August 2022's must-sees

Star-studded musical comedy comes to London this August, as Sister Act opens for a month-long run at the Hammersmith Apollo. Originally planned for 2020, this long-awaited new production stars Jennifer Saunders as Mother Superior and Beverley Knight as Deloris, a disco diva in disguise, who is hidden in a convent after witnessing a murder. Based on the classic Whoopi Goldberg film, this conventual caper, inspired by Motown, disco and soul, runs from 19 July to 28 August.

This summer, the greatest private collection of Japanese art and design in Western hands goes on display for the first time, in the sumptuous surroundings of the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace. The Royal Collection's links with Japan go back some 350 years, when James I received a suit of Samurai armour, and includes exquisite gifts from the Imperial Family as well as superb paintings, porcelain, lacquerware and historic photographs, dating from 1617 to 1953. Runs until 26 February 2023.

The world's greatest festival of classical music returns to its full glory in 2022, after two years in a reduced form. This year's BBC Proms marks the 100th anniversary of the BBC, and features 84 concerts over eight weeks, from 15 July to the famous Last Night on 10 September. Many of the world's greatest orchestras will be playing live at the Royal Albert Hall, including the Berlin Philharmonic and the newly formed Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra: a feast for all.

The recently refurbished Courtauld Gallery offers a rare opportunity to see some of Edvard Munch's most iconic paintings, borrowed from the KODE art museum in Bergen. The Norwegian artist may be best known for The Scream, but Masterpieces from Bergen includes early works that helped make his name, as well as canvases from his Frieze of Life series in the 1890s, all set against the Courtauld's own remarkable collection of work by painters who influenced him. Runs to 4 September.