Our critics pick the season's highlights. From Elisabeth Moss on stage to Adele's new album, these are the dates for your cultural diary
JANUARY
5 FILM 127 Hours
Danny Boyle's 10th film tells the story of Aron Ralston, played by James Franco who severed his own arm with a penknife to escape after becoming trapped while hiking in Utah.
7 FILM The King's Speech
Colin Firth is introverted monarch George VI, battling a debilitating stutter with the aid of an extroverted therapist (Geoffrey Rush). The ensuing friendship is touching ? and, when the second world war breaks out, of national importance.
9 CLASSICAL Hollywood Rhapsody
The BBCSO and Chorus celebrate Hollywood's golden age. Composers include Korngold, Waxman, R�zsa; films range from The Wizard of Oz to Gone with the Wind. Barbican, London. 9 Jan only.
11 THEATRE Twelfth Night
To mark his 80th birthday, Peter Hall returns to the National theatre, which he ran until 1988. He directs his daughter Rebecca, with Amanda Drew as Olivia, at the National. To 2 Mar.
14 FILM True Grit
Coen brothers fans are gagging for this deliciously dark-looking wild west yarn. Jeff Bridges plays a lawman hauled out of retirement by a young girl looking to avenge her father's murder.
17 CLASSICAL Carmen
Director Daniel Kramer makes his company debut while Heather Shipp and Sandra Piques Eddy share the title role. Opera North, Leeds. Tours to Newcastle, Nottingham, Salford. To 20 May.
19 ART Gabriel Orozco
A poet among conceptualists, this Mexican artist has a Picassoan touch with materials, transforming the lowliest scrap of bric-a-brac into a graceful and witty work of art. Tate Modern.
21 FILM Black Swan
The dark underbelly of the New York ballet world is exposed in Darren Aronofsky's taut psychological thriller, which stars Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis as dancers competing for roles in Swan Lake.
22 THEATRE The Children's Hour
Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss (from Mad Men) star as the teachers accused by a pupil of having a lesbian affair in Lillian Hellman's banned 1934 play. Ian Rickson directs at the Comedy theatre. To 2 Apr.
ART Modern British Sculpture
A parade of big names, from Epstein, Hepworth and Moore to Richard Long and Damien Hirst, displaying the international prowess of British sculpture. Royal Academy, London.
24 POP Adele: 21
Two years on from her feted debut, 19, the north London soul singer returns with an album influenced by the sounds of the American south.
25 POP Roxy music on Tour
The aesthete's pop band, bar none, head out on a national tour for the first time in a decade. Brian Eno not included. To 7 Feb.
26 DANCE Reflected
Four-part bill from the Phoenix Dance Theatre includes premiere of Philip Taylor's What It Is, set to the music of Amy Winehouse. West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds (then touring). To 20 May.
28 FILM Hereafter
Clint Eastwood directs Peter Morgan's ambitious screenplay about life after death. Matt Damon plays a spiritualist who can talk to the dead, while Mesrine's C�cile de France is a near-survivor of the 2004 tsunami, convinced she's been to the other side.
FILM Barney's Version
Matching his Sideways booze consumption almost drink for drink, Paul Giamatti plays likable jerk Barney Panofsky as he stumbles through a very eventful life. Dustin Hoffman also shines as his uncouth cop father.
29 ART John Stezaker
First full-scale show of this British collagist who works with movie stills, vintage postcards, celebrity portraits and magazine illustrations to give a new and haunting context to old images. Whitechapel, London.
31 CLASSICAL Lucrezia Borgia
Clare Rutter sings title role in Donizetti's bel canto melodrama at ENO directed by film-maker Mike Figgis in his operatic debut, conductor Paul Daniel. To 3 Mar.
POP Ting Tings Album
The toasts of 2008 have been holed up in Berlin for the follow-up to We Started Nothing. Expect a clubbier edge to their exuberant boy-girl pop.
FEBRUARY
1 ART Susan Hiller: Belief or Disbelief
For 30 years Hiller has collected evidence of mysterious phenomena - hallucinations, telekinesis etc. This survey shows the extraordinary art she makes of it. Tate Britain.
4 FILM Brighton Rock
Sam Riley plays Pinkie in a reimagining of Graham Greene's novel: director Rowan Joffe relocates the action to the 60s. Helen Mirren and Andrea Riseborough co-star.
ART Jean-Marc Bustamante
French artist Bustamante's first Scottish show will include a range of works that blur the boundaries between photography, painting and sculpture. Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh.
FILM The Fighter
David O Russell's boxing biopic stars Mark Wahlberg as "Irish" Micky Ward; Christian Bale has a meaty supporting role as his half-brother. Should scoop a few Oscars.
5 THEATRE Frankenstein
Danny Boyle directs Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller taking turns as Frankenstein and the Creature. National theatre, London. To 17 Apr.
10 THEATRE Richard II
Benjamin Whitrow is John of Gaunt and John Heffernan plays the uneasy king in Andrew Hilton's production at the Tobacco Factory. To 19 Mar.
THEATRE Racing Demon
Daniel Evans directs at Sheffield's Crucible as part of a David Hare season which also includes Plenty and The Breath of Life. To 5 Mar.
11 FILM Never Let Me Go
Hailed by Kazuo Ishiguro, author of the novel about human cloning, as "a fantastic showcase for a brilliant new generation of acting talent".
THEATRE The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Kneehigh's Emma Rice adapts Jacques Demy's 1964 movie, with music by Michel Legrand. The show runs at the Curve in Leicester until 26 Feb followed by a West End run.
13 CLASSICAL Ad�s and Reich Across the UK
Three concerts by the London Sinfonietta pairing Thomas Ad�s's piano concerto and video-ballet In Seven Days with Steve Reich's pulsating setting of four psalms, Tehillim (Glasgow, 13 Feb) or his Music for 18 Musicians (London, 18 Feb; Birmingham, 11 Mar).
16 ART Watercolour
An inspired thematic survey, examining the beauty of this medium and its centrality to British art all the way from medieval illumination to Turner, Blake, Heron, and the present day. Tate Britain.
17 CLASSICAL Anna Nicole
Big event of the season: world premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage's opera with libretto by Jerry Springer: The Opera writer Richard Thomas directed by Richard Jones and conducted by Antonio Pappano. Royal Opera House, London. To 4 Mar.
18 THEATRE The Deep Blue Sea
Kicking off nationwide celebrations marking 100 years since the birth of the acclaimed playwright Terence Rattigan, Shameless star Maxine Peake stars as the suicidal Hester in this powerful play set in postwar Britain. West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds. To 12 Mar.
22 DANCE I Don't Believe in Outer Space
From controversial Frankfurt-based choreographer William Forsythe, the London premiere of a bizarre, enigmatic piece that has been compared with the film work of David Lynch. Sadlers Wells, London. To 23 Feb.
23 ART Robert Orchardson: Endless Facade
Glasgow-born Robert Orchardson creates sculptures inspired by futuristic design and science fiction imagery. In his first major show, utopian aspiration is offset by a comical air of failure. IKON Gallery, Birmingham.
THEATRE King Lear
The first show in the new Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford. David Farr revisits his 2010 production, with Greg Hicks sardonic in the title role and Kathryn Hunter as a childlike Fool. To 2 Apr.
27 POP PJ Harvey live at The Troxy
Out on 14 Feb, Let England Shake is Harvey's eighth LP, an unprecedentedly political outing written, in part, on the autoharp. This London gig is our first chance to hear it live.
POP Claire Maguire album
Brummie singer Claire Maguire ? the beneficiary of much next-big-thing talk ? finally releases her debut, Light After Dark. Expect gale-force vocals.
MARCH
1 DANCE The Centaur and the Animal
Bartabas and his Zingaro Equestrian Theatre with live horses on stage. Sadler's Wells, London. To 6 Mar.
2 DANCE Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Christopher Wheeldon's new work is the first full-length ballet commissioned by the Royal Ballet in 16 years, and could make or break the choreographer. Royal Opera House, London. To 15 Mar.
THEATRE Blithe Spirit
Ruthie Henshall stars alongside Alison Steadman in No�l Coward's ghost-driven comedy, directed by Thea Sharrock. Apollo, London. To 18 Jun.
3 POP Beady Eye on Tour
"We're not Oasis, we just look like them," is the line being touted by Liam Gallagher's new band (essentially Oasis, minus Noel). Will they prove as popular? A test comes with their first UK tour, starting in Glasgow. To 10 Jun.
ART Nancy spero
Active in the civil rights movement, this American artist drew on sources including Roman frescoes and fashion magazines to produce her scroll paintings, paper works and wall hangings. Serpentine Gallery.
4 POP Justin Bieber on Tour
The first pop star to cause a riot via Twitter finally hits UK shores this month. His tour of North Korea ? the result of an internet voting prank - has yet to be confirmed. To 24 Mar.
FILM Archipelago
Acclaimed writer-director Joanna Hogg follows 2008's Unrelated with another tense, intimate portrait of a troubled middle-class family on holiday.
7 POP REM: Collapse into Now album
A 15th studio album from REM, who "haven't been this excited" about a release since the early 90s, according to guitarist Peter Buck. There are guest vocalists aplenty, including Patti Smith.
10 THEATRE Ecstasy
For the first time, Mike Leigh returns to one of his early works. He'll direct his 1979 play at Hampstead, the theatre which first staged Abigail's Party. To 9 Apr.
12 ART Watteau's Drawings
80 drawings by this charismatic 18th-century French artist, including portraits, shop interiors, theatre pieces and the famous f�tes galantes. Royal Academy.
15 POP Elbow
Elbow's new album (working title: Lippy Kid) is nigh; thanks to download culture, it may be Elbow's last full-length, according to Guy Garvey. The traditional art of gigging, though, remains a priority. To 29 Mar.
16 CLASSICAL BSO: Shimmering Szymanowski
Andrew Litton conducts the Bournemouth SO and soloist Nicola Benedetti in the Violin Concerto No 1, with Rachmaninov's Symphony No 3 and Liszt's Les Pr�ludes. Poole, Bristol, Portsmouth, Brighton. To 19 Feb.
17 POP Katy Perry on Tour
The Grammy-nominated Californian saucepot's spring tour has sold out so quickly, she's added another leg in the autumn. Insert your own joke about her dancing prowess here. To 9 Apr.
DANCE The Most Incredible Thing
New Javier de Frutos production based on the Hans Christian Andersen story, with music by the Pet Shop Boys. Stars Ivan Putrov, late of the Royal Ballet. Sadler's Wells, London. To 26 Mar.
18 FILM Submarine
Richard Ayoade of The IT Crowd makes his directorial debut adapting Joe Dunthorne's 2008 novel for the big screen, chronicling the adolescent trials of its eccentric 15-year-old protagonist, Oliver Tate.
FILM The Eagle
Jamie Bell plays a (slightly unlikely) slave in Kevin Macdonald's moody Roman epic, based on a Rosemary Sutcliff novel, freed by Channing Tatum's centurion in order to help him recover a lost army treasure. Unexpectedly, their roles are reversed?
26 CLASSICAL Intermezzo
1920s setting for Richard Strauss's opera about home life with his wife. Francesco Corti conducts, with Wolfgang Quetes directing stars Anita Bader and Roland Wood. Scottish Opera, Glasgow to 2 Apr; Edinburgh 7, 9 Apr.
28 THEATRE Ghost the Musical
Matthew Warchus directs the stage version of the movie at Manchester's Opera House (to 14 May) before a West End run (22 Jun to 28 Jan 2012 with possible extension); both new music and "Unchained Melody".
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Jill Arrington Tami Donaldson Padma Lakshmi Sarah Mutch Gabrielle Union
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