When Ava Pickett’s dazzlingly confident debut play premiered at the Almeida last year, the auditorium crackled with the sense that we were witnessing something truly new and exciting. I wrote at the time: “It’s sold out but I really don’t think we’ve seen the last of it.” Now – hooray – her Tudor-set drama about three female friends, who meet up in a field in Essex to laugh, swear and gossip against the backdrop of Anne Boleyn’s arrest, barrels into the West End starring the superb original cast of Liv Hill, Siena Kelly and Tanya Reynolds. Directed by Lyndsey Turner, 1536 is a savage exploration of female friendship and women’s powerlessness at the hands of men that’s packed with secrets, scandal and biting wit.

Imogen Carter, Nerve co-founder

Woi oi, it's Irish punk-rap trio Kneecap, with lyrics like "Fuck Keir Starmer, Netanyahu’s bitch and genocide armer". Now that's what I call a summer banger! Britain's most wanted have returned with Fenian, the follow-up to their 2024 piss-up party album Fine Art, and are clearly pulling no punches as they call out the establishment following their recent trial, where London's High Court dismissed a terrorism charge against Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh (aka Mo Chara). 

Fenian, the title, references the Irish rebel movement that tried to overthrow British rule in the 19th century. No doubt some slamming beats would have helped them: where Kneecap's album really succeeds is in the expertly crafted Firestarter-sized industrial chompers, glowstick-whirling acid whoppers, clattering dubstep and menacing electro, steered by south London producer Dan Carey. Kae Tempest's appearance on Irish Goodbye, a song about the suicide of band member Móglaí Bap's mum, adds some welcome pathos at the album's close, too.

Kate Hutchinson, Nerve music critic

There are only two questionable elements in this fashion film sequel: that lacklustre Lady Gaga track and Miranda Priestly’s Armani Privé sequin coat. Everything else arrives with the confident strut of the Runway team entering a Milan fashion week party. It’s chic, it’s relevant, it’s fun; there’s a refreshingly angst-free portrayal of an unmarried woman over 40 and we get to see Meryl Streep do physical comedy. Magnifico!

Ellen E Jones, Nerve film critic

This beautiful and witty meditation on living with, and learning to understand, neurodivergence is one of the most delightful books I've read lately. Ince is so many things, all of which make him the perfect person to write this book: he's a poet, he's a brilliant comedian, he's a massively successful science broadcaster, and he's a profound empath. The book, just out in paperback, explains neurodivergence with expertise, lived experience, humour, and huge amounts of compassion. I laughed, I cried, I felt less alone. 

Lucia Osborne-Crowley, writer

In 1981, over 200 predominantly female workers at Greenock’s Lee Jeans factory staged a wildcat strike over plans to close the facility: for seven months, they occupied the site, barricading the doors and surviving off smuggled-in fish suppers. Now, this galvanising tale of industrial action and working-class solidarity in Thatcher's Britain has been turned into an exhilarating and entertaining gig-musical by playwright Frances Poet and director Jemima Levick, featuring a superb six-strong ensemble led by Jo Freer and Chiara Sparkes. Co-produced by the National Theatre of Scotland and the Tron Theatre, it runs in Glasgow until Saturday, then tours Scotland for a month.

Fergus Morgan, writer

Creepy rabbits, a 400-year-old witch and a haunted honeymoon suite: Damian McCarthy’s eerie, atmospheric horror follows reclusive novelist Ohm Bauman as he prepares to scatter his parents’ ashes near a hotel in rural Ireland. While it becomes more formulaic in its later stages, the film is effective at building a mounting sense of dread and visceral set pieces. There is also a great deal of fun to be had seeing Adam Scott on such cantankerous form.

Kathryn Bromwich, writer

ART
Grenfell by Steve McQueen
(16 May – 21 June, Bluecoat, Liverpool)

Tate Liverpool and RIBA North present Steve McQueen’s powerful film installation responding to the fire that took place on 14 June 2017 at Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, West London. Entry is free but you must book a timed slot.

THEATRE
Trainspotting the Musical
(Theatre Royal Haymarket, London SW1, 15 July-5 September)

The ultimate 90s Brit flick charges into the West End complete with a 15-plus age rating and promises of new songs along with the original bangers. Written by Irvine Welsh, with music and lyrics by Welsh and Stephen McGuinness.

DANCE
Mere Mortals by San Francisco Ballet
(28-30 August, Edinburgh Playhouse;  9-12 September, Sadler’s Wells)

Tamara Rojo commissioned choreographer Aszure Barton to create this ambitious work, reimagining Pandora’s Box in the AI age, for her inaugural season as artistic director at SF Ballet.

THEATRE
Dracula
(Noel Coward theatre, London WC2, until 30 May)

Catch Cynthia Erivo playing every character in this multimedia gothic revival directed by Kip Williams before she escapes into the night for good.