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Review: Top Hat at the Liverpool Empire ****
The Empire is currently celebrating its centenary - and back in the same space in March 1926, Liverpool audiences would have been treated to Mr ‘top hat, white tie and tails’ himself Fred Astaire treading its boards. Astaire appeared with his sister Adele in George Gershwin’s Lady be Good. And it evidently proved to be good, because they returned to Lime Street for another run in early 1927. By the mid-30s, Astaire had gone from big theatre star to even bigger screen star. An
River of Light 2025 installations and where to find them
The Liverpool waterfront comes alive with sound and colour over the next 10 days as the annual River of Light returns – this year with the theme the Science of Light. Follow a trail of light sculptures and installations along the banks of the Mersey and through the city’s business district between tonight and November 2. The installations will be lit up from 5-9pm each night, with two quiet hours on October 26 and October 29, from 4-5pm. Ten largescale artworks are on show i
Turner inspires at the Walker Art Gallery this autumn
An exhibition which showcases stunning works by JMW Turner along with artists he influenced is now open at the Walker Art Gallery. Turner: Always Contemporary marks the 250 th  anniversary of the artist’s birth. Tickets cost from £14 for adults, with concessions. Children aged 17 and under go free. The exhibition runs to February 22 and explores both Turner’s own work and his impact on successive generations of artists. It features around 120 artworks including National Museu
Review: Breaking the Code at the Liverpool Playhouse ****
When playwright Hugh Whitemore wrote Breaking the Code 40 years ago, Alan Turing may have been a huge cheese in the development of computing, but his wasn’t a name commonly known among the general public. Consider how much has changed since then, and indeed from 30 years earlier than that when Turing’s life was snuffed out aged just 41 in desperately sad – and still contested – circumstances. Along with Andrew Hodges’ book Alan Turing, The Enigma and Whitemore’s play, there h
Review: Shostakovich Symphony No.7 at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall ****1/2
‘Keep calm and carry on’ seems to have been the order of the day at the Philharmonic Hall over the weekend. And indeed, if it hadn’t been for the email that popped into hundreds of inboxes on Saturday afternoon mentioning a ‘slight’ change of programme because the Phil’s truck had broken down somewhere between Bristol and Liverpool, no one would have been any the wiser. The main casualty of this unexpected occurrence was Victoria Borisova-Ollas. The poor Swedish composer must
Jason Donovan makes Rocky Horror Liverpool return in 2026
Jason Donovan is set to return to the Liverpool stage in The Rocky Horror Show. The Aussie superstar will head the cast of Richard O’Brien’s outrageous cult musical when it comes to the Liverpool Empire next May. Donovan previously performed the part of transvestite scientist Dr Frank-n-Furter for a limited number of shows when the musical was staged at the Liverpool Playhouse last Christmas. Join two squeaky clean college kids – Brad and his fiancée Janet whose car, in a twi
Africa Oyé returns to Sefton Park in 2026 as a ticketed event
Africa Oyé will return to Sefton Park next year – but for the first time it will be as a ticketed event. Organisers say rising costs mean it has been increasingly difficult to keep running the annual festival, the UK’s biggest celebration of African and Caribbean music and culture, for free. The 2025 event was put on hold while they looked at ways to continue to run the Oyé while making it as affordable as possible for festivalgoers. The 2026 Oyé will be held in the park on t
Review: Lost Atoms at the Liverpool Playhouse ****
When a trio of Swansea university students formed a theatre company there in the mid-90s, little could they have imagined that they themselves would one day be studied in turn. But 30 years on, Frantic Assembly is on not one but several curricula, as the huge number of young people in the audience at the Liverpool Playhouse on opening night revealed. The company has a long association with Liverpool. One of its earliest successes was Wirral playwright Michael Wynne’s Sell Out
Pantomimes and Christmas shows in Liverpool City Region for 2025
On the first day of Christmas Liverpool region's theatres gave to me...three Cinderellas, two Beanstalks and Beauty and the Beasties and a host of other shows to entertain everyone from three to 103. It's true the 'greatest fairytale of them all' appears to be the most popular choice for Christmas 2025, but away from pumpkins, glass slippers and clocks striking 12 there's a lot of choice out there this year - whether you want full-blown panto or something a bit different. In
Liverpool Irish Festival 2025 programme of events
Liverpool Irish Festival returns to city venues next week with 10 days of cultural events and activities. The 2025 event runs from...
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