Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy BottomOut now The beloved Wallace and Gromit spin-off character returns to topline another film, with a Halloween-themed adventure involving the destruction of a pumpkin patch and a mysterious beast on the loose. Naturally, our hero turns to weird science to address matters. Bad ApplesOut now A splendidly deranged combination of weird-wave European arthouse sensibility and the aesthetic of a classic British debut sees Saoirse Ronan as a teacher who improbably but deliciously takes justice into her own hands when one of the kids pushes her too far.
There are also stunning child-actor performances from Eddie Waller and Nia Brown. Queen at SeaOut now An acting tour de force, Lance Hammer’s hit from this year’s Berlinale stars the heavyweight trio of Juliette Binoche, Tom Courtenay and Anna Calder-Marshall (the latter two reunited almost 60 years after they played Hamlet and Ophelia together on stage) in a nuanced exploration of dementia and sexual consent. Resident EvilOut now Director Zach Cregger has been on a run of form with Barbarian (2022) followed by his Oscar-winning horror Weapons (2025).
It may be unfair to expect him to bring quite the same level of flair to the eighth live-action Resident Evil film, but at least it’s a standalone: no need to wade through endless lore before you go in. Catherine Bray How the Light Gets InKenwood House, London, 19 & 20 SeptemberThe London leg of the world’s largest (only?) philosophy and music festival returns with an intriguing lineup of brainy talkers and brainy singers. The latter group includes indie pop duo Prima Queen and the recently rejuvenated Patrick Wolf, who released his seventh album, Crying the Neck, last year.
Michael Cragg Niall Horan22 September to 16 November; tour starts BirminghamNiall Horan and his trusty soft-rock bops arrive in the UK and Ireland for a tour in support of June’s fourth album, Dinner Party. Expect a handful of new tunes to sit nicely alongside hits such as Slow Hands and the gently epic Heaven. MC Linda May Han Oh & Melissa AldanaWigmore Hall, London, 21 SeptemberBassist-composer Linda May Han Oh, a subtle collaborator with jazz giants including Pat Metheny, shares an exquisitely lyrical and intuitive duo stage partnership here with Chilean saxophone star Melissa Aldana – on both an original and classic repertoire including timeless themes by Charlie Parker, Wayne Shorter, Billie Holiday and many more.
John Fordham Bluebeard’s Castle + Oedipus RexWales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, 20 & 25 September, 2 October; touring to 28 NovemberRebranded and determined to thrive, Welsh National Opera launches its new season with a double bill that pulls no punches, pairing powerful one-acters by Bartók and Stravinsky. The casts feature soprano Christine Rice, tenor Peter Hoare and bass-baritone Nathan Berg. Joe Hill-Gibbins directs, with conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya in the pit.
Flora Willson Amar KanwarSerpentine North, London, 23 September to 3 JanuaryLyrical Indian artist Amar Kanwar is best known as a film-maker. This show functions as a site-specific installation of video work touching on themes of displacement, nationalism, violence and memory. Raqib ShawCompton Verney, Warwickshire, 19 September to 21 FebruaryShaw’s dense, super-intricate, mythologically influenced fusion of Indian motifs and classical western art references is instantly recognisable, but he hasn’t had a major show of new work in the UK since 2017.
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