Responding to this year’s Heritage Open Days architectural theme, this illustrated talk by the Bluecoat’s Director of Cultural Legacies, Bryan Biggs explores the 300-years-old Bluecoat building’s resilience and changes and its long association with architectural practice.
Free, booking required
Join LAAF for a celebration of storytelling, writing, and music from the capital of Yemen, in association with Comma Press.
Although largely unseen behind media rhetoric of war, the city of Sana’a remains one of the most beautiful and enchanting cities in the Middle East. Beset by years of civil war, authoritarian regimes and extreme poverty, it is also the home of an extraordinary community of writers. The latest installment in Comma’s ‘Reading the City’ series is ‘filled with hopes and dreams, with flickers of magic and scathing satire’. It also offers a perfect opportunity to celebrate the writers Sana’a is producing and the art and challenges of translating them.
LAAF, in association with Comma Press, would like to invite you to join us for food and poetry readings, including award winning poet Hamdan Dammag, ahead of readings from the Book of Sana’a.
The event will be chaired by Comma’s Ra Page.
Door open at 12:45pm for light buffet lunch and refreshments and an opportunity to view Mohamed Thulaya’s model of the historic city of Sana’a, followed by readings and music starting at 1:30pm.
Rim Mugahed is a short story writer, essayist, and sociologist from Yemen, currently based in Prague. She is also a programme manager at the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies, where her work focuses on women, female voices, and social issues.
Laura Kasinof (editor) is a journalist, author and documentary filmmaker. She is a former New York Times Yemen correspondent and has worked in and around the country since 2009. She is the author of Don’t Be Afraid of the Bullets: An Accidental War Correspondent in Yemen (Arcade, 2014) and is currently working on a biography of former Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh (forthcoming from Reaktion Books). Laura will be appearing by video link.
Mohammed Ghalayini is a writer, scientist, translator and occasional journalist, whose translations from the Arabic have appeared in numerous previous anthologies for Comma, including The Book of Khartoum, The Book of Ramallah, Palestine + 100 and elsewhere.
Su Annagib is a singer, lecturer and documentary maker of Yemeni heritage.
Suitable for ages 14+
Trigger warning: this event will include discussion of poverty and war.
Join LAAF for a screening and conversation with poet and filmmaker Ali Al-Jamri on his first film, described as a poetic ghost story.
The Legend of the Looms is Ali Al-Jamri’s first film: a poetic ghost story.When a visitor to a historic weaver’s house in Rossendale accidentally summons an irate Lancashire weaver’s ghost, his own ancestor, an Arab weaver from Bahrain, materialises to defend him.
Watch the trailer.
Working in film for the first time, Ali Al-Jamri’s The Legend of The Looms is both a poem and a film exploring shared revolutionary histories through handloom weaving. It is a narrative debate poem between two ghostly weavers: one from the North West, where weavers were critical in working class movements; the other from Bahrain, where weaving communities played vital roles in reform movements.
Filmed with the weavers of Al-Jamri’s own family in Bahrain, and in Rossendale Valley, at a historic weaver’s cottage in Rawtenstall, the piece dances between place, fact and folklore, creating a new myth that explores how people of the diaspora can relate to an unlikely new landscape through the interconnectivity of oppressions, craft, and mortality.
Ali Al-Jamri is one of Manchester’s inaugural Multilingual City Poets (2022-2025). The film is commissioned by the Arab British Centre and funded by Arts Council England and the Freelands Foundation. It was first exhibited at Blackburn Art Gallery with the British Textile Biennial.
At Liverpool Makefest we’re holding at cozy conference where speakers are invited to submit talks that help us to understand land ownership and rights in the UK.
From medieval feudalism and royal charters to enclosure, empire, and today’s concentrated ownership, the story of land in the UK is one of power, law, and inequality.
1pm – 3pm
Speaker: Dr Kirsty Styles Talk Title: A 300 second round up of the history of land ownership in the UK
Speaker: Julian Tait Talk Title: TBC
Speaker: Cath Holland Talk Title: ‘Elan’ by The Gentle Good is a protest album focused on the Elan valley in Wales, flooded in the early 1900s to supply water for the city of Birmingham. I will look at the notion of such land grabbing, its effects and how the record itself reflects the valley’s past and present.
Speaker: Eamonn Lavery Talk Title: Lough Neagh, colonialism, land ownership and land connectedness
Speaker: Terry Smith Talk Title: The Green Belt, value it or lose it.
Speaker: Ed Gommon Talk Title: Who owns the (some of the) land in L8 and how did they get it? The secret ingredient is crime (allegedly)
Speaker: Lucy Charnock Talk Title: Navigating the housing market as a first time buyer
Speaker: Kaya Herstad Talk Title: How the leaseholder system is essentially feudalism and rigged for the freeholder/landlord
Timetable for the days activities
ACCC History tour: ? Time: 9.30 AM – 12.00PM (from Aigburth)Free Range Liverpool: ? Time: 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM (Central Library)Socialist Singers: ? Time: 12:30 PM – 1:00 PM (Central Library)Ignite Talks: ? Time: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Central Library)
Please join LAAF for this special performative-lecture by worldbuilding artist Sarah Al-Sarraj.
This special ‘performance lecture’ will imagine that we are in a spaceship hurtling through time, and will explore non-Western conceptions of space and time, incorporating quantum physics, liberation theory, and the work of Black Quantum Futurism and scholar Jackie Wang.
This event is part of “Limbs of the Lunar Disc”, a project funded by the Arts Council England Project Grants, with curatorial support from Jessica El Mal of The Arab British Centre.
Sarah Al-Sarraj is a visual artist and cultural worker. Her practice centres on worldbuilding as a creative and critical process, where painting and immersive technologies are understood as portals to other worlds.
This event will take place in the Theatre Room.
Venue:
World Museum, William Brown Street, Liverpool L3 8EN
Enjoy a backstage tour of the Everyman followed by afternoon tea.
Afternoon tea: Includes a selection of sandwiches and cakes, and of course a pot of freshly brewed tea.
The tour: You’ll learn more about the work of our company and how we make theatre, discuss key milestones in our history and see for yourself some of the significant aspects of the redevelopment which saw us scoop the RIBA Stirling Prize for architecture in 2014.
Designed by Haworth Tompkins (Royal Court, Young Vic, National Theatre), the new building is a beautiful evolution of our radical and democratic theatre.Your tour will cover…Front of HouseThe auditoriumBackstageGreen RoomWardrobeOfficesPortrait Wall
Accessible tickets can be arranged over the phone 0151 709 4776 or email.
If you have allergies that we should be made aware of in preparation of your afternoon tea, please email boxoffice@everymanplayhouse.com including your order number, straight after booking. We cannot guarantee that our dishes are 100% free of allergens due to all food being prepared in one kitchen.
Join us for our monthly teas and talks on all things theatre related.
Taking place Downstairs at the Everyman, Tea & Talks will welcome a guest host to speak on all things theatre related.
Upcoming hosts are:
Everyman & Playhouse New Works Associate Tommo Fowler will talk about how they take a new play from page to stage.
Gary is BBC Radio Merseyside’s resident film expert and in 2018 he started his business Reel Tours which provides film location walking tours around Liverpool city centre. In 2025 he became a Blue Badge Tour Guide, regularly hosting tours, talks and screening events based around film history. He has written for several film websites and magazines and is currently in the process of working on his debut book which is about the cinematic history of Britain.
Theatre Design and Miniaturisation –As a Theatre Designer with 40 years’ experience, making models and miniaturisation has been part of my regular world and very much a tool of the trade. In this hour I will discuss my craft but also talk about the allure of miniaturisation and how I have explored that with my own performance-based work “Front Window” and “Solotoria”. I will also reference projects created at LIPA where I taught design for 27 years.
Your ticket price includes a cup of tea or coffee and a cream scone.
Banner photograph taken at Q&A with panto legend Adam Keast, hosted by Ngunan Adamu at Everyman Open House 2024. Photography by Olivia Carroll.
With Mazen Maarouf, Anwar Hamed, and Basma Ghalayini
A unique evening of stories and discussion, launching Comma Press’s daring new anthology, Palestine Minus One – an exploration of the event that underpins Israel’s 77-year-long occupation of Palestine: the Nakba of 1948.
As a prequel to Comma’s award-winning Palestine + 100 science fiction project, this anthology asks ten Palestinian authors to re-imagine the build-up to the catastrophe of 1948 as well as its immediate and long-term repercussions, using fantastical, supernatural and speculative tropes.
All of these writers had grandparents or great-grandparents who were forcibly displaced during the Nakba, and all offer new ways of re-processing that trauma. At this event, we’ll hear from two of the most prominent Palestinian authors out there: Mazen Maarouf and Anwar Hamed, along with the anthology’s editor Basma Ghalayini. The discussion will be chaired by Comma Press founder, Ra Page.
About the speakers:
Mazen Maarouf is a writer, poet, translator and journalist currently living in Iceland. He has published two collections of short stories – Jokes for the Gunmen (translated by Jonathan Wright) which was longlisted for the Man Booker, and Rats that Licked the Karate Champion’s Ear – as well as three collections of poetry, and a novella. He was also a contributor to Palestine + 100.
Anwar Hamed is a Palestinian novelist, poet, and literary critic, living in London and working for the BBC World Service. Anwar has published eight novels in Arabic, and a number of other works in Hungarian. His novel Jaffa Makes the Morning Coffee was longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF). He was born in Anabta in the West Bank near Tulkarm, where his family comes from, and grew up in Hungary. He is author of ‘The Key’, originally commissioned for Palestine + 100, which has since been adapted for the big screen.
Basma Ghalayini has translated short fiction from the Arabic for the KfW Stiftung series, Beirut Short Stories, and Comma Press. She is the editor of the award-winning anthology Palestine + 100. She lived in Gaza until she was 27.
Venue:
Bluecoat, School Lane, Liverpool, L1 3BX
Join Reclaim The Frame for a special screening with the crew of this extraordinary film.
HOLLOWAY brings together six women who return to the now-closed Holloway Prison to share deeply personal stories of incarceration, trauma, and transformation. Through their women’s circle, the film explores how failing systems intersect with lived experience, and how sisterhood can create healing and change.
Directed by BAFTA Breakthrough Brit Daisy-May Hudson and EMMY nominated Sophie Compton, this deeply moving documentary feature was made via a unique process of a trauma-informed co-creation with six contributors: Aliyah Ali, Mandy Ogunmokun, Sarah Cassidy, Lady Unchained, Gerrah, and Tamar Mujanay.
HOLLOWAY is a profound, meditative, eye-opening and ultimately inspiring exploration of trauma and the immense human capacity for recovery.
Screenings is with dialogue subtitles and audio description.
?Liverpool
4 July, 6pm | FACT
Q+A with co-director Daisy-May Hudson and producer Polly Creed
? Are you a Maker, Craftsperson, or Artist?Do you work in the creative industries—whether with your hands, your heart, or your imagination?
Maybe you’re just starting out, looking for inspiration and community. Or perhaps you’re well-established, but craving fresh perspectives and new ways of thinking. Let’s share our journey as creative professionals: how we make a living from our passions, the lessons we’ve learned, and the real stories behind the art – connect and grow together.
Saturday 28th June 11:30 – 1pm
Join me Catherine in my small shop and art studio as I chat over coffee and cake with Roz of creative duo Tipperleyhill.
…..”both trained artists, Abi & Roz met in New York while working together for a textile design studio. Roz didn’t like drawing, and Abi didn’t enjoy colouring in, so the perfect team was born. Tipperleyhill became our way to continue our friendship while exploring the one thing we both have passion for: painting….Our happy energy reflects in our paintings’ bold patterns and bright colours, drawing inspiration from the things we love such as flowers and animals. We create this way to put smiles on people’s faces, knowing that if we love something, others will too…..this is what keeps us going…”
Today Tipperleyhill can be found in over 15 stockists. Best known for their quirky animal prints and greeting cards, you can also purchase original artwork from Tipperleyhill….In fact their joyful creations are found on windows everywhere as the duo recently extended their portfolio of skills to include window murals. On top of all that….they host a huge programme of creative workshops and holiday retreats aimed at complete beginners keen to learn painting. How do they squeeze it all in??
In this informal workshop, Roz talks about her journey, the challenges faced, the valuable lessons, all the tips, hints and how to advice…..chance for you to ask all the questions you have…..and a GOODIE bag to take away as a Thankyou for joining the event. Maximum group size 18. Time to meet others sharing a similar journey!
Roz is hosting a vintage style painting lampshade workshop in the afternoon 2-4pm, , why not stay with us all day and take part in both, we’d love to have you.
Agenda:
11:30-11:50…Introductions between the group over refreshments
11:50 – 12:20…Roz shares her journey with images
12:20 – 12:40…Questions from the group
12:40 – 1pm…Breakout sessions into smaller groups, handouts, help, advice, goodie bag.