Interest area: culture

Dear Zoo

Ben and Sally are searching for the perfect pet, but instead the zoo send a far too big elephant, a far too grumpy camel, and a far too jumpy frog.Whatever will they send next!

Rod Campbell’s much-loved lift the flap book has been a firm favourite with children and parents for nearly forty years.Lovingly adapted for the stage, his distinctive illustrations leap from the page in this colourful show packed full of puppetry, songs and, of course, all the animals from the zoo.

The show is held St Helens Theatre Royal, 21/22 March, starting 4pm, 21 March, 10.30am and 1pm, 22 March. See here for tickets.

With lots of laughs and audience interaction, Dear Zoo is the perfect introduction to theatre for young children. Join us and find out whether the zoo will send the perfect pet…in the end!

All Above Board

Chaos reigns in this brand-new farce of mistaken identities and disastrous decisions from the witty pen of star of stage and screen, Nigel Planer (The Young Ones, The Comic Strip Presents, Blackadder, Death in Paradise).

The event is held St Helens Theatre Royal, 14 September, 7.30pm. See here for tickets.

An unlikely bunch of modern-day do-gooders try to make the world a better place,but lose the plot, their morals and even their clothes in all the best traditions of classic British farce.

Timothy has quit the world of banking and now – for all the wrong reasons – wants to give something back and help those less fortunate. Along with his brazen and shameless PR agent, he plans a charity auction to raise money for good causes.

He misguidedly enlists the help of narcissist TV personality, Matthew Board – a man clearly on the edge in more ways than one. Matters are made worse by Sir Ommany John, a geriatric world-famous artist who still has an eye for the ladies; Katia, a confused Finnish exchange student and not to mention Timothy’s crazed ex-wife who is out for revenge…and will the plasterer ever turn up?

The doors slam and the double entendres flow and with more misunderstandings and mayhem than you can shake a charity collection box at, this play will have you in stitches and make you question if things really are, All Above Board.

 

Victorian washday

Meet Museum of Liverpool’s expert to find out how Victorian poor people kept clean and how one extraordinary Irish immigrant, called Kitty Wilkinson, helped people keep disease away.

The workshop is free and held Museum of Liverpool, 18 and 25 September, starting 1pm, 2pm and 3pm.

Suitable for accompanied children aged 6 and under as part of a household or support bubble. Collect a ticket on the day from the Welcome Desk in the Museum of Liverpool.

First Time

Can you remember your first time? Nathaniel can’t seem to forget his. To be fair, he has it playing on repeat for the last 15 years.

The event is held Unity Theatre, 21 October, 7.30pm. See here for tickets.

Now the party is over, the balloons have all burst and he’s left living his best queer life: brunching on pills and Googling kangaroo vaginas, ancient condoms and human cesspits on a weekday morning… or is he?

Award-winning HIV+ theatre-maker Nathaniel Hall (It’s a Sin) and Dibby Theatre present their critically acclaimed ‘hilarious’ and ‘heart breaking’ hit autobiographical show about growing up positive in a negative world.

Join him as he blows the lid on the secret he’s been keeping all these years.

A Waterside Arts Commission supported by Arts Council England.

Up Next: A Heavenly Way to Die

Up Next is a new event series showcasing exciting new work from Merseyside performers. In one evening, you can experience a double bill of sharing’s across both their spaces, premiering new writing from across the city.

The event is held Unity Theatre, 18 September, 8.30pm. See here for tickets.

Violet feels anxious when she’s around Glen. So what? People feel nervous around their romantic partners – it’s called butterflies. But Violet feels nervous around Glen all the time. She has intrusive and obsessive thoughts that she will hurt Glen while she sleeps.

A Heavenly Way to Die is a love story about being in a relationship while suffering from Harm OCD. This rehearsed reading is supported by the Unity and the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse.

LA FERIA: A Festival of Latin American...

A festival of Latin American Arts and Culture is set to take over city centre venues in Liverpool this month.

The festival is held at various venues/locations, 23-26 September, times vary. See here for tickets.

For their 10th Anniversary activities, local arts organisation LUMA Creations are proud to present LA FERIA, an innovative and colourful celebration of Latin American Arts and Culture.

The programme of events, featuring an exciting line-up of dance, musical performances and activities, will give audiences the opportunity to experience the diversity of Latin American Arts and Culture at different venues across Liverpool City Centre.

The festival will kick off on Thursday 23rd September with ‘Music of the Americas’ at District in the Baltic Triangle, featuring Latin American Lucas Music Award winner, Angelica Lopez and her eight-piece band, along with Liverpool groups, LUMA Quintet and Katumba Bloco – one of the leading drum ensembles in the UK. The night will also feature DJ Irmita, the UK’s first pioneering female Latin DJ.

The following night – Friday 24th September – will see an evening of Latin American Dance in the beautiful surroundings of the Bombed Out Church, showcasing an exciting array of companies including: colourful Caporales, San Simon from Bolivia; beautiful Mexican Dances from the exciting Colibri Company; offerings from Liverpool’s own Katumba Bloco; a wonderful presentation of original Cumbia from Colombia by Elkin Rodriguez; LUMA’s very own Candombe Troupe; and the mystical sounds of Mestisa, with their wonderful songs from South America.

Participants of all ages will get the chance to make beautiful lanterns, head-dresses and much more, as well as be given the chance to see some of the Latin American Dolls which are appearing in an exhibition in Centro Cervantes in October, hosted by North West charity, SOMOSCR.

Finally, to close the festival on Sunday 26th September, an exciting programme of pop-up street performances will appear across Liverpool City Centre with artists from Peru, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and more.

Founder and Creative Director, Francisco Carrasco said, “I am really looking forward to LA FERIA 2021, and we are really proud to be able to bring such an exciting and diverse programme of Latin American arts & culture to the city, to help us celebrate LUMA Creations 10th Anniversary year. We hope that everyone who comes and participates enjoys the amazing talent of all the artists and also takes away a little bit of how rich and diverse Latin American culture is”.

The festival is part of the Without Walls Programme from Culture Liverpool and is funded by LCC and Granada Foundation.

 

I Am Cuba

I Am Cuba is an anti-American propaganda film, made as a Cuban-Soviet co-production, that has been snatched from oblivion, restored, and released in the United States as a presentation of Martin Scorsese and Francis Coppola.

The film is shown FACT, 12 October, 8pm. See here for tickets.

Since the film’s prediction of a brave new world under Fidel Castro has not resulted in a utopia for Cubans, who suffer under one of the world’s most dismal bureaucracies, the film today seems naive and dated – but fascinating.

This screening will begin with a short 10-15 minute introduction from the Liverpool Architectural Society.

This screening is part of our Community Cinema. If you’re an artist, independent filmmaker, charity, film club, or arts organisation, find out how FACT can support your film screening.

Man with a Movie Camera

Part documentary and part cinematic art, this film follows a city in the 1920s Soviet Union throughout the day, from morning to night.

The event is held FACT, 21 September, 8pm. See here for tickets.

Directed by Dziga Vertov, with a variety of complex and innovative camera shots, the film depicts scenes of ordinary daily life in Russia. Vertov celebrates the modernity of the city, with its vast buildings, dense population and bustling industries. While there are no titles or narration, Vertov still naturally conveys the marvels of the modern city.

This screening will begin with a short 10-15 minute introduction from the Liverpool Architectural Society.

This screening is part of our Community Cinema. If you’re an artist, independent filmmaker, charity, film club, or arts organisation, find out how FACT can support your film screening.

Don’t Look Now

Still grieving over the accidental death of their daughter, Christine (Sharon Williams), John (Donald Sutherland) and Laura Baxter (Julie Christie) head to Venice, Italy, where John’s been commissioned to restore a church.

There Laura meets two sisters (Hilary Mason, Clelia Matania) who claim to be in touch with the spirit of the Baxters’ daughter. Laura takes them seriously, but John scoffs until he himself catches a glimpse of what looks like Christine running through the streets of Venice.

This screening is held FACT, 2 November, 8pm and will begin with a short 10-15 minute introduction from the Liverpool Architectural Society. See here for tickets.

This screening is part of their Community Cinema. If you’re an artist, independent filmmaker, charity, film club, or arts organisation, find out how FACT can support your film screening.