The Week’s guide to what’s worth seeing and reading
Showing now
Two big, free UK shows mark the centenary of the death of Edgar Degas. Drawn in Colour: Degas from the Burrell at the National Gallery, London WC2 (020-7747 2885) includes works from Glasgow’s fabulous Burrell Collection; ends 7 May 2018. While Degas: A Passion for Perfection, at The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (01223-332900) combines the museum’s own large collection of Degas’s work with loans from around the world. Ends 14 January 2018.
The Real Thing at the Rose Theatre Kingston (020-8174 0090). Laurence Fox stars in this “sparkling revival” of Tom Stoppard’s comedy (The Stage). Until 14 October, then Malvern, Edinburgh, Brighton and Guildford.
Book now
The Tate St Ives extension opens with Modern Art and St Ives, an exploration of the town’s role in the story of modernism. 14 October7 January 2018 (01736-796226).
Rhys Ifans is Ebenezer Scrooge in Jack Thorne’s new adaptation of A Christmas Carol – Matthew Warchus directs. Recommended for ages 11+. 20 November-20 January 2018. The Old Vic, London SE1 (0844-871 7628).
Just out in paperback
The Road to Somewhere by David Goodhart (Penguin £9.99). A “shrewd” examination of the “yawning divide” in today’s Britain between footloose metropolitan “anywheres” and older, poorer “somewheres” (Sunday Times).