Melbourne festival 2015: bumper lineup celebrates Orwell and Patti Smith

Outgoing artistic director Josephine Ridge hasn’t shied away from politics and debate in the festival’s 30th anniversary program, which is strong on independent artists, stage collaborations and music

The Austentatious guide to the Edinburgh fringe 1815

How did visitors to the world’s biggest arts festival conduct themselves among the city’s novelty potato shops in the Regency era?

Future Artefacts fair seeks to show physical media far from dead

Ben Freeman, organiser of London event, says: ‘Everyone realises the internet hasn’t killed the record industry or the publishing industry – just changed it’

Why is Sophie Hunter taking Britten’s Phaedra to a Beckett festival?

How the experimental stage director joined the dots between Benjamin Britten, Jean Racine and Samuel Beckett

From Alien to ITV: Sigourney Weaver set for guest role on Doc Martin

American actor spotted on set of cosy Cornish-set comedy-drama starring Martin Clunes as an awkward country GP

David Byrne: come borrow a book from my Meltdown library

The Talking Heads frontman and 2015 Meltdown curator has shipped 250 of his own music books from New York - margin notes and all - for festival-goers to read

Suicide Squad trailer officially released following Comic-Con leak

Jared Leto stars as the Joker in first trailer for David Ayer’s much-anticipated comic book movie

Star Wars force awakens with standing ovation for Harrison Ford at Comic-Con

The entire stadium-sized convention hall broke the gathering’s strict no-standing rule in unison to greet the recently injured actor

Game of Thrones cast tell Comic-Con crowd only one actor has read the books

At a panel for the show based on George RR Martin’s series, cast members shrug off questions about future plot twists, saying even they ‘don’t have an effing clue’

Ben Affleck tipped to direct and star in solo Batman movie

Ahead of Comic-Con, reports suggest actor will also take the reins behind the screen on a followup to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

wonder.land review – Damon Albarn musical goes down digital rabbit hole

Palace Theatre, Manchester This bold and ambitious reimagining of Alice in Wonderland for the online age boasts a score from the Blur frontman – but ends up a little oversaturated

Poetic visions: my Vingt Regards to Messiaen

Messiaen’s epic Twenty Contemplations on the infant Jesus is one of the great 20th‑century pieces for piano. Ahead of a recital, Michael Symmons Roberts explains how its composition at the end of the second world war, and its filmic qualities, inspired his response – in poetry – to the work

Under Milk Wood review – Rhys Ifans in a highly coloured fever dream

Dylan Thomas’ celebrated radio play has been energetically adapted to the big screen with Charlotte Church among the gallery of fun performances

The Legend of Barney Thomson review – Robert Carlyle’s directorial debut serves Sweeney Todd, Glasgow-style

The opening night premiere at this year’s Edinburgh film festival is a gruesomely comic yarn about a barber caught up in a string of serial killings directed by and starring Carlyle – with Emma Thompson as his mum

Killer timing: why comedy and crime writing share a secret weapon

When it comes to structure and plotting, standup and crime fiction employ the same tricks, explains bestselling author and ex-comic Mark Billingham