Cinematic landmark

Fritz Lang’s Metropolis is a silent film made in Germany in 1926, but it continues to influence modern cinema: Blade Runner and the Star Wars series are among those films which owe it an obvious debt. Set in a futuristic, highly industrialised city, this extraordinarily prescient film includes an android and special effects way ahead of their time. A box office failure when first released, Metropolis was cut and altered out of recognition, but it has now been restored to, it is claimed, something like its original quality. Accompanied by the original Gottfried Huppertz score, this cinematic milestone can be seen in London at the National Film Theatre (020 7928 3535) and the Other Cinema (020 7437 0757) from January 17, followed by regional screenings from Edinburgh to Brighton until the summer. It will be available on DVD from January 27.

Theatrical double

April De Angelis has written a comedy curtain-raiser for Oliver Goldsmith’s classic, She Stoops to Conquer. In A Laughing Matter, actor-manager David Garrick, male-impersonating actress Peg Woffington, Dr Johnson and Goldsmith himself are seen in comic backstage wrangles about the theatre of the time, including Oliver’s vain attempts to persuade Garrick to stage his masterpiece. The new play is certainly fun, although its tone is variable - it degenerates into farce in a ludicrous seduction scene - and it seems unsure whether its language intends to be contemporary or suggest the 18th century. Max Stafford- Clark, who directs both plays for Out of Joint, brings out the genial charm of She Stoops, aided by a sparkling performance from Monica Dolan as Kate Hardcastle as the lady who pretends to be a barmaid to catch her shy beau, and Julian McGowan’s atmospheric set, which serves both plays. In rep at the National Theatre until March (tickets: 020 7452 3000) but visiting Exeter, Cambridge, Liverpool, Bath and Northampton between January 21 and April 19. Information: www.outofjoint.co.uk.

Tree time

A life-size computer-generated “typographical tree” has been planted at Watermans gallery in Brentford, Middlesex. Visitors can use their voices to make the tree grow and bloom , twist and contort. Even mobile phone tones can have an effect. See the online gallery at www.digitfeed.comtree. Information: 020 8232 1010.

Pot luck

Take a chance and find out what happens in Mutiny at the Bargehouse. Staged by a group of artists called Lost Property who claim that “every event has a life of its own and can’t be predicted” and are “dedicated to collaborative explorations across genres”, Mutiny combines performing arts with print, design, ceramics, music, sculpture and the spoken word. At the Oxo Tower on the South Bank in London between January 15 and 19. Information: www.lostpropertyart.co.uk.

Adland

For the last Friday night of the Rewind exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, on January 31, the space will be transformed into an adland bar with pub quizzes and a debate about the future of design. Information: 020 7942 2000.