation by fusing Shygirl’s horny dance anthems with the agit-pop of Dorian Electra. On this debut album of trashy, squelchy electropop, Pettet sounds as if he’s having the time of his life, particularly on the elastic Babestation.
Dua Lipa – Live from the Royal Albert Hall
Out now
Lipa’s third album Radical Optimism nonetheless gets the live treatment via this elegant, string-drenched recontextualising. There are some big hits on it too, don’t worry, including crowd-pleasers Don’t Start Now and Levitating.
Ed Sheeran – “+-=÷×” (Tour Collection: Live)
Out now
Having released two new albums in 2023, streaming behemoth Ed Sheeran took 2024 relatively easy. Originally released in September, and now reissued with an additional live album, this best-of compiles all the ubiquitous hits from the singer-songwriter’s mathematical-focused long players. MC
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Staying in: Brain food
Becoming Madonna
Sky Documentaries, 30 January, 9pm
Packed with footage of the Queen of Pop gracing tiny stages before her ascent to stardom, this engaging film follows Madonna from being a 19-year-old hopeful in 1978 to courting global fame and controversy in 1992.
The Record Store & Black Music: England’s Tastemakers
Podcast
Charting the history of England’s independent record stores and their relationship with Black music, this series examines how the new communities arriving from the Windrush generation onwards made themselves heard, shaping culture in the process.
Reith Lectures Archive 1948-1975
Online
While this year’s Reith Lectures examined our relationship with violence, the BBC’s archive of the annual series provides insights into how we have dealt with questions of the environment, society and statehood in the past. Ammar Kalia
