This week's cultural highlights: Into the Abyss and Madonna

Opening this week Theatre In a Garden The Ustinov's ambitious season of modern American plays continues with the British premiere of Howard Korder's play about an American architect summoned to a Middle Eastern country to fulfil an impossible commission. Richard Beecham directs a tale of dangerous misunderstandings. Ustinov , Bath (01225 448844), Wednesday until 5 May. Film Into the Abyss (dir. Werner Herzog) Werner Herzog probes the dark heart of humanity with his death-row interviews. Why do people kill? Dance The Royal Ballet: Mixed Bill The Royal at their adventurous best, with new works by Liam Scarlett and Wayne McGregor , plus a revival of Wheeldon's classy, intelligent Polophonia. Royal Opera House , London WC2 (020-7304 4000), Thursday until 23 April. The Eifman Ballet: Anna Karenina (Tue-Weds) Onegin (Fri) Big, passionate storytelling from this St Petersburg-based company. London Coliseum , WC2 (0871 911 0200), Tuesday until 7 April. Classical St John Passion Stephen Layton's performances with his choir Polyphony and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment are regularly among the best of the annual crop of Easter passions; Ian Bostridge takes the role of the Evangelist this time. St John's, Smith Square , London SW1 (020-7222 1061), Friday. Aldeburgh Easter Weekend Beethoven is this year's focus; Elisabeth Leonskaja's performances of the last three piano sonatas are flanked by performances of the Ninth Symphony, with the Britten-Pears Orchestra conducted by Ben Parry, and Schoenberg's rarely heard choral piece Friede auf Erden providing the prologue. Snape Maltings , Aldeburgh (01728 687110), Friday to Sunday. Jazz Oxford Jazz festival Lively, week-long international festival, including Swedish jazz singer Cecilia Stalin (exploring new vocal settings for classic John Coltrane themes) at the Ashmolean Dining Room on Thursday, innovative young guitarist Kristian Borring at COPA on Friday, and a full Easter weekend programme – headlined by bass star Michael Janisch's international group, the New York Standards Quartet at Oxford Playhouse on 7 April. Various venues, Oxford , 1-7 April. Pop The Futureheads In the wake of their a cappella album, Rant – a pretty bold move by anyone's standards – the Futureheads embark on an acoustic and a cappella tour. Tour begins Monday, Komedia Brighton (01273 647100). Orbital There's something rather pleasing about the way the reformed Orbital have gone from providing a night out for disco dads to a genuine musical force once more: new album Wonky may actually be their best. Tour begins Thursday, Manchester Academy (0161-832 1111). Visual art Remote Control Exploring the impact television has had on culture, this is more than just artists on the box. This huge group show channel-surfs Richard Hamilton and Richard Serra , Adrian Piper, Taryn Simon , Mark Leckey and many others, from the 60s to the present. ICA , London SW1 (020-7930 3647), Tuesday to 10 June. Last chance to see Theatre Romeo and Juliet Young, fresh, vibrant and completely heartbreaking, and you can't often say that about Shakespeare's over-familiar tale of star-crossed lovers. A memorable revival from director Robert Icke and Headlong. Hull Truck (01482 323638), until Saturday. Film Michael (dir. Markus Schleinzer) This brilliant and bizarre drama, inspired by the Fritzl and Kampusch cases, shows the banal life of a paedophile. The suspense is unbearable. Jazz Get the Blessing Vivacious jazz-rock band driven by Portishead's rhythm section plays mix of Ornette Coleman-influenced jazz, Morricone-like atmospherics and old-school twangy guitar rock from new OC DC album. Ronnie Scott's , London W1 (020-7439 0747), Tuesday. Pop Le Beat Bespoke Weekender The Pretty Things , the Sorrows , July , the Poets and the Trashmen : if these are the kind of vintage names that excite you, then this mammoth annual mod/psych event offers nirvana. 229 , London W1 (020-7323 7229), Thursday to Sunday. Kylie Minogue Who would have thought, 25 years ago, that Kylie Minogue might celebrate her silver jubilee by playing gigs consisting entirely of B-sides, demos and rarities? Tour ends Monday, Manchester Academy (0161-832 1111). Visual art Thomas Demand Model Studies Demand photographs models of real and imagined places – this time working with rediscovered architectural models by celebrated US architect John Lautner (1911-94). Images of haunting, mysterious, decaying places. Nottingham Contemporary (0115-948 9750), until 15 April. Book now Theatre Professor Vanessa's Wondershow The era of the 1930s and 40s circus sideshow is recreated in a show that will take over the Roundhouse's main space and invite audiences to step back in time. Gawp at the headless lady and the electrifying 27,000-volt girl, and marvel at the human insect circus performers. Roundhouse , London NW1 (0844 482 8008), 23-29 April. Wonderland Alice gets a makeover, in an adults-only new piece from the ever-inventive Vanishing Point, which looks at what happens when a young girl leaves home in search of fame and stardom. A tale of dreams, temptations and curiosity. Royal Lyceum , Edinburgh (0131-473 2000), 29 August to 1 September. The Sunshine Boys It's not so much Neil Simon's tale of a legendary vaudevillian double act that is the draw here as the casting, which is very tasty indeed. Thea Sharrock directs Danny DeVito and Richard Griffiths in this tale of showbiz rivalries. Savoy , London WC2 (0844 871 7687), 27 April until 28 July. Film This Must Be the Place (dir. Paolo Sorrentino) Paolo Sorrentino's English-language debut has Sean Penn as a retired Goth rocker living in Dublin. News about his father sends him on an American quest. Dance International Dance Festival Birmingham Birmingham's month-long dance programme brings UK revivals for hit shows like Sylvie Guillem and Russell Maliphant's Push, a solo for Louise LeCavalier created by Nigel Charnock, and the premiere of a new work featuring the disabled dance virtuoso David Toole. Various venues , from 23 April until 19 May. Classical Einstein on the Beach Some seats still available for the UK premiere of Philip Glass's groundbreaking stage work, in a recreation of Robert Wilson's original 1976 production. Barbican , London EC2 (020-7638 8891), 4-13 May. Jazz Esperanza Spalding Charismatic young Grammy-winning vocalist/bassist Spalding brings her 12-piece band to London, showcasing songs from her April album release, Radio Music Society. With her stage presence, acoustic-bass virtuosity, graceful vocals and seamless fusion of jazz, pop and classical chamber music, Spalding has star power written all over her. Koko , London, NW1 (0870 432 5527), 28 May. Pop Madonna Whether you think MDNA represents a return to classic form or a more modest achievement, Madonna's UK tour is bound to be one of the summer's biggest musical events. Tour begins 17 July, Hyde Park , London (0844 576 5483). Visual art Glasgow international festival of visual art Interactive art by Jeremy Deller , Wolfgang Tillmans photographs, Richard Wright drawings, LA-based installationist Kelly Nipper at Tramway, a new film co-commissioned with Scottish Ballet by Rosalind Nashashibi, and much more, at venues throughout Scotland's funkiest city. What's not to like? Various venues , 20 April to 7 May.