From Backrooms to Paul McCartney: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead

May 30, 2026 • Culture

A horror film takes on the internet craze for user-generated paranormal tales, and Macca returns with his most affecting songs in years

Going out: Cinema Backrooms Out now People have enjoyed spinning spooky yarns about uncanny spaces since before the advent of the written word, and this A24 horror (starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve and Mark Duplass) capitalises on that fascination via a big-screen version of the internet phenomenon of Backrooms. That is, an infinite empty limbo where you might find yourself condemned to endlessly wander, hoping not to encounter any of the Entities that inhabit the Backrooms. Spooksome. Power Ballad Out now Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas head up a feelgood drama about a wedding singer who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a down-on-his-luck boyband star. The result is a hit single – but only for one of them, breeding resentment. John Carney (Sing Street, Once) writes and directs. Tuner Out now We’re used to hearing about vilains with a very particular set of skills, yadda yadda yadda, but how about a piano tuner (Leo Woodall) with skills – namely heightened hearing – so advanced he also qualifies as a world-class safe cracker – leading to all manner of chaos. Leonora in the Morning Light Out now Based on the book by Elena Poniatowska, leading light of Mexican literature, this drama tells the story of Leonora Carrington, the surrealist painter, from 1930s France onwards through friendships and encounters with the likes of Salvador Dalí, André Breton and, most notably, Max Ernst. Starring newcomer Olivia Vinall. Catherine Bray * * * Going out: Gigs Callum Au Big Band Kings Place, London, 30 May Composer-arranger and trombonist Callum Au has long been a discreet craftsman behind the work of stars including Raye and Michael Bublé. His spectacular big band showcases his mastery of styles from swing to salsa, funk and postbop jazz. This gig launches his exciting new album Sing Seven Seas. John Fordham Twice The O2, London, 3 & 4 June Nine-piece K-pop girlband Twice’s world tour in support of last summer’s This Is For album arrives in London for two shows of pop spectacle. Expect a heavy dose of their shiny, genre-hopping discography plus a 10-song section highlighting solo work and other configurations. Michael Cragg Lany 2 to 6 June; tour starts Glasgow Having recently released an expanded version of last year’s Soft album, LA soft-rock duo Lany celebrate their varyingly successful discography at these mid-size UK shows. Lyrically obsessed with sad-boi introspection, songs such as Super Far and Malibu Nights should act as a healing balm when roared to the rafters. MC Handel’s Orlando Longborough Festival Opera, Moreton-in-Marsh, 30 May to 7 June Based in a former barn equipped with an orchestra pit modelled on Wagner’s Bayreuth theatre, Longborough is not your standard country house opera. This year’s festival kicks off with Handel’s chivalric tale directed by Sinéad O’Neill, featuring a cast of rising stars and the Academy of Ancient Music. Christopher Moulds conducts. Flora Willson * * * Going out: Art Camille Henrot The Perimeter, London to 25 July This French artist is best known for her dense, complex, hyper-conceptual video and sculpture work, but it is her drawings that are the focus of this exhibition in a private museum down a London mews. Still complex, still clever, this is Henrot at her most personal and private. British Landscapes: A Sense of Place Pallant House, Chichester, 30 May to 1 November This green and pleasant land with its rolling hills and craggy coastline has inspired artists for centuries. Pallant House’s summer exhibition looks at more than 200 years of British landscapes – by everyone from Thomas Gainsborough to Paul Nash and Barbara Hepworth – to get a sense of the emotional bond between this country’s people and the land they inhabit. Nora Chipaumire Tate Modern, London, 3 June to 23 August Taking over the tanks deep in the bowels of Tate Modern, this Zimbabwean choreographer’s summer commission fuses dance, theatre, music, film and sculpture for an immersive exploration of the idea of balance and equilibrium, in both the literal and figurative senses. Nancy Lupo Spike Island, Bristol, 30 May to 6 September This American conceptualist’s first UK exhibition uses her wildly diverse approach – dabbling in sculpture, video, painting, zines and fiction writing – to rip apart the idea of domesticity, treating home as a tired mirage and a futile fantasy. Eddy Frankel * * * Going out: Stage Groove Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 4 to 6 June This should be a joyful show, set to the music of James Brown, Nina Simone and Herbie Hancock. Two Dutch dance crews – the Ruggeds and Ghetto Funk Collective – join forces to trace the evolution of funk, soul, hip-hop and house. Lyndsey Winship Exeter comedy festival Various venues, 3 to 7 June Co-founded by standup Will Adamsdale (who also performs his own show about an AI sitcom), this south-west fest is a carefully curated sneak peek at August’s Edinburgh fringe. Catch works in progress from Nish Kumar, Josie Long, Sophie Duker, Daniel Kitson, Ahir Shah, Johnny White Really-Really and many more. Rachel Aroesti Atonement Chichester Festival theatre, to 20 June It’s the height of summer 1935 when 13-year-old Briony makes a grand mistake. Christopher Hampton adapts Ian McEwan’s beloved novel for the stage in the world premier of this seductive story that sprawls across the century. Directed by Adam Penford, who earned rave reviews both for James Graham’s Punch and his Chichester production of The Sound of Music, this is set to be a striking staging of love and war. Kate Wyver The P Word Bush theatre, London, to 27 June This is both a love story and a protest. Having fled homophobic persecution in Pakistan, Zafar meets Grindr addict Bilal in London, where romance blooms against the odds of grappling with racism and homophobia in Britain’s inhumane asylum system. Waleed Akhtar’s razor-sharp and deeply hopeful play returns to the Bush with its original cast and crew, plus the starry addition of Queer Eye’s Tan France as producer. KW * * * Staying in: Streaming Tip Toe Channel 4, 31 May, 9pm When it comes to TV maths, Russell T Davies plus Alan Cumming plus David Morrissey is guaranteed to equal unmissable drama. Tip Toe sees the It’s a Sin creator examine modern homophobia via a feud between two neighbours: blokey electrician Clive (Morrissey) and Canal Street bar owner Leo (Cumming). Cape Fear Apple TV, 5 June This TV reboot of the 1991 Robert De Niro movie – itself a remake of the 1962 film – tells the hair-raising tale of a convicted murderer (Javier Bardem) whose release from prison allows him to terrorise the lawyer couple (Amy Adams and Patrick Wilson) tasked with representing him all those years ago. Emma Barnett: Endometriosis iPlayer & BBC Two, 1 June, 9pm Affecting 10% of women of reproductive age in the UK, endometriosis is both very painful and very common. Frustratingly, it remains highly mysterious, too. Here, the Today presenter relays her struggles with the condition and asks scientists why so little research has been done. Not Suitable for Work Disney+, 2 June I Love LA was too niche; Adults was just bad: the struggle to find a hit gen Z comedy is real. Could this Friends-meets-Industry-style sitcom about a group of Manhattan twentysomethings climbing various greasy poles change that? British actor Ella Hunt stars in a new series from Mindy Kaling. RA * * * Staying in: Games Swan Song PC, out 4 June Fans of the acclaimed puzzle box game series The Room should keep an eye on this cosy, shape-shifting challenge from Belgian developer Business Goose Studios. Players must unlock the secrets of an antique music box, using melodies to rescue the swan trapped inside. The 7th Guest Remake PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC out 4 June The classic 1993 interactive horror movie, set in a spooky mansion owned by sinister toy-maker Henry Stauf, has been updated for a new generation, with modern visuals and new puzzles – hopefully it will retain its enjoyably schlocky atmosphere. Keith Stuart Going out: Albums Paul McCartney – The Boys of Dungeon Lane Out now Inspired by the 83-year-old’s childhood memories of the Speke area of Liverpool, the 21st solo album by McCartney, led by the wistful Days We Left Behind, uses nostalgia as a springboard for some of his most affecting songs in years. Iceage – For Love of Grace & the Hereafter Out now Across their six albums of feverish post-punk, slurred Britpop and bouncy pub rock, Danish band Iceage have made falling apart sound enviably cool. That continues on their first album in five years, not least on the pop-leaning Star, which infuses death with a juicy sense of drama. Latto – Big Mama Out now Ohio-born rapper Latto returns with her fourth, and apparently final, album. The timing seems weird given she recently scored a US No 1 alongside BTS’s Jung Kook, but if it is her last then songs such as the two-part Business & Personal and the head-knocking GOMF show she’s going out in style. Boards of Canada – Inferno Out now After a few years of radio silence, and with no follow-up to 2013’s Tomorrow’s Harvest in sight, Scottish electronic duo Boards of Canada surprised fans in April by mailing out mysterious VHS tapes. The elaborate teasing has led to this fifth album, fuelled by the ominous, prog-ish single Prophecy at 1420 MHz. MC * * * Staying in: Brain food Good Bad Billionaire Podcast & BBC World Service BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng present this fascinating series examining the complex lives of the world’s billionaires. This week’s episode is a deep dive into the changing fortunes of pop star Beyoncé. Polyphonic YouTube Musicology channel Polyphonic hosts a vast archive of pithy explainers on everything from singer Al Green’s soulful sound to saxophonist John Coltrane’s radical reworking of the twee Rodgers and Hammerstein composition My Favourite Things. NFB YouTube Canada’s National Film Board (NFB) has made hundreds of its documentaries available to stream for free. A particular favourite is 2008’s Carts of Darkness, which follows the dangerous trend of shopping trolley racing in Vancouver. Ammar Kalia

Source: The Guardian