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The comic therapists who created an Edinburgh hit factory The Berk’s Nest production company has for more than a decade been propelling improv wannabes to Netflix stardom with its soul-searching acts. And its playbills tell the story. bit.ly/4kbkrpX

How animals make us better Jay Griffiths is an evangelical guide to the restorative powers of our non-human companions. Nick Duerden bit.ly/3GdfkaO

Dylan, The Weir and the mystery of experience With four of his plays dominating the London stage this year, Conor McPherson explains why he is endlessly searching for something transcendent. bit.ly/4kaQ2rB

The 1975, Charli XCX and the headline act in the age of streaming Glastonbury’s imperial couple reveal how festival bookings have been complicated in recent years. bit.ly/4lqSuew

David Aaronovitch: This Bob Vylan furore is a distraction from finding an end to the bloodshed The musician’s comments at Glastonbury were somewhat inevitable – but blaming the BBC is daft. David Aaronovitch bit.ly/3I6GBft

The man in seat 11A and our obsession with sole survivors Vishwashkumar Ramesh emerged alive from the Air India crash that killed everyone else on board. What lies behind our fascination with sole survivors? bit.ly/3ZYNyWi

Gaza: Doctors Under Attack – images that can’t be unseen A controversial documentary finds a home on Channel 4, The Handmaid’s Tale goes out on a high, and comedy doesn’t get any darker than Such Brave Girls. bit.ly/4ey3GUB

Cinema’s queer disruptors: Ryan Gilbey’s It Used To Be Witches This multifaceted history of contemporary LGBTQ+ film-making is part celebration and part affirmation of its author’s own identity. bit.ly/4l6XYLT

Bill Callahan’s state of grace The American songwriter’s misanthropy has faded. Now, he finds new depths in mellowness and delight. bit.ly/4klizL2

David Cronenberg’s The Shrouds is morbid, unsettling – and tedious Compared to the full-blooded nastiness of some of his enthusiastically lurid earlier works, this grave-digging horror feels inert and woolly. bit.ly/3Idga7Z

Jamie Lloyd’s audacious Evita Rachel Zegler's high-energy heroine is sassy and unstately – as perky as her conical Madonna bra but not exactly rounded. bit.ly/44epNff

Crime and thrillers of the month: silent witness A couple’s desperate search for their child – plus the horrors of a coma patient in Korea’s answer to Stephen King. bit.ly/4kmSDio

The big picture: Nick Waplington’s perfectly poised models Statuesque models appear frozen in time as the British photographer captures the calm before the walk. bit.ly/4lC6thN

I quit Instagram. This is what I lost Olivia Ovenden broke up with social media after her divorce. She didn’t anticipate the difficulty of splitting from her virtual self. bit.ly/4060IAF

Intimate Apparel is one of the great American plays Lynn Nottage’s portrait of a nation is one of the best plays I have seen in my 28 years as the Observer’s theatre critic. Plus: A Moon for the Misbegotten bit.ly/44tFD4r

The return of character comedy From Alan Partridge to Ed Reardon, deeply ridiculous personalities are back on radio and podcasts this week. bit.ly/3IuMQtF

Albums of the week: Kae Tempest, Kesha, Nilüfer Yanya, Adrian Quesada bit.ly/4ko5II2

Will Sharpe: ‘Writing was a way of making myself feel I belonged’ The actor, writer and director on The White Lotus, his leading role in Lena Dunham’s Too Much, and his own multi-hyphenate career. bit.ly/46rK0Q8

Snapshots from the age of thirst Wellcome Collection’s enthralling show explores man’s search for water, capturing the precious resource’s terrible lack and ruinous abundance. bit.ly/4eTWyCl

Ali Smith: ‘Refugee Tales is a small bright spot in dark times’ In 2015 the novelist Ali Smith was invited to tell the story of a former detainee. Ten years on, she explains why the project is more necessary than ever. bit.ly/44iruby