Spymonkey returns to the Liverpool Playhouse this week following its seasonal success with A Christmas Carol. The Brighton-based theatre company, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, presents its gothic romance Cooped from June 4-8. It’s one of a small number of dates for the show in the UK before Spymonkey heads to the US. Described as Hitchcock’s Rebecca meets The Pink Panther, Spymonkey’s characteristically demented take on the pulp gothic romance promises

Cinema’s influence on the visual arts is explored in a new exhibition opening at the Walker Art Gallery this week. As Seen on Screen, which runs from May 31 to August 18, is the latest exhibition in a partnership between the Liverpool gallery and the Arts Council Collection. The 20 plus artworks on display include Merseyside-born artist Fiona Banner’s The Desert - a 5m (15ft) wide screenprint which retells the story of the epic 1962 David Lean film Lawrence of Arabia. Works b

Liverpool-based TurnTable Theatre is set to showcase the result of its latest work in the rehearsal room in three performances at the Invisible Wind Factory this week. Four to the Floor will see creatives from the company presenting around 85 minutes of material in a promenade-style piece, described as ‘immersive theatre with an electronic heartbeat’. The show combines a club night out with stories of illegal raves, warehouse parties, political movements, youth culture, headl

The YEP Directors' Festival is being staged at the Liverpool Everyman. Theatregoers will have the chance to see six plays over a fortnight from June 3 to June 15, directed by half-a-dozen up and coming new directors. All the shows – which take place in the Ev1 space at the Hope Street theatre - are free, but advance booking is recommended. YEP (Young Everyman Playhouse) was launched in 2012, and is open to young actors, directors, producers, writers, technicians and marketers

Sketches by Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn have gone on show at the Lady Lever Art Gallery. Rembrandt in Print features 50 of the world-famous artist’s finest etchings and drypoints in a show which marks the 350th anniversary of his death. The prints, on loan from Oxford University’s Ashmolean Museum, have never been displayed together before. The works, which range from self-portraits to landscapes, religious subjects, still lives and life drawings, were all created between

Boisterous Theatre Company returns to the Liverpool Royal Court stage this week with a revival of Barbara Phillips’ play Misunderstood? Leila and Nathan are living by their principles and on the breadline. Ritchie's the big man with the money but Patsy wants more. Kelly’s after the high life and Peter's left counting the cost. Set in Liverpool amid business, debts and designer dresses, Misunderstood? is the story of three sisters and their partners who can't communicate and r

Liverpool’s Fabric District Arts Festival is returning for a second year with a busy programme of fashion happenings, art events and exhibitions, walks and film screenings. The theme of this year’s festival – taking place from June 7-9 – is This Social Fabric and it aims to reflect the diversity of skills in the area. The ‘Fabric District’ is centred around Kempston Street, sandwiched between London Road and Islington, and in an area formerly the heart of Liverpool’s rag trad

Last summer some of the UK’s leading companies converged on Liverpool to pledge a year-round programme of opera for city audiences. Glyndebourne, Welsh National Opera, Scottish Opera and Opera North all committed to bringing the best of the powerful artform to Liverpool, either through full stage performances, screenings, or concert versions of operatic favourites. Leeds-based Opera North is currently touring a concert staging of Verdi’s Egyptian classic Aida to key cities, a

Daniel Kitson, Nigel Slater’s Toast and a new production of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein are among the autumn season at Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse. The Playhouse will also host two new touring musicals – Little Miss Sunshine and Amelie – which were announced earlier this month. And there are a number of events set to take place under the Liverpool Comedy Festival umbrella including appearances by Sindhu Vee, Griff Rhys Jones (below), Adam Buxton, Richard Herring, Justin

The RLPO has released a new version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic – and Liverpool FC anthem – You’ll Never Walk Alone. The single features Liverpool-born international mezzo soprano Jennifer Johnston (pictured) and comes a week before Liverpool plays Spurs in the Champions League final in Madrid. Johnston sang the anthem at last December’s Spirit of Christmas concerts in the Philharmonic Hall. The song, recorded with the RLPO and Philharmonic Choir - conducted by Ian