Your Summer Cultural Calendar

What to watch, read, stream and dance to this summer

Tenet, A Suitable Boy. Ellie Goulding, Rihanna, Katy Perry

by Rosamund Dean |
Updated on

With the news that cinemas will be reopening from Saturday 4 July, it’s time to plan your summer cultural calendar. Sadly, theatres don’t have capacity for social distancing and, as for live music, don’t expect to see your favourite musicians IRL for some time. However, there are new albums, films, TV treats and books galore coming your way very soon. Step this way for summer 2020’s cultural highlights.

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What to watch, read, stream and dance to this summer...

Your cultural hot list1 of 25

WATCH: Tenet

With British cinemas cautiously reopening from 4 July, the question is: will anyone actually want to sit in an airless room with a bunch of strangers? Christopher Nolan's Tenet – a mind-bending action extravaganza with John David Washington and Robert Pattinson – has been pushed back to 26 August.

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WATCH: Saint Frances

Saint Frances is a brilliant indie charmer that stars Kelly O'Sullivan (who also wrote the script) as a waitress whose life is changed forever when she is charged with the care of a six-year-old girl. Released in cinemas 17 July.

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WATCH: Proxima

In Proxima, Eva Green is an astronaut as committed to her career as she is to her eight-year-old daughter. Alice Winocour's beautiful film is a perfectly heightened study of the struggle faced by all working parents. Released in cinemas 31 July.

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WATCH: Bill & Ted Face the Music

Bill & Ted Face the Music is a sequel that comes 30 years (yes, sorry, 30 years) after the original, starring Keanu Reeves and the other one as middle-aged dads, still rocking and time travelling. Released in cinemas 21 August

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STREAM: Lungs at the Old Vic

Theatres won't be open any time soon, but Old Vic: In Camera brings a run of socially distanced performances of Lungs – starring Matt Smith and Claire Foy – streaming live, directly to your living room.

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LISTEN: Ellie Goulding

Ellie Goulding's fourth album, Brightest Blue (17 July), promises more synth pop bangers in the vein of current single, Power.

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LISTEN: Katy Perry

Katy Perry's as-yet-untitled album is out 14 August. Maybe she'll unveil the album title and baby name at the same time?

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LISTEN: Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey takes a break from causing Twitter controversies to release Chemtrails Over The Country Club on 5 September.

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LISTEN: Rihanna

A new Rihanna album has been heavily rumoured for months. 'I can't say when I'm going to drop,' she said in March, 'but I am very aggressively working on music.' Come on Riri, save our summer.

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WATCH: A Suitable Boy

Screenwriting legend Andrew Davies adapts Vikram Seth's bestselling book, about a young woman looking for love while establishing her own identity in post-Partition India. A Suitable Boy, BBC One, July

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WATCH: Penny Dreadful: City of Angels

A gruesome murder in 1930s Los Angeles sets the scene for this spookily epic ten-part drama, with Natalie Dormer as a sultry, shape-shifting supernatural demon.Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, Sky One, July

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WATCH: Little Birds

This boldly sexy six-part drama stars Juno Temple and Hugh Skinner, in an adaptation of Anais Nin's collection of erotic short stories.Little Birds, Sky Atlantic, August

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WATCH: The Plot Against America

The Wire creator David Simon brings us a terrifying adaptation of the Philip Roth novel that imagines an alternate reality in which a far right candidate is voted President of the United States and forms an allegiance with the Nazis, starring Winona Ryder.The Plot Against America, Sky Atlantic and NOW TV, 14 July

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WATCH: Enola Holmes

Millie Bobby Brown stars as Sherlock's tenacious younger sister, on the trail of her missing mother (Helena Bonham Carter), in this film adaptation of Nancy Springer's novel.Enola Holmes, Netflix, August

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READ: The New Girl by Harriet Walker

This gripping tale of friendship and motherhood is the perfect summer read. The New Girl by Harriet Walker, 9 July

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READ: Who Cares Wins by Lily Cole

A manifesto for choosing optimism, by the inspiring model-turned-campaigner.Who Cares Wins by Lily Cole, out 30 July

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READ: Scenes of a Graphic Nature by Caroline O’Donoghue

A wry novel about family and friendship that is as dark as it is joyous. Scenes of a Graphic Nature by Caroline O'Donoghue, 6 August

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READ: How Do We Know We’re Doing It Right? by Pandora Sykes

This collection of essays is both insightful and reassuring.How Do We Know We're Doing It Right? by Pandora Sykes, 16 July

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READ: Betty by Tiffany McDaniel

A beautiful tale of a bright young girl facing dark family truths in rural Ohio.Betty by Tiffany McDaniel, 18 August

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READ: The Hungover Games by Sophie Heawood

A memoir of life lived at full throttle, until motherhood changed everything.The Hungover Games by Sophie Heawood, 16 July

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READ: Olive by Emma Gannon

A novel about that moment when friends' life decisions set you adrift.Olive by Emma Gannon, 23 July

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READ: Glorious Rock Bottom by Bryony Gordon

This brutal addiction memoir is ultimately uplifting and galvanising.Glorious Rock Bottom by Bryony Gordon, 6 August

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READ: Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers

1950s suburbia is the setting for this devourable mystery, with a side of love story.Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers, 9 July

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READ: Intimations by Zadie Smith

Six deeply personal essays about the experience of lockdown from one of the finest writers of our generation.Intimations by Zadie Smith, 28 July

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DISCOVER: The New Culture List by Crxss Platfxrm

A list of 18 up-and-coming artists who will be shaping the cultural landscape of the future, curated by Crxss Platfxrm, a digital platform dedicated to undiscovered street culture gems.

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