From The Magic Faraway Tree to 5 Seconds of Summer: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead

The Guardian has published a comprehensive weekly entertainment guide covering cinema, gigs, art exhibitions, stage performances, and home entertainment options. The guide highlights new film releases like the adaptation of Enid Blyton's 'The Magic Faraway Tree' and the documentary 'Orwell: 2+2 = 5', major concerts from 5 Seconds of Summer, and art exhibitions featuring Estonian modernist Konrad Mägi and Scottish painter Joan Eardley.

Yoko Ono launches playable online chess bot.

Chess.com has launched a digital chess bot inspired by Yoko Ono’s seminal 1966 conceptual artwork, Play It By Trust. The game features an all-white board and pieces, mirroring the original installation where players eventually lose track of their own pieces, forcing them to collaborate or abandon the competitive nature of the game. The release coincides with Ono’s 93rd birthday and the digital debut of the Oscar-winning short film War Is Over!, which draws from her and John Lennon’s peace activism.

‘The male ego is even more fragile than it ever was’: Kim Gordon on shyness, AI and Zohran Mamdani’s cool

Musician and artist Kim Gordon answered questions from Guardian readers, reflecting on her career with Sonic Youth, her solo work, and her approach to creativity. She discussed the band's initial aim to create something new, her intuitive process, and her recent acting role in Kristen Stewart's film adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch's memoir.

April 2026 at the Theater: A Guide to Must-See Events in Italy (Including Dance)

Aprile 2026 a teatro: guida agli appuntamenti da non perdere in Italia (anche sulla danza)

Italy’s April 2026 performing arts season features a diverse lineup of major theatrical premieres and experimental adaptations. Highlights include the Italian debut of Annie Baker’s Pulitzer-winning 'Circle Mirror Transformation' directed by Valerio Binasco, and a dark comedy by Ariel Dorfman titled 'The Other Side' exploring the absurdity of war. Other notable productions include Armando Punzo’s non-traditional 'Cenerentola' (Cinderella) moving from a high-security prison setting to the Teatro della Pergola, and a dedicated retrospective for Daria Deflorian at Milan’s Piccolo Teatro.

Art Dubai Downsizes Dramatically as War Reshapes Plans

Art Dubai has announced a significantly scaled-back 20th-anniversary edition, reducing its exhibitor list by 57 percent following regional conflict and logistical disruptions. Originally scheduled for April, the fair has been postponed to May 15–17 at Madinat Jumeirah and will now feature only 50 galleries, with a heavy emphasis on regional participants. To support dealers during this period of uncertainty, organizers have implemented a "risk-sharing" booth fee model where galleries pay a percentage of sales capped at their original fee.

Art Dubai Postpones 2026 Fair Amid Iran War Fears

Art Dubai has postponed its 2026 fair from April to May 14–17, shifting to an "adapted format" at its usual venue, the Madinat Jumeirah resort. The fair, a cornerstone of the Middle Eastern art scene, will proceed with a more focused model, featuring galleries from over thirty-five countries but altering its financial structure, with participating galleries paying a percentage of sales instead of standard booth fees.

François Ozon’s 'The Stranger': A Film Between Surface Aesthetics and Political Reinterpretation

“Lo straniero” di François Ozon. Un film tra estetica delle superfici e rilettura politica

Director François Ozon has adapted Albert Camus’s existentialist masterpiece 'The Stranger' into a new feature film, premiering at the 82nd Venice Film Festival. Shot in stark black and white by cinematographer Manuel Dacosse, the film departs from the 1967 Luchino Visconti adaptation by leaning into a cold, clinical aesthetic inspired by Michelangelo Antonioni. The narrative follows Meursault, an emotionally detached clerk in colonial Algiers, whose impassive reaction to his mother's death and the subsequent senseless murder of an Arab man leads to his legal and moral condemnation.

Super Mario Galaxy is the first true video game film

Super Mario Galaxy è il primo vero film videoludico

The article analyzes the 2023 animated film 'Super Mario Galaxy – Il film,' arguing it represents a significant evolution in video game adaptations. The film, a sequel to 'Super Mario Bros. – Il film,' abandons traditional narrative concerns and instead structures itself like a video game, constantly introducing new characters, power-ups, and scenarios directly from the Super Mario game series, as if the protagonists are moving through game levels.

A Line of Mural Wallpapers from Astek Celebrates ‘Eterna Nouveau’

Fine wallpaper manufacturer Astek has launched a new collection of floral mural wallpapers called 'Eterna Nouveau.' The designs are a contemporary reinterpretation of the Art Nouveau movement, featuring arching stems, nature-inspired motifs like lilies and Venus fly traps, and are available in various colorways with metallic outlines.

The 2026 Edition of the Salon du Dessin

L'édition 2026 du Salon du Dessin

The 2026 edition of the Salon du Dessin, a specialized drawing fair, is underway at the Palais Brongniart in Paris. The fair features a new 'young collectors' pathway designed to appeal to those not spending hundreds of thousands, alongside the traditional stand for anonymous works. Major pieces, like two allegorical drawings by Grégoire Huret, sold immediately at the opening, and the event maintains its characteristic scholarly yet warm atmosphere with notable new exhibitors.

From Comics to TV: Quino's Legendary Mafalda Becomes an Animated Series

Dal fumetto alla tv: la mitica Mafalda di Quino diventa una serie animata

Netflix has announced a new animated series based on the iconic comic strip Mafalda, directed by Academy Award-winner Juan José Campanella. Produced by Mundoloco CGI, the project coincides with the 60th anniversary of the character's debut and marks a transition from the traditional black-and-white print medium to a dynamic, colorized digital format. The series aims to preserve the sharp social commentary and rebellious spirit of the original illustrations created by the late Argentine cartoonist Quino.

IN REVIEW: To be felt, not read — ‘Paper Trails: Unfolding Indigenous Narratives’ at IAIA MoCNA

A new exhibition titled 'Paper Trails: Unfolding Indigenous Narratives' has opened at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), part of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA). The show features works by contemporary Indigenous artists who utilize paper as a primary medium to explore themes of history, memory, and cultural identity, moving beyond text-based narratives to create visceral, sensory experiences.

Arts events feature a book launch, art gallery opening, soap carving … soap carving?

Northland Pioneer College’s Performing Arts Department is set to debut a world-premiere theatrical adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel, "Emma." The production, which opens on April 10 at the college’s Performing Arts Center in Snowflake, Arizona, offers a fresh take on the beloved story of a well-meaning but meddlesome matchmaker.