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Five shows to see at the Floral Pavilion in 2026
Theatre audiences and fans of live performance are in for a treat all over Merseyside during 2026 – including at the Floral Pavilion. The New Brighton venue has lined up a programme of music, comedy, cabaret, children’s shows and drama for audiences to enjoy, including a return for acclaimed new Country musical Under the Mersey Moon and the unmissable Something About George which pays homage to the late, great George Harrison. Meanwhile there are plenty of other touring treat
Review: Mary Poppins at the Liverpool Empire *****
Author PL Travers actively disliked Disney’s Oscar-winning screen version of Mary Poppins with its dancing penguins, (in her view) overly sugary heroine and twee sentimentality and, perhaps more incomprehensibly, the Sherman Brothers’ soundtrack of songs. Apparently, she took a lot of persuading before agreeing to let Cameron Mackintosh create a stage version and only then with a whole raft of provisos – although she didn’t live to see the subsequent show premiere in the West
LOOK Climate Lab aims to open eyes at Liverpool gallery
Liverpool’s Open Eye Gallery is being turned into a lab this month where ideas around the topic of climate change can be explored and tested. LOOK Climate Lab 2026 will run at the Mann Island venue from January 23 to March 29, bringing together artists, activists and researchers and offering audiences the opportunity to engage with their work. The biennial LOOK programme explores how photography can be ‘a relevant and powerful medium’ in the conversation about climate. Projec
Review: Inspector Morse at the Liverpool Playhouse ***1/2
Inspector Morse was a TV staple in the 1980s and 90s, regularly pulling in audiences of up to 18 million and spawning not one but two successful spin off series – the latter, Endeavour, starring Liverpool’s own Shaun Evans. Morse's star John Thaw was just 45 when the first series was screened, albeit he wore middle age in worn-in fashion, which suited Colin Dexter's curmudgeonly character. Tom Chambers, who takes on detective duties in this first stage outing, is currently 48
Africa Oyé announces first acts for 2026 festival
Africa Oyé has revealed its first two big name acts for this year’s music weekend in Sefton Park. Multi-award-winning Nigerian singer-songwriter Patoranking and Congolese collective Fulu Miziki will both appear at the Oyé in June. Patoranking, who is making his Africa Oyé debut, is described as a ‘visionary’ of the African music scene and cultural ambassador for Afrobeats, blending the genre with reggae and dancehall to create a unique sound. He is an MTV Africa Music Awards
Liverpool International Jazz Festival 2026 line-up
Liverpool International Jazz Festival returns next month with a line-up of music talent from the UK, Europe and the US. The annual festival, which began in 2013, will be staged at Liverpool Hope University’s Capstone Theatre between February 26 and March 1. Stellar jazz musicians and singers set to take part in the 2026 festival include Tim Garland and Geoffrey Keezer, David Helbock and Julia Hofer, Zoe Rahman and Arun Ghosh, Robert Mitchell's Little Black Book, Martin Taylor
Arts projects share £30,000 Liverpool BID funding
Lantern window installations, Chinese New Year projections and a series of live radio broadcasts will be staged in Liverpool with the help of £30,000 of special arts funding. Five projects have been chosen by Liverpool BID (Business Improvement District) in the latest round of grants from its Arts & Culture Fund. The fund aims to support smaller arts projects that will help drive footfall, activity and animation within the city centre. The latest recipients are the city’s Lan
Liverpool exhibition of William Ellis jazz greats this spring
Captivating images of leading jazz artists taken by an acclaimed Liverpool music photographer are set to go on show in the city next month. William Ellis’ work will be displayed at the Capstone Building on Liverpool Hope University’s Creative Campus at Everton to coincide with the 2026 Liverpool International Jazz Festival. Songs For my Father: The Jazz Photography of William Ellis runs from February 3 to April 15, with the jazz festival itself taking place from February 26 t
Britannia Waves the Rules returns to Hope Street
A powerful and poignant play which takes an unflinching look at the challenges faced by working-class young men in Britain today is set to return to the Hope Street Theatre this month. Playwright Gareth Farr’s Britannia Waves the Rules received acclaim when it was staged at the venue last autumn. Now Wirral’s Off the Ground Theatre, which presented the original production, is bringing it back for three nights only, from January 14-16. Carl Jackson is a young man from Blackpoo
Top musicals coming to Liverpool in 2026
The news may feel unremittingly gloomy, so what better distraction from real life than the chance to immerse ourselves in the Technicolor world of stage musicals for an hour or two? The UK is rich with triple threat talent and a range of all-singing, all-dancing shows, and lots of them are heading for an auditorium near you over the next 12 months. Some – like Legally Blonde, Dirty Dancing, Little Shop of Horrors and Mamma Mia! - are dependable favourites, some are sheer musi
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