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From Toy Story 5 to The Bear: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead

AI News June 23, 2026 01:08 AM
From Toy Story 5 to The Bear: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead

Toy Story 5Out nowThe toys are back in town for a fifth instalment in Pixar’s long-running signature franchise, with people who were 10 when the first film came out now comfortably of an age to have 10-year-olds of their own. This time, the new toy on the block isn’t exactly a toy: LilyPad (Greta Lee) is a tablet targeted at kids. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen return as Woody and Buzz.

Effi o BlaenauOut nowWelsh-language films are rare in UK cinemas, as are successful movies based on one-woman plays, making this drama doubly unusual. Adapted from Gary Owen’s Iphigenia in Splott, Marc Evans’s debut sees Leisa Gwenllian star as a hard-living young woman whose chance nightclub encounter with a soldier changes her life.Lesbian Space PrincessOut nowSaira (Shabana Azeez) is princess of the planet Clitopolis, born to a couple of lesbian queens. When her ex is abducted by Straight White Maliens, Saira must rescue her, in this Australian animated comedy intended very much for an adult audience, and also featuring Richard Roxburgh as the voice of Problematic Ship.Queer 60s: LGBTQ+ Cinema in the Decade Before StonewallBarbican Cinema, London, to 7 JulyQueer 60s is the Barbican’s third instalment in its annual Pride series, bringing together a truly diverse array of films – everything from Ingmar Bergman’s psychological drama Persona to Frank Simon’s doc The Queen, featuring legendary drag star Crystal LaBeija. Catherine Bray

ParklifeHeaton Park, Manchester, 20 & 21 JuneThe two-day festival returns with a lineup collecting together the great, the good and the “let’s see what else is on” of dance-leaning pop. Calvin Harris, Skepta and Zara Larsson are the big names, but keep an ear out for Nia Archives and Shy FX. Michael Cragg

Robyn24 June to 3 July; tour starts DublinFresh from a support slot on Harry Styles’s summer stadium tour, Swedish pop great Robyn tackles arenas for her biggest solo shows to date. Expect a smattering of songs from March’s excellent Sexistential album to mingle with hits such as Call Your Girlfriend, Indestructible and modern classic Dancing on My Own. MC

Led BibThe Lighthouse, nr Deal, 24 June; Canterbury, 25 June; touring to 29 JuneUK jazz-rock band Led Bib’s roots go back a long way – 70s Frank Zappa, punk, noise, free jazz and more – but they keep on evolving. Saxists Pete Grogan and Chris Williams, bassist Liran Donin and founding drumming and composing powerhouse Mark Holub always remake contemporary jazz and improv in their own way. John Fordham

Monochromatic Light (Afterlife)St Giles’ Cripplegate, London, 22 JuneElectrifying US bass-baritone Davóne Tines joins forces with the BBC Singers and new-music powerhouse GBSR Duo for the final performance of his 2025-26 Barbican Centre residency. This tribute to Morton Feldman’s iconic Rothko Chapel, Monochromatic Life (Afterlife) is a stunningly meditative new work by Pulitzer prize-winning composer Tyshawn Sorey. Flora Willson

Jacques Henri LartigueMK Gallery, Milton Keynes, 20 June to 4 OctoberLartigue was way out ahead of the curve, pioneering street photography on the avenues of belle époque Paris in stunning black and white. This show in Milton Keynes looks at his lesser-known experiments in colour: no less pioneering, but a lot more vivid.

Frida: The Making of an IconTate Modern, London, 25 June to 3 January Art blockbusters don’t get bigger than this exhibition, which traces how Mexican artist Frida Kahlo – one of modern art’s most famed figures – became Frida. It features more than 30 of her most important works.

Rosie RidgwayFocal Point Gallery, Southend-on-Sea, 24 June to 12 September You can live out all your teenage indie band fantasies in Rosie Ridgway’s debut solo exhibition, where the gallery has been turned into a rehearsal space filled with a cast of characters for visitors to embody and create “creative chaos”.

Joy Like TimeSainsbury Centre, Norwich, 20 June to 15 November Performance art pioneer Marina Abramović, master of disguise Gillian Wearing and heavily political sculptor Kalliopi Lemos are brought together for this show about how repetition and ritual can help us find the meaning of life. Eddy Frankel

The MisanthropeNational Theatre: Lyttelton, London, to 1 AugustSandra Oh (Killing Eve) makes her National Theatre debut in Martin Crimp’s adaptation of Molière’s dark comedy. Directed by Indhu Rubasingham and relocated from Paris to modern-day London, the play is about a celebrated novelist who resolves to speak her mind. But at what cost? Miriam Gillinson

1776Schwarzman Centre, Oxford, 26 JuneA one-off show for dancer Lil Buck, pioneer of the dance style Memphis jookin’ (he’s the guy who went viral dancing The Dying Swan with cellist Yo-Yo Ma). In a collaboration with hip-hop company ZooNation and young dancers from Oxford, he dances a piece inspired by American independence. Lyndsey Winship

Matt WinningSoho theatre, London, 22 to 24 JuneSolastalgia is the term for the distress caused by climate change near your home. It’s also the title of environmental economist and comedian Matt Winning’s latest show, an examination of frightening weather forecasts, global financial markets, Big Oil and his own experiences of fatherhood. Rachel Aroesti

Brassed OffLeeds Playhouse, to 11 JulyAmy Leach directs a new take on Mark Herman’s classic film on its 30th anniversary. Set in a fictional mining community in South Yorkshire, this story of resilience features live music from two local Yorkshire bands. MG

GoolagongBBC Four & iPlayer, 20 June, 9pm It’s the sad backstory of so many female sports stars: triumph in the public eye and exploitation behind the scenes. For tennis world No 1 Evonne Goolagong, it was no different: this drama about the trailblazing Indigenous Australian player charts her path from poverty to something more complex than a happily ever after.

The BearDisney+, 26 JuneAlthough its extraordinary Emmy success came tinged with controversy (it competed in the comedy categories despite featuring barely any jokes), Christopher Storer’s intense restaurant drama will still go down as one of the decade’s most celebrated shows. Now we rejoin the troubled kitchen team for a fifth and final season.

Rik Mayall: Magnificent B’stardSky Documentaries & Now, 25 June, 9pmThe more said about Mayall’s indelible influence on British comedy the better: Adrian Edmondson, Ben Elton, Stephen Fry and Nigel Planer are among the friends and colleagues who have assembled to pay tribute in a new documentary that features unseen sketches and archive supplied by his family.

Avatar: The Last AirbenderNetflix, 25 JuneFans of bombastic fantasy are spoilt for choice this week as House of the Dragon returns for more mythical warfare alongside this series (unconnected to James Cameron’s film franchise) about a teenage boy who has been preserved in ice for centuries and has the ability to manipulate the elements. RA

Deer & Boy PC, Switch, PS5 and Xbox, out 24 June Exactly what it sounds like: a poetic, dialogue-free adventure which features a lost boy and a magical faun that grows alongside you as you explore. A good choice if you like short, cinematic games.

EA Sports UFC 6PS5, Xbox, out 25 JuneEA brings its forensically detailed sports simulation talents to mixed martial arts, with all the accurate brands and athlete likenesses. Visually, it’s almost indistinguishable from the real thing. Keza MacDonald

Graham Coxon – Castle Park Out nowOriginally recorded in 2011, as part of the sessions for 2012’s acerbic A+E, the brighter Castle Park’s release was postponed after Coxon returned to the Blur mothership. After a 15-year gap it finally sees the light of day, led by the melodic singles Billy Says and Alright.

Tierra Whack – Whack’s MuseumOut nowThe follow-up to 2024’s genre-shopping odyssey, World Wide Whack, finds Philadelphia singer and spoken-word performer Whack taking things back to basics. On the confrontational rap heater Wax Paper, that means coming for her haters while rhyming “generous” with “Ellen DeGeneres”.

Warning – Rituals of ShameOut nowEssex’s doom metal pioneers return with their first album in two decades. At a brisk (for them) seven minutes long, gothic single Night Comes Down is basically them trying out a radio edit. The title track reaches a patience-testing 12 minutes.

Swim Deep – HumOut nowBrum quintet Swim Deep return with their fifth album of hazy, guitar-led dream-pop. Spliced with elements of psych and shoegaze flourishes, songs such as Pieces of You, Mud and You, Me and Mary slowly stretch out like a lazy Sunday morning. MC

Time SensitivePodcastSpencer Bailey’s long-form interview podcast is a masterclass in gleaning fresh wisdom from his well-documented guests. Highlights include Booker prize winner George Saunders on his personal philosophy of fiction and artist Devon Turnbull on the beauty of sound.

Libraries in Leeds: Exploring JourneysOnlineCurators from Leeds libraries and archives have assembled this fascinating online collection of items on the theme of journeys, from firsthand tales of the Windrush generation to films inspired by the unglamorous M62 corridor.

The American ExperimentNetflix, 24 JuneMarking the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US, this five-part documentary explores the origins of the nation and its frequent social and racial turmoil, economic divisions and current state of political uncertainty. Ammar Kalia