What’s On

WHAT’S ON living

AS WE RETURN TO SOME KIND OF NORMALITY, LOCKDOWN RESTRICTIONS ARE EASING AND WE’RE EVEN SEEING SOME INDOOR THEATRE, MUSIC AND PERFORMANCE VENUES ABLE TO REOPEN WITH SOCIALLY DISTANCED AUDIENCES. HERE’S A ROUND-UP OF A FEW THINGS THAT MAY TICKLE YOUR FANCY, BOTH LIVE AND VIRTUAL… BUT PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL ARE SUBJECT TO LAST-MINUTE CHANGES OR CANCELLATION.

WHAT: Birmingham Heritage Week with the BRB WHEN: 20 September WHERE: Aston Hall, www.birminghammuseums.org.uk Celebrate Birmingham Heritage Week with a visit to this magnificent 17th century mansion and also meet staff from Birmingham Royal Ballet. The BRB is breaking the stereotypes and bringing ballet into the communities. Learn that ballet isn’t posh, it’s not just for girls and theatres aren’t scary places. Ballet is for everyone. What better way to find out about dance, costumes and how dancers train.

WHAT: Birmingham Comedy Festival WHEN: 2 to 11 October WHERE: Various, www.bhamcomfest.co.uk With a bit of luck, the annual 10-day city-wide, mirth-filled extravaganza is set to return celebrating a wonderful mix of big comedy names with emerging talent. Featuring dozens of great performances with theatre, improv’, film… and much more.

WHAT: The Social Cheese Fest WHEN: 5 and 6 September WHERE: The Bond, Digbeth via Facebook The first socially distanced version of the city’s annual Cheese Festival is in town with some of the cheesiest street food traders in tow, including Patty Freaks, Yardbirds, Paneer Wrap Street Food Company and Urban Cheesecake. There’s also drinks, live music, talks and much more. Pre-booking essential.

WHAT: Virtual open day – Strensham WHEN: 13 September WHERE: Midlands Air Ambulance Facebook page, facebook.com/MidlandsAirAmbulance Following the success of this year’s Tatenhill airbase open day going virtual, Midlands Air Ambulance has decided to take its Strensham airbase open day online, too. Supporters can expect to experience a virtual tour of the base and helicopter aircraft, live Q&A interviews and an aircrew demonstration of how they tend to an incident scene.

WHAT: Marvel Fine Art Show WHEN: From 1 September WHERE: Castle Fine Art, www.castlefineart.com Castle Fine Art was given access to one of the largest collections of Marvel comic book art in the US. From these archives, a selection of rare editions – all hand-signed by the late, great Stan Lee – was curated into a dynamic, desirable collection of Marvel fine art, entitled the Legacy Collection. Never before exhibited in the UK, these graphics provide a snapshot into the early modern era of Marvel comics. WHAT: Voices of the West End WHEN: 25 to 27 September WHERE: British Motor Museum, tel: 01926 927823 www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk This new and innovative production will be performed live in the safe and beautiful grounds of the museum. The outdoor production is a collaboration between Ginger Boy Productions and Birmingham Hippodrome and will showcase music from the West End’s greatest musicals. Some of the theatre world’s most illustrious singers will perform award-winning hits including Earl Carpenter who played Javert in Cameron Mackintosh’s 25th Anniversary Tour of Les Misérables.

WHAT: Lady Sanity WHEN: 16 October WHERE: THSH online via Facebook Available on Town Hall Symphony Hall’s Facebook and YouTube channels, this is a chance to watch Lady Sanity perform a never-before-seen set, accompanied by Ashley Allen

and filmed at the world-renowned Symphony Hall.

WHAT: Cactus Show WHEN: 4 October WHERE: Birmingham Botanical Gardens, tel: 0121 212 3383 www.birminghambotanicalgardens.org.uk Come and see a display of superb cacti and succulents and marvel at the variety of plants being entered in the show by experienced growers from around the country. Experts will be on hand to answer your questions and give cultivation advice. Plus, there’s the chance to purchase that special plant you’ve been looking for from one of the specialist nurseries that will be present.