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Culture news, opinion, video and pictures from the Guardian
Site URL: www.theguardian.com/us/culture
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Megasquirt: Fully Loaded review – how to combat existential angst? A comedy rave at an ungodly hour
Published: August 23, 2026 19:00
Underbelly, Cowgate, EdinburghAshley Blair and Drew Reilly send up gen Z anomie with hardcore ditties about awkward dinners, megachurches and centaur boyfriends‘How to feel whole in an empty world?” There are many possible answers to that question, and…
Illicit deeds have just gotten a new Halloween video game banned in Australia – and it’s not because of the violence
Published: August 23, 2026 15:00
Academics – and a former director of Australia’s Classification Board – say Halloween: The Game’s ban due to ‘incentivised drug use’ highlights an incoherent set of standardsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastHalloween’s Michael…
As You Like It review – French aristocratic trappings bring fresh comedy to Arden
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/23/as-you-like-it-review-shakespeares-globe-london
Published: August 23, 2026 13:53
Shakespeare’s Globe, London In a lively and deftly designed production, gowns and wigs fit for Versailles give way to plainer disguises as banished courtiers pursue happiness in the countryFor a play that pivots around the liberating disguises inside…
Chineke!/ Heyward/ Angel Blue review – belated premiere for forgotten Black composer
Published: August 23, 2026 13:51
Royal Albert Hall, London A suite of reconstructed dance pieces from 1918 by Edmund Thornton Jenkins made a moving start to Chineke!’s Prom, where soprano Angel Blue sang Barber’s nostalgic Knoxville and Dvořák’s Symphony No 8 made a breathless…
‘I was scared I was going mad’: Meg Mason speaks to fellow authors about the parasocial relationships that begin on the page
Published: August 23, 2026 11:00
As a lonely teenager, the novels of Nancy Mitford offered the Sorrow and Bliss author a lifeline - and an imaginary friend. She explores why reading can create a particularly intense bond with a favourite writerIn the summer before university, my mother…
When my husband died in a surfing accident, life as I knew it was destroyed. Ten years on, this is what I’ve learned about grief
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/aug/23/my-husband-died-surfing-accident-grief
Published: August 23, 2026 11:00
One crashing wave on one single day changed everything for our family. How would I keep going?Before they enter the water, surfers will study the ocean. They consider wind and tide conditions. They analyse currents and patterns, break points and swells.…
Haribo Kimchi review – Korean snack bar serves lessons in belonging
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/23/haribo-kimchi-review-korean-snack-bar-jaha-koo
Published: August 23, 2026 10:38
Festival theatre studio, Edinburgh Jaha Koo cooks up street-food treats for two lucky theatregoers as he reflects on how food preserves memory and cultural identity, with the help of a snail and an eelTo get the measure of this slight but sweet one-man…
‘So many people say things about my appearance – it’s not normal’: Jorja Smith on burnout, body-shaming and finding freedom
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/aug/23/jorja-smith-what-are-the-odds-interview
Published: August 23, 2026 09:00
Being recognised by the Brits, Grammys and Drake made the singer one of British music’s most famous names – and also left her exhausted. Now, after decompressing in her home town she returns with a record made for ravingIt is a sticky, sweltering July…
‘Dancing with Rylan made me feel arthritic’: Jeremy Vine’s honest playlist
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/aug/23/jeremy-vine-honest-playlist-rylan-clark-david-bowie
Published: August 23, 2026 08:00
The presenter and journalist used the Psychedelic Furs to soothe teenage heartbreak and had a Damascene moment to Bowie, but which cheesy 70s ballad does he secretly adore?The first song I fell in love withI loved a fellow sixth-former, Sarah, at school.…
Bebe Cave: Swoon review – dazzling portrait of marginalised muses and the male gaze
Published: August 23, 2026 06:00
Pleasance Dome, EdinburghSmart, slapstick and silly, this chaotic multicharacter comedy sends up the Pre-Raphaelite BrotherhoodSome of the most revered works of art across history feature women as their primary focus. But though they might appear as…
TV tonight: a hit jumpy horror series returns with Dan Stevens
Published: August 23, 2026 05:15
The Terror is a terrifying drama anthology. Plus, tissues at the ready for a super emotional finale of The Piano. Here’s what to watch this evening9pm, Sky Atlantic Continue reading...
The film Apollo 13 taught me how to survive heartbreak
Published: August 22, 2026 11:00
After my engagement ended, I found myself repeatedly watching a movie about three astronauts trapped in a damaged spacecraft. It helped me see that sometimes the mere act of getting home is the success‘Failure is not an option” has always been my family’s…
The faces behind the feeds: Gen Z’s private lives and public posts – in pictures
Published: August 22, 2026 11:00
For the first digital natives, there are two places to express yourself: in the comfort of your own room and online. Photographer Niccolò Rastrelli set out to find out how the identities compareSocial media arrived just as I, a younger millennial, was on…
Hang Time review – a chilling picture of the horrors of racial violence
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/22/hang-time-review-royal-lyceum-theatre-edinburgh
Published: August 22, 2026 10:14
Royal Lyceum theatre, EdinburghThree men bicker and reflect like they’re chatting at a bar – yet this grimly beautiful piece of theatre at the Edinburgh international festival won’t let you forget their fateThree men are shooting the breeze. “We’re just…
Four blokes and a zebra crossing: the banality and beauty of the Beatles’ Abbey Road cover
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/aug/22/the-beatles-abbey-road-album-cover-zebra-crossing
Published: August 22, 2026 09:00
Much-copied and parodied picture captures dynamic between the individuals and the band with eerie perfectionIt’s not really the four blokes on the zebra crossing who make the cover of the Beatles’ Abbey Road memorable, but the street behind them. Vanishing…
Elouise Eftos: Aphrodite review – ‘Australia’s first attractive comedian’ asks if love is real
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/22/elouise-eftos-aphrodite-review
Published: August 22, 2026 09:00
Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh Heckling herself in character as the Greek goddess, the standup delivers an intelligent, in-your-face show about sex and expectationsYou can’t argue with the opening gambit of Aphrodite: “I’ve never been in love and I don’t think…
Stand By Me at 40: Rob Reiner’s seminal coming-of-age saga remains a bittersweet triumph
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/aug/22/stand-by-me-40th-anniversary
Published: August 22, 2026 09:00
The late director’s sensitive and detailed adaptation of Stephen King’s novella has an authenticity that so many imitators could never replicateComing-of-age metaphors don’t get any blunter than a group of preteen boys following a set of railroad tracks to…
Dirty Dancer review – Swayze stan is like a whirlwind as she replays 80s favourite
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/22/dirty-dancer-review-melissa-firlit
Published: August 22, 2026 08:15
Underbelly Cowgate, EdinburghMelissa Firlit recreates Dirty Dancing in a one-woman show that mixes trivia, personal memories and a singalongDirty Dancing was the first VHS in our house: snazzy purple box, pure 80s brushstroke title, alluring 15 certificate…
Courtney Büchner: One of the Girls review – all aboard for a rollercoaster relationship
Published: August 22, 2026 08:02
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghFrom embarrassing anecdotes to karaoke and lurking on Instagram, this love story sweeps you alongCourtney Büchner is here to tell us a love story. Not the type you’re thinking of – even though she has just married her partner,…
From Booker-listed Marlon James to a memoir by Michael Douglas – the biggest books this autumn
Published: August 22, 2026 08:00
Midlife meditations from Barbara Kingsolver; musical portraits by Jonathan Coe and Yiyun Li; plus memoirs from Dustin Hoffman and Judi Dench – all among the coming season’s highlightsThe Disappearers by Marlon JamesHamish Hamilton, 3 September After a…
Dog Park: a delightful sitcom that will fill the Colin from Accounts shaped hole in your life
Published: August 22, 2026 06:00
This snort-aloud Australian comedy is sweet, hilarious – and a surprising examination of male loneliness and mid-life crisis. Who’s a good show then?!Whenever I’m watching a programme that features an animal and I realise I’m expected to have a specific…
The Guide #257: What we lose when a medium built for the ear surrenders to the camera
Published: August 22, 2026 06:00
In this week’s newsletter: As platforms chase subscribers, podcasts are losing their off‑screen charm, leaving listeners to wonder whether the intimacy of audio can survive the studio lights• Don’t get The Guide delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereThis…
TV tonight: The Voice gets a shake-up with new judge Kelly Rowland
Published: August 22, 2026 05:15
The Destiny’s Child star joins the hit singing contest. Plus: the essential BBC Four drama about America’s exit from Kabul. Here’s what to watch this evening7pm, ITV1 Continue reading...
You’re Killing Me review – did an AI monkey write this terrible Brooke Shields crime caper?
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/aug/21/you-are-killing-me-review-brooke-shields
Published: August 21, 2026 20:00
I desperately wanted this show to be Gilmore Girls meets Murder, She Wrote – but the story of a novelist turned amateur sleuth is just so lazy. And yet, I still have high hopes for the confirmed second seasonLook, we all want Brooke Shields to be in…
David Harbour has blown Tony Stark’s cover in Avengers: Doomsday. It might just be what Marvel needs
Published: August 21, 2026 15:37
The actor, who plays Red Guardian in the film, made a cryptic comment to Variety that raised more Robert Downey Jr-shaped questions than answers. But was it a clanger, or expert trolling? Nobody knows exactly what solemn blood oaths Marvel uses to prevent…
Salty Brine: How Strange It Is (The Neutral Milk Hotel Show) review – one of today’s most powerful stage voices
Published: August 21, 2026 15:07
Summerhall, EdinburghIntertwining his diaries with Anne Frank’s gives Brine a tough job, but his passionate performance and force of will combine in a heady brewIt’s a hell of a swing to make a show paralleling your first love with Anne Frank’s – the more…
A History of Paper review – Shirley Henderson and Alan Cumming sing a fragile romance
Published: August 21, 2026 14:24
Pitlochry Festival theatreOliver Emanuel’s musical love story between tenement neighbours is told via origami gifts and restaurant receiptsIt started as a BBC radio drama in 2016, and was reworked as a small-scale musical two years ago. Now, A History of…
‘I could have put a deposit on a house or do this crazy experiment’: the British musician playing 365 gigs this year
Published: August 21, 2026 13:37
Isaac Neilson is burning through his savings to play a gig every day in 2026 in a bold bid to break through – and champion Britain’s struggling grassroots music sceneIn a lively pub in Oxford this week, Isaac Neilson picked up his guitar and performed live…
Who Killed Marilyn? review – dismal attempt to solve mystery of Monroe with Pixie Lott
Published: August 21, 2026 12:22
Emerald theatre, LondonAn account of the superstar’s life revisits her relationships and considers some conspiracy theories but never gets beyond clicheThere have been 600 books written about Marilyn Monroe since she died in 1962. So we are told by Monroe…
When TV turns sour: the shows we simply can’t stomach any more
Published: August 21, 2026 12:00
They were once the hottest shows on television – gripping, sexy, hilarious, zeitgeisty. But for our writers, the likes of America’s Next Top Model, House of Cards and The Office are now part of their viewing history they feel tainted byWhen I think of the…
Mike D: ‘After Yauch died I couldn’t make music. I’d open a computer file and just feel sadness’
Published: August 21, 2026 12:00
As part of the Beastie Boys, the rapper shot to fame and notoriety in the 80s, before bandmate Adam Yauch’s death saw him withdraw from the spotlight. He returns with a solo album that sees him reckon with greed, mortality – and his past‘It’s funny how far…
Daily Mail accused of stalking woman mistaken as White Stripes drummer Meg White
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/aug/21/meg-white-daily-mail-white-stripes
Published: August 21, 2026 11:00
The tabloid boasted in a now-deleted article that they found White and promised to reveal her ‘secret new life’ The Daily Mail newspaper secretly tailed and photographed a woman in Detroit and then published an article and photographs falsely accusing her…
Add to playlist: the righteous jangle and snaking melodies of Jawdropped and the week’s best new tracks
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/aug/21/add-to-playlist-jawdropped
Published: August 21, 2026 11:00
The LA-based powerpop project’s triumphant debut is a celebration of low-stakes creativity in the slacker-skater traditionFrom Los AngelesRecommended if you like the Lemonheads, Sugar, the MuffsUp next Secret to Spare released 18 SeptemberMaybe it’s to do…
The best recent translated fiction – review roundup
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/aug/21/the-best-recent-translated-fiction-review-roundup
Published: August 21, 2026 11:00
The Red Book of Farewells by Pirkko Saisio; Short Circuit by Wolf Haas; Cosmos by Lucia Odoom; The Fallen Trees Are Also the Forest by Alejandra KamiyaThe Red Book of Farewells by Pirkko Saisio, translated by Mia Spangenberg, Penguin Classics…
The Odyssey becomes highest grossing R-rated film of all time
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/aug/21/the-odyssey-highest-grossing-r-rated-film-of-all-time
Published: August 21, 2026 10:49
Christopher Nolan’s epic has achieved $1.35bn at the global box office, overtaking 2024’s Deadpool & WolverineThe Odyssey has overtaken Deadpool & Wolverine to become the highest grossing R-rated film of all time.According to figures compiled by the…
Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol 2 review – once more unto the mercenary breach
https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/aug/21/metal-gear-solid-master-collection-vol-2-review
Published: August 21, 2026 10:45
PC, Nintendo Switch/Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X/S; KonamiThis second collection remasters another three titles from the illustrious stealth espionage series, but their world has changed little since the original releases‘War has changed,” claims Old Snake…
Alice Roberts: ‘By the time I’d finished Richard Dawkins I’d left faith behind’
Published: August 21, 2026 09:00
The TV presenter and author on the evolutionary biologists who inspired her, the genius of George Eliot – and fun with Frog and ToadMy earliest reading memoryThe first books I remember were from The Village with Three Corners series Sheila K McCullagh. I…
Gaia Wilmer Large Ensemble: Parabólico review – gorgeous reinvention of Gilberto Gil’s grooves
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/aug/21/gaia-wilmer-large-ensemble-parabolico-review
Published: August 21, 2026 08:00
(Sunnyside)Saxophonist and composer Wilmer brilliantly transforms Gil tunes, changing tempos and adding breathy melodies, flourishes of horns or undulating rhythms to luscious effectOver the past three years, Brazilian saxophonist and composer Gaia Wilmer…
Stella Lefty: Long Way Home review – Boston singer’s debut is bland, boilerplate and beyond banal
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/aug/21/stella-lefty-long-way-home-review
Published: August 21, 2026 07:30
(Atlantic Outpost)The breakout 24-year-old country star’s debut is stunningly unremarkable, offering little in the way of artistic identity or her peers’ originalityAnyone railing against nepo babies taking over culture has already lost: the rage they…
Anthony Hopkins: Life Is a Dream album review – easy on the ear melodies written from the heart
Published: August 21, 2026 06:30
Philharmonia Orchestra/Dudamel(Decca)There’s a cinematic flourish to many of Hopkins’ compositions, together with fine arrangements of Welsh tunes and pieces dedicated to familyAnthony Hopkins has, it turns out, has been composing music all his life. Now,…
Life of M by Rachel Cusk review – is this story of a film star based on Natalie Portman?
Published: August 21, 2026 06:00
A teasing tale of the friendship between a writer and an actor explores the fallout from fame, and the blurring between pretence and realityM is a celebrated film actor. A star since childhood, now the face of a major fashion brand, she has been famous all…
TV tonight: Brooke Shields stars in a silly murder-mystery comedy
Published: August 21, 2026 05:15
A novelist and a podcaster are an unlikely crime-solving team in You’re Killing Me. Plus: get ready to cry over a robot. Here’s what to watch this evening8pm, U&DramaAllie (Brooke Shields) is a bestselling “menopausal mystery” novelist; Andi (Amalia…
Stupid Never Dies – a zombie fights for the love of a frozen corpse
https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/aug/21/stupid-never-dies-zombie-game
Published: August 21, 2026 05:00
Free from a big brand’s audience expectations, new studio GPTrack50 has created a wacky action-packed romp through a monster-filled world for its first gameLove is blind. In Stupid Never Dies, it is also frozen solid and technically dead as Davy, the…
Badgers review – the audience investigates in this true-crime podcast yarn
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/21/badgers-review-traverse-theatre-edinburgh-festival
Published: August 21, 2026 04:00
Traverse theatre, EdinburghMalaika Kegode delivers a supernatural story about the strange disappearance of a maudlin folk singerPlaywright and performer Malaika Kegode tops and tails this show for Theatre Royal Plymouth with a message about the allure of…
‘It is the riskiest film I’ve ever made’: Pedro Almodóvar on being the villain in his own movie
Published: August 21, 2026 04:00
As his new film Bitter Christmas is released, the legendary Spanish director turns his fire on Donald Trump, Will Smith, Netflix – and himselfBlack sunglasses indoors and a tufty cloud of cotton-wool hair: it can only be Pedro Almodóvar, bourgeois arthouse…
Spa Weekend review – female answer to The Hangover spreads the slush with the massage oil
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/aug/21/spa-weekend-review-comedy
Published: August 21, 2026 04:00
Despite stars Leslie Mann, Anna Faris and Isla Fisher and the writers behind The Hangover, this tale of friends at a luxury hotel is a dudJon Lucas and Scott Moore are the screenwriters who struck gold nearly 20 years ago with The Hangover, a brilliant…
The Song of Hiawatha review – Rafael Payare reveals the riches of Coleridge-Taylor’s hit cantata
Published: August 20, 2026 15:03
Usher Hall, EdinburghFestival director Nicola Benedetti’s bold programming of these once-popular Victorian cantatas paid off with a crisp chorus and strong soloists tautly conductedThe Song of Hiawatha, Black British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s…
Dozens of ‘dangerous’ artworks are buried under dirt in Sydney, and visitors will be asked to dig deep
Published: August 20, 2026 15:00
Part of the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, Heap takes place in the cavernous foyer of Carriageworks and features work from eight Australian artistsI’m watching a Hitachi earthmover bury a suitcase in a mound of dirt inside Carriageworks when my mind peels…
‘I need to think like a CEO’: Weezer on the shifting sands of success, ugly feelings and the joy of spreadsheets
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/aug/20/weezer-rivers-cuomo-patrick-wilson-ceo
Published: August 20, 2026 14:16
As the self-professed geeky rockers release their conceptual 20th album, Rivers Cuomo and Patrick Wilson discuss dodging failure, being saved by fans and their obsessive creativityThe first song Rivers Cuomo wrote for Weezer’s new album, their 20th,…
The Duskbloods: the best of FromSoftware fights in a frantic multiplayer battleground
https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/aug/20/the-duskbloods-fromsoftware-feature
Published: August 20, 2026 14:00
The Elden Ring creator is known for epic single-player RPGs, but its new action game is all about multiplayer interactions: fighting, chasing, befriending, even … proposing?Lowanro City’s skyline is dominated by an oppressive clock tower, silhouetted…
All of Us Atoms by Holly Dawson audiobook review – an extraordinary self-portrait
Published: August 20, 2026 14:00
Helena Bonham Carter narrates the playwright’s impressionistic memoir, written as she was experiencing the loss of her memoryPlaywright Holly Dawson’s memoir tells of memory lapses and a series of seizures that signal something isn’t right. Before visiting…
Aigul Akhmetshina: Mujer Fatal album review – classy and sensual in music from Bizet to Britten and Bernstein
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/aug/20/aigul-akhmetshina-mujer-fatal-album-review
Published: August 20, 2026 14:00
Akhmetshina/Pappano(Decca)The mezzo-soprano lends supple and elegant voice to opera arias and musical numbers that explore womanhoodAcclaimed for embodying opera’s femme fatales such as Carmen and Dalia, Aigul Akhmetshina explores womanhood more broadly on…
Little Animals review – Motherland milquetoast creates a clever climate plea
Published: August 20, 2026 13:52
Traverse at Royal Lyceum Studio, EdinburghPaul Ready’s playwriting debut expertly utilises his bumbling acting persona to examine what is enough in our response to climate emergencyNobody does self-effacement as well as Paul Ready. The Motherland/Ann Droid…
The best books to read in August: new paperbacks from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Salman Rushdie and Werner Herzog
Published: August 20, 2026 13:30
Looking for a new reading recommendation? Here are some wonderful new paperbacks, from a short story collection by a literary great to razor-sharp criticism*** Continue reading...
Amy Lee of Evanescence: ‘I could happily do an entire album of nothing but Portishead covers’
Published: August 20, 2026 13:00
As her band hits the road, the metal trailblazer answers your questions on sexualisation in show business, finding inspiration in dreams and Spinal Tap moments on tourYou wrote Bring Me to Life when you were 19. When you perform it now, how do you relate…
Abigail’s Party review – Tamzin Outhwaite’s Bev is Madame Bovary with a Cinzano
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/20/abigails-party-review-tamzin-outhewaite
Published: August 20, 2026 13:00
Harold Pinter theatre, LondonOuthwaite’s performance as Beverly, a precision-tooled showcase in hidden anger and longing, is a triumph in this eternally resonant suburban dramaAlison Steadman has cast a long shadow over the suburban…
Hazy sunshine, factor-50 smiles and Cliff Richard at the wheel: the 20 best summer holiday movies – ranked!
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/aug/20/best-summer-holiday-movies-ranked-seasonal-romance
Published: August 20, 2026 12:05
From feelgood romances to heated interactions, here are the films that best capture the seasonal momentLet’s begin at the end. 2 September 1962: the final night of the summer vacation; one last big blowout before adult life intervenes. George Lucas’s…
Making Love with David Magidoff review – instant improv musical based on Fran Healy’s teenage infidelity
Published: August 20, 2026 11:07
Assembly George Square, EdinburghThe US comic’s troupe tell the tale of a special guest’s romantic encounter, in this case Travis’s frontman – but their incoherence makes for a scatty if fun showIt’s a lovely format for improv: a special guest tells David…
‘I painted myself blue – but got skin problems’: how four Edinburgh stars created their weird characters
Published: August 20, 2026 11:00
From a cake-baking Elton John to possibly the most horrible man in the world, comedians reveal how they get in character – and how far they can push thingsIn the Covid lockdowns, I was drawing all these silly things, and one day I drew Elton John as a…
Post your questions for Beck
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/aug/20/post-your-questions-for-beck
Published: August 20, 2026 10:42
The genre-hopping hitmaker’s new album fingerpicks the same melancholy heartstrings as Sea Change. You can ask him anything in our upcoming reader interviewNews of a Beck album is always cause for celebration, especially when it’s seven years since the…
It Ends review – gripping micro-budget horror ranks among the year’s best
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/aug/20/it-ends-horror-movie-review
Published: August 20, 2026 10:00
Led by a stellar cast of gen-Z newcomers, Alex Ullom’s directorial debut is an expertly crafted nightmare about a road trip gone wrongTime loops often feel like the movies’ favorite zany stylistic trick: Bill Murray plotting to win Andie MacDowell’s heart,…
‘It was a damn unicorn’: the pioneering, divisive power of Paul Simon’s Graceland at 40
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/aug/20/paul-simon-graceland-anniversary
Published: August 20, 2026 09:00
On its anniversary, the author of a new book about the album explains the complex legacy and masterful musicianship of the 1986 classicIt was the summer of 1984 and things weren’t going well for Paul Simon. The year prior, a blockbuster Simon and Garfunkel…
‘Armed with a hamper from Fortnum & Mason’: on holiday with Charles Dickens
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/aug/20/holiday-charles-dickens-exhibition
Published: August 20, 2026 08:04
Exhibition at Charles Dickens Museum in London looks at writer’s holiday pursuits, from Kent to the Isle of WightIt’s summer in the city, the pubs are crowded, and the coast beckons. In a year that has so far brought five significant heatwaves, it is a…
Ref, I barely brushed him! The artist who’s painted all of Roy Keane’s red cards
Published: August 20, 2026 07:00
Before he was an irascible TV pundit, the Irish midfielder was equally feared on the pitch. Irish painter Seánie Harte has documented all the times Keane was sent off playing for Manchester United. ‘It’s a bit of fun,’ he saysAcross his career in the 1990s…
Blizzards, nuclear anxiety and a fragile bond: two sisters in Japan – in pictures
Published: August 20, 2026 06:00
Sayuri Ichida’s and her sister used to be distant – until their mother died. This exhibition traces their close relationship through sun, wind and snow Continue reading...
TV tonight: David Mitchell’s crime-solving Ludwig returns
Published: August 20, 2026 05:15
The popular cosy-crime drama is back – with a couple of changes. Plus: some late-starters get into the dating game. Here’s what to watch this evening9pm, BBC One Continue reading...
‘Are you ready for some filth?’ Julian Clary and more on comedy’s great smut explosion
Published: August 20, 2026 04:00
Clary’s back with Fully Dilated, a burlesque star called Entendre Entendre is doing lewd singalongs and there’s an A-Z of very dirty words. Our writer investigates Edinburgh’s smut outbreak – and ends up getting his own fantasies turned into eroticaOn a…
Love You to Death review – is this all they asked the woman who faked her son’s illnesses?
Published: August 19, 2026 21:00
Lisa Hayden-Johnson was convicted of child cruelty, but she still insists that she didn’t do anything wrong – and barely gets a grilling about it. Her children, who speak for the first time in this documentary, deserve much moreThere’s an increasingly…
Giraffe review – sparkling one-woman show stands out from the crowd
Published: August 19, 2026 19:00
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghAn unlikely relationship blossoms in Abigail Weinstock’s compelling and touching solo dramaIt takes a brave writer/performer to make her character a sociopath. How to keep the audience on board with someone who is callous and…
My Edinburgh fringe odyssey: ‘The nudity is expressive, shocking – sometimes harrowing’
Published: August 19, 2026 16:42
There are 3,649 shows at the fringe this year, but how many embody its spirit of radical experimentation? I took a journey through foam, lube and gore to find out ...Somewhere in Edinburgh, a man is drinking his own urine. Elsewhere, the story of a…
‘You’ll be sorry you told me this!’: the 98-year-old composer who gets musicians – even bassoonists - on their feet
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/aug/19/thea-musgrave-composer-proms-classical-music
Published: August 19, 2026 15:49
Scotland’s Thea Musgrave is still writing radical music with perambulatory soloists and a message of hopefulness. Her latest work, for bassoonist Amy Harman, comes to the Proms this weekendThea Musgrave is a phenomenon. Born in Scotland in 1928, the…
‘We never apologised for our rage or revenge-seeking’: riot grrrl legends Heavens to Betsy reunite
Published: August 19, 2026 15:00
Alongside Bikini Kill and Bratmobile, Corin Tucker and Tracy Sawyer created a feminist punk vernacular that’s still inspiring the likes of Olivia Rodrigo. They recall the clarity and conviction of their historic teenage exploitsBack in June, a…
‘I’m not Mr Saturday Night’: the highbrow brilliance of Ahir Shah, past winner of comedy’s top prize
Published: August 19, 2026 14:16
Three years ago, he won the Edinburgh comedy award with a work in progress. Now he’s back with a show inspired by Gerard Manley Hopkins and Friedrich Nietzsche. Isn’t this all a bit grown-up?Among past winners of the Edinburgh comedy award, few seemed less…
Larry Dean: Hellbent review – SNL UK star’s cheery riffs on romance and royalty
Published: August 19, 2026 14:14
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghEmotionally open and a little weirder than usual, the Glaswegian comic updates us on his recent marriageWhen SNL UK hit big earlier this year, it made stars of several comics just starting their careers. That was not the case…
Post your questions for kd lang
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/aug/19/post-your-questions-for-kd-lang
Published: August 19, 2026 13:56
As her supergroup with Neko Case and Laura Veirs celebrates the 10th anniversary of its sublime album, the Ingénue herself will answer your questionsA decade ago, three of the finest voices in Americana got together to make a sublime supergroup record.…
Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing review – like a horror movie … only this is real life
Published: August 19, 2026 13:25
In 2022, Rory Kennedy exposed the aviation safety scandal in which 346 people died – but since then, a plane door has blown out mid-flight and more whistleblowers have come to the fore. Will anyone pay for this?It is unfortunate that a sequel was required…
Jah Wobble on covering the Beatles, London buses and why punk went wrong: ‘Being kind is seen as square’
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/aug/19/jah-wobble-interview-beatles-bassist-public-image-ltd
Published: August 19, 2026 13:19
The maverick former Public Image Ltd bassist takes us on a typically picaresque journey through his ‘Kafka-esque’ days at Transport for London, being named by Sid Vicious and his spiritual learningsSometimes, on the top deck of a London bus, pension-age…
Tom Holland set to earn $100m from Spider-Man: Brand New Day
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/aug/19/tom-holland-pay-100m-spider-man-brand-new-day
Published: August 19, 2026 12:35
In a year that’s seen the British actor star in the season’s two biggest blockbusters – and marry his co-star from both – he is reportedly earning a huge pay packet thanks to box-office bonusesThe British actor Tom Holland is expected to “make at least…
Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra/Wilson review – white-hot intensity as Verdi Requiem shakes St Paul’s vast dome
Published: August 19, 2026 12:26
St Paul’s Cathedral, LondonElemental roars and full-frontal vocal expressivity as the UFO focuses on a mission bigger than a good performanceThere were climaxes in Verdi’s Requiem that would surely have registered on a seismometer as they gathered into a…
The Rake’s Progress review – a young cast packed with promise do Stravinsky’s dance with the devil proud
Published: August 19, 2026 12:19
Battersea Arts Centre, LondonThe staging is awkward and balance is an issue at points, but the singers of British Youth Opera are consistently impressive Clapham – home to hundreds of young Londoners crammed into sticky-floored house-shares of a weeknight…
Coyote Vs Acme review – quirky comedy returns from the dead to flip Wile E Coyote’s slapstick-violent world
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/aug/19/coyote-vs-acme-review-wile-e-coyote-roadrunner
Published: August 19, 2026 12:00
After being shelved as a tax-writeoff, this Looney Tunes reboot redraws the hapless hunter as the Erin Brockovich of the cartoon worldHere is a quirky, peculiar, yet strangely diverting live-action-toon hybrid of the kind that hasn’t been popular at the…
Will the future of gaming be powered by upstart indie developers?
Published: August 19, 2026 11:50
As gaming’s biggest publishers retreat into safer bets, a new generation of independents are building an alternative from the ground up• Don’t get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereDuring the 1990s, a new strata of independent film…
Ihsane review – Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui leads us from brutal tragedy to euphoric harmony
Published: August 19, 2026 10:28
Festival theatre, EdinburghThe choreographer combines a homophobic killing from 2012 with a remembrance for his father in an often rapturous show about healingIn 2019 at the Edinburgh international festival, the Swiss director Milo Rau staged an intense…
Over/Under review – beautiful coming of age story of female best friends set across five summers
Published: August 19, 2026 10:12
There’s an astonishing naturalism about the two leads, navigating the ups and downs of adolescence, bodily changes and learning to use tamponsPractically any woman who had a best female friend in early adolescence will be able to relate to this fragile,…
‘Jim Crow must go’: the artists and everyday heroes who fought injustice – in pictures
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2026/aug/19/turn-the-volume-up-nasher-museum-of-art
Published: August 19, 2026 09:00
Turn the Volume Up! at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University highlights the activism of everyday people who have confronted injustice. New York’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, quoting the Bronx rapper KRS-One’s song Turn the Volume Up during his…
After 25 years, I’m breaking up with The Sims. Here’s why you should, too | Jordan Erica Webber
Published: August 19, 2026 09:00
Now that Jared Kushner and the Saudi Investment Fund have bought The Sims’ publisher, EA, it’s unlikely to remain a game celebrating diversity and inclusivitySometimes it feels as though horrific world events and the malicious entities behind them are…
Shapes and ladders: Edinburgh fringe’s dance shows reach for the sky
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/19/edinburgh-fringe-dance-shows-circus
Published: August 19, 2026 08:19
With brute strength and beauty, party tricks and personal revelations, this year’s dance and circus programme has ambition and a spirit of togethernessIf you want to be wowed by technical prowess, I recommend taking a trip to see a couple of New York pole…
The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State by Jill Lepore review – an ominous warning of tech takeover
Published: August 19, 2026 08:00
A historian charts the emergence of a democracy-crushing dystopia that is – in some ways – already with usPulitzer prize-winning US historian Jill Lepore’s new book addresses the threat posed to liberal democracy by artificial intelligence. According to…
David Shrigley London exhibition will find the funny side of old masters
Published: August 19, 2026 08:00
Dulwich Picture Gallery show to feature British artist’s work hung next to paintings by Dutch and Flemish greatsThe contemporary UK artist David Shrigley will apply his trademark arch humour and distinctive artistic practice “in dialogue” with old masters…
The digital child: how tech is changing play – in pictures
Published: August 19, 2026 06:00
From the early days of computers and the internet, Wendy McMurdo has let tech infuse her photography. Now, in her largest exhibition yet, she looks at its impact on the future generation Continue reading...
Where Are the Kings by Donal Ryan review – a timeless tale of family sorrows and joys
Published: August 19, 2026 06:00
A teenage boy navigates adolescence and the traumatic loss of his mother in this poignant coming-of-age novel set in rural IrelandSomething is happening to literary time. In the last fortnight I’ve read new or forthcoming novels about a mirror universe…
TV tonight: the jawdropping story of the mother who faked her son’s illness
Published: August 19, 2026 05:15
A shocking documentary about a woman who pretended her child was terminally ill. Plus: isolation and horror in Australia’s desolate outback. Here’s what to watch this evening9pm, Channel 4“He seemed to be allergic to the 21st century,” said journalist Paul…
The Great ADHD Myth? review – the most controversial show of the year is here
Published: August 18, 2026 20:00
Dr Max Pemberton isn’t uncompassionate or especially radical, but he assembles a team of medics whose stance on the condition is clear from the off. This is a documentary that will incense and offend manyPresenter Max Pemberton, a psychiatrist in the NHS,…
‘Audiences want to feel my calves!’ The endurance extremists pounding treadmills and pumping pedals at the fringe
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/18/endurance-extremists-edinburgh-fringe
Published: August 18, 2026 16:25
How do you keep audiences gripped while cycling 27km per show? From the Australian recreating a Tour de France win to a ‘toxically positive’ spin queen, we meet the acts bringing Olympian fitness to EdinburghBlood and sweat drip to the floor. Tears are on…
By a Thread review – soulful circus with a sprinkle of magic
Published: August 18, 2026 16:01
Assembly Rooms, EdinburghEmotional group dynamics and individual skills make One Fell Swoop stand out in the crowded circus genreYou cannot move at the Edinburgh fringe for circus shows. There are so many people in this city who can climb a rope, hang…
Hayden Panettiere’s ex-partner says he will raise their child to remember actor’s ‘immense talent’
Published: August 18, 2026 15:18
The late actor ceded full custody of daughter, Kaya, to boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2018Hayden Panettiere’s daughter will be raised to remember her mother’s “immense talent” and “incredible career”, according to a tribute posted on social media…
Christopher Berry-Dee dropped by publisher after allegations of abuse made against him
Published: August 18, 2026 15:14
Bonnier Books will no longer publish UK’s top-selling true crime author following Guardian investigationThe main publisher of the bestselling true crime writer Christopher Berry-Dee has dropped the author following a Guardian investigation into allegations…
BBCNOW/Bancroft review – McGill is a stylish soloist in Kahane’s likable clarinet concerto
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/aug/18/bbc-now-bancroft-review-proms-mcgill-kahane
Published: August 18, 2026 14:24
Royal Albert Hall, LondonWith Stravinsky and Copland also on the programme, this was a lively if uneven concertIn their different ways, both Stravinsky and Copland turned to the vernacular to lend authenticity and atmosphere to their ballet scores.…
‘Even its loos are on the outside!’ Hi-tech, inside-out marvel the Lloyd’s building is partying with the public
Published: August 18, 2026 14:21
It has been likened to a monster, an oil rig – and the Parthenon. Now, for its 40th birthday, the astonishing London landmark has joined the Open House festival, to grant admirers a rare look insideIn his 2012 book A New Kind of Bleak, the critic Owen…
Bigfoot Ripped My Dog in Half I Saw It review – Xhloe and Natasha create a monster hit
Published: August 18, 2026 13:58
Summerhall, EdinburghWith physical and vocal agility, the tricksy clown duo trigger an avalanche of misinformation in this feverish treatHere is a show every bit as breathless as its title, stoked by bursts of high-energy 90s chart hits and delivered just…
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