Going out: Cinema<\/p>\n
Eleanor the Great
Out now
June Squibb stars in Scarlett Johansson\u2019s directorial debut, which premiered at Cannes and tells the tale of the eponymous Eleanor, a senior citizen recently relocated to New York, who strikes up a friendship with a 19-year old \u2013 and then stumbles her way into pretending to be a Holocaust survivor.<\/p>\n
Lurker
Out now
A hit at Sundance, this is the story of\u00a0a lowly retail employee who happens to strike up a friendship with a rising pop star, becoming the Boswell to his Johnson, if Boswell was part of a pop star\u2019s entourage. But the path of friendship with a famous person never did run smooth, and the uneven power dynamic soon prompts some desperate manoeuvring in this psychological thriller.<\/p>\n
Ella McCay
Out now
Emma Mackey stars in the latest from James L Brooks (his first since 2010), a\u00a0political comedy about an idealistic thirtysomething working in government and preparing to step into\u00a0the shoes of her mentor, Governor Bill (Albert Brooks). Jamie Lee Curtis co-stars as Ella\u2019s aunt.<\/p>\n
Preparation for the Next Life
Out now
An undocumented Uyghur immigrant is looking for a new start in New York when she meets an American soldier in Chinatown, in this drama adapted from the Atticus Lish novel, starring newcomer Sebiye Behtiyar and Fred Hechinger (Nickel Boys). Directed by Oscar nominee Bing Liu (Minding the Gap). Catherine Bray<\/p>\n
Going out: GigsEclectic feel \u2026 Duckwrth. Photograph: Dave Benett\/Jed Cullen\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Bladee
London, 13 & 16 December; Dublin, 14 December; Manchester, 17 December
Hailed as the \u201cMystic Oracle of Internet Rap\u201d by Pitchfork earlier this year, the Swedish cult hero continues his busy year \u2013 which already includes a collaborative EP with Yung Lean, and features on songs by PinkPantheress and Oklou \u2013 with this tour. Michael Cragg<\/p>\n
MacMillan\u2019s Christmas Oratorio
Barbican Hall, London, 19 December
It\u2019s the time of year when amateur and\u00a0professional choirs throughout the land are dusting off their scores of Handel\u2019s Messiah for their annual performance. For a change the more ambitious ones might opt for Bach\u2019s Christmas Oratorio instead, and this year the BBC Symphony Chorus is taking up the Christmas Oratorio that James MacMillan composed for the LPO six years ago. The composer conducts his amalgam of biblical narration and liturgical choruses, with Rhian Lois and Roderick Williams as the soloists.Andrew Clements<\/p>\n
Alan Barnes
Fleece Jazz, Colchester, 16 December; Chichester Jazz Club, 19 December
For the festive season, one of the UK\u00a0jazz scene\u2019s most entertaining swing-to-bebop sax maestros regularly hits the road, this year with long-time trumpet partner Bruce Adams on Tuesday, and his A-list UK eight-piece on Friday. John\u00a0Fordham<\/p>\n
Duckwrth
Manchester, 14 December; Bristol, 15 December; London, 16 December
Shape-shifting LA musician Jared Lee, whose most recent album, April\u2019s All American F*ckBoy, fused hip-hop, alt-rock and narration from LaKeith Stanfield, brings his frantic, gonzo energy to these shores for this three-date tour. MC<\/p>\n
Going out: ArtPeter Doig\u2019s Maracas, 2002-2008. Photograph: Courtesy Peter Doig<\/p>\n
Peter Doig
Serpentine Gallery, London, to 8 February
Party on with one of the best shows of\u00a02025, and also a club, a gig and an indoor festival as this enchanting painter mixes his\u00a0art with sounds from his vinyl collection. Giant vintage cinema speakers pump out the soundtrack to\u00a0paintings that transport you to Doig\u2019s\u00a0exotic, atmospheric worlds.<\/p>\n
A Case at the Museum
The Harris, Preston, to 4 January
The world of Wallace and Gromit comes to life in this ideal exhibition for the Christmas season. The relaunched Harris art gallery in Preston gives the beloved plasticine characters their own retrospective while also exploring the life and art of their creator Nick Park. Pass the mince pies, Gromit.<\/p>\n
Lasting Impressions
V&A, London, to 27 September
In K\u00e4the Kollwitz\u2019s print Death and the\u00a0Woman (Tod und Frau), a child attempts to save its mother from a skeleton that is trying to drag her off, transforming the old German theme Death and the Maiden. This display of\u00a0prints by women also includes Faith\u00a0Ringgold and Laura Knight.<\/p>\n
Humphrey Ocean
Gainsborough\u2019s House, Suffolk, to 22 March
The pop-tinged painter, and former bassist with Kilburn and the High Roads, exhibits his cool and precise yet at times very poetic architectural views. Flat vistas of tower blocks and houses against empty skies capture the way we live now. It makes a contrast with the Georgian home of\u00a0Gainsborough. Jonathan Jones<\/p>\n
Going out: StageGold, frankincense and mirth \u2026 Tim Key, performing as part of the Live at Christmas standup tour. Photograph: David Vintiner\/The Guardian<\/p>\n
Woman in Mind
Duke of York\u2019s theatre, London, to 28 February
One of Alan Ayckbourn\u2019s more unusual plays is about a housewife who hits her head and starts to live a double life, one real and one imaginary. Sheridan Smith stars (always a bundle of contradictions) alongside comedian Romesh Ranganathan in\u00a0his West End debut.<\/p>\n
A Christmas Fair
Chadderton Town Hall, 17 December to 2 January
This co-production between Oldham Coliseum theatre and Not\u00a0Too Tame theatre company \u2013 which creates work that celebrates regional identity and champions community \u2013 looks a treat. It\u2019s an immersive take on Jim Cartwright\u2019s festive play, which explores the lives of locals preparing for their annual fair. Miriam\u00a0Gillinson<\/p>\n
Live at Christmas
Touring to 21 December
Everyone loves a festive bargain and this country-wide series of mixed-bill standup shows certainly provides bang for your buck. Featuring the likes of Tim Key, Phil\u00a0Wang and Simon Amstell, each instalment presents a pick\u2019n\u2019mix of at least five comics \u2013 all of whom would be hot tickets solo. Rachel Aroesti<\/p>\n
Shaun the Sheep\u2019s Circus Show
Aviva Studios, Manchester, to 4 January
Australian circus troupe Circa are masters of their craft \u2013 usually classy, well-choreographed acrobatics that play in theatres and festivals around the globe. So this feels like a swerve into new territory, a family show based on an endearing animated character, it promises slapstick comedy along with tumbling, juggling and aerial feats. Lyndsey\u00a0Winship<\/p>\n
Staying in: StreamingApocalypse wow \u2026 Johnny Pemberton and Aaron Moten in Fallout. Photograph: Lorenzo Sisti\/Prime Video<\/p>\n
Fallout
Prime Video, 17 December
The peppiest protagonist to ever trudge through a post-apocalyptic wasteland returns in the hit video game adaptation. Following the jaw-dropping season one finale, we rejoin Ella Purnell\u2019s Lucy MacLean as she heads to Las Vegas, where civil war is waiting.<\/p>\n
A Mary Berry Christmas
iPlayer & BBC1, 17 December, 9pm
The most Christmassy activity in the world is lying horizontally on the sofa while somebody else painstakingly prepares a festive feast \u2013 so if you\u2019ll be the one sweating over the stove this year, take the opportunity to put your feet up and marvel at the creations of our patron saint of comforting yet meticulously precise home cookery.<\/p>\n
The Salt Path Scandal
Now & Sky Documentaries, 15 December, 9pm
The Observer\u2019s report on the omissions and inconsistencies in Raynor Winn\u2019s bestselling 2018 memoir rocked the publishing world this summer. In this documentary, we go behind the story with investigative journalist Chloe Hadjimatheou as she continues to tease fact from fiction.<\/p>\n
Emily in Paris
Netflix, 18 December
Few Netflix shows have generated as much outrage as this syrupy-sweet, stereotype-saturated romcom starring Lily Collins. Yet that hasn\u2019t remotely dampened its colossal popularity. Devotees will be delighted to reunite with the titular American marketing manager as she relocates to Rome for more culture-clash romance. RA<\/p>\n
Staying in: GamesNa\u2019vin\u2019 it large \u2026 Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora \u2013 From the Ashes Photograph: Ubisoft<\/p>\n
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora \u2013 From the Ashes
PS5, Xbox, PC; out 19 December
This hefty expansion to Ubisoft\u2019s really rather good but overlooked movie tie-in from 2023 tells a fresh story of Na\u2019vi revenge in\u00a0a new, stunningly realised region of the planet Pandora. That the new Avatar film is out on the same day is probably just a coincidence.<\/p>\n
Star Trek: Infection
Meta Quest, Steam VR; out now
There are few more effective ways to shut out all that interminable Christmas cheer than strapping on a VR headset, and while the egalitarian do-goodery of Star Trek and full-bore survival horror might not sound like the\u00a0most sympatico bedfellows, this offers effective scares aplenty. Luke\u00a0Holland<\/p>\n
Staying in: AlbumsIn the navy \u2026 Roddy Ricch. Photograph: Samy LaCrapule<\/p>\n
Roddy Ricch \u2013 The Navy Album
Out now
Originally slated for release a year ago before being delayed multiple times, the third album by the Compton rapper finally emerges. Of its two singles, both now quite old, Survivor\u2019s Remorse is the most interesting, with Ricch reflecting on his life over a looped sample of Kelly Clarkson\u2019s Me.<\/p>\n
Fucked Up \u2013 Grass Can Move Stones Part 1: Year of the Goat
Out now
Twenty years after starting their ambitious Zodiac series (they tackled the Year of the Horse in 2021), the Canadian noise merchants begin its towering conclusion with the goat. Part 1 features just two songs, one of which is the 28 minute-long Long Ago Gardens.<\/p>\n
Hercules and Love Affair \u2013 Someone Else is Calling
Out now
DJ and producer Andy Butler returns to his Hercules and Love Affair moniker for the first time since 2022\u2019s In Amber album. This new EP of sleek house and disco is lead by the hypnotic title track, which features vocals from Icelandic singer El\u00edn Ey, AKA Hips and Lips.<\/p>\n
Anna of the North \u2013 Girl in a Bottle
Out now
Norwegian soft-pop practitioner Anna Lotterud (below) returns with this fourth album, the first part of a mooted double LP. Created with producer Starsmith (Ellie Goulding, Kylie), songs such as the tactile Call Me and the wobbly No One Knows You Better soundtrack the minutiae of a relationship. MC<\/p>\n
Staying in: Brain food<\/p>\n