Q&A: Nichelle Nichols on Star Trek including Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock and Dr Kevin Fong

WHERE: BFI

WHEN: 1/10

Martin Luther King persuaded Nichelle Nichols to continue her role as Lieutenant Uhura in Star Trek and departing US president Barack Obama imagines seeking the character’s advice.

  • Read on for pictures from the BFI’s Black Star Q&A with actress Nichelle Nichols and a panel including Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock

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Q&A/PREVIEW: The Fall with Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan

WHERE?: BFI

WHEN: 7/9

Actress Gillian Anderson wishes she was Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson, the character she plays in acclaimed thriller The Fall, which returns to BBC2 for its third series soon.

  • Read on for all the gossip from this Q&A including how Jamie Dornan first auditioned as a PC for the show

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9 reasons why we can’t wait for October

  1. Lazarus rises

This 18-song David Bowie musical ran off Broadway for three months from November 2015 and features hits including Life On Mars?, Heroes and Absolute Beginners. It was written by Bowie with Once author Enda Walsh. Starring Dexter’s Michael C. Hall and directed by Ivo van Hove, it runs 25/10 – 22/1 at the King’s Cross Theatre and seems a fitting salute to the star who died 10 days before curtain down on the US show. Tickets.

  • Read on for reasons including Star Trek, Anne-Marie Duff and Glenda Jackson’s return

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Q&A/PREVIEW: Inside No 9 with Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton

WHERE?: BFI

WHEN: 5/9

Sir Derek Jacobi is the narrator of the BBC’s children series In The Night Garden and, here, in the third season of dark BBC2 comic delight Inside No. 9, well, he’s … that would be telling ….

  • Read on for more teasers from the third series of BBC2 dark comedy series Inside No. 9

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INVESTIGATION: Should you join your favourite theatre as a member?

Would becoming a member of your favourite theatre make it easier for you to get the most in-demand tickets? We became a member of five of our favourite London venues to see what the value for money is.

  • Read on to find out what membership of the Almeida, British Film Institute, Menier Chocolate Factory, National Theatre and Old Vic gets you.

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PREVIEW: 11 reasons why we can’t wait for July

  1. Pet Shop Boys play the Royal Opera House

Super is our album of the year so far and the Boys’ only 2016 UK dates are during their four-date Inner Sanctum residency at the Royal Opera House. We saw Rufus Wainwright there a while back and it’s a venue Neil and Chris were born to play. Tickets have sold out but we’d check here for returns.

  • Read on for reasons including Looking: The Movie, Shura, Ab Fab & Groundhog Day premiere

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Q&A: Sir Ian McKellen & review of Heuristic Shakespeare app

WHERE: BFI

WHEN: 28/4

Without his leading role in the film Richard III, which he also co-wrote, Sir Ian McKellen doubts whether he would ever have been cast as Gandalf and Magneto in the Lord Of the Rings and X-Men films respectively.

  • Read on for a review of Sir Ian’s new Heuristic Shakespeare app

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PREVIEW & Q&A: The Hollow Crown starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Sturridge

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE: BFI

WHEN: 29/3, screens April

The BFI audience has just seen the first episode of the new BBC Hollow Crown trilogy and there are clear Game Of Thrones comparisons although star Tom Sturridge (who plays Henry VI) is having none of it.

  • Read on to find out which Sherlock actor joins Benedict Cumberbatch (pictured above) in this BBC2 production

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Sir Ian McKellen: Shakespeare on Stage, Screen & Elsewhere

WHERE?: BFI

WHEN: 6/4

Sir Ian McKellen is telling the BFI audience about his relationship with Shakespeare because the venue has put his Richard III at the heart of its celebrations for the 400th anniversary of the bard’s death later this month.

Read on for details of Sir Ian’s new app version of The Tempest out 23/4

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