What’s on this weekend? From The Kingmaker to Sports Personality of the Year
Your guide to what’s worth seeing and reading this weekend
![Imelda Marcos](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WiTRqqXrn2UAxL6LQd3wiF-415-80.jpg)
The Week’s best film, TV, book and live show on this weekend, with excerpts from the top reviews.
TELEVISION: Sports Personality of the Year 2019
Jack Seale for the Radio Times
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“An odd-numbered year means no Olympics or major men’s football tournament to provide a ready flow of sporting heroes, but 2019 had its moments. This year’s glitzy round-up, hosted in Aberdeen by Gary Lineker, Gabby Logan and Clare Balding, has the usual variety of trophies – including a team award for which England’s women footballers must be strong contenders – leading up to the main individual prize.”
On BBC One at 7pm on Sunday 15 December
MOVIE: The Kingmaker
Peter Debruge at Variety
“‘Perception is real, and the truth is not,’ announces Imelda Marcos in The Kingmaker, a jaw-dropping documentary in which director Lauren Greenfield exposes just how effective the wounded peacock has been in reshaping her status. Once world-famous for her shoe collection, Imelda benefited enormously from husband Ferdinand’s two-decade dictatorship over the of the Philippines, until being forced to flee to Hawaii in 1986.”
In cinemas from Friday 13 December
BOOK: Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens (paperback)
Francesca Steele in The Times
“Delia Owens’s debut novel opens in 1952 when six-year-old Kya’s beloved Ma leaves their marshland shack in faux alligator heels without so much as a wave goodbye. Fast-forward 17 years and the body of the local heart-throb Chase Andrews is found buried in the swamp near the little town of Barkley Cove on the North Carolina coast… A Hollywood adaptation seems inevitable. Yet it will be hard to match on screen the delicacy of Owens’s exploration of the natural world. Kya and her magical little world are a rare achievement.”
Out in paperback on Thursday 12 December
STAGE: Nativity! The Musical
Lorelei Reddin at the Bournemouth Daily Echo
“It delivered the promised ‘sparkle and shine’ in spades. But, more than that, Nativity! the Musical was a show with a real heart. Based on the famous film franchise, this upbeat and exuberant production follows plans for a festive show in a run of the mill primary school… Funny, feel good and full of joy.”
Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith, London, from 11 to 29 December, following a UK tour
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Red Speedo: a 'darkly comic' doping drama
The Week Recommends Lucas Hnath's play stars Finn Cole as a 'reptilian' swimmer determined to win at all costs
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
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One Aldwych: where London's creative spirit takes centre stage
The Week Recommends This five-star Covent Garden hotel is the epitome of elegant independence
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
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Charlotte Dujardin and equestrianism's dark side
In the Spotlight Olympic gold medallist and dressage star's suspension over horse whipping brings abuse in horse sports back into the spotlight
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
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Douglas Is Cancelled: Hugh Bonneville plays a shamed news presenter
The Week Recommends Cancel culture drama is mostly 'clever and sharp'
By The Week UK Published
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A Quiet Place: Day One – the 'pleasant surprise of the summer'
The Week Recommends Silence is golden in this prequel to the popular 2018 apocalyptic thriller
By The Week UK Published
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The Bikeriders: Jodie Comer and Tom Hardy star in high-octane drama
The Week Recommends Film inspired by 1968 book about notorious biker gang in Chicago
By The Week UK Published
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Raffles London at The OWO review: a quintessentially British stay
The Week Recommends This heritage building has been given a twist as a luxury hotel in the nation's capital
By Leaf Arbuthnot, The Week UK Published
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The Young Woman and the Sea: Daisy Ridley stars as 'tenacious' heroine
The Week Recommends The film explores the story of Trudy Ederle, the first woman to swim across the Channel
By The Week UK Published
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Has Bridgerton lost the plot?
Talking Point Return of the hit Regency series has divided both fans and critics
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
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Michelangelo – the last decades review: an 'absorbing' exploration of art
The Week Recommends New exhibition focuses on works from the final 30 years of the artist's long career
By The Week UK Published
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Silversea cruise review: a Central and North American adventure
The Week Recommends An incredible journey featuring cultural exploration, cooking classes, comfort and more
By Yasemen Kaner-White Published