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The Devil Wears Prada 2 to Lenny Henry: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead | Culture
Going out: Cinema
The Devil Wears Prada 2
Out now
Sequels, for spring? Groundbreaking. OK, but this just happens to be one of the most anticipated sequels of the last decade, with Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt returning to their respective roles of high-fashion supervillain Miranda Priestly, journalist Andy Sachs and type-A nightmare Emily Charlton.
Hokum
Out now
Adam Scott (Severance) stars in this Irish-set haunted-house horror about a man whose journey to spread his parents’ ashes involves some unexpectedly spooky twists and turns. Irish former electrician Damian McCarthy writes and directs his first Hollywood feature after a couple of lower-budget homegrown hits.
Wild Foxes
Out now
Valéry Carnoy directs this French coming-of-age drama which premiered at Cannes last year to prize-winning effect. Set at a sport-focused boarding school, it concerns the aftermath of a near fatal accident for young boxer Camille (Samuel Kircher) who is rescued by his best friend, Matteo, (Faycal Anaflous).
That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime: Tears of the Azure Sea
Out now
A beach vacation at a private resort is disrupted by Yura, an underseas priestess who is after some help in dealing with the potential awakening of a dormant Aqua Dragon. This adventure bridges the gap between the third and fourth series of the popular animated Japanese TV show. Catherine Bray
Going out: Gigs
Tsatsamis
Manchester, 2 May; London, 8 May
London-based artist and producer Tsatsamis released his mixtape Tsycophant last month and showcases its lithe electropop on this mini tour. Keep an ear out for the pensive, George Michael-esque Secret Boyfriend and the sweaty strut of Angelina, which sounds like Hurts wrestling with Years & Years. Michael Cragg
Tame Impala
7 to 13 May; tour starts London
Kevin Parker tours his psych-pop outfit around arenas in support of last year’s Deadbeat album. Perfect timing, given that the album’s third single, Dracula, has gone viral on TikTok and has nestled itself in the upper echelons of charts worldwide thanks to a remix with Blackpink’s Jennie. MC
Courtney Pine
Cheltenham Town Hall, 3 May; Ronnie Scott’s, London, 7 & 8 May
Four decades ago, this sax-playing descendent of the Windrush generation helped spark a revolution across the 1980s UK jazz scene and way beyond. Pine’s Out of the Ghetto: A Modern Day Jazz Story tour celebrates the vision that fuelled a new sound, and a still-growing new audience. John Fordham
Tectonics festival
City Halls and Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, 2 & 3 May
Tectonics is an annual feast for the ears, showcasing composers and performers working at classical music’s cutting edge. Virtuoso tuba playing from Danielle Price and Frédéric Le Junter’s experimental sound machines are among this year’s major premieres. Flora Willson
Going out: Art
Aleksandra Kasuba
Tate St Ives, 2 May to 4 October
Long before immersive art was even really a thing, Lithuanian American artist Aleksandra Kasuba was creating “spatial environments” for viewers to inhabit. This St Ives show – the first of her work in the UK – will feature early paintings and mosaics alongside proto-immersive installations all about utopian ideals of social harmony and communal living.
Zurbarán
National Gallery, London, 2 May to 23 August
Gazing saints, bowls of lemons, loads of magi and a circumcision: the so-called Spanish Caravaggio took on a huge variety of subject matter, but always with a singular intensity and sense of heightened drama. Francisco de Zurbarán was a giant of 17th-century art, a proper master of the baroque, and this exhibition will be a serious art blockbuster.
Genuine Fake Premium Economy
ICA, London, to 5 July
Three millennial artists – Jenna Bliss, Buck Ellison and Jasmine Gregory – come together in this show at the ICA to try to make sense of how the hell any of us survived the 2008 financial crisis. How do we live, love, work and survive in a world of massive inequality and capitalist greed? Maybe the film, photography and painting here will provide answers.
Rose Finn-Kelcey
Arts Collective, Northampton, to 1 August
Pioneering feminist performance conceptualist and Northampton native Rose Finn-Kelcey died in 2014. Her work dealt with ideas of architecture, spirituality, the domestic and the mundane, all with humour and biting satire. This show inaugurates the Art Collective complex, a brand new art space for Northampton. Eddy Frankel
Going out: Stage
Lenny Henry
Touring to 3 November
First came the glut of stage shows based on classic sitcoms, now the comedy giants of the 80s and 90s are reliving their greatest hits. Following in Harry Enfield’s recent footsteps, the Comic Relief co-founder embarks on a tour that fuses standup with stories about his best-loved roles. Rachel Aroesti
Sherlock Holmes
Regent’s Park Open Air theatre, London, 2 May to 6 June
In this new adventure, Sherlock’s world collapses into chaos with the arrival of an unknown woman and mysterious jewel at 221b Baker Street. It’s penned by Joel Horwood (The Ocean at the End of the Lane), directed by the always-mischievous Sean Holmes and stars Joshua James as Sherlock and Jyuddah Jaymes as Watson. Miriam Gillinson
Sweat
Citizens theatre, Glasgow, to 16 May; Royal Lyceum theatre, Edinburgh, 3 to 20 June
This co-production of Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer-winning play is based on extensive interviews with the residents of Reading, Pennsylvania, where industrial decline is devastating the factory workers’ way of life. MG
Return to the Forest
Aviva Studios, Manchester, 7 to 10 May; touring to 27 June
South African choreographer Gregory Maqoma reunites with puppetry company Theatre-Rites (following 2021’s The Global Playground) for a new show where a magical forest comes alive. Theatre-Rites, celebrating its 30th anniversary, has a great track record for creating imaginative, experimental kids’ theatre blending puppetry and dance. Lyndsey Winship
Staying in: Streaming
Legends
Netflix, 2 May
With The Gold, Neil Forsyth turned one of Britain’s most notorious heists into a quality retro drama. Now he’s found inspiration in a more obscure crime story: an ambitious operation by undercover customs officers to stop the heroin trade. Steve Coogan, Tom Burke and Hayley Squires star.
Amandaland
BBC iPlayer & BBC One, 6 May, 9pm
As a sitcom, Motherland was mostly about parenthood and a bit about class – its spin-off is mostly about class and a bit about parenthood. Having weathered humiliations involving campsite toilets and a celebrity chef, series two reunites us with Lucy Punch’s inveterate social climber.
Fallen
ITVX, 3 May
American source material, a primarily British cast, German and Swiss producers and a Brazilian broadcaster: this adaptation of Lauren Kate’s inordinately successful YA romantasy fiction is the result of a dizzyingly globalised TV industry. Now the show – which won an international Emmy last year – finally airs in the UK.
Berlusconi – Condemned to Win
BBC iPlayer & BBC Four, 5 May, 10pm
Everyone knows that Silvio Berlusconi parlayed his status as a media tycoon into a long career at the top of Italian politics. But this ESPN doc puts a lesser-known element of his empire under the microscope: examining how his ownership of AC Milan helped him become prime minister. RA
Staying in: Games
Wax Heads
Xbox, PS5, PC, Switch, out 2 May
Ever fancied running a record shop, picking out recommendations and getting to know 100+ fictional bands? Well this grungy little game has invented all of this for your amusement.
inKonbini
PC, Xbox, Switch, PS5, out now
Alternatively, in 1990s Japan, here you are a college student who’s taken a job stacking shelves at one of the country’s squillions of quaint convenience stores. Sounds like a drudgery simulator, but things get more interesting as you get to know your customers. Keza MacDonald
Staying in: Albums
Tori Amos – In Times of Dragons
Out now
A metaphorical story based around a desperate fight for democracy in the face of a “billionaire Lizard Demon” forms the backbone of the 18th album by the US singer-songwriter. On the epic six-minute opener, Shush, Amos spotlights a coercive patriarchy, before eventually reaching a sense of hope on Stronger Together.
Kacey Musgraves – Middle of Nowhere
Out now
The country music superstar attempts to settle into singledom on her seventh album. On the title track that means enjoying the freedom of being undefined, while a certain lack of intimacy (“ain’t nobody’s tool up in my shed”) is bemoaned on the playful single, Dry Spell.
Zara Larsson – Midnight Sun: Girls Trip
Out now
Originally released last September, Zara Larsson’s excellent fifth album, Midnight Sun, was a surprising flop. Since then, however, she’s scored a US Top 10 single alongside PinkPantheress, and watched her 2015 bop Lush Life re-enter the charts worldwide. Hence this repack, with a remix album featuring a global roster of female guests.
American Football – American Football
Out now
Seven years after their last album, also called American Football, the midwest emo quartet return with 10 more songs to cry to. Focusing on topics such as suicide, divorce and addiction, songs such as Bad Moons and No Feeling, with Turnstile’s Brendan Yates, make sadness seem quite pretty. MC
Staying in: Brain food
Aadam Jacobs Archive
Online
Chicago’s Aadam Jacobs is an obsessive chronicler of the city’s music scene and this fascinating archive features live recordings of early shows by the likes of Nirvana, Depeche Mode and Sonic Youth, plus contextual info.
Darknet Diaries
Podcast
Tech expert Jack Rhysider’s engrossing series analyses developments in the shadowy world of cybercrime, from the hacking groups destabilising national security to bot farms gaming the music charts.
The Safe Box
BBC World Service, Tuesday, 8.06pm
Marking World Press Freedom Day, presenter Myra Anubi’s investigation into the French organisation Forbidden Stories explores how journalists aim to continue the sensitive work of colleagues who have been killed or who are at risk. Ammar Kalia
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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