Trouble in mind: the best film, music, TV, literature and drama for a guilty conscience

From My Name Is Earl’s journey of redemption to Dave’s stirring origin story, our critics recommend art that deals with shame and regret

The Card review – cheeky chappy comes up trumps in a twisty tale of social mobility

Wily upstart Denry Machin is played with picaresque charm in a witty adaptation of Arnold Bennett’s novel, empowered by the big, vivid sound of a brass band

On my radar: Bolu Babalola’s cultural highlights

The novelist and comedy writer on her song of the summer, her new favourite sitcom and the brilliance of director Lynette Linton

Matilda musical movie starring Emma Thompson to open London film festival

World premiere of the film version of the Roald Dahl-based musical also stars Lashana Lynch, Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough

On my radar: Lucy Kirkwood’s cultural highlights

The playwright on the poetry and silliness of Aldous Harding, an inspiring new theatre in Suffolk and binge-reading Saba Sams’s short stories

Ireland marks Bloomsday with play about Ulysses obscenity trial

1933 trial that vindicated ‘pornographic’ James Joyce novel made into play to be staged in Dublin

Mog the Forgetful Cat review – a miaow-vellous musical treat

Judith Kerr’s warm-hearted children’s book is faithfully realised with a vivid and gently ingenious portrait of family life

Cancelling Socrates review – Howard Brenton interrogates democracy in a rich play of ideas

Fine acting and lively dialogue save this philosophical play from feeling static as it applies Athenian ideals to modern dilemmas

Bleak Expectations review – Radio 4’s Dickens parody bursts on to the stage

This fast-paced comedy mashup of the great Victorian novelist sends up Britishness with oodles of silliness

The Queen in culture: how art puts a public face to a private life

She has appeared in plays, novels, paintings – even love songs. From Andy Warhol to Alan Bennett, artists, writers and musicians have changed our picture of the Queen we think we know

Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby audiobook review – startling candour

The standup narrates her soul-baring work, which pushes the boundaries of comedy

Enjoy your trip: books, music, films and more for an out-of-body experience

From Gaspar Noé’s death-dream to Elgar’s emotionally charged choral composition, our critics recommend culture to take you into another dimension

Cancelling Socrates: how the great philosopher sealed his fate with comedy

Playwright Howard Brenton asks why ancient Athens turned on its famous citizen, and how such an uncompromising free-thinker might fare in our own ‘age of rage’

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: is the shorter, one-part play better?

A three-and-a-half-hour version of the show has opened in Australia and the US. While a lot has been cut, there are also new tricks – and tweaks to a crucial relationship

Murder on the Orient Express review – a first-class ride all the way

Henry Goodman gives us every inch of Hercule Poirot’s dandiness and comedy in this exemplary adaptation of Christie’s ingenious murder mystery, but also gets every note of the character’s vast intelligence and pain