44 articles
Nearly 7m tuned in to watch monarch praise ‘great diversity of our communities’ on 25 December The king’s Christmas address was the most watched TV programme in the UK on Christmas Day, overnight...
The author-illustrator reflects on his ode to a suburban childhood as a small-screen adaptation comes to ABC this summer Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email In the internet’s slop era, where...
A Christmas special of the most berserk singing show on screen. Plus: Helen Mirren pops into The Repair Shop. Here’s what to watch this evening 7.30pm, ITV1 The most wonderfully bizarre singing...
The wife of William Shakespeare takes centre stage in a rich, sensitive examination of parental grief, sensitively narrated by Jessie Buckley The jury is still out on the merits of Chloé Zhao’s...
Strange folk, lost pop, disco oddities and, um, Dido – here are the forgotten tracks that became this year’s most replayed revelations • The 50 best albums of 2025 • More on the best culture of 2025...
Novels only ‘reinforced Victorian stereotypes’ of meek women to give readers what they wanted, says curator Charles Dickens’s female characters have often been criticised as being too meek, compliant...
As his epic crime thriller Heat turns 30, the director talks about pairing acting legends, his thoughts on AI and what’s happening with Heat 2 Hannibal Lecter’s first movie appearance was in 1986’s...
The pressure to conform in Japanese society made being a punk risky – even before you factor in the flamethrowers. As a new rash of reissues arrives, 80s stalwarts Lip Cream, Death Side and the Nurse...
This year has brought us some great movies – and also at least a dozen dire one-star disasters. Here are the Guardian’s critics on the pick of the year’s cinematic calamities • Guardian readers’ best...
Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s heartwarming kids’ tales have become a cosy festive fixture on the BBC. Ahead of this year’s offering of The Scarecrows’ Wedding, we ask: which is the all-time...
With a turn by Mark Hamill and a saltily suggestive catchphrase for Patrick, the fourth SpongeBob film shows that anything can still happen in Bikini Bottom Could the students who snickered their way...
The award-winning star of Say Nothing and Trespasses refuses to play the fame game when they can fight government inaction. They open up on making amazing TV … and why morals matter more than nice...
The father-and-dad pair are a total delight in this tale of a 16-year-old trying to prove Santa’s existence. They deserve a whole new episode together In an era in which it is now an annual tradition...
Film that follows a Milwaukee married couple as they rise to fame with a real-life band called Lightning and Thunder is undeniably entertaining Here is a startlingly strange, undeniably entertaining...
Shroud-chewers, lip-smackers and suckers populate this fascinating study of ‘the unquiet dead’ across the centuries The word “vampire” first appears in English in sensational accounts of a revenant...
He stole our hearts in The Celebrity Traitors – then it all went wrong. The actor and comedian opens up When I catch up with Nick Mohammed, he is on the set of War, a new HBO series. Full of legal...
A Drag Queen Christmas, featuring artists from RuPaul’s Drag Race, will stop in Pensacola despite the state attorney general’s efforts to stop it A drag queen Christmas tour has become an annual...
Steve Rogers is back … in the 90-second trailer that is now online for all to see The first official trailer for Avengers: Doomsday has been released online, in the run-up to the next outing from the...
The 1997 creature feature gets a self-referential redo that works best when it allows its two stars to lean into silliness Anyone rightly suspicious of comedies that try to make sure they have plenty...
The beautiful despair of Cameron Winter, the perfectly imperfect life of Lily Allen, the maximalist R&B of Dijon and more: here’s what our readers have had on heavy rotation • The 50 best albums of...
From Zendaya to zoomers, listeners are forgoing the convenience of wireless headphones to plug in again. Is it just a retro affectation – or does this physical connection strengthen our relationship...
Vikki Stone’s festive tomfoolery, staged after the Covid lockdowns, captured that strange time and achieved a special giddiness When I was a child, I did not go to pantos. I was born in Harare,...
On the winter solstice, the Cornish town transforms into a rambunctious festival full of dance, delinquency and Morris dancers. Our writer dodges the vegetable missiles – and learns how to get the...
Jenny Saville’s bruising paintings, Andy Goldsworthy’s immersive stones, Lee Miller’s surrealist shots and Diane Arbus’s unforgiving nudes – our critics highlight a spectacular year • The best design...
This year has brought us many brilliant video games – but as wealth continues to concentrate, and games are used to exert economic and political influence, we need to keep an eye on the top players I...
From Ronaldo’s legendary haircut to Argentina’s improvised 1986 away shirt – the odd stories behind football’s biggest trophy are explored. Plus, a smart series from the makers of Pod Save America...
Barbican Hall, London Roderick Williams and Rhian Lois were the perfectly matched vocal soloists as James MacMillan conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a ferociously committed...
Donmar Warehouse, London In Priestley’s shenanigan-filled 1934 comedy, three couples discover they are not married after all – meaning the men lose authority and the women gain freedoms Stomachs are...
Turnage’s Festen at the Royal Opera House swept all before it, but there was plenty of extraordinary new music, exhilarating performances and triumphs of talent, commitment and resourcefulness across...
Sainsbury theatre, London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Boutique staging with just 12 dancers makes up for its small scale with inventive choreography by Valentino Zucchetti and a spirited cast...
Topped by Rosalía’s multilingual, ultra-ambitious Lux, here are the best albums of the year as voted for by 30 Guardian music writers • More on the best culture of 2025 *** Continue reading...
The Spanish master’s angle on performance, treasures from Egypt and the year’s best wildlife images on Earth – all in your weekly dispatch Made in Ancient Egypt Wonders to amaze and move all ages, in...
Brilliant biopics, daring documentaries and a host of chillers and thrillers – our critics pick the best from another sensational year of cinema • Read the US version of this list • More on the best...
A family classic reborn in a wide open world, a satirical adventure through teenage life and a mystery puzzler for the ages – our critics on the year’s best fun • More on the best culture of 2025 Ivy...
In her day job, the ‘first lady of Croatian avant garde’ sliced up cadavers at Zagreb’s anatomical institute. In her studio, she used the same medical instruments to make art that surprises to this...
Cadogan Hall, London The likes of Janine Jansen, Timothy Ridout and Kian Soltani were part of a starry lineup giving this London audience a taste of heaven on earth This week’s Hodge Report has...
A meet-cute between Humanity and Earth, a mod ballet and Nick Mohammed’s career-best standup set – our critics pick the best stage shows of the year 10. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry Staging...
Christine Hazell has progressive memory loss yet now has four shows in the works, thanks to these raw, untutored drawings of her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren – and Kizzy the dog In...
The French fashion designer’s lavish Mediterranean villa was frequented by everyone from Dalí to Garbo to Stravinsky to Churchill. It has now been lovingly restored – with a thrillingly bolstered...
Culture is not immune from the advances of the hard right – but it isn’t too late for resistance Into the pale stone wall of the Kennedy Center, above its elegant terrace on the edge of the Potomac...
A reboot of Peter Shaffer’s play hopes to repeat the 1984 film’s magic and lure a fresh audience to classical music Forty years ago, Amadeus won eight Oscars, four Baftas and four Golden Globes – and...
Their relatives might have been on opposite sides of near-nuclear war, but the US and Soviet leader’s descendants have teamed up for an intimate BBC podcast. They talk humanity, hate – and why Trump...
New novels from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Ian McEwan, plus the return of Slow Horses and Margaret Atwood looks back … Guardian critics pick the must-read titles of 2025 The Guardian’s fiction...
After serving time in jail, actor Allison Mack opens up about her experiences in a group with links to sex trafficking. Plus, a deep dive into Jane Austen Continue reading...