Undertone review: A frustratingly under-cooked and underwhelming horror film
The buzzy debut feature from Ian Tuason focuses on a podcast host who receives some terrifying audio recordings – but it fails to effectively build on its premise.
Box office hits like The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield helped establish the “found footage” chiller as a legitimate (and lucrative) sub-genre, but a found audio variation on the theme is a much tougher sell in a predominantly visual medium. The proliferation of podcasts in recent times may seem like a solid starting point for such fare, if the filmmaker can find something more interesting to focus on than an individual sat at a desk and wearing headphones, and in that respect Undertone gives itself a mountain to climb. Nina Kiri stars as Evy, co-host of a series investigating paranormal events in which she fulfils the role of the skeptic debunking theories put forward by her more easily convinced and remote (ie unseen) colleague Justin, played by Adam DiMarco. Justin passes on an anonymous email he’s received containing a string of random letters and 10 short audio files that suggest all is not well in the world of a young couple who’ve been recording each other in their sleep – cue Evy’s nonplussed face when she hears sleepy renditions of nursery rhymes which, Justin claims, reveal murderous messages when played backwards. “Mike, kill all,” says one, according to Justin, prompting Evy to do a bit of extra-curricular digging and discover that the reversed rendition her own childhood favourite, Baa Baa Black Sheep, seemingly instructs the listener to "lick the blood off". While all this is going on, writer-director Ian Tuason drip-feeds his audience a few facts about Evy; she’s caring for her invalid, comatose mother in an otherwise empty house, while wrestling with alcoholism and processing recent news of pregnancy. That’s about it, in terms of character development, so the narrative drive falls on the shoulders of the mysterious audio files gradually revealing more undefined terror from afar, but Evy and Justin pointlessly limiting themselves to playing just one fresh file per night is a baffling state of affairs that doesn’t do the story any favours. Sound recordings have been integral to movie plots in the past (think Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation, or Brian De Palma’s Blow Out), but here the lens is trained exclusively on one character for three-quarters of the running time and struggles to hold viewers’ attention. To prevent boredom setting in, that character needs to be played by an expressive actor capable of relaying a range of emotions, and unfortunately Kiri’s largely stony face is more akin to a jaded call centre worker, or someone sitting statue-still for a passport photo and waiting for minutes on end to hear the click of a camera. View Green Video on the source website Occasionally, but nowhere near often enough, she conveys a hint of vulnerability as she reflects on how the contents of the files chime with events from her own past – although childhood memories of London Bridge and sundry other playground singalongs are hardly the stuff of revelatory twists, and only underline the shortcomings of a script that is sorely lacking in surprises. In all fairness, Tuason ups the ante in the last reel, the pedestrian tease of what went before giving way to more palpably spooky shenanigans, but it’s a ludicrously long wait for the yarn to step up a gear that runs the risk of the audience having already given up on the whole affair. Like the aforementioned Blair Witch Project, the film was made on a shoestring budget (approximately half a million dollars) and turned a profit relatively quickly, taking $20 million at the North American box office since its release in early March. Consequently, it can be deemed a financial success, if not necessarily a creative one; this particular Undertone is ultimately, frustratingly, under-cooked and underwhelming. Undertone is released in UK cinemas on Friday 10 April. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Drama review: Robert Pattinson and Zendaya prop up provocative marriage film
Writer/director Kristoffer Borgli's new film is engineered for discourse, not depth – but its lead stars are in fine form.
Warning: contains spoilers for The Drama, which is in cinemas now. At what point is a red flag impossible to ignore? That’s the principal question posed in this combustible new drama from Norwegian writer/director Kristoffer Borgli, which pushes the genres of romcom and marital drama to their very extremes. In fact, cinema has never known pre-wedding jitters quite like this. Starring Robert Pattinson and Zendaya as a couple in Boston about to tie the knot, The Drama is a film that hinges on a twist. But in contrast to The Sixth Sense, The Usual Suspects or Fight Club, where a late reveal memorably casts previous scenes in a new light, The Drama plays its hand early. And what lands on the table is indeed entirely original and unpredictable... even if Borgli can’t decide where to go in its wake. Charlie (Pattinson) and Emma (Zendaya) first encounter each other in a café and share a textbook meet-cute: she’s the bookstore clerk reading by the window and he’s the museum director who pretends to have read what she’s holding purely to strike up conversation. In the blink of an eye they’re loved up and having dinner to sample catering options for their fast-approaching dream wedding. Their friends Rachel and Mike (a terrifically catty Alana Haim and Mamoudou Athie) mention how before they got married, they asked each other: what’s the worst thing you’ve ever done? And that’s when the bombshell drops. Publicity for The Drama has been subtly subdued and entirely reliant on the profile of its stars, with press coverage limited in the hope of preserving the twist. Skirting around it, though, will not make for a worthwhile discussion of the film’s merits – so if you’d prefer to “go in blind” then it’s best to stop reading here. The skeleton in Emma’s closet is that she meticulously planned and intended to carry out a school shooting while at high school, only to stop short at the 11th hour. Naturally, this prompts Charlie to reconsider their relationship – and also causes a rupture in her friendship with maid-of-honour Rachel. “You always find a way to turn my drama into comedy,” Charlie says early on while drafting his wedding speech, which becomes pivotal as the film launches into screwball comedy with a script that is both too on the nose and pleased with itself. The incendiary nature of Emma’s revelation means it is of little surprise that Eddington director Ari Aster is credited as a producer on The Drama, but Borgli’s film offers little social commentary on a subject that deserves sensitivity or interrogation. The Norwegian made his name with provocative fare in Sick of Myself and Dream Scenario: dark comedies about narcissistic artists or what happens when Nicolas Cage appears in every American’s dreams. The Drama has a similarly jet-black sense of humour, but somehow recalls all of Todd Solondz, Danish dinner-party-from-hell Festen and even 45 Years, starring Sir Tom Courtenay and Charlotte Rampling. Where the latter asked intelligent questions of spousal trust and repression, though, Borgli’s priority is merely making mischief. Similarly, even if you put aside the mass-shooting talk (assuming those words can ever be put together), The Drama’s attempt to be a keenly observed relationship comedy is another shoe that doesn’t quite fit. In quoting Freud and referencing Louis Malle films, Charlie stretches relatability, while the couple’s ever-so-chic apartment stocked with houseplants and a spiral staircase wouldn’t look out of place in the wish-fulfilment romcoms of Nancy Meyers – only a title like It’s Complicated wouldn’t quite cover it for them, of course. Fortunately, Zendaya and Pattinson are saving graces. The former fashions a compelling enigma by riffing on the girl-next-door charms of her MJ in Marvel’s Spider-Man films and the troubled moodiness of her Euphoria work; the latter is endlessly charming and comedic as a beleaguered British fop whose life appears increasingly Kafkaesque. By the time a killer final scene rolls around, The Drama is somewhat limping over the line, but its leads lend a crucial heartbeat to a film frustratingly engineered for discourse, not depth. The Drama is out now in cinemas. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
If you're tired of FM26, you owe it to yourself to play this Football Manager deckbuilder
When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.
Usually, by this point in the year, I would be about 20 seasons deep into a Football Manager save in [insert middling European football nation here]. This year, however, things are different. FM26 and I never truly clicked, and while I noted in my review that I have high hopes for FM27, I just haven't been able to make this year's game stick. Annoyingly for me, while FM26 hasn't captured me, the Football Manager itch remains, with my hunt for an FM simulacrum leaving a pile of failed saves in its wake. But late last month, my saviour entered the fray. Nutmeg – or NUTMEG!, to give it its bombastic, real title – is a fascinating take on the football sim. Flinging you back to the 1980s and '90s, Nutmeg puts you at the helm of an English football club, in charge of squad building, staffing, budgets, and the like. What sets this game apart is that instead of the tactics are typically the be-all and end-all of the football sim, Nutmeg is a card game. Like a footballing Slay the Spire, you're given a hand full of cards that you can play to influence the match. Your team will progress up the pitch, playing passes, dodging tackles and taking shots. Every action has odds assigned to it, and which cards you play and when can give your team that extra edge they need to hit the back of the net. It's a deceptively simple mechanic that actually feels surprisingly analogous to FM. Just as you may sit back against stronger opposition, or go all-out against weaker ones, Nutmeg allows you that same control over your games in a different way. Early on, in an attempt to score as many goals as possible, I found myself playing any and every card early on in games, just to get nowhere and end up conceding on the break. Outside of matches, you've got the chance to build your squad, make transfers, manage your budgets and more. Naturally, it's not quite as intuitive as FM's wealth of familiar statistics, scouts and data, so it can feel rather overwhelming to tackle at first, but once you get going, again, it really scratches that FM itch. As you progress through the years, the database does too, and for any fans of '90s football, Nutmeg is a veritable goldmine. For players who make it that far, the thrill of signing a wonderkid Ronaldo into your academy is unparalleled. The database even updates accurately, with transfers occurring in the game as they did in real life – it's an honestly exceptional piece of work, and something that developer Sumo Digital should be making more of. In a world where retro FM databases are becoming ever more popular, Nutmeg offers exactly that in spades. While the gameplay is, of course, the highlight, it would be remiss not to mention Nutmeg's presentation, which is dripping with nostalgia. The entire game takes place on a desk in front of an old PC and fax machine with Ceefax shining out of the CRT telly. While I am so hip and young, and therefore only remember the last gasps of this era of both technology and aesthetic, that doesn't mean I haven't been deeply charmed by it, and I would be shocked if others weren't also. In a way, it takes me back to playing those rubbish (but not rubbish at all, and actually very fun) browser games like Jumpers for Goalposts on the family PC. I would be lying if I said there were not some issues that I'd like to see fixed up or added, such as player stats. This is, of course, a minor gripe, but it, among many other features, adds to the story of a save, and it's these little things that are what keep me coming back for more. Now, is Nutmeg a real competitor for FM? I don't think so. It doesn't, and probably cannot have the depth of FM and its tactics, transfers, scouting and more, and for these reasons, I certainly don't see myself sticking with it for 20-season saves, year-in year-out. But that isn't a bad thing by any means. Nutmeg is a fantastic game that combines two of my favourite genres in football simulation and deckbuilding, and does so in such a novel and engaging way. If, like me, you've found yourself adrift in FM waters these past few months, do yourself a favour and jump into Nutmeg for a game that is as soulful as it is fun. View Green Video on the source website Check out more of our Gaming coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Boys season 5 review: A more sombre than satisfying goodbye to Prime Video's anti-superhero hit
Buckle in for a bittersweet way to bow out.
Almost seven years on, one released spin-off series (Gen V), an animated anthology (The Boys Presents: Diabolical), and two upcoming projects later (Vought Rising and The Boys: Mexico), the acclaimed and hugely satirical flagship (anti) superhero show, The Boys, is finally set to come to a close with its fifth and final series. Spawning countless brutal and bloody memorable moments (Herogasm, anyone?!), hilarious memes, shock twists, and bold cultural, social, and political commentary, the biting and often gleefully sadistic series has undoubtedly become a cultural phenomenon, offering a refreshing counter-narrative to the often rinse-and-repeat formula of other superhero blockbusters. However, all good things must come to an end, and thankfully The Boys hasn’t quite overstayed its welcome, with showrunner Eric Kripke closing the curtain on this chapter with a planned five-season run. But, as with all popular shows coming to a close, the question of whether the writers can stick the landing is the primary concern, especially when certain finales (e.g. Game of Thrones, Dexter, Lost!) still prove a sore point for many fans and the wider cultural landscape. As Butcher (Karl Urban) and the Boys are back in town for one final hurrah, can Kripke and co. unleash a fittingly crazy goodbye to their merry band of vigilante criminals and depraved Supes? Well, not with the expected bang, but with something more unsettling - an emotionally devastating outing that strays alarmingly close to a present-day reality. Once an entertaining and subversive satire, the series now feels almost too recognisable, trading gleeful shock for an unsettling sense of inevitability and futility. Buckle up for a sombre swansong… The fifth season picks up soon after the last, with a dystopian America now firmly under Homelander’s (Antony Starr) egomaniacal and fascist control - thanks in part to the new Vice President Ashley (Colby Minifie) and her husband, clergyman Oh Father (Daveed Diggs) - while the majority of The Boys are about to be publicly executed in one of Homelander’s "freedom camps". Meanwhile, Butcher is ready to unleash his supe-killing virus - no matter the cost - to stop Homelander for good, while Annie (Erin Moriarty) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) attempt to rally a rebellion and save Frenchie (Tomer Capone), Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso) and Hughie (Jack Quaid). The penultimate season certainly left the rag-tag band of Boys in a dark and downbeat place, what with Butcher murdering Victoria and hellbent on a path of self-destruction, while the disbanded team were all captured except Annie. With the next president pledging his allegiance to Homelander, declaring martial law and the downfall of the Starlighters, the final outing leans further into this dystopian vision of a brainwashed America under the Supes' tyrannical control. One of the season’s central plot devices, revolving around Butcher’s plans, is very much a MacGuffin for the final showdown, but it ramps up the stakes and tension considerably, whilst also nicely tying in events from spin-off Gen V and earlier seasons of The Boys. More interestingly, it allows for an intriguing expansion of the wider Vought lore, spotlighting the infamous doctor’s early experiments in a standout (and amusingly self-aware) sequence. And while the fate of the globe is at stake, it’s a surprisingly more intimate and heartfelt endeavour, with the final outing upping the emotional stakes - particularly with the potential effects on Kimiko and Frenchie, and Annie and Hughie’s relationship. A later arc exploring love and immortality also makes for a surprising but affecting entry, even amidst the chaos and carnage. Karen Fukuhara and Tomer Capone, in particular, shine this season, proving to be the heart and soul of the show with their tender and sincere chemistry, offering a much-needed emotional counterpoint to the series' dark nature. But this wouldn’t be The Boys without its signature bonkers and bloody carnage, and there’s certainly plenty of that to dive into, with even more shocking and brutal character deaths than before. Kripke certainly wasn’t joking when he teased significant casualties, warning fans not to get too attached to any single character. And while this isn’t new for the show (we’re still mourning Ambrosius!), it’s much more of a gut punch this time round due to the season’s already dark and depressing nature, mirroring reality. Aside from the Deep (Chace Crawford is still the comedic MVP!) and Soldier Boy’s (Jensen Ackles) laugh-out-loud quips and genuinely hilarious moments, there’s a distinct lack of the show’s signature tongue-in-cheek and gross-out humour. One major issue is tone - the show has shifted so far from the highs of season 1-3, with unsettling events such as weaponised faith, tyrannical leaders, and oil spills feeling far too close to current events to serve as entertaining satire anymore. Yes, there are still amusing jibes, such as a hilarious spoof of the Nicole Kidman AMC Theatres advert, but overall it’s lacking in the comedic department. Another issue is the ever-expanding cast, with yet more additions in the final chapter. With the biggest roster of Supes yet, it’s easy to lose track of who’s fighting for who, as allegiances and loyalties once again shift throughout. While Teenage Kix and Daveed Diggs’ Oh-Father somewhat miss the mark, Mason Dye's new character, Bombsight, is a brief but welcome addition, nicely tying threads together with Soldier Boy and the original 1950s line-up, further impacting Jenson Ackles’ character arc (and presumably setting up the upcoming prequel Vought Rising). View Green Video on the source website So far, this final season of The Boys delivers more of a heavy sense of inevitability - think Thanos-level Infinity War ending - rather than a somewhat cathartic payoff fans might have hoped for. Certain major events and revelations in Gen V season two also feel largely un-addressed, leaving much of the promise of bigger showdowns frustratingly unresolved. Furthermore, much of the season again treads familiar ground, with repetitive story beats such as the Boys’ infighting, everyone having daddy issues, and loyalties constantly shifting. And with only one episode to go (seven of the eight were provided to press) the finale is left with an awful lot to wrap up in a single outing. The scale is also limited compared to previous instalments, with conflicts and expected standoffs surprisingly few and far between - aside from an early, fun prison-escape showdown and one character finally getting a Quicksilver-style X-Men moment. The Boys fifth and final instalment is more dispiritingly dark than diabolical, with the outrageous humour and subversive sparkle that once set the show apart largely absent. There’s certainly still plenty of signature blood-soaked carnage and shocking moments (particularly in one cameo-heavy sequence), but overall it feels more sombre than satisfying. Still, in the end, The Boys go out dramatically... even if it’s more bittersweet than expected. The Boys season 5 premieres on Prime Video on 8 April 2026 – try Amazon Prime Video for free for 30 days. Add The Boys to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
6 classic Tomb Raider games are 'free' this week, but they do have some glaring issues
2024's Tomb Raider I-III Remastered is now available for free for PS Plus subscribers throughout April – but back in March, I wouldn’t have recommended buying or playing it. On March 12, developer Aspyr released Patch 5, which, in addition to introducing a new ‘Challenge Mode’, also brought a slew of issues. This included the title music continuously playing when entering a level, wrong sound effects on different enemies, traps not working as they should, and lots more. More concerning was a new company taking charge of this ‘Challenge Mode’ patch, instead of a team of Tomb Raider community members who created this remastered collection, complete with remade textures. The fan community was in uproar. So much so, Aspyr announced on March 18 an initiative for players to submit issues to be fixed in a future patch. The first one came out on March 31, fixing many issues, but others remain. Fans have gotten in touch with this writer, highlighting how Lara’s braid in photo mode still moves, and the ninja enemies toward the end of Tomb Raider II either throw Tiger heads or nothing instead of daggers. It’s a disappointing fall from grace for a collection released to huge acclaim in February 2024, thanks to its faithful recreation of the original games, but with photo mode, new textures, and the three expansion packs. But it’s also telling how quickly this first fix was rolled out – perhaps because Tomb Raider I-III Remastered is now available for PS Plus subscribers. Despite a few bugs still present around all six games, here’s why they’re still worth playing. Back to the Croft Having written the book on the first two Tomb Raider games, as well as a follow-up coming later this year, which goes up to 2000’s Tomb Raider: Chronicles, I’ve got plenty of experience in playing every one of these games over the past 30 years. But first, a little history. The first Tomb Raider set a benchmark for how a fully-3D adventure could look and play for a whole new audience. Inspired by the Indiana Jones movies, it became a huge success, leading to the team at Core Design starting work on a sequel just a few weeks after Tomb Raider came out on the PlayStation in November 1996. The James Bond movies more inspired Tomb Raider II, no doubt with the then-upcoming Tomorrow Never Dies set to come out at the end of 1997, just like Tomb Raider’s sequel. With Croft able to climb, roll in mid-air, and use vehicles like the boat in Venice and the Skidoo in Tibet, it improved upon the first game in various ways. However, with a deal made for a game in the series to be released on the PlayStation by 2000, the team was instantly under pressure to look at a third entry. Initially planned for the PlayStation 2 as an open-world game set on an island, the higher-ups at Core Design instead put their foot down for a straight-up sequel to be made on the PlayStation 1 for autumn 1998. A mostly-new team took up the mantle, with those previously involved either leaving Core Design or moving on to work on the underrated Project Eden, which came out on the PlayStation 2 in 2001. Tomb Raider III is known by fans to have the most cut content due to time constraints. A Knife was planned, as well as a drivable boat in the first South Pacific level, and much more. The game was a success, but players began to get bored with the series, despite the title still getting rave reviews from many sites and magazines at the time. However, before the release of Tomb Raider I-III Remastered, playing these games was difficult, especially the expansions. If you had a PC or a Steam Deck, it was a challenge to get these titles to work using community patches and apps that would make the games work on modern operating systems. But the expansions were even harder, as they weren’t available on any storefront. For those unaware, three expansions were released between 1998 and 2000 that extended the first three Tomb Raider games in some way, but they were developed by a team at Eidos Interactive, instead of Core Design. Unfinished Business expanded upon the ending of Tomb Raider 1, showing players what happened after Lara slid down at the end of the game. Tomb Raider II: Golden Mask is set some time after the sequel, but with a bizarre yet fun level based on Vegas. Finally, Tomb Raider III: Lost Artefact reveals a fifth meteorite artefact that leads to a showdown with a returning boss. All of these brought their own challenges with fun traps and different levels to play, but with no new weapons or music. However, you could only play these if you managed to find the original copies in places like a garage sale or in a friend’s Tomb Raider collection. It’s thanks to Tomb Raider I-III Remastered that you can now play these three expansions, as well as the mainline three games. You’re essentially getting six games in one at no cost if you’re a PS Plus subscriber. It’s also a win for game preservation and for Tomb Raider as a whole. But this is where Tomb Raider I-III Remastered comes in, for better or worse. Choosing your Buggy Adventure Nostalgia is a powerful feeling, especially for games. It can make players remember certain times in their childhood when they first controlled Lara Croft during the PS1 era. But the danger can be when these remasters don’t reflect the original titles, or stray too far from what made the games iconic. The Challenge Mode patch is a great example of this. Instead of shooting and dodging ninjas in Tomb Raider II’s Dragon’s Lair level, players have to risk it with invisible attacks. Or hearing different sounds that don’t line up with their cherished memories of playing the games in their youth. Or a ‘Challanges’ typo. Or random enemies spawning all in one area, as the above image shows. These bugs can leave a sour taste, and Magic Media, responsible for this new mode, should have known better, as well as Aspyr Media and Crystal Dynamics. The Tomb Raider community is a passionate group, and they will help as best they can when needed. But they’ll also be brutally honest when it counts, as the series’ subreddit repeatedly shows. At the time of writing, members are highlighting bugs still present in the remaster. With Aspyr confirming that more patches are on their way, it’s hard not to feel that this could have been completely avoided if the original team at Saber Interactive were in charge. Nevertheless, ‘Challenge Mode Patch 1’ at least resolves some of the biggest issues from before, which avoids corrupting those nostalgic memories of Tomb Raider I-III and the expansions. But there’s still a long way to go before they’re at the standard they were before Patch 5. Playing these for free if you’re a PS Plus subscriber is a fantastic entry point if you’re new to the series, or if you haven’t played them since the 1990s, but go in with tempered expectations. If you come across something that doesn’t look or sound right, do let them know at the bottom of this linked page. View Green Video on the source website Check out more of our Gaming coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Les Liaisons Dangereuses review: Lesley Manville and Aidan Turner's chemistry is off the charts in this timeless tale of seduction
Tense, sexy and playful, this revival of Christopher Hampton's Les Liaisons Dangereuses brings the best of the old and new.
Dangerous Liaisons is a tale that has been adapted time and time again, from TV mini-series to Korean historical romance film to the '90s cult classic film Cruel Intentions. Now it's time to enjoy another adaptation; the National Theatre revival of Christopher Hampton's 1984 Les Liaisons Dangereuses. A revival of a classic tale often reveals plenty about the age we're currently living in – so what does this production mean in the year 2026? Is it a cautionary tale against indulging in lies in the age of post-truth? A commentary on the shallow whims of the ultra-rich? Or is it simply an opportunity to witness the delight of Lesley Manville and Aidan Turner perform a dangerous, sexy tango of words and deceit? Whatever your interpretation, this much is sure: you are in for a wickedly sumptuous show. The 2026 National Theatre production, directed by Marianne Elliott, is a show of contrasts, with lavish costumes set against a sparse stage flanked by mirrors. This eerie juxtaposition makes the audience ill at ease, as well as highlighting both vanity and the sense of being unable to escape from yourself. Hampton's script stays relatively faithful to the original 1782 book Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. We focus on the Marquise de Merteuil (Manville) and the Vicomte de Valmont (Turner), two aristocrats and former lovers who place bets and play games based on manipulation and sexual exploits. What follows are dangerous games of seduction, of both Cécile de Volanges (Hannah van der Westhuysen) and Madame de Tourvel (Monica Barbaro). Tension is rife throughout, with each word of Hampton's script dripping with sensuality and double meaning. A lot of this tension is beautifully portrayed through movement, with choreographer Tom Jackson Greaves's luscious interpretive sequences, using fluid movement to express anguish and raw sexuality where words fail. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/04/Aidan-Turner-Vicomte-de-Valmont-and-Lesley-Manville-Marquise-de-Merteuil-in-Les-Liaisons-Dangereuses-at-the-National-Theatre.-Photographer-Sarah-Lee-LLD068-24f2aee.jpg" width="7416" height="4928" alt="Aidan Turner (Vicomte de Valmont) and Lesley Manville (Marquise de Merteuil) in Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the National Theatre" title="Aidan Turner (Vicomte de Valmont) and Lesley Manville (Marquise de Merteuil) in Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the National Theatre. Photographer Sarah Lee LLD068" /> Speaking of raw sexuality, be prepared for Aidan Turner and Lesley Manville to have you blushing and giggling in your seats. Both actors come into their element in portraying these sultry scumbags, with Turner's performance in particular raising plenty of laughs at his tongue-in-cheek duplicitousness. The chemistry between the pair is more than palpable, as is the chemistry between Turner and each of the many characters he charms into bed as the sleazy yet irresistible Vicomte de Valmont. It isn't entirely a romp, however. In addition to the play's darker turn in Act Two, Hampton's script, like the original text, has plenty to say about the power imbalance between the sexes, as well as boasting a sharp and scrappy female main character. While class differences aren't addressed directly, being more of an implicit feature of the tale, costume designer Natalie Roar highlights intense disparity with her eerie maid's costumes. With covered heads and tightly bound arms, the female servants hover like ghosts – an eerie reminder of the revolution that was to come a decade after the original tale was penned. With an almost three hour run-time (including interval), this is certainly a hefty night at the theatre, but one that you definitely don't want to miss. Buy Les Liaisons Dangereuses tickets at TodayTix For more of our thoughts on the latest London shows, check out our Waitress review and Romeo and Juliet review. When and where can I see Les Liaisons Dangereuses? Les Liaisons Dangereuses is currently playing at Lyttelton Theatre, which is part of the National Theatre on Southbank. Shows will be running until 6 June 2026. Buy Les Liaisons Dangereuses tickets at TodayTix How to get Les Liaisons Dangereuses tickets Tickets are currently available to purchase at TodayTix. We'd highly recommend buying tickets sooner rather than later as demand is extremely high. Buy Les Liaisons Dangereuses tickets at TodayTix Here's how you can get 10% off your next trip to the West End with the Radio Times Theatre Pass.
Waitress review: Carrie Hope Fletcher new staging is served to perfection
This is a firm favourite on my musical menu that I would order over and over again.
I last saw Waitress in London in 2020, with the supremely talented Sara Bareilles (responsible for the stunning music and lyrics) and Gavin Creel, who sadly passed away in 2024, as the leads. I have been eagerly anticipating the show’s return, but thought it would be difficult to top such a brilliant casting. But I’m happy to say that the UK tour that premiered in Wimbledon for a 10th anniversary production is just as magical in Abbey O’Brien’s restaging of Diane Paulus’s original work. Carrie Hope Fletcher effortlessly plays expert pie-maker Jenna, a waitress at Joe’s Pie Diner in small-town America, and Dan Partridge is very funny as the neurotic, but well-meaning Dr Pomatter. It’s based on the 2007 film written and directed by Adrienne Shelly. Jenna is married to the abusive Earl (played in the musical by a convincingly piggish Mark Willshire) and dreams of leaving him, but then she finds out she’s pregnant. A way out seems like a pie in the sky, until she hears about a pie-making contest that offers a prize of $20,000 to the winner. Where Earl thinks Jenna’s “no Sara Lee”, Dr Pomatter believes her pies are so good that they could win awards. In what could be seen as quite a sad story, it also has tons of humour that I think lands even better this time around, and I’m sure some gags have been added, and they really work. All the characters in Jessie Nelson’s script are well fleshed out, and realistically flawed – they never pretend to be anything but. Mark Anderson as Dawn’s besotted, eccentric love interest Ogie is a real scene-stealer and Les Dennis is great as the grouchy yet likable Joe, who owns the diner, and believes in Jenna’s abilities. Dan O’Brien does a good job teetering between appearing tough as diner manager Cal one minute, and as a big softie underneath it all the next. But it’s the female friendships that really shine here. The relationship between Jenna and fellow waitresses, Dawn (played with quirky charm by Evelyn Hoskins) and Becky (a hilarious Sandra Marvin), is a beautiful dynamic to watch. While there is a big serving of adultery in the plot, how often do we get to see women so powerfully embracing their sexual freedom? Scott Pask’s set mainly revolves around the gloriously colourful diner and Jenna and Earl’s home. The mouth-watering appeal of all the pies is immense. There’s also quite a lot of props for the cast to grapple with, including real ingredients (“sugar, butter, flour”), which gives this a homey, hand-made feel. There’s just enough choreography from Lorin Latarro to make sure this doesn’t enter into cheesy territory, and Bareilles’s songs will have you both laughing and crying. There’s belters like Becky’s I Didn’t Plan It, Ogie’s silly yet romantic I Love You Like a Table and Jenna and Dr Pomatter’s emotional You Matter to Me. She Used to Be Mine is the clear stand-out, where Jenna reflects on her conflicted feelings about becoming a mother and losing her identity. Fletcher’s rendition is genuinely goosebump-inducing. She convincingly portrays someone who is trying her best, but is tired by life, someone strong, but who doesn’t believe in herself. She exudes warmth – like a pie fresh out of the oven – and that makes all the difference. In the previous London production, the role of Jenna was sometimes miscast, but Fletcher clearly has all the ingredients that make a stage star. Similarly with Jenna and Dr Pommater’s chemistry, it didn’t always chime, but here, their interactions will leave you on a sugar high. Waitress will make you not just “happy enough”, but truly, grinning ear-to-ear happy with lovable characters, moving songs and an empowering message – all of it mixed up and baked in a beautiful musical, topped with a massive dollop of charm. Buy Waitress tickets at ATG Tickets Buy Waitress tickets at Ticketmaster How to get tickets to see Waitress Waitress is hitting 28 venues across the UK and you can get tickets at the official venue sites or ATG Tickets and Ticketmaster. 28 Mar 2026 – 4 Apr 2026 – Wimbledon, New Wimbledon Theatre 6 Apr 2026 – 11 Apr 2026 – Brighton, Theatre Royal 13 Apr 2026 – 18 Apr 2026 – Bradford, Alhambra Theatre 20 Apr 2026 – 25 Apr 2026 – Woking, New Victoria Theatre 28 Apr 2026 – 2 May 2026 – Birmingham, Hippodrome 4 May 2026 – 9 May 2026 – Sunderland, Empire 12 May 2026 – 16 May 2026 – Edinburgh, Playhouse Theatre 19 May 2026 – 23 May 2026 – Dublin, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre 26 May 2026 – 30 May 2026 – Manchester, Palace Theatre 1 Jun 2026 – 6 Jun 2026 – Wolverhampton, Grand Theatre 8 Jun 2026 – 13 Jun 2026 – Cardiff, Wales Millennium Centre 17 Jun 2026 – 20 Jun 2026 – Southend, Cliffs Pavilion 29 Jun 2026 – 4 Jul 2026 – Oxford, New Theatre 6 Jul 2026 – 11 Jul 2026 – Stoke-on-Trent, Regent Theatre 13 Jul 2026 – 18 Jul 2026 – Blackpool, Opera House 20 Jul 2026 – 25 Jul 2026 – Leicester, Leicester Curve 28 Jul 2026 – 1 Aug 2026 – Belfast, Grand Opera House 4 Aug 2026 – 8 Aug 2026 – Bristol, Hippodrome 10 Aug 2026 – 15 Aug 2026 – Nottingham, Royal Concert Hall 17 Aug 2026 – 22 Aug 2026 – Llandudno, Venue Cymru 24 Aug 2026 – 29 Aug 2026 – Bournemouth, Pavilion Theatre 1 Sep 2026 – 5 Sep 2026 – Hull, New Theatre 7 Sep 2026 – 12 Sep 2026 – Liverpool, Empire 14 Sep 2026 – 19 Sep 2026 – Eastbourne, Congress Theatre 22 Sep 2026 – 26 Sep 2026 – Milton Keynes, Theatre 6 Oct 2026 – 10 Oct 2026 – Glasgow, King’s Theatre 13 Oct 2026 – 17 Oct 2026 – Sheffield, Lyceum Theatre 27 Oct 2026 – 31 Oct 2026 – Salford, The Lowry Buy Waitress tickets at ATG Tickets Buy Waitress tickets at Ticketmaster Make sure you read our Romeo & Juliet review with Sadie Sink and how to get London Palladium panto 2026 tickets.
Romeo & Juliet review: Shakespeare meets Black Mirror in Sadie Sink's West End debut
Sadie Sink and Noah Jupe are sensational star-crossed lovers.
Sadie Sink's West End debut is a triumph of tragedy and heartache as she brings Robert Icke's adaptation of Romeo & Juliet back to the London stage. The timeless story of love and death is given a timeless out-of-body atmosphere as scenery, costume and framing devices are used to strand the production in a minimalist world where the 1590s and 2020s blend together. The show has the overall feel of the Black Mirror episode Hang the DJ as a giant digital clock flashes onto screen throughout – reminding that the lovers' lives are literally ticking away. This is joined by a clever time-warping element in which certain scenes are played out twice to suggest how their story could otherwise have gone: Tybalt interrupts Romeo at the party, the Nurse refuses to give Juliet the message, the Friar's letters arrive on time and so on – showing us how cosmically aligned these star-crossed lovers truly are. These elements create an effectively eerie atmosphere for the show and are a nice palette cleanser for the endless gun-toting modern adaptations we often see today, although this was occasionally ruptured by an out-of-pocket cover song only producers of The Traitors would enjoy. It also breaks a centuries-long trend of seeing the lovers' fates as a hopeless, foregone conclusion, we all enter the theatre knowing where their story will end up, but never before have I experienced a bitter tug of hope that it could go another way. But as the production overall seems to live somewhere in the uncanny valley, the cast's performances are utterly grounded. Sadie Sink is an infectiously likeable Juliet, who brings all the painfully real awkwardness of a teenage girl to the stage. She grunts, growls, giggles and leaps around in the first act, only to turn that energy into concerning obsession in the second – bravo to Robert Icke for remembering they are teenagers who, at the end of the day, are completely naive of the real world. Noah Jupe is equally impressive. His devoted Romeo comes with an impish grin and excitement that bubbles up through him when addressing the audience. He seems to turn all of Romeo's more hapless qualities (cough, Rosaline, cough) into endearing ones, again reminding us of his youth and inexperience. However, both actors should pay attention to the might of their co-star Clare Perkins, who plays Nurse. So often a character who is seen as a message-carrier, or a foil for Juliet's dreams, the Nurse is frequently shoved aside or made a mockery of on stage, but not here. Perkins is a magnetic presence throughout the show, juggling pinpoint humour and deep wells of humanity. Through her performance, you finally sit up and take note of the character's long past and how parental her connection with Juliet is, she deserves all this praise and more. Clark Gregg, Eden Epstein and Dylan Corbett-Bader are also particularly watchable and layered in their approach to the performance, taking away any sense of pantomime from the rivalry between the Capulets and Montagues. Overall, a universal story such as this should be enjoyed universally, and for me this production really puts in the effort to broaden its appeal. Somehow, a show that has been known to us for over 430 years still managed to surprise me. Buy Romeo and Juliet tickets at LOVETheatre How to get tickets to see Romeo & Juliet Tickets are on sale ATG Tickets or LOVETheatre. The play is set to run until 20 June at the Harold Pinter theatre, which sits just a short walk from Piccadilly Circus. Buy Romeo and Juliet tickets at LOVETheatre For more theatre announcements check out the best West End shows.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie review: Animated sequel is vibrant but paper-thin
The ‘family is forever’ theme looms large, but never once feels sincere or authentic.
Nintendo’s colourful characters, Mario and Luigi, are back for Level 2. In 2023, The Super Mario Bros Movie powered up in cinemas, grossing $1.361 billion and gaining three Oscar nods. Created by Illumination, the animation company behind the Minions, this wild adventure plunged audiences into a 3D-realised world that was instantly familiar to anyone who has played any of the video games fronted by everyone’s favourite moustachioed, dungarees-wearing Brooklyn plumbers. Returning us to the lurid, trippy Mushroom Kingdom, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is equally barmy, if not quite as fresh or funny as its predecessor. Loosely based on the 2007 game Super Mario Galaxy and its 2010 sequel, this new film introduces fan-favourite character Yoshi, the cuddly-ish green dinosaur – here voiced by Donald Glover – who has a rapacious appetite. Like in the game, he consumes things, even people, and turns them into eggs. He soon meets with Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day), in an adventure that starts as Princess Rosalina (voiced by Brie Larson) is captured by a giant flying saucer, leaving her ‘babies’, the star-shaped, glowing Luma, at a loss for what to do. Behind this abduction is the evil Bowser Jr (Benny Safdie) who is building a super weapon and needs her magic to power it. His father Bowser (Jack Black) remains shrunken to the size of a doll – all thanks to Mario’s actions at the end of the last movie. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Mario movie without Princess Peach (Anna Taylor-Joy), the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key), who become instrumental in mounting the mission to save Rosalina. As plots go, it’s standard fare, although Nintendo fans will surely get a kick out an appearance by Fox McCloud, the protagonist from the Star Fox series and here voiced by Glen Powell (even if the character looks a little too much like Nick Wilde, the foxy lead in Disney’s Zootopia). Like its predecessor, the movie is at its best when it integrates classic Mario game-play styles into the narrative. There’s a lovely platform-like interlude where characters are ducking and diving through a security system built by Bowser Jr – who, amusingly, is controlling the boobytraps as if he’s playing a video game, with his monitor even displaying the action in rudimentary 8-bit graphics. There’s also a charming appearance by Honey Queen (Issa Rae), a regal character from the Mario-verse. Unfortunately, there just aren’t enough of these moments. Co-directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, who return after helming the earlier Mario movie, the animation is vibrant, with each frame lovingly filled with detail. It’s just a shame the formulaic story feels about as paper-thin as you might expect from an adaptation of a ladders-and-levels video game. As is so common in these Hollywood animations, the ‘family is forever’ theme looms large, but never once feels sincere or authentic. View Green Video on the source website From the voice cast, Benny Safdie (the recent director of The Smashing Machine and soon to be seen in Chris Nolan’s The Odyssey) has a blast as Bowser Jr, as does Glover as the lovable Yoshi, but there aren’t too many others who reach their level. Pratt, Day and Black all feel a little subdued, perhaps because the script by Matthew Fogel doesn’t exactly come armed with zingers. While it’s likely that retro gamers won’t find anything here that wasn’t in the first movie – Yoshi and one or two others aside – it’s no doubt got enough for kids to enjoy, which will surely come as a relief for parents looking to entertain their offspring over the Easter holidays. You never know – it might even convince them to put down their controllers, or their phones, for ninety-odd minutes. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is released in UK cinemas on Wednesday 1 April. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Babies review: Paapa Essiedu and Siobhán Cullen are heartbreaking in another relatability masterclass from Stefan Golaszewski
A stumble in the show's final third can't take away from this powerful drama.
This article contains mention of pregnancy loss and miscarriage that some readers may find distressing. It's rare that I can say a drama absolutely won't be for everybody, but perhaps should be – that is the case with Babies. It won't be for everybody for two reasons. The first is that it is a new drama from Stefan Golaszewski, the master of unerring slice of life drama. I gave his last series, Marriage, a five-star review, believing, as I still do, that it was an exceptional piece of work. Once it was released into the wider world, many viewers disagreed, and took against it fervently. Babies has a similar pace, tone and structure to that series, so I can already say with some degree of certainty that those who were unimpressed by Marriage will have similar feelings here. The second reason is that it deals with the subject of repeated pregnancy loss and miscarriage, and does so in a way which is raw and unflinching. This topic will simply be too harrowing, too close to the bone for some viewers – and that's completely understandable. However, if they do find themselves able to give the series a go and continue with it, my hope is that they will feel seen, whether they have been through the experiences depicted on screen or not. Babies stars Siobhán Cullen and Paapa Essiedu as Lisa and Stephen, a couple in their 30s who are trying for a baby, but who endure multiple pregnancy losses and miscarriages. Meanwhile, the series also focuses on Stephen's best friend Dave, played by Jack Bannon, in his new relationship with Charlotte Riley's Amanda. Dave is besotted with Amanda, but she is evidently from a different world that Stephen, Lisa and Dave and has a different approach to life – one which, we soon learn, is at least partly informed by her own experiences. As Stephen and Dave struggle to talk to one another about their various circumstances, their friendship is tested right when they both need each other the most. Unlike Marriage, which ran for four episodes, Babies takes place across six, a decision which is both earned on one level, yet on another appears to have been a mistake. The subject matter the series is dealing with is certainly deserving of the longer run-time, but sadly it starts to fall apart somewhat in its final two instalments. The sixth episode makes a key decision which simply doesn't work from a visual standpoint, and jars against the rest of the series, even if the dramatic intentions are clear and not necessarily completely misjudged. Meanwhile, the fifth episode hones in on something which has been present throughout – the way that Stephen and Dave mask their feelings with banter and laughter. This is effective in earlier episodes, but the conversations they have respectively reaches a pinnacle of mundanity here. One conversation between Stephen and his father where they find themselves laughing extensively, essentially about nothing, may be thematically resonant, but starts to border on inauthentic, something the rest of the series never is. I wanted to get all of that out of the way up top, as it encapsulates the entire extent of my issues with Babies, which would otherwise have been a five star production. Now, we can get on to what it does right, which is a lot. It will be no surprise to anyone who's a fan of Golaszewski to know that he has once again devised a series which is relatable from top to bottom. This isn't because of the specific subject matter. I imagine that the heartbreak of the experiences the central couple go through are well observed and accurate to real life, but this is not what I'm referring to. Instead, I am referring to the most specific examples of human behaviour, which are littered throughout each and every conversation and bit of behaviour. If you're watching one of Lisa and Stephen's everyday discussions, or one of their arguments, or one of their social gatherings, and don't recognise elements of what's going on on screen from your own lives, then I don't know what to say. I don't believe Golaszewski has planted a camera somewhere around my house to specifically observe my own individual behaviour, so I have to presume that there is something universal about what he is putting his finger on. Throughout the runtime, I kept thinking of each of the central character's behaviours and how I either know someone just like that, or I think I myself am probably just like that. The central subject matter is handled sensitively, but also with the necessary emotional heft behind it which is deserves. There are a whole host of tearjerking moments, as well as some real insight into the inner turmoil those going through these experiences can feel. Babies absolutely gives the topic its due, but it would be reductive to suggest that's all the series is about. There are also discussions around parenthood, adult friendships, aging and grappling with societal expectations, male repression, communication and so much more. But really, it's about relationships. The authenticity of the relationships here means that whether you're watching a simple scene where Stephen and Dave are chatting at the pub or Lisa and Stephen are catching, or whether you're watching a heartbreaking sequence in which the central couple come to terms with what they're going through, all the scenes feel as rich and impactful as one another. It's hardly revelatory of me to say that Essiedu is good at what he does. I remember seeing him in Hamlet at the RSC back in 2016, and thinking then what a remarkable talent he was. Here, however, he is phenomenal, giving a performance which could certainly be in contention as a career best. Stephen is someone who has masked any emotional turmoil with humour and an external resilience all his life. In every scene, he is 100 per cent matched by Cullen, who is no stranger to our screens herself, but who should definitely be getting wider recognition for her work here. Her emotional range is astounding, and she manages to make the character both empathetic and sympathetic even when Lisa is saying the darkest of things. As Lisa and Stephen's relationship, and the balance within it, shifts and changes, nothing either of them do ever feels out of character – it all feels like a natural continuation. Jack Bannon is an impressive, purposeful mix of insufferable yet sympathetic as Dave, while Charlotte Riley has the unenviable job of humanising Amanda, a character who will be hugely divisive, yet who we at least understand thanks to Riley's skilful work. She is not afraid to say what she thinks - a refreshing diversion from the other characters – but at times takes this to the extreme. There are, of course, others outside of the quartet who enter into their orbits, but in many ways this is a hyper-focused piece, and one which needs to be given the weight and breadth of everything that's on its mind. Most importantly, I think it's key to stress that although there are a lot of distressing, incredibly hard-hitting scenes in the six episodes of Babies, and it does go to some seriously dark, upsetting places, it is not a ubiquitously grim watch. In many ways, it is also hopeful, filled with some genuinely funny moments, some uplifting revelations and thoughts on how to cope during difficult times, and some keen observations about human behaviour. Coming out of it, all I could think about is how I, along with so many of us, need to open up more. It's impressive that that sort of positive message can come out of a series featuring so much pain - and also one which features some unfortunate missteps in its final third. For information and support, please visit Tommy's or The Mariposa Trust. Babies will air on Monday 30 March at 9pm on BBC One, and will be available in full on iPlayer from 6am that day. Add Babies to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Teeth 'N' Smiles review: Self Esteem is the British female rock star we never had
Rebecca Lucy Taylor (AKA Self Esteem) fills a British Janis Joplin-sized hole in revived play.
It's very common when imagining the world of '60s rock and roll, to conjure up an image tainted with Hollywood glamour. To see the life of drink, drugs and sex while travelling on the road through the rose-tinted lens of an Annie Leibovitz photoshoot. So it's unbelievably refreshing when you get a rather more British take on it, that is a seedy, unkempt, patchwork version, that literally reeks of cigar smoke and every single thing on stage is brown. This is the world of David Hare's Teeth 'N' Smiles, a play originally written in 1975 when the idealistic world of classic rock was fading into raw defiance of punk, when, as Hare puts it, conversations about "civil rights and the radical overhaul of society" had become "drinkers talking about themselves and their relationships". The premise is simple and based on a real-world instance, when The Rolling Stones, at the peak of fame, were booked to perform at an Oxford University ball, leading him to the question: what happens when you put the dry, cynical world of rock and roll in the stately setting of a posh university? It is here we meet the cult band Maggie Frisby and the Skins, playing three sets at the Jesus College May Ball at Cambridge University on a night when everything, particularly Maggie, seems to be disintegrating. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/03/31.-TEETH-N-SMILES.-Noah-Weatherby-Inch-Rebecca-Lucy-Taylor-Maggie-Samuel-Jordan-Smegs-and-Jojo-Macari-Peyote.-Photo-by-Helen-Murray-a0da0b6.jpg" width="5919" height="3946" alt="Teeth 'n' Smiles by David Hare ; Production ; Cast: Rebecca Lucy Taylor, Michael Fox, Phil Daniels, Michael Abubakar, Roman Asde, Bill Caple, Joseph Evans, Damien James, Samuel Jordan, Aysha Kala, Jojo Macari, Gregor Milne, Christopher Patrick Nolan, Noah Weatherby, Guy Amos, Daniel Crespin, Levi Heaton ; Director: Daniel Raggett ; Assistant Director: George Jibson ; Casting Director: Bryony Jarvis Taylor CDG ; Writer: David Hare ; Music: Nick Bicât ; Lyrics: Tony Bicât ; Additional Music and Lyrics: Rebecca Lucy Taylor ; Set Designer: Chloe Lamford ; Costume Designer: Alex Mullins ; Lighting Designer: Matt Daw ; Sound Designers: Ben and Max Ringham ; Music Supervisor: Liam Godwin ; Duke of York's Theatre ; 12 March 2026 ; Credit and Copyright: Helen Murray ; www.helenmurrayphotos.com" title="31. TEETH 'N' SMILES. Noah Weatherby (Inch), Rebecca Lucy Taylor (Maggie), Samuel Jordan (Smegs) and Jojo Macari (Peyote). Photo by Helen Murray" /> Rebecca Lucy Taylor (AKA singer Self Esteem) leads the gig and, to start, she is utterly flawless. Her performance as a bedraggled, suffering Maggie, who navigates a comedown, lost love and the existential crisis that she's never made it to the big leagues, is pure magic. She carries all the energy and magnetism of a Janis Joplin or a Stevie Nicks leading us to question how many rock and roll women went under the radar back then. Her performance brings a spark of life to the stage every time she appears and her vocals – which I'll come back to – are second to none. Also a highlight was Jojo Macari as the tragically comic Peyote, who easily drew the eye in most scenes thanks in part to an incredible array of bright costumes. He and the rest of the band members had a zingy chemistry with plenty of bouncy back-and-forth. Michael Fox's Arthur was also a strong presence on stage, as the band's songwriter he represented the more privileged, intellectualised side of '60s idealism that came across as effectively (and I hope intentionally) insufferable. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/03/39.-TEETH-N-SMILES.-Michael-Fox-Arthur-and-Phil-Daniels-Saraffian.-Photo-by-Helen-Murray-aa01717.jpg" width="6000" height="4000" alt="Teeth 'n' Smiles by David Hare ; Production ; Cast: Rebecca Lucy Taylor, Michael Fox, Phil Daniels, Michael Abubakar, Roman Asde, Bill Caple, Joseph Evans, Damien James, Samuel Jordan, Aysha Kala, Jojo Macari, Gregor Milne, Christopher Patrick Nolan, Noah Weatherby, Guy Amos, Daniel Crespin, Levi Heaton ; Director: Daniel Raggett ; Assistant Director: George Jibson ; Casting Director: Bryony Jarvis Taylor CDG ; Writer: David Hare ; Music: Nick Bicât ; Lyrics: Tony Bicât ; Additional Music and Lyrics: Rebecca Lucy Taylor ; Set Designer: Chloe Lamford ; Costume Designer: Alex Mullins ; Lighting Designer: Matt Daw ; Sound Designers: Ben and Max Ringham ; Music Supervisor: Liam Godwin ; Duke of York's Theatre ; 12 March 2026 ; Credit and Copyright: Helen Murray ; www.helenmurrayphotos.com" title="39. TEETH 'N' SMILES. Michael Fox (Arthur) and Phil Daniels (Saraffian). Photo by Helen Murray" /> This clashing, however, is where the show sometimes came undone. When blending the earthy, uncouth nature of drug-fuelled band-life with summer of love-style philosophy, the dialogue becomes choppy and sees characters go on "deep" tangents that don't really serve anyone but the play's own self-image. This leads to a bit too much hopping around for my liking, especially in act 2, when I was craving more music and more Rebecca Lucy Taylor over the endless monologues. Any faults, however, were vanished entirely from stage when the music started and a kind of raw magic began. The songs from Maggie Frisby and the Skins's set were originally written by Nick Bicât and Tony Bicât, with new music and lyrics from Taylor, and they were just perfect. The sound was beautifully authentic with the singers adapting their voices to resemble the classic raspy tones of the likes of The Who, Fleetwood Mac and The Rolling Stones. My biggest takeaway from the show is the hope that an album will be released after its run, because I would bet most casual music fans would be unable to tell the difference. Teeth 'N' Smiles will play at the Duke of York's Theatre until June 2026. Tickets are available now at ATG Tickets. Buy Teeth 'N' Smiles tickets at ATG Tickets Plus, here's our Romeo & Juliet review. Make sure you also check out our full guide to the best West End shows and our story of how Shakespeare ended up on an EasyJet flight.
Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen review: Netflix's blood-soaked thriller values gore over lore
The Night Manager star Camila Morrone steals the show in Netflix's new horror.
Ever witnessed a wedding where a happily ever after just doesn't seem on the cards? Netflix's blood-soaked new horror series takes that fear to the extreme, shouting from the rooftops with every title card, that Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen by the end of its eight episodes. You can't say you weren't warned... A week before their wedding, Rachel Harkin (Camila Morrone) and Nicky Cunningham (Adam DiMarco) travel to Summer House, the ancestral home of Nicky's family. But multiple strange happenings plague the couple on the way there, leaving Rachel, in particular, more than a little on edge at the beginning of her wedding week. Things only get more unsettling when they get to Summer House and meet the rest of Nicky's imposing family, including his parents, whose marriage he idolises, brutally honest brother Jules (Jeff Wilbusch) and his no-nonsense wife Nell (Karla Crome), larger-than-life sister Portia (Gus Birney), and quiet and watchful nephew Jude (Sawyer Fraser). As Rachel gets closer to her big day, she's filled with an unmistakable sense of dread. But surely everything will be fine once she and Nicky get married, right? Right? Created by Hayley Z Boston and executive produced by the Duffer brothers, marking their first release since Stranger Things, Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen makes for a thrilling watch, perfect for a rainy weekend binge. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/03/SomethingVeryBadIsGoingtoHappennS1E500364616R-0273a13-e1774016662478.jpg" width="2700" height="1800" alt="Camila Morrone as Rachel Harkin, Adam DiMarco as Nicky Cunningham in Something Very Bad is Going to Happen" title="Camila Morrone as Rachel Harkin, Adam DiMarco as Nicky Cunningham in Something Very Bad is Going to Happen" /> It's an interesting premise from showrunner Boston, which taps into fears that have been unintentionally instilled into many from a young age about choosing the right person to marry - and what may happen if we get that wrong. The eight-part series is perfectly paced and wastes no time in throwing us into the action, never getting dull while taking its time to show the events of the week in all their gory glory. The best episode slows things right down, focusing in on the events of the wedding morning, to give us a frantic real time view of Rachel's unhinged experience. Plus, its a stellar showcase of its talented ensemble cast. Shining Vale star Birney puts on a brilliantly amplified show as Portia. She somehow manages to not overdo it, while still completely running with her caricature of a character, who gets more and more antagonistic as the series goes on. Morone, however, best known for her roles in Daisy Jones & The Six and The Night Manager, is the star of the show, giving an enthralling depiction as Rachel. By gradually revealing titbits about Rachel's past, Boston's writing gives us an innate understanding of who she is, with Morone easily bringing charm, wit, and a bit of edge to the character, effectively placing her awkwardly on the outside of the Cunningham family. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/03/SomethingVeryBadIsGoingtoHappenn00005712R-789829c-e1774016732693.jpg" width="2700" height="1800" alt="Karla Crome as Nell, Jeff Wilbusch as Jules, Gus Birney as Portia, Jennifer Jason Leigh as Victoria, Ted Levine as Boris, Adam DiMarco as Nicky Cunningham, Camila Morrone as Rachel Harkin in Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen" title="Karla Crome as Nell, Jeff Wilbusch as Jules, Gus Birney as Portia, Jennifer Jason Leigh as Victoria, Ted Levine as Boris, Adam DiMarco as Nicky Cunningham, Camila Morrone as Rachel Harkin in Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen." /> It's also refreshing to see showrunner Boston's vision come through so clearly, especially when it comes to the visual identity of the show. Of course, a wedding is a feast for the eyes and it's been used here to its fullest extent, resulting in beautiful creative choices from Boston and her directors. That's helped a lot by how unflinching the show is in its horror elements. This show does not hold back on the gore and it's all the better for it, upping the bloodshed notch by notch, almost to ridiculous levels, to ensure we know, by the very end, that no one is safe. But such care being taken with the visual identity of the show is a double-edged sword, as it exposes some flaws in the storytelling. For one, Nicky's character feels incomplete. Despite being one of the main characters, he's by far the least interesting character in his own family and, by the end of the series, it doesn't feel like we know enough about him - a pretty big issue considering how much the series hinges on him and his relationship. View oEmbed on the source website Some of the show's lore also just doesn't feel fleshed out enough. Midway through the series, a crucial secret is revealed, something which proves game-changing for the entire show. But, after so much speculation, the actual reveal falls a little flat and it doesn't feel like we dig into it quite enough, particularly when it comes to elements like Zlatko Burić's crucial role. In many ways, Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen acknowledges and pays homage to the horror that's come before it - an admirable mission, but one that also reminds us of how good the genre can truly be. One memorable scene specifically serves as a reminder of Netflix's storied history with horror TV, particularly of Mike Flanagan's work on hits like The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass, which Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen struggles to live up to. But while it doesn't quite reach the heights it could have, this new addition to Netflix's horror roster should still earn a place in your weekend viewing. Just think carefully about who you have sitting next to you as you watch it, for, how well do you really know them? Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen is released on Netflix on Thursday 26 March. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media. Add Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. 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Bait review: Riz Ahmed's Bond-themed comedy is a stroke of hilarious, introspective genius
There are some serious laughs and deep thinking to be done with Bait.
*Warning: This article contains spoilers for Bait.* When it comes to comedy, many TV fans may not immediately suggest Riz Ahmed as the first choice for a series frontman that has major funny chops. With previous critically acclaimed roles in the likes of The Night Of, Sound of Metal, Rogue One and Mogul Mowgli, Ahmed is no stranger to the screen or a powerful, multilayered role. But as for whether the majority of his characters have left us in fits of laughter on the floor? Not quite as much. It's clear the actor and rapper is known for picking roles and productions that show off a range of experiences and stories but in Bait, Ahmed has not only crafted a story that is equal parts funny and introspective, but it's clear to see that the actor is having some serious fun in this lane of his career. So much so that after watching, you may start to wonder just why he hasn't been cast in more comedies. Prior to its release, Bait got Bond back on people's brains as the trailer renewed interest in the infamous franchise and the state of its future. No longer were people wondering who the next 007 was because it looked as though Ahmed was pitching himself to be the iconic spy in his new meta project. While Bait could easily stand as an extended audition tape for Ahmed to take on the title role (one that I personally wholeheartedly support), Bond is simply a plot device here that opens up the door to a whole world of deep, contemplative thinking. Laughs are to be had in plentiful supply, but the great thing here is the red herring of Bait. It's not simply just a six-parter that will leave you laughing out loud – a rare feat, it seems like these days – but it's tackling of wider themes may even leave you wondering about the persona you show up as on any given day. We follow Ahmed as struggling actor Shah Latif as he embarks on the dream of a lifetime – getting the chance to audition to be the next James Bond. While he fudges the audition, he's later informed by a runner that press are camping outside the studio, intent on churning the rumour mill that we know all too well in the real world. So, like any man with a plan, Shah makes it his mission to get in front of the camera and be papped leaving the building, all in a bid to be invited back to re-audition. What ensues is akin to complete pandemonium as headlines start labelling Shah as the next franchise leader, cultural critics and faceless social media users wade into the debate of having a Pakistani Bond. We've lived through similar in recent times as the world continues to postulate on who will be the next 007. We've had debates about gender, race and the like, with the lingering question mark over the future of Bond only fuelling further division if the internet starts to entertain the idea of this fictional character not being white, straight and male. The ludicrousness of it all is showcased in Bait as Shah now has to reckon with a world that doesn't actually want him to play Bond, despite this being the career jump he's only ever dreamed of. It can't quite be 2026 without everyone having an opinion about something and that herd mentality only gets set alight in a big way as Shah is on the receiving end of online hate and commentators who can't think of anything worse than Shah encapsulating the Ian Fleming-penned character. Where friends and family offer some support, others (Shah's ex-girlfriend) start voicing their ideas around whether a Brown actor taking on a neo-colonial British character like Bond isn't quite the woke move that many may think it is. Soon, everything starts escalating in the way of any good spy thriller, with Shah finding himself being a central character in one of his own. At just six episodes, things move at such a heady pace that you can't help but be impressed at all the charisma, charm and plot development that is crammed into each 25-minute instalment. While many may think this is just a comedy about the churn of the media mill that pokes fun at Bond, Bait is so much more than you may think – and it's a wonderful surprise to watch it all unfold. Shah goes from being relatively unknown to realising that he's living in one big, extended audition himself. 'Who are you, really?' is the kind of question I imagine being central to the brainstorming session for this series, with Bait gleefully not really providing any answers. More so, it's a reflection on what it means to balance every facet of your identity and what it can also look like to lose yourself in the process of that. He wants nothing more than to be an 'artist', but with eye rolls coming from industry peers and family members at the mention of the word, what does it mean in today's climate to be one? And more importantly, at what cost does it come to be one that you can look back at in the mirror with pride? Those questions and more form the basis of Bait's more out-there concepts as we see Shah speak (quite literally) to his inner voice, which is embodied in the form a pig's head. It's a bold move for the show and may divide some viewers, veering on the surreal and outlandish. Bait is a series that doesn't take itself too seriously despite wading into several thorny topics, and the pig's head is simply an extension of that – even if it may jar some out of the viewing experience at times. While it may have been a tad random in some aspects, it's also an example of the way that Bait isn't a show that fits neatly into any margins. Where many comedies these days feel more drama than straight comedy, Bait packs in all the quick wit and quibbles of any great sitcom, especially in Ahmed's triumphant scenes with his on-screen family, namely Shah's cousin Zulfi, who is brilliantly embodied by Guz Khan. Throw in brief but superb performances by Himesh Patel, Rafe Spall, Weruche Opia and Sian Clifford, and we've got a veritable treat of a cast. The third dedicated Eid episode and the fourth more romantic Brick Lane-based instalment are particular highlights to look forward to, with things only getting more bonkers the more we career through the snappy six episodes. Ahmed is so comfortably at home within this series, which has been an idea whirring round in his mind for more than a decade now. Releasing it while the world waits on tenterhooks to find out who Bond actually will be is a stroke of genius that only underlines why public fascination with big franchise characters is so out-of-hand and almost dystopian. Ahmed may have gone too meta to warrant a serious Bond callback from the powers-that-be but if anything, Bait stands on its own two feet to demonstrate that Ahmed can craft a thoroughly enjoyable comedy and that it's one that I personally will be crossing my fingers for more of. Bait is coming to Prime Video on Wednesday 25 March 2026. Sign up for a 30-day free trial of Prime Video and pay £8.99 a month after that. Add Bait to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole review: Nordic noir series plays the grim hits but fails to stand out
Nesbø's series feels like a surefire hit — one that was made 15 years ago.
In the early 2010s, the entire world saw a Nordic noir boom, as the incredibly popular Scandinavian literary trend came to screens around the globe. The distinctive traits of the crime fiction sub-genre are as follows - each entry into it tends to follow a morally complex, troubled protagonist, who has a distinct knack for solving crimes amid a Scandinavian backdrop. They are also known for their presentation of particularly brutal violence and for their bleak, dark tone. With shows like The Killing and The Bridge dominating conversation, it wasn't long before America and the UK tried to get on board the trend. A US adaptation of one of Jo Nesbø's acclaimed Harry Hole books, The Snowman, was released in 2017 and was resoundingly panned. Now, almost 10 years on, comes a second attempt to bring Harry, one of Nordic noir's most famous figures, to the screen. This time around, the adaptation is from Netflix, and they're going right back to the source. A nine-part series, Detective Hole is a Norwegian series, which has been created by Nesbø himself. Naturally, hopes are high that this will be the adaptation which does the character, and the novels, justice. Now, I'm in the position of not having read any of Nesbø's novels, so it's hard for me to say what the reaction will be from die-hard fans. However, from everything I do know, this is very much in keeping with the spirit of the novels, and is certainly a prime example of the Nordic noir genre on screen. For many, that can only be a good thing. Unfortunately, it's also what stops the series from reaching beyond its literary and filmic inheritance. To set the stage, this first season of Detective Hole is an adaptation, specifically of Nesbø's fifth novel in the Harry Hole series, The Devil's Star. It follows Harry, played by Tobias Santelmann, a tormented recovering alcoholic who is an iconic figure in the Oslo police force - respected for his crime solving skills, but known for his difficult temperament. One of the officers he works alongside is Tom Waaler. The duo are long-time adversaries, as Harry has always suspected Waaler's corruption, despite the fact that he's never been able to prove it. Waaler has his own idea of justice, and as an investigation into a serial killer attacking women across the city kicks off, he and Harry will go head to head. The first thing Detective Hole gets right is its central characters. The likes of Pia Tjelta and Ellen Helinder take on key roles ably, but in many ways this is a two-hander between Tobias Santelmann as Harry and Joel Kinnaman as Waaler. Santelmann is perfectly cast as Harry, with a grizzled, tough exterior that makes him utterly believable as this determined man who has been beaten down by life, while also retaining a tenderness, particularly in scenes with his girlfriend Rakel and her son Oleg. No matter how poorly he behaves or how one-track his mind is, he is always an empathetic character who you can't help but route for - in direct contrast to Waaler. Speaking of Waaler, Kinnaman has never been better than he is here. A truly twisted, slimy and thrillingly complex figure, Waaler is the show's most interesting asset and the perfect foil for Harry in this first season. Kinnaman goes to some extreme places here, and it's never anything less than captivating to watch. The battle between these two forces is easily the best aspect of the nine-part series, which also (of course) features an overarching serial killer storyline. This storyline leans into everything you'd expect from this sort of series, and in doing so brings the tense, chilling atmosphere the genre is synonymous with, even if it is set during the sun-dappled height of summer. The kills are numerous (seriously, there are a lot of murders) and they're all absolutely stomach churning. Your appreciation for the genre's excesses in that regard will be a good determination for how well you get on with Detective Hole. The twists and turns are frequent, yet impressively the narrative is always relatively easy to follow and grab a hold of. It doesn't feel wilfully misleading, confusing and obtuse in the way some crime dramas revel in their complexities. It also has to be said, that a reveal near the end of the series made me literally gasp out loud and sit up in my chair - always a good sign that a mystery has stuck the landing. View Green Video on the source website The most recent series this could be compared to is perhaps Dept. Q, Netflix's Edinburgh-based series, which itself was based on a Nordic noir book series by Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen. There are differences for sure - Dept. Q features far more comedy than Detective Hole, which has an almost pitch black tone the entire way through, and only glimmers of levity. However, there are far more similarities here, from the maverick, socially difficult and troubled cop at the centre, dealing with a traumatic past mistake in a case, through to the dulled visual colour palette and the grimness of the subject matter. The two series also share an unfortunately crucial flaw in that, at nine episodes a piece, they both run for far too long. Like Dept. Q's first season, this first run of Detective Hole stretches what feels like a perfect six-episode story into a nine-episode block, meaning the pacing often drags and beats repeat themselves. This is no doubt a problem, but perhaps a bigger issue is the fact that the show never does anything which feels particularly new or innovative. It might feel unfair to accuse Detective Hole of this - after all, the first of Nesbø's novels came out in 1997, at a time in which it probably did feel fresh, new and daring. Even if the series were to have come out 15 years ago, or in place of the 2017 Michael Fassbender film, it may still have felt relevant and current. In today's environment, it feels like it's playing the beats of a well-worn genre. It's doing them well, and fans will likely be delighted, but for everyone else, the series is likely to feel more like a overlong diversion, a crime drama which fills the time, but which in no way stands out from the ever-increasing crowd. Detective Hole is coming to Netflix on Thursday 26 March 2026. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream. 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Summerfolk review: Gorky's biting class satire is more relevant now than ever
Alex Lawther shines in this new adaptation of Gorky's ever-relevant oeuvre.
A large group of petty bourgeoisie clothed in white sit beside a lake in the heat. They drink, they complain and they argue, leaving a trail of chaos in their wake and expecting the working people of the resort they summer in to pick up after them. While you'd be forgiven for thinking this is a scene from The White Lotus, this is, in fact, Summerfolk, a play written by Maxim Gorky in 1904. Give the modern prevalence of "eat the rich" films (Parasite, Triangle of Sadness, The Menu, Saltburn etc), right now feels like a very appropriate time for a revival of Gorky's biting class satire. With a cast of mostly shallow, rich characters bickering in luxurious summer surroundings while the world around them is on the brink of collapse, Summerfolk slots right in. At first glance, an early 20th century long Russian play with a large and complex cast of characters may not exactly seem relatable to the 2020s. However, Nina and Moses Raine's new adaptation makes the satire feel both fresh and relatable. Gorky's work deals with the preoccupations of the intelligentsia right before the Russian Revolution; affairs, loveless marriages, opinions on lacklustre poetry. At times, we the audience, as a fly on the wall, can see deeper into the darker side of the upper middle class psyche of the time; from the male characters' rampant misogyny to Pyotr's disdain for his own working class origins. Gorky and the Raine siblings have worked in tandem to create a hilarious and affecting script, stuffed with terrific one-liners and expertly-placed expletives, without shying away from the darker elements. It's impossible not to draw parallels between Summerfolk's underlying sense of political and social unease and the churning anxiety present in our current world. These eerie similarities mean that this contemporary production speaks to the timelessness of theatre. Despite being reduced by an hour, Summerfolk still boasts a hefty run-time. While the first half effortlessly flies by, the production begins to show its runtime more in the second half, as repeated arguments lead it to losing a little steam. However, this is buoyed by stellar performances, as the cast boasts excellent comedic timing, transforming even singular words into laugh-out-loud moments. It's difficult to decide which cast members to highlight; Paul Ready's Sergei is infuriating and odious with a gravelly voice and grating laugh, Doon Mackichan's Kaleria is a hilariously pitiable woo-woo figure with a penchant for cringey poetry, and Sophie Rundle's Varvara manages to perfectly strike the balance between aloofness and likability. However, the standout has to be Alex Lawther, whose sharp, anguished and deeply funny Vlass reads like a strange cross between Charles Bukowski and Robin Williams. The crowning glory of this production has to be the Peter Mackintosh set. It's somewhat spartan and cleverly utilitarian during the first half, combined with Paul Pyant's excellent lighting to evoke hazy summer days. However, when the lights go down for the second half, the true genius of the set is revealed in what is sure to be some of the most spectacular staging to grace the Olivier. A previously unseen curtain goes up to reveal the true magnitude of the stage, which has been transformed into a large pier surrounded by a river – yes, an actual river on stage. One particular breath-takingly clever use of the set led to an audience-wide gasp – but we're offering no spoilers here. All in all, Summerfolk is a prime example of what the National Theatre excels at: lush revivals giving older epics a breath of fresh air. This production is a relevant, engaging and hilarious night for both seasoned and novice theatre-goers; plus, it's worth seeing it for the set alone. Buy Summerfolk tickets at TodayTix Buy Summerfolk tickets at SeatPlan For more of our thoughts on the latest London theatre, check out our Marie & Rosetta review and our Dracula review. When can I see Summerfolk? Summerfolk is currently on at the Olivier Theatre at the National Theatre on Southbank and will be running until 29 April. Buy Summerfolk tickets at TodayTix Buy Summerfolk tickets at SeatPlan How to get Summerfolk tickets Tickets are currently available at TodayTix and SeatPlan, with plenty of availability left. Buy Summerfolk tickets at TodayTix Buy Summerfolk tickets at SeatPlan In London theatre news, the newly imagined one-act version of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on sale now, plus Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? starring Gillian Anderson is coming to the West End.
Crimson Desert review: Too good to be true? Not entirely
Why have one game when you could have them all?
It's been a while since I've seen a game garner the levels of hype pre-launch that Crimson Desert has managed. By way of a seemingly endless stream of new clips, developer Pearl Abyss has been barraging social media with one new mechanic after another, so much so that the de facto response now appears to be "it's too good to be true, right?" Well, having got to grips with Crimson Desert, I can say that while on the mechanics front, Crimson Desert does what it says on the tin, that doesn't mean it's all it's all it's cracked up to be. Crimson Desert is an action-adventure game set on the continent of Pywel. Playing as the Greymane warrior Kliff, you scour the continent for your scattered comrades, navigating warring factions and mythical forces on your path to seek your vengeance. At this point, what most people know of Crimson Desert is that it appears to have incorporated every game mechanic under the sun. You've got your classic melee, ranged and magic combat of any medieval action adventure, but that's supplemented by a deep skill tree that offers a huge amount of flexibility, unlocking entire new moves and combo systems. The game also takes a fascinating approach to learning new moves, in that Kliff must see the move being performed in-game before he can learn them himself, but once you land your first RKO on a goblin, it's all worth it. In many ways, Crimson Desert feels reminiscent of a great number of games. It feels perhaps mean to say that it rips off other titles, but in so many aspects, Crimson Desert doesn't just feel similar to other games, but effectively a total reskin. What Pearl Abyss has done with this game is effectively combine The Witcher 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, sprinkling bits and pieces they liked from other titles in for good measure. You have the huge open world, combat and exploration of The Witcher 3. You have the Sky Islands, physics, and what is essentially Ultrahand from Tears of the Kingdom. You've got a kind of lite parkour reminiscent of Assassin's Creed, character switching of GTA 5. View Green Video on the source website That's before we even get into the fact that it has mining and cooking and hammering tent pegs into the ground with a big mallet which appears to be used for one quest and then never again. Oh, and also flying on a dragon. It's like a greatest hits album compiling all the biggest and best mechanics of the last decade or so. It feels incredibly derivative, but is pulled off so expertly that it's hard not to say "fair enough". Credit where credit's due. Unfortunately, something else Crimson Desert has taken from Tears of the Kingdom is the almost total absence of a story. Crimson Desert has a story, but it feels so loose and inconsequential that it's almost like Pearl Abyss made the entire game and then had to pick up a AAA action-adventure story on the way home. While it does begin to improve the further you get into the game, it never really picks up enough to draw you in and is handily the weakest aspect of the game. I have recently been replaying Final Fantasy 7, and while it's as excellent as ever, one of its most noticeable aspects nearly three decades on is that it tells you absolutely nothing. This is a double-edged sword – on the one hand, at a time when many modern games insist on holding the player's hand at every turn, being forced to do a bit of thinking is a refreshing surprise. Conversely, it can also be exceptionally annoying, in the way that so many old titles can be. Crimson Desert dances upon this line with the same deftness, offering up such a wonderfully freeing approach to gameplay that is no stranger to that same frustration. You are often left to your own devices, given minimal information and expected to simply figure it out. At times, this is excellent, and I have loved properly engaging my brain to progress, but it would be a lie to say I haven't also found it frustrating at times, and I imagine that this will be one of the game's most divisive traits. That same freedom is, however, what allows for Crimson Desert's strongest boon, which is its exploration. Pywel is enormous. Beyond the surface-level exploration of the continent's grassy knolls, deserts and woodland, there are hidden caves, ruins and more to uncover. The world is filled with little things to do dotted around such as bounty posters, miniquests and enemy encampments to clear. Several previews have noted that players have spent dozens of hours in the first area alone, and had I not been beelining the story for this review, I can see how easily I would have been drawn into that situation too. It should be said that much of this content is very light, and reminiscent of the bloat of some of the modern Assassin's Creed titles. It's there if you want it, but once the fun of exploration begins to wane, much of it comes across as filler; content for the sake of content. Overall, Crimson Desert is an interesting game to think about. Because of how heavily it leans towards gameplay at the expense of narrative, it feels like a game that, for the right player, could be played for thousands of hours without getting bored, while for others, it'll be one playthrough and then never picked up again, and I'm very interested to see where players end up falling on that spectrum. But since it does lean so heavily on the gameplay side at the expense of its narrative, it's certainly not going to be for everyone. It would not have been a surprise to see Crimson Desert crumble under the weight of its enormous size and scope, in the way that so many of the most ambitious games do. It is therefore a hugely impressive feat that Pearl Abyss has managed to meld its many moving parts together in such a way that, far from buckling, it stands very strongly indeed. Does Crimson Desert try and do too much? Sometimes. Can the enormous array of gameplay options feel overwhelming, or unnecessary? Certainly. It is lacking majorly in terms of narrative and character development? You betcha. But it is a disservice to Crimson Desert to focus too heavily on these things, as all that serves to do is discredit what is otherwise a technically brilliant title. Crimson Desert is a veritable power fantasy of a game, bringing together some of the best ideas of the last decade of gaming. But while it cribs heavily from its inspirations, it blends everything in such a way that one forgets how derivative it is, forced instead to gaze slack-jawed, in awe at this tremendous feat of game design. Vast, ambitious, overwhelming, beautiful, thrilling, blood-pumping, flawed. There is almost no end to the words I could use to describe Crimson Desert. Boring is not one of them. Crimson Desert releases on 19 March for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. View Green Video on the source website Check out more of our Gaming coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come review – Fun horror sequel elaborates on its predecessor's killer concept
Samara Weaving is joined by a great cast of genre favourites including Elijah Wood, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Kathryn Newton.
Emerging from the flaming wreckage of the first film with more of the same in mind, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come elaborates on its predecessor’s killer concept. Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett return at the helm, with Samara Weaving gritting her teeth and going again, as she slips back into that blood-soaked wedding dress. In the 2019 original, Weaving’s Grace MacCaullay married into the filthy rich Le Domas family only to be forced to play a game on her wedding night with her secretly satanic in-laws. Unluckily for her, it turned out to be the dreaded hide-and-seek – a rarely enacted ritual which involves the new family member being hunted by the entire ghastly group, so that they might be offered as a sacrifice. The sequel picks up exactly where that film left off, following the Le Domas clan’s explosive comeuppance. Grace finds herself a suspect in their deaths, before learning that her survival in the previous game has put her in the sights of the world’s wealthiest families. She’s triggered a clause which means the high-seat on their council and all the power that comes with it, is up for grabs, if one of them can kill her before dawn. If not, Grace can claim the seat for herself. It’s a horrific case of déjà vu for the just-getting-her-breath-back Grace, and this time round she isn’t just fighting for her life, she’s fighting for the life of her estranged sister, Faith (Kathryn Newton), too. Faith happens to be visiting when Grace is captured, and resents her for abandoning her to foster care as a teen. The two are handcuffed together as the game begins, forcing them to confront their issues fast and co-operate. Canadian horror auteur David Cronenberg plays Chester, the head of the powerful Danforth family, with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy, his twin offspring Ursula and Titus, tasked by their father with restoring their family to the high-seat. Elijah Wood is a lawyer overseeing the new game, with Kevin Durand and Néstor Carbonell amongst Grace’s other wealthy adversaries. It’s a fun, John Wick-esque expansion of this world that seems sure to satisfy fans of the first instalment, with curious casual viewers welcomed along for the ride. The twists and turns feel fitting, even if the story is short of really interesting new ideas. Guy Busick and R Christopher Murphy’s script could be sharper, but the film’s visual wit and the zeal of the participants more than makes up for it. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett (who also directed Abigail, 2022’s Scream reboot, and Scream VI) once again plump for the 'more is more' school of filmmaking, executing this follow-up with energy and increased splatter. View Green Video on the source website The original boasted Adam Brody and Andie MacDowell in the supporting cast and Ready or Not 2 savvily surrounds sole returnee Weaving with a cast of genre film favourites, including a devilish Wood, exuberant Kingdom of the Planet Apes alumnus Durand, and not one but two more scream queens in the shape of Newton (star of Freaky, Lisa Frankenstein and Abigail) and, Buffy the Vampire Slayer herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar, in Cruel Intentions mode. The sparky, charismatic Newton pairs well with Weaving, with the sisters' bickering and bonding adding an extra dimension to proceedings. It might not be particularly cerebral stuff, but the relentless jeopardy demands a lot from the pair emotionally and they ground the escalating insanity with their credible, committed work. Weaving, in particular, turns in another beautifully expressive turn; wide-eyed, straggle-haired and bloody magnificent, she runs the gamut from bewildered and frightened to determined and deranged. Grace feels like a role she was born to play, but you’ve really got to pity the character by this point. The time seems right to give the gal a break. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is released in UK cinemas on Friday 20 March 2026. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Project Hail Mary review: Ryan Gosling charms in science fiction with a reassuring soul
This adaptation of Andy Weir's novel is by no means the most original movie – but there's much joy to be had.
The last time Ryan Gosling blasted off into space was in the guise of Neil Armstrong heading for the moon in 2018’s First Man, making it home again before the milk in his fridge had gone off. Project Hail Mary is a considerably longer voyage into the unknown that sees Gosling’s mild-mannered science teacher Dr Ryland Grace on a fictional mission with significantly greater stakes than the one embarked upon by NASA’s real-life history maker. Exactly how long it’s been thus far when Ryland awakens on a spaceship isn’t immediately clear, certainly not to the hippy-haired, shaggy-bearded doc himself who’s suffering from amnesia; the most he can surmise is that he’s “several light years from my apartment” and all his fellow crew members have died. The bewildered traveller’s temporary memory loss is a tidy device, setting up a succession of patchy recollections to serve as flashbacks explaining how he got where he is and what’s happening back on Earth to have made the trip necessary; the sun is dying from a constant bombardment of parasitical extraterrestrial bacteria, and the key to avoiding mass extinction may just lie in a seemingly immune star at the far end of the galaxy. It’s good to get the premise-establishing science stuff out of the way in one sentence, as Project Hail Mary is by no means a film reliant on swathes of technological hokum (Ryland’s on-board problem-solving is framed in the playful manner of middle school classroom exercises), and more a family-friendly, intrinsically human story. Not entirely human, though, as our plucky but still a bit fuzzy-headed hero discovers a creature in the same planet-in-peril boat, or rather a massive craft that dwarfs Ryland’s own; a spider-ish being whose body appears to be comprised of several rough-hewn stones. He decides to call him Rocky. Language barriers are slowly overcome until viewers twig that what they’re watching is, in fact, a buddy movie in all but name, with a personality that could feasibly lay claim to being cinema’s most heartwarming cross-species bromance since Elliott touched fingers with ET. It’s a valid parallel, as the film is riddled with Spielberg-like wonderment (as opposed to the colder, convoluted likes of, say, Armageddon or Interstellar), and cruises along on the innate charm of Gosling, effortlessly hopping between puppy-dog helplessness and steely potential saviour of humankind. Co-directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller cut their teeth in animation (The Lego Movie, the Oscar-winning Spiderman: Into The Spider-Verse), and the duo’s talent for the wittily fantastical transfers well to what is only a second live-action feature, helped enormously by the quality of the source material. View Green Video on the source website Screenwriter Drew Goddard’s previous adaptation of an Andy Weir novel was 2015’s crowd-pleasing The Martian, and there’s much of the earlier film’s Matt Damon central character in Gosling’s Ryland, both retaining a keenly honed sense of the absurd when confronted with supposedly insurmountable obstacles. On Earth, Sandra Huller provides a solid sparring partner for Gosling as the pragmatic project leader who figuratively dragged Ryland away from his cosy, non-life-threatening day job in the first place, employing deadpan humour to manage her recruit while impressing upon him the enormity of the task ahead. With a running time north of two-and-a-half hours, it’s perhaps a touch longer than it needs to be, although it’s nonetheless a tale well told and only intermittently sags; even then, it’s rarely for more than a few minutes before the ever charismatic Gosling rights the ship, either when going it alone or as part of the marvellous Ryland and Rocky show. It’s by no means the most original movie ever made and there are plenty of opportunities to play spot the reference, but they arguably serve as unashamedly affectionate celebrations of the myriad joys out-of-this-world popcorn fare has brought us over the years. This is science fiction with a reassuring soul, where the sombre comes bearing a smile, and the vastness of space is never quite so scary when you’re sharing it with a new pal. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Claudia Winkleman Show review: Was there any doubt we'd be in good hands?
There's a new Friday night chat show host in town!
It's only been a matter of days since Claudia Winkleman was last on our TV screens, thanks to Crufts, but tonight marked the first time we truly saw her in her element. Announced late last year, fresh off of The Celebrity Traitors high, the BBC announced that Winkleman would host her very own chat show, made by the same production company behind The Graham Norton Show. It's important to not draw comparisons between the two, because despite the same Friday night slot, Winkleman brings her well-known and much-loved flair to the sofa. The studio is impressive, and offers a very Traitors vibe, thanks to the dark teal colour of the sofas – as was correctly guessed by guest Jennifer Saunders. Though, despite the nod to the reality series, Winkleman carves herself out as a worthy chat show host – not just as the host of The Traitors who also happens to front a chat show. Over the course of her career, Winkleman has always had a level of professionalism, swagger and self-deprecating humour that many of the nation has grown to love, including those in attendance of the recording. From the off, her interactions with the audience gave viewers an idea of what was to come, and throughout the episode, she manages to weave in plenty of audience interaction to accompany the anecdotes of the celebrities. But is the show perhaps too reliant on its audiences participation? While, sure, the celebrities may know the stories they plan to tell ahead of time, too many audience members who just so happen to have a story or relation to the anecdote each episode could make it feel a little too staged. Where Winkleman excels in off-script moments (see: Celia Imrie's flatulence), it'd be a shame to not have more go-with-the-flow moments between her and the celebrities. Tonight's line-up included Jeff Goldblum, Jennifer Saunders, Vanessa Williams and Tom Allen, all of whom had great stories to tell and plenty of charisma to keep the show moving, but it was Winkleman who was able to keep the show on track smoothly, ensuring each of them had ample time to discuss their projects. A standout in particular was Tom Allen, as the comedian recalled the time he bought furniture and was asked if he had a nightstand, much to the bemusement of of Goldblum, who wasn't quite sure what a nightstand was. Future line-up offerings include Joanne McNally, Guz Khan and Niall Horan, followed by Lisa Kudrow, Jimmy Carr and Chase Infiniti in episode 3. It's clear from the launch episode that Winkleman has a way with celebrities, with each appearing to be at ease and genuinely happy to be there – something we know the presenter does all too well. From her history in the Clauditorium chatting away with celebrities and the professional dancers after a performance, to comforting players in The Traitors when it all becomes too much in the turret, Winkleman is able to bring out the best stories and personality in people, something we've all been privy to over the years. Though in a completely different set up to the Strictly ballroom or The Traitors castle, Claudia Winkleman holds her own in her first chat show outing. But was there any doubt we'd be in safe hands? The Claudia Winkleman Show continues on Friday 20 March at 10:40pm on BBC One and iPlayer. Add The Claudia Winkleman Show to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Reminders of Him review: A heartfelt but ordinary addition to the Colleen Hoover canon
A largely run-of-the-mill romantic drama – but not without its charms.
Colleen Hoover’s third book adaptation probably isn't anything that we weren’t expecting. Directed by Vanessa Caswill, Reminders of Him has all the everyday, hallmark features of the constantly expanding Hooververse – a great cast, a light tug on the heartstrings and enough cheesiness to clog the arteries. Reminders of Him puts the usually blood-soaked Maika Monroe in a role far removed from the laboured-breathing, scream queen territory she’s usually found. This time around, she plays Kenna Rowan, a young woman who has recently been released from prison following an unthinkable, tragic mistake involving her boyfriend Scotty (Rudy Pankow). She returns to town hoping for a chance at redemption and, most importantly, to be reunited with the daughter she barely knows. Though Hoover has previously mentioned she deliberately set the story in an ambiguous location – if the guitar strumming, country-infused soundtrack is anything to go by, we appear to be in a small town somewhere in a southern state. And if that didn’t quite make it clear, there’s also a debut film role for Grammy award-winning country artist and Yellowstone alum Lainey Wilson, who pops up in a handful of welcome scenes as Kenna’s friend Amy to remind us Kenna may in fact have a Heart Like a Truck. The film’s cast is perhaps its greatest saving grace. Monroe is, expectedly, a natural fit for Kenna. With so much tragedy in Kenna’s past, Monroe draws on her horror pedigree to weave threads of tension and sympathy into a performance that without her would likely not have commanded quite as much attention. Monroe has long had a knack for stealing the screen, and here she manages to elevate the occasional early noughties, straight-to-DVD energy of the film with some natural charisma. Meanwhile, Withers offers a spin of the ‘rough-around-the-edges-but-still-a-nice-guy’ archetype in the form of Ledger, the bar owner Kenna finds herself involved with. Previously best known for his leading role in Justin Tipping’s Him (2025), Withers finds some comfortable footing here as a potential future heartthrob. He quickly builds some convincing chemistry with Monroe, such that you are entertained throughout by the prospect of their sometimes nonsensical, half-forbidden love story. Gilmore Girls’ beloved Lauren Graham and the Emmy award-winning Bradley Whitford are also convincing in their supporting roles, as well as Zoe Kosovic as Diem – who steers clear of many of the familiar child actor clichés and comes off as relatively heartwarming in her scenes. There’s enough decency in the cast to strengthen what would otherwise be a fairly basic script – occasionally awkward dialogue and all. The story itself is also engaging enough. An emotional tale of a mother wanting to reunite with her child is almost always going to carry the potential to be at least a little impactful. Reminders of Him never escapes being predictable, yet somehow manages to spark curiosity in its audience – a desire to see the final moments play out; to learn how and when Kenna might be reunited with the daughter she obviously deserves to be with. Visually, the film is also simplistic but pleasant, offering some cozy, southern state, golden hour sunsets and warm colouring – as well as (as Monroe put it) a ‘great orange truck’. It’s nothing wildly adventurous, but it slots itself decently within the wider atmosphere of the film. View Green Video on the source website Reminders of Him also sticks closely to its source material. While there are some tweaks in how the relationship between Kenna and Ledger unfolds – changes that sometimes act in the film’s detriment – it also manages to successfully sidestep certain, more eye-roll moments of the book (such as the slightly silly explanation for the name of Kenna’s daughter, Diem). For better or for worse, fans of the original novel are bound to be pleased with the film's recreation. Reminders of Him isn’t about to reinvent the romantic drama wheel – won't even spin it, in fact – and will find its most enthusiastic audience among self-titled-era Swifties rather than die-hard cinephiles. What it does offer, though, is 114 minutes of saccharine, guilty pleasure – a film that manages to well balance some stereotypical fluff with a sweet little tale of family, forgiveness and love. It’s inoffensive, tear-jerking, easy watching that, just like the rest the CoHo canon, will probably do just fine at the box office. Reminders of Him will be released in cinemas on Friday 13 March 2026. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
A Woman of Substance review: Brenda Blethyn isn’t the only scene-stealer in this rompy remake
Jessica Reynolds is a captivating tour-de-force in this '80s remake.
After 14 years helming ITV crime drama Vera in her signature hat and mac, many Brenda Blethyn fans will undoubtedly be tuning into A Woman of Substance to see the actress in an entirely different kind of role. A vision of complete glamour in the show's trailer and promo images, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Blethyn is the only leading lady in this new Channel 4 drama – but actually, she gets a lot less airtime than many may think. Instead, it's very much a series that I think calls for Jessica Reynolds's (House of Guinness) name to be mentioned whenever anyone wonders who is helming the adaptation. The pair both embody lead character Emma Harte, with Reynolds driving the series in the focal point era of Emma's story. Blethyn, on the other hand, is an apt central force for the drama, bookending episodes and grounding us in the hopes that Emma does achieve all she sets out to do. Her scenes are mainly in her New York headquarters of her business empire, wrestling with the very real fact that by ensuring her children have never had to want for anything, they may have ended up a tad spoilt. For many, this will be their first touchpoint with A Woman of Substance and for plenty others, they will hold fond memories of the 1985 three-parter that also aired on Channel 4 at the time. Based on Barbara Taylor Bradford’s 1979 novel of the same name, this series has been created by The Buccaneers's Katherine Jakeways, who clearly knows a thing or two about crafting a steamy period drama. In the era of shows like The Buccaneers, Bridgerton and The Gilded Age, as well as the much talked-about Emerald Fennell adaptation of Wuthering Heights currently in cinemas, there's much talk about the current racier edge to period pieces. Creating productions with the female gaze at the forefront of the ideation process has sure been a long time coming and while that's a subject I could wax lyrical about at any time of day, it's clear to see that A Woman of Substance is a relatable production that has been cleverly crafted by a female-led team. Not only that, but it's a show that leans into its sexiness and melodrama – something that period dramas should do by the bucket load. We have sensual boudoir scenes and the usual kind of bodice-ripping we'd expect of the genre, but we also have the more risqué as the show utilises a Yorkshire cliffside cave as a location for one of Emma and Edwin's dalliances. The scenes don't necessarily hold as much tension or yearning as perhaps some of the aforementioned releases, but it's all rather fun anyway. These days, there won't be many of us that will be able to sympathise with being the maid of a stately British home but when you zoom out, the story of Emma's is one that is really all about the often undermined and disrespected underdog. While we all know in which direction this story goes – with Emma falling in love with one of the masters of the house, Edwin – you almost want to will her not to fall for his affections. But alas, we would have no story. And that's the very thing about A Woman of Substance that makes it such an enjoyable and engaging watch. We know exactly how the story is going to pan out from the very fact that we see Blethyn as a stylish business mogul with several children. We know that Emma gets the ultimate betrayal from Edwin once she reveals she's pregnant with his child and we know that she vows to get revenge on his entire family. But as for the intricacies of that revenge plot and why she remains impassioned so many years on, that's something that will be both a treat for viewers but will also bring its fair share of stomach-churning moments. While perhaps not to the degree as depicted in the series, there obviously do still continue to be questionable power dynamics throughout society and the world we live in. So, seeing Emma – a young woman who, on paper, shouldn't have gotten to the place she does – make it in such an unashamed way in a male-dominated time, it really does leave you with a pep in your step. That is also all down to the stellar performance done by Reynolds who not only embodies Emma and her story to such a moving extent, but also expertly changes her characterisation as time moves on with her. Compared to the '80s adaptation, this version of A Woman of Substance boasts eight episodes and within them, we move quickly through time as we see how Emma's story unfolds. As we progress, Emma's signature thick Yorkshire accent (a feat for anyone but brilliantly done by the Irish actress) softens and ebbs as she grows older and starts to code switch, depending on her environment. Her sense of style also changes as she hones her eye for design, but her tenacity is something that really punctuates the entire show. The first episodes where we come to know Emma, her heartbreaking family story (complete with a poignant performance from young Lenny Rush as Emma's brother Frank), her friendship with fellow Fairley house employee Mac (Niall Wright) and her dynamic with Fairley matriarch Adele (Leanne Best) are some of the bits where the show really shines. We need that much time in that period of Emma's life to really understand the decisions she goes on to make. However, the resulting episodes almost feel like a flash in a pan compared to the groundwork that's been done to build up Emma's character. At times, it almost feels like overnight, Emma has gone on to become a revered businesswoman and while it is all explained, I can't help but feel as though we could've spent more time in Emma's younger adult years, prior to Blethyn's input as the elder version of the character. The crucial middle bit of Emma's story is perhaps its meatiest and I do just feel we missed a trick by seemingly catapulting her from maid to seamstress to Harte's business owner and somehow, to having enough money and power that she's in the direct path of the Fairley's. For a character who also held her family so close to her, some of the choices Emma makes throughout the series are slightly infuriating – like disappearing off the face of the Earth when her father and brother still need her – and in her later years, it's a little sloppy to just merely paint her as a busy working mother who barely makes time for her children and husband. Nevertheless, Reynolds is a force to be reckoned with here – bringing humour, light, hope and heartbreak to every episode. With less screen time than Reynolds, it's hard for Blethyn to embody all of that to a similar degree but in the final moments of the series, she does come into her own a bit more as the story takes some soapy turns. Enough twists that I would say, it's surely warranted for a sneaky second season. The '70s scenes are very much like something out of recent hit series Rivals, with that same dramatic air to things as Blethyn switches up gears as the matriarch with some big revelations to get to the bottom of. It's a series that does deal with some big themes that clearly stand the test of time, but is very much steeped in the heady world of revenge. Most importantly, though, A Woman of Substance is the kind of show you can't help but want to blitz through to the end – a testament to the captivating leading ladies at the centre of it. A Woman of Substance will premiere on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 March at 9pm on Channel 4. Add A Woman of Substance to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Marie & Rosetta review: Beverley Knight's powerhouse performance brings a forgotten musical hero into the spotlight
This compelling production shines some much-needed light on a forgotten hero of musical history.
Before there was Elvis, before there was Little Richard, before there was Chuck Berry, before there was Jimi Hendrix – there was Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Known as the Godmother of the Rock and Roll, Rosetta fused gospel music with secular music and played a key role in developing rock and roll, thanks to her pioneering electric guitar playing and sensational stage presence. However, Sister Rosetta Tharpe has often been all-but erased from her rightful place in musical history. That's where George Brant's play Marie and Rosetta comes in, telling the story of Sister Rosetta and her singing partner Marie Knight. This two-hander shines light on the highs and lows of Sister Rosetta Tharpe's career as she engages in a spirited conversation with her newly employed singer Marie Knight. The play takes place in just one setting, but doesn't lose momentum, thanks to the combination of vibrant musical numbers and the sheer talent at work on stage. Sister Rosetta Tharpe is certainly a demanding role, but who better to take on the challenge of portraying this legend than fellow legendary performer Beverley Knight? Knight more than earns her stripes in this production; her physicality is completely transformed, seamlessly adopting a new gait and new laugh, as well as powerfully interpreting Sister Rosetta's smoky and playful vocals. Kudos must also be given to Ntombizodwa Ndlovu for her subtle and masterful development of Marie Knight's character on stage, from shy ingenue to self-assured performer. Watching this production, it's hard to believe that this is the young actress's West End debut— we're expecting big things in her future. Marie & Rosetta is a jukebox musical, straddling gospel, jazz and blues music as the titular characters run through Sister Rosetta's set list. Marie begins by taking the more serious, spiritual numbers, while Sister Rosetta adds more secular elements, and encourages Marie to do the same. From the very first note, it's clear that we're dealing with two vocal powerhouses. Beverley Knight is well-known for her phenomenal voice and certainly earns her reputation in this production, with Ntombizodwa Ndlovu's unwavering vocal strength giving her a run for her money. However, rather than overpower each other, as is the danger with two strong performers, the two work easily work in tandem, and their performances sizzle with chemistry. This is all buoyed by the supremely talented band, an accomplished group of musicians whose performance creates a sense of intimacy throughout. As the play draws closer to the end, just when it starts to run the risk of losing steam, the rug is pulled out from under us. We won't be giving any spoilers here, but we'd definitely recommend packing some tissues to prepare for a masterful shift in tone and deeply emotive finale. Buy Marie & Rosetta tickets at LOVEtheatre Buy Marie & Rosetta tickets at London Theatre Direct For more of the Radio Times Going Out section's teams thoughts on the latest theatre shows, check out our Into the Woods review and Dracula review. When and where can I see Marie & Rosetta? Marie & Rosetta is currently playing at @sohoplace, located right by Tottenham Court Road station. The production is ongoing, and will be running until 11 April. Buy Marie & Rosetta tickets at LOVEtheatre Buy Marie & Rosetta tickets at London Theatre Direct How to get Marie & Rosetta tickets There are still tickets available to see Marie & Rosetta at several ticketing retailers. We would recommend buying sooner rather than later, as this production is set to be running for six weeks only. Buy Marie & Rosetta tickets at LOVEtheatre Buy Marie & Rosetta tickets at London Theatre Direct Check out our roundup of the best West End shows.
LEGO Smart Brick review: It’s great fun, but who is it for?
The LEGO Smart Brick certainly made waves when it was first announced, the internet set ablaze with intrigue at the prospect of an all-singing, all-dancing LEGO brick that could bring your play time to life. I'll admit – when I saw our LEGO Smart Brick preview come in from the CES conference, I was filled with jealousy that I hadn't been there myself to be among the first people to try it. The hype was real. However, now that I’ve played with the LEGO Smart Brick Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing kit in the comfort of my home, turning it from a box full of bricks to a fully functioning toy set, I have found myself with a question: who is this range of toys actually for? Shop the whole range of LEGO Smart Brick sets When I was at the London Toy Fair earlier in the year, I learned that there are a few different types of people that interact with toys. Kids who actually play with toys are an obvious cohort, and there’s also an increasing number of ‘kidults’ who are perhaps more likely to buy a toy in order to display it as part of their collection. As a 30-something without children of my own, I fall firmly into the ‘kidult’ camp. Over the last few months, I’ve filled a shelf with two nostalgic little LEGO sets: the Nintendo Game Boy kit and the mini Millennium Falcon. Both were fun to build, and it brings me joy to look at them from my sofa while watching TV of an evening. As a kidult, I don’t particularly need a LEGO set to make noises or flash with lights. Once I’ve made a LEGO set and found a place for it, I could go for months without touching it at all (save for a gentle dusting, or showing it off to an equally nerdy house guest). But I can’t help but wonder, do young kids actually need this either? When you have the powerful enough imagination of a child, do you need sound effects or lighting effects to make your play more interesting? Or are you already making all your own noises, and inventing your own stories without the need of prompts? Putting that question aside for a moment, I can’t deny that the X-Wing set was a fun build. With its 581 pieces delivered across eight bags, I completed it in two short sittings over the course of a single weekend (the Millennium Falcon, however, took me a number of weeks to find the time and complete it). As I completed each individual part of the set (the refuelling and repair vehicle, the Imperial gun turret, and the X-Wing itself), there was a frisson of excitement to be had when I played with the Smart elements for the first time. Hearing the ‘pew pew’ of blaster fire at the press of a button brought my inner kid back to life for a moment, while the snippet of movie music that accompanies the Luke minifigure certainly scratched a nostalgic itch. And there are fun little Easter eggs, like R2-D2 screaming if you hold the X-Wing upside down with him in it, which will bring a smile to even the most hardened cynic. View Green Video on the source website I was also pleased to discover that the Smart elements haven’t been added at the expense of physical features. The X-Wing and the turret can both fire little pellets at great speed, as well as having in-built buttons that allow you to play the sound effects as many times as you like (even if you lose the pellets, which will inevitably happen in a busy household!). As I finished the set, I ran to the other room to show the Smart features to my wife. Check out this sound effect! See what R2-D2 does! Pew pew pew! I felt the urge to text some nerdy friends to point out the clever details, too. (For example, there are different sound effects for repairing and refuelling, which will play if you put the right colour-coded item next to the Smart Brick). Next time a Star Wars fan friend visits our place, I’ll be sure to make sure the Smart Brick is charged up so I can show them all the fun things it can do. But until that day comes, the X-Wing will sit on the shelf with my less Smart, kidult-appropriate LEGO sets. And to be fair, it does look the part, holding its own visually next to sets that didn’t have to make all that space for Smart features. Equally, next time my nephews and nieces come to visit, I’ll have to see how they get on with the Smart Brick. Will they interact with its features for more than a few moments, or will they default to making their own sound effects and making their own stories like they’ve always done? I’ll be very interested to see. At the London Toy Fair, I was also shown how the different Smart Brick Star Wars sets interact with each other. If you have a TIE Fighter and an X-Wing, and make them pew pew at each other, you will hear extra sound effects as they digitally ‘explode’. But again, once you’ve done that a couple of times, will the novelty wear off? For now, then, I can’t deny that I had good fun building the LEGO Smart Brick: Luke’s Red Five X-Wing set. I do question who it’s for, and whether its bells and whistles will get much play after the initial excitement wears off. But, all of that said, it does look nice on this kidult’s shelf, and it brought me some joy in the process of building it. And what more can I ask for, really? To see the Smart Brick in action, you can check out the fun promo video below starring two legends of The Celebrity Traitors. 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Mother's Pride review: Like an inoffensive light ale, slips down more pleasantly than you might expect
Martin Clunes, Mark Addy and James Buckley star in this feel-good comedy set in a British pub.
From Local Hero to The Full Monty and Fisherman’s Friends, the feel-good comedy has always been a staple of British cinemas. Mother’s Pride fits neatly alongside these and others. Set in Somerset, it’s the sort of movie designed to appeal to the real ale crowd, with its story of a small, independent pub going up against a successful chain and brewing its way to success. The film stars Martin Clunes as Mick, the curmudgeonly landlord of The Drovers Arms, an ale house on its last legs. It’s not hard to see why. Mick is still grief-stricken over the loss of his wife. Living with son Jake (James Buckley), a single parent, he’s also cut up about the disappearance of his other son Cal (Jonno Davies), who took off to become a musician and never even returned for his mother’s funeral. But this failed pop star with just one hit to his name, ‘Guiding Light’, now returns, broke and with his tail between his legs. Mick hardly welcomes him with open arms. With bills mounting up and the bailiffs hovering, the pub is facing repossession – until Cal takes it upon himself to dive into his grandfather’s recipe book and start concocting a mild ale. “Brewing’s in our blood,” he says, and despite an early cock-up – way too much sugar in the mix gives them all a blinding hangover – they come up with a brew that might yet save the pub. The plan is to enter it into a regional competition before heading to the finals in London, in the hope that a high-profile win might give the pub a blaze of much-needed publicity. Director Nick Moorcroft knows exactly how to chisel out these family-friendly regional comedies. With Meg Leonard, he co-wrote Cornish male choir tale Fisherman’s Friends and its 2022 sequel Fisherman’s Friends: One And All, which he directed, and he and Leonard re-team here. Much like the Fisherman’s Friends films, this offers few surprises but plenty of charm. The script is a little too over-stuffed – family grief, mental health, and single parenthood are all squeezed in – and the innuendo in some scenes gets a bit tiresome (jokes about dogging don’t fit). Still, Moorcroft casts this cosy charmer with some familiar faces: Mark Addy as a barfly; Whose Line Is It Anyway? staple Josie Lawrence as a saucy local; and Luke Treadaway, as rival brewer Pritchard, whose family owns a string of pubs and is the two-time winner of the brewing competition that The Drovers Arms is entering. Then there’s Gabriella Wilde as schoolteacher Abi, the local girl left behind by Cal, who has since hooked up with Prichard, against her better judgement. View Green Video on the source website Clunes’s misery act is fun, furthering his recent renaissance after his sublime turn in Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights, while the talented Davies gets to show us his more human side – following his CG-monkey in the Robbie Williams biopic Better Man. The shaggy-haired Buckley also shows how he’s matured as an actor, far removed from his puerile pupil Jay in The Inbetweeners. Fear not, though, for he does deliver the occasional zinger (“like something Keith Richards coughed up,” he says, after a night on the homebrew). Along the way, there are some amusing scenes, especially when Addy’s Paxman and Buckley’s Jake go Morris Dancing to ’70s funk like ‘Daddy Cool’ and ‘DISCO’, and Moorcroft even manages to shoehorn in a nod to how many pubs are closing down every month in Britain, suggesting we guard against old traditions from disappearing and being swallowed up by corporate greed. Like an inoffensive light ale, the result slips down more pleasantly than you might expect. Mother's Pride is now showing in UK cinemas. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
How to Make a Killing review: Glen Powell makes millions from murder in watchable but derivative thriller
Despite another likeable lead performance from its star, John Patton Ford's remake of an Ealing comedy fails to stand out from the crowd.
There has never been a worse time to be a rich person in a film. In the last seven years alone, Parasite, The Menu, Ready or Not, Triangle of Sadness, Knives Out and Saltburn have all seen the proverbial 1% meet gruesome ends, as the “eat the rich” subgenre has united audiences against a common enemy. With this in mind, How to Make a Killing, the new thriller starring Glen Powell, both joins these ranks with ease and fails to stand out from the crowd. It is adequately watchable and aims to be keenly modern, but is undercut by a failure to escape roots in a British film from 1949. Written and directed by John Patton Ford (Emily the Criminal), the film opens with Becket Redfellow (Powell) having his last meal while in a cell on death row. As he enters his final few hours, he recounts to a priest provided by the penitentiary how he murdered his way to the top of his family tree to claim billions in inheritance. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it is: this black-comedy thriller is a wholesale 21st-century remake of Kind Hearts and Coronets, the superlative Ealing comedy with Dennis Price and Alec Guinness. View Green Video on the source website “Money doesn’t buy you happiness? That’s dead wrong,” Becket says in voiceover. He is the son of Mary Redfellow, a New York aristocrat who was exiled by her father (Ed Harris) after refusing to have an abortion when she became pregnant with Becket as a teen. Upon growing up and learning that he is eighth in line to the $28 billion family fortune, he pledges to “prune a few branches from the family tree” – a line lifted somewhat shamelessly from Kind Hearts and Coronets. What follows is a light-on-its-feet 105 minutes that revels in the double entendre of its title, as the audience are privy to the planning and execution of Becket’s schemes. Having “the right kind of life” is what drives him, as a number of cousins and uncles of all archetypes are dispatched in comedic ways involving yachts, a bow and arrow, photography dark rooms and teeth-whitening kits. The first is played by Rafferty Law, whose nepo-baby credentials as the son of Jude Law – and particularly The Talented Mr Ripley’s Dickie Greenleaf – make him a canny bit of casting for an entitled brat. But it’s the character actors of Bill Camp and Zach Woods, as Uncle Warren and Cousin Noah respectively, who provide the film’s most robust comedy and enjoyable passages. “I got this bottle of whiskey from Dick Cheney,” Camp’s banker brags as he foolishly takes Becket under his wing. Patton Ford’s script has the odd pleasing quip but rarely probes further to showcase the keen sense of class boasted by his previous film, Emily the Criminal. In a conflict never truly addressed by the script, Becket makes a mockery of wealth by birthright... but also asks us to believe in it. As his kill count rises, Becket’s life is expanded by a girlfriend he earnestly falls for (a charming Jessica Henwick) and a fairly bland femme fatale from his past life (Margaret Qualley). Powell proves a charismatic presence throughout, but is more Bruce Wayne than Patrick Bateman, leaning closer to the waspish Ivy-League side of his character than the sociopath. Given the entertainment when he let his hair down as the many alter egos of an assassin in Hit Man – a performance that coincidentally echoed Alec Guinness’s eight family members in Kind Hearts – this is something of a shame. By the time Ed Harris’s gravel-voiced patriarch arrives and a shootout ensues, steam is running out – and Becket reminds us that “this is a tragedy”, although the film can’t land on any genre with confidence. In the end, the rehashing of Kind Hearts and Coronets lends a cruel irony amid the subject matter: How to Make a Killing feels less like an heir apparent for our times and more like a distant relative struggling to forge their own path. How to Make a Killing is released in UK cinemas on Friday 13 March 2026. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Gone review: David Morrissey is bone-chilling in ITV coercive control thriller
When the wife of elite school headmaster Michael Polly (David Morrissey) goes missing, DS Annie Cassidy (Eve Myles) suspects he knows more than he’s letting on.
Only the first episode was made available for review at the time of writing. David Morrissey last appeared on screen in the second season of Daddy Issues, a BBC comedy in which he plays an incompetent yet well-meaning man trying to rebuild his relationship with his daughter (Aimee Lou Wood) while adapting to life as a first-time granddad. It's a delightful and inspired departure from the grittier roles he's come to be recognised for (Sherwood, State of Play, The Walking Dead), although delivered with the same commitment as those performances. But Morrissey returns to his bread and butter in ITV crime thriller Gone. Written by George Kay – who also penned Yorkshire Ripper drama The Long Shadow, in which Morrissey also starred – it could well be his most unsettling work to date. He plays Michael Polly, the headmaster of a renowned private school in Bristol – the Range Rover and Latin kind – who takes Britain's stiff upper lip to an entirely new level. He returns home from work one afternoon with his daughter Alana – played with authentic emotional honesty by Emma Appleton, who also teaches at the school – only to discover that his wife Sarah, another teacher there, is missing. Alana's concern is immediate – Sarah was scheduled to take a music lesson with a pupil at the house, so it's highly unlikely she's simply popped out to grab some milk. Michael, by contrast, appears entirely unmoved. His demeanour is no different from when he's addressing pupils during morning assembly or dealing with paperwork. And as the hours crawl by, it's Alana – not Michael – who takes charge of the situation, despite his need for iron-clad control in every other aspect of his life. She's desperately trying to get to the bottom of her mum's absence. He appears more concerned with the school rugby team's chances of winning the championship. Read more: Is ITV’s Gone based on a true story? Torchwood legend Eve Myles reveals why dark new drama "took its toll a bit" It's a chilling display from Morrissey. Michael's lack of reaction – which might instil confidence and calm in any other crisis – feels deeply unnatural here. And that feeling is dialled up to 100 at the end of the first episode, when he breaks the fourth wall in such a confronting manner, it's as though he's staring directly into your soul. You'll find yourself wanting to look away, but unable to, such is Morrissey's hold over the scene. But like a spring wound far too tightly, there are moments when his eerie restraint loosens and the quiet rage that is always there, just beneath the surface, breaks through. Is that merely a defence mechanism? Perhaps her dad is simply a product of his environment, unwilling or unable to display emotion, however natural that would be in such difficult circumstances. Or is there something more sinister at play? DS Annie Cassidy (Eve Myles) certainly has her suspicions, describing him, somewhat kindly, as a "funny fish". As the hours continue to tick by, a missing person's investigation is launched; Michael makes a public appeal for Sarah to come home; and further troubling details come to light: Sarah's phone is found under the bed by one of the detectives. Did she drop it in a hurry? Could it have landed there during an argument? Annie is itching to uncover the truth, and Myles does an excellent job of conveying her need, rather than just her desire, to uncover what happened to Sarah – because this goes beyond simply doing her job. It's personal. Eight years on, there have been no developments in the Tina Bradley case – not so much cold as frozen since the young woman's unexplained disappearance. During that time, Annie has grown close to Tina's mum Carol (Clare Higgins), who at the beginning of the series you might mistake for her own mother, before you come to understand the lay of the land. It's a clever move for those who have gone into the series blind – and one inspired by the work of former Detective Superintendent Julie Mackay of Gloucestershire Police, who solved the cold case murder of 17-year-old Melanie Road more than three decades after it happened. The teenager was sexually assaulted and stabbed 26 times on her way home from a night out in Bath in June 1984. While that approach could easily feel gimmicky – and some may see it that way – Kay weaves fact and fiction together with sensitivity, adding an extra layer of jeopardy to Gone. It also brings Melanie Road's name back into the public consciousness, ensuring she is not forgotten while tying into the series' wider comment on male violence against women and girls (MVAWG), something that also surfaces in Annie's personal life. Her ex partner Craig, also a detective, is keen to rekindle their relationship, but she's wary — and for good reason. "He didn't like you doing anything, ever," says Carol, who warns her to stay away from him, and Annie knows she should. But you can feel her wavering, such is the insidious nature of coercive control. It's subtly done — although we anticipate that strand of the drama will escalate across the six episodes. And it also illustrates that no one, no matter how successful, assured or gutsy you might be, is immune. Domestic abuse does not discriminate. We don't yet know what has happened to Sarah, but the trailer reveals she was "scared" of Michael. And while Annie's story is not Sarah's, nor Tina's, an invisible thread links all three women. Gone promises to be a compelling watch, but more than that, its exploration of MVAWG — particularly within the supposed sanctity of the home — gives it real staying power. View Green Video on the source website Gone premieres on Sunday 8 March at 9pm on ITV1. Add Gone to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Bride review: An ambitious and stylish monster movie that doesn't quite cohere
Maggie Gyllenhaal’s re-imagining of the Bride of Frankenstein boasts a mesmerising Jessie Buckley performance, but there's a little too much going on...
★★★☆☆ The Bride is released in cinemas from Friday 6 March. Add it to your watchlist James Whale’s Bride of Frankenstein (1935) starring Boris Karloff and the luminous Elsa Lanchester remains a playful, witty follow-up to the English director’s seminal version of Frankenstein (1931), and is often cited as a sequel superior to its acclaimed original, along with the likes of The Godfather Part II, The Empire Strikes Back and The Dark Knight. Writer/director Maggie Gyllenhaal’s re-imagining of the 1935 Universal masterpiece is playful, too, boldly locating to mid-1930s America where the Monster or “Frank” (played by a suitably stitched-and-stapled Christian Bale) has reached the end of his tether after being alone for over a century. His desire for a mate brings the patchwork Romeo to the door of Chicago scientist Dr Euphronius (Annette Bening), whose work in reinvigorating the dead offers lovelorn Frank the chance to have a companion just like him. All they need is a recently deceased corpse… Enter Jessie Buckley as Ida, whose sudden transformation from glum gangster’s moll to dangerously gobby harridan is all down to being possessed by novelist Mary Shelley (also played by Buckley, emulating the monochrome framing device from the 1935 original). Here, the Frankenstein author occupies a shadowy netherworld where she bemoans her lack of agency in life and so injects her proto-feminist ire into Ida, only to put the poor girl in an early pauper’s grave and become the ideal candidate for revival. Indeed, it is Shelley who poses the question from the outset whether the unfurling tale will be “a ghost story, a horror story or most frightening of all, a love story?” In her second film behind the camera (following The Lost Daughter in 2021), Gyllenhaal attempts to harness all those elements, while adding in plenty of genre-mashing moments. From Frank’s love of movie musicals, encapsulated by song-and-dance matinee idol Ronnie Reed (Jake Gyllenhaal), to the unnatural born killers later embarking on a Bonnie and Clyde-style joyride across America, the sophomore director delivers some eye-catching sequences, not least when the newly-deads gatecrash New York high society and perform a raucous dance routine to Puttin’ on the Ritz (wryly referencing Mel Brooks’s sublime spoof Young Frankenstein). Also, dogging their heels is dour detective Jake Wiles (played by Maggie Gyllenhaal's husband, Peter Sarsgaard) and his smart secretary/assistant Myrna Malloy (Penélope Cruz), who has her own fight to be taken seriously in a man’s world, conjuring up such battle-of-the-sexes classics like The Thin Man and His Girl Friday, albeit without the quickfire patter. View Green Video on the source website Buckley is mesmerising as the Bride, recalling Lanchester with her frizzy blonde hair in a vertical state of shock, but with her face stained by a distinctive Rorschach inkblot and sporting black bee-stung lips. This year’s favourite to win the best actress Oscar (for Hamnet) has a ball here, dovetailing wildly between a loud Chicago broad, a well-spoken if tetchy Shelley and an amnesiac punk-rock monster, even during a single conversation. Meanwhile, Bale channels Karloff and gives a restrained, sympathetic performance as a world-weary creation who would rather woo than wound. Gyllenhaal should be applauded for her ambition, stylish flourishes and obvious respect for the original film. However, there’s a sense that all the elements don’t cohere entirely, with subplots involving the Chicago Mob and even the Sarsgaard/Cruz dynamic just getting in the way of the couple’s bizarre but captivating cross-country courtship. Pity, because the stars, the roving cinematography and Sandy Powell’s costumes are all first-class.
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man review – This big-screen spin-off keeps a firm red right hand on proceedings
Although there are some issues in the transition from TV to film, this is nonetheless a robust offering for Cillian Murphy's Tommy Shelby.
★★★☆☆ Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is in cinemas now and on Netflix from 20 March. Add it to your watchlist. Whatever happened to Peaky Blinders' Tommy Shelby? The last we saw of Cillian Murphy’s charismatic mob boss turned Member of Parliament at the conclusion of Peaky Blinders’ sixth season, he was riding off into the sunset after brokering dubious transatlantic business deals and infiltrating Fascist figurehead Oswald Mosley’s inner circle, while on the verge of a nervous breakdown following the death of his young daughter. Time doesn’t necessarily heal wounds, though, and during his long self-imposed exile (the story picks up again in 1940) Tommy’s been trying to make sense of it all by writing a book. But, Murphy's protagonist is still haunted by personal tragedies that prey on his mind much more than the war that’s broken out between England and Germany: "I’ve got a war of my own, inside of me ‘ead," he says early in the narrative. All that changes with a visit from Kaulo (Rebecca Ferguson), the Romani gypsy twin sister of the woman with whom he fathered a son back in the 1910s; she tells him the now fully grown Duke (introduced late in the most recent series and played here by Barry Keoghan) is causing havoc back in Birmingham, forcing Shelby senior to return to the city and re-take the reins of the family business. Duke’s been using muscle and intimidation to steal weapons from local munitions factories intended for squaddies on the front line, and he’s about to upset even bigger applecarts, helping Nazi sympathiser John Beckett (Tim Roth) to undermine the war effort by flooding the UK economy with £70 million in counterfeit banknotes. How does Kaulo know all this? Gypsy visions, of course; a Peaky staple going back several series that creator-writer Steven Knight enjoys calling upon for short-cut exposition, and to dig around inside the noggin of his central character - Tommy’s still hearing the voice of matriarch Aunt Polly, long after her murder in series five. It’s not the most satisfying of ploys, an all too convenient get-out clause, but the mystical Shelby gypsy roots continue to play a role in the family’s affairs, especially brought into focus in The Immortal Man via Keoghan’s rough-hewn Duke and his staunch pride in his ancestry. Knight and director Tom Harper just about get away with it, as a device to draw parallels between Duke and Tommy’s own youthful menace (father describes son as "my dark reflection"), driving home the Shelby dynasty’s bedrock ethos of tradition and family loyalty. View Green Video on the source website Here, the family extends to Tommy’s sister Ada (a returning Sophie Rundle), a beacon of decency in war-torn Brum, having taken over her brother’s seat in Parliament. There are examples of non-blood ties too, with a call back for Stephen Graham as Liverpool docks supremo Hayden Stagg, along with a few others unwaveringly faithful to the Shelby cause. Of the newcomers to the saga, Keoghan imbues Duke with a tender vulnerability beneath all his surface bluster and violence, and his scenes with Murphy give the film palpable heart whenever it runs the risk of being overwhelmed by beatings, bullets and bombs. He’s matched every step of the way by Roth, an initially laconic presence but increasingly terrifying as his dastardly plans edge closer to fruition, against elaborate locations and sets more imposing than on the TV version that make the devastation of war and its impact on ordinary folk horrifically real. The switch from a small screen six-hour narrative arc to a cinema release one-third of the length inevitably results in incident and characterisation being truncated, but Knight and Harper nonetheless manage to construct a robust story that doesn’t necessarily require viewers to have deep knowledge of the Peaky Blinders’ past, keeping a firm red right hand on proceedings.
The Capture season 3 review: The best thriller on TV returns to provide Holliday Grainger's finest hour
If this really is the final instalment, the BBC drama is going out on a thrilling high.
When I was watching the first three episodes of The Capture season 3 that have thus far been provided for press, I started worrying about the then-upcoming release of the show's trailer. A strange thing to worry about, I know, but so genuinely shocking, gripping and explosive were the twists and turns across the season's first three hours, that I grew concerned that the marketing would have to spoil them, ridding viewers of the glee I got out of witnessing them completely fresh. Thankfully, having now seen the trailer for season 3, I feel reassured that fans can enter the new episodes spoiler-free – and boy will they want to. Because the best thriller on TV is back, back with a bang as it goes more ridiculous, but also more propulsive and mind-bending than ever before. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/11/Holliday-Grainger-as-Rachel-Carey-in-The-Capture-S3-coming-to-BBC-iPlayer-and-BBC-One-in-Spring-2026-291b2ba.jpg" width="7203" height="4802" alt="Holliday Grainger as Rachel Carey in The Capture season 3, stood in an interview room with her back to a mirror, which reflects her multiple times." title="Holliday Grainger as Rachel Carey in The Capture S3 coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One in Spring 2026" /> Given my aforementioned fear of spoiling things, I will be brief in describing the plot. All I will say is what the BBC has also said – that the season starts one year on from the end of season 2 and finds Holliday Grainger's Rachel Carey now as the acting commander of Counter Terrorism Command. In her new role, Carey is behind a new programme called Operation Veritas, a system of cameras designed to detect deepfakes and correction as it happens in real time. However, she soon finds herself drawn into a conspiracy when an exceptionally well-coordinated act of terror is executed and leaves behind just one witness. Now, I have to confess something up top – I have something of a bias towards The Capture, or at least, I appear to. That is not to say I have some sort of connection to the production, the cast or the crew which makes my opinion invalid. I just appear to be captivated by it more than the average viewer. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/01/1.-Holliday-Grainger-and-Paapa-Essiedu-as-Rachel-Carey-and-Isaac-Turner-in-The-Capture-S3-coming-to-BBC-iPlayer-and-BBC-One-this-Spring-29c0910.jpg" width="8256" height="5504" alt="Holliday Grainger and Paapa Essiedu in The Capture season 3, stood by a window with parliament in the background." title="1. Holliday Grainger and Paapa Essiedu as Rachel Carey and Isaac Turner in The Capture S3, coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One this Spring" /> Coming away from both the first and second seasons, I have felt the urge to shout from the rooftops how incredible this show is, how eerily prescient and accurate its exploration of tech is and how propulsive its thriller elements are. In response, there are plenty who also love the show, but also plenty more who simply like it. They think it's good TV, but don't seem to have the same reverence for it or hold it on the same level of esteem. Therefore, for any readers who liked but didn't love the first two seasons of The Capture, I will tell you now that I doubt there will be much difference in your response this time around. This season hews closely to what made the first two runs successful, and does so brilliantly. It still has that real sense of pace that was palpable in the first two seasons. When a mystery comes up, it will either be solved fairly quickly, or a new spanner will be quickly thrown into the works to complicate things. It's something a lot of thrillers could learn from, all those shows which pad out their runtime with so little resolution or forward momentum. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/01/5.-Holliday-Grainger-and-Indira-Varma-as-Rachel-Carey-and-Khadija-Khan-in-The-Capture-S3-coming-to-BBC-iPlayer-and-BBC-One-this-Spring-0ecac56.jpg" width="4644" height="3096" alt="Holliday Grainger as Rachel Carey and Indira Varma as Khadija Khan in The Capture season 3, stood next to each other in front of camera equipment and screens." title="5. Holliday Grainger and Indira Varma as Rachel Carey and Khadija Khan in The Capture S3, coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One this Spring" /> Beyond that aspect though, The Capture still has a number of other aces up its sleeve which make it exceptional TV, particularly this time around. It still has a real urgency and a contemporary feel to it that so many other shows strive for and fail to reach. One might have thought that the topic of deepfakes may have become stale, irrelevant or over-explored, but it has only become more relevant as time has gone on, and the tech itself become more disturbingly powerful. That means the show is able to push the boundaries even further, in truly unexpected directions. It also touches on other areas of contemporary life, some of which viewers might have thought the series wouldn't dare to tread. In doing so, it continues to prove that it's a series not resting on its laurels, but one that is continuing to explore new avenues and is always trying to surprise audiences and best itself. Now, the secrecy around this season is so tight that we actually don't even know who the majority of the new stars this season are playing, with the characters remaining under wraps. Therefore, all I will say at this juncture is that they are all putting in terrific performances, particularly Killian Scott. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/01/10.-Ron-Perlman-as-Frank-Napier-in-The-Capture-S3-coming-to-BBC-iPlayer-and-BBC-One-this-Spring-caee0e9.jpg" width="8256" height="5504" alt="Ron Perlman as Frank Napier in The Capture season 3, wearing brown jacket and black shirt." title="10. Ron Perlman as Frank Napier in The Capture S3, coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One this Spring" /> However, more important to recognise is the performance that Holliday Grainger is giving here. She has been in this role since the very start of the series back in 2019, and has been doing terrific work throughout. This, though, is her finest hour. The story this time around puts her right at the centre of things in a way she has always been due, meaning that even while other returnees such as Paapa Essiedu, Indira Varma and Ron Perlman are continuing to shine, she is clearly the actor asked the most of in her role this time around, and she delivers. Things get truly personal for her in this season, and she has to run the gamut of emotions – at once being both terrified, yet also terrifying, and the real force that the character has always been when pushed into a corner. There will be a lot more to say about all of this once the first few episodes have been released. It is a relief to see that the BBC has gone for a weekly release schedule rather than a binge drop – this is a season which will inspire a ton of weekly speculation, in the way some of the best thrillers and mystery shows of the past have, but which few rarely get the chance to do now. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/01/3.-Holliday-Grainger-as-Rachel-Carey-in-The-Capture-S3-coming-to-BBC-iPlayer-and-BBC-One-this-Spring-a5b79ef.jpg" width="8256" height="5504" alt="Holliday Grainger as Rachel Carey in The Capture, stood looking at the camera with a set of screens behind her." title="3. Holliday Grainger as Rachel Carey in The Capture S3, coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One this Spring" /> Of course, as has already been noted, I have only seen the first three episodes at this point. Given that the series hinges on mysteries, which of course rely upon successful resolutions, my feelings towards the season could be turned completely upside down if the landing isn't stuck come episode 6. This is especially true given that creator Ben Chanan has teased that this could well be The Capture's final outing – a disappointing yet unsurprising decision, and perhaps the best thing lest the series run out of creative road. Still, at this point it is firing on all cylinders and operating in the way all the best thrillers do. The plot is absolutely preposterous, but in a way which makes you startled by the show's audacity, rather than questioning its believability. The action is once again thrilling, the visuals are stunningly realised and that absolute bop of a theme tune remains one of the best around right now. I, personally, will be fascinated to see the wider reaction to this season – from fans, casual viewers and those who have never seen the series before, alike. Here's hoping a few more may convert to my way of thinking. I'll personally be desperate to see the remaining episodes all the same. The Capture season 3 will begin on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sunday 8 March 2026. Add The Capture to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. 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The Bride review: An ambitious and stylish monster movie that doesn't entirely cohere
James Whale’s Bride of Frankenstein (1935) starring Boris Karloff and the luminous Elsa Lanchester remains a playful, witty follow-up to the English director’s seminal version of Frankenstein (1931), and is often cited as a sequel superior to its acclaimed original, along with the likes of The Godfather Part II, The Empire Strikes Back and The Dark Knight. Writer/director Maggie Gyllenhaal’s re-imagining of the 1935 Universal masterpiece is playful, too, boldly locating to mid-1930s America where the Monster or “Frank” (played by a suitably stitched-and-stapled Christian Bale) has reached the end of his tether after being alone for over a century. His desire for a mate brings the patchwork Romeo to the door of Chicago scientist Dr Euphronius (Annette Bening), whose work in reinvigorating the dead offers lovelorn Frank the chance to have a companion just like him. All they need is a recently deceased corpse… Enter Jessie Buckley as Ida, whose sudden transformation from glum gangster’s moll to dangerously gobby harridan is all down to being possessed by novelist Mary Shelley (also played by Buckley, emulating the monochrome framing device from the 1935 original). Here, the Frankenstein author occupies a shadowy netherworld where she bemoans her lack of agency in life and so injects her proto-feminist ire into Ida, only to put the poor girl in an early pauper’s grave and become the ideal candidate for revival. Indeed, it is Shelley who poses the question from the outset whether the unfurling tale will be “a ghost story, a horror story or most frightening of all, a love story?” In her second film behind the camera (following The Lost Daughter in 2021), Gyllenhaal attempts to harness all those elements, while adding in plenty of genre-mashing moments. From Frank’s love of movie musicals, encapsulated by song-and-dance matinee idol Ronnie Reed (Jake Gyllenhaal), to the unnatural born killers later embarking on a Bonnie and Clyde-style joyride across America, the sophomore director delivers some eye-catching sequences, not least when the newly-deads gatecrash New York high society and perform a raucous dance routine to Puttin’ on the Ritz (wryly referencing Mel Brooks’s sublime spoof Young Frankenstein). Also, dogging their heels is dour detective Jake Wiles (played by Maggie Gyllenhaal's husband, Peter Sarsgaard) and his smart secretary/assistant Myrna Malloy (Penélope Cruz), who has her own fight to be taken seriously in a man’s world, conjuring up such battle-of-the-sexes classics like The Thin Man and His Girl Friday, albeit without the quickfire patter. View Green Video on the source website Buckley is mesmerising as the Bride, recalling Lanchester with her frizzy blonde hair in a vertical state of shock, but with her face stained by a distinctive Rorschach inkblot and sporting black bee-stung lips. This year’s favourite to win the best actress Oscar (for Hamnet) has a ball here, dovetailing wildly between a loud Chicago broad, a well-spoken if tetchy Shelley and an amnesiac punk-rock monster, even during a single conversation. Meanwhile, Bale channels Karloff and gives a restrained, sympathetic performance as a world-weary creation who would rather woo than wound. Gyllenhaal should be applauded for her ambition, stylish flourishes and obvious respect for the original film. However, there’s a sense that all the elements don’t cohere entirely, with subplots involving the Chicago Mob and even the Sarsgaard/Cruz dynamic just getting in the way of the couple’s bizarre but captivating cross-country courtship. Pity, because the stars, the roving cinematography and Sandy Powell’s costumes are all first-class. The Bride is released in UK cinemas on Friday 6 March 2026. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.