Edinburgh international film festival
Various venues, 13 to 19 August
The world\u2019s oldest continuously running film festival returns with a programme that includes 10 films competing for a \u00a350K prize; plus the UK premieres of I Want Your Sex by Gregg Araki and Lance Hammer\u2019s Queen at Sea; and special guests doing talks including Kenneth Branagh, Ewan McGregor and Bruce Dern. There\u2019s also a screening and club-night celebration for Trainspotting\u2019s 30th anniversary.<\/p>\n
Ice Cream Man
Out now
Eli Roth directs a slasher about an ice-cream man who turns children into homicidal maniacs. You\u2019re probably either in or out by this point but, in case it makes a difference, the film stars Ari Millen of Orphan Black fame as the titular dispenser of summer treats.<\/p>\n
A Child of My Own
Out now
A true-crime docudrama based on the real-life case of a Mexican woman who abducted a baby from the hospital where she worked as a nurse. Chilean director Maite Alberdi\u2019s factual account is interwoven with a telling of the story from the perpetrator\u2019s point of view. Catherine Bray<\/p>\n
Going out: GigsUrine for a treat \u2026 Joji. Photograph: Evers Pund<\/p>\n
Joji
Dublin, 11 August; London, 13 August; touring to 16 August
The Japanese-Australian YouTube prankster turned serious musical artist arrives in arenas in support of February\u2019s fourth album of ornate electronic ballads, Piss in the Wind. The night\u2019s singalong moment is likely to be Glimpse of Us, which is now on 1.8bn Spotify streams and counting. Michael Cragg<\/p>\n
John Grant with Richard Hawley
Kelvingrove Bandstand, Glasgow, 10 August
Originally brought together in 2023 as part of the Manchester international festival, Grant and Hawley reunite for this unique collaboration celebrating the work of late country star Patsy Cline. With Cline\u2019s songs steeped in romance and heartbreak, expect them to come to life anew on a Glasgow bandstand. MC<\/p>\n
The Galloping Cure
Festival theatre, Edinburgh, 9 to 12 August
Advertised as \u201can opera for the opioid age\u201d, this is the latest collaboration between Missy Mazzoli, one of the most successful composers working in opera today, and librettist Royce Vavrek, dubbed \u201cthe indie Hoffmannsthal\u201d. Its world premiere production by Scottish Opera is a musical must-see at this year\u2019s Edinburgh international festival. Flora Willson<\/p>\n
Denys Baptiste, Gary Crosby, Cassie Kinoshi
Bristol Beacon: Lantern Hall, 8 August
Joining the BBC\u2019s wider Proms season, this live-broadcast Radio 3 Bristol concert showcases successive generations of African-Caribbean jazz artists who have transformed the UK scene over the past half-century. Soulful Coltrane-inspired saxophonist Denys Baptiste, Jazz Warriors co-founder Gary Crosby and saxophonist\/composer Cassie Kinoshi highlight this diversely creative gig. John Fordham<\/p>\n
Going out: ArtFigures of fun \u2026 Kira Freije\u2019s Unspeak the Chorus. Photograph: Rob Harris<\/p>\n
Kira Freije New Contemporaries 26 Rachel Maclean: They\u2019ve Got Your Eyes Flare-Up Going out: StageBetween the sheets \u2026 Alan Cumming and Shirley Henderson in rehearsals for A History of Paper. Photograph: Chris Keatch<\/p>\n A History of Paper Love\u2019s Labour\u2019s Lost and Much Ado About Nothing Kevin Bridges Tchaikovsky: Child of Glass skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Inside Saturday<\/p>\n The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Staying in: StreamingTunnel vision \u2026 Warren\u2019s Vortex. Photograph: Rebecca McMillan Photography\/ Fremantle<\/p>\n Warren\u2019s Vortex Hit Point A House Through Time Mourinho Staying in: GamesPlaying the Bond markets \u2026 Agent 64: Spies Never Die. Photograph: Replicant D6<\/p>\n Agent 64 Servant of the Lake Staying in: AlbumsClubbing together \u2026 Flo. Photograph: Alexander Piper<\/p>\n Flo \u2013 Therapy at the Club Overmono \u2013 Pure Devotion Ravyn Lenae \u2013 Blue Island The Anchoress \u2013 As We Once Were Staying in: Brain food<\/p>\n
Modern Art<\/a> Oxford, to 16 August
It\u2019s your last chance to catch a clutch of exhibitions this week before they close, including strange, lifesize figures frozen in moments of emotional anguish created by Freije, who is nominated for this year\u2019s Turner prize.<\/p>\n
Mima, Middlesbrough, to 16 August
There\u2019s no better place to spot the art stars of the future than the annual New Contemporaries exhibition, which brings together work by recent graduates and early-career artists.<\/p>\n
Fact, Liverpool, to 16 August
This Scottish artist combines film and sculpture, fairytale and horror for a terrifying immersive exploration of AI and how it\u2019s tearing apart the idea of art and authorship.<\/p>\n
Goldsmith\u2019s Centre for Contemporary Art, London, to 16 August
Health and illness are the focus of this show about the body and disability, featuring a stellar lineup of artists including Derek Jarman, F\u00e9lix Gonz\u00e1lez-Torres and Racheal Crowther. Eddy Frankel<\/p>\n
Pitlochry Festival theatre, 9 August to 19 September
Oliver Emanuel and Gareth Williams\u2019s thoughtful and romantic new musical charts a burgeoning relationship between a man and woman through the scraps of paper they leave behind \u2013 tickets, letters, menus and shopping lists. Alan Cumming and Shirley Henderson star. Miriam Gillinson<\/p>\n
Thomas\u2019s College, Richmond, to 22 August
This enticing Shakespearean double bill transforms his two comedies into a sweeping single love saga set around the second world war. MG<\/p>\n
8 August to 20 February; tour starts York
The Glaswegian comic\u2019s gritty, relatable and masterfully constructed observational fare made him a standup institution in his homeland long ago. Now, more than two decades on from his debut, the (still only) 39-year-old heads back out on the road with new show Here If You Need Me. Rachel Aroesti<\/p>\n
Opera Holland Park, London, 13 to 15 August
A music-dance-drama about the life and forbidden loves of composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. This is a real meshing of forms, the play written by Tama Matheson (artistic director of the Brisbane Shakespeare festival), with pianist Jayson Gillham playing live, and Royal Ballet soloist T\u00e9o Dubreuil performing choreography by Stephen Wicks. Lyndsey Winship<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782374049_327_500.jpg\")
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Now & Sky Comedy, 10 August, 9pm
This sister show to the New Zealand comedy Wellington Paranormal (itself a What We Do in the Shadows spin-off) sees a teenage girl fall into the transdimensional wormhole her dad has been hiding in his shed, leading the pair into a host of absurd alternate timelines.<\/p>\n
U&Dave, 13 August, 9pm
Misfits creator Howard Overman\u2019s twisty romcom-thriller ramps up the standard-issue police procedural suspense with a hefty dose of sexual tension. Saffron Hocking and Nick Blood are two detectives trying not to get distracted by their mutual attraction while investigating a gangland robbery that doesn\u2019t quite add up.<\/p>\n
iPlayer & BBC Two, 13 August, 9pm
David Olusoga\u2019s particular brand of braininess may not have made him much of a Traitor hunter, but the softly spoken historian is the perfect fit for this gently fascinating series which chronicles British life through the prism of a single dwelling. This sixth instalment focuses on an Edinburgh home that dates back to 1765.<\/p>\n
Netflix, 11 August
The Special One (a nickname he loudly disavows in the trailer while standing in front of a huge self-portrait) and his 20-year winning streak is the subject of this new series from Joe Pearlman, director of arch documentaries on Robbie Williams and Bros. Ferguson, Terry, Lampard, Ibrahimovi\u0107 and Drogba are among the talking heads. RA<\/p>\n
PC, out 11 August
Aimed squarely at those who played and loved GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64 nearly 30 years ago, this homage keeps the lo-fi graphics and much-loved split-screen multiplayer mode but has its own story campaign and the ability to play online. Relive your youth \u2013 now with updated modern design.<\/p>\n
PC, out 13 August
Eye-catching for its charming mix of bold line-drawn characters and muted sketched backgrounds, this point-and-click adventure hs charming characters and hides a darker mystery. Jordan Erica Webber<\/p>\n
Out now
The British R&B trio return with the follow-up to their Grammy-nominated debut, Access All Areas. Led by the salacious banger Leak It and the retro-soul stomper Remedied, the album also features throwback soul jams on the title track and Don\u2019t Break Her Heart.<\/p>\n
Out now
Welsh brothers Tom and Ed Russell continue to push the boundaries of electronic music on this follow-up to 2023\u2019s debut, Good Lies. As well as incorporating vintage synthesisers and destabilising vocal techniques, the pair also literally baked a crash cymbal in the oven. Why not?<\/p>\n
Out now
After releasing a couple of if-you-know-you-know alt-pop albums, Chicago singer-songwriter Lenae scored an unexpected smash last year with Love Me Not. As a result, this third album should garner more attention, and thankfully songs such as the Solange-esque Saturday Night and the loping Handle live up to the hype.<\/p>\n
Out now
When she\u2019s not hosting her own podcast, or writing books about epic poetry, Welsh polymath Catherine Anne Davies also makes music. On her first album of new material in five years, her decadent art-rock is augmented by guests including Gwenno and James Dean Bradfield. MC<\/p>\n