Edinburgh International Festival 2019: Colin Currie Group, BBCSSO, Dausgaard/DiDonato, NYO-USA, Pappano

★★★★ DIDONATO, PAPPANO AND THE NYO-USA Glorious at the Edinburgh Festival

Experienced Scots tackle percussive Gubaidulina, young Americans in Prokofiev

With Peter Gynt, the National Theatre’s “reboot” of Ibsen’s Peer Gynt, topping the drama bill at the Edinburgh Festival hotfoot from London, it was almost obligatory to find a space somewhere in the music programme for Grieg’s famous incidental music from 1876. But what would you put in the rest of the programme?

CD: Bon Iver – i,i

Ta-da! Justin Vernon treats fans to an early release of his band's fourth album

If you’ve been paying attention, you might have already heard most if not all of Bon Iver’s curiously named i,i album – weeks before its physical release on August 30. The band debuted two tracks (“Hey Ma” and “U (Man Like)”) at London’s All Points East festival back in June, and since then they’ve been dropping videos, teasers, singles and unrelased tracks all over the place.

Blues in the Night, Kiln Theatre review - hard times, hot tunes

★★★★ BLUES IN THE NIGHT, KILN THEATRE Sharon D Clarke leads a steamy, soulful musical revue

Sharon D Clarke leads a steamy, soulful musical revue

It’s too darn hot, BoJo is in Downing Street, and we’re all going to Brexit hell – so we might as well sing the blues. Or at least take a night off from the apocalypse to enjoy a virtuoso company singing them for us in this rousing revival of Sheldon Epps’ 1980 musical revue, which showcases jazz greats like Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen.

The View UpStairs, Soho Theatre review - well-intentioned but needs a rewrite

Name-heavy cast powers baggy, repetitive Off Broadway musical

If good intentions were all, The View UpStairs would be Gypsy. As it is, the European premiere of this 2017 Off Broadway musical set in a New Orleans gay bar firebombed by arson in 1973 serves both as an important reminder of a grievous event in LGBTQ history and as an object lesson in the difficulty of writing a persuasive show.

The Bridges of Madison County, Menier Chocolate Factory review - Iowan romance fizzles

Trevor Nunn's busy production competes with Jason Robert Brown's exquisite score

Robert James Waller’s bestselling, though critically panned, 1992 romance novel was reincarnated in the Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep-starring film, and then again in Jason Robert Brown and Marsha Norman’s Tony-winning 2013 musical – both adaptations wisely sloughing off some of the original’s schmaltz and sappiness.

The Day We Walked on the Moon, ITV review - it was 50 years ago to the day

★★★ THE DAY WE WALKED ON THE MOON, ITV It was 50 years ago to the day

You've heard it all before, but this was an entertaining ride

It was on 16 July 1969 that Apollo 11 lifted off from Florida en route for the Moon, and exactly 50 years later, as we nervously anticipate the dawn of commercial flights into space, the event resonates louder than ever. Here, Professor Brian Cox called it “the greatest achievement in the history of civilisation.” According to veteran broadcaster Sir Trevor McDonald, it was “the most magnificent thing that ever happened.”

The Brink review – behind the scenes with Steve Bannon

★★★ THE BRINK Funny and frightening fly-on-the-wall documentary

Funny and frightening fly-on-the-wall documentary

Donald Trump’s former strategist, alt-right propagandist and all-round provocateur Steve Bannon comes under the spotlight of a smart, dynamic, behind-closed-doors documentary, as he attempts to turn his brand of far-right populism into a global movement.  

The Dead Don't Die review - return of the zom-com

Indie hero Jim Jarmusch brings signature touch to living-dead genre

Deadpan humour is given new meaning in Jim Jarmusch’s 13th film, a zombie comedy animated by his typical oddball style. Jarmusch has assembled a grand cast comprising recent collaborators Adam Driver and Bill Murray, long-term musician pals Tom Waits, Iggy Pop and RZA, and a swathe of newbies that includes Selena Gomez.

8 Days: To the Moon and Back, BBC Two review - intimate peek at life in lunar capsule

★★★★ 8 DAYS: TO THE MOON AND BACK, BBC TWO Intimate peek at life in the lunar capsule

Insightful doco-drama combines re-enactments with real cockpit audio

The Apollo 11 mission remains the most celebrated journey humanity has ever made. It produced some of our most iconic images, as well as the greatest speech gaffe, and a documentary of epic scale could be made that focused solely on the influence it has had on our popular culture.