Film
Screened/Silent Night 2
As part of Screened/Mcr’s season of silent cinema, Texture in Manchester will screen Buster Keaton’s charming Sherlock Jr with a live accompaniment by pianist Darius Battiwalla. Author and lecturer Keith Withall will also provide an intro to silent cinema.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Looper director Rian Johnson takes the helm for the eighth film from the Star Wars universe and the second part of the latest trilogy (that’s not counting the spin-off films; it’s all quite confusing, to be honest). This picks up where The Force Awakens left us, ie on a windy cliff edge somewhere, and focuses on Luke Skywalker and the perilous course he sends Rey on that could alter the galaxy. Out on 14 December.
Exhibitions
Abba: Super Troupers
Another year, another Abba exhibition. And why not? This major show on London’s South Bank focuses on the eight-legged pop behemoths’ impact on 70s Britain, with Jarvis Cocker narrating their story across nine immersive rooms. On display are various items from their archives including notes, memorabilia and costumes.
At the Southbank Centre, SE1, 14 December to 29 April
FLOE
Artists Anna Heinrich and Leon Palmer use spectacular, large-scale projections to virtually transform the futuristic architecture of Hull’s already quite impressive-looking aquarium, The Deep. FLOE represents the final commission as part of the Look Up, a programme of temporary installations in public places and spaces around Hull.
At The Deep, Hull, until 10 December
Winnie-the-Pooh: Exploring a Classic
Despite the widespread critical mauling awarded to October’s saccharine AA Milne historical drama Goodbye Christopher Robin, the Winnie-the-Pooh gravy train keeps rolling with this charming exhibition of sketches, letters, photographs, cartoons, ceramics, fashion and really, really cute teddy bears from the 1900s.
At the V&A, SW7, 9 December to 8 April
From Life
To mark the Royal Academy of Arts’ 250th anniversary this new exhibition explores one of the cornerstones of the artistic process: life drawing. As well as exploring its history, contemporary works by the likes of Lucian Freud, Liane Lang and Gillian Wearing are also on display.
At the Royal Academy, W1, from 11 December to 11 March
Music
Eminem
After hinting at a new album via a series of elaborate teasers – fake billboards, fake hotlines, fake medical TV adverts – Eminem (who seems to now resemble Mariah Carey’s caricature of him from her Obsessed video) has finally confirmed the release of Revival, his first album in four years. His recent Trump freestyle suggests the album will carry political undertones, while lead single, Walk on Water featuring Beyoncé, confirms he’s still into navel-gazing. It’s out on 15 December.
N.E.R.D
Almost 16 years after Pharrell’s side-project released their debut album, they’re back with No_One Ever Really Dies. Guests include Rihanna on single Lemon. Out Friday.
Mariah Carey
For the last few years, Mariah Carey, one of the biggest-selling artists of all time, has relied on her 1994 Christmas classic, All I Want for Christmas, to keep her career ticking over. This year, she’s putting in some extra effort; there’s an animated film of the same name and she’ll be belting out that hit and some other festive favourites on two UK dates, starting on 10 December at the Manchester Arena.
Theatre
Hot Brown Honey
Performed by six Indigenous Australian female artists, the raucous, award-winning, genre-splicing Hot Brown Honey – which charmed Edinburgh in 2016 and again in 2017 – uses striptease, circus, cabaret and poetry as a means of political protest. Over seven acts, the show (described as fierce and filthy) pokes fun at patriarchal assumptions, the highlight being a beatboxer dishing out putdowns to male power.
At HOME, Manchester, 12-23 December
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