James Blake, alfresco art, and the return of RuPaul's Drag Race

The Independent’s entertainment newsletter [View in browser]( [The Independent]( September 25, 2021 [The Independent]( Written by Annabel Nugent The IndyArts Newsletter Happy Saturday and welcome to this week’s IndyArts newsletter! Following a [Sex Education]( season three binge (something I whole-heartedly recommend), I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that we now have to wait another year for more Gillian-Anderson-as-Jean content. What does help ease the pain, however, is that this has been a particularly good week for TV. For one thing, Drag Race is back! To commemorate the happy occasion, Isobel Lewis [spoke to this year’s stars themselves](. The 12 contestants opened up about what it takes to compete in the “Olympics of drag” and revealed a piece of RuPaul advice that we can all take to heart: “Don’t read the comments.” [Drag Race]( Future drag race stars open up on why performing is more important than ever (BBC Three) It’s big releases all around with both Dev Patel’s medieval saga [The Green Knight]( and the highly anticipated Sopranos prequel, [The Many Saints of Newark](, finally arriving in cinemas. Good news: our reviews are promising indicators that the films do, in fact, live up to the hype. Music-wise, I very much enjoyed Nao’s third album [And Then Life Was Beautiful](, on which the R&B singer continues to stun listeners with one of the most recognisable voices on the scene. Our music correspondent Roisin O’Connor [had the chance to speak with Nao]( about making the new record and why she’s choosing not to tour this time around. [The Saturday Interview – James Blake]( [Oscars image]( Blake pictured with his beloved poodle mix, Barold (Photo by Josh Stadlen) This week’s Saturday Interview is with [James Blake](. It's been almost three years since the singer released his critically acclaimed fourth record [Assume Form]( and it’s still on my Spotify rotation. Sure enough, his new album is mere days away and with any luck Friends That Break Your Heart will be just as good as its predecessor. As we near the release, he talked to Laura Barton about breaking up with friends, and finding a new sense of emotional directness with a little help from Jameela Jamil. [Oscars image]( ‘The protocol for friendship ending isn’t really there,’ said Blake (Photo by Josh Stadlen) Read an extract from our Saturday Interview below… At a certain point, Blake realised that the feelings that fired this record were not about romantic love, “they weren’t all love songs in the traditional sense”, rather they were about “feeling forlorn about losing a friend, someone I’ve known maybe my whole life, or someone where I thought we were going to be friends forever”. He thinks for a moment. “The protocol for friendship ending isn’t really there,” he says. “Like, what do you do? Unlike a romantic relationship, where you can basically say, ‘I’m just not happy, this isn’t right to me anymore’, if you said that to a friend they’d be like, ‘What the f*** are you talking about? Just don’t text me!’” Blake is 32 now, and the course of his career over the past decade, the months spent on tour, the move to California, the peculiar weight of fame and success, have understandably impacted certain friendships. “I don’t mean to excuse this behaviour but I’m overwhelmed quite easily, so I can just go months without communicating properly with people,” he says. “And it’s not because I don’t care about people, but it’s the ways that being a musician may have mutated my ability to sustain relationships. Or it’s also how people change the way they look at you, and the way certain friendships couldn’t withstand the change in environment, and the change when one of you just lives a completely different life, and the world looks at them completely differently to the way you did.” [Read the full interview here]( What to binge this week [Oscars image]( Suranne Jones stars as DCI Amy Silva in BBC's subterranean crime thriller (BBC One) [Vigil]( If you happen to be one of the two people in the UK who haven’t been tuning into BBC’s submarine thriller, it’s time to start. Ever since [Line of Duty]( came to a bitter end this summer, we’ve been left with a police procedural-shaped hole in our hearts. Enter [Vigil](. The six-part series stars Suranne Jones as a detective brought onboard a Navy submarine to investigate a mysterious death. Twists and turns abound. The series is coming to an end this Sunday (26 September), meaning that you have roughly 24 hours to catch up on BBC iPlayer. Best cancel your Saturday night plans. Out and about [Blithe Spirit – Harold Pinter Theatre]( If the decorations at Sainsbury's are anything to go by, Halloween season is officially here. Why not kick it off with a trip to the theatre? Noël Coward’s beloved 1941 comedy about life after death returns to the West End after it was interrupted only two weeks into its original run due to the pandemic. It’s all-round good performances from the cast but Jennifer Saunders as a clairvoyant is simply perfect. Buy tickets [here](. [Frieze Sculpture – Regent's Park]( Eke out the remnants of summer and head to Regent’s Park for an outdoor art exhibition. As advertised, Frieze Sculpture will address themes of “architecture, geopolitical power structures and environmental concern”. If all that goes over your head though, at the very least, you’ll get to see a load of beautiful sculptures basking in the sunshine. [Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics – The Victoria and Albert Museum]( The Jameel Prize – a celebration of Islamic art and culture in contemporary design – returns for its sixth edition at the V&A. This time, the competition cast its net far and wide with applications being accepted via an open call. From 400 entries, eight finalists were chosen to have their work put on display at the famous London museum. Book tickets [here](. Essential reading [In Japan’s anime universe, ‘Belle’ is rewriting Beauty and the Beast]( [In Japan’s anime universe, ‘Belle’ is rewriting Beauty and the Beast]( [Nadine Dorries: The best-selling reality star with the BBC in her sights]( [Nadine Dorries: The best-selling reality star with the BBC in her sights]( [The best and most outrageous outfits at the Met Gala]( [The best and most outrageous outfits at the Met Gala]( If you can spare a minute we’d love your [feedback]( on our newsletters. 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