Interest area: culture

Sass: A Chained Melody

Step into the sequinned world of Buki, a third of Sass – a Coventry-born RnB girl group on the brink of breakup.

This theatre piece is an experimental one-person play, performed and created by the writer.

With body glitter, a tight weave and a dream, Buki is exploring queerness as a Black and North African person, the trials of friendship and the grip of coercive control.

Brace yourself for an electrifying performance that will leave you laughing and crying, but also will hopefully provoke conversations on what it means to be a person caught between religion, family and identity.

A Homotopia supported Queercore Artist.

Part of Up Next 2023 – a two-week festival celebrating Merseyside artists

Borrowed

Borrowed is a radical story about a pregnant fat girl, a prejudiced healthcare system, and a pineapple.

Triggered by the overturning of Roe v Wade in the United States, Borrowed was born (pun intended).

Centring a fat woman as our protagonist, this play destroys the notion that the sole purpose of pregnant people are to be vehicles for a foetus. It tackles what it’s truly like to grow something inside of you and battle the thoughts of your own inner child, while manoeuvring a medical field like a landmine. At the heart of this play, it is about a person’s bodily autonomy and trying to navigate a world that was not made for them.

This performance will feature a 30 minute long Post-Show Q&A with the creator of the piece entitled ‘Fat Characters Aren’t Just Funny Friends’.

At The End Of The Day She’s Stil...

A mother and daughter who cannot be in the same room, meet in a breast cancer clinic after five years of estrangement and are forced to confront their own and each other’s mortality.

A darkly comic look at the mother/daughter relationship and what happens when it’s between two people who destroy each other. Because when a woman’s brought you in to this world, are you ever allowed to cut and run?

A work-in-progress performance of a new play by BBC Slam Champion, Jess Green (Burning Books, A Self Help Guide To Being In Love With Jeremy Corbyn).

 

Berber Boy

Berber Boy is a subversive new autobiographical theatre show; part coming-of-age story, part culture-fuck, and a very Irish discussion about Tunisian identity – and if that confuses the hell out of you, you’ve got the idea…

This performance will feature a 30 minute long Post-Show Q&A with the creator of the piece entitled ‘Identity politics and creative handcuffs’.

Moncef sits outside a Dublin meeting room. He’s auditioning for the role of a lifetime: disgraced Tunisian President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.

Moncef’s passport has the name Peter on it.

Ben Ali wants to give him acting advice.

A leprechaun has been summoned.

Salt crystals and watermelon pips gather at the edges of this high strangeness.

 

 

Black Boy Joy Gone

This year BlackFest are creating a hybrid event combining Theatre and Independent Film. Black Boy Joy Goneis a BFI Doc Society Funded 25-minute hybrid documentary by and for black men that opens up the conversation about mental health, trauma and finding strength through brotherhood. ‘You’re Never Too Gone to be Gone.’ #BlackBoyJoyGone

BlackFest commissioned 6 new black male artists that will premier alongside the film to tell stories of lived experiences, provoke public discussion, support collective healing, and celebrate Black men’s lives. The new works created will air as devised LIVE theatre and film pieces as a creative response to the themes of BBJG, plus original dice-poem screening Black Boy Joy Gone, followed by a panel discussion. The ambition is to create a legacy of a national tour to create awareness of Black Men’s mental health.

Featured Artists: Mal Lidgett, Pari Richards, KOJ, Errol, Tayo Aluko, Joe Taylor

Directed By: Ashley Karrell

An Evening With Anton Du Beke

Strictly Come Dancing legend and judge, Anton Du Beke, returns to the Liverpool Philharmonic stage with his live band, a guest singer and his dancers.

Anton will be performing some of his favourite songs and dances that have inspired his career throughout his life. Expect behind the scenes stories from his time on Strictly Come Dancing that will have you laughing out loud in this fab-u-lous evening of song, dance and laughter!

Joining the ever so fab-u-lous Anton Du Beke on his tour as special guest singer is Lance Ellington – one of the UK’s most popular male vocalists.

Lance frequently appears on Strictly Come Dancing as one of the main singers and has also worked with many of the world’s top recording artists, including Sting, Michael Jackson and Tina Turner. He is also a regular performer at Ronnie Scott’s – one of the most famous Jazz clubs in the world.

Arts For Social Change Showcase

After the roaring success of the first Arts For Social Change Showcase in September 2021 and again in February 2022, Collective Encounters is delighted to be programming another fascinating night of presentations exploring participatory arts projects, practice and passions.

Join them for an evening of quick-fire presentations by people passionate about using the arts for social change. The showcase is a great way to grow your ideas, share and celebrate your achievements, rage about something or highlight something that needs to change. Presenters will show up to 15 slides about their theme, project, issue, community, infatuation and/or themselves. Each presentation will last no more than 5 minutes.

This event is a great opportunity to connect, network, get feedback and generate new ideas. Presenters can be theatre-makers, producers, participants, funders, community groups, charities…anyone with a curiosity or passion for arts & social change.

There will be up to 12 presentations, with opportunities to ask questions of the contributors throughout.

Access: This event will use live transcription. If you require BSL interpretation, or any other access support please get in touch before the event.

Expressions of Interest: If you are interested in presenting at this event please fill out the expression of interest form via this google form.

Baltic Swap Shop

The Baltic Swap Shop is a community-based sustainable fashion exchange event that aims to promote eco-friendly practices, reduce textile waste, and foster a sense of community engagement.

Participants are encouraged to bring their gently used clothing items to swap with others, promoting a circular economy and reducing the environmental impact of the fashion industry.

Swap Guidelines:

Items donated to the swap shop will be exchanged for one token per item. Each token can be exchanged for one other piece of clothing.

They will accept the following clothing items for swapping:

T-Shirts, Shirts, Dresses, Skirts, Jumpers, Jackets, Coats

They will not accept:

Shoes, Underwear, Hats, Socks, Accessories, Stained or Torn Items

Event Highlights:

1. Clothing Swap: Participants can bring their pre-loved clothing items in good condition and exchange them for tokens (One Token per Item). Each token allows them to choose another item of their liking from the available collection.

2. Sustainable Fashion Tips: Throughout the event, experts and volunteers will be available to share sustainable fashion tips and ideas for reducing waste in everyday fashion choices. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about eco-friendly materials, ethical brands, and how to create a versatile and eco-conscious wardrobe.

3. Volunteer Opportunities: The Baltic Swap Shop relies on dedicated volunteers to make the event a success. Attendees interested in contributing their time and skills to future events will have the opportunity to sign up as volunteers and play an essential role in promoting sustainability in the community.

Join them at the Baltic Swap Shop to be a part of the sustainable fashion movement, make a positive environmental impact, and connect with like-minded individuals. Together, we can create a more eco-friendly and conscious approach to fashion consumption in our community.

Late at Tate Liverpool: Fast Forward

On 15 September Tate Liverpool is creating a special after-hours celebration, Late at Tate Liverpool: Fast Forward, as the gallery looks forward to its exciting upcoming redevelopment.

From 18:00 to 22:00 visitors will be able to immerse themselves in an evening dedicated to the gallery, with a vibrant mix of free art, live music, captivating performances, interactive workshops, and enlightening talks.

Much of the activity will be curated, produced or performed by young creatives from across the city region aged 16-25, with the Greenhouse Project in Toxteth, Liverpool International Music Festival (LIMF) Academy, Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA) and the gallery’s own Tate Collective Producers all taking part.

Throughout the evening, students from LIMF Academy will perform in the gallery’s foyer and café, spotlighting some of the finest rising musical talents from across Merseyside.  Dive into the world of sound visualisation with audio visual artist and live music designer Sam Wiehl, as he crafts live visual interpretations in harmony with LIMF’s performances, offering an enthralling immersive experience.

A public art workshop will allow visitors to unleash their creative spirit by reimagining the future of the building in a relaxed and fun atmosphere. Elsewhere in the gallery, students from LIPA will present a unique blend of spontaneous movement and dance, responding to key works from the Tate collection.

The gallery will also be working with the renowned Venture Arts, whose artists Barry Finan, Malik Jama, and Sally Hirst will delve deep into a world of words and imagery. They will be performing in collaboration with spoken work artists Amina Atiq, Elliott Flanagan, and Anthony Shapland to present an immersive event for getting lost in words and projections.

Late at Tate Liverpool: Fast Forward will also see performances and workshops curated by Tate Collective Producers, who collaborate to develop their ideas and knowledge about art, culture and creativity, and the Toxteth-based Greenhouse Project, who build a culture of participation through which young people’s creativity is developed and their ideas recognised and harnessed in regenerating their community.

In the gallery’s auditorium Helen Legg, Director of Tate Liverpool, will be discussing the vision for the museum’s redevelopment with Emily Pringle, freelance researcher, and former Head of Research at Tate.

During the evening, delicious food and drinks will be served in the Tate Café including filo wrapped prawns, spicy bean wraps, and salt & pepper chilli fries.

The event is free, and admission will be first-come, first-served. Tickets for the Reimaging Tate Liverpool talk in the auditorium will be available at the ground floor foyer on the evening of the event from 18:00.

 

Trauma Informed Practice for Participa...

Although it’s very important to maintain the distinction between art and therapy, participatory artists are often in positions where they need to support their participants’ mental health. This training is specifically for artists and facilitators and takes a person-centred approach to understanding trauma and incorporating this understanding into your creative practice.

This training will:

  • Provide an overview of the physiology of trauma and an insight from the perspective of a clinical psychotherapist;
  • Unpick popular perceptions and misuse of language around trauma and PTSD;
  • Offer practical tips for creating safe spaces for participants and avoiding practices which may retraumatise participants;
  • Create a space to explore problem solving using real-life scenarios.

This event is aimed at artists working in communities, theatre-makers and activists interested in using the arts as a tool for positive change.

Length: 3 hours

Ticket Cost:

  • For attendees supported by their organisations the full price of a ticket is £55.00
  • For freelancers and individual attendees the price of a ticket is £35.00
  • For those on low or no income the ticket price is £18.00

They also have a small number of bursary places available for those with limited funds, please email Marianne at marianne@collective-encounters.org.uk

**Please Note: Ticket sales will end 24 hours before this event is due to start.