Podcasts
Still Processing
Wesley Morris and Jenna Wortham present this New York Times podcast that discusses the big issues of the day – from sexual harassment to mental health to taking a knee – via the prism of popular culture, touching on Blade Runner 2049, Get Out and Rihanna’s Fenty makeup range.
Converging Cultures
Do you still think science and art are separate entities? Well then you need to educate yourself with this new podcast (available on NTS Radio), which explodes such notions.
Film
Best of DocHouse 2017
Bertha DocHouse in London offers up a second chance to see a selection of this year’s best documentaries. On offer is the inspiring The Eagle Huntress, about a 13-year-old’s quest to become a female eagle hunter, and Raoul Peck’s incendiary examination of race in America, I Am Not Your Negro (based on the works of James Baldwin). The season runs until 4 January.
All the Money in the World
Ridley Scott’s film about the story of J Paul Getty, the billionaire who refused to pay a ransom to free his grandson, has already hit the headlines. Last month Christopher Plummer was hastily drafted in to replace the disgraced Kevin Spacey, with Plummer then receiving a Golden Globe nomination. As did the always great Michelle Williams, who plays Getty’s daughter-in-law. Out on 5 January.
Tiffany Haddish
It was a pretty good year for Tiffany Haddish. She was the best thing about the already very good comedy Girls Trip (we assume an inquest is being launched into why she didn’t get a Golden Globes nomination); last month, she hosted SNL, and she’s also managed to squeeze in writing her biography, The Last Black Unicorn (out now), which outlines a tragic upbringing helped by a passion for comedy and an intervention from Kevin Hart. Girls Trip is out on DVD now.
TV
Top of the Pops
With BBC One’s Sounds Like Friday Night proving to be a sort-of hit, the attention switches back to the pleasingly skit-free Top of the Pops, which returns once again with a New Year’s Eve special. Dua Lipa, Rita Ora and Craig David are on hand to warble their way through some songs and shift a few more streams.
BBC One, 4.05pm
Theatre
Raymond Briggs’ The Bear
There is still time for some more heartwarming festive cheer, don’t you worry. The Pins and Needles theatre company brings Briggs’s The Bear to life in an enchanting production at Manchester’s Waterside Arts Centre, complete with astonishing puppetry, vivid set designs and a big dollop of family friendly entertainment. Until 6 January.
Exhibitions
Seth Price: Circa 1981
US multi-disciplinary artist Seth Price’s first UK exhibition focuses on his film and video work over the past 20 years. Not that you would notice him limiting his scope or scale; even within these works he broadens out to include other disciplines such as performance, writing, public speaking, musical composition and installation. On show is the ongoing Redistribution, 2006’s Copyright 2006 Seth Price, and Rejected or Unused Clips, Arranged in Order of Importance from 2003.
At the ICA, SW1, to 7 January
Turner prize 2017
Your last chance to see this year’s Turner prize shortlist, including – spoiler alert! – winner Lubaina Himid, whose vibrant work includes A Fashionable Marriage, 1987. Hurvin Anderson, Andrea Büttner and Rosalind Nashashibi also exhibit.
At Ferens Art Gallery, Hull, to 7 January
New Year’s Eve
Fireworks
Why not ring in the new year by standing outside in the cold and getting neckache looking at some gunpowder and dust metals loudly shooting into the sky? Or, you could watch the actually quite spectacular London Victoria Embankment ones from the comfort of your living room on BBC One, perhaps with a glass of Baileys, and perhaps after rolling your eyes at Jools Holland’s Hootenany.
