Reviews

Theme and Variations is a perfect embellishment of pure ballet

English National Ballet are at their committed best in works by Balanchine, Martha Graham, William Forsythe and David Dawson

London’s new directions

Nima Taleghani’s bold yet diffuse take on Euripides launches Indhu Rubasingham’s first season at the National. At the Young Vic, Nadia Fall’s opening production is less entertaining than it should be

Films of the week: The Smashing Machine, Urchin and more

Dwayne Johnson delivers an unexpectedly bruised performance in the solo directorial debut from Benny Safdie

Geese, Richard Ashcroft, Marta, Jacob Collier

Geese’s Getting Killed is a knockout full of swagger and tunes you can sing along to

A House of Dynamite is terrifyingly plausible

Rebecca Ferguson excels in Kathryn Bigelow’s muscular political thriller about an imminent nuclear attack on the US

‘The food at Gina’s is made by people who really mean it’

Chef couple Ravneet and Mattie practice their love language to superb effect at their new Chingford restaurant

Riders to the Sea and Macbeth – a thrilling play-pairing united against tyranny

Druid Theatre company’s spirited, soul-touching double bill conveys a powerful message

Nell Stevens is forging a bold identity of her own

An endlessly intriguing second novel whose protagonist is both the best and very worst person to unravel its mystery

A lifeline for migrants caught on the rising tide

Small boat crossings are recast as a rescue mission in a polemic that skirts the political realities of immigration

Something in the air: the science of aerobiology

Why did the WHO ignore the fact that Covid-19 was carried in the air? A fascinating study sheds light on the science of aerobiology

One to watch: Annahstasia

Years after being discovered in her teens, the American singer-songwriter’s strikingly rich voice has finally found its true expression

Even Wes Anderson superfans must be a little sick of this shtick

Pop album reviews: Lido Pimienta, Stereolab, Sports Team, James Brandon Lewis

A fine Ballet BC double bill

Mysterious shadows inhabit Crystal Pite’s questing meditation on creation, while Johan Inger sparks laughter and tears

The week in TV: Sirens, The Bombing of Pan Am 103 and more

Julianne Moore stars in a sharp new satire with more than a whiff of White Lotus; the year’s second Lockerbie drama is heartfelt if overloaded; an ambitious film tracks the global fallout after George Floyd’s murder. Plus, Stanley Tucci in gnocchi heaven

Glyndebourne’s triumphant opening weekend

The new season kicks off with riotous Rossini and the festival’s first ever staging of Wagner’s hallowed swansong

Imelda Staunton and daughter light up brothel drama

Playing a former sex worker and her disapproving daughter, Staunton and Bessie Carter are a treat in Dominic Cooke’s bold new production, which liberates the heart of Bernard Shaw’s once banned play

This week in audio: a nightmare on the ocean floor, cold-war basketball and cheeky-chappy chat