Says Robert Pacitti, this week's Guest Editor and Artistic Director & Curator of SPILL. The annual festival is back in London and the theme this year is 'On Spirit'. Expect two weeks of live art, activism and performance but don't expect to go skint - a third of the events are free. To get the context for that opening quote head to our Q&A with Robert; Honour Bayes talked to him about relaxing first time audiences, the danger of collective negative thought and the benefits of multiple choices.

Robert's Top 4 offers a glimpse into the thirty five unique events SPILL is spoiling us with this year. Sarah-Jane Norman's durational sound performance Stone Tape Theory takes its name from an obscure paranormal hypothesis; Othon's brand new work Kodama reflects the artist's reinvented relationship with the piano. SPILL Showcase features 11 emerging artists, including the action based performance-maker FK Alexander. Then there's Inextinguishable Fire, which sees Cassils experience the very real human terror of being lit on fire, using techniques borrowed from Hollywood stunts.

Moving on: the BFI London Film Festival launched this week - huzzah - so we filled our Best of the Rest with film recommendations for all your quirks. Ibsen's play The Wild Duck has been reimagined in contemporary rural Australia; Tom McCarthy's superb first novel Remainder has been adapted by video artist Omer Fast. You can peer into the male gay experience in India, watch a genre blending participatory opera, or go nostalgic with a Janis Joplin documentary. And if you missed the Suffragette Opening Gala, the time is nigh to catch it in cinemas across London - we suggest you go indie at the Tricycle Theatre.

In our Magazine section comedian and writer John Finnemore tells us about writing for radio vs writing for stage - take note the Radio 4 comedian is on stage this week with his sketch show Souvenir Cabin (Shaw Theatre). For those of you looking to get on stage - here's an opportunity with our friends You, Me, Bum Bum Train!

For cerebral stimulation in between the films we suggest: a series of talks on slavery in the UK / Damien Hirst's Newport Street Gallery opening / a dance piece about a mysterious Welsh composer / another #hashtag night of random Friday fun.

Culture escapades wearing your finances down? Time to visit our Offers page for free tickets and special deals!

That's it for this week - and yeah, it was political. Bottoms up! RR