Event type: Performance

Daniel Kitson

Daniel hasn’t been on stage for over two years.

And, to be entirely honest, he’s not really missed it.

It is, however, his actual job and everyone’s gone back to work now. So, he’s picked out a comfy pen, bought a new notebook and booked himself a summers worth of outdoor shows to find out whether he can still do his job, and what, if anything, he has to say to large groups of people he doesn’t know.

Please note: What with the two year gap and the lack of practice, this entire tour will be, to a greater or lesser extent, work in progress and the shows are likely to be relatively rickety affairs. But on the up side, they will sometimes feature support and/or collaboration from Gavin Osborn (when his schedule allows) and Daniel’s already written the question “Do worms feel fear?” in his new notebook, so we should be okay.

Also, if it gets boring – you can just use the time to look at the sky and feel small.

WoWFEST22: FUTURE IMPERFECT Launch wit...

WoWFest22 is back live and as direct as ever, celebrating creativity in the face of adversity, tackling the most urgent questions facing our global society.

Join WoW’s Co-Directors and team to celebrate the launch of WoWFEST: FUTURE IMPERFECT with performances from their talented pool of writers, followed by a keynote address in the performance space by their very special guest, award winning journalist and broadcaster, Gary Younge, who returns to set the scene for WoWFEST22 – FUTURE IMPERFECT.

The festival proudly features: Gary Younge, Joelle Taylor, Tony Schumacher, Phil McGuinness, Rob Newman, Hannah Lowe, Shon Faye, Asif Khan, Theaster Gates, Ashleigh Nugent, Danielle Owen-Jones, Clare Coombes, Kay Flavell, Bryan Biggs, A love Letter to Odessa & more…

Free refreshments available on the night.

An Evening With Nana Funk at Little Li...

The time has come for Nana to get intimate. She’s sick of the stadium life and is now touring to smaller scale venues so she can get up close and personal with her army of fans.

She’s got a bee in her bonnet and wants you to get on it. This is no teatime with your granny, this is An Evening With Nana Funk.

Get taken on a hilarious and emotional musical rollercoaster as Nana challenges ageism and how aged/aging people are portrayed in society.

From delicate ballads to 90’s dance and all the way through to full on ROCK, Nana gives her not so subtle opinions on what it means to be “age appropriate”

“Proper fun with a serious message – An Evening With Nana Funk will lift your spirits”

Greg Quiery – Oglet, poetry coll...

Celebrate the launch of Oglet, Liverpool-based Irish poet Greg Quiery’s latest superb collection of poetry.

Greg will be joined by special guests Amina Atiq and Jerome Masset, with live music from Liverpool born traditional fiddler Mikey Kenny and Guitarist John Chandler, and a reading from local actor Geraldine Moloney.

Belfast born Greg Quiery has lived in Liverpool since 1973. A retired teacher, he is a regular reader at Liver Bards, Dead Good Poets and Lovely Word at The Everyman.

His first collection A Stray Dog Following was published by Stairwell Books in 2020. Greg has also published In Hardship and Hope, a history of the Liverpool Irish. He is a musician, singer and local tour guide on Liverpool’s Irish connections.

Oglet, a collection of forty poems written during lockdown, celebrates the wild areas on the edge of Liverpool on the banks of the Mersey, near Speke and Garston.

On land either under threat of development, or abandoned by industry, we find songbirds, ducks, geese, small mammals, shrubs and trees all thriving in green spaces valued by the many local people who walk here.

Scratch by MDI Artist Collective

A hybrid collaboration of dance and the digital world; including motion picture, projection, manipulation of sound through movement, explorative storytelling and much more.

What is a Scratch NIght?

A scratch night is a sharing platform designed to give artists the opportunity to share their work which is in the very early stages of development with a live audience.

For Artists, this is a unique opportunity to receive immediate feedback and make appropriate changes or developments to their work for the future.

For audience members,  attending a scratch performance provides the opportunity to contribute to the development of a new piece whilst supporting new artists & their emerging work.

Arabic Opera Performance: As If No Mis...

Larissa Sansour and Søren Lind present a live performance of their new Arabic-language opera, As If No Misfortune Had Occurred in the Night.

Performed for an audience for the first time by Palestinian soprano Nour Darwish, you are invited to immerse yourself in an unforgettable operatic experience at the brand new state-of-the-art Tung Auditorium at the University of Liverpool’s Yoko Ono Lennon Centre.

Nour Darwish will sing live on stage against the backdrop of Larissa and Søren’s film which has been specially recomposed for this unique event.

The performance will be followed by a Q&A with the artists, hosted by Dr Nicola Triscott, Chief Executive/Director at FACT Liverpool. This special event is presented by FACT Liverpool and supported by Liverpool Arab Arts Festival.

An evening with Maytree Poets

A special poetry reading with Seán Street and Pauline Rowe at Open Eye Gallery.

Seán  Street started his working life as an actor with Birmingham Repertory Theatre before moving into radio. He is a widely published poet, radio practitioner, teacher, and a writer of many prose works that explore the philosophical nature of sound.

He is also Emeritus Professor at Bournemouth University where he gained his PhD in 2003. He has published four poetry pamphlets and nine poetry collections. His most recent collections, Camera Obscura (Rockingham Press, May 2016) and his anthology Radio Waves (Enitharmon, 2004) examines his
preoccupation with time, space and communication.

Pauline Rowe has two recent pamphlets with Maytree Press: The Ghost Hospital (2019) was shortlisted for a Saboteur Award and The Weight of Snow (2021) won the 2021 Saboteur Award for best poetry pamphlet. Pauline has a PhD from Liverpool University.

She was the first poet-in-residence with Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust (2013 – 2020), and first writer-in-residence at Open Eye Gallery (2016 –19). She also founded and worked as project lead for the charity North End Writers (2006 – 2020).

Maytree Press was founded in November 2018 by artist and writer David Coldwell with his wife, Amanda. It is based in Huddersfield, publishes poetry and works with a range of artists to ensure their pamphlets are beautifully produced and presented.

All The Joy That You Can Wish

All the Joy That You Can Wish will be a glorious ceremony of ‘local heroes’ including the builders who helped construct the venue, and Prescot Cables FC players, who will gather outside the theatre for a ceremony to celebrate the opening, as well as the heritage and community of Prescot.

Co-created with outdoor performance adventure specialists Slung Low, the ceremony will culminate at the new Prospero Place outside Shakespeare North Playhouse, with the audience invited to join in a theatrical opening ceremony to ‘summon the muses’

Photo Credit: Austin Smith Lord

Peña with Flamenco Dancer Andrés Pe...

Andrés Peña – flamenco dancer, musician and choreographer – brings strength, beauty, energy and elegance to his highly personal show, showcasing the very best of flamenco tradition.

Andrés, an accomplished and respected flamenco artist from Jerez, is performing in Liverpool for one night only in the intimate venue of the Capstone Theatre, well-known for its support of world music events of the highest quality.

Andrés is an artist and dancer ‘who never disappoints’ (deFlamenco.com), with his mastery of improvisation, instinctive rhythm and connection with his musicians, transmitting wave upon wave of emotion as he lifts the audience to the heights of this incredible art form. Often serious, intense and focused, his exceptional interpretation of flamenco songs develops into virtuosic rhythm and exuberant celebration of the music that he loves.

Andrés is accompanied by highly acclaimed musicians, Miguel Rosendo, cantaor (flamenco singer) from Cadiz and Miguel Perez, guitarist from Seville.  All three have grown up with flamenco, their deep love of this music developing into highly successful careers as performers and teachers.  As a team they have enjoyed presenting shows together for many years, in between international festivals, tours and engagements as guest artists.

Presented by www.espirituflamenco.com and supported by Instituto Cervantes

Courtyard Poetry

Bluecoat will be hosting live poetry, spoken word and music in the Bluecoat’s garden.

The event will feature a variety of Liverpool-based poets and performances from their Colonial Legacies young events coordinators.

This will form part of the Bluecoat’s contribution to the Liverpool Against Racism festival.