Swallows and Amazons

SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS Reassuringly cosy adaptation of Arthur Ransome's 1930 children's novel

Reassuringly cosy adaptation of Arthur Ransome's 1930 children's novel

If one was going to write the recipe for a classic British children’s film, it would probably include the following: adapt much-loved novel; hire fresh-faced young actors and well-worn comedians; budget for steam trains chugging over viaducts; ensure messing around in boats; add lashings of pop and sprinkle with a faint whiff of jeopardy.

The Impossible Gentlemen, Pizza Express Jazz Club

A five-piece contemporary jazz group at the highest international level

"Jazz,” said Keith Jarrett once, “is there and gone. It happens. You have to be present for it. That simple." For an audience, it produces a never-to-be repeated event: yes, you were there, and you didn’t miss it. One of the pleasures of seeing a group at the peak of contemporary jazz like The Impossible Gentlemen is to witness that joyous, open-minded and defiant spirit. In six years of existence, and now presenting their third album, the trust between the members of the group has visibly deepened. There is also a sense they are evolving, that they can and will go still further.

Half A Sixpence, Chichester Festival Theatre

HALF A SIXPENCE, CHICHESTER FESTIVAL THEATRE The Tommy Steele musical gets a triumphant, banjo-rehabilitating refresh

The Tommy Steele musical gets a triumphant, banjo-rehabilitating refresh

Watching Cameron Mackintosh’s joyful revision of this Sixties musical, it’s possible to believe for a moment that all the world needs now is love sweet love and a shit-ton of banjos. With a new book by Downton Abbey behemoth Julian Fellowes, new numbers by the pair behind hit musical Mary Poppins, and design that delights at every turn of the multi-revolve, Half A Sixpence seems destined to follow a flush of previous Chichester Festival musicals into the West End. It also puts vintage stars around the previously unknown name of Charlie Stemp.

The Kingdom, Three Choirs Festival, Gloucester

THE KINGDOM, THREE CHOIRS FESTIVAL, GLOUCESTER Elgar yet again at the Three Choirs and as gloriously blurred as ever

Elgar yet again at the Three Choirs and as gloriously blurred as ever

The last time but one that the Three Choirs Festival was in Gloucester the main offering was Elgar’s oratorio The Kingdom, and there’s a kind of inevitability about the same work turning up again, same place, same occasion, six years later. After all, the Three Choirs has not survived for almost 300 years by a fidgety policy of constant renewal.

CD: Bosco Rogers - Post Exotic

CD: BOSCO ROGERS - POST EXOTIC Anglo-French duo’s debut is a psychedelic guitar pop masterpiece

Anglo-French duo’s debut is a psychedelic guitar pop masterpiece

Anyone looking for some psychedelic pop to at least give the illusion that we might now actually be in the middle of summer could do much worse than try out the debut album by Anglo-French duo Bosco Rogers. Their 21st century twist on the Monkees’ good grooves is just what the doctor ordered, and Barth Corbelet and Del Vargas’s sun-drenched harmonies and catchy, fuzzy guitars are guaranteed to generate big smiles and some serious rump-shaking from even the most unconfident of dancers.

The Legend of Tarzan

★★ THE LEGEND OF TARZAN Has the Edgar Rice Burroughs hero become a man out of time?

Has the Edgar Rice Burroughs hero become a man out of time?

Accustomed as we now are to superheroes who can change size and shape, fly at nuclear speeds, levitate ships and vibrate themselves through walls, a bloke wearing pedal-pushers and jumping out of trees might be considered a bit of an under-achiever. Nonetheless Tarzan is back yet again (more than 200 Tarzan movies have been made since 1918), and Warner Bros are doubtless hoping to kick off a new big-budget franchise.

Adult Life Skills

ADULT LIFE SKILLS Sweet, slightly predictable British dramedy veers from the norm

Sweet, slightly predictable, quirky British dramedy veers from the norm

There are often times as adults, that we feel ill-prepared for dealing with situations that arise. There is no equivalent of a Brownie’s badge for “taking responsibility” “progressing the career ladder”, “finding your life partner” or “coping with grief”. But by age 30, somehow, inexplicably, we’re supposed to have it all under control. Rachel Tunnard’s debut feature film departs from this social norm, and takes a look at what happens when the dream is derailed.

Hobson's Choice, Vaudeville Theatre

HOBSON'S CHOICE, VAUDEVILLE THEATRE A bewhiskered Martin Shaw barnstorms his way through an English classic 

A bewhiskered Martin Shaw barnstorms his way through an English classic

Harold Brighouse's time-honoured English comedy from a century ago survives, its virtues mostly intact especially once attention shifts away from the snarling patriarch of the title, Henry Horatio Hobson (a padded Martin Shaw), to the generation of women beneath him – his peppery, politically and socially progressive eldest daughter, Maggie (Naomi Frederick), chief among them.

Handmade: By Royal Appointment, BBC Four

HANDMADE: BY ROYAL APPOINTMENT, BBC FOUR New series examines the renaissance of the artisan artefact

New series examines the renaissance of the artisan artefact

The accelerating glorification, in the West at least, of the handmade is a fascinating phenomenon, perhaps a subliminal fight back against overwhelming industrialisation and the age of the robots. And perhaps nowhere is the admiration and commercial possibility accruing to the handmade artefact more evident than in British companies who can label themselves as By Royal Appointment.

Me Before You

ME BEFORE YOU Screen adaptation of best-selling novel offends on almost every level

Screen adaptation of best-selling novel offends on almost every level

If you're disabled, it certainly helps to be as indecently rich as you are handsome while you make plans to end your life: that, in short, is the preposterous take-away message from Me Before You, the film version of the Jojo Moyes bestseller which Moyes herself has adapted for the screen. I haven't read the book and would imagine that  the material's multiple irritations, both large-scale and small, might be somewhat more tolerable not blown up into celluloid dimensions.