christmas | artscityliverpool 2/16

Wirral Open Studio Tour 2026 showcases work of almost 100 artists

Where to enjoy open-air theatre in Liverpool City Region this summer

Reflections of Liverpool exhibition is a candid snapshot of the past

Review: Haydn's Creation at the Tung Auditorium ****1/2

Review: Music of the Americas at Philharmonic Hall ****1/2

Bost celebrates 100 years with new Liverpool Playhouse residency

Five concerts to enjoy at the Tung Auditorium this spring and summer

Review: The Spy Who Came in From the Cold at the Liverpool Playhouse ***1/2

Liverpool's Unity theatre explores its radical history and tradition

Review: The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher at Liverpool Everyman ****1/2

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

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

Timothy Lucas is the purfect panto villain at St Helens this Christmas

Deck the halls, ring those bells and warn the partridge in the pear tree – Timothy Lucas is back on panto duty at St Helens Theatre Royal this Christmas. And this time he’s planning to be royally bad. After moonlighting at the Wolverhampton Grand last season, the irrepressible Lucas is back in harness for Regal Entertainments at St Helens, and he couldn’t be happier. “Great theatre, great people, loyal audiences,” he says. “They are good people who just back you and support y

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