The best upcoming film, art and theatre in London to book now in 2023

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Thursday is the new Friday! In our new Thursday Going Out section we bring you a list of all the things we’re looking forward to this year from the worlds of art, theatre and film. 2023 already looks like a classic.

Theatre

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, 13 JANUARY – 4 FEBRUARY, ALMEIDA 

This Almeida production starring Normal People’s Paul Mescal has had a rocky road to the stage, with lead Lydia Wilson pulling out close to opening night in December. It will officially open this week with the wonderful Patsy Ferran playing Blanche Dubois. This looks set to be a steamy success. 

THE LEHMAN TRILOGY, 8 FEBRUARY – 20 MAY, GILLIAN LYNNE THEATRE

One of the most highly regarded plays of the last decade, The Lehman Trilogy is a barnstorming history of the eponymous brothers who founded the titular bank, and their ancestors who ran it into the ground. Now starring Michael Balogun, Hadley Fraser and Nigel Lindsay, this is an unmissable tale of greed and hubris. 

VARDY V ROONEY, 6 APRIL – 20 MAY, AMBASSADORS THEATRE

After a short but successful fringe run, Vardy v Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial transfers to the Ambassadors Theatre. Using verbatim transcripts from the trial between the footballers’ wives, this play brilliantly recalls the guilt-free pleasure of the stupidest trial of the century. 

THE UNFRIEND, 6 JANUARY – 16 APRIL, CRITERION

If you love Doctor Who then new theatre production The Unfriend has to be on your unmissable list. It’s the first play by Who writer Steven Moffat and is directed by Mark Gatiss. Together they are the television duo behind Sherlock. It’s a dark comedy about the horror that unfolds when a Trump-supporting widow flies to see a British couple. And it stars Reece Shearsmith, who is great. 

A LITTLE LIFE, 25 MARCH – 18 JUNE, HAROLD PINTER THEATRE

Hanya Yanagihara’s epic novel has sold over 2.5m copies and has been called too miserable to be made into a TV series. It’s the touching, tragic tale of four men’s lives that turn out badly. Ivo Van Hove, who recently did Network and West Side Story, is on board to direct the handsome James Norton.

Film

WONKA, RELEASE DATE: 15 DECEMBER, DIR. PAUL KING

There’s a third iteration of Roald Dahl’s famous chocolate maker being released to cinemas this year. Timothee Chalamet will play Wonka in an origin story that follows the eccentric chocolate-maker’s formative years. There’s a bright role call of supporting actors, including Rowan Atkinson, Matt Lucas and Olivia Colman. 

OPPENHEIMER, RELEASE DATE: 21 JULY, DIR. CHRISTOPER NOLAN

Batman and Inception director Christoper Nolan returns with Oppenheimer this summer, the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist known as the “father” of the American atomic bomb. Cillian Murphy plays the titular role in this fictional tale about the life of the charismatic, arrogant intellectual. The supporting cast includes Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr, Matt Damon and Rami Malek. 

BARBIE, RELEASE DATE: 21 JULY, DIR. GRETA GERWIG

So hyped has this Barbie film been, photos of Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie in neon outfits on the set have had fashionistas rethinking their style trends for 2023. The movie will do what it says on the tin: be a stylised, grownup retelling of the story of the fashion doll and earmarks the first live action version of Barbie’s story. It’s directed by Little Women director Greta Gerwig, so you’re in good hands if you think it all looks a bit ridiculous. 

COCAINE BEAR, RELEASE DATE: 21 JULY, DIR. GRETA GERWIG

Very, very, very loosely based on a true story about a bear who finds and consumes a lot of cocaine, this is 2023’s answer to Snakes on a Plane. It’s also a fond, if surreal, farewell to the late Ray Liotta, and while this will be no Goodfellas, it promises to be old-fashioned cinema fun. 

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4, RELEASE DATE: 24 MARCH, DIR. CHAD STAHELSKI

Having already completed an incredible trilogy of Hong Kong-influenced action movies, Keanu Reeves will return for another dose of gratuitous, glorious fight-dancing. He reprises the role of besuited assassin John Wick, who was lured back into the biz in the first movie after someone killed his dog. Perhaps the best new franchise of the last decade.. 

INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY, RELEASE DATE: 30 JUNE, DIR. JAMES MANGOLD

The Indiana Jones franchise, once the most exciting IP in the world, has stung us before (the less said about the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull the better) but looking at this cast it’s impossible not to get a little excited. Harrison Ford, now a thousand years old, will dust off his iconic hat for the first movie in the franchise not directed by Steven Spielberg. But in the hands of Girl, Interrupted and Walk the Line director James Mangold, this could be a hit. We’re in (again). 

DUNE PART TWO, RELEASE DATE: 3 NOVEMBER, DIR. DENIS VILLENEUVE

Dune was one of the great cinematic events of the last few years, a film so grand and slow and perfect it’s a miracle it got made at all. Now Denis Villeneuve will return with the second part, having already done the narrative heavy-lifting in the first instalment. Originally planned as a two-parter, it has already grown in scope to span three epic films. Timothy Chalamet will return as the heir apparent to The Spice Melange, Paul Atreides. If this isn’t the film of the year, we’ll put our hand in that terrifying little box and keep it there for ages. 

Art

SUMMER EXHIBITION, 2023 OPENS: 21 JULY, ROYAL ACADEMY 

The Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition is the capital’s uncompromising ode to art. It has run every year since 1769 and collates work from celebrated artists and brand new talent. Prints, paintings, film, photography, sculpture and architectural works feature in the collection which takes over the RA’s Main Galleries. 

MARINA ABRAMOVIĆ, OPENS: 23 DECEMBER, ROYAL ACADEMY

Marina Abramović is probably the most famous performance artist in the world. Her career spans 50 years but she is most famous for her provocative works like The Artist Is Present, which, performed in 2010, required guests to sit in front of her in silence. For 2023, Abramović is back with an exhibition spanning her whole life’s work. 

BEYOND THE STREETS, OPENS: 17 FEBRUARY, SAATCHI GALLERY

The whole Saatchi Gallery will be taken over by Beyond the Streets, an exhibition bringing together Graffiti artists, muralists, sculptors and all manner of other street artists into a single mind-bending explosion of colour and ideas. Artists featured will include Goldie, Charlie Ahearn, Guerrilla Girls, Jenny Holzer, all curated by graffiti historian Roger Gastman. He says it will “examine the fundamental human need for public self-expression, highlighting artists with roots in graffiti and street art”. 

SARAH LUCAS, OPENS: 28 SEPTEMBER, TATE BRITAIN

Sarah Lucas was hanging out with Damian Hirst back in the late 1980s. She has since established herself as a provocateur, challenging notions of sex and gender with her often humorous work. She works with sculpture, installation and photography, and her pieces have a certain playful quality. Lucas narrates the exhibition in her own voice. 

HILMA AF KLINT AND PIET MONDRIAN, OPENS: 20 APRIL, TATE MODERN

Swedish painter Hilma af Klint and Dutch painter Piet Mondrian never met but their abstract approaches and interest in understanding the natural world and the forces behind it aligned. Both artists shared an interest in creating work using vibrant colours and shapes, meaning their pieces lend well to curation. Rarely seen works from these modern artists will be on display.