Must see: Van Gogh, Poets and Lovers
This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime show and there are only a few weeks left to experience it. From Starry Night over the Rhône to The Yellow House and, of course, Sunflowers, some of the great Dutch artist’s finest works have been brought together from around the world.
It’s sold out, but become a member and you can get in. It’s worth it.
You may not have visited since the modern art museum — with sites in Barcelona and Amsterdam — opened in London last summer, so why not check it out? Moco arrived with a bang, promising a “new era of art in the West End” and with an impressive collection of works from a roster of artists who have shaped modern art — from Warhol to Banksy, Basquiat to Kusama.
Hot table: The Prince Arthur
Good pubs are beacons — The Devonshire is proof beyond doubt — and the Prince Arthur is set to become another. Downstairs, expect a pub luxe (luxe luxe; it has its own-brand caviar), while upstairs, former Brat and Barrafina chef Adam Iglesias is running a Basque-inspired dining room, with a focus on Galician beef and fresh seafood. The last big Basque spot was Soho’s Mountain; SW1 may just have a certified hit on its hands. They’re making big claims about the Guinness, too.
Sas Rogue Heroes has returned for a second series
BBC/Banijay Rights/Robert Viglasky
Tech CEO Nicole Kidman is getting bored of her sex life with husband Antonio Banderas, so is tempted to start an affair with young, hot intern Harris Dickinson. Will it end well? Probably not, but that’s lucky for us, because Halina Reijn’s erotic game of fear and control, above, is electrifying.
SAS Rogue Heroes, season 2
Combine real-life(ish) stories of derring-do during the Second World War with a classic rock soundtrack, and the result is blood-pumping action. Writer Steven “Peaky Blinders” Knight is back with the second instalment of this romp, featuring lunatic soldiers blowing things up, quips in the face of death and some light romance. Boom.
The big read: The Life of Herod the Great by Zora Neale Hurston
Think you know it all about Herod? Think again. This book is a revisionist historical novel which gives Herod a second chance. Just like, so it happens, this book. It was an unpublished work when its celebrated American author Zora Neale Hurston died in 1960. A fresh, curious novel.
Listen: Look Up, Ringo Starr
The Beatles never really fade from the public consciousness, do they? Just before Christmas, Paul McCartney was wowing the O2 with two epic gigs and Martin Scorsese produced a documentary about the band’s first visit to the US, all while Sam Mendes is busy working on four films, focusing on a band member each. Now this week, Ringo releases his first album in six years, Look Up, and much like Beyoncé before him, he’s gone country with 11 new songs produced and co-written by T Bone Burnett. Yee haw!
Titanique
Press handout
The biggest theatre opening this week is an absolute riot — a glorious, loving pastiche of Titanic, and stars none other than former Strictly star Layton Williams, above, as the iceberg. This jukebox musical featuring the songs of Celine Dion — of course including My Heart Will Go On — is “bursting with nostalgia, heart and campy chaos” and a ship-load of laughs.
Book now: the unmissable film festivals
Now’s the time to catch some of the rising stars of cinema before they dominate the multiplexes. It’s the 22nd year of the London Short Film Festival, which has a programme of more than 204 short films — and not just in cinemas; a mobile cinema bus from the Sixties is back on the road for the occasion. Check out the Soho London Independent Film Festival, too.