December - 2020

Archive

St Helens Panto goes live online for Christmas Eve

St Helens Theatre Royal will live stream its festive panto online tomorrow in a Christmas Eve treat for children of all ages. The 1.30pm performance of Beauty and the Beast will be broadcast direct from the theatre to audiences at home. Tickets cost £20 per device meaning the whole family can tune in for one price. The magical story stars Jamie Greer as Potty Polly, Abigail Middleton as Madame Botox, Scott Gallagher as French Frank, Olivia Sloyan as Belle, Andrew Geater as Th

Southport's Atkinson stages the Wizard of Oz this Christmas

The yellow brick road runs to The Atkinson at Southport this Christmas with the venue hosting The Wizard of Oz as its festive treat. Ray Quinn takes on the titular role in the show which runs until December 31. He is joined by Claire Simmo as Glinda the Good Witch, Michael Chapman as the Wicked Witch of the West, Chris Barton as the Cowardly Lion, Lewis Pryor as Scarecrow and Tom Burroughs as the Tin Man. Mia Molloy plays Dorothy. The show comes from LHK Productions which use

Everyman and PLayhouse reveal new shows for spring 2021

Homegrown shows and acclaimed touring productions are on the programme for a new spring season at the Everyman and Playhouse. The theatres have announced six new shows which will be staged in early 2021, Covid rules permitting. Coronation Street, Happy Valley and Broadchurch star Julie Hesmondhalgh brings her award-winning one-woman show The Greatest Play in the History of the World to the Playhouse in February. And Woke, by Apphia Campbell and Meredith Yarbrough, also comes

Liverpool waterfront illuminated by major new artwork

A major new light installation by a Turner Prize shortlisted artist has been unveiled on Liverpool’s famous waterfront. Glasgow-based Nathan Coley’s From Here can be seen high on the imposing Victorian brick George’s Dock pumping station. The work, commissioned by Liverpool Biennial and Culture Liverpool, will remain on the building for the next 12 months including throughout the 2021 Biennial which opens in March. Giant illuminated words which wrap around the top of the stru

Review: Christmas Carols at Liverpool Philharmonic ****1/2

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s annual Spirit of Christmas concerts are a dependable highlight of a normal festive season. But this is anything but a normal Christmas, and the usual serried ranks of choirs and full orchestra would be a seasonal superspreader too far. It would have been easy to simply shut up shop in the run up to December 25, but instead the Phil has taken the essence of the event and presented it in much more modest wrapping. And rather than a stage solid

Frankie Goes to the British Music Experience for summer 2021

A new exhibition featuring Liverpool’s legendary Frankie Goes to Hollywood has finally opened at the British Music Experience. The show, Frankie Say 1984! – the World is My Oyster, focuses on the key year of 1984 when the band dominated the music scene with a trio of massive number one hits - the controversial Relax, Two Tribes and the exquisite The Power of Love – which together spent a total of 15 weeks at the top of the UK charts And it also sets the songs in the context o

Bluecoat offers festive fun and food for families this Christmas

Liverpool’s Bluecoat has launched its own special seasonal activity kits for city youngsters. And along with various festive activities including making tree decorations and Christmas wreaths, the Creative Christmas kits also include vouchers for a free child’s meal at the arts centre’s café. Youngsters will receive a sandwich and a hot chocolate, or a similar meal. The idea for the kits comes from the work of Welsh artist Sean Edwards which is currently on show in the Blueco

Tate Liverpool exhibition captures Covid frontline staff on Canvas

A new exhibition at Tate Liverpool captures the faces and stories of NHS workers across Merseyside who have been on the frontline during the Coronavirus pandemic. Mexican artist Aliza Nisenbaum’s first solo show in Europe highlights the impact that Covid-19 has had on her subjects’ jobs and home lives. The people depicted in the individual and group portraits sat remotely for Nisenbaum via Zoom in August this year. They were also photographed by Dan Bentley as extra material

Top Liverpool comedy shows in 2021

There hasn’t been much to laugh about over the last 15 months but going in to the second half of 2021 we are all hoping that is about to change. And in addition to the city’s regular comedy clubs, there are some major Liverpool venues which have already got plenty of comedy on their programmes with the expectation Covid restrictions will finally be fully lifted. Some are well-known faces from the television, while others are at the top of the live comedy circuit. Many of the

St George's Hall plans new high-tech visitor experience

A new high-tech digital visitor experience will be created for St George’s Hall with money received from the government’s Culture Recovery Fund. The £250,000 was awarded through the National Heritage Fund and Historic England earlier this year as part of the £1.57 billion recovery fund to support the nation’s key cultural organisations through the Coronavirus pandemic. The high-tech digital visitor experience will enable people to step back in time and see what life would hav