The Odyssey to Gracie Abrams: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead
Matt Damon dons the sword and sandals in Christopher Nolan’s epic, while the LA singer-songwriter shares more arena-friendly scream-along anthems
Going out: Cinema
The Odyssey
Out now
Christopher Nolan tackles one of the granddaddies of the western canon – Homer’s meaty tale of Odysseus (Matt Damon) and his long trip home after 10 years in the Trojan war. Also starring Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya and Charlize Theron.
Our Hero, Balthazar
Out now
A rich teen from New York hopes to attract the attention of his crush, an activist, by posting impassioned pro-gun-control videos, but instead finds himself the focus of a troll’s outbursts, which he decides are evidence of a dangerous potential murderer who must be confronted. Drama with Jaeden Martell, Asa Butterfield and Jennifer Ehle.
Synthetic Sincerity
Out now
Visionary documentarian Marc Isaacs (The Filmmaker’s House, The Blessed Plot) lets data analysts at “the University of Southern England” feed his work into their AI model in an attempt to procure genuine human reactions. It’s conceived as an antidote to the celebrification of documentaries and other dubious nonfiction developments.
Animal Farm
Out now
Andy Serkis directs an animated version of the classic George Orwell story. Possibly not one for the purists: original characters include a new pig protagonist called Lucky, intended as an audience stand-in to help make the bleak tale more palatable. All adaptations are created equal, but some are more equal than others? Catherine Bray
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Going out: Gigs
Latitude festival
Nr Southwold, 23 to 26 July
Latitude rounds up more of its multi-coloured sheep for another long weekend in Suffolk to celebrate its 20th year. There’s music too, with David Byrne, Teddy Swims and Lewis Capaldi headlining, and Dry Cleaning, Saint Etienne and Self Esteem offering ample support. Michael Cragg
Agnes Obel
21 to 25 July, tour starts London
Danish-born Obel, who has recently been studying music’s healing powers in connection to depression, brings her escapist chamber pop to the UK. On Tuesday she plays London’s Somerset House before three more dates across the UK and Ireland. MC
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
St Peter’s Church, Norton, 18 July
Rising brass soloist Imogen Whitehead is an artist in residence at this year’s Ryedale festival. Her concert with the Liverpool Phil features the world premiere of Gabriel Jackson’s new Flugelhorn Concerto which promises to celebrate the instrument’s warm tone, alongside symphonies by Weber and Beethoven. Charlotte Corderoy conducts. Flora Willson
Pat Metheny Side-Eye III+
Barbican Hall, London, 18 & 19 July
The prolific composer and guitar great’s evolving Side Eye project, designed to showcase new talent, this time features creative LA pianist-producer Chris Fishman and exciting New Orleans drummer Joe Dyson. John Fordham
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Going out: Art
Felipe Baeza
Maureen Paley Morena di Luna, Hove, to 6 September
Swirling wraith-like figures, mysterious mythological characters and cryptic landscapes combine in an exploration of queer identity by this Mexican artist, taking over Maureen Paley’s south coast gallery.
The Pattern of Life: Enid Marx and Modern British Design
Compton Verney, Warwickshire, 18 July to 3 January
She didn’t just design tube seats and illustrate children’s books, Enid Marx was also hugely influential in hand block-printed textiles. This exhibition looks at the impact she and her contemporaries had on the patterns, feel and fabrics of our daily lives.
Elisa Giardinia Papa
ICA, London, to 6 September
Video-based installation art about the story of an island formed by a volcanic eruption in the Mediterranean in 1831, which kicked off a violent military dispute between European powers, and quickly tumbled back into the sea.
Anne Ryan
London Mithraeum, to 9 January
What better place to explore the links between ancient Britain and its modern streets – through an immersive installation of painting and sculpture – than this ancient Roman temple, buried beneath the high rises of the City of London. Eddy Frankel
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Going out: Stage
Simon Amstell
24 July to 25 October, tour starts Bristol
Having made his name poking fun at musicians on TV, Amstell’s latest standup show finds him mooning over a pop star at a Hollywood party. The result is a shaggy dog story peppered with his trademark putdowns, therapy-speak and merciless introspection. Rachel Aroesti
Cleansed
Almeida theatre, London, to 29 August
Set in a brutal institution run by a sadistic torturer, Sarah Kane’s play is punishing – but surprisingly fragile and romantic, too. It’s directed by Rebecca Frecknall with an eclectic and talented cast. Miriam Gillinson
The Market Deeping Model Railway Club
Nottingham Playhouse, to 25 July
In 2019, vandals trashed an exhibition by a group of model railway enthusiasts – and the story went viral. William Ivory adapts this quintessentially British tale, with Adam Penford (Punch) directing and Adrian Scarborough as the club chairman. MG
Oona Doherty: Life Starts at 40
Bold Tendencies, London, 22 to 25 July
Three shows from the brilliant Belfast choreographer. Hope Hunt – the one that got her noticed – is a startlingly original study of male culture; Navy Blue mixes politics with the music of Jamie xx and Rachmaninov; plus there’s the premiere of a new piece, Leather Jacket. Lyndsey Winship
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Staying in: Streaming
Stuart Fails to Save the Universe
HBO Max, 24 July
In The Big Bang Theory, Stuart Bloom is a friend of the protagonists who runs a comic-book store. In this comedy sci-fi spin-off, the outlandish fiction he deals in becomes a reality when he’s forced to undertake a gargantuan mission: undo a multiverse apocalypse he accidentally caused.
The Undeclared War
Channel 4, 21 July, 9pm
Peter Kosminsky’s tech thriller returns to a lightly fictionalised GCHQ to chronicle yet more ingenious thwarting of potentially catastrophic cyber attacks. This time, however, the job is even trickier: there’s a mole in their midst. Simon Pegg, Hannah Khalique-Brown and Siân Brooke star.
The Crow Girl
Paramount+, 20 July
The second series of this dark crime drama sees police detective Jeanette Kilburn (Eve Myles) and psychotherapist Sophia Craven (Katherine Kelly) collaborate once again on a new case involving murdered male asylum seekers – but the pair’s relationship soon drifts into far less professional territory.
King of the Hill
Disney+, 20 July
This reboot of the 00s cartoon from the minds of Mike Judge (Beavis and Butt-Head) and Greg Daniels (the American Office) went down very well when it aired last year; now it’s back with more wry observations about modern life in middle America. RA
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Staying in: Games
High Times
PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox, out 23 July
Another entry in the increasingly popular coffee shop dating sim subgenre, except this time you’re serving doughnuts that alter the moods of your customers in order to fix their social and emotional problems. The sort of therapy Homer Simpson could get behind.
Gurei
PS5, Switch, PC, out 23 July
Harking back to the golden era of 2D hack’n’slash games and inspired by samurai movies, Gurei has you battling a series of mystical enemies in any order you like, using a precise and unforgiving combat system. Streets of Rage meets Yojimbo. Keith Stuart
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Staying in: Albums
Gracie Abrams – Daughter from Hell
Out now
LA singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams makes fragile sad-pop complete with earworm choruses, perfect for screaming along to in global arenas. That continues on this third album, with the Justin Vernon-assisted lead single Hit the Wall constantly teetering on the edge of losing it but somehow holding it together.
Steve Lacy – Oh Yeah?
Out now
Four years after his unexpected viral smash Bad Habits landed him a US No 1, and upended his career in the process, sonic experimentalist Lacy returns with this third album. He keeps things joyfully weird, specifically on Is it Cool?, a zonked-out electronic duet with SZA.
Syd – Beard
Out now
Lacy’s bandmate in the Internet also returns with her third album after a four-year break. She’s kept herself busy in-between by producing songs for Beyoncé and collaborating with Moses Sumney, but here she channels her own brand of slinky R&B mixed with occasionally bruised lyrics.
Tricky – Different When It’s Silent
Out now
Having recently released music under various monikers, the Bristol hip-hop one-off returns with his first album as Tricky in six years. Featuring regular collaborator Marta, as well as Mitch Sanders, songs such as the jet-black Out of Place and Because I Don’t Know continue his love for aural unease. MC
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Staying in: Brain food
Music of Nature
Podcast
Nature recordist Lang Elliott’s long-running and deeply calming series is part ASMR experience and part documentary soundscape. Elliott produces 3D soundworlds that capture everything from lakeside muskrats to snoring Atlantic puffins.
Signal Hill
Online
Audio magazine Signal Hill releases its second edition, featuring a fascinating mix of essays, fiction and experimental soundscapes. Highlights include an appreciation of neighbourhood trees and one Egyptian family’s tale of a controversial cotton empire.
Ken Burns Day
PBS America, 22 July
The pioneering US documentarian is celebrated all day on PBS America with a double screening of his 2003 film on the first transcontinental car journey and his 1997 film on the discovery of the American west. Ammar Kalia