October - 2021

Archive

Message of hope at Liverpool Cathedral in public art campaign

Liverpool Cathedral is hosting the latest work in the city’s ongoing Very Public Art campaign. From Now On, which is on show outside the cathedral until 6pm on Monday, is made up of donated items which people associate with the pandemic, from poignant tributes to loved ones lost to Covid to things representing lockdown activities like baking and exercising. They have been brought together to spell the word ‘hope’. Liverpool creatives Travelled Companions worked with community

Keddy Sutton plans a fairy merry Christmas at Liverpool's Royal Court

She’s been an airline pilot in Scouse of the Rising Sun, a shepherd in the Scouse Nativity, and for the last two years she’s donned padding a big suit to play (the now ex) Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson in Scouse Snow White and Cinderella respectively. Now Keddy Sutton is back on stage at the Royal Court for some more festive tomfoolery in The Scouse Sleeping Beauty, and this year she’s earned her fairy wings. Fairy Daffodil to be exact. “I’m one of three Fairy Godmothers. They

Liverpool to receive £2m towards new centre for music talent

Liverpool could get a new waterfront attraction and education centre in plans to celebrate the city’s music heritage and invest in future talent. Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a £2m boost in his autumn budget for what he told a packed House of Commons would be a “new Beatles attraction”. The announcement prompted a storm of comments on social media about whether there was the need for another venue dedicated to the band in a city which already boasts two Beatles museums an

NML and Tate Liverpool to receive £20m 'Levelling Up' funding

National Museums Liverpool and Tate Liverpool are each set to receive £10m from the Government’s Levelling Up fund. The investment, announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak as part of his autumn budget, will help pay for capital and regeneration projects planned by the two major city cultural organisations. It will enable NML to forge ahead with its Canning Docks Project, part of a 10-year masterplan to reimagine the city’s famous waterfront. The project will tran

FACT becomes an alterate museum for new exhibition

An ‘alternate museum’ of artworks forms the heart of a new exhibition at FACT this autumn. Future Ages Will Wonder features work by nine UK and international artists including Larry Achiampong and David Blandy. It aims to use science and technology to both question our past and to offer new ways of understanding who we are and where we belong. Sculpture, textiles and photography are brought together with virtual reality and synthetic DNA in the work which includes three new c

Hope Street premiere for Cynthia Lennon musical

A new musical version of a hit show about Cynthia Lennon comes to the Liverpool stage next month. This Girl – The Cynthia Lennon Story, written and directed by Mike Howl, will be premiered at the Hope Street Theatre from November 8-14. It enjoyed a sell-out run at the venue in 2019 in its previous incarnation as a straight play. The musical features eight new original songs and musical arrangements by Frankie Connor (The Hideaways), The Merseybeats’ Billy Kinsley and Alan Cro

Review: Wild Swans at Philharmonic Hall ****1/2

You wait for one world premiere to come along and then, like buses, two turn up one after the other. And if Roberto Sierra’s Sixth Symphony (last week) and Anders Hillborg’s Viola Concerto (last night) were buses, they would be super-charged, souped-up engine charras. Hillborg – who was at the Phil in person for the premiere – and ebullient soloist Lawrence Power were out to showcase just what the unsung member of the string section can do, in an 18-minute musical blitzkrieg

Knowsley reveals Borough of Culture plans for 2022

Artist Luke Jerram’s stunning Gaia installation, a celebration of Edward Lear and the official opening of Shakespeare North Playhouse will form part of the Knowsley Borough of Culture celebrations next year. An exhibition of leading Impressionists, a public light spectacular, a show dedicated to illustrator Quentin Blake, a mass participation event celebrating sport and the return of Knowsley Flower Show and Feelgood Festival are also planned. Knowsley takes over the year-lon

Review: The Midnight Bell at Liverpool Playhouse ****1/2

While his usual Liverpool stamping ground is up the road at the Empire, four years ago Matthew Bourne brought his playful Early Adventures to the Playhouse stage. The more compact, intimate space and the content of those modest, sunny early works was a good fit and a really rewarding experience for the audience. So it’s great to see Bourne back at Williamson Square – albeit with a much darker dance offering this time. The Midnight Bell, inspired by Patrick Hamilton’s inter-wa

Review: The War of the Worlds at Liverpool Everyman ****

HG Wells’ deadly fin de siècle sci-fi tale has been through any number of storytelling permutations and genres since it was published at the fag end of the 19th Century – from films to video games, comic books, a Twitter iteration and a famous, bombastic rock opera spectacular. One of the key adaptations remains a 23-year-old Orson Welles’ 1938 Halloween broadcast, part of The Mercury Theatre on Air radio drama series and which has generated its own subsequent mythology. Did

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