Film
Prince Charles Cinema saved after 25-year lease renewal signed
The central London repertory cinema, under threat of closure since January 2025, has signed a 25-year lease with no break clause. Its late-night screenings and sing-alongs are safe.
Culture
The Folio · No. 42Friday 16 October 2026Jess Entwistle
Film
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Film
Klara and the Sun review: Taika Waititi’s sci-fi is a sentimental mess
The Guardian finds Waititi’s version of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel about an android narrator twee and tiresome, losing the book’s profundity to quirkiness. Little White Lies was no kinder, and it premiered in London on Thursday.
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Film
Steven Soderbergh to help finish filming The Batman Part II
Soderbergh is stepping in to complete the shoot while director Matt Reeves deals with a family matter. Production has resumed after a pause.
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Film
Cynthia Erivo’s Bad Fairies adds Kylie Minogue, Jonathan Groff and Catherine Tate
The Warner Bros Animation and Locksmith musical comedy led by Erivo has filled out its voice cast. Groff and Minogue bring the stage pedigree to a film built around songs.
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Film
The best of Sean McGirr’s McQueen, as seen on the red carpet
McGirr has left McQueen after three years, and Vogue has gathered his best celebrity moments, from the Met Gala to the Oscars. A gallery of the looks he put on actors before he went.
1 / 8Swipe · Vogue
TV
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TV
The Diplomat review: nothing else on TV is as entertaining as this exquisitely stressful show
Season four of the Netflix drama is out, with Keri Russell’s Kate Wyler still holding back a nuclear war. The Guardian says the cortisol levels have been ramped up again; IndieWire disagrees and calls the opening twist desperate.
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TV
Fourth Wing casts Esther McGregor and Emilio Sakraya as Violet and Xaden
Prime Video’s adaptation of Rebecca Yarros’s romantasy series has found its two leads. McGregor plays Violet Sorrengail and Sakraya plays Xaden Riorson.
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TV
Kate Winslet and Maxine Peake to star as fugitive sisters in Netflix’s The Unheard
Jack Thorne is writing the limited series, adding to a growing Netflix slate. Winslet and Peake play sisters on the run.
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TV
Period drama Emma, with Bill Nighy, is now streaming on BBC iPlayer
The Jane Austen adaptation starring Bill Nighy as Mr Woodhouse has landed on iPlayer. A weekend of Highbury, free, on the BBC.
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TV
Welsh actor Lauren Morais plays villain Lisa Molinari in Disney+ series VisionQuest
Morais will bring a Cardiff accent to the Marvel series on Disney+. It is the first Welsh-voiced character in the studio’s television run.
Music
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Music
U2 share The Greatest Show On Earth and announce first 2027 world tour dates
The band released a new single on Thursday and named the first dates of a 2027 world tour. They describe the shows as a riot of colour and tunes you can hold onto.
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Music
Blondie announce new album High Noon, Clem Burke’s final recording
Debbie Harry calls it classic Blondie, an amalgamation of all their eras. It is the last album to feature drummer Clem Burke.
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Music
Chappell Roan on bringing her perspective to Olivia Rodrigo’s Expectations
The two pop stars told Zane Lowe about the dating stories behind their new collaboration. Roan wrote her verse, in her words, to make things a little gay.
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Music
Zach Bryan releases Young Manhood And Other Donatable Organs
The eight-song EP is out now and includes collaborations with Lana Del Rey and the Turnpike Troubadours.
Theatre
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Theatre
Sherri Shepherd is Aladdin’s Genie on Broadway starting 16 October
The View host is the first woman to play the Genie in the Disney musical. Her run begins today.
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Theatre
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child extends its West End run and reveals its latest cast
The producers have announced a major booking extension at the Palace Theatre and released first-look production images of the new company.
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Theatre
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express heads to cinemas worldwide in November
The live staging of the Troubadour Wembley production will screen around the world this autumn. A way to see the roller-skating show without a trip to Wembley.
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Theatre
Dominic Cooke’s first Almeida season features David Tennant, Caryl Churchill and four world premieres
The incoming artistic director has set out a 2027 season he describes as boldly political. Tennant will also star in a revival of John Osborne’s The Entertainer in 2028.
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Theatre
The Lives of Others, with Keira Knightley and Luke Thompson, begins West End performances
The world premiere has started previews at the Adelphi Theatre, with Stephen Dillane alongside them. Knightley’s return to the West End stage.
Books
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Books
Lee Child backs scheme to send prisons half a million books
The Jack Reacher author, the UK’s first prison reading laureate, says improving literacy is a practical way to cut reoffending. Nearly half a million books are involved.
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Books
The Floating World by Ben Eastham review: a compelling debut on art, money and power
A critic and teacher takes a job with an art-washing multinational after his wife dies. The Guardian calls it cinematic and full of ideas.
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Books
Vermeer by Andrew Graham-Dixon audiobook review: a sharp and authoritative guide
Graham-Dixon narrates his own account of how the Dutch painter worked, with fresh thinking on Girl with a Pearl Earring. One for the commute.
