Voices of Christmas

Immerse yourself in Christmas past, present & future with poetry and short stories from talented local writers and performers.

Sit back, relax and enjoy a festive evening of poetry, prose and short stories to get you in the Christmas spirit. We’ll be joined by local writers, performers and friends of The Old Library as they imagine Christmas in time gone by and look to the future as the year draws to a close.

Doors and bar (serving snacks, hot drinks and alcoholic beverages) open at 6.30pm and the event begins at 7pm.

A Lovely Word featuring Amerah Saleh

A Lovely Word is Liverpool’s most eclectic poetry night, featuring two halves of open mic poets, and a headliner beginning the first half. Hosted by Alex Ferguson and Lyndsay Price, this free event is a fun, relaxed and friendly evening of performance poetry.

The event is free and held Downstairs at the Everyman, 2 December, 7.30pm.

A spoken word artist championing the Birmingham Poetry scene, Amerah Saleh’s writing mixes passion with fiery intelligence and an uncanny insight into what it is to be human.

Poetry has taken her around the world sharing stories with people and also gathering them for her own suitcase when she needs them. She is the Co-Founder of Verve Poetry Press and a General Manager at Beatfreeks. Amerah released her first collection called ‘I Am Not From Here’ in April 2018.

Amerah Saleh has performed around the country at events and festivals and has received commissions from SampadBirmingham 2022 (Commonwealth Games), BMAGmac BirminghamChannel 4Eastern Electronic FestivalTedxBrumLibrary of BirminghamREP Theatre and Watford Palace.

She has performed around the world, sharing her stories and connecting with people. She has performed and created pieces in Birmingham, London, Oxford, Preston, Scotland, Ireland, Poland, Bosnia, New York, Budapest, Austria, Belgium and San Francisco.

TAKE PART

Whether you are a new poet performing for the first time or a seasoned poet who wants to try out some new stuff – sign up to perform by EITHER;

I) turning up at 7.30 in the bistro (10 slots available)

II) emailing alovelywordpodcast@gmail.com (BEFORE 26th November) (10 slots available), with a confirmation of your full name, mobile number

When signing up to perform, you are signing up to these principles of the open mic.

I’m not the sentimental type, Bu...

“I’m not the sentimental type, but… is an artistic exploration of the feeling of nostalgia. How does nostalgia affect us individually and what lies beneath the initial set of feelings?

This audiovisual album visually dismantles and reframes footage of the Wirral, whilst spoken word, field recordings and synthesizers create a thought-provoking interpretation of the area.

The work is a culmination of the practice-led research undertaken by audiovisual artist Mathew Lomas. I’m not the sentimental type, but… explores the themes of existentialism, time and technology through the lens of nostalgia.”

An audiovisual album captured through the gaze of nostalgia by Mathew Lomas, the film will be followed by a nostalgic DJ-set. Dress in your best retro garments.

All donation based tickets funds are reinvested back into their current and future creative programming. This will support them in creating more opportunities for both people in the creative industry and the wider community. All their “In Cahoots” core programming is free to attend and donations are optional.

David Sedaris

With sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, David Sedaris has become one of America’s pre-eminent humour writers.

He is the master of satire and one of today’s most observant writers addressing the human condition. Sedaris has been nominated for five Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word and Best Comedy Album. His audio recordings include “David Sedaris: Live for Your Listening Plea- sure” and “David Sedaris Live at Carnegie Hall.” Since 2011, he can be heard annually on a series of live recordings on BBC Radio 4 entitled “Meet David Sedaris.”

His recent books are The Best of Me – a collection of 42 previously published stories and essays and a second volume of his diaries A Carnival of Snackery, Diaries (2003- 2020) and Calypso, another collection of essays, was a New York Times best-seller, and a Washington Post Best Book of the Year. The audiobook of Calypso was also nominated for a 2019 Grammy for the Best Spoken Word Album.

In 2019 David Sedaris became a regular contributor to CBS Sunday Morning, and his Masterclass, David Sedaris Teaches Storytelling and Humor, was released. There are over 16 million copies of his books in print, and they have been translated into 32 languages.

He has been awarded the Terry Southern Prize for Humor, Thurber Prize for American Humor, Jonathan Swift International Literature Prize for Satire and Humor, Time 2001 Humorist of the Year Award, as well as the Medal for Spoken Language from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In March 2019 he was elected as a member into the American Academy of Arts & Letters.

In 2020 the New York Public Library voted Me Talk Pretty One Day as one of the 125 most important books of the last 125 years.

He and his sister, Amy Sedaris, have collaborated under the name “The Talent Family” and have written half-a-dozen plays, which have been produced at La Mama, Lincoln Center, and The Drama Department in New York City. These plays include Stump the HostStitchesOne Woman Shoe, which received an Obie Award, Incident at Cobbler’s Knob, and The Book of Liz, which was published in book form by Dramatists Play Service.

ON RECORD 2021

A brand new programme celebrating and exploring Black music on Merseyside is launching

ON RECORD, returns for the second year with a raft of brand new in-person, online and audio commissions looking at the impact of Black music on the city region’s communities over the past 70 years. 

Running from Sunday 24 October to Sunday 7 November, live music performances, documentaries, walking tours, workshops, debates and podcasts will make up the thought-provoking programme.  

ON RECORD 2021 will also see the launch of the first Liverpool City Region Black Music Action Group which will act as a voice for the sector. Meeting on Monday 25 October, it will be chaired by singer-songwriter and vocal coach Jennifer John. 

Highlights of the programme include:

Clash x ON RECORD 

On Sunday 24 October, Black music titans will go head-to-head in a musical culture clash as house, dancehall, garage and R&B DJs take each other on over the turntables, fighting for the title of Clash x ON RECORD champion. This free event will take place at 24 Kitchen Street. 

LIMF Academy Presents…
A showcase of alternative Black music artists from Liverpool will be broadcast live on Melodic Distraction radio, on Tuesday 26 October.

Black Nights Music Trail with Curtis Watt

Hosted by Liverpool poet and author Curtis Watt, enjoy a walk around Liverpool 8 to explore and discover why most locals from the African diaspora chose to party closer to home on their weekends back in the day, and spotlight some of the stories and cultural influence of some of the key venues and spaces in the area. The ticketed, free tours will take place on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 October.

Liverpool ONE Project: Take Two
Why do members of the Black music community – who were prolific a decade ago – no longer feel there are opportunities in the region? Is this an accurate reflection and is it something currently felt in the industry? A documentary, live event taking place at District on Thursday 4 November and an EP release on Friday 5 November will look to tell this story and seek out the answers to these important questions. 

Grime > Punk 

A one-day event at Tate Liverpool will consider what has had the most enduring impact on music and culture – grime or punk? Discussions, live music, art, photography and fashion workshops will all take place on Saturday 6 November and tickets are free.

Podcasts 

From Tuesday 26 to Friday 29 October, a series of visualised podcasts dive in to different Black music topics such as the impact of a Toxteth-based performing arts initiative and looking at the 90s heyday of hip-hop. On Sunday 7 November, ON RECORD will culminate with a live podcast recording featuring music and panel discussions charting the history of Black music across Merseyside. 

To find full details of all the events and ticket links, please visit www.onrecordmerseyside.com.   

Old Time Sailors

The Old Time Sailors is a flashmob musical show, designed to take audiences on a time traveling adventure, back to the nineteenth century.

Every audience member receives a copy of The Sunday Sailor, a self-penned newspaper-shaped programme. Inside you will find lyrics to all the songs and detailed illustrations that explain how to dance with the sailors. This means everyone can sing along and become an Old Time Sailor for one epic night!

The crew comprises 15+ talented musicians. Each plays fully “unplugged”, ensuring an authentic live acoustic experience, designed to be energetic and fun. The Sailors put on a 3hour+ show, (including intermissions) enjoyed amidst friends and family, performing over 40 songs and tunes.

Audiences are encouraged to sing and dance, surrounded by their Sailors! If you’re in the hall, you’ll witness an astounding show, unmatched in this music genre! So, expect high kicks ’til dawn (well, past 11pm anyway)!

Light Piano 2.0 XL: River of Light Tra...

Light Piano 2.0 XL is part of the River of Light and has been programmed by Open Culture, who produce projects and events that create platforms for artists and to make the arts more welcoming and accessible to the public.
River of Light will turn the Liverpool Waterfront into a celebration of light, art and music as we celebrate the colour and noise we have all missed. The event is part of the Global Streets Programme.

Some of Open Culture’s projects include Tickle the Ivories – the annual street pianos in Liverpool ONE, LightNight – Liverpool’s annual one night arts festival, the Winter and Summer Arts Markets at Liverpool Cathedral and of course Uncoverliverpool.com.

Open Culture are thrilled to create this programme, showcasing some of the incredible and diverse up and coming and established talent from across the city region. The pianists are excited to share their talent with you.

You can download the trail map here.

Pianists scheduled for October:

22nd – Jacques Malchance

Jacques Malchance is a multimedia artist and composer from Rome, Italy, based in Liverpool, Uk. His works span across electronic music, classical and contemporary experimental music; specialising in piano, organ and synthesizer instrumentation. He has performed several piano recitals of his own works as well as performances of Erik Satie, Claude Debussy and Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures At An Exhibition” in its entirety.

23rd – Karen Wynne

Karen is a Liverpool based multi-instrumentalist whose original works range from traditional song to theatre soundscape. An experienced performer and composer, Karen will bring the Light Piano 2.0 XL to life with an atmospheric new contemporary work created for River of Light, and maybe a familiar surprise or two!

24th – Cora Von Siemens

Born and raised in Munich, Germany, Cora von Siemens is currently studying Music at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. She has received a classical piano education from an early age, falling in love with the Romantic era and Impressionism. Her repertoire contains, amongst others, pieces by Chopin, Debussy and Scott Joplin.

25th – Elena Fiderio

Elena Fiderio is a Liverpool based third year music student and piano enthusiast. Elena has been playing piano ever since young age and has a genuine passion for music and performing. Her strengths include Jazz, Classical and romantic music but she’s always open to learning and developing new styles and techniques.

26th – Andrew Fisher

Heart-pumping, genre-jumping music from a local seasoned keyboardist/vocalist with a great big songbook spanning music from across the decades, from pop to rock, reggae to jazz, film/TV music to folk and more! Andrew also loves the piano works of Elton John, Billy Joel, Carole King and Joni Mitchell, and always likes to offer a diverse set.

27th – Heidi Blades

A 3rd year Music & History student at Liverpool’s Hope University, originally from Somerset. Heidi’s been playing the piano since she was 5. Classically trained, her musical inspirations are jazz, popular music and soul. Whilst really enjoying movie soundtracks, particularly Hans Zimmer.

28th – Liam Daly

Performing in a variety of styles, Liam’s eclectic music taste has its roots in classical and jazz piano but extends to popular styles and, more specifically, minimalism and electronic genres. Liam is also the bassist of local band Monks; with this, his experience in solo and ensemble performance provides a broad choice of repertoire. He’s also currently studing at Hope University.

29th – Ben Evans

Ben Evans is a committed, versatile musician from Wolverhampton in his final year at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts. His musical interests take their cues from Billy Joel and The Beatles, his work ethic from the legend James Brown. His ambition is to see the world and all its wonders.

30th – Jonathan Raisin

Jonathan Raisin is a well known Liverpool composer and musician, appearing everywhere from sweaty bars to the Philharmonic Hall. His music is a blend of classical minimalism and free improvisation with a film music sensibility- ‘all the bewitchment of the sea, a mermaid’s dangerous lullaby that calls you to walk out of your depth into the waves’, The Guardian.

31st – Helen Maw

Helen Maw is singer/songwriter and multi instrumentalist from Liverpool. She has been independently releasing her music since 2019 and her songs have been played on radio stations across the globe. She has performed in venues across Liverpool and is very excited to be taking part in the River of Light on the Light Piano 2.0 XL

Pianists scheduled for November –

1st – Niamh Mailer

Niamh Mailer is a session pianist based in Liverpool, currently studying Music at LIPA. She has been playing the piano since the age of seven and specialises in Pop and Classical, also having experience performing with synthesizers live, as well as backing vocals. Niamh is strongly influenced by Ludovico Einaudi compositionally, but also has a strong passion for Soul, Funk, and Musical Theatre.

2nd – Jess Harvey

Jess is a multi-instrumentalist, arranger and composer based in Liverpool. Classically trained on piano as a child, she now performs across a variety of genres. Her performance highlights from 2021 include On The Waterfront’s Cream Classical and Tribfest UK.’ Her recent writing credits include working with top ten best-selling author Kirsty Greenwood, co-writing and arranging music for the release of her latest novel/audiobook ‘He Will Be Mine’.

3rd – Liting Zhu

Liting Zhu is a piano teacher who has been teaching in Liverpool for many years and has a wealth of teaching experience, bringing us the next generation of talent! Liting graduated from Shandong Normal University with a piano major and has been engaged in piano education for more than 20 years. She loves to play various styles of music, but always has a soft spot for classical music. Many of my students have achieved many excellent results in various examinations, and shes proud to help them learn.

4th – Karim Kamar

Karim Kamar is a contemporary classical pianist & composer from London. He has been performing as a solo pianist since 2013 and has built a reputation as an outstanding and unique composer and performer, having played at almost every major music venue in London including: The Jazz Cafe, The Forge, Ronnie Scotts and The Royal Albert Hall.

5th – Karim Kamar

6th – ANN4HO

Liverpool native Anna Ho who adopted her stage name ANN4HO is a classically trained pianist that is partial to playful keyboard/keytar riffs; with a liking for video game music, Japanese electronic music, and pieces by several favourite composers such as Frédéric Chopin, Claude DeBussy, and Joe Hisaishi. She currently resides in Liverpool Hope University to study her third and final year of BA (Hons) Music.

7th – Charlie Carr

Charlie started piano lessons at eight years old, then gained a scholarship to Chetham’s School of Music at fourteen, studing jazz and classical piano alongside GCSE’s and A-levels. Charlue’s been in multiple big bands and loves playing any kind of jazz/pop/soul/funk. Charlie’s favourite thing to do at the piano is just to sit and improvise for ages, playing anything that comes to mind there and then.

Event

As part of the Global Streets Programme.

What’s Your Story? Gambia

Nazeem (currently on a tour of the UK) will visit Liverpool for a special screening of the project and a performance of music

Writing on the Wall have delivered their flagship What’s Your Story Project with communities across the North West of England for the past fifteen years – from unemployed people, to the LGBTQI+ community, asylum seekers, refugees, and many more, this amazing project has inspired hundreds of participants to develop creative work.

To celebrate their 21st anniversary, WoW have taken What’s Your Story on an international journey and have been working with communities and artists in the Gambia to create a very special piece of work. Writing on the Wall’s What’s Your Story? project has been delivered at Brikama Presentation School, the Gambia, in partnership with singer- songwriter Nazeem and Dr Vicki Doyle who through their company Dole Ndawi NGO, engage directly with young people to foster their development and resilience.

Twelve school children aged 14-20 attended a series of writing workshops designed to produce their poetry, letters and essays. Nazeem (currently on a tour of the UK) will visit Liverpool for a special screening of the project and a performance of music inspired by the work of the young participants. He will also be in-conversation, sharing his inspiring journey and his own story of life in the Gambia.

Nazeem’s style of music reflects his roots and culture; influenced by a 2-year residency in Senegal where he supported musicians such as jazzman Vieux Mac Faye, Wolof pop singer Viviane Chidid and guitarist Jeannott Mendy. Nazeem plays an infectious blend of Afro Pop, Zouk, Reggae, Dancehall and Mbalax.

Since the start of the pandemic, Nazeem has actively supported the COVID-19 response through sensitising Gambian communities through music videos and song; and on a world stage regularly performed at global fora. This event is an opportunity for community members to experience and engage with the important work and global partnerships WoW have created, especially with the wider African Diaspora, during Black History Month.

There are a number of free tickets available for those on a low income. Please email info@writingonthewall.org.uk to request.

ENEA: Flamenco Direct from Andalucía ...

An evening of pure flamenco with national prize-winning young artists from Spain.

The event is held Capstone Theatre, Friday 15th October 2021, 7.30pm.

Dancer and artistic director Julio Ruiz presents this flamenco dance recital, rooted in tradition but expressed by a new generation.  This show brings energy and passion, great depth of feeling, musicianship and elegance, with a touch of humour.

Julio brings two other outstanding young musicians – singer Cristo Heredia and guitarist David Caro. Already respected performers and teachers in their own right, they have grown up together in the flamenco community in Almeria. Now mostly based in Madrid, Almeria and Sevilla respectively, they perform together regularly between tours and other engagements.

Espíritu Flamenco are proud to sponsor and host this visit by Julio Ruiz, which is part of a wider programme of flamenco shows and workshops over the weekend, in Manchester and Liverpool.

Tickets can be purchased at: https://www.ticketquarter.co.uk/Online/flamenco-direct-from-andalucia and further details at: http://www.thecapstonetheatre.com/whatson/enea-flamenco-direct-from-andalucia.html

My White Best Friend – North

Nineteen Black and ethnically diverse writers from across the North of England will pen personal letters to be read out live on stage, as part of a theatre piece exploring moments left unsaid, with letters addressed to those who need to hear it the most.

My White Best Friend – North invites commissioned Northern artists to write a series of personal letters exploring the personal and politics we don’t dare say, which are sealed in an envelope, then opened and read by actors for the first time on the night.

Performed across venues in Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester, the production is a collaboration between Eclipse TheatreLiverpool Everyman & Playhouse theatres and Royal Exchange Theatre.

The production visits the Everyman, Liverpool for two nights, 15 -16 October, 7.30pm. Creating work for the Everyman stage are writers Dominique Walker, Kiara Mohammad, Brodie Arthur, Levi Tafari, Yasmin Ali and Chantelle Lunt.

The project builds on the ground-breaking My White Best Friend (and other letters left unsaid) by Rachel De-Lahay, first performed at The Bunker and the Royal Court in London to critical acclaim.

Tickets for My White Best Friend – North are on sale now. For tickets and more information visit Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse theatres.