Eight of the best cultural happenings to look out for this festive season.

December may well be the most wonderful time of the year, but it’s also one of the busiest. It’s easy to find yourself ricocheting from party to party, drink in hand, with ever-present dark rings around your eyes. If you plan on surviving until 31 December, it pays to take some time out to soothe body and mind, and what better way to do that than take in the full smorgasbord of cultural events on offer across the world? From continental Christmas markets and international exhibition openings to Broadway premieres and books you’ll burn through, whether you’re looking to cosy up by the fire or brave the outdoors, we’ve got all bases covered. Scroll down for MR PORTER’s guide to unmissable cultural happenings taking place this December.

When composer and director Ms Claire van Kampen’s first play, Farinelli And The King, premiered at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London in 2015, it enjoyed a sell-out run before transferring to the West End and racking up six Olivier Award nominations. Now, the production will receive its Broadway debut at the Belasco Theatre. Sir Mark Rylance, Oscar- and three-time Tony Award-winning actor (also Ms van Kampen’s husband), returns to play King Philip V of Spain. Based on a true story, it tells of how the 18th-century king – crippled with depression – found solace in the performances of the mononymous castrato Farinelli, who in turn sacrifices the stage and devotes himself to the royal court. World-class acting coupled with Ms van Kampen’s expert knowledge of early classical music promises a production fit for a king. A great shout if you’re looking for a distraction between Christmas and New Year.

Runs 5 December – 25 March 2018

farinelliandthekingbroadway.com

The picturesque city of Strasbourg in France’s north-eastern Alsace region is not just the democratic capital of the European Union, but also the unchallenged capital of Christmas. Since 1570, it has held the annual Christkindelsmärik, one of Europe’s largest and oldest Christmas markets. Today, more than 300 stalls sell decorations and toys made by local craftspeople, as well as mulled wine and festive treats, including bredeles (spiced biscuits), knacks (sausages) and pain d’epices (gingerbread). Strasbourg’s gothic architecture is enchantingly beautiful at any time of year, so beautiful in fact it was the first city centre to be declared a Unesco World Heritage site, but experiencing it at Christmas – blanketed in thousands of twinkling lights, with a 30m-high Christmas tree as a centrepiece – truly is a sight to behold.

noel.strasbourg.eu

Once described as a “jewel box of sound”, the Suntory Hall in Tokyo shone brighter than ever this September, when the theatre opened its doors after seven months of interior renovations to a fanfare of Gabrieli, Bach and Strauss. Pioneering in its design, the concert hall was the first in Japan to be built using the vineyard design – with seats that surround the stage and rise up in serried rows – which makes for a most immersive musical experience. If you’re visiting this December, check out the performances from the Mariinsky and Tokyo Symphony Orchestras, and a Christmas organ concert, while dancers from the Wiener Staatsballett – part of the Silvester Concert (31 December) – will ensure the Suntory looks as good as it sounds this winter.

suntory.com

It’s been 17 years since we last followed Mr Phillip Pullman’s indomitable heroine Lyra Belacqua on her daring supernatural adventures to the northernmost regions of the globe. Now, La Belle Sauvage – the first volume of his second trilogy, The Book Of Dust (David Fickling Books) – has at long last arrived – and it’s perfectly timed so you can get stuck into it over the festive break. Mr Pullman describes the series as an “equel”, sitting beside His Dark Materials rather than before or after it. The book introduces a new protagonist, 11-year-old Malcolm Polstead, who protects a now young baby Lyra from a deluge in his eponymous canoe. While retaining all the magical and mystical elements of the first trilogy, such as daemons (manifestations of a person’s inner self that take the form of animals), La Belle Sauvage raises some pertinent points about despotism, tyranny and freedom of speech.

Out now

The Golden Globe-winning The Crown returned for a second season on 8 December. It restarts in 1957, with prime minister Sir Anthony Eden’s resignation following the Suez crisis. While behind palace doors, the Queen (Ms Claire Foy) is having her own troubles with Prince Philip. Over the course of 10 episodes – taking us up to approximately 1964 – the royal couple will have at least one child (Andrew), maybe two (Edward). According to the show’s creator Mr Peter Morgan, we will be seeing more of the men (Princes Philip and Charles) this time around and, while much of the cast remains the same, Mr John Lithgow’s Sir Winston Churchill isn’t expected to return, and Mr Matthew Goode and Dexter star Mr Michael C Hall have been tapped to play Lord Snowdon and President John F Kennedy respectively.

Available on Netflix from 8 December

It’s time warm up your vocal cords and dust off your finest tricorne because the Christmas carol concert to end all Christmas carol concerts is here. As part of classical music impresario Mr Raymond Gubbay’s Christmas Festival, enjoy an evening of carols by candlelight at the Royal Albert Hall. Soprano Ms Jennifer France and the Mozart Festival Chorus – dressed in full 18th-century costume – will perform a selection of seasonal classics including “Messiah”, “Joy To The World” and “Twelve Days Of Christmas”. With singalong interludes, full orchestra, organist and readings from Mr Charles Dickens by actor Mr Kevin Whately, this will be anything but a silent night.

Various dates in December

royalalberthall.com

In her acceptance speech at the 2017 Golden Globe Awards – a little more than a week before inauguration day – Ms Meryl Streep called upon “the principled press to hold power to account”. Now, one year later, in Mr Steven Spielberg’s The Post, she will play one of the most iconic figures to have helped create the principled press of which she speaks – the late Wall Street Post publisher and first female publisher of a major American newspaper, Ms Katharine Graham. In 1967, Ms Graham, with the help of editor Mr Ben Bradlee (played by Mr Tom Hanks), put her career on the line when she published classified documents that proved the White House had lied about the scope of the Vietnam war – a monumental cover-up that spanned three decades and four US presidents.

Released 22 December (US)

When the leaves are nowhere to be seen and the skies are grey, no one can inspire some California dreaming like Mr David Hockney – and frankly who doesn’t want that in freezing December? The artist’s blockbuster retrospective is his largest to date, and was designed to coincide with his 80th birthday year. It caused an almighty splash when it opened in London last February, and now his brightly hued paintings are coming to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to offer respite from the freezing New York winter. Comprising more than 250 works and spanning six decades, the show covers Mr Hockney’s complete oeuvre, from his double portraits (“Christopher Isherwood And Don Bachardy”) and swimming pool paintings (“Pool With Two Figures”) to his Picasso-inspired Polaroid works and his recent iPad paintings, marking the first time the series is being exhibited in the US.

metmuseum.org