Going out: Cinema

The Super Mario Bros Movie
Out now
It’s a-him, Mario! The pixelated plumber has come a long way since his first appearance as Jumpman in a 1981 arcade game. These days, he’s voiced by Chris Pratt in a multimillion-dollar animated film, opposite Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) as Luigi, and Jack Black as Bowser.

Godland
Out now
Icelandic director Hlynur Pálmason’s second film, A White, White Day, cemented his reputation as a film-maker to watch, and in Godland he’s hit new heights, with this tale of a Danish priest pitted against the local community and testing environmental conditions in 19th-century Iceland.

The Pope’s Exorcist
Out now
Just in time for Easter, as the Lord intended, comes this Christianity-themed slice of horror hokum starring Russell Crowe as the eponymous Father Gabriele Amorth – and yes, the title is indeed his job description. Even more improbably, it’s all based on the actual memoirs of a real priest.

Ginger Rogers: All That Sass
BFI Southbank, London, to 30 April
A toe-tapping new BFI season celebrating the actor who famously managed to do everything dance partner Fred Astaire did, except backwards and in high heels; films include the musical classics Gold Diggers of 1933, Top Hat and The Barkleys of Broadway. Catherine Bray

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Going out: Gigs

De La Soul
8 to 12 April; tour starts London
Following the sudden death of founder member Trugoy the Dove, it was unclear if this tour would happen. But what better way to honour his legacy, and to celebrate the hip-hop trailblazers’ back catalogue finally arriving on streaming services after squabbles over sample clearance, than with these emotionally charged shows.

Sam Smith
12 April to 24 May; tour starts Sheffield
It’s fair to say the reaction to Sam Smith’s Gloria album has been mixed, with single Unholy’s global success countered by a slew of pearl-clutching takedowns admonishing its devil-adjacent performances. Expect this arena tour to ramp up the controversy, while also showcasing Smith’s big, emotionally versatile voice on the ballads. Michael Cragg

Vein Trio
11 to 20 April; tour starts Dorking
Swiss piano-and-drums siblings Michael and Florian Arbenz and bassist Thomas Lähns are powerfully virtuosic players across a wide span of styles, but they wear their spontaneous skills lightly in the Vein Trio – formed a decade ago in Basel, and now one of Europe’s most energetic and entertaining jazz ensembles. John Fordham

Easter at Snape
Snape Maltings, Aldeburgh, 8 & 9 April
JS Bach dominates the music over the Easter weekend at the Maltings. A study morning on Saturday devoted to the St Matthew Passion provides preparation for an Easter Sunday performance of the work by Solomon’s Knot, while a chamber recital by soprano Anna Dennis, oboist Nicholas Daniel and harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani interleaves music by Bach and Handel. Andrew Clements

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Going out: Art

Berthe Morisot
Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, to 10 September
Women played their part in impressionism, the first modern art movement. Morisot, as well as Mary Cassatt, painted and exhibited alongside the other impressionists at a time when art was largely male-dominated. Was that because the modern, moving realities caught by this style put women into the picture in a new way?

Ai Weiwei
Design Museum, London, to 30 July
The heroic activist who defied China’s rulers and is critical of western regimes has an architect’s sense of scale and a pop artist’s sense of humour when it comes to brands and commodities. The Design Museum is a natural stage for his epic vision, including a Monet made of Lego.

Mirror Mirror
Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, to 1 October
When it comes to grand designs they don’t get much grander than Chatsworth House, a majestic example of the baroque to which fantastical water features and Victorian glasshouses were later added. This exhibition reveals how its owners still work with cutting-edge designers including Ini Archibong, Faye Toogood and Formafantasma.

Yuichi Hirako
Modern Institute, Glasgow, to 20 May
Intensely coloured postmodern landscape paintings, where cartoon characters emerge from the trees, by a Tokyo artist committed to ecology. Yuichi Hirako sees nature as a whole with us in it, and expresses that with works that surreally merge people with plants. Bright and lurid pop art with a green conscience. Jonathan Jones

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Going out: Stage

Scottish Ballet: A Streetcar Named Desire
Glasgow Theatre Royal, 13 to 15 April; touring to 6 MayIn Scottish Ballet’s production, choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and director Nancy Meckler bring charged atmosphere and tight drama to this excellent adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play. Lyndsey Winship

Parenting Hell Live
AO Arena, Manchester, 14 April; touring to 28 April
Over the past three years, Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe have wrung hours of comedy gold from the thankless, disaster-punctuated grind of parenthood for their hit podcast Parenting Hell. Now fans can witness the pair’s frank banter first-hand on its debut arena tour. Rachel Aroesti

Hamnet
Swan theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, to 17 June
Reopening the RSC’s Swan theatre, Lolita Chakrabarti (Life of Pi) adapts Maggie O’Farrell’s extraordinary story of Shakespeare’s wife, Agnes, and son, Hamnet. Kate Wyver

Richard III
Liverpool Everyman, to 22 April; Rose theatre, Kingston upon Thames, 26 April to 13 May
The prolific Adjoa Andoh is the driving force behind this gripping new production of Richard III, as the Bridgerton actor directs and stars as the troubled king. KW

Streaming

The Last Thing He Told Me
14 April, Apple TV+
How well do you really know your supposed other half? It’s a question that’s propelled a slew of moreish dramas recently, including this screen version of Laura Dave’s bestselling thriller. When her husband disappears, Hannah (Jennifer Garner) begins investigating his secret identity, while trying to protect her stepdaughter (Mare of Easttown’s Angourie Rice) from the shadowy cabal out to get them both.

Obsession
13 April, Netflix
Thanks to an impending glut of 80s and 90s movie adaptations (Fatal Attraction, Dead Ringers, Presumed Innocent, Fear), the erotic TV thriller will soon be ubiquitous. Get in the mood with this drama about a woman (Happy Valley’s Charlie Murphy) who begins an affair with her fiance’s father (The Hobbit star Richard Armitage). Cue lots of sex and lots of scandal.

Colin from Accounts
11 April, 10pm, BBC Two & iPlayer
This sharp, spicy rom-sitcom, created by husband-and-wife duo Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer, is the latest Aussie import to hit UK screens. The pair play strangers thrown together by a boob flash-induced car crash, which leads to the joint adoption of an injured dog – AKA the eponymous Colin.

Lyra
8 April, 9pm, Channel 4 & All 4
Four years ago, 29-year-old journalist Lyra McKee was shot and killed during a riot in Derry; the New IRA later admitted it was responsible for the accident. This film, made by her friend Alison Millar, pays tribute to McKee and her investigative reporting, anchoring the terrible tragedy of her death in Northern Ireland’s complex political landscape. RA

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Staying in: Games

Ghostwire: Tokyo
Out Wednesday, Xbox Series S/X
Now available on Xbox after a long wait, this supernatural action chiller is set in a beautifully recreated Tokyo where the population has been stolen and replaced by ghosts.

EA Sports PGA Tour
Out now, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X
A realistic golf simulation with EA’s typical level of polish and professionalism. Create your own golfer, or pick a famous one.

Tron Identity
Out Tuesday, PC, Nintendo Switch
A detective story set within the blue-neon-and-lightcycles world of Tron from British studio Bithell Games, which has a great track record in intriguing sci-fi. Keza MacDonald

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Staying in: Albums

Yaeji – With a Hammer
Out now
After emerging in 2017 via two critically acclaimed, party-ready EPs, Brooklyn-based electronic music pioneer Kathy Yaeji Lee (above) finally releases this long-awaited debut album. Lead single For Granted initially channels 2020’s more introverted mixtape, What We Drew, before exploding into a drum’n’bass freakout, highlighting Lee’s playful way with dynamics.

HMLTD – The Worm
Out now
Set in an anachronistic version of medieval England that sees singer Henry Spychalski portraying a giant worm, London collective HMLTD’s opulent second album is gloriously overwhelming. Featuring a cast of 47 musicians, it’s also a full-on rush of noise, as showcased on The End Is Now.

Rae Sremmurd – Sremm4Life
Out now
After fuelling split rumours with 2018’s triple album SR3MM, which featured a solo record each for members Slim Jxmmi and Swae Lee, theMississippi hip-hop duo return with this fourth album. While singles Sucka Or Sum and Torpedo are fine, it’s the excellent Tanisha (Pump That) – produced by Mike Will Made-It – that really shines.

Ellie Goulding – Higher Than Heaven
Out now
On her first album since 2020’s muddled 19-track opus Brightest Blue, Ellie Goulding (below) refines her sound. Recent single By the End of the Night is a typically deft slice of emotional electropop, while the throbbing Let It Die – produced by Lostboy – unpicks a toxic relationship over twisted synth shards. MC

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Staying in: Brain food

Fashion Reimagined
9 April, 9pm, Sky Documentaries
A fascinating look at the environmental impact of fashion through the career of rising designer Amy Powney (above). We follow her from being named Vogue’s best young designer of the year to creating a green-focused line.

You Must Remember This
Podcast
Film critic Karina Longworth’s detailed and engaging series on 20th-century Hollywood returns to examine the erotic world of 90s film. Discussing everything from Basic Instinct to Showgirls, we hear how evolving attitudes to sex played out on screen.

Drumeo
Online
If you’re in the mood to make a racket, online drumming encyclopedia Drumeo is the place to start. For novices to experts alike, tutors play along to help build your chops, as well as recording head-scratching solos. Ammar Kalia