top of page
Recent News




















Archive


Review: Stella at the Unity Theatre ****
Robert Farquhar’s sharply scripted, comi-tragic one-woman play Stella charmed audiences when it was given an initial outing at the Unity Theatre’s Up Next Festival earlier this year. It sold out then and it’s practically sold out again on its pre-Christmas return to the Hope Place stage with the kinetic Kalli Tant reprising her role as the lead (in fact all the play’s) character(s). Pleasingly for a story about a young woman on a tumultuous journey of self-discovery, the audi


Review: Rachmaninov with Sir Stephen Hough at Philharmonic Hall ****1/2
It’s turning into a season of homecomings in Hope Street. Earlier this month, Sir Simon Rattle brought his acclaimed Bavarian orchestral outfit to the Philharmonic Hall to kickstart a pre-Christmas European tour in fine fashion. And in the spring, Huyton piano genius Paul Lewis returns to play Beethoven on the hall’s Steinway. Sandwiched in between, Sir Stephen Hough, whose formative years were spent in the Art Deco auditorium – surrounded by its ‘daring’ gold relief of naked


Cunard Building behind the scenes tours launched for Christmas
Visitors are being given the chance to peek behind the scenes at the city’s historic Cunard Building between now and Christmas. A series of exclusive heritage tours will take people both above and below ground at the 108-year-old Grade II* listed waterfront landmark. People will be able to enjoy learning about the construction and history of the Italian Renaissance-style building, its role as an embarkation point for thousands of ships’ passengers along with the history of Cu


Liverpool date for The Silence of the Lambs
Crack out the fava beans and pour yourself a nice Chianti – The Silence of the Lambs is springing off the page (and screen) and on to the stage and heading for Liverpool as part of an inaugural UK tour. The world premiere live production of the chilling psychological thriller by Thomas Harris, which was turned into an acclaimed film in 1991 starring Sir Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster, will come to the Liverpool Empire in June 2027. When FBI trainee Clarice Starling is sent


Woolton Picture House stages 12 Days of Christmas this December
Woolton Picture House is set to host a ’12 Days of Christmas’ in the run up to the big day next month. The special season of festive film favourites is the first major event at the historic 1927 venue, which is being reborn as a community cinema after being closed since the pandemic. Tickets are on sale now, although you’ll have to be quick because many of the carefully curated cinematic treats are already sold out. The 12 Days of Christmas opens on December 12 with the class


Review: Jack and the Beanstalk at the Liverpool Everyman ****
This year’s Everyman Rock ‘n’ Roll panto comes with a content warning – for silliness, songs, glitter and water guns. And if the physical glitter is mostly confined to Liam Tobin’s extravagant false eyelashes, there’s certainly plenty of silliness, a thumping soundtrack of songs and a traditional seasonal soaking on offer. After a rocky couple of Christmas seasons around the time of Covid, with changes in personnel and storytelling emphasis (it all got a bit too serious and p


Brilliant shows heading for Liverpool in 2026
Liverpool venues have lined up a brilliant 12 months of entertainment to see the city’s theatre lovers through 2026 from start to finish. Despite the ongoing financial challenges being faced in the arts – as in the country at large, Liverpool theatre world has if anything upped its game even further with a whole host of must-see productions heading our way between January and December. Whether it’s old friends, first time visitors, acclaimed touring productions, re-visited cl


Christmas events in Liverpool for 2025
Christmas comes but once a year – even if it does seem to get earlier and earlier with festive treats and decorations popping up in shops as soon as the August Bank Holiday had finished. But now we’re through Halloween and Bonfire Night, and with the weather turning noticeably colder, it’s definitely time to break out the mulled wine, mince pies, spiced hot chocolate and the tinsel. It’s all seasonal systems go in Liverpool this year with a host of festive fun and yuletide jo


Review: The Scouse Christmas Carol at Liverpool Royal Court ****1/2
‘Will Charlie Dicko spin so fast in his grave that a sinkhole opens up?’ the Royal Court ponders in the marketing for its entertainingly larky take on the Victorian scribe’s much-loved, much-told Christmas ghost story. I’m not so sure. Because the ghost of Dickens past like a lark himself. Take the ‘lighthearted and frolicksome’ farce, Mr Nightingale’s Diary, which he penned with Punch editor Mark Lemon and performed on stage at the Philharmonic Hall in 1852 with his chums (i


Tate Liverpool reveals Ed Ruscha display for 2026
Tate Liverpool will stage a display by influential contemporary American artist Ed Ruscha at its Mann Island home in 2026. ARTIST ROOMS: Ed Ruscha will be on show from February 12 to June 14 at Tate Liverpool + RIBA North on Mann Island. The display, centred on the driving culture of mid-century America and the emerging architecture of Los Angeles, will feature books, photographs, paintings, drawings, and lithographs. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1937, Ruscha is widely regarde
bottom of page

