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15 cultural highlights to beat the January blues
From brand new TV series to art exhibitions, theatre performances and Oscar-worthy films, our culture team have you covered for entertainment this month
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Your support makes all the difference.A 2020 poll claimed that more than a quarter of people suffer from the phenomenon known as the “January blues”, the slump many of us experience in those bleak few weeks after Christmas. Really, it’s no surprise that we feel this way, when the festive decorations are being taken down, there are no more presents to be unwrapped, and our bank balances are looking woeful. On top of that, the days are dark and the weather is frequently miserable.
As quiet and drab as things might seem, though, there is a wealth of films, TV shows, books, plays and music to lift your spirits and keep you entertained while you hide away from the cold. You could dance your troubles away at Abba’s critically acclaimed Voyage show, or watch others dance for you at the raunchy Magic Mike live experience. Curl up and tune into the long-awaited third season of BBC’s The Traitors, or switch over to some comfort viewing on Netflix with its fantastic series, The Makanai – Cooking for the Maiko House.
If you’re looking for something that touch more refined, the BFI is hosting a season dedicated to Italian director Luchino Visconti, while Tate Britain’s powerful photography exhibition, The 80s: Photographing Britain, is open to visitors. One of America’s finest actors, Sterling K Brown, stars in Disney+’s glossy new thriller Paradise, while Adrien Brody is a strong favourite for a Best Actor nomination at this year’s Academy Awards, thanks to his performance in Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist.
For the best of both worlds, the Jane Austen House is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the famed Pride and Prejudice author’s birth with a series of festivals beginning this month. Grab your best bonnet and get stuck in.
15. Ludovico Einaudi – The Summer Portraits
The Italian composer’s latest album is inspired by summer months spent on holiday with his family
Ludovico Einaudi’s 17th studio album, out on 31 January, is inspired by childhood holidays where the warm summer days and nights seemed endless, and full of possibility. Piano works such as “Punta Bianca” conjure dreamy pictures of the azure waters of the Mediterranean glimmering in bright sunlight, or dappled rays through the trees. “Pathos” opens with sparse piano notes before building into a soaring, acrobatic climax of darting violins and gliding cellos, like swallows in flight. It’s one of the Italian artist’s most evocative and personal works to date; listen and find yourself transported. Roisin O’Connor
The Summer Portraits by Ludivico Einaudi is released by Decca on 31 January
14. ‘Magic Mike Live’
Ninety minutes of steamy dance routines and endless six-packs should be enough to melt away the January blues
No, it’s not exactly high art. But winter is gloomy enough without sitting through layers of theatrical subtext – why not stick two fingers up at the January blues by fully embracing some truly lowbrow fun instead? The brainchild of Channing Tatum after he starred in the film of the same name, Magic Mike Live is a 90-minute whirlwind of endless six-packs, oiled-up guns (arms, not firearms) and raunchy dance moves designed to get hen parties screeching like banshees. Magic indeed. Helen Coffey
Magic Mike is playing at the Hippodrome in London five nights a week from Wednesday to Sunday; tickets are on sale now from £48
13. Luchino Visconti season at the BFI
Because what better way is there to spend January than escaping the cold weather by immersing yourself in the biting, colourful and often gaudy opulence of one of our greatest filmmaking maestros?
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Many film enthusiasts will have already lapped up Italian director Luchino Visconti’s works, ranging from influential crime saga Rocco and His Brothers (1960) to opulent historical drama The Leopard (1963). But have you done so on the big screen? If you’re yet to see the neorealist master’s gems in the way they were designed to be shown, you can now do so thanks to a dedicated season at the BFI, which lasts from 9-30 January and will be screening 11 films from his back catalogue, including the lesser-known but no-less-brilliant Senso (1954) and Ludwig (1973). Jacob Stolworthy
Luchino Visconti season runs at the BFI from 9-30 January; tickets are on sale now
12. ‘Paradise’
One of America’s finest actors leads this new thriller, arriving at the end of the month
Sterling K Brown brings an electric intensity to everything he does, whether it’s his role as a domineering father in Waves or his Oscar-nominated performance as an estranged brother in American Fiction. Now, he’s playing head of security for a US president in Disney+’s Paradise, a glossy new thriller set in a serene community inhabited by some of the world’s most prominent individuals. It’s sure to set pulses racing on cold winter nights. Ellie Harrison
On Disney+ from 28 January
11. ‘The Brutalist’
There are plenty of great films out at the cinema this month – among them Babygirl, Nickel Boys, and We Live in Time – but there’s nothing quite like The Brutalist. A propulsive epic about a Jewish architect (Adrien Brody) who emigrates from Hungary to the US after the Holocaust, the film is over three and a half hours long (including an intermission), and transfixing for pretty much every minute of it. Louis Chilton
‘The Brutalist’ is in UK cinemas from 24 January
10. The 80s: Photographing Britain
This exhibition, about a decade of struggle, is a great way to spend a rainy day
Go back in time to the Eighties, in all their gritty glory, with a visit to this new Tate Modern exhibition. Set against the backdrop of Margaret Thatcher’s premiership, Section 28, the miners’ strike, race uprisings and the Aids crisis, a diverse range of artists offer images of protest and hope. Our critic Mark Hudson, who remembers the decade with “painful clarity”, called the show a “highly atmospheric exhibition”. EH
At the Tate Modern until 5 May; tickets £20 or free for members, concessions available
9. ‘Molly-Mae: Behind It All’
Indulge in a TV guilty pleasure and settle down with the reality show that your group chat will end up dissecting
In my humble (and correct) opinion, January is not the time for embarking on big, sweeping and convoluted TV dramas that will force you to put your brain into gear. Instead, it’s a month that’s perfect for getting overly invested in guilty pleasures, such as Netflix’s latest incomprehensible Harlan Coben thriller, or Amazon’s new documentary about Love Island star turned UK influencer extraordinaire Molly-Mae Hague.
It promises to take us behind the scenes as the 25-year-old launches her fashion brand and navigates the fallout from her split from fellow Love Island-er Tommy Fury. It’s always hard to predict whether a show like this will be properly revealing or just a carefully orchestrated, nicely lit bit of promo: either way, though, you can probably guarantee that your group chat will be endlessly discussing this one once it’s released (and that there will be endless tasteful shots of Molly’s lovely house, the Molly-Maison). Katie Rosseinsky
The first three episodes of ‘Molly-Mae: Behind It All’ will be released on 17 January on Amazon Prime Video, with the remaining three released in spring
8. ‘Severance’
In the thrilling second season, Adam Scott’s character is still dealing with the consequences of his dystopian work/life hack
If there’s anything that can get you through long, dark days of sitting resentfully back at your desk, it’s surely watching employees who are having a much worse time of it. Enter season two of Severance, the fabulously dark, gripping and twistedly dystopian series starring Adam Scott as a man who has undergone a surgical procedure to separate his office psyche from his off-the-clock self. It might sound like the ultimate work/life balance hack – but there are unknowable and disastrous consequences lurking around every corner… HC
Season two of ‘Severance’ premieres on Apple TV on 17 January 2025
7. ‘So Thrilled For You’ by Holly Bourne
A gripping, funny and sometimes shocking page turner that will make the long, dark nights race by
If you’ve resolved to read more this year, the latest novel from Holly Bourne would be a good place to start. Sure, the subject matter isn’t exactly the cosiest: it’s set over the course of a baby shower that goes disastrously, explosively wrong, and is narrated by four thirtysomething university friends, all with very different lives and attitudes to motherhood.
Yet the writing is bracingly honest and funny about the parts of life that no one really wants to talk about, making it the perfect antidote to all the self-satisfied Instagram posts you’ve probably been consuming over the festive season. Plus, it’s set during an oppressive summer heatwave, when the temperatures are so high that the tarmac – and the pregnancy-themed cupcakes – start melting, which might just make you appreciate the January cold. KR
‘So Thrilled for You’ is published by Hachette on 16 January
6. ‘Oedipus’
The famous tragedy gets yet another stage adaptation, this time starring Rami Malek opposite ‘Game of Thrones’ star Indira Varma
Lately, London’s West End can’t seem to get enough of Oedipus, Sophocles’s immortal story of incest and patricide. Just weeks after Mark Strong and Lesley Manville fronted a production at Wyndham’s Theatre, the Old Vic is staging its own – a new adaptation by Ella Hickson with Oscar-winner Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) and Olivier Award-winner Indira Varma (Game of Thrones) in the lead roles. Will it be rather morbid? Probably! But if this doesn’t put your own troubles into perspective, I don’t know what will. LC
‘Oedipus’ runs at the Old Vic theatre from 21 January to 29 March; box.office@oldvictheatre.com
5. ‘Julia Masli: ha ha ha ha ha ha’
A comedian trying to solve people’s life problems live on stage... what could possibly go wrong?
When Estonian comic Julia Masli debuted this agony aunt show at the Edinburgh Fringe last year, it was the talk of the town. The Independent’s Isobel Lewis warned audiences that, because of the crowd participation aspect, “no two shows will be the same”, adding that it “vacillates between excruciating absurdity and heart-pinching pathos”. And now, Masli’s bringing it back with a run of performances at London’s Soho Theatre. Expect clowning, life advice, and, well, the unexpected. And who doesn’t need a laugh in the least-funny month of the year? EH
At the Soho Theatre in London until 11 January; tickets are sold out but call 0297480100 to join the waiting list and check for returns
4. ‘The Makanai – Cooking for the Maiko House’
This little-seen Netflix gem has become annual viewing in my household – and for good reason; it’s one of the most gentle shows of all time, and will ease you into the new year by transporting you directly into sunny Kyoto for a cosy tale of friendship and food
Back in January 2023, Netflix quietly dropped one of its greatest TV shows. It’s also, criminally, one of its most under-appreciated. For those who did watch it, though, the endlessly pleasant The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House was perfect viewing material for dreary January evenings – and just because you missed it the first time around doesn’t mean you can’t have the same experience now another new year is upon us. From Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters), the nine-part series follows a teenager hired as a cook for a household of geishas in Kyoto. As well as being a terrific TV show, its luxurious cooking scenes might just inspire you to enhance your kitchen skills, too. JS
‘The Makanai – Cooking for the Maiko House’ season two is out now on Netflix
3. ‘Abba Voyage’
The Swedish pop group’s groundbreaking hologram concert at a purpose-built arena in London
If there’s anything that can help you dance away the January blues, it’s the Super Troupers themselves. Abba’s jaw-dropping Abba Voyage concert celebrates its second anniversary in 2025 but its popularity shows no sign of waning. In fact, it was announced in November that the show starring “Abbatars” of Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad has been extended again, so it will now run until at least October 2025. ROC
There are still tickets available for a number of the January shows, including auditorium seating, the dance floor and the venue’s eight exclusive dance booths.
2. ‘The Traitors’
This smash-hit series will keep you busy three nights a week, on a month when social calendars are out the window
If you’re doing dry January, and are having an existential crisis because you’ve now realised your only hobby was the pub, don’t panic – The Traitors is back. Airing every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night, across every week in January, BBC One’s game of deception will make for thrilling company while you’re at home feeling smug about sipping your fifth herbal tea of the evening. Claudia Winkleman is back doing her best impression of a mature French student named Jean. One contestant is, inexplicably, pretending to be Welsh. There’s a covert priest in the mix. It’s total chaos, and sure to beat the blues. EH
‘The Traitors’ airs on BBC One at 8pm, Wednesday-Friday
1. ‘Pride and Prejudice’ festival at Jane Austen’s House
Celebrate a literary icon’s landmark anniversary
2025 marks 250 years since the birth of Jane Austen. The next 12 months will therefore bring a whole host of events, celebrations and new releases (the BBC has a handful of Austen-related projects in the works) for Janeites to get excited about, and first up is a six-day extravaganza focusing on Austen’s best-known work. From 23 to 28 January, the Pride and Prejudice festival will be held in and around Jane Austen’s House in Chawton, Hampshire, which was where the author wrote and revised her six novels. On the agenda are quizzes, tours, talks and readings (including one held in the very room where Austen would have read aloud from her work), plus an afternoon dedicated to the music of Pride and Prejudice. KH
The ‘Pride and Prejudice’ festival takes place at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton, Hampshire, from 23 to 28 January; tickets on sale now
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