The Guide 

The 10 best things to do this week: Mudbound and Morrissey

An epic tale of wartime race relations in the Deep South opens in cinemas, while the Smiths frontman delivers his latest album
  
  

Mary J Blige and Rob Morgan in a scene from Mudbound
Mary J Blige and Rob Morgan in a scene from Mudbound. Photograph: Steve Dietl/Netflix

Exhibitions

British Wildlife Photography awards
In light of flashier, worldwide photography awards such as the Wildlife Photographer of the Year (currently on show at the Natural History Museum), it is easy to forget that, despite its small size, the UK is abundant in nature, too. This year’s winners include images of praying puffins; an Atlantic gannet with startlingly blue-rimmed eyes; and a tiny snail captured in monochrome, seemingly staring up at the sunlight from its perch on a reed. The collection is on display now.
At the Nature in Art Gallery and Museum, Wallsworth Hall, Gloucester, to 7 January

Alfredo Jaar
Chilean artist Alfredo Jaar’s billboard, reading “This Is Not America”, created a fuss when it was shown in New York’s Times Square in 1987. He has now come to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park near Wakefield with a new work, The Garden of Good and Evil (to 8 April). Cells among the trees represent the CIA’s secret detention facilities.

Film

Too Desi Too Queer
Queer collectives are joining forces with the Brixton Reel film festival for a night celebrating the Asian LGBTQ+ experience with screenings of short films.
At Soas, WC1, 14 November

Mudbound
Veterans from two physically close, but racially disparate families return from the second world war and begin an unlikely friendship in this sweeping Netflix epic, set in the Mississippi delta. Adapted by director Dee Rees from Hillary Jordan’s novel, the title refers both to the sodden land on which the families farm and black subjugation. Starring Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Clarke and an excellent Mary J Blige. Out on 17 November.

Music

Kesha
Finally extricated from the clutches of her former producer Dr Luke, The Artist Formerly Known As Ke$ha, AKA Kesha, comes to London as part of a triumphant return tour in support of this year’s cleansing, rock-focused Rainbow album. Expect an emotional set and plenty of love from her Animals, the self-appointed name for her hugely loyal fans.
At Electric Brixton, SW2, 14 November

Charlotte Gainsbourg
Eight years after the Beck-produced IRM, actor-musician-muse Charlotte Gainsbourg is back on 17 November with Rest, an album that features collaborations with the likes of Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Owen Pallett and the up-and-coming Paul McCartney.

Morrissey
Like a lot of recent Morrissey albums, Low in High School – which features a picture of a boy holding an axe in one hand and a sign saying, you guessed it, “axe the monarchy” in the other – has some gloriously self-parodic song titles. All the Young People Must Fall in Love, When You Open Your Legs, and Jacky’s Only Happy When She’s Up on the Stage all sound like the results of a Mozza lyric generator. Recent single Spent the Day in Bed at least broadened the former Smiths singer’s musical palette slightly, utilising synth noises here and there. Out on 17 November.

Stage

Hedda Gabler
Belgian director Ivo van Hove made his National Theatre debut last year with Hedda Gabler, which is now on tour. The acclaimed production is a unique retelling of Henrik Ibsen’s 1890s classic, bringing the performers out of Victorian corsets and into the 20th century. Newcomer Lizzy Watts takes over as antiheroine Hedda, whose loveless marriage unravels.
Hull New theatre, 13-18 November

Inside Pussy Riot
Imprisoned after they performed a feminist “punk prayer” in a Moscow church, radical Russian collective Pussy Riot are bringing their experiences back to life via a collaboration with Les Enfants Terribles in this immersive theatre experience, part of London’s Saatchi Gallery’s Art Riot extravaganza, marking 100 years since the Russian Revolution.
At Saatchi Gallery, SW3, 14 November to 24 December

The Madness of Happiness
Those behind the Mancunian MCR Talks series claim they are a more accessible take on the TED format. The latest one, by clinical hypnotherapist Phil Pearl, asks whether our quest for happiness is driving us mad in a year that has seen an increased focus on mental health, led by politicians, schools and even the royal family. Expect strong language and big ideas from Pearl.
At Texture, Manchester, 14 November

• This article was amended on 13 November 2017 to correct the name of the venue in which the British Wildlife Photography awards is currently hosted.

 

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