Event type: Other

Frodo’s Birthday Party

Frodo’s birthday falls on Monday 22 September, just as The Magic of Middle-Earth exhibition nears its end. But worry not, we are not letting it pass without a proper celebration!

Join us on Saturday 27 September for a merry gathering to honour dear Frodo and give a fond farewell to the exhibition.

Dungeons & Dragons was heavily inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy worlds. Harp Coffee & Games will be hosting ‘introduction to D&D’ session throughout the day, so choose your character and begin your quest!

Stef Portersmith, a rather tall hobbit, reads excerpts from The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. Immerse yourself in the magic 11am – 12.30pm.

In the Foyer there will be fantasy inspired craft stalls from local artists and makers.

Don’t forget your pocket handkerchief, Elven cloak, mithril shirt or wooden staff… we’ll be awarding the best dressed at 3pm with a £50 gift voucher for The Atkinson and prizes donated by Waterstones.

– NO ADMITTANCE EXCEPT ON PARTY BUSINESS –

Visit the exhibition The Magic of Middle-earth Mon – Sat, 10am – 4pm, until 27 September 2025.

Birkenhead Craft Beer Festival

We’re doing another beer festival, to kick of 2026 in style!

If you’ve been to one of our craft beer and vinyl markets in the past, you know that we love the connection between DIY music and independent, craft brewing, with the great taste that come along with it. Following on from our successful first full beer festival in July, we’re having a follow-up celebration with three sessions across Friday 9th and Saturday 10th January 2026.

This winter edition of the Birkenhead Craft Beer Festival takes place across Future Yard’s indoor spaces, with 20 taps pouring craft beers and ciders of all types across our bars, and also featuring pop-up stalls from Cloudwater, Colbier and Tūn Brewing Company among others. There will be tasting sessions across the two days where you get to meet the brewers and sample some of their favourite brews (these sessions are limited and have to be booked separately).
See the full list of breweries below!
Our beer festival combines the worlds of vinyl obsessives and craft beer aficionados for a fair that pulls together some of the best North West breweries, vinyl record sellers and DJs. The festival is broken into three sessions over the two days: an opening party on Friday evening (5pm-11pm) featuring guest DJs; a loungey Saturday daytime session (12pm-5pm)*, with brewer talks and tastings; and a closing Saturday evening celebration (6pm-11pm), with more DJs and tastings to keep you entertained. There’ll also be records on sale throughout both days with a number of sellers hosting stalls and spinning some tunes. And we’ll have fresh Neapolitan-style pizza served up from our kitchen, alongside some guest food vendors.

Like music? Like craft beer? Like pizza? Why not put them all together in one place. See you there.

Tickets are available now, at £8 per person per session. You’ll get a branded glass and a complementary half pint with your ticket when you arrive. PLUS, there are discounts for groups!

Tasting sessions are booked separately and as an add-on. See below for details of tasting session times, and add your tickets at checkout.

*Saturday daytime is nominally the most family friendly session, though this is not a family festival.

Carol Service with the Liverpool Rainbow Chorus

The Open Table and St Bride’s Christmas carol extravaganza is back Sunday, 21st December 2025!Open Table meets twice monthly providing a warm and affirming welcome to Liverpool’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) community, friends and family.The Open Table Liverpool Orchestra and the Liverpool Rainbow Chorus will perform, and we’ll sing loads of your favourite carols with inspiring readings both traditional and contemporary. You’re also invited to a simple meal of soup, bread, mulled wine and mince pies following the service – everyone really is more than welcome!Service starts at 6.30pm, St Bride’s, Percy Street Liverpool L8 7LT.

Letter To Brezhnev

Letter To Brezhnev

Teresa and Elaine are young, beautiful and full of life. But
they don’t think that will last long, because it’s 1985 and this is Kirkby.

Sergei and Peter are fresh off the boat and revelling in
being away from the Soviet Union. Liverpool has opened their eyes.

Teresa is looking for sex and a smile, Elaine wants love,
romance and the dream of a life far away from the grime of Liverpool. All of
them have the chance to forget their lives and live their dreams for one
glorious night.

This brand new show is Frank Clarke’s stage adaptation of
his stunning film which has been described as “having done more than perhaps
any other film before or since in putting Liverpool on the cinematic map.”

A Liverpool love story that promises to be an instant classic.
Don’t miss the boat.

Performance Information 

Stalls tickets are available with a meal (served at your table before the show) for an extra £14 for one course and £20 for two courses at evening shows, or an extra £10 for one course and £16 for two courses at matinees. If you are eating with us please arrive at least an hour before the performance. 

Click here to see our menu

Tickets are available for the show alone in stalls, circle and balcony. 

BSL performance is on Tuesday 13 October (interpreter Karl Llorca) . Audio Described performance is on Wednesday14 October (describer Anne Hornsby). To book please contact Box Office on 0151 709 4321 or email lauren@royalcourtliverpool.com. 

Captioning will be available for performances for the final week of the show. Please contact Box Office for more details. 

Circle and balcony will open at 6.45pm. There are bars in both areas for pre-show and interval drinks. Stalls will be open from 6:00pm. 

If you are bringing a large group, every tenth ticket is free. This ticket will be automatically added to your basket on purchase. Meals and building levy must still be paid on your free ticket. 

NO BOOKING FEES ON THIS SHOW 

Please note – the bar will close 15 minutes before the advertised start time. 

Each ticket price includes a £2 donation which is used to help to refurbish the building. 

Please contact Box Office to book if you are a wheelchair user.

Please contact Box Office to book if you are a wheelchair user as we can only accommodate 5 spaces in our stalls seating area downstairs

Messy Grief: Grief Gathering with Brendan Curtis

For Grief Awareness Week 2025, At The Library presents Messy Grief! A week of arts programming as part of Loved and Lost, a programme of work exploring grief, how we talk about it and how we live well with it.

This Grief Gathering is a welcoming space for everyone—whether you’ve experienced grief or not – to connect, share feelings and experiences around love & loss. It’s for people who have experienced grief, and for people who haven’t.

Monday 8th December

1pm – 3pm

Crosby Library

This gathering is an inclusive space, open to people of all ages, genders, backgrounds and beliefs. You’re invited to share your experiences and reflections around death and grief—but there’s no pressure to speak. Listening and being present is enough.

This Grief Gathering is hosted by artist Brendan Curtis and Debbie Chan, with support of librarian Emma Latham who has experiences of grief. Refreshments, including both hot & cold beverages and cake will be provided.

Please tell us your access or dietary requirements when booking, so we can make the day comfortable & welcoming for you.

We keep gatherings small, limited to 12 people maximum, so booking is essential.

Messy Grief: Smashing Ceremony with Lowri Evans

For Grief Awareness Week 2025, At The Library presents Messy Grief! A week of arts programming as part of Loved and Lost, a programme of work exploring grief, how we talk about it and how we live well with it.

For this special smashing ceremony, artist Lowri Evans has reimagined her project, Fragile Handle With Care, to explore the reasons why grief can be messy, ambivalent and uncomfortable. Celebrating mistakes, accommodating agonies and giving voice to pain, you’re invited to a special Smashing Ceremony.

Friday 5th December

3pm – 4:30pm

Crosby Library – Echalaz Room

Bring an item that holds significance for you in a cathartic ritual, smashing the item against the wall to honour all that we do to hold ourselves, and others, together when we have loved and lost. This is an act of holding up the pieces, not brushing them under the carpet, finding beauty in mistakes, embracing what’s broken or lost, and letting it go. 

When you book your place, please let us know what item you’ll be bringing to smash so we can discuss with you! 

Visit our website to book your place and tell us which item you would like to smash.

 

Messy Grief: This One Goes Out to the One I Love

 

For Grief Awareness Week 2025, At The Library presents Messy Grief! A week of arts programming as part of Loved and Lost, a programme of work exploring grief, how we talk about it and how we live well with it.

This One Goes Out to the One I Love is a loud, cathartic evening of choir meets karaoke!

Wednesday 3rd December

6:30pm – 8:30pm

Crosby Library

Select a song to represent a loss close to your heart. Whether your grief is related to a death, a break up, a job loss, a piece of spectacularly bad news or something more private, we encourage you to select a dedicated well known karaoke song for your experience, and sing it out with a supportive crowd.

Don’t worry about being put on the spot or being any good at singing. When it is time for your selected karaoke song, we will read out your request and your dedication, before welcoming the full room of people to sing along all together as a group. You can choose to be completely anonymous, or if you’re feeling especially brave, you can take centre stage.

Visit our website to book your free place and when you sign up, let us know your karaoke song ahead of time.

*Please note* if you haven’t submitted a specific song we won’t be able to provide it on the day but others will be available to choose from.

 

 

April Ashley’s Personal Papers: First Look at the New Collection

 

 

 

 

 

LJMU Special Collections & Archives are delighted to invite you to a First Look event for our newest collection: April Ashley’s Personal Papers.

We’re very excited to announce this recent acquisition, and we want to hear from our community to learn more about: what you want to see more of; what you want to happen next; and how we can work with you in the future.

This ‘first look’ will include an open workshop with a large selection of original archive material belonging to Ashley to browse, followed by discussion.

As the collection is very large and currently uncatalogued, it won’t be possible to retrieve everything, but we will try to put out a good variety of material.

Her papers include: the legal records related to the landmark 1970 Corbett V Corbett case; personal and medical records related to her life as a prominent transgender figure from the 1950s onwards; and records of her successful career as a model and activist, among other papers.

The building is wheelchair accessible with blue badge parking, but do let us know at archives@ljmu.ac.uk if you have any specific access needs or concerns.

19 Nov 14:00-16:00 or 21 Nov 10:30-12:30

Mount Pleasant Campus Library, 29 Maryland Street, Liverpool, L1 9DE