This week’s hotlist zigzags from the much-discussed new album from Lily Allen to the excellent Josh O’Connor on screen, via a new collection of short stories from the great American writer Lynne Tillman and the city of Bradford, which has done the Turner prize shortlisted artists proud. But now the clocks have changed and it’s dark outside there’s no need to leave the house - cosy up for Sally Wainwright’s hit drama with its crack female cast and music legend David Byrne’s playlist from his recent wedding dinner. 

You couldn't escape 'the discourse' at the weekend: it's in frenzied WhatsApp groups, on social media and in toilet queues. Perhaps the best thing about Lily Allen's sweetly scathing divorce album, her first in seven years, is how it's given people permission to say what they really think about modern relationships and sexual dynamics. But despite being recorded in just two weeks, West End Girl has got the tunes too, sounding like La La Land unravelling, as Allen's easy-breezy jazz-pop is drawn back to this side of the Atlantic with flashes of UK garage and dancehall. 

Kate Hutchinson, Nerve pop critic

What’s the antidote, if you’re a middle-aged woman, to feeling sad, sidelined, invisible, unwanted and angry? HRT? No, you need to form a punk band with a group of other, similarly afflicted females. That’s the premise of Sally Wainwright’s latest big-hearted drama set, like her matchless Happy Valley, in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire. Joanna Scanlan, Lorraine Ashbourne, Tamsin Greig, Rosalie Craig and Amelia Bullmore lead a superlative cast through a story that sees them juggling ageing parents, thoughtless children, weak men and clueless bosses. As always with Wainwright, the dialogue is superb and it is all finely laced with humour that is both feather-light and heartbreakingly dark.

Lisa O’Kelly, contributing writer

A collection of stories from across the great American writer's oeuvre has something for everyone: Tillman is by turns wise, hilarious, profound. From a woman who accidentally falls in love with a stain on the wall of a bar (she forgot her glasses) to a little cat named Boots to a family saga of the "Murgatryodes" told by someone formerly named Lynne Tillman, each story grabs your attention immediately and takes you somewhere unexpected. Tillman is one of our most surprising, agile, and deeply intelligent writers.

Emily LaBarge, art critic

Josh O’Connor’s scruffy star-power is ablaze as fumbling art thief JB, in this low-key, 1970s-set heist film. Reichardt combines an autumnal palette with a mischievous jazz score, inviting us to meditate on what motivates JB to steal — or indeed, anyone to do anything. Is it for the love of beauty? Or just for the hell of it?

Ellen E Jones, film critic

The gallery's treasures (including their Hockneys) have been stripped from the walls and put into storage to allow the work of the four shortlisted artists - Rene Matić, Mohammed Sami, Zadie Xa and Nnena Kalu - in this year’s prize to fill the gallery spaces. There are lots of conversations to be had about the work; you cannot fail to be inspired by this exquisitely installed show. The winner will be announced in Bradford on 9 December. 

Susan Ferguson, contributing writer

Artist and Musician David Byrne marked his recent marriage to former Tate and Artangel Trustee Mala Gaonkar by making public their wedding playlist on Spotify. Guests feasted to a 42-track selection, described by Byrne as "buoyant instrumentals... that folks can ignore ".

Michael Morris, contributing editor

Loud, lurid, dazzling - Jean Genet’s 1947 satire is reimagined for the TikTok age with “Madame” rebranded as a narcissistic fashion influencer (24m followers). Live action video from mobile phones, often grotesquely filtered, is projected onto the walls and dominates the space. Directed by Australian Kip Williams, whose Picture of Dorian Gray with Sarah Snook was a critical hit -  this will provoke extreme reactions. 

Jane Ferguson, Nerve co-founder

Newcastle-born Jayne Dent is the engagingly peculiar Me Lost Me. Mixing beautifully sung folk melodies and droney electronics in esoteric songs about art history, aqueducts and the apocalypse, her live gigs are playful, fun and truly individual.

Jude Rogers, contributing writer

MUSIC
Simple Things festival, Bristol
(8 November; prelim events 4-7 November)

Now in its 11th year, this properly independent, boldly esoteric 24 hour fest expands to include every single space at the Bristol Beacon, as well as other city centre venues. Highlights include Dry Cleaning, These New Puritans, Nala Sinephro and a celebration of Ugandan label Nyege Nyege Tapes. And if you don’t live in - or can’t get to - beautiful Bristol, here’s an excellent 61-track playlist they’ve made. I guarantee even the most dedicated music nerd will find a new discovery.

Sarah Donaldson, co-founder

THEATRE
Ivanov, Bridge Theatre, London SE1
(4 July to 19 September)

Hot on the heels of his Lady from the Sea (ends 8 Nov), director Simon Stone returns to Bridge next summer with his take on Chekhov’s Ivanov. Expect a minimalist staging and fresh ideas from the in demand Australian who likes to write his adaptations on the hoof. Chris Pine stars

FILM
Wes Anderson, Design Museum, London W8
(21 November - 26 July)

Over 600 objects - from the candy pink model of the Grand Budapest hotel to Mr Fox’s brown corduroy suit - collected over three decades by this director with a unique vision.

PHOTOGRAPHY:
Picture Post: A Twentieth Century Icon, National Museum, Cardiff
(ends 9 Nov)

Brilliant exhibition exploring the history of this magazine which had a  peak readership of 1.7m.