Your culture calendar for 2010: the best of film, music, books and theatre

Edited by Bill Bryson (Harper Press, 25)

January 18

To coincide with the 350th anniversary of the organisation, Bill Bryson celebrates the Royal Society's momentous history by bringing together the very best of science writing.

not Natasha

Impressions Gallery, Bradford

February 5-April 18

Dana Popa spent four years documenting the experiences of sex-trafficked women through Moldova, through photography and collecting their stories.

She says: "Natasha is the nickname given to prostitutes with Eastern European looks. Sex trafficked girls hate it."

Vampire Weekend

O2 Academy, Leeds

February 10

The band's second album, Contra, is scheduled for release on January 11 in the UK. The album includes the tracks White Sky, Taxi Cab, Run, Diplomat's Son, Giving Up The Gun, Horchata, Holiday, I Think Ur a Contra, California English and Cousins. This gig is all but sold out, but you might get lucky with tickets.

The Enchanting World of Beatrix Potter

Nunnington Hall

February 27-April 25

The Enchanting World of Beatrix Potter is a rare chance to see some original watercolours and drawings by one of history's greatest authors and illustrators.

Alice in Wonderland

March 5

Who else could be behind the big screen adaptation of Lewis Carroll's surreal novel but Tim Burton? Colourful and otherworldly, this is set to be a big draw for the spring. With Jonny Depp as the Mad Hatter and Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, the mix of CGI and live action should serve up another hit for the director.

Alan Davie

Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery,

Leeds University

March 16-June 6

The Gregory Fellowships were instituted at the university from 1950 to 1980. The underlying ethos of the scheme was to "bring ... younger artists into close touch with the youth of the country so that they may influence it". The university always bought a piece of work by each of the Gregory Fellows – apart from Alan Davie. That oversight now corrected, the university celebrates the artist in his 90th year with a retrospective.

61 Hours

Lee Child (Bantam Press, 18.99)

March 10

A graduate of Sheffield University and now master of the American crime thriller, the latest offering from Lee Child sees Jack Reacher move to South Dakota. True to form, Reacher doesn't want to put the world to rights. He just doesn't like people who put it to wrongs.

Clash of the Titans

March 26

It's a brave man who remakes a classic, but Louis Leterrier is behind the 21st century version of the 1981 original. We will once again follow the mortal son of the god Zeus on a perilous journey to stop the underworld and its minions from spreading their evil to Earth as well as the heavens, with Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes adding a little A-list gloss.

Rufus Wainwright

Sheffield City Hall

April 17

The Grammy-nominated, Canadian-American singer-songwriter somehow finds time between his albums, theatre and film work to visit Sheffield.

Writers of Influence: Shakespeare to JK Rowling

Graves Gallery, Sheffield

April 17-July 3

In a journey from Jane Austen to Jarvis Cocker, this exhibition of more than 60 works from the National Portrait Gallery will celebrate Britain's finest literary talents.

True West

Sheffield Crucible

May 13-June 5

Sam Shepherd's exploration of sibling rivalry and Hollywood hypocrisy will be directed by Paul Miller. Two actors play two brothers, and alternate their roles each night. On the press night, who plays which role will be decided on the toss of the coin. Gimmick? Maybe. Worth seeing twice? Quite possibly.

This Land: The Woody Guthrie Story

West Yorkshire Playhouse

July 15-17

Interplay Theatre company began performing this show a few years ago inside a huge domed tent, which was set up in schools around the country. One reviewer, lucky enough to see it among a crowd of five-year-olds, says it still resonates with him even now. A genuinely beautiful little play.

Medea

Northern Broadsides, various venues

February – March

Barrie Rutter's company scored its biggest hit in years when it gave Lenny Henry the role of Othello. The company turns to Euripides for this year's tour, with Tom Paulin producing a script for the ancient tale of a woman wronged exacting her revenge. The play is astounding, and it's a fair assumption that Paulin will do it justice.

The Beauty Queen of Leenane

Lawrence Batley Theatre

March 25-27

Before he wrote the brilliant In Bruges, Martin McDongagh was famed as a playwright. This, his first play, contains one of theatre's most shocking moments and still holds power now. Dark, dark comedy in abundance. See it. Enjoy.

Solar

Ian McEwan (Jonathan Cape, 18.99)

March 18

Michael Beard is in his late fifties – bald, overweight,a Nobel prize-winning physicist whose best work is behind him and who half-heartedly heads a government-backed initiative tackling global warming. His fifth marriage is also floundering. When Beard's professional and personal worlds are entwined in a freak accident, an opportunity presents itself, to save his marriage, reinvigorate his career and very possibly save the world from environmental disaster.

Ellie Goulding

Cockpit, Leeds

April 1

Ellie Goulding has attracted many clichs in her short career thus far including "next big thing", "star in the making", "watch this space", etc etc. She makes pop music in the vein of Little Boots (who she is

on tour with), Ladyhawke, La Roux and the like. How fitting then that she is following her peers through the Cockpit.