From Mufasa to Gavin and Stacey: a complete guide to the week's ...

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From Mufasa to Gavin and Stacey a complete guide to the weeks

A Lion King prequel and a sitcom swansong feature in a festive week of wonders

A Lion King prequel and a sitcom swansong feature in a festive week of wonders

Going out:Cinema

Mufasa: The Lion KingOut now How did Scar become Scar? These and other mysteries are set to be uncovered in this Lion King prequel about the early life of Mufasa, the orphaned lion cub whose death as the leonine monarch in the 1994 animation traumatised an entire generation.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most FowlOut now The greatest villain in British animation – hell, British film – is back. Feathers McGraw, the nefarious penguin from Wallace and Gromit’s finest adventure, The Wrong Trousers, returns to confound Aardman’s dynamic duo once more. It’s hard to conceive of a better Christmas present – except perhaps a nice bit of wensleydale.

Baby JohnOut Christmas Day This Indian Hindi-language action thriller film, directed by the mononymic Kalees, sees a police officer (Varun Dhawan) fake his death and go into hiding in order to safely raise his daughter. Naturally, he has a nemesis (Jackie Shroff) who has other ideas.

Spirited AwayOut Boxing Day The enchanting Studio Ghibli classic returns to the big screen for Christmas, at which time the sequence where some family members transform into enthusiastically gluttonous pigs may prove particularly topical. Screenings at Imax cinemas in January comes with a live intro from the delightful popular podcast Ghibliotheque. Catherine Bray

Going out: Gigs

RnB Xmas BallThe O2, London, 22 December Now with a tweaked lineup – original headliners Jodeci pulled out – this celebration of 90s R&B is back for its second year. A returning SWV are joined by Tell Me It’s Me You Want hitmaker Keith Sweat, alongside supergroup TGT, AKA Tyrese, Ginuwine and Tank. Michael Cragg

The Lottery WinnersManchester Academy, 27to 29 December Ahead of next February’s fourth album, Koko, the follow-up to last year’s surprising UK chart topper Anxiety Replacement Therapy, the indie pop quartet pay a trio of shows in their home city. The perfect setting for a post-Christmas pogo session before getting back to the cold meats. MC

An Italian ChristmasWigmore Hall, London, 23 December In the midst of a programme of music from the Italian baroque that includes two works by Alessandro Stradella and Arcangelo Corelli’s famous Christmas Concerto, the Dunedin Consort and a quintet of vocalists give the first performance of the latest work the group has commissioned from Caroline Shaw. Andrew Clements

Down for the Count OrchestraTurner Sims, Southampton, 22 December Sharp-end contemporary-improv seekers might pass on the two decade-old Down for the Count Orchestra’s lovingly authentic covers of the great 1930s and 40s songs of Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and more – but their jubilant Christmas show catches the freewheeling swing of jazz when it was the pop music of its era. John Fordham

Going out: Art

Dürer to Van DyckRoyal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, to 23 February The wonders of North European art are unleashed in a show of drawings that include a stag with coral-like horns and a mask in the shape of a lion’s face. There are slices of reality, too, like Rembrandt’s portrait of an actor learning lines. A Christmas gift of great art.

Silk RoadsBritish Museum, London, to 23 February The journey of the Magi, the legendary procession of gift-laden travellers that’s so much part of the Christmas story, becomes reality in this survey of the merchant routes that connected east and west in ancient and medieval times. All the spices and gold give this epic show a seasonal twist.

Birds: Brilliant and BizarreNatural History Museum, London, to 5 January This show is ideal for the holidays, an enjoyable education in evolution for all ages. It reveals that today’s birds are actually living dinosaurs and explores how they have adapted with a stunning range of skills and behaviours. Hummingbirds dance, owls hunt, and interactive exhibits bring avian existence to life.

The Traumatic SurrealHenry Moore Institute, Leeds, to 16 March As the centenary year of surrealism approaches its end, this exhibition offers a sideways look at the movement founded in 1924 Paris. It shows how, after the second world war, female artists in Germany, Austria and Switzerland took up its belief in the psyche. With Méret Oppenheim and Pipilotti Rist. Jonathan Jones

Going out: Stage

Live at ChristmasCambridge Corn Exchange, 21 DecemberEach year a crack team of comics assemble for a show that may not be explicitly festive but is definitely unbeatably jolly. This instalment features the cerebral Sara Pascoe, Aussie comic Steen Raskopoulos, self-lacerating Old Etonian Ivo Graham and the reliably brilliant Rhys James and Suzie Ruffell. Rachel Aroesti

Circa: Duck PondRoyal Festival Hall, London, to 30 December Australian company Circa is one of the best bets when it comes to contemporary circus with theatrical nous. This show skews towards comedy – the title’s a spoof of Swan Lake – and should be a crowd-pleaser, strong on stagecraft, spectacle and some very impressive tricks. Lindsey Winship

St NicholasOmnibus theatre, London, to Christmas Eve Looking for an escape from all the Christmas cheer? This dark tale from Conor McPherson (The Weir) offers an alternative festive fable. Nick Danan stars in this supernatural story of a jaded theatre critic, a badly made bargain and a coven of modern day vampires. Kate Wyver

Alice in WonderlandShakespeare North Playhouse, Prescot, to 11 JanuaryDive down the rabbit hole for whimsical adventure as Alice is welcomed back into Wonderland. A sequel to the classic, Nick Lane’s high-energy adaptation sees Alice gather her old friends to fight the evil forces and memory wiping jam tarts. KW

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Staying in: Streaming

Outnumbered Christmas SpecialiPlayer & BBC One, Boxing Day, 9.15pm More 00s comedy nostalgia courtesy of this reunion episode of Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner’s superlative family sitcom. Eight years on from the last festive edition (and 17 since the series began), the cute kids are all grown up – but still proving a headache for their overstretched parents.

Gavin and Stacey: The FinaleiPlayer & BBC One, Christmas Day, 9pm Britain’s last great mainstream sitcom returns – and as its subtitle makes clear, this will be the final time the Billericay and Barry contingents cross paths on our screens. That we get a 95-minute signoff is some consolation, as is the promise of some long-awaited details about Uncle Bryn’s fateful fishing trip.

Squid GameNetflix, Boxing Day Just over three years ago, this satirical South Korean thriller about a deadly and very lucrative gameshow came from nowhere to dominate the global zeitgeist. Netflix will be hoping it can repeat the trick with season two, which sees previous winner Gi-hun return to the competition in the hope of destroying it.

From Roger Moore With LoveiPlayer & BBC Two, Christmas Day, 9pm Our suavest ever Bond gets a suitably classy tribute with this feature-length documentary made in collaboration with his family. Moore’s children and celebrity names including Joan Collins and Christopher Walken narrate his rise from humble south London roots to a life gilded with Hollywood glamour via his distinctively wry take on 007. RA

Staying in: Games

Alien: Rogue IncursionOut now; PSVR, Meta Quest, Steam VR If you have no qualms strapping on a headset and looking a right wally in your living room as you yelp with terror, this game may be for you. You play as a grunt searching for her friend in a planetary colony that’s suspiciously quiet. Pulse rifles, motion trackers, face-huggers – it’s all here in immersive VR.

Botany ManorOut now; PlayStation, Xbox, PC, Switch For something less likely to cause your blood pressure to explode, this gorgeous, laid-back first-person puzzler will see you nurturing plants, wandering the grounds of the titular manor, reading letters, and solving little, low-stress mysteries. Aaaand relax. Luke Holland

Staying in: Albums

Say Lou Lou – DustOut now Twin sisters Anna and Elektra Kilbey-Jansson make the sort of featherlight pop perfect for an LA sunset. So let this third album transport you away from the grey via the disco shimmy of the title track and the gorgeous yearning of Waiting for a Boy.

Saint Etienne – The NightOut now Continuing the mellow feel of 2021’s I’ve Been Trying to Tell You, beloved British pop trio Saint Etienne dig deeper into the atmospherics on this follow-up. Framed as that point between awake and sleep, snatches of dialogue and found sounds float in and out, while songs like Nightingale showcase Sarah Cracknell’s gorgeous voice.

Jennifer Hudson – The Gift of LoveOut now American Idol alumnus turned Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson releases her first Christmas album. While the majority are cover versions – Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah; The Sound of Music’s My Favourite Things, among others – the four originals aren’t too shabby, specifically the Common-assisted slow jam, Almost Christmas.

Kelly Clarkson – When Christmas Comes Around … AgainOut now Clarkson’s Underneath the Tree is a modern-day Christmas classic and I’ll fight anyone who disagrees. If you’re a fan, and you should be, then there are even more festive bops on this rerelease of Clarkson’s 2021 album, which now includes You For Christmas, produced by Mark Ronson. MC

Staying in:Brain food

Homing InPodcast Design-focused estate agent The Modern House presents this entertaining series going behind the scenes of beautiful homes most of us will never be able to afford. Featuring tales from Nigel Slater’s kitchen and Mary Portas’s wardrobe.

MusiccaOnline With the holiday season upon us, it’s the perfect time to dust off the piano or another long-neglected instrument and hone your skills. This comprehensive music theory app is a great way to learn as you go.

This Is Africa: Magic System21 December, BBC World Service Best known for their 2000 hit Premier Gaou, Ivorian band Magic System have since become pioneers in west African dancefloor fusion. This in-depth interview explores the group’s origins and their current charitable work in education. Ammar Kalia

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