Going out: Cinema
Supergirl
Out now
Milly Alcock dons the spandex to play Kara Zor-El, AKA Supergirl, in the second film in the DC Universe (a soft reboot of the DC Extended Universe courtesy of James Gunn and Peter Safran), which sees the Man of Steel’s cousin travelling the galaxy and embarking on a quest for revenge.
Jackass: Best and Last
Out now
What can Jackass possibly be up to now the gang are thoroughly middle-aged? One answer: robot prostate exam. You can’t accuse Johnny Knoxville and his merry band of clowns of mellowing: putting yourself through these kinds of stunts past 50 requires a particular kind of long-term commitment to the bit.
Blue Heron
Out now
Sasha (Eylul Guven) is the eight-year-old daughter of a Hungarian immigrant family who move to Canada in the 1990s, but who find their eldest son struggling with increasingly severe behavioural issues, in director Sophy Romvari’s award-winning debut, based on her own childhood.
The Furious
Out now
Child trafficking in south-east Asia provides the sinister jumping-off point for this English-language Hong Kong action movie. It sees a mute kung fu specialist working as a handyman (Xie Miao) team up with a journalist (Joe Taslim) to attempt to recover their loved ones from the bad guys. Catherine Bray
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Going out: Gigs
Love Supreme jazz festival
Glynde Place, nr Lewes, 3 to 5 July
As ever, the annual festival creatively bridges jazz, funk, classic soul, Afrobeat and more – which makes the UK’s dynamic Mercury prize-winning Ezra Collective this year’s perfect opening-night show. Stars including Loyle Carner, Esperanza Spalding, Joe Lovano, Bill Frisell and Emma Rawicz glitter throughout the weekend. John Fordham
In the Belly of the Beast
London, 27 June; Perth, 2 July; Glasgow, 3 July; touring to 4 July
The second collaboration between Hera, Mahogany Opera and Dunedin Consort following the acclaimed Out of Her Mouth (2023), In the Belly of the Beast is a contemporary theatrical reworking of three biblical cantatas by groundbreaking French baroque composer Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, translated by Toria Banks. Soprano Carolyn Sampson stars. Flora Willson
Sunn O)))
28 June to 3 July; tour starts Bristol
If summer is just too happy a season then fear not, because here come black-cloaked Seattle duo Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson with their arsenal of drone metal anthems. These dates are in support of April’s self-titled 10th album, which features not one but two 18-minute-plus, slow-moving epics. Michael Cragg
Glasgow Summer Sessions
Bellahouston Park, 27 June to 4 July
Spread across six nights, this series of gigs has a stellar lineup including stomp-hey pioneers the Lumineers (27 June), Alanis Morissette (30 June) and My Chemical Romance (4 July). Also, get your bald caps ready – Pitbull takes the stage on 1 July. MC
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Going out: Art
Jonathan Baldock
Arnolfini, Bristol, to 27 September
English artist Jonathan Baldock creates an immersive mythical world of natural and folkloric beauty out of ceramics, textiles, scent and sound in this big institutional show, which includes a massive bear that that you can hug.
Zayd Menk
Ginny on Frederick, London, to 7 August
Zayd Menk’s work looks like an explosion in a teenage hacker’s bedroom, and he’s using up all the salvaged electronics he can get his hands on to ruminate on the ethics of technology in his debut solo show at uber-hip London gallery Ginny on Frederick.
Waldmüller
National Gallery, London, 2 July to 20 September
Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller was a big deal in 19th-century Austria, with an unidealised and unflinchingly honest approach to painting. This show is the first ever to focus on his lush, dramatic landscapes.
Ai Weiwei
Aviva Studios, Manchester, 2 July to 6 September
Satirical, monumental and iconoclastic: Chinese conceptual art bigwig Ai Weiwei takes aim at 200 years of Chinese-British history, laying bare centuries of trade, empire and exploitation, in this major exhibition. Eddy Frankel
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Going out: Stage
Songs of the Bulbul
Oxford Playhouse, 30 June & 1 July; Watford Palace Theatre, 3 July; touring to 21 July
A short tour for Aakash Odedra’s wonderful solo inspired by a Sufi myth about the Persian nightingale (the bulbul). Odedra is a virtuosic Kathak dancer, and there’s a beauty and light in this piece that’s buoyed up by Rushil Ranjan’s soaring score combining Indian and western classical traditions. Lyndsey Winship
Sami Abu Wardeh
Cambridge Junction, 27 June
Clowning, hand puppets, characters, drawing, storytelling, cabaret, Churchill quotes, colonialism jokes: wringing some semblance of comedy from the situation in Gaza is no easy feat, but Wardeh throws everything at the task in Palestine: Peace De Resistance, producing something defiant and insightful in the process. Rachel Aroesti
Relics
Lyric Hammersmith, London, to 18 July
Four siblings reunite after their mother’s death and stumble across some explosive family secrets in Ben Ockrent’s darkly comic drama. Director Michael Longhurst has assembled a cracking cast for this world premiere, including Sally Phillips and Charly Clive. Miriam Gillinson
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon, to 30 August
The Unicorn Theatre and RSC have joined forces to create this family-friendly version of Shakespeare’s much-loved romcom – with a brilliantly imaginative use of creative captions. There is also an installation in the Swan and Avon Bank Gardens inspired by the twinkling mischief of Midsummer. MG
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Staying in: Streaming
Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness
HBO Max, 27 June
Made in collaboration with the Obamas and timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this new series sees the inimitable Larry David bring his giddily misanthropic comedic style – and reliable stream of social faux pas – to sketches about the US’s past.
Elle
Prime Video, 1 July
This Legally Blonde prequel imagines Elle Woods, the 2001 movie’s ultra girly, fish-out-of-water Harvard law student protagonist, as a 90s teen forced to move from Bel Air to Seattle – AKA grunge city – for her father’s job.
Silo
Apple TV, 3 July
In the distant future, humanity is contained in complex underground bunkers and anyone who leaves faces certain death. Until now. Engineer Juliette has just returned from the outside with her memory wiped. The third season of this knotty sci-fi drama continues to gradually reveal the truth behind a mysterious dystopia with 21st-century geopolitical roots.
X-Men ’97
Disney+, 1 July
The first outing of this visually nostalgic Marvel animation was an award-winning, critically acclaimed ratings smash. Now it’s back for season two, with our mutant crew dispersed over numerous time periods as they struggle to reunite back in the 1990s. RA
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Staying in: Games
Star Fox
Switch 2, out now
Anthropomorphic animal fighter pilots barrel-roll through space, shooting down enemy craft and skimming over strange planets. A remake of an ancient Nintendo 64 game: think Top Gun meets The Wind in the Willows – in space.
Monopoly: Star Wars Heroes vs Villains
All platforms, out 30 June
Not the Monopoly you know: this is a team-based strategy game where Star Wars characters battle to dominate the board, featuring very pretty visualisations of places from a galaxy far, far away. Keza MacDonald
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Staying in: Albums
Muse – The Wow! Signal
Out now
You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween hitmakers Muse return with another collection of ludicrous, all-caps rock. Now 10 albums in, each new release feels like an excuse to tour as opposed to a new artistic statement, but there’s still much to enjoy here, not least the thrillingly silly Cryogen.
Beth Orton – The Ground Above
Out now
This follow-up to 2022’s acclaimed Weather Alive continues that album’s exploration of the complex interior worlds of Brit award-winning folk-pop artist Orton. She turns fear into beauty on the cathartic Otherside and elsewhere shines a light on life’s smaller moments.
Ryan Beatty – Sweet Fortune
Out now
Fresh from winning a Grammy for his work on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, singer-songwriter Beatty returns with his fourth album, which is more loved up than 2023’s quietly devastating Calico. Songs such as the twangy, widescreen single Secret Language and the soul-tinged White Lightning contort classic songwriting into new shapes.
Sekou – In a World We Don’t Belong Pt 2
Out now
By far the best R&B singer to emerge from Ashby-de-la-Zouch, 21-year-old Sekou has quickly made waves here and in the US. He’s already worked with the likes of Justin Bieber and Kevin Abstract, while this mixtape – full of sleek, retro-soul and disco flourishes – suggests the sky’s the limit. MC
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Staying in: Brain food
Actors Never Retire
Podcast
Actor Molly Hanson hosts this lively new series from the Royal Theatrical Fund exploring the lives and careers of older working British actors. Guests include West End stalwart Myra Sands and Tony award winner Elizabeth Seal.
Lorem Ipsum: The Unsolved Mystery
YouTube
YouTuber Emily Zhang conducts a fascinating investigation into the dummy text used as a placeholder in publishing. Although ubiquitous, few can agree on its origins or why it resembles a mangled version of Latin text.
Music Matters: How to Listen
BBC Radio 3, 28 July, 3pm
The chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo, is our expert guide on the art of attentive listening in this three-part series. Oramo examines how the way in which we listen affects the impact of sound. Ammar Kalia