Interest area: culture

ADHD The Musical: Can I Have Your Atte...

Have you always wanted to go to a Ted Talk about ADHD that veers off into the wacky world of musicals and Neuroscience? Dora has.

Dora is hilarious, sensitive and indecisive. Join her on an adventure as she seeks to understand why she was asked to leave a job interview at Lush because she was drunk.

Audiences are left feeling moved, crying with laughter and will take a step closer to radical self-acceptance. As Dora asks; What the funk is normal anyway?

This performance includes sign language and elements of audio description.

There will be a Q&A after the show.

Chinese New Year Celebrations

Liverpool’s Chinese New Year celebrations are back with a ‘roar’ as the city marks the Year of the Tiger.

Returning this year after 2021’s virtual event, the in-person spectacular will celebrate Europe’s oldest Chinese community by bringing together traditional celebrations such as the dragon and unicorn parades and combining them with brand new, free commissions such as 3D projections, fire performances, new artwork, dance and live music.

Culture Liverpool has commissioned all of the new pieces of work to complement the free traditional Chinese New Year celebrations which includes dragon, unicorn and Lucky Man parades, firecracker displays, family workshops, Tai Chi demonstrations, a small fairground and food stalls. Activity will take place from 11am-5.30pm on Sunday 6 February.

The ambition is for the contemporary element to excite, inspire and delight the thousands expected to head in to the city centre.

New for this year are:

From Friday 4 to Sunday 6 February, a 3D animated Water Tiger will prowl around the tower inside St Luke’s Church (the Bombed Out Church). Taking place from 6-9pm each night, the projections will transform the tower into a Chinese pagoda, complete with lanterns designed by local schools and community groups. The show, which lasts for ten minutes and will run on a loop each evening, is free but there is an ask for donations for the venue.  The work has been created by Focal Studios, Scenegraph Studios in collaboration with the Bombed Out Church.

Work is under way on a new mural will take pride of place in Great George Square playground courtesy of Zap Graffiti which is bringing together an award-winning Beijing artist, Tang Shou, and local youngsters who will create a piece of art which symbolises what the Year of the Tiger means to them.

New commissions taking place on Sunday 6 February

Pagoda Arts will shine a spotlight on Tian – an up-and-coming young band made up of east/southeast Asian artists who perform a blend of original east-meets-west tracks. They will take to the stage in Great George Square at 2.20pm and 3.50pm, and will play a ticketed event at the Liverpool Philharmonic’s Music Room that evening.

From 5.15pm, Bring The Fire Project will showcase their incredible skills at the Chinese Arch with a specially created Chinese New Year performance which will incorporate traditional martial arts. They will be joined by Hung Gar Kung Fu’s illuminated dragon and lion.

Dance company Movema explore the cultural history of Chinese New Year and have produced contemporary work which embraces our diverse communities and celebrates what makes Liverpool so unique and special.  A series of pop-up performances will take place in the afternoon, in and around Chinatown with on-stage activity at 3.10pm and 4.25pm.

Visually stunning Feng Huang (Chinese Phoenix) street animation will appear at the Bombed Out Church at 1.45pm.

The Black-e Youth Circus present, Triumph of the Tiger, a short story told through circus skills, illuminations and costume involving young people aged 6 to 18 years. Involving ground-based and aerial performance, it will create a beautiful illuminated spectacle to tell a simple tale of how we can overcome adversity.

The costumes and LED illuminations will be coloured to represent the five tigers from Ancient Chinese myths. The performance involves a collaboration with Bring The Fire Project. Throughout the day The Black-e will also be offering circus skills taster workshops on Nelson Street for members of the public to participate in and a beanbag making workshop.

Building up to the main day of activity, from this week thousands of Chinese lanterns will adorn the city centre streets, and from Sunday 30 January a number of buildings will be illuminated in red in honour of the new year – signifying good fortune and joy to everyone.

These buildings include the Cunard, Port of Liverpool, Liverpool Town Hall, St George’s Hall, Central Library Picton Colonnades, Toxteth Library, Everyman & Playhouse Theatres, the Martin Luther King building, Mersey Gateway Bridge and University of Liverpool’s Yoko Ono Centre. The Royal Liver Building and the Radio City tower will light up on Tuesday 1 February which is Chinese New Year.

For those who can’t make it in person, there will be plenty to enjoy online with suggested activities and archive footage. Head to www.cultureliverpool.co.uk/cny or keep up with the latest news by following Culture Liverpool on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the conversation on socials with #CNYLiverpool.

The event has been organised by Liverpool City Council’s Culture Liverpool team in partnership with the Liverpool Chinese Business Association. The new commissions have been made possible thanks to support from Liverpool City Council.

Peep Show: Battle Royale

Liverpool’s North Docks will play host to a brand new immersive, satirical theatre production inspired by the peep shows of Amsterdam this February.

The event is held 10-13 February and 17-20 February, 8pm, with additional shows at 5.30pm each day. See here for tickets.

Following sell out performances at the Unity Theatre of Sirens, Men and Crabs, Liverpool’s international theatre company Teatro Pomodoro have today unveiled the world premiere of Peep Show: Battle Royale.

This brand new, off the wall production will utilise the group’s trademark blend of clowning, bouffon music and comedy in a darkly comedic, interactive theatrical experience, where the audience will sit behind windows, looking in on a ‘twisted new world’.

The show itself will take the form of a fictional, reality TV game show, where the contestants’ fates lie with the live audience, whose votes can influence the outcome of the game.

8 Hours There and Back

This verbatim performance shares the testimonies of children who have had a parent sent to prison.

It examines a child’s world when they are plunged into a new reality of prison visits, social workers, timed telephone calls, judgements, loss of contact and questions, lots of questions.

Co-Created by All Things Considered Theatre, Time Matters UK and The Unity Theatre.

The Trouble with Tombs

Tomb opening today is very rare and respectful, and burial inside British churches largely ended in the 1850s. Yet, remains of saints, clergy, royalty, and cultural icons have been exhumed to both verify and venerate them since at least the 7th century in Britain’s churches, and this continued on a regular basis until the late 19th/early 20th century.

Throughout this period, charnel collections of human bones created from pragmatic exhumations had cycles of being presented in churches, and tomb ‘treasures’ and historic human remains continued to be displayed in churches centuries even after the end of saints’ cults in the 1530s and 1540s.

Today, there is extensive public and media interest in Britain’s church charnel displays as well as saints’ bones in cathedrals; royal exhumations; and demands to exhume or investigate the graves of iconic individuals from history, such as the Princes in the Tower, King Harold, and William Shakespeare. HS2 construction involves unprecedented exhumation of thousands of skeletons from church contexts.

Chaired by Professor Lin Foxhall with a keynote lecture from Dr Ruth Nugent, an archaeologist specialising in Britain’s mortuary cultures from the 5th century AD onwards, this public lecture will explore the ways people have encountered and understood the ‘ancient’ dead in Britain since the 7th century and how we can use that knowledge to serve modern heritage and reburial of the long-dead today.

Dr Ruth Nugent will be joined by a panel of experts consisting of Harold Mytum, Professor of Archaeology at University of Liverpool; David Monteith, Dean of Leicester Cathedral; Andrea Bradley, MCIfA, Route-wide Burial Grounds Coordination; and Ian Dungavell, Chief Executive Friends of Highgate Cemetery.

Old Fruit Jar Presents…

The idea of a showcase event has always interested Old Fruit Jar Productions. It is a chance to perform 100% original work with no limitations or setbacks, and a chance to prove to an audience they are more than just a theatre company.

Inspired by the innovative ‘The Comic Strip Presents…’ OFJ aim to produce high-quality theatre in a short, anthology format all tied under the banner of OLD FRUIT JAR PRODUCTIONS. And so, after two tumultuous years, OFJ are back on stage and proudly present an evening of three short plays written by homegrown talent!

Climbing from Pluto by Jordan Barkley and Alex Carr

Isolated in his room and navigating the depths of his own psyche, Dan is visited by 3 guiding lights on his voyage
through his own internal battles in a struggle to survive.

Love Target by Mark Davoren

Cupid shoots wildly off target when a blind date crosses a planned euthanasia; can he strike love second time round in this farcical black comedy?

Fractured by Alex Carr

Following the disappearance of their daughter, Mark and Marie recall the events that followed and how their lives remain fractured forever.

The three plays are directed by Alex Carr, and feature: Florence King, Josh Ennis, Christina Rose, Anthony Roberts, Jordan Barkley, Rachel McGrath and Ciara O’Neill.

Belfast

Branagh’s chronicle of the life of a working class family and their young son’s childhood during the tumult of the late 1960s in the Northern Ireland capital is warm and heartfelt, delivered with wit, style and poignancy.

Already tipped to be one of the front runners in the up-coming award season, it is beautifully acted and filmed in a striking lustrous monochrome.  

This event has social distancing options. Click here for more info.

There are additional matinee and evening shows, check here for details.

The Da Vinci Code

The curator of the Louvre has been brutally murdered, and alongside his body are a series of baffling codes.

Follow the pulse-racing journey as Professor Robert Langdon, played by Television favourite Nigel Harman (EastEnders, Hotel Babylon) and fellow cryptologist Sophie Neveu (Hannah Rose Caton) attempt to solve the riddles, leading to the works of Leonardo Da Vinci and beyond, deep into the vault of history.

With guidance from teacher and friend Sir Leigh Teabing, played by family favourite Danny John-Jules (Red Dwarf, Death in Paradise),Langdon and Neveu embark on a breathless race through the streets of Europe. The pair must decipher the labyrinthine code before a shocking historical secret is lost forever.

Based on the best-selling novel of this century, with over 100 million copies sold, unlock the secrets of The Da Vinci Code in the world premiere stage adaptation of the international phenomenon.

Translated into over 50 different languages, with author Dan Brown named as one of Time’s 100 most influential people and adapted into a smash-hit movie that grossed over $750 million, The Da Vinci Code surprises at every twist. Now you can experience the sensational story live on stage, as Langdon and Neveu follow the trail of clues and race to uncover the truth in the greatest thriller of the past 2000 years.

There are additional 1.30pm matinee shows 2 and 3 November plus 2pm show 5 November.

Murder Mystery – The Final Act

It’s nearly Valentine’s Day in the city and almost a year to the day since the theatre doors closed to audiences due to the ‘accident’.

Artistic Director and playwright Sidney Sparks and his wife, Hollywood legend Scarlet Moon have one last shot to entertain the crowd, save their beloved theatre and their reputation. And they have quite an Act!

So Roll up! Roll up! Meet the delightful cast and crew of misfits and egos – take your seats to this explosive opening night – but will anyone actually tread the boards? Or is someone so desperate to stop this show they will do anything, even… kill!

On a night where more then just legs get broken. A night of melodrama. A night of unrequited love. A night of love triangles. A night of… Murder!

Theme: Comedy, parody, zany, carry-on-style.

The event is held Downstairs at the Everyman, 11 February, 7.30pm.

Filla Crack’s Valentine’s ...

Liverpool’s first lady, Miss Filla Crack cordially invites you to an evening of off the scale entertainment, with special guest performances.

Life doesn’t have to be such a drag, and after this year we’ve had we all need a little escapism, which is exactly what our queen and her guests will provide in a safe and warm environment.

So, Whatsapp the group, order your glitter and book a table ASAP because it’s always a sell out when Miss Crack announces her return.

The event is held Downstairs at the Everyman.