As part of their #LightsUpOnLiverpool Theatre History Exhibition, ArtsGroupie are delighted to announce another FREE event:
Lights Up On Liverpool – In conversation with Margaret Connell and Eithne Browne
Weds 11th December, 5pm till 7pm
Liverpool Central Library
Limited tickets – contact: artgroupie@outlook.com to reserve a seat.
ArtsGroupie Director, John Maguire will interview these two legendary Liverpool creatives about their working lives and adventures in theatre.
Margaret Connell
With 30+ years in theatre as a Director and Higher Education Lecturer, began at The Liverpool Playhouse Youth Theatre in 1989. With a Theatre, Heritage, and Community Masters under her belt, she taught Drama at Edge Hill University. After 5 years, she led community outreach at The Citadel Arts Centre, then took the helm of Community & Applied Theatre at Liverpool Hope University. She became Artistic Director at Lantern Theatre Liverpool from 2011 until its closure in 2016, she is now a freelance Director and Workshop Leader.
Eithne Browne
In a building not far from this library, Eithne received a phone call that would change the course of her life forever. In Gemini Blinds on London Road in 1982 she took a call that led to her being part of the cast of the original staging of Blood Brothers at the Liverpool Playhouse. On its transfer to the West End chance again led to another change. A stalwart of the Liverpool theatre scene for over 40 years, her career spans television, film, radio and is also the voice of the Mersey Ferry and tells you to turn your phones off at the Royal Court Theatre. Local schools, hospitals and independent living schemes have provided employment and entertainment over the years. A former winner of Merseyside Woman of the Year for Arts and Culture she was a recent nominee for Best Performance in a Play in the British Theatre Awards.
In celebration of UK Parliament Week, Liverpool Hope University invites you to an inspiring panel discussion on the importance of public engagement in culture. From museums and theatre to music, explore how these cultural connections can foster a more democratic, diverse, and inclusive society, and learn about the transformative power of the arts in shaping a vibrant civic life.
The event will begin with an opportunity to connect over afternoon tea at 3:15 PM. The panel, chaired by Professor Claire Ozanne, Vice-Chancellor of Liverpool Hope University, will begin at 4 PM. Following the panel discussion, the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Richard Kemp, will deliver an address.
A Q&A session will be held at the end, providing an opportunity for attendees to engage with the speakers.
Waterstones Liverpool welcome TikTok stars John & Jade Reynolds who join us to discuss their book “Able To Laugh”
Q: Why is your wife in a wheelchair?
A: Because she can’t walk.
Q: Why were you ironing in the nude anyway?
A: No wait, I can explain…
Q: Why would this happen to you?
A: Why wouldn’t it?
People ask the silliest things.
But for Jade and John Reynolds it’s the silence surrounding disability that’s the strangest of all.
When Jade unexpectedly suffered from a rare condition which left her paralysed and in a wheelchair at the age of twelve, she never imagined that she’d one day meet her husband John and that together they would take to social media to dispel the stigma surrounding disability, one story at a time.
From questions about suffering and sex to family and faith, Jade and John speak honestly and humorously about life as an inter-able couple. And here, they bring together the big questions (and big jokes) that have made them so popular online onto the page in a debut book that will help you reframe your hardship into reasons to hope.
It’s time to discover that no matter what life throws at you, you are truly, able to laugh.
John & Jade will be in conversation followed by an audience Q&A and a book signing.
They are delighted to welcome Simon Hughes who joins Waterstones to discuss his latest book “Chasing Salah” – the definitive biography of Liverpool legend and the most famous Egyptian footballer in the history of the sport, Mohamed Salah.
Salah’s achievements are, in many ways, unparalleled. A Champions League and Premier League winner, he is a two-time African Footballer of the Year who straddles two worlds. The first is the continent he comes from, as well as the Middle East. The second is Europe, where he has broken all sorts of goalscoring records at Liverpool, helping him to become the most identifiable Muslim player on the planet.
And yet, despite his consistent success on the pitch, record-breaking, team victories and popular persona, little is known about the Liverpool forward, or the competing forces around him. That is, until now.
Award-winning football journalist and author Simon Hughes expertly pieces together a fascinating portrait of this enigmatic football icon. From his relationships with his teammates to what motivates him; from how the events of the past decade in Egypt have impacted his life, to what’s next in his career – Chasing Salah reveals all.
Simon will be in conversation with fellow Liverpool journalist Brian Reade. Their discussion will be followed by an audience Q&A and a book signing.
Further details: 0151 709 9820
Head along and meet mega-bestselling author Katie Kirby as she joins the team to sign copies of the brand-new Lottie Brooks book, Lottie Brooks Guide to Life!- a hilarious and interactive diary that you can fill in alongside some Lottie-inspired activities, tips, and teenage advice.
Tickets are £7.99 which includes entry to the event and a copy of Lottie Brooks Guide to Life!, to be collected at the event. A maximum of one further book from the Lottie Brooks series can be signed on the day (signature only). Copies of Katie’s books will be available for purchase on the day, including the new paperback release of the sold-out favourite, The Completely Chaotic Christmas of Lottie Brooks.
Parents accompanying their children do not require a ticket for the event.
Please contact the store prior to the event if you have any questions or queries.
“Dip My Brain In Joy – My Life With Neil Innes”
‘He wasn’t so much the Seventh Python as the First Neil Innes… We were very lucky to have him on board. He was a great writer and he was eccentric and he was clever without being pretentious. And he was the warmest of people to be with… he was a most lovely friend’ – Sir Michael Palin
Few individuals have had such an impact on British culture over the past fifty years as the comedy and music icon Neil Innes.
He was the songwriting powerhouse of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah band. Beatles muse and collaborator. Injector of art college surrealism into 1960s TV comedy. Instigator of a revolution that led directly to Monty Python, the group he repeatedly joined on screen and stage. He was Ron Nasty, co-founder of the much-loved Rutles, the ‘pre-fab four’. Accidental inventor of the phrase ‘Cool Britannia’. Much-loved children’s TV storyteller, thinker, maker, creator, undisputed national treasure and Britain’s sweet idiot laureate.
And through it all, Neil remained one of the kindest and brightest individuals in showbusiness. Musicians, comedians and fans alike loved being around Neil. He created music and joy and art wherever he went. And the person who loved having him round more than anybody else was Yvonne. Neil and Yvonne met at Goldsmiths College in the 1960s and they went on to walk hand-in-hand through life for over fifty years, until Neil’s untimely death in 2019.
Waterstones Liverpool are honoured and thrilled to welcome the person who knew and loved Neil Innes better than anyone else in the world – his wife of over fifty years, Yvonne. She joins us to discuss her beautiful and heartfelt book – an eyewitness tale of the life of one of British culture’s quiet geniuses.
Yvonne will be in conversation with literary and entertainment agent, Kate Haldane.
Each year DaDa present the Edward Rushton Social Justice Lecture on the United Nations International Day for People with Disabilities (3rd December) to keep alive the passion and fire demonstrated by Rushton, a Liverpool poet, activist, abolitionist and disabled man.
This year they are thrilled to announce that we have secured a fantastic and insightful keynote speaker for the event, Kaite O’Reilly, who will be exploring ‘Rage’ which will be the theme for their 40th anniversary celebration during DaDaFest International coming in March 2025.
If you are passionate about disability rights, equity and inclusion within the arts and beyond, this event will resonate with the “quiet riot” within.
This is a live in-person event that will be BSL interpreted, but will also be streamed online for those who can’t attend in person, so please book an online ticket if you would like to receive the links for this.
Exploring ‘Rage’
Their keynote speech this year will be delivered by Kaite O’Reilly, award-winning writer and dramaturg. Kaite advocates the importance of righteous rage – knowing when there is nothing left to do but rage because the injustice is so great, drawing from her own experience of growing into a maturity of knowing when turning your rage into quiet action is more likely to influence change and to benefit in the long run.
Kaite reflects on works such as The War on Disabled People written by Ellen Clifford which reflects the scapegoating and marginalisation of disabled people that has evoked a vibrant movement of disabled activists and their supporters determined to hold systems and system-makers to account – making the slogan ‘Nothing About Us Without Us’ more apt than ever.
The keynote social justice lecture this year will open discourse around disabled rights (or lack thereof), injustice and activism they hope will continue into DaDaFest 40.
Hear artist Ruth Moilliet talk about her inspiration behind the work in her current exhibition at The Atkinson, FOFO (Fear of Finding Out). Find out more about the title, the meaning behind the exhibits and think about how we might also help to make changes for the better.
Having celebrated the botanical world in her work for many years, Ruth Moilliet’s bold and engaging sculptures now look at the decline of plant species, their pollinators and the natural world as a whole. Her initial studies highlighted the impact the fossil fuel industry has on our planet where she began to use found, recycled plastic materials to produce her work. The new additions shown in this exhibition encourage discussion around the responsibilities we have as individuals to prevent further decline through our daily activities and the items in our lives.
Exhibition is on display until Saturday 8 March 2025.
https://www.theatkinson.co.uk/exhibition/ruth-moilliet/
Join DaDa as they launch DaDaFest International 40 ‘Rage: A Quiet Riot!’.
This event will preview some of the exceptional disabled artists who will showcase their work as part of DaDa’s 40th anniversary festival in March 2025, and we will hear from organisations, funders and supporters who are making the festival happen.
After consulting with artists, DaDa heard loud and clear that our community feel that, while some progress has been made, too many decisions are still made without involving disabled people. This has left disabled artists and disabled communities raging that the gaps in society are widening and they are still so far from equity and representation at all levels in art, culture and heritage.
At this event they launch their 2025 theme ‘Rage’, so come and join us for a quiet riot of creativity and culture.
Introducing ‘Nu Wave’ – a night that opens the doors to Liverpool’s thriving music scene for all.
Designed to be an inclusive, supportive, and safe space, this event offers a unique opportunity to gain invaluable insights into the local industry. With a lineup of talks from some of Liverpool’s most respected industry innovators and a showcase of the city’s best emerging talent, “Nu Wave is built on a philosophy of “No Gatekeeping” – where knowledge, opportunities, and connections are shared freely.
Whether you’re an artist, student, industry professional, or music lover, this night is your gateway into Liverpool’s vibrant musical community.
Welcoming you to Liverpool’s music scene…
Follow @soundadvicepod & @malantmedia on instagram to keep up with the latest updates on the event
