Director of Edinburgh international festival warns cuts put its status at risk

The director of the Edinburgh international festival has warned it could lose its status as one of the world’s greatest arts events without significant increases in public and philanthropic support.Nicola Benedetti, a Grammy-winning classical violinist who became the festival’s director in 2022, said in an interview with the Guardian she feared the creative arts that underpinned it were at risk of stagnating because of repeated funding cuts.She said an increase in Scottish government arts spending announced four weeks ago, while “a very welcome step in the right direction”, had come too late to prevent this year’s international festival being smaller.“It’s too close to impact our 25 festival in any significant way,” she said. “There are one or two late levers we’d be able to potentially pull [to stage extra events], but even that will be down to late availability

From Edvard Munch to Central Cee: Observer critics choose their cultural highlights for 2025

From Thom Yorke’s Shakespearean score to 25 years of Tate Modern, Bridget Jones to Leigh Bowery, our writers anticipate the most exciting shows, releases and events of the yearAmerican auteurs returnA new film from one of the heavy hitters of US cinema is always cause for celebration, and with projects from Kathryn Bigelow, Noah Baumbach and Paul Thomas Anderson on the horizon, there’s plenty to whet cineaste appetites in the coming year. Details on all three are scant at the moment. Kathryn Bigelow’s film, her first since Detroit in 2017, is a political thriller set in the White House, following staffers as they scramble to respond to an imminent missile strike on America. The cast includes Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson and Jared Harris.Even less is known about Noah Baumbach’s new film, which, like Bigelow’s, is a Netflix production

The big chill: warming, nourishing culture to help you hibernate until spring

Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light iPlayer Period dramas are traditionally rather cosy, but from the very first scenes – a stark restaging of Anne Boleyn’s beheading – it’s clear this adaptation of the final book in Hilary Mantel’s epic Thomas Cromwell trilogy will be a bracing immersion into the gruesome reality of these well-worn Tudor tales. Even so, the lavish production, exquisite performances and sheer beauty of the script itself are all things to luxuriate in during cold, dark winter nights. For newcomers, the original Wolf Hall series is also on iPlayer.Am I Being Unreasonable? iPlayer A magical romcom-style flashback – two lovers bidding farewell at a train station as snowflakes drift down – initially lends Daisy May Cooper’s hilarious and enthralling 2022 dramedy a winter wonderland vibe. The reality, however, is far less lovely

From Nosferatu to Patience: a complete guide to this week’s entertainment in the UK

NosferatuOut now Director Robert Eggers has been carving out a niche for himself in the shadows for quite some time, with films such as The Witch and The Lighthouse taking a dark, artistic approach to both character and subject matter. Now he’s turned his hand to cinema’s founding vampire legend, with a toothsome remake of the 1922 classic.We Live in TimeOut now Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh star in a non-linear romance that cuts to different stages of a relationship between Weetabix rep Tobias (Garfield) and professional chef Almut (Pugh), to explore both love and grief. Directed by John Crowley (Brooklyn).2073Out now Blending sci-fi and documentary to paint a dystopian portrait of life on Earth in 2073, Asif Kapadia’s vision of the future is not a happy one, with hazards ranging from drones to libertarians to tech bros

Dark Noon: the reimagining of American history that provoked acclaim – and walkouts – comes to Australia

Whiteface, wigs and western movies feature in this confronting outsider vision of America, performed by seven South African actorsWhen Dark Noon opened in the US, there were walk-outs. The show, in which seven South African performers tell the story of America in 105 minutes, has earned rave reviews internationally since its premiere in Denmark in 2019, but for American audiences in South Carolina and New York, it proved divisive.“Some felt recognised; some felt that the story just ran over them, like a train coming from the past,” says the show’s co-director, Tue Biering.In Charleston, South Carolina – once a major trade hub for the transatlantic slave trade – the show particularly touched a nerve: “In Charleston it was scary,” says Dark Noon’s co-creator, South African choreographer and performer Nhlanhla Mahlangu. “There were people who really hated it and who believed that it’s not even a work of art … There were people who walked out of the theatre

Games to look forward to in 2025: Avowed

Fun combat, breezy banter and colourful characters promise to make this role playing game from Obsidian a must-play for fans of SkyrimThere was a long-running joke that Bethesda’s Skyrim had become so ubiquitous that it would run on anything. Starting life on the humble Xbox 360, it found its way on to Nintendo Switch, virtual reality headsets, PS5 and even Amazon’s Alexa. After more than 13 years, its sequel is still nowhere to be seen, so role playing game veterans Obsidian are offering fans an alternative in the form of Avowed.I’m taken aback by just how fun and breezy it is, given that it has been spun off the somewhat stuffier computer RPG Pillars of Eternity. Entering the game’s colour-saturated world, Eora, I explore a luscious overgrown cavern with my alarmingly athletic mage, and find myself leaping across chasms and climbing rock faces without breaking a sweat