Shropshire What's On January 2016

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Your FREE essential entertainment guide for the Midlands Shropshire

’ What sOn www.whatsonlive.co.uk

ISSUE 361

JANUARY 2016

TATTOO FREEZE AT TELFOR

D INTERNAT IONAL CEN TRE

thelist inside:

Your 16-page week by week listings guide

THE GREAT GATSBY F Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece comes to Theatre Severn...

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Contents January Region 2.qxp_Layout 1 18/12/2015 21:24 Page 1

January 2016

Contents

The Rocky Horror Show - Frank N Furter back in Brum with a brand new version page 8

the list

Isy Suttie

Private Lives

Anna Maxwell Martin

Dobbie at The Slade Rooms

Tom Chamber stars in Noel Coward’s masterpiece in Stoke

BAFTA winner brings Lady Macbeth to The REP

Your 16-page week-by-week listings guide

page 31

page 22

page 51

page 24

inside: 4. News

15. Music

24. Comedy

@whatsonwolves Birmingham What’s On Magazine

What’sOn MAGAZINE GROUP

27. Theatre

45. Film

53. Visual Arts

57. Days Out

65. Food

@whatsonstaffs

@whatsonshrops

Staffordshire What’s On Magazine

Shropshire What’s On Magazine

Editorial Director: Davina Evans davina@whatsonlive.co.uk 01743 281708 Sales & Marketing: Lei Woodhouse lei@whatsonlive.co.uk 01743 281703 Chris Horton chris@whatsonlive.co.uk 01743 281704 Editorial: Brian O’Faolain brian@whatsonlive.co.uk 01743 281701 Lauren Foster lauren@whatsonlive.co.uk 01743 281707 Abi Whitehouse abi@whatsonlive.co.uk 01743 281716 Adrian Parker adrian.parker@whatsonlive.co.uk 01743 281714 Contributors: Graham Bostock, James Cameron-Wilson, Chris Eldon Lee, Heather Kincaid, Steve Adams, Helen Stallard, Clare Higgins, Tina Freeth. Managing Director: Paul Oliver Publisher and CEO: Martin Monahan Graphic Designers: Lisa Wassell, Chris Atherton Accounts Administrator: Julia Perry julia@whatsonlive.co.uk 01743 281717 This publication is printed on paper from a sustainable source and is produced without the use of elemental chlorine.

We endorse the recycling of our magazine and would encourage you to pass it on to others to read when you have finished with it.

All works appearing in this publication are copyright. It is to be assumed that the copyright for material rests with the magazine unless otherwise stated. No part of this publication may be reproduced, or stored in an electronic system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recording or otherwise, without the prior knowledge and consent of the publishers.

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First Word Grammy Award nomination for Birmingham music group Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (BCMG) has been nominated for its first ever Grammy Award.

The nomination was received for the ensemble’s recording of Gerald Barry’s zany operatic setting of The Importance Of Being Earnest.

Commenting on the accolade, BCMG Artistic Director Stephen Newbould said: “What an end to 2015 we had!

We’re over the moon at this Grammy nomination. Our congratulations extend, of course, to Gerald Barry for his extraordinary score, to Thomas Adés for his masterful conducting, and to NMC Recordings for having the foresight to record and release the work for us all to enjoy. For Birmingham Contemporary Music Group to be listed amongst prestigious artists gives genuine recognition to the quality of our work on an international stage.” The Grammy Awards take place on 15 February.

Literacy initiative invites the community to join in

A new literacy-focused arts project has been launched in the West Midlands. The Big Read aims to encourage literacy development through creativity. The initiative invites schools and community groups to decorate BookBench sculptures, which are benches shaped as open books.

The project is being presented by Wild In Art with the Schools of King Edward VI and in association with the National Literacy Trust and Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity. The painted BookBenches will furnish the region’s museums, libraries and cultural hubs, turning the city and surrounding regions into a virtual library.

The Big Read will be complemented by a programme of activities based around the displays. These will include poetry slams, storytelling sessions, creative writing and comic book illustration workshops. If you’d like to register your school or community group for The Big Read, or if your venue is interested in exhibiting BookBenches and supporting The Big Read with literacy-focused activities, visit thebigread.org.uk or email hello@thebigread.org.uk.

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Grammy Award nominated Birmingham Contemporary Music Group

Book Award project launch in Shropshire Shrewsbury Children’s Bookfest has launched its Book Award project for a fourth time.

The initiative enables all school pupils, whatever their reading ability, to read and vote for their favourite book from a shortlist of six recently published titles selected by panels of children across the county.

The Book Award is bigger than ever this year, with more than one thousand children aged between nine and eleven in twenty-eight Shropshire primary schools taking part.

The voting deadline is 18 March. The winning book and author will be announced at a special awards ceremony at Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, on 22 April.

Arnie set to entertain diners at black-tie event

Legendary movie star and one-time Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger is heading to Birmingham this month, to host an exclusive black-tie dinner event.

An Experience With Arnold Schwarzenegger takes place at the city’s International Convention Centre on 21 January and features a live interview with the Hollywood actor.

Other attractions on the night include Terminator-themed events, a lifesize Schwarzenegger model display, a Schwarzenegger and Terminator impersonator, a twenty-two-piece orchestra and Rat Pack singer, and a charity auction with signed, bespoke Schwarzenegger memorabilia.

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Entertainment news from around the region

Science festival line-up announced Author, broadcaster and anatomist Professor Alice Roberts will discuss her latest BBC series, The Celts, at the fourth University of Birmingham Arts & Science Festival, which takes place in March.

The festival brings together leading scientists, thinkers and artists from the university and wider city for a week of free talks, events, exhibitions and performance. It also includes presentations by leading arts organisations around the city.

These include Ikon Gallery, Vivid Projects, Grand Union, Birmingham Open Media and mac Birmingham.

This year taking the theme of Memory And Forgetting, the festival will explore the idea of memory in our culture and of the social significance of remembrance and memorialisation.

Commenting on the event, Laura Milner, Cultural Partnerships Manager at the University of Birmingham, said: “The festival is a chance for curious minds to delve into new thinking from leading academics and artists. It overlooks the traditional division between arts and science: each discipline can inform the other, sparking debate and new understanding about the rich world in which we live.”

The University of Birmingham Arts & Science Festival takes place at the university and across the city from 14 to 20 March.

Round The World for comedian

Critically acclaimed comedian Russell Howard has announced that he’ll be performing in Birmingham - but fans will have to wait a while to see him, as he won’t be bringing his new show to the city until March 2017.

Round The World will be Russell’s biggest global tour to date, and will see the Bristol-born funnyman making a return to the live stage for the first time in three years.

Russell Howard: Round The World shows at the Genting Arena, Birmingham, on 17 March 2017.

Dance that subverts the senses The history of homosexuality in twentieth century Spain is the subject of a brand new show from choreographer Carlos Pons Guerra and his DeNada Dance Theatre company.

Showing in Birmingham next month, dance triple bill Ham And Passion is being promoted as an evening of ‘seductive, provocative and emphatically Spanish contemporary dance theatre that will subvert the senses’.

The production visits the city’s mac venue on Thursday 25 February.

Is That All There Is?, in Brum DA two-day conference for the arts sector, aimed at encouraging fresh thinking on how to work with young people with learning disabilities (ypwld), is to be held at Birmingham Hippodrome in March.

Is That All There Is? is organised by Open Theatre Company, a West Midlands-based organisation with a long track record of working with ypwld.

Commenting on the conference, Richard Hayhow, Executive Director of Open Theatre Company, said: “This is a timely provocation for the arts sector to reconsider its provision for young people with learning disabilities.”

Is That All There Is? takes place at Birmingham Hippodrome on 9 & 10 March.

Wolverhampton theatre announces Spring season line-up Wolverhampton’s Arena Theatre has announced its line-up for the Spring 2016 season. Highlights include the return of 14/48 Wolverhampton, which sees fourteen new plays written, directed and performed within a forty-eight-hour timespan. The venue also hosts an evening with Jean Toussaint as part of its jazz season, while Arena newcomers Milk Presents perform JOAN, a show fusing lyrical new writing with drag king cabaret.

Other shows featured in the season’s programme include Actors Of Dionysus’ Lysistrata, Guy Masterson’s Under Milk Wood, and Vamos Theatre’s The Best Thing.

The Play’s The Thing at the RSC A new exhibition is set to reveal the secrets behind the world’s most famous theatre company.

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s (RSC) The Play’s The Thing opens in Stratford-upon-Avon in June.

The new family-friendly visitor attraction offers members of the general public the chance to discover the secrets and stories behind the making of the Company’s world famous productions.

There’s also the chance to see some of the RSC’s beautifully crafted costumes and props, and learn how magical and gory stage and sound effects are made.

Commenting on The Play’s The Thing, Geraldine Collinge, RSC Director of Events & Exhibitions, said: “The exhibition will let people discover how our productions have been made over the years and how we create them now. The public space will also include a stunning new artwork by Steven Follen.”

The Play’s The Thing opens on 21 June to coincide with the RSC’s Midsummer celebrations. whatsonlive.co.uk 5

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First Word Birmingham’s Citizen Khan tour Much-loved TV comedy character Mr Khan is heading out on tour. Birmingham-born funnyman Adil Ray is bringing his larger-than-life creation to the Genting Arena in the Spring. Ray’s series, Citizen Khan, is currently the most watched comedy show on British television.

Commenting on the announcement of the live tour, Mr Khan himself said: “This is a family show, so bring everybodies - but please, if you are Indian (or ginger) you must sit at the back and don't drink too much! I look forward to answering any questions on the night. And if you're lucky, I’ll have a photo taken with you - unless you're from the tax office or immigration, then you can stay at home.”

Citizen Khan: They All Know Me! visits Birmingham’s Genting Arena on 6 May.

More panto favourites announced for 2016 With Peter Pan still busily taking Grand Theatre audiences on post-festive trips to Neverland, the popular Wolverhampton venue has announced that its Christmas 2016 offering will be Aladdin.

Produced by Qdos Entertainment, the show will run at the venue from Saturday 10 December to Sunday 22 January 2017.

Tickets for the show go on sale on Wednesday 13 January.

Meanwhile, across the Midlands in Shropshire, Shrewsbury’s Theatre Severn has announced that its Christmas 2016 pantomime will be a brand new production of Cinderella.

Presented by Evolution - the company behind the venue’s Christmas 2015 version of Dick Whittington - the panto will show from Wednesday 30 November to Sunday 8 January 2017.

Seats for the production can be booked right now, with prices frozen until 31 March.

NEW SHOWS AND GIGS ANNOUNCED! SOULFLY Sun 7 Feb - The Slade Rooms THE GAME Mon 8 Feb - O2 Academy FATHERSON Mon 15 Feb - The Rainbow Venues MYSTERY JETS Thurs 18 Feb - O2 Institute THE FAT WHITE FAMILY Sat 20 Feb - O2 Institute, Birmingham WILSON Tues 23 Feb - The Slade Rooms THE CULT Tues 1 Mar - O2 Institute

End Of The Rainbow for Loose Woman Loose Women favourite Lisa Maxwell is set to star as Judy Garland in a new version of End Of The Rainbow, which visits the Midlands in the Spring.

Lisa, who starred as Samantha Nixon in ITV’s long-running police series The Bill, will be joined in the show by Gary Wilmot and Sam Attwater.

Written by Peter Quilter, End Of The Rainbow catches up with Judy Garland in London during December 1968, with the Wizard Of Oz star desperate to get her faltering career back on track via a hugely demanding series of concerts.

Featured songs include The Man That Got Away, Come Rain Or Come Shine, The Trolley Song and, of course, Somewhere Over The Rainbow.

The show runs at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from 18 to 20 April and New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, from 21 to 25 June.

Home town gig for British female rapper Birmingham-born MC Lady Leshurr will be playing her home city in early March, as part of a UK tour. Hailed by Vogue as ‘Britain’s hottest female rapper’, the MOBO Award nominee - real name Melesha O'Garro - is best known for her Queen's Speech series of freestyles, the fourth of which went viral last year, and has collaborated with the likes of Tinie Tempah, Etta Bond, Gyptian and Fatman Scoop. She appears at the 02 Academy 2 on Sunday 6 March.

Magic direct from the West End A West End show hailed as ‘the UK’s biggest magic spectacular’ visits the Midlands next month. Fusing ‘death-defying’ stunts, technological trickery and close-up magic, Impossible reinvents some of the biggest illusions in history.

The touring version of the show features three original West End cast members - daredevil escapologist Jonathan Goodwin, mind-reading specialist Chris Cox and illusionist Ben Hart.

The trio are joined by Britain’s Got Talent star James More, Cirque du Soleil and Hollywood trickster Lee Thompson and hip-hop and breakdancing magician Magical Bones. Impossible visits the New Alexandra Theatre from Tuesday 16 to Saturday 20 February.

FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS Thurs 3 Mar - O2 Academy LADY LESHURR Sun 6 Mar - O2 Academy TOSELAND Tues 15 Mar - O2 Academy EMMY THE GREAT Sat 19 March - O2 Institute TONY IOMMI Sat 19 Mar - Symphony Hall MARIAH CAREY Sun 20 Mar Barclaycard Arena DISCIPLES Thurs 24 Mar - The Rainbow Venues ADELE - Tues 29 Mar - Wed 30 Mar and Fri 1 - Sat 2 Apr Genting Arena - SOLD OUT JEFF LYNNES ELO Thurs 16 Fri 17 Apr - Genting Arena & Fri 24 Jun - Barclaycard Arena DISNEY FROZEN WITH CBSO Sat 16 Apr - Symphony Hall TROYE SIVAN Sat 23 Apr - O2 Institute MAC MILLER Thurs 28 Apr - O2 Institute MANIC STREET PREACHERS + THE EDITORS Sat 14 May - Genting Arena SPACE Sat 21 May - O2 Academy PAUL HEATON & JACQUI ABBOTT Fri 1 Jul - Delamere Forest & Sat 9 Jul - Cannock Chase Forest HEART Sun 3 Jul - Symphony Hall LIONEL RICHIE Thurs 7 Jul Barclaycard Arena BETLEY CONCERTS - WILL YOUNG & SIMPLY RED Fri 12 - Sun 14 Aug - Beltey Court Farm THE KING IS BACK Sat 3 Sep - Barclaycard Arena JUSTIN BIEBER Mon 17 - Tues 18 Oct & Mon 24 Oct - Barclaycard Arena THE FOUR TOPS AND THE TEMPTATIONS Wed 26 Oct Genting Arena

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Whats On 30 years FINAL MM NO PICTURES.qxp_Layout 1 18/12/2015 21:07 Page 1

Celebrating the 30th anniversary of What’s On...

Noticed anything different about this month’s magazine?

Well, to celebrate our 30th anniversary year, we’ve had a bit of a makeover, redesigning your essential What’s On publication.

We hope you enjoy it!

Let’s pause for a moment to contemplate how it all started, the trials and tribulations along the way and, equally importantly, the exciting year ahead!

The 1980s. The decade of Glasnost, yuppies, Miami Vice and mullet hair-dos. The Iron Lady crushed the invading Argentinians and the striking miners. Bob Geldof inspired Live Aid. Football hooliganism saw English clubs kicked out of Europe.

While all of this and plenty more was making the world go round, here in the Midlands we welcomed a brand new dawn in the field of regional entertainment publications.

What’s On Magazine was born, quietly and without any fuss.

Thirty years later, it’s still here and as popular as ever - long after those mullet hair-dos became a ‘badge of shame’ and the Iron Lady relinquished her steely grip on the nation.

Following the dream Our founder and CEO, Martin Monahan, reluctantly posing for a pic with our very first Apple mac (it’s an SE model). Purchased back in 1987, it’s still part of the furniture today, although obviously it’s no longer functional - a bit like Martin, some might say!

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“I was a man with a dream,” smiles founder and chief executive Martin Monahan. “Not that the bank were impressed by that to begin with.

So I used my personal credit card to buy an Amstrad computer - they were all the rage at the time! - and set about turning that dream into a reality, without any help from the bank.

“The early years were tough by comparison with nowadays, when sending the magazine to

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feature Some of the current What’s On team attempting to pose for a quick snap purely for this feature! Quick everyone smile and look at the camera... crikey - oh well this will do!

From left to right: Front: Martin Monahan, founder and CEO; Lauren Foster, Davina Evans, Editorial Director; Lei Woodhouse and Ryan Humphreys.

Middle: Sue Jones and Julia Perry, Back - Abi Whitehouse, Brian O’Faolain, Chris Atherton and Adrian Parker - everyone else was too chicken to pose or washing their hair!

print is a breeze - comparatively! We’d be up all night preparing the magazine for the printers. It had to be printed out into columns of text and then had to be physically pasted with cow gum on to printing sheets. It was a hugely laborious, time-consuming task. By the time we’d finished, we needed matchsticks to keep our eyes open!

“It sounds like a real pain but looking back, it was a fantastically enjoyable time. And we even managed a couple of claims to fame. We were the first publishing company in the UK to pioneer the desktop publishing package QuarkXPress, and one of the first to use an apple mac - before they were famous!”

Fantastic support From the word go, the magazine enjoyed the support of

some of the region’s biggest theatres.

“Both the Birmingham Hippodrome and Wolverhampton Grand theatres were on board from day one,” Martin recalls, “and they’ve advertised every month since. It goes without saying how much we’ve appreciated their support. And the ongoing support, of course, of each and every one of our other regular advertisers.”

As the years passed, the stable of What’s On titles increased.

Where once there was one, now there are six.

“It’s been an amazing experience growing our brand while

“

we needed matchsticks to keep our eyes open

”

at the same time seeing the Birmingham and Midlands’ entertainment scene develop as a brand too,” says Martin. “And plenty has happened these last thirty years, from the arrival of Birmingham Royal Ballet and the opening of Symphony Hall in the early days through to any number of major refurbishments and redevelopments of our local theatres. We’re very proud to have been there throughout, supporting and promoting Birmingham and the Midlands as a vibrant hub of top-quality entertainment.”

An exciting future Thirty years on and still going strong indeed. And the future’s looking bright too, as the magazine’s Editorial Director, Davina Evans, explains. “It’s a really exciting time for us right now, and in 2016 we’ve got some exciting new developments - like

our first ever What’s On Readers’ Awards.

What’s On is now making its presence felt across various platforms. As well as the six magazine titles - Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire - we now have one of the best entertainment websites in the Midlands. And our significant growth on Twitter, with 60k followers in Birmingham and over 150k across the whole region, is phenomenal.

We will soon be moving to new offices in Birmingham’s Southside district too, in addition to retaining our Shrewsbury base. This is a truly exciting era for the Midlands’ entertainment scene. It’s expanding and developing all the time, and we’re very happy to be playing our part every step of the way.”

What’sOn

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18-21 Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury. SY2 6AE. Tel: 01743 355055

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Food Riverside dining

Best restaurant at Curry Awards Birmingham eatery Pushkar has been named the Midlands’ best restaurant at the 2015 British Curry Awards.

The popular fine-dining Indian restaurant, based in the city’s Broad Street, beat off the challenge of eleven other eateries to win the coveted title.

Commenting on the success, Pushkar’s Creative Director, Rai Singh, said: “We’re absolutely over the moon to have won our

first British Curry Award. We’re always proud to represent Birmingham and the Midlands.

I’d like to thank everyone who’s supported us through the years.

We couldn’t have done this without the amazing team behind Pushkar. I’d also like to congratulate Pushkar’s younger sibling restaurant, Praza, on being a finalist in the awards’ Best Newcomer category.”

A new Thai restaurant has opened in Shrewsbury.

The River Thai eatery is situated by the River Severn, a short walk from the town centre and Theatre Severn. Its lead chef, Khun Aom, worked for many years in her family’s restaurants in Thailand before moving to the UK seven years ago. Khun promises authentic, traditional-style Thai street food and exclusive house dishes, giving customers the chance to enjoy old favourites as well as discover some exciting new ones!

National award for Shropshire venue A South Shropshire inn has been named Venue of the Year by the prestigious Les Routier Guide.

Bridgnorth’s Ye Olde Punch Bowl Inn earned the accolade for the consistent quality of its customer service and cuisine. Commenting on the success, venue owner Adam Giles said: “We’re delighted to win this prestigious award, and to be recognised for our consistent quality and passion for our customers.”

Visit river-thai.co.uk for more information.

REVIEW: Verve Bar & Grill in Dudley

Informal dining, stylish surroundings...

Located within easy reach of Birmingham, Village Hotels offers two restaurants - including Verve Bar & Grill, the subject of this review - a spa and state-ofthe-art gym, swimming pool and squash courts, as well as a variety of room options from which to choose.

On our arrival, the manager politely greeted us and showed us to our table, introducing our waiter for the evening and offering us some olives to nibble on whilst we perused the menu.

The menu was relatively simple and generally quite typical of what you’d except from a bar and grill. Chicken lollipops, prawn cocktail and steamed mussels were amongst the starter choices.

My partner and I opted for the hot-and-sticky ribs with a bourbon bbq glaze (£6.95) and the fritto misto - breaded calamari with tempura prawns, courgettes and red pepper (£8.95).

The ribs were cooked to perfection, the meat falling off the

bone, and the glaze was a lovely accompaniment. The squid from the fritto misto platter was some of the nicest I’ve ever tasted; the batter on the prawns, courgettes and peppers was pleasantly light and in no way overpowering.

The mains consisted of a variety of specials, steaks and salads and a few 500 Club choices meals under five hundred calories - which was a nice touch.

Following the waiter’s recommendation, I chose the black pepper crusted fillet steak in an Asian broth with bok choi, Chinese cabbage, chillies, spring onion and sesame seeds (£15.95, off the 500 Club menu).

As with the ribs, the meat was cooked to absolute perfection and melted in the mouth. The black pepper and chilli combination made the dish a tad on the hot side. Luckily, I’m a huge fan of spicy food, so this wasn’t an issue for me - however, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who doesn’t share my preference.

Although my main looked and tasted delicious, I couldn’t help but feel slightly envious when I saw my partner’s 7oz burger, topped with streaky bacon, cheddar cheese and pulled pork (£15.95). He said it was one of the nicest burgers he’d had in a long time.

Although both feeling splendidly full, we managed to squeeze in dessert. I opted for the crème brûlée and my partner went for the sticky toffee pudding, each priced at £5.95. Both tasted divine and were a great ending to an enjoyable evening.

All in all, Verve Bar & Grill is an ideal restaurant if you fancy an informal bite to eat in a stylish surrounding. The service was

exemplary, and we were made to feel very welcome from the moment we arrived.

My only criticism would be that the menu is perhaps slightly overpriced. Although Verve certainly doesn’t skimp on the portion sizes, I’d probably knock a pound or two off most of the available dishes. Lauren Foster Food: Service: Ambience: Overall value OVERALL

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Verve Bar & Grill, The Village, Castlegate Park, Birmingham Road, Dudley, DY1 4TB Tel: 0138 488 8830 whatsonlive.co.uk 11

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INTERVIEW

leona lewis London-born Leona Lewis rose to fame back in 2006 when she won the third series of The X Factor. Best known for her 2008 award-winning single, Bleeding Love - which hit number one in over thirty countries - she’s back on the road after a three-year break from touring, to promote the release of fifth album I Am. With Leona next month bringing her new show to Birmingham’s Symphony Hall, Lauren Foster chatted to her about the new album, her departure from Simon Cowell’s Syco Records and her I Am Empowered campaign…

What was the inspiration behind new album I Am? I started writing I Am independently, so really out of a record deal. I wanted to write an album that was very empowering and uplifting - and a lot of its tone has that feel to it. There are songs on there like Thunder And Fire Under My Feet, which is about getting up and doing something; about really giving you that energy to get out there and overcome any obstacles that may be in your way. It’s very uplifting.

What makes it different to your previous four albums?

Well, I feel like this album, although it’s me and I’m all about really heartfelt songs, is coming from a bit of a stronger place than before. Maybe my other albums were from a more vulnerable place.

After seven years on Simon Cowell’s label, Syco Records, you signed to Island Records to release and promote your new album. Why the move?

I decided that I needed a change.

I find sometimes that when you’re in a situation for a long time, you can get a bit comfortable. I really felt like it was time to change and do something a bit different.

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I didn’t automatically leave the label and jump into a new deal. I actually had time where I was out of a label and just me, on my own and making the album, which definitely had its ups and downs.

After I started recording the album, that was when I decided to find a label to promote it.

You won The X Factor back in 2006. Does it feel like almost a decade since you shot to stardom?

No, it’s flown by so quickly. Every time I say that to someone, they’re like, ‘No, it hasn’t been that long, it’s been maybe four or five years’. It really has flown by for me.

More often than not, winners of talent shows disappear off the radar. You’re one of the very few who’re still in the limelight. That must be a great feeling...

Yeah, it’s great that people are still buying my music and feeling the things that I’m saying. Obviously, everything has its high and low moments. I’ve always stayed true to what I love to do, to myself, and to my hardcore fans, who’ve really supported me. It’s been amazing for me. I feel very lucky.

You recently sang in Italy with Andrea Bocelli. How did that come about?

I studied opera from a young age, so for me to be asked by Andrea was just a dream come true.

When I first got asked, I was like, ‘No, I can’t do it’ because I was too scared. But then I got a bit more confident, and I’m now so happy that I did it. It’s literally a memory I will never forget.

Do you still get nervous before going on stage?

Yeah, I still do - and I allow myself to have that little bit of nervousness. If it gets too much, I have to have a talk with myself and calm myself down. Usually I’m quite good, though, and have just enough nervousness to give me that adrenaline rush.

What’s the most memorable performance of your career?

There are quite a few. I got to play the Beijing Olympics closing ceremony, which was really cool. I did a really lovely gig in St Tropez, looking out on to the water - I’ve been lucky to play a few gigs looking out over beautiful scenery, which is fantastic. I played with Stevie Wonder too, and with Andrea. So yeah, I’ve had a few really memorable experiences.

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Interview by Lauren Foster

If you could collaborate with anyone in the industry, who would it be and why?

Right now, I’d probably say Sia, because I’m inspired by her. Bruno Mars too; I’ve always loved him. I just heard a song by Beyonce and Coldplay. I’ve always liked the idea of doing something with Coldplay.

I’ve always love that band.

You’ve got a house over in LA. How does life over there compare to life in London?

It’s very different. I’m based in both places. I’ve got a place in LA because I do a lot of songwriting and recording there. It’s just such a different feel. In LA, you get a lot of space.

I’ve got horses, so there’s a lot of land for them. London is a little bit

more hustle and bustle; everyone’s very close and there’s more of a community feeling. The style and the vibe of London is very cool.

‘‘

I really felt like it was time to change and do something a bit different

‘‘

Who are your musical influences?

Singer-songwriter Eva Cassidy she’s one of my favourites - and Alicia Adams. Vocalists I love are Whitney Houston and Sia. I really like her voice; she’s amazing right now.

Tell us about your I Am Empowered campaign...

I Am Empowered started out being an empowerment month.

Every day, I’d share something on my social media that was either a speech by someone that was empowering, some words or a quote that I loved, some pictures or a story. Fans started writing to me sharing their stories, and I would share them as well. I started the campaign to get people involved in sharing stories about the different obstacles that people have to overcome.

There was a girl who sent me a story about how members of her family had been killed by someone that was close to them. She’d turned her life around - she’d been in a very dark place - and trained to become a nurse so that she could help and save people.

She’d managed to turn some-

thing devastating into something that was actually positive in her life. I started getting lots of stories like that one sent to me, and I wanted to share them by putting them on my social media. It was really about having a bit of a social shift - especially now, with so much negative and crazy news happening. I just felt it was important to share something on the flip side that was uplifting.

You start your UK tour in February. Is there anything else in the pipeline for 2016?

I want to get back in the studio again after the tour. The tour was initially going to be a bit longer, but I made it this length so that I had time to get back in the studio and start writing again. I want to spend time with the family and chill out too, so I’m looking forward to that.

Leona Lewis plays Symphony Hall, Birmingham on Sunday 28 February www.whatsonlive.co.uk whatsonlive.co.uk 13 9

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Doing the time warp with

Diana Vickers

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INTERVIEW

Diana Vickers became a household name back in 2008 when she appeared in hit ITV1 talent show The X Factor. After making the semi-finals, Vickers released a number one debut single and album before taking to the West End stage in The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice. Since then, she’s been expanding her career in acting, both on stage and on screen. Now she’s heading to the Midlands to play the role of Janet in Richard O’Brien’s ever-popular rock’n’roll musical, The Rocky Horror Show. Here, she tells Midlands Zone all about it...

Is singing and acting something you’ve wanted to do since you were very young, Diana?

Oh yeah, it's been something I've wanted to do for as long as I can remember. I went to ballet, tap and singing lessons, as well as acting school at the weekends. So yeah, it's something I've always wanted to do.

Obviously you're best known from The X Factor. At the time, you were only 17.

Reflecting on that experience eight years later, would you have done anything differently?

No, I don't think I'd have done anything differently when it comes to what happened on the show. I perhaps wish I'd done it when I was a little bit older, maybe. It's such a big thing to do; it's quite stressful. I don't have any regrets at all. It was a great experience and was very much ‘of the moment’. I'm very happy with what's happened since then, so I can't really moan about the whole experience.

Did you ever expect to grab the top spot in the charts with your debut single, Once, and your debut album, Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree?

No, I was so overwhelmed! When I got the number one single, it was wonderful - but when the album went to number one as well, that was so overwhelming. It was such a big body of work, and I'd poured so much time, blood, sweat and tears into it. It was totally unexpected and something that I'll always be very grateful for.

You moved into musical theatre in 2009, taking the title role in the West End production of The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice. What made you decide to take up a new career in theatre so soon after your time on The X Factor?

I did theatre when I was younger and I loved it.

It was something that I wanted to do eventually anyway. Nica Burns, the producer of Little Voice, and Jim Cartwright, the author, approached me. I was actually in the middle of writing my album and was keen to get on with recording it. But Little Voice was such a great opportunity that I decided my album could wait for a while. Taking the part is one of the best things I ever did. It opened so many doors and taught me so much. It trained me so well in terms of my acting and my voice. It was a real Godsend for me, getting that part.

You then moved into acting roles in film and TV. Is this something you'd like to do more of in the future?

Yeah, definitely. I love it. I especially love doing comedy. I did Give Out Girls and, more recently, Top Coppers. I've also done a couple of pilots for other comedies. I just love it. Doing TV is really time-consuming but such great fun.

When it all comes together and you see the final edit, it's really quite magical. I'd certainly love to do more screen work. It's the plan to do more after I finish my current projects.

Who inspires your work?

Acting-wise, Meryl Streep is a genius! I think she inspires a lot of people. Music-wise, I don't really know. I grew up listening to all sorts of artists, from Celine Dion to The Beatles. There were a lot of people who inspired me.

“She's very virginal, she's a young woman who's very sweet and innocent. Then halfway through she becomes this sexy vixen” You're heading to the Midlands to star in the legendary Rocky Horror Show. Are you excited?

Yeah! I really can't wait! I'm really nervous and excited about the audiences because I've never played such a big part before. And, of course, Rocky Horror has such a huge, cult following. When we're in rehearsals, everyone's thinking about the audience and what they want. I'm excited to see their reactions, but I'm equally worried about shout-outs or heckles!

But yes, I certainly can't wait to visit the Midlands and get on stage!

You're playing the role of Janet alongside a great cast. What excites you most about your character?

I love how, at the beginning, she's very virginal; she's a young woman who's very sweet and innocent. Then, halfway through, this sexy vixen is released in her. I love singing Touch Me and I love doing the bedroom scenes they're such fun! It's a real buzz when I do that - and to see the transformation she goes through is really exciting.

The Rocky Horror Show was first produced in 1973 and has since become a global phenomenon. Do you feel any pressure to live up to past performers in the same role?

Yeah, I do. Like I said, the fans are so involved and absolutely love the show. I really want

them to like me and think that I'm doing a good job. It's such an important part of the show that they like my portrayal of the character. I'm just trying to put my own stamp on things. I auditioned for the part and worked really hard, so I'm just going to go in there and do my best and do it my way. I hope the audiences will enjoy Janet as much as I enjoy playing her.

Were you a Rocky Horror fan before you agreed to take part in the show?

Yeah, I knew the film, as I'd seen it when I was younger. I've got a lot of friends who go and see the show when it tours; they're huge superfans. I loved the film and was very aware of it, but now I've got the fever! It's safe to say that I'm now a big Rocky Horror fan!

How would you describe Rocky Horror?

It's such a fun show! It's a rollercoaster of a show. It's filled with great songs and amazing dancing. It's raunchy, it's sexy, it has sass and it's really funny. All of that and yet quite emotional at the same time. It's very characterdriven too. If you want a good night out, where you can get up and dance at the theatre, it's definitely the show to see!

What's it like working with the rest of the cast? Is there a chemistry?

Yeah, we all get along like a house on fire! It's such a great company; they're all really lovely.

Everybody works really hard and there's no bad energy. I'm excited to get on the road with them all. Liam Tamne, who's playing Frank N Furter, is absolutely fantastic. Every time I watch him, I'm in complete awe of him! The whole company hold it all together and help each other out. I couldn't hope for a better team, to be honest!

What would be your ideal role in theatre?

There are so many great characters out there.

I'd love to play Roxie Hart in Chicago. That would be a bit of a dream!

Would you like to produce more music in the future?

Yeah, never say never! I love writing and I love singing, but right now, I'm concentrating on my acting. In the past, I've spent so much time in the studio on my music that I'm taking some time out to do something different.

Diana Vickers stars in The Rocky Horror Show at Birmingham’s New Alexandra Theatre from Monday 25 until Saturday 30 January, Nottingham’s Theatre Royal from Monday 25 until Saturday 30 April and at Stoke’s Regent Theatre from Monday 23 until Saturday 28 May.

Music - Region 2.qxp_Layout 1 18/12/2015 20:51 Page 1

Gigs The Libertines Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, Wed 27 January

To say rock four-piece The Libertines have had a bumpy ride would be an understatement.

The band rose to fame in 2002 following the release of debut album Up The Bracket. The same year saw them win Best New Band at the NME Awards and bag support slots with Morrissey and the Sex Pistols.

The positive vibe was painfully short-lived, however. Within twelve months, Pete Doherty’s drug use had precipitated some major tensions, and relationships within the group took a decided turn for the worse.

Doherty even burgled band mate Carl Bârat’s flat, for which he was sentenced to six months in prison.

In 2004, the band released second album The Libertines - which topped the UK album chart - but Barât’s refusal to continue alongside former best buddy Doherty brought the curtain down on the controversial four-piece.

Miraculously, the boys have since managed

Daughter O2 Institute, Birmingham, Wed 20 January

to put all that bad feeling to one side - 2010 saw a reunion show at the Reading and Leeds Festivals, and their live performances and stage chemistry successfully recall the glory days of the past.

Expect to hear favourites such as What A Waster, Can’t Stand Me Now and Don’t Look Back Into The Sun, as well as songs from new album Anthems For Doomed Youth.

Nahko And Medicine For The People The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton, Sat 23 January

Although commonly labelled a folk band, Daughter only just manage to fit the mould.

Playing the kind of music that’s both touching and heart-wrenchingly poetic, the three-piece regularly sell out shows and have been playlisted by Radio One, 6 Music and XFM. Spearhead Elena Tonra’s lyrics are impressively deep, covering thoughtprovoking subjects such as doubt and loneliness. By contrast, her fractured vocals are as light as a wisp of smoke.

Their second album - Not To Disappear - is released on the fifteenth of this month.

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This five-member American world music collective deliver a fusion of cultural musical influences.

“The oral tradition of storytelling is so important for our generation to bring with us,” says Nahko. “Part of what we try to convey is accountability and empowerment. These songs direct us to look at ourselves, whether it’s about a social issue, environmental or a personal issue. They embrace Bob Marley’s idea of world-bridging, bringing people together to resolve differences. For us, music is a tool to create healing and activate people to change things... I think our music promotes the bridging of all tribes.”

Patty Griffin The Glee Club, Birmingham, Sun 24 January

Patty Griffin is a Grammy Award-winning artist who’s achieved great acclaim both for her songwriting and her powerful voice.

Her albums Living With Ghosts (1996) and Flaming Red (1998) are considered seminal works in the singer-songwriter genre, while her songs have been covered by artists including Emmylou Harris and The Dixie Chicks.

New album As Servant Of Love travels through different musical terrains, bringing together folk and blues, rock and jazz and ancient and modern sounds - providing Patty with the perfect opportunity to show that her 1990s magic remains very much intact.

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Gig previews from around the region

Minus The Bear The Sugarmill, Stoke-on-Trent, Fri 22 January; O2 Academy, Birmingham, Fri 29 January

Founded in 2001, indie rock four-piece Minus The Bear feature both current and former members of Botch, Kill Sadie and Sharks Keep Moving.

They’ve released an impressive five albums and four EPs. Last year marked the tenth anniversary of the band’s second album - Meno El Oso - a record which marked them out as fearless experimentalists.

These Midlands gigs are part of a string of anniversary dates.

Support comes from Aero Flynn.

Massive Attack O2 Academy, Birmingham, Sat 30 January

Alongside Portishead and Tricky, Massive Attack are one of the most respected acts from the famed 'trip hop' scene.

Comprising Robert Del Naja and Grant Marshall - alongside an array of guest vocalists and musical collaborators - the band reg-

istered a huge success with debut album Blue Lines, scoring a further hit with second album Protection.

Their third release, Mezzanine, sold over four million copies, making it their biggest-selling release to date.

The pair appear in Birmingham this month as part of their first tour in five years.

Blair Dunlop Stafford Gatehouse, Mon 11 January

Twenty-three-year-old Blair has showcased his skills as a singer, guitarist and songwriter with debut album Blight And Blossom and its follow up, House Of Jacks.

Presenting a sound that’s tinged with an American country and bluegrass feel, Blair is part of a famous musical dynasty; his father is Ashley Hutchings, the famed co-founder of Fairport Convention.

Ashley joined his son on Blight And Blossom, which was hailed as one of the most well-crafted folk albums of 2013.

Pentangle The Robin, Bilston, Thurs 28 January

Pentangle are a British folk-jazz band boasting an eclectic mix of folk, jazz, blues and folk-rock influences.

They formed in 1967 and, along with Fairport Convention, were one of the shining lights in the modernisation of British folk music in the 1960s.

They appear in the Midlands to perform a show that features material from across five decades.

Twenty-one-year-old singer and guitarist Sunjay supports.

Benji Kirkpatrick & Janie Mitchell Henry Tudor House, Shrewsbury, Sun 31 January

Son of folk legend John Kirkpatrick, Benji has certainly had a busy career so far. Whether it’s touring the country and writing albums with eleven-piece (and soon to be disbanded) Bellowhead, playing shows with folk band Faustus or releasing solo material, he’s always caught up in a musical adventure.

This new collaboration with Shropshire-born Janie Mitchell showcases songs of love, loss and longing, expertly accompanied by uplifting harmonies and humour that promise to ‘lift your spirits and carry you out of the ordinary into the sublime’.

For the complete gig guide VISIT: www.whatsonlive.co.uk 15

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Classical Music Nigel Kennedy

Nicola Benedetti: Syzmanowski

Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Sun 31 January

Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Wed 27 January

Perhaps in an attempt to distract himself from the feelings of mordant anguish that are part and parcel of supporting Aston Villa, maverick violinist Nigel Kennedy has headed out on tour with an acoustic version of his groundbreaking Four Seasons.

The first half of the concert sees Nigel performing his own English Collection compositions. The pieces have been widely acclaimed for their ‘melodic charm, elegance, beauty and great virtuosity’.

Mesmerising audiences and critics alike with her musicality and poise, Scottish-born violinist Nicola Benedetti is one of classical music’s most sought-after performers.

Her road to fame began when she won Young Musician of the Year in 2004. Awarded an MBE in the 2013 New Year’s Honours list, Benedetti went on to make chart history by becoming the first Scottish classical artist to break into the UK top twenty. She also played a patriotic role at the opening ceremony of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

This Midlands concert sees her beginning the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra’s mini-cycle of Szymanowski violin concertos with the ‘ravishing, fantastical’ Second.

Lahav Shani conducts.

The Halle Orchestra Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, Fri 8 January

Dvorak At Twilight: In Memory Of Peter Cropper Maidment Hall, Shrewsbury School, Sun 17 January

Leader of the Lindsay Quartet for almost four decades, violinist Peter Cropper died suddenly in late May last year at the age of sixty-nine. This special concert pays tribute to a musician who was repeatedly hailed for his creativity and fearlessness, and often lauded for an undoubted streak of genius. The concert’s programme was dreamt up by Peter himself, his intention being to perform it for the Trust this season. It comprises Dvorak’s Cypresses’ for String Quartet, String Quintet Op97 and String Sextet Op48.

CBSO Scheherazade Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Thurs 14 & Sat 16 January

Since its first concert in 1858, the Manchester-based Halle has been a real force to be reckoned with. The orchestra is renowned for its affinity with English music particularly the works of Elgar and Delius and is currently under the charge of acclaimed conductor Sir Mark Elder CBE. This Potteries concert sees the Halle celebrating the music of Johann and Richard Strauss.

Jamie Phillips conducts, with Malin Christensson contributing as soloist.

16 whatsonlive.co.uk

Andrew Gourlay is the man with the baton as the CBSO open Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s ‘book’ of musical stories. Scheherazade was an Arabic queen and the storyteller of The Arabian Nights. The legendary Russian composer’s 1888 symphonic poem brilliantly retells her story.

Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, 16 and Rachmaninov’s jazzy Piano Concerto No 4 also feature on the programme.

Moricosta String Trio New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Wed 27 January

A Since meeting at the BBC Philharmonic, internationally acclaimed musicians Lucy Baker-Stockdale (violin), Steven Burnard (viola) and Jessica Burroughs (cello) have made a real name for themselves as the Moricosta String Trio, presenting their inaugural concert three years ago this very month.

They here perform a programme that features Kurtag Signs’ Games And Messages, Dohnanyi’s Serenade and Mozart’s Divertimento.

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Festivals - Region 1 MM.qxp_Layout 1 18/12/2015 21:37 Page 1

Festivals

Photo credit: Shrewsbury Folk Festival

When it comes to music regardless of your preference, be it jazz, indie, folk, classical, world or pop - you’re almost certain to find a festival in the Midlands to suit your

todotfestival.co.uk

APRIL CHELTENHAM JAZZ FESTIVAL Line up includes Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Frankfurt Radio Big Band and Giovanni Guidi Trio, Wed 27 Apr - Mon 2 May, various venues in Cheltenham. More informat ion and tickets at cheltenhamfestivals.com/jazz

taste. And 2016 looks set to be another bumper year for the

MAY

region’s festival goers...

Panic! At The Disco, Of Mice And Men and New Found Glory are confirmed to play Slamdunk in Birmingham, Rosanne Cash daughter of Johnny - makes her much-anticipated debut at Shrewsbury Folk. American jazz trumpeter, composer and producer Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah plays Cheltenham Jazz, and The Neville Staple Band and the Brand New Heavies form part of the line-up at Leicester’s Big Day Out. And with increasing numbers of people choosing to trade the traditional summer break for a weekend (or two, or three...) at a festival, it makes sense to plan ahead and save money by taking advantage of the many early-bird packages available.

We’ve taken a look at what’s currently on offer and will keep you informed as more programming is announced. Keep up to date by checking our festivals section online at

whatsonlive.co.uk FEBRUARY THE INTER VARSITY FOLK DANCE FESTIVAL The 65th IVFDF will see performances from Les Zéoles, Steamchicken, Peeping Tom and Folkus Pocus, Fri 26 - Sun 28 Feb, various venues in Coventry

MARCH NANTWICH JAZZ, BLUES & MUSIC FESTIVAL Celebrating its 20th year, the line up includes Big Country, FM, Bad Manners and Kyla Box, Thurs 24 Mon 28 Mar, various venues in Nantwich. More information and tickets available at nantwichjazz.com

18 whatsonlive.co.uk

SWINGAMAJIG Line up to be announced, Sun 1 May, venue to be announced, Birmingham. More information and tickets at swingamajig.co.uk HANDMADE Headliners announced so far include We Are Scientists and 65daysofstatic, Fri 29 Apr - Sun 1 May, O2 Academy, Leicester. More information at handmadefestival.co.uk UPTON UPON SEVERN FOLK FESTIVAL Line up to be announced, Fri 29 Apr - Mon 2 May, various venues, Upton upon Severn, Worcestershire. More information and tickets at uptonfolk.org LEAMINGTON MUSIC FESTIVAL Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Guarneri Piano Trio and the 40th anniversary of the Martinu String Quartet, Fri 29 Apr - Tues 3 May, Royal Pump Rooms. More information at leamingtonmusic.org ONE BIG DAY OUT Line up includes The Brand New Heavies, The Neville Staple Band, Stone Foundation and New Street Adventure, Sat 30 Apr, De Montfort Hall, Leicester. Information and tickets here demontforthall.co.uk FUDGESTOCK Line up includes Dead Sea Skulls, The Father Teds and Six Appeal, Sun 1 May, The Robin, Bilston. Tickets can be purchased at therobin.co.uk BEARDED THEORY Line up includes From the Jam, Wilko Johnson and Turin Brakes, Thurs 26 - Sun 29 May, Catton Hall, South Derbyshire. More information and tickets at beardedtheory.co.uk BREAKING BANDS Line up includes Reign of Fury, Evil Masquerade and Blaze Bayle, Fri 27 - Sun 29 May, Stoke Prior Sports & Country Club, Bromsgove. More information and tickets at breakingbandsfestival.com CHESTER FOLK FESTIVAL Line up includes Melrose Quartet, Blackbeard’s Tea Party and Nancy Kerr & James Fagan, Fri 27 - Mon 30 May, Kelsall Village.

More information and tickets at chesterfolk.org.uk SLAMDUNK FESTIVAL Celebrating its 10th anniversary, line up includes Panic! At the Disco, Of Mice & Men, New Found Glory and Four Years Strong, Sun 29 May, Genting Arena, Birmingham. Tickets can be purchased from slamdunkmusic.com DOT TO DOT FESTIVAL The UK’s premier festival for unearthing the hottest new talent around, alongside established acts from all over the globe. Line up to be announced, Sun 29 May, various venues, Nottingham. More information and tickets at dot-

BIRMINGHAM PRIDE Line up to be announced, Sat 28 - Sun 29 May, Birmingham Gay Village. Information and tickets at birminghampride.com

JUNE WIRRAL FOLK FESTIVAL Line up includes Ralph McTell, Eddi Reader and Oysterband Thurs 2 - Sun 5 Jun, The Whitby Club, Cheshire. More information and tickets at wirralfolkonthecoast.com WYCHWOOD FESTIVAL Line up includes Peter Hook & The Light, Kate Rusby and From The Jam, Fri 3 - Sun 5 Jun, Cheltenham Racecourse. More information and tickets at wychwoodfestival.com LUNAR FESTIVAL A family friendly festival set in the spiritual home of Nick Drake. Line up to be announced, Fri 3 - Sun 5 Jun, Tanworth in Arden, Warwickshire. More information and tickets at lunarfestival.co.uk THE ACOUSTIC FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN Line up includes The Blockheads, Nell Bryden and King King, Fri 3 Sun 5 Jun, Uttoxeter Racecourse. More information and tickets at acousticfestival.co.uk ASPARAFEST Line up to be announced, Sat 4 - Sun 5 Jun, Ashdown Farm, Evesham, Worcestershire. More information and tickets at asparafest.co.uk ENGLISH HAYDN FESTIVAL Line up to be announced, Thurs 8 - Sun 12 Jun, Bridgnorth. Information at englishhaydn.com GATE TO SOUTHWELL FOLK FESTIVAL Line up includes Hayseed Dixie, Show of Hands and Eddi Reader, Thurs 9 - Sun 12 Jun, Southwell, Nottingham. More information and tickets at southwellfolkfestival.org.uk DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL Headlining are Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Rammstein, Fri 10 - Sun 12 Jun, Donington Park, Derby. Information and tickets at downloadfestival.co.uk LET’S ROCK BIRMINGHAM Line up to be announced, Sat 11 Jun, Sandwell Valley Country Park, West Bromwich. More information and tickets at letsrockbirmingham.com/ LEAMINGTON PEACE FESTIVAL Line up to be announced, Sat 11 - Sun 12 Jun, Pump Rooms Gardens, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. More information at peacefestival.org.uk 110 ABOVE FESTIVAL Line up to be announced, Fri 17 - Sun 19 Jun, Gospall Hall Farm, Leicestershire. More information at tickets visit 110above.com/ ALCESTER FOLK FESTIVAL Line up to be announced, Fri 17 - Sun 19 Jun, Holly Bush, Alcester, Warwickshire. More information and tickets at alcesterfolkfestival.org.uk FOXTON LOCKS FESTIVAL Line up to be announced, Sat 18 - Sun 19 Jun, Foxton Locks, Leicestershire.

More information and tickets at

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Music festivals 2016 foxtonlocksfestival.co.uk UPTON-UPON-SEVERN JAZZ FESTIVAL Line up includes Stephanie Trick, The London Swing Orchestra and MellowTone, Thurs 23 - Sun 26 Jun, venues across Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire. More information and tickets at uptonjazz.co.uk LICHFIELD BLUES & JAZZ FESTIVAL Line up to be announced, Fri 24 - Sun 26 Jun, various venues, Lichfield, Staffordshire. More information and tickets at lichfieldarts.org.uk

THE FESTIVAL AT THE EDGE Line up to be announced, Fri 15 - Sun 17 Jul, Stokes Barn, Much Wenlock, Shropshire. More information at festivalattheedge.org L FEST Line up to be announced, Fri 15 - Mon 18 Jul, Uttoxeter Racecourse, Staffordshire. More information and tickets at lfest.co.uk BIRMINGHAM FEST Line up to be announced, Fri 15 Sun 31 Jul, various theatres across Birmingham. More information and tickets at birminghamfest.co.uk

LINTON FESTIVAL Line up to be announced, Fri 24 Sun 26 Jun, The Alma Inn, Linton, Herefordshire.

More information and tickets at lintonfestival.org

BUG JAM Line up to be announced, Fri 17 - Sun 19 Jul, Santa Pod Raceway, Northamptonshire. More information and tickets at bugjam.co.uk

KINETON MUSIC FESTIVAL Line up to be announced, Sat 25 Jun, Kineton Sports and Social Club, Little Kineton. More information and tickets at kinetonmusicfestival.co.uk

WARWICK FOLK FESTIVAL Line up includes Show of Hands, The Unthanks and Korrontzi, Thurs 21 - Sun 24 Jul, Warwick School, Warwick. More information and tickets at warwickfolkfestival.co.uk

JULY CAMPERJAM Line up to be announced, Fri 1 - Sun 3 Jul, Weston Park, Shropshire. Information and tickets at camperjam.com NATIONAL FOREST FOLK FESTIVAL Line up includes Lucy Ward, The Shee, Monster Ceilidh Band and Hannah James’ Jigdoll, Fri 1 - Sun 3 Jul, Moira Miners’ Welfare Hall, Leicestershire. Information and tickets at nationalforestfolk.com LICHFIELD FESTIVAL Celebrating its 35th year. Line up to be announced, Fri 1 - Sun 10 Jul, Lichfield Cathedral and Lichfield Garrick Theatre, Staffordshire. More information at lichfieldfestival.org LLANGOLLEN INTERNATIONAL MUSICAL EISTEDDFOD Line up to be announced, Tues 5 - Sun 10 Jul, Royal International Pavilion, Llangollen. More information and tickets at international-eisteddfod.co.uk NOISILY FESTIVAL Line up includes Patrice Baumel, Tristan and Koan Sound, Thurs 7 - Sun 10 Jul, Coney Woods at Noseley Hall, Leicestershire. More information and tickets at noisilyfestival.com NAPTON MUSIC FESTIVAL Line up to be announced, Fri 8 - Sat 9 Jul, Village Centre, Napton on the Hill, Warwickshire. More information at naptonfestival.co.uk LICHFIELD FUSE FESTIVAL A free family community arts event. Line up to be announced, Fri 8 - Sat 9 Jul, Beacon Park, Staffordshire. More information at lichfieldarts.org.uk MOSTLY JAZZ, FUNK AND SOUL FESTIVAL De La Soul announced as Friday’s headline act, Fri 8 - Sun 10 Jul, Moseley Park, Birmingham. More information and tickets at mostlyjazz.co.uk SHREWSBURY FIELDS FOREVER Line up to be announced, The Quarry, Shrewsbury, Fri 15 - Sun 17 Jul, Shrewsbury, Shropshire. More information at shrewsburyfieldsforever.com

NOZSTOCK Line up to be announced, Fri 22 - Sun 24 Jul, Rowden Paddocks, Bromyard, Herefordshire.

More information and tickets at nozstock.com SPLENDOUR Line up to be announced, Sat 23 Jul, Wollaton Park, Nottingham. More information and tickets at splendourfestival.com BAREFOOT FESTIVAL First acts confirmed are Brad Shaw, The Mojo Slide, The Fruitful Earth and Fern Teather, Fri 29 - Sun 31 Jul, Prestwold Hall, Leicestershire. More information and tickets at barefootfestival.com CARFEST NORTH Line up includes The Corrs, ABC, Billy Ocean and Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott, Fri 29 Sun 31 Jul, Bolesworth Castle, Cheshire. More infomation and tickets at www.carfest.org

AUGUST BULLDOG BASH Line up to be announced, Thurs 11 Sun 14 Aug, Long Marston Airfield, Stratford Upon Avon. More information and tickets at bulldogbash.co.uk BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR Twisted Sister, Mastodon and Slayer headline, Thurs 11 - Sun 14 Aug, Catton Hall, Derbyshire. More information and tickets at bloodstock.uk.com LAKEFEST Starsailor are the first headline act announced, Thurs 11 - Sun 14 Aug, Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire. More information and tickets at lakefest.co.uk/ FARMER PHIL’S FESTIVAL Line up to be announced, Fri 12 - Sun 14 Aug, near Gatten Farm, Shropshire.

More informaiton and tickets at farmerphilsfestival.com BETLEY CONCERTS Will Young and Simply Red have been announced to headline, Fri 12 - Sun 14 Aug, Betley Court Farm, Cheshire. More information and tickets at betleyconcerts.com THE JUST SO FESTIVAL Line up to be announced, Fri 19 - Sun 21 Aug, Rode Hall Parkland, Cheshire. More information and tickets at justsofestival.org.uk

PERSHORE JAZZ FESTIVAL Fri 19 - Sun 21 Aug, Pershore College, Worcestershire. More information and tickets at pershorejazz.org.uk V FESTIVAL Line up to be announced, Sat 20 - Sun 21 Aug, Weston Park, Shropshire. More information and tickets at vfestival.com FAKE FESTIVALS The UK’s only touring tribute bands festival. Line up to be announced, Sat 20 Aug, Selly Oak, Birmingham and Sat 27 Aug, The Quarry, Shrewsbury. More information and tickets at fakefestivals.co.uk SHAMBALA Line up to be announced, Thurs 25 - Sun 28 Aug, a secret location near Market Harborough, Northamptonshire. More information at shambalafestival.org PRESTEIGNE FESTIVAL Line up to be announced, Thurs 25 - Tues 30 Aug, Powys, Wales. More information and tickets at presteignefestival.com CREAMFIELDS Line up to be announced, Fri 26 - Sun 28 Aug, Cheshire. More information at creamfields.com BEERMAGEDDON Line up to be announced, Fri 26 Sun 28 Aug, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove. More information and tickets at beermageddon.co.uk GREENBELT FESTIVAL Line up to be announced, Fri 26 - Mon 29 Aug, Boughton House, Northamptonshire.

More information and tickets at greenbelt.org.uk SHREWSBURY FOLK FESTIVAL Line up includes Levellers, Rosanne Cash, Raghu Dixit and Show Of Hands, Fri 26 - Mon 29 Aug, Greenhous West Mid Showground, Shrewsbury. More information and tickets at shrewsburyfolkfestival.co.uk

SEPTEMBER MOSELEY FOLK FESTIVAL Line up to be announced, Fri 2 - Sun 4 Sep, Moseley Park, Birmingham. More information and tickets at moseleyfolk.co.uk ONBOARD THE CRAFT FESTIVAL Line up to be announced, Fri 9 - Sun 10 Sep, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove. More information and tickets at sonicrocksolstice.com BROMYARD FOLK FESTIVAL Line up to be announced, Fri 9 - Sun 11 Sep, Bromyard, Herefordshire. More information and tickets at bromyardfolkfestival.co.uk WORCESTER MUSIC FESTIVAL Line up to be announced, Fri 16 - Sun 18 Sep, venues across Worcester. More information and tickets at worcestermusicfestival.co.uk

OCTOBER LICHFIELD FESTIVAL OF FOLK Line up to be announced, Fri 14 - Sun 16 Oct, venues around Lichfield, Staffordshire. More information at lichfieldarts.org.uk

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Julian Lloyd Webber DPS .qxp_Layout 1 18/12/2015 19:38 Page 1

FEATURE

JULIAN LLOYD WEBBER

Reflects on access to the arts, community engagement and life in the second city...

Following the difficult decision to retire from public performance last year, celebrated cellist and conductor Julian Lloyd Webber began his tenure as Principal of the Birmingham Conservatoire in September. A long-term, passionate advocate for the improvement of music education, Lloyd Webber is a natural fit for the role, as part of which he will oversee a relocation to a brand new, £40million building.

“This building works well enough, but we'll be going somewhere so much better,” says Julian, sitting in a large office at the conservatoire's current home in the Adrian Boult Hall. “The new place is going to be state of the art, totally focused around music.

There won't be many rooms like this around - most of the admin will be next door. It's a very exciting time for me to join.”

Set for completion in 2017, the new conservatoire will be the UK's first in around thirty years.

Located on Jennens Road, between Millennium Point and Birmingham Ormiston Academy, it will include over seventy music practice rooms and five performance venues: a four hundred-seat concert hall, a one hundred-andfifty-seat recital hall and smaller rooms dedicated to jazz, organ music and experimental work.

Naturally, of course, the transition will bring difficulties, but the new principal wonders whether these might not prove a blessing 8 www.whatsonlive.co.uk 20 whatsonlive.co.uk

in disguise. “When we lose the Adrian Boult Hall at the end of June, it won't be easy, but we're taking it as an opportunity to go out and play concerts all over the city. We've got a new outreach manager here, Richard Shrewsbury, and we have lots of plans to get out and engage with the community, particularly with young children. I want the conservatoire to be right at the centre of what's going on in Birmingham, not something that's hidden away.”

As founder and chairman of music development charity Sistema England, Lloyd Webber has long been involved in outreach and community projects, providing him with experience which he hopes to use in his new role at the conservatoire. Dismayed by limited access to music tuition for children, he recently hit out against plans to spend £500million on a new London concert hall, calling it a “wrong priority”.

“It upsets me so much to see that the majority of children aren't getting access to classical music.

Music lessons and instruments are increasingly paid for by parents. In my view, children have a right to experience music, and they should get that in school. It's all very well having gleaming new concert halls - but to splash out £500million when most children aren't learning music at all, because of the cutbacks, seems wrong. Where are the audience going to come from? People don't just walk in to things - it's very

rare that they'll pay a lot of money for a ticket to something they don't know whether or not they'll enjoy.”

But it's not all about facilitating access to music for children and young people: Lloyd Webber hopes to make audiences of all ages more aware of the conservatoire's diverse, exciting and very affordably priced public events.

The programme for the new term includes concerts and masterclasses from acclaimed performers like pianist Peter Donohoe and baritone singer Roderick Williams, the continuation of the ongoing Completely Brahms season - with two concerts each in January and March - and an ambitious, five-day Schubert Festival in February which will see staff and students explore the composer's work via up to five concerts per day. It's not only classical music on offer, either: March's Frontiers Festival will celebrate experimental, boundarypushing work from contemporary composers, as well as showcasing original music by the conservatoire's composition students.

With most events priced at under £10, a glance across the programme should leave you feeling spoilt for choice.

“People need to realise how many public concerts there are going on here, many of them free. The value is unbelievable: if you were listening to an equivalent concert

Julian Lloyd Webber DPS .qxp_Layout 1 18/12/2015 19:38 Page 2

Feature by Heather Kincaid

Greater expense is just one of the many things Lloyd Webber doesn't miss about London, where he lived his whole life before his recent move to Birmingham.

“There's nothing you can get in London that you can't get in Birmingham. Symphony Hall and Town Hall are amazing concert venues, with things of a very high standard going on all year, and the CBSO is a world-class orchestra. I don't think people elsewhere realise how much is going on here: you could be out every night if you wanted to. Another thing I like about it here is that everything is within walking distance. That's so different to London.”

The ‘tight-knit’ nature of Birmingham's city centre allows connections to be fostered easily between related organisations, and Lloyd

Webber hopes to bring arts institutions together so that the city can begin to act “as a single entity”.

‘‘

There’s nothing you can get in London that you can’t get in Birmingham

‘‘

in London, you'd be paying about four times the price. We had a concert by a famous pianist called Robert Levin at the beginning of this term, and he was playing the same concert at the Wigmore Hall near Marylebone Station. I worked out that it was cheaper to get the train from Marylebone to Moor Street and listen to him here than it was to hear him play in London.”

Another of his aims is to equip students with practical skills to help them forge careers in the music industry - something he feels was lacking in his own education.

“There's often a very regimented approach to learning instruments, where you shut yourself away for six hours a day and practise playing the same music everybody else plays. We've got to think outside the box more.

There are many different things you can do in music besides being a concert musician, and I want the students to find different ways to use their individual talents. Some of the most successful people I've met in music didn't think they would end up where they are now when they went to college, like being a record producer, for example.

We've got great people coming in from all sides of the industry to talk to the students.”

Nevertheless, Lloyd Webber himself remains best known as a concert musician, and adjusting to a new life without his cello has

taken time. In 2014, he announced he was retiring from public performance due to a herniated neck disc which was affecting his ability to play.

“I will always miss performing. If you're lucky enough to be a solo player and have that contact with an audience, it's an incredible thing. It's unfortunate that the injury was so specific in causing a loss of power in my bowing arm I might not have even noticed anything was wrong if I wasn't a cellist. But it's a really full-on job here, so I don't have much time to think about it at the moment, which is good. I’ve always been passionate about education, and I have a huge amount of knowledge about working in music to share, so I'm doing something which I think is very valuable now. I wouldn't be here if it hadn't happened, so there are positives.”

To find out more about programming at Birmingham Conservatoire visit, bcu.ac.uk/conservatoire www.whatsonlive.co.uk whatsonlive.co.uk 219

Anna Maxwell single page MM.qxp_Layout 1 18/12/2015 19:17 Page 1

Anna Maxwell Martin

FEATURE

BAFTA winner talks about her interpretation of the iconic character of Lady Macbeth.

Feature by Heather Kincaid

Shakespearean verse meets carefully choreographed physical performance in a visceral new production of Macbeth from theatre/dance directing duo Carrie Cracknell and Lucy Guerin, arriving at the Birmingham REP this month following its initial run at the Young Vic. John Heffernan stars as the ill-fated protagonist, alongside two-time BAFTA winner Anna Maxwell Martin. What's On spoke to Maxwell Martin to talk about her interpretation of the iconic character of Lady Macbeth.

“The production is set in a modern world, with a set that looks a bit like a bunker,” says Maxwell Martin, “but I think the most important thing about it is the way it combines the text of the play with dance and movement - a kind of physical manifestation of what's happening in the story.”

The acting cast is supported by a small team of dancers offering a disturbing portrayal of the three witches, whose enigmatic prophecy inspires Macbeth to kill the King and take his crown.

“The play makes it hard to know whether the witches are a symptom of Macbeth's failing mind, or a supernatural force compelling him to act the way he does,” continues Anna. “They feature a lot in our production - however you read them, they're a constant presence in his mind, and they're represented in quite a scary, heightened way in these fleshy-coloured outfits. If you take them as something hallucinatory, then that's something that will fit in to any time or place: certainly mental health is as much a part of our world as it was a part of Shakespeare's.”

Physical training has not been exclusive to the professional dancers, with everyone coming together to practise as “one big group”. Of course, getting to grips with the choreography has been a challenge for the actors, but it's one that, for the most part, they've embraced.

“It's really new to me, and it was a bit scary at first, but I've loved it - I think the whole 22 whatsonlive.co.uk

company has. Funnily enough, although I’ve been taking part in the dancing for weeks, I don't actually have to do any in the final production - it was probably all cut out because I was so bad!”

Fortunately, there's been one less thing to worry about than in some Macbeth productions: the superstitious tradition of avoiding the play's name around the theatre has been happily avoided.

“I'd forgotten all about that!” Anna exclaims. “None of us have been worrying about the superstitions, which is probably for the best!” Cracknell and Guerin's only previous collaboration was on the National Theatre's recent production of Medea, which met with huge critical acclaim. By transporting Euripides' tragic tale to a contemporary domestic setting, the duo created a claustrophobically intimate horror exploring the desperation that might drive a loving mother (played by a chillingly believable Helen McCrory) to kill her own children.

There are obvious parallels with Macbeth, which also features at its heart a frustrated woman, driven to murderous extremes.

“There's always a difficulty in making those murderous figures believable in a domestic setting, and that’s something I struggled with. I try not to play her as a monstrous figure. There are a lot of different interpretations about what Lady Macbeth is driven by, so I've tried to find the humanity in her.”

Unlike Medea, driven to butcher her own offspring, this version of Lady Macbeth presents us with a woman who may have been left traumatised by a loss beyond her control.

“There's a long-running debate about references to a dead child in the play. Some productions have embraced that, but others feel that there isn't enough textual evidence to support that being a significant driving force. I think there probably is. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth talk about a child,

and she talks about breast milk, which gives the impression that she understands the feeling of being a mother. That's something I’ve used, though not too heavily. There's a sort of hint towards the end, when she's sleepwalking, that perhaps there was a child at some point in their lives.”

Maxwell Martin initially rose to prominence for her performance as Philip Pullman's much-loved heroine Lyra in a six-hour stage adaptation of His Dark Materials. Yet despite this early evidence of her commanding stage presence and tremendous on-stage stamina, she says she feels more comfortable in front of a camera than treading the boards.

“I do find it difficult and I'm not sure theatre is my natural home, but I still always have a good time. I love being part of a company of actors, and I love exploring a play for four or six weeks or however long the rehearsal time is. But it's the parts that draw me back really. Whenever something by Chekhov or Shakespeare comes along, there’s an urge to take it. It's endlessly fascinating doing Shakespeare because if you analyse the text, it reveals lots of little jewels to you, sometimes even as you're speaking it during the run of a play. I never get bored doing Shakespeare.”

On screen, Maxwell Martin's two BAFTAs were received for her roles as Esther Summerton in the BBC's 2005 dramatisation of Bleak House, and as ‘N’ in Channel Four's Poppy Shakespeare. Fast building a reputation for her period performances, she’s also appeared in South Riding, The Night Watch, The Bletchley Circle and Death Comes To Pemberley. More recently, you might have seen her playing Mary Shelley in ITV's The Frankenstein Chronicles or Ethel Rogers in the Boxing Day broadcast of And Then There Were None.

Anna Maxwell Martin stars in Hamlet at The REP, Birmingham from Tues 26 to Sat 30 January

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Comedy Jan - Region 1.qxp_Layout 1 18/12/2015 19:10 Page 1

Comedy

Little Fockers star live in Birmingham Kevin Hart Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, Fri 15 January

Philadelphia-born actor and comedian Kevin Hart is a big star on the far side of the pond, appearing in movies including Little Fockers, The 40 Year Old Virgin and Scary Movie 4.

An example of his line in humour is: “Ever argue with a female and, in the middle of the argument, you no longer feel safe because of her actions? She may start pacing back and forth, breathing out her nose. You know what my girl do? When she get mad, she start talking in the third person. That’s scary as hell because that’s her way of telling me that, from this point on, she is not responsible for none of her actions.”

Six of the best...

Stephen K Amos

Isy Suttie

Mike Gunn

Huntingdon Hall, Worcester, Fri 15 January; The Old Rep Theatre, Birmingham, Sat 16 January

The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton, Tues 26 January; Royal Spa Centre, Leamington Spa, Wed 27 January

Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, Sun 31 January

"I used to do a joke where I said I'd have to wait for Lenny Henry to die before I could get on television," says Stephen K Amos, referring to his belief that big breaks for black comedians are few and far between.

Whatever the truth, there's little question that Stephen's very much basking in the televisual limelight these days.

His success is no surprise, mind, given the quality of his material and his effortless ability to strike all the right chords with his everappreciative audience.

Recognise the face but not the name? If so, chances are you're a fan of cult TV comedy series Peep Show, in which Isy played the character of Dobbie.

A writer and musician as well as an actor and comedian, Isy's touring in support of her first book, The Actual One. She describes it as ‘a memoir about the moment in your late twenties when you suddenly realise that all your mates are growing up without you”.

Her gags include: “My mate's a really bad actor. He got mugged and then had to audition to play himself in the Crimewatch reconstruction. He got Passerby Number Two.”

24 whatsonlive.co.uk

Although a self-confessed pessimist who, on his own admission, “is not a natural choice for a career making people laugh”, Mike Gunn is nonetheless very good at generating moments of mirth for his fast-growing and everappreciative audience.

Mike’s road to the stand-up microphone has been a thorny one, taking in all manner of truly grim jobs and an addiction to heroin.

He’s been clean for a good few years now, which is more than can be said for some of his jokes, one of which is: “My wife wants to be buried in her wedding dress. In which case she’d better hope she dies of some kind of wasting disease.”

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Stewart Lee Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Sunday 31 January

When you've been voted the forty-first Best Ever Stand-up Comedian, you know you've arrived well, kind of!

Stewart Lee shot to fame courtesy of his partnership with Richard Herring. He’s continued to press all the right buttons as a solo entity too, scoring a hit with Jerry Springer The Opera.

His style of comedy won't make for the most comfortable of rides, but he's thought-provoking, funny and memorable, so suffering the odd moment that makes you awkward is a small price to pay for an otherwise great night out.

Rob Rouse

Joel Dommett

Ellie Taylor

The Glee Club, Birmingham, Thurs 28 - Sat 30 January

The Glee Club, Birmingham, Fri 8 - Saturday 9 January; Lichfield Garrick, Fri 22 January

Bramall Music Building, Birmingham, Thurs 14 January

Boasting a plethora of TV credits, including Channel Four's 8 Out Of 10 Cats, ITV's Celebrity Juice and Dave's One Night Stand, Rob Rouse peddles a hyperactive brand of humour that’s much in demand.

“I’m hugely lucky not to have a real job,” says Rob, who’s recently launched his very own podcast. “Something that essentially used to get me told off at school now earns me a living. Genuinely, that’s how it feels - to a certain degree anyway. There’s stuff that I wasn’t meant to say at school, or things that I wasn’t meant to say at work, that I can now say on stage. I can arse about, I can say exactly what I want, regardless of how offensive people may or may not think it is. As long as I’m accountable for what I say, then I can do it. Without being churlish about it, it feels like a very healthy way for me to live my life.”

“I absolutely love performing in small, intimate spaces,” says Joel Dommett, once the face of MTV until he was sacked at the age of twentyseven for being ‘too old’. “I’d far rather do a small gig in front of fifty people, but be doing new stuff, than do old stuff in front of five thousand people.”

Joel’s extremely committed to the business of keeping his act fresh. “I’m working on material pretty much all the time,” explains the one-time warm-up act for Justin Bieber whose television work includes Skins, Live In Chelsea and Impractical Jokers UK. “In fact, I try to put in something new every time I go on stage. If there’s something new in there, it brightens up the whole set and gives it more energy and excitement.”

Ellie Taylor kickstarted her comedy career in her late twenties, performing in stand-up reality TV series Show Me The Funny.

“I got some other television work out of that and a few bookings,” recalls Ellie, “but people’s expectations outweighed what I was able to provide. I wasn’t really good enough at that stage.”

Now in her early thirties, Ellie’s comedy has come a long way in a short time.

“It was tricky back then,” she admits, “getting offers that I wasn’t ready for, but I really do feel like I’m there now.”

For more comedy listings visit whatsonlive.co.uk 25

Steve Punt DPS.qxp_Layout 1 18/12/2015 19:39 Page 1

FEATURE

steve punt

talks about joining the cast of Rocky Horror

With the latest tour of The Rocky Horror Show set to land in Birmingham's New Alexandra Theatre this month, comedian Steve Punt joins the cast of the surreal sci-fi classic in the role of the Narrator.

A well-established presence on the UK comedy circuit, Punt is best known for his work as one half of long-running double-act Punt and Dennis. Independently, he also writes for, among other shows, CBBC's Horrible Histories.

But despite a successful showbiz career with ample experience in musical comedy, The Rocky Horror Show tour marks Steve's first appearance in a live stage musical.

What's On caught up with him to find out more.

You'll be opening the new Rocky Horror Show tour in Brighton, Steve, which is something of a natural home for the show. Are you feeling the pressure of audience expectation?

Lots of the actors have done it before, so you've got around you a kind of cushion of people who know the show backwards, and there'll be a weekend of previews to help those of us who’re new to it. But to be honest, having the chance to rehearse something properly for three weeks is a relative luxury for me! Comedians don't really rehearse much anyway, and a lot of what I do is topical, so it's only written a few days before. Also, with radio, you have a script in front of you, so you don't have to learn anything. I'm really enjoying the process of working it all through properly with the cast and getting everything fixed in my head.

Were you much of a Rocky Horror fan before you were offered the part?

I'd seen it a few times so I knew it fairly well.

Some of the songs I've known since I was a teenager, and some bits stick in my memory more than others, so it's really interesting to see how it all fits together. It's such a wellworked show - it's been on for forty years, so every single second of it has been meticulously worked out.

What do you think it is about the show that's made it such an enduring success?

I think there's a whole mix of stuff that makes it slightly addictive. It's just so weird and so different from everything else that if you've ever seen it at all, you're not likely to 8 www.whatsonlive.co.uk 26 whatsonlive.co.uk

Steve Punt DPS.qxp_Layout 1 18/12/2015 19:39 Page 2

Feature by Heather Kincaid

‘‘ forget it. There are lots of moments in the show that are very memorable visually and musically. I guess that's why it's become a show where the audience joins in a lot. Music I think is almost uniquely powerful in the way it wraps up memories for people, and it's probably been around long enough now that people who saw the original production will be bringing their families along. It's almost like the more familiar it becomes, the more people want to stay with it.

Now, with so many jukebox musicals around, it probably stands out in a slightly different way to how it originally did. In a sense this is quite an old-fashioned, proper stage musical, with songs that tell a story and belong at their own point in the action. It also has a bit more depth to it than you might expect. It's gained this reputation for just being a romp with lots of audience participation, but the last twenty minutes make you feel like you're seeing a proper piece of theatre.

As a comedian, I'm sure you've dealt with hecklers, but The Rocky Horror Show takes audience participation to a new level. Is that something you're looking forward to?

We were talking about this in rehearsal the other day. You can't really think of it as heckling, which is often malicious and designed to trip you up. In this case, it's more that the audience are part of the show - the obvious comparison is with pantomime. It is slightly daunting because even when you know something, if you get interrupted halfway through, it can throw you, so there is a feeling of trepidation among those joining for the first time. But it comes with the territory, and not only have I been fully warned about it, I've actually been given a script with all the usual heckles in it so I can get used to the timing and where you need to leave pauses.

The Narrator role is being shared between you and two other people (Charlie Condou and Philip Franks) on this tour - has there been any sense of competition between you?

We haven't seen each other rehearsing, and I get the feeling we're all trying to come at it from different angles. There are many ways you can play it, and I think that's precisely why they bring different people in. I suppose it's like any part that people already know when you do Shakespeare, you can't think

I’m sure anyone who's ever had anything to do with the show before would secretly like to try out the full Frank-NFurter get up - particularly the cloak.

”

too much about everyone who's played the part before. It has to be between you and the text.

What's your costume like? Do you get a fancy smoking jacket?

I've got a marvellous smoking jacket that's actually being made from scratch! I'm not generally the sort of person who gets jackets made, so on the rare occasions when it happens it's quite exciting. You can feel the bespoke way that it fits, and in a largely ready-made world there's a very old-school thrill to being fitted.

Have you ever been tempted to try out the full Frank-N-Furter get up?

I'm sure anyone who's ever had anything to do with the show before would secretly like to try out the full Frank-N-Furter get up - particularly the cloak. It's amazing! It's very much of its time, from that mid-’70s era when pop acts like David Bowie and Peter Gabriel had all their elaborate stage costumes. The costumes do make this show feel like it's in its own world, which is a powerful thing in any production, but there's also a kind of period charm to it now.

You do a lot of behind-the-scenes writing and editing as well as performing. Do you have a preference for either?

There's an element of the grass always being greener, where part of you always wants to be doing whatever you're not doing at that moment. When I'm writing something, I always think it would be nice to be performing it, and then when I'm performing, I feel like I'd rather be tucked away in a nice café somewhere with a coffee and a laptop. The truth is I enjoy both, but they give you very different

things. Writing is about being able to polish something to perfection, and it's a very quiet, concentrated pursuit, whereas during a performance you're completely in the moment and if anything goes wrong there's nothing you can do about it, so there's an adrenaline rush you don't really get from writing.

More recently you've been involved in creating work for kids, like Horrible Histories. Is it different writing for children?

Partly it depends on the age, but certainly I think once they're about eight or so, you should never talk down to children. They sense it immediately. As a kid, I always liked stuff that was slightly too old for me - there was something aspirational about wanting to watch or read something more grown-up. In the very first meeting for Horrible Histories, we were told not to consciously write it for children, but to just treat it like a sketch show about history, and I think that's key to its success. All of the writers and the producer came from comedy rather than children's backgrounds, and it's gone on to win comedy awards. It's immensely enjoyable to work on.

Of course, that involved big, silly costumes too.

You see - cloaks are always funny!

The Rocky Horror Show plays New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, Monday 25 to Saturday 30 January, Malvern Theatre, Worcestershire, Monday 9 to Saturday 14 May and Regent Theatre, Stoke-onTrent, Monday 23 to Saturday 28 May. www.whatsonlive.co.uk whatsonlive.co.uk 27 9

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Theatre The Rocky Horror Show New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, Mon 25 - Sat 30 January; Malvern Theatre, Mon 9 - Sat 14 May; Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, Mon 23 - Sat 28 May

Ben Freeman stars opposite X Factor finalist Diana Vickers in this new touring version of Richard O’Brien’s cult classic.

It tells the tale of straight-laced Brad (Freeman) and the deliciously corruptible Janet (Vickers), who arrive at the castle of the alien transvestite Frank N Furter and witness the birth of the monster, Rocky.

Great fun’s a guarantee - particularly if you get into the spirit of things and attend the show dressed in your very best stockings and suspenders (as many patrons do)!

Other casting includes Paul Cattermole as Eddie/Dr Scott, Kristian Lavercombe as Riff Raff, and comedian Steve Punt (of Punt & Dennis fame) as the narrator.

The Snowman

The Sisterhood

Crazy Glue

The REP, Birmingham, Wed 20 - Sun 24 January

Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, Sat 30 January - Sat 20 February

mac, Birmingham, Thurs 21 January

Henriette may want to marry the man she loves, but her mother, aunt and sister have other plans for her...

Highly acclaimed playwright and translator Ranjit Bolt has here adapted the classic Molière satire Les Femmes Savantes, updating it from its original seventeenth century setting to France during the 1980s.

A fast-paced comedy, it sees the Belgrade’s Artistic Director, Hamish Glen, making a welcome return to the subject of marriage following a string of successful classic comedies.

Yizcor Making a welcome return to The REP in its traditional New Year slot, Raymond Briggs's The Snowman is best known, of course, for Howard Blake's classic song, Walking In The Air. When a young boy’s snowman comes to life on Christmas Eve, the pair set off on a nighttime quest for excitement.

On their travels they meet reindeer, dancing penguins and some of the Snowman’s many and varied friends.

The adventure's not without its anxieties, though, with the evil Jack Frost eager to get his icy mits on the pair of unlikely chums...

28 whatsonlive.co.uk

New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Mon 25 January

Writer and director Sue Moffat’s powerful drama-documentary is here presented to mark United Nations Holocaust Memorial Day. Using actual words - from diaries, letters and poems - of young people who experienced the events leading up to the Holocaust, it tells the story of teenagers Ariella and Moshe, along the way providing ‘powerful testimony’ to the devastating effects of prejudice and discrimination.

The play has been developed with support from the Imperial War Museum and Val and Ibi Ginsburg, survivors of the Auschwitz and Dachau concentration camps.

Single Shoe Productions, the company behind this ‘tragicomedy about loss’, cite as their inspiration the physical comedy of Buster Keaton and the madcap absurdity of Looney Tunes.

A cast of two here bring together clowning, dance, mime, quirky humour and an evocative 1930s soundtrack to reveal ‘the crazy, sticky, messy side of marriage’.

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Theatre previews from around the region WIN! TICKETS To enter visit whatsonlive.co.uk

We’re Going On A Bear Hunt Birmingham Town Hall, until Wed 13 January

This delightful adaptation of Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury’s popular picture book follows a family as they head out on an intrepid quest to find a bear.

Catchy songs, interactive scenes and plenty of hands-on adventure are combined with swishy swashy grass and oozy, squelchy mud in a show that seems certain to keep youngsters well and truly entertained.

The Legend Of King Arthur Artrix, Bromsgrove, Sun 10 January; The Place, Oakengates, Shropshire, Sun 24 January

Although zany funsters Oddsocks are probably best known for their humorous takes on the works of William Shakespeare, they occasionally like to shake things up a bit by looking for their inspiration elsewhere.

This is one such occasion.

Magic, music, mirth, jousting knights - and an impressively gutsy Guinevere - are all present and correct in this high-energy production.

The company are promoting the show as ‘an exciting, interactive and action-packed winter treat for all the family’.

The Moscow State Circus is very possibly the best-known circus in the world, based on over two hundred years of tradition.

When animals became an unpopular aspect of circuses, this flexible family favourite adapted to survive by moving the emphasis

to astonishing displays of human skill and endurance - many of which are evident in its latest production, Zhelaniy.

Based on a popular Russian folklore story, the show transports its audience to ‘a wondrous and mysterious enchanted garden’. It’s there that wishes are granted to the beautiful Zhenya, who finds herself surrounded by ‘a multitude of flying, back-flipping, juggling, wire-walking and roller-skating performers’.

Locus Amoenus

Death of a Salesman

Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, Sat 30 January

Crescent Theatre, Birmingham, Sat 16 - Sat 30 January

Moscow State Circus Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Thurs 28 January

Atresbandes is a Catalan company with a growing reputation for producing thoughtprovoking works of theatre that can sometimes be a little bit perturbing.

This latest offering - their fourth - takes a look at the final thoughts of three people who catch a train and tragically die following a derailment.

A sharp and perceptive piece, it offers Atresbandes’ trio of performers plenty of opportunity to show exactly why they’re considered to be one of Europe’s most promising theatrical ensembles.

As the world changes around him, Willy Loman struggles to keep up. An on-the-road salesman for longer than he cares to remember, Willy’s notched up countless miles in his efforts to earn an honest crust for himself and his family. But as the corporate world moves on, sixty-year-old Willy finds himself questioning the decisions he’s made - and wonders how the world can care so little for a man who’s given so much...

Arthur Miller’s poignant and harrowing play is regarded as one of the twentieth century’s most influential works, its study of loneliness and failure having touched a chord with postwar America.

At a time when society is changing at an everfaster pace, the play continues to have resonance today, particularly for anybody who’s ever had the feeling that the world is passing them by.

For more theatre previews visit whatsonlive.co.uk 29

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Winter/Spring A new look for a new year

Until Sun 31 Jan

Tue 9 Sat 13 Feb

From £14

From £18.50

Wed 17 Sat 27 Feb

Wed 9 Mar Sat 23 Apr

Mon 25 Sat 30 Apr

From £10

From £25

From £13.50

Wed 17 - Sat 20 Feb

Ashton Double Bill Wed 24 - Sat 27 Feb

Romeo & Juliet

IDFB is an award winning biennial festival produced by DanceXchange in partnership with Birmingham Hippodrome, funded by Arts Council England and Birmingham City Council.

Nederlands Dans Theater 2

Carlos Acosta

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan

Dance: Sampled

Ballet BC

Tue 3 & Wed 4 May

Fri 6 & Sat 7 May

Tue 10 & Wed11May

Tue 17 & Wed18May

Fri 20 & Sat 21 May

From £15

From £15

From £15

£15

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0844 338 5000 birminghamhippodrome.com Calls cost 4.5p/min plus access charge. 5% transaction charge applies excluding cash sales in person.

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Theatre previews from around the region

Private Lives Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, Mon 25 - Sat 30 January; New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, Mon 8 - Sat 13 February

Tom Chambers and Charlotte Ritchie star in this major revival of Noël Coward's everpopular masterpiece.

Written in 1930 with all of his trademark élan, Private Lives is one of Coward’s sharpest comedies. It tells of a divorced couple - Amanda and Elyot - who meet each other again on their second honeymoons in Deauville, and begin to consider dumping their new loves to try and rekindle their relationship.

Typically replete with devastating one-liners, Private Lives is a cynical portrayal of married life, infidelity, selfishness and insecurity.

Abuelo The REP, Birmingham, Thurs 14 - Sat 16 January

The Great Gatsby Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, Thurs 28 - Sat 30 January

The Circus Of Horrors: Carnevil Lichfield Garrick, Tues 12 January; Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, Fri 15 January; New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, Sat 6 March; Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Sat 26 March

In a story which ponders the question of what can be learned from different generations, a young black Birmingham woman is struggling with an identity crisis.

In an effort to better understand who she is, she explores her heritage through the legacy of her ‘jolly, gambling, allotment-obsessed, storytelling grandfather’.

Created in the REP Foundry, Abuelo is the first full-length show from Amahra Spence.

The Lover Old Joint Stock Theatre, Birmingham, Tues 12 - Thurs 14 January

Award-winning production company Misnomer Theatre here present Harold Pinter's surreal one-act work about a couple who resort to roleplay to spice up their relationship - and in so doing take their audience on a rollercoaster ride of confusion and deceit...

Tamworth-based actors Olivia Shepherd and Neil Lucas star.

An off-kilter affair that bears more resemblance to a freak show than any modern definition of a circus, the one-time Britain’s Got Talent finalists here present a world beyond political correctness and taste. With the performers dressed in a manner reminiscent of The Rocky Horror Show, there’s no denying the skill of those participating - or indeed the ensemble’s sheer ‘wow’ factor. This latest offering is set in Victorian London and follows three adolescents who run away to the circus. Trouble is, this particular circus is no stroll in the big top, plagued, as it is, by ‘a swarm of killer klowns, demon dwarfs, death-defying aerialists and fire-limboing acrobats’. The show climaxes in what’s being described by the company as ‘an awesome, flaming apocalypse’.

The Elves And The Shoemakers Brewhouse Arts Centre, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffs, Sat 23 January

Things aren’t going well in the shoemakers’ shop. The old shoemakers are hungry and cold and down to the final piece of leather to make one last pair of shoes.

But help comes in a very unexpected way...

Live music, puppetry, physical storytelling and ‘plenty of elf magic’ are here brought together

by Derby Theatre & Big Window.

The show has been developed for children aged between three and seven.

For full theatre listings visit whatsonlive.co.uk

The hugely innovative Blackeyed Theatre is the company behind this new stage adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald's literary masterpiece.

Set in the American Jazz Age of the Roaring Twenties, the story focuses on the quixotic passion of mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby for the beautiful former debutante, Daisy Buchanan.

In the process of recounting the tale - told though the eyes of Gatsby's Long Island neighbour, Nick Carraway Fitzgerald presents not only the story of a delightfully decadent decade but also a cautionary tale about the American Dream...

Chinese New Year Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Sun 31 January

If New Year left you with a yearning for further such festivities, then this is the show for you.

One month after we all welcomed in 2016, you’re here invited to sit back and sample an evening of New Year celebrations Chinese style.

Attractions include the ‘auspicious’ Lion Dance, the ancient magic of face changing and no little amount of juggling, acrobatics and kung fu fighting.

Heck, there’s even some ‘nimble staff-spinning’ to enjoy, not to mention the sure-to-be-captivating antics of numerous, er, 'monkeys'.

Austentatious Lichfield Garrick, Wed 20 - Thurs 21 January

Austentatious visits the Midlands having garnered plenty of praise when it debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe. Lighthearted and delightfully throwaway, it finds the performers utilising audience suggestions to develop a play that not only pays homage to Jane Austen but also generates plenty of laughter along the way. whatsonlive.co.uk 31

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Pantomimes and festive shows in January

Aladdin

Cinderella: A Fairytale

Birmingham Hippodrome, until Sun 31 January

mac, Birmingham, until Sat 9 January

Marti Pellow here makes his pantomime debut - and is being helped to settle right in by the guiding hand of panto veteran Julian Clary.

Former Joseph star Lee Mead, meanwhile, takes on the role of Aladdin, while Matt Slack and Andrew Ryan play Wishee Washee and Widow Twankey respectively.

Stunning 3D effects and a Santa’s sackworth of quality comedy - both mainstay ingredients in the Hippodrome’s winning recipe for pantomime fun - are also present and correct in 2015’s blockbuster offering.

Wet Wet Wet frontman Marti is certainly enjoying his first experience of starring in pantomime: “Panto is a rite of passage. I think the British embrace it because we see it for what it is and understand it for what it is.

We get it. Everything’s amped up, everything’s larger than life, there’s nothing subtle about it. It’s very family-orientated but it also spans generations.”

And as previously mentioned, on this particular occasion it also comes complete with Julian Clary. “Now there’s a man who’ll put a smile on your face!” says Marti, who’s also responsible for the show’s score.

Read the full interview with Marti online at whatsonlive.co.uk

Dick Whittington Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, until Sun 10 January

Shrewsbury panto favourite Brad Fitt here dons a frock or several to star as Dolly the Cook in the ever-popular story of a young man who heads for London in search of fame and fortune.

With the happy-go-lucky Dick finding himself involved in all sorts of adventures, and the dastardly King Rat up to no good, an evening of action, comedy and festive fun seems pretty much guaranteed.

32 whatsonlive.co.uk

Tobacco Factory Theatres and Travelling Light Theatre Company’s brilliantly quirky take on this best-loved of fairytales visits the Midlands on the back of hugely successful runs at two London venues.

A 2013 Olivier Award nominee and a 2014 Off West End Award winner, the show is suitable for children aged six and older.

Beauty And The Beast Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, until Sat 9 January

AIan Lauchlan makes a welcome return to the Belgrade pantomime, this time to take on the role of Dame Clarabelle Crumble.

This year’s offering is being described by the theatre as ‘an enchanting tale of heroic adventure, true love, messy mayhem and festive frivolity which promises to be the most beautiful and beastly yet’.

Sounds like the sort of experience it’s well worth sending yourself to Coventry for - if you don’t already live there, of course...

Wendy And Peter Pan Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, until Sun 31 January

JM Barrie’s timeless tale of daring heroics, everlasting childhood, dastardly pirates and lost children is here reimagined by director Ella Hickson, who takes her characters on a transformative journey beyond the sheltered landscapes of the Edwardian nursery.

In a swashbuckling family adventure, she hurls them headlong into a Neverland of their own imagining, where shadows lurk around every corner, battles are fought and won, happy thoughts are rediscovered, and heroines (as well as heroes) are made.

Dick Whittington And His Cat Blue Orange Theatre, Birmingham, Wed 20 - Sat 23 January

The story of a young man who heads for London in search of fame and fortune is one of the most popular of all Christmas-season shows (okay, this one’s arriving a tad late).

With the dastardly King Rat putting in an appearance, and heady romance with the delightful Alice very much on the cards for our eponymous hero, this is a show that looks set to be packed to its post-festive rafters with action, comedy and fun.

Presented by Jars Of Clay.

Peter Pan Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, until Sun 3 January; Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, until Sun 24 January

JM Barrie's timeless tale of the boy who never grew up has long been a popular choice with theatres looking to provide a festive-sea- son family production.

And there’s certainly no bucking of that particular trend this Christmas, with two of the Midlands’ biggest venues offering audiences young and old the chance to enjoy an actionpacked adventure in Neverland.

At Wolverhampton Grand, long-in-the-tooth pantomime favourites John ‘Nasty Nick’ Altman and the Chuckle Brothers ensure there’s plenty of comedy to enjoy alongside all that splicing of mainbraces and shivering of timbers.

Meanwhile, at the Regent Theatre, Jonathan Wilkes and Christian Patterson look set to further cement their status as Stoke-onTrent’s favourite panto duo. While Christian plays Captain Hook, Jonathan marks his tenth year in festive entertainment by playing the conniving pirate’s comedy side-kick, Smee.

For full theatre listings visit whatsonlive.co.uk

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FEATURE

M at t h e w B u g g talks about his scandalous story of burlesque, blackmail and bombshells...

A writer, composer, producer, director, musician, actor and dancer, the multi-talented Matthew Bugg is the mastermind behind the modern hit musical Miss Nightingale, which flies into Coventry's Belgrade Theatre on its fifth and final UK tour in February.

Set in the dark days of the Second World War, the show tells the tale of an unlikely collaboration between a cabaret singing sensation and a Polish refugee songwriter, delving into the latter's illicit same-sex love affair with an upper-class impresario.

“Before Miss Nightingale, I hadn't done much musical theatre,” admits Matthew. “I find that a lot of it doesn't really excite me it can be very predictable and often doesn't engage your brain enough. I wanted to challenge people's expectations of what musicals could be by combining the best bits of musical theatre - the fantastic show tunes, the wit and the humour - with a really strong, surprising story, and I think with Miss Nightingale we've achieved that. This is a show which makes people cry with laughter one moment and moves them to tears the next.”

Creating a challenging, thought-provoking story with sufficient depth involved extensive research into the war period and the real-life situations people faced. As the horror of war and totalitarian regimes created a climate of fear, homosexuality was considered dangerous and unpatriotic, and women's social roles changed dramatically while sons and husbands were away from home fighting.

For those interested in finding out more about the history behind the musical, Bugg and his Marketing Director partner, Toby Oliver, have compiled a range of brilliant resources. These are accessible via the Miss Nightingale website and include images, videos, articles and lists of recommended books and films.

“My husband Toby and I run the company together, and his approach to theatre is very 34 whatsonlive.co.uk

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Feature by Heather Kincaid

much a research-based one, with an academic validation for everything we do. His first degree was in English and Drama, and then he went on to do an MA at RADA. It was great having him on board because he'd always be questioning me and making really insightful points about historical accuracy. Providing that information for those who want it is a really important part of what we're trying to do in terms of demonstrating that there can be much more to musical theatre than people often think.”

Toby's family were also an invaluable resource, having fled to Britain just before the outbreak of war.

“George's story is similar to what happened to members of Toby's family. They were all either German or Czechoslovakian Jews who were fortunate enough to get out before people started being sent to concentration camps. They've been to see the show and they absolutely love it.”

Since making its first outing as a small, studio-theatre production in 2011, Miss Nightingale has evolved considerably, with changes not only to cast and crew but also to the shape of the show itself.

“Originally there were only three actors and a separate band, so the biggest change is that we've now got a company of six performers who are all actor-musicians.

There's also been a lot of restructuring. In total there have been about thirty-five songs written, and only about twenty-two of them are in the current version, four of which are new. I think this illustrates the level of rigour we're approaching it with, and that's probably partly why it's doing so well.”

That rigour and drive for perfection sees Bugg take on multiple roles within the company: in addition to composing the music, writing the libretto, producing and serving as musical director, he also plays multiple instruments and has a small acting part.

“I play Harry, who’s the brother of the lead character. He's a northern, working class lad who’s come home on leave and is looking for a good time. He's got some really mucky one-liners, and it's great fun to play a part where almost every single line gets a laugh from the audience. But it's a very small part - he's only in one scene - which is good, because I think I would’ve struggled to juggle a bigger one with everything else!”

leaving college, but he's just astonishing, whereas Clara Darcy (Maggie/Miss Nightingale) is a very experienced actormusician who’s had a lot of lead roles - she was previously in Propaganda Swing at the Belgrade.”

Interestingly, for Bugg, juggling these responsibilities isn't about trying to retain full control of the project. If anything, he says, it allows for a greater level of input from the rest of the team.

“It's a huge workload, but we have a great support network behind us, and I think it brings a real clarity of focus to the project.

Because the pool of people working on the show is very small, we're able to be very collaborative. Listening to each other becomes quite easy when you've only got a small number of people to listen to, so everyone can have a say on everything, and we're still able to drive things forward quickly and efficiently.”

“We want this to be a show that appeals to people who already go to musicals, but equally, if you're the sort of person who doesn't normally like them, we hope that this might be the one to change your mind.

We do have audience members saying that all the time - often people who've been dragged along to see it by their partners have ended up really enjoying it.

“We're now the most successful original British musical for the last decade. If you look at other popular musicals, they're all based on pre-existing works. I like to think we're the vanguard of a new movement of people who’re trying to rediscover what the British musical can be.”

If Bugg makes big demands of himself, his expectations of the cast are equally high.

Every performer in the show must be able to dance, play instruments and sing as well as act. Perhaps surprisingly, for this tour at least, they've had few problems filling every role.

‘‘

“We had very long shortlists. It was hard when we first started and no one really knew what we were doing, but since 2013, we've been inundated with people wanting to work with us - partly because they liked what we were doing but also because word got round the industry that we had this very collaborative way of working.

From then on, we've had the absolute pick of the crop, and this year we've got a really impressive cast, all with very different levels of experience. For Connor O'Kane (George), this is his first big job after

Bugg hopes that his radical approach will encourage both audiences and new creators to think about the musical genre differently.

My husband Toby and I run the company together, and his approach to theatre is very much a research-based one, with an academic validation for everything we do.

”

Miss Nightingale shows at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry from Tues 9 to Sat 13 February. More information about the show and its history can be found at missnightingale.co.uk. whatsonlive.co.uk 35

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Dance

Akram Khan Company: Chotto Desh The Patrick Centre, Birmingham Hippodrome, Fri 29 - Sat 30 January

Cross-cultural storytelling lies at the heart of this Akram Khan Company celebration of the human spirit and its admirable resilience in times of trouble.

Adapted from Khan’s DESH, a 2011 production for children and their families, it runs for fifty minutes and tells ‘the compelling tale of a young man’s dreams and memories from Britain to Bangladesh’.

Theatre-Rites director Sue Buckmaster has helmed the show, which, it’s promised, will be ‘a magical, thrilling and poignant dance theatre experience for families to enjoy together’.

Anton & Erin Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Sat 30 January

The Snow Queen Prince Of Wales Theatre, Cannock, Thurs 21 January; Crescent Theatre, Birmingham, Fri 22 January;

The Snow Queen is ruler of all she surveys.

When she kidnaps young Kay, it’s left to his sister, Gerda, to save him from a bleak future in the frostbitten wastelands...

The well-reviewed Ballet Theatre UK is the company here giving this classic Hans Christian Andersen fairytale an imaginative new treatment.

Expect ‘beautiful costumes’ ‘glittering stage sets’ and a ‘glorious and magical score’.

Celebrity dancing duo Anton du Beke and Erin Boeg return to Birmingham’s Symphony Hall this month with their brand new show.

Blending smart choreography, sassy tunes and sparkly costumes, Anton And Erin are joined by the twenty-fivepiece London Concert Orchestra, six ensemble dancers, guest singer Lance Ellington and conductor Richard Balcombe.

Strictly Come Dancing Live Barclaycard Arena, Fri 22 - Sun 24 January

The ever glitzy and always glamorous Strictly Come Dancing hits the road again this month.

Hosted by Mel Giedroyc - and with regular judges Len Goodman, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli in tow - the live version sees the show’s popular dancers putting their celebrity partners through their paces with a host of new routines.

Performing everything from ballroom and paso doble to the waltz and tango, the show’s stars are sure to delight Strictly’s loyal fans.

Taking to the dancefloor this year are: Call The Midwife actress Helen George; The Wanted’s Jay McGuiness; EastEnders actor Jake Wood; Frankie Bridge from The Saturdays; actress Georgia May Foote from Coronation Street; TV chef Ainsley Harriott; and television presenter Anita Rani.

whatsonlive.co.uk 37

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Film The Hateful Eight CERT 18 (168 mins)

Starring Samuel L Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demián Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, James Parks, Channing Tatum Directed by Quentin Tarantino (USA)

Two high-profile, snow-swept Westerns blow into England this month from world-class directors. This one is Tarantino’s long-awaited re-imagining of The Magnificent Seven, with less clean-cut protagonists. Set in postCivil War Wyoming, the film features eight disparate bounty hunters who take refuge at a stagecoach stopover during a blizzard. This being Tarantino, one can expect some pretty strong violence and explicit (male) nudity.

The music is composed by the eighty-sevenyear-old Ennio Morricone, his first score for a Western in forty years. Filmed in the Ultra Panavision 70 process.

Released Fri 8 January

CRITIC’S CHOICE

Film highlights released in January...

The Danish Girl CERT 15 (120 mins)

Room CERT 15 (115 mins)

Starring Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, Ben Whishaw, Sebastian Koch, Amber Heard, Matthias Schoenaerts Directed by Tom Hooper (UK/Germany/USA)

Starring Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay Directed by Lenny Abrahamson (Ireland/Canada)

Joy CERT 12a (124 mins) Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Édgar Ramírez, Isabella Rossellini, Diane Ladd, Virginia Madsen Directed by David O. Russell (USA)

Tom Hooper previously directed The King’s

Speech and Les Misérables and his latest film has been generating Oscar buzz since last summer. Eddie Redmayne plays the transgender pioneer Lili Elbe, who started her life as the (male) artist Einar Magnus Andreas Wegener. Redmayne and Alicia Vikander - the latter as Lili’s wife, the illustrator Gerda Wegener are virtually guaranteed Oscar nominations. Inspired by real events in Denmark in the 1920s.

Released Fri 1 January 38 whatsonlive.co.uk

That’s Joy, as in Joy Mangano, the remarkable woman who founded a business empire after inventing the Miracle Mop. And if that sounds a little Dynasty for you, look at the cast and remember that David O Russell directed The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle.

Jennifer Lawrence is said to be extraordinary in the role. Again.

Released Fri 1 January

In the room, Joy and her five-year-old son have found a sort of equilibrium. For Jack, it’s all he’s ever known, but for Joy there is an alternative. The ‘other’ world - that place populated by other children, by cats and dogs and trees and houses - is a magic place dreamed up by the television in the room.

For Jack, though, the real world stretches all the way to the end, round and round the four corners of his small universe…

The claustrophobic domain of Emma Donoghue's 2010 novel cannot have seemed an obvious choice for a movie. But Donoghue wrote the screenplay herself before any filmmakers came begging. To sustain the emotional drama of the piece, one needed two outstanding actors, and the Irish director Lenny Abrahamson has found them. The seven-year-old Jacob Tremblay is simply extraordinary as Jack, a damned fine reason to see the film in itself. But Brie Larson is every bit as good as Joy and together they collude to create 2015’s most consistently gripping, moving and original drama. Released Fri 1 January

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Film releases in January CRITIC’S CHOICE

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers Of Benghazi CERT 15 (115 mins)

Starring James Badge Dale, John Krasinski, Max Martini, Dominic Fumusa, Toby Stephens Directed by Michael Bay (USA)

Although Michael ‘Transformers’ Bay is at the helm, this is actually a true story. In 2012, on September 11, an American compound in Libya comes under fire by Islamist militants and the American Ambassador is shot dead. A group of CIA security contractors fight back.

Released Fri 29 January

The Revenant CERT 15 (156 mins)

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter, Paul Anderson, Lukas Haas Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (USA)

Inspired by true events and filmed in the frozen wilds of Alberta and British Columbia, The Revenant has Oscar written all over it. DiCaprio plays Hugh Glass, an 1820s’ frontiersman who was left for dead after being mauled by a

bear. Incensed by his abandonment, Glass dreams of revenge - but first must find the will to survive in unhospitable terrain. The actor even ate raw meat to remain in character, which is pretty dedicated considering that DiCaprio is a vegetarian. And because the director insisted on shooting in natural light, the film ran significantly over schedule, forcing the production to move to southern Argentina after all the original snow had melted.

Released Fri 15 January

Creed CERT 12a (133 mins)

The Big Short CERT 15 (130 mins)

Starring Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashād Directed by Ryan Coogler (USA)

Starring Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, Marisa Tomei, Margot Robbie Directed by Adam McKay (USA)

For Creed, think Apollo Creed, or more accurately Adonis ‘Donnie’ Creed, Apollo’s son.

Apollo was Rocky Balboa’s main pugilistic rival in the Oscar-winning 1976 film Rocky.

But time has moved on and now the ageing Rocky takes on the role of trainer for his old adversary’s boy. Filmed in Philadelphia and Liverpool.

Released Fri 15 January

The recent economic crisis is given a makeover in this comic drama from the director of the Anchorman films. And it’s based on a true story. What makes it so compelling are the characters that people the battlefield, real eccentrics who rose to the top of the cesspool in spite of their quirks. Christian Bale is Michael Burry, a sort-of genius who turns up to work in sandals and Bermuda shorts and utters two words that could gain The Big Short its immortality: “Everybody’s wrong.” Arrogance was certainly a factor in the financial crisis, as was greed and barefaced fraud. If you can’t tell your triple Arated package from your bespoke tranche opportunity, don’t worry. As one exasperated character exclaims: “It’s like two plus two equals fish.” The result is a stylish, smart, fast and irreverent Western in which the lassos and bullets have been replaced by strategy and big words.

Released Fri 22 January

The 5th Wave CERT 12a tbc Starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson, Ron Livingston, Maggie Siff, Maria Bello, Liev Schreiber Directed by J. Blakeson (USA)

The world is under attack from aliens and after four extraterrestrial assaults, the earth is all but destroyed. One of our planet’s last survivors, Cassie (Moretz) teams up with a young man who may be her last hope - if she can trust him. Adapted from the young adult novel by Rick Yancey, this is the first of a proposed trilogy (here we go again).

Released Fri 22 January whatsonlive.co.uk 39

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Film Spotlight

A War

CERT 15 (115 mins)

CERT 15 (115 mins)

Starring Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci Directed by Tom McCarthy (USA)

Starring Pilou Asbæk, Tuva Novotny, Søren Malling, Dar Salim, Charlotte Munck Directed by Tobias Lindholm (Denmark)

The spotlight is on Catholic priests in Boston back in 2001. It’s old news now, particularly for those who have seen Alex Gibney’s stunning 2012 documentary Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence In The House Of God, but Tom McCarthy’s finely researched drama is still a story worth telling.

‘Spotlight’ was the name of a special investigative unit within The Boston Globe, and the film reveals more about the mechanics of top-tier American journalism than it does about the corruption of the Catholic church.

It’s a meticulous and smart, low-key study of the rigours of investigative reportage, albeit without the narrative energy of, say, Alan J Pakula’s seminal All The President’s Men. Indeed, it is a surprisingly forensic and unmoving film that is more concerned with the mechanics of the newspaper world than the fall-out from child abuse.

Released Fri 29 January

Sleeping WIth Other People

Ride Along 2 CERT 15 (115 mins)

Starring Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Tika Sumpter, Benjamin Bratt, Olivia Munn Directed by Tim Story (USA)

Former security guard Ben Barber (Hart) is now a full-fledged cop and rides along with his soon-to-be brother-in-law James Payton (Cube) on a drug takedown in Miami. But they’re still not seeing eye-to-eye…

Released Fri 22 January

Capture The Flag CERT PG (94 mins)

Directed by Enrique Gato (Spain)

While this sounds like a rather patriotic (flag-waving) American cartoon, it’s actually the work of Spain’s Lightbox Animation Studios. The ’toon focuses on the twelve-year-old Mike Goldwing, whose grandfather was supposed to have flown to the moon with Neil Armstrong, but dropped out of the mission when his son - Mike’s father - got chicken-pox.

Mike then stowaways on a new flight to the lunar surface to thwart the plans of a Texas billionaire to discredit NASA’s achievements. Cute. In 3D. Released Fri 29 January

CERT 15 (101 mins)

Starring Jason Sudeikis, Alison Brie, Adam Scott, Jason Mantzoukas, Natasha Lyonne, Adam Brody, Amanda Peet Directed by Leslye Headland (USA)

Jake (Sudeikis) is a womaniser. Lainey (Brie) is a serial cheat. But when they get together, sex is the last thing on their minds. They just like each other...

Released Fri 1 January

Dirty Grandpa CERT 15 (115 mins)

Starring Robert De Niro, Zac Efron, Zoey Deutch, Aubrey Plaza, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Hough Directed by Dan Mazer (USA)

Days before his wedding, Jason (Efron) is tricked into driving his debauched grandfather to Florida for the spring break. Not to be confused with the Jackass movie Bad Grandpa (2013).

Released Fri 29 January 40 whatsonlive.co.uk

In war, there are two fronts. For the wife and three children of company commander Claus M Pedersen (Asbæk), there is the dayto-day drama of coping without a husband and father. For Pedersen, there is the more immediate drama of saving his men from a raid by the Taliban in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

Released Fri 8 January

Our Brand is Crisis CERT 15 (115 mins)

Starring Sandra Bullock, Billy Bob Thornton, Anthony Mackie, Joaquim de Almeida, Ann Dowd, Scoot McNairy Directed by David Gordon Green (USA)

Based on the 2005 documentary of the same name, this political satire follows a presidential campaign in Bolivia conducted by rival American electioneering strategists.

Amazing, but some of it is true. Ms Bullock’s part was originally written for a male actor.

Released Fri 22 January

The 33 CERT 12a (127 mins) Starring Antonio Banderas, Rodrigo Santoro, Juliette Binoche, James Brolin, Lou Diamond Phillips, Gabriel Byrne Directed by Patricia Riggen (Chile/Colombia)

The thirty-three were the Chilean miners who found themselves trapped when their gold and copper mine collapsed in 2010. The event captured the imagination of the world and a film of the disaster was perhaps inevitable. It features the very last score of the late Oscar-winning composer James Horner.

Released Fri 29 January

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Visual Arts Janet Mendelsohn: Varna Road Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, Wed 27 January - Sun 3 April

American academic and documentary filmmaker Janet Mendelsohn was a student at the University of Birmingham in the late 1960s.

While there, she began to explore ways in which photography could be used in field research.

Her resulting project comprised nearly three thousand photographs, the majority of which depicted everyday life in the Birmingham inner-city district of Balsall Heath.

Many of the photos featured a sex worker referred to as Kathleen, with whom the photographer formed a close relationship.

This new Ikon exhibition presents a significant selection of photos from Mendelsohn’s project, not only illustrating the unquestionable talent of the woman behind the lens but also providing a fascinating insight into a community in an acute state of flux...

Jan Vanriet: The Music Boy

Still, Still Life

The New Art Gallery, Walsall, Fri 29 January - Sun 8 May

Shire Hall Gallery, Stafford, Sat 9 January - Sun 6 March

A ‘still life’ work of art features a depiction of inanimate, everyday objects.

These can be either natural or manufactured.

To shed further light on the matter, the Tate Museum’s glossary defines the subject of a still life as ‘anything that does not move or is dead’...

This thought-provoking exhibition, comprising paintings, photographs, textiles and installations, takes a look at selected artists’ approaches to still life, bringing together work which is conventional with pieces that are experimental.

Belgian artist Jan Vanriet’s work is heavily influenced by the Second World War stories and memories conveyed to him by his parents, who met in the Mauthausen concentration camp.

As such, themes of love, loss, identity, destiny and disappearance are greatly in evidence in his paintings. Yet despite such weighty subject matter, his works invariably manage to convey a sense of the artist’s playfulness and his lightness of touch.

The exhibition’s title refers to a polyptych of four paintings depicting Vanriet’s uncle as a boy, playing the accordion in the presence of his mother before the war (as seen above).

42 whatsonlive.co.uk

Richard Woods: Duck Weave Eastside Projects, Birmingham, Sat 30 January - Sat 9 April

Richard Woods is widely known for his largescale transformative graphic artworks on architecture, and for his inventive and playful sculpture, painting and woodblock printed furniture. Woods here researches the redeployment of a thousand-year-old Midlands construction technique.

Hopes And Dreams: Statement Of Intent Explored Parkside Gallery, Birmingham City University, Mon 11 January - Fri 12 February

“We invited our members to submit works based around the theme of manifestos,” explains Letter Exchange, a small group of lettering professionals dedicated to preserving, promoting and developing expertise in the lettering arts. “The words in the exhibition are eclectic and diverse, in turns enigmatic, obscure, uplifting and inspirational.

The exhibits demonstrate an innate understanding of letterforms and are executed with the technical skill that underpins the commitment of Letter Exchange members to the very best in the lettering arts.”

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A World To Win: Posters Of Protest And Revolution Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Sat 30 January - Sunday 10 April

Drawing on the Victoria & Albert Museum’s collection, this fascinating exhibition takes a look at a century of posters specifically designed and displayed with the intention of prompting and promoting political change.

The display features around seventy posters and showcases the work of diverse artists, graphic designers and print collectives.

Gerard Byrne: 1/125 Of A Second Mead Gallery, Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, Sat 16 January - Sat 12 March

The means by which the present can be understood through a revisiting of the past is explored in the work of Irish artist Gerard Byrne.

Byrne, who utilises photography, video and live art, is renowned for his film installations, which re-enact conversations from specific historic moments.

This latest exhibition centres on the world premiere of a new film by the artist.

During its course, he stages a confrontation between the photographic image and the forms of representation that it supplanted.

For more comedy listings visit whatsonlive.co.uk 43

Events Jan - Region 1.qxp_Layout 1 18/12/2015 21:57 Page 1

Events Monster Energy Arenacross Genting Arena, Birmingham, Sat 23 - Sun 24 January

An absolute must for extreme sports fans, the Monster Energy Arenacross Tour brings all the spectacular elements of motorcross indoors for a ‘non-stop white-knuckle ride’.

Set to a pumping soundtrack and laser show, Arenacross sees the world’s best freestylers taking to the track to present some truly awe-inspiring entertainment.

Alongside plenty of top British talent, the show also features riders representing America, France, Spain, Italy, Estonia and Finland not to mention racing gladiators from as young as seven taking to the circuit in search of Arenacross glory...

Tattoo Freeze The International Centre, Telford, Shropshire, Sun 31 January

Camper Mart The International Centre, Telford, Shropshire, Sun 31 January

“The aim of Camper Mart,” explain the event’s organisers, “is to cater for every conceivable need for people who own, are restoring, maintaining, customising or who just simply display an interest in owning a Volkswagen Camper.

“Our trade stalls display a plethora of VW goodies, giving our visitor excellent choice.

“And if you’re having problems with your bus, want some general advice on tuning, modifications or anything bus related, our resident ‘bus doctor’ team is on hand to help out.”

Following on from the success of previous shows, this specialist one-day event offers members of the general public the chance to get themselves tattooed by one (or more!) of the two hundred talented tattooists who’ll be in attendance.

Past shows have featured some of the world’s greatest graffiti artists, BMX and skateboard champions, shopping stalls, children’s activities, national roller derby tournaments and ice sculpture demonstrations and workshops.

44 whatsonlive.co.uk

BBL Cup Final Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, Sun 17 January

One of the most eagerly anticipated dates on the British Basketball League (BBL) calendar, this annual event sees stars of the national game go head-to-head in pursuit of coveted silverware.

The get-together also features some of Europe’s top slam dunkers - giving it their all in a bid to become the BBL Slam Dunk Champion - and the Women’s British Basketball League Trophy Final, taking place during the show for the second year running.

See thelist for all your events listings

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What's On Readers Awards.qxp_Layout 1 18/12/2015 21:31 Page 1

#culturematters #artsmatters

Readers’ Awards

Get VOTING for your favourite Midlands events and venues in the...

’ What sOn CATEGORIES INCLUDE BEST: Touring Musical Touring Play

Readers’ Awards

Yes, it’s time for you to show just how much you appreciate Birmingham and the West Midlands’ ever-vibrant arts and entertainment scene!

Home Produced Show Front of House Regional Theatre Venue Regional Music/Arts Venue Regional Visitor Attraction

Nominate and vote online for your favourites to help them secure a place in our What’s On Readers’ Awards Top 5 Shortlist.

Outdoor Event

The shortlist will be announced in our February

Arts Event

issue, when you’ll have another chance to VOTE

Art Gallery/Exhibition Venue Exhibition Comedy Venue Midlands Comedian Live Midlands Band Midlands Female Musician

for your favourite in each category. So get voting now!

Complete our Readership Survey for the chance to WIN £1000 cash!

Midlands Male Musician Music Festival Arts Festival Family-friendly Festival Food Festival Independent Cinema Venue Midlands Restaurant Community Achievement Award

VOTE for your NOMINATIONS by 20 January 2016 The Top 5 Shortlist in each category will be announced at the end of January - and then you’ll get the chance to VOTE one more time for your favourites. Voting will close at the end of February.

WINNERS will be announced in the Spring

VOTE today at whatsonlive.co.uk 46 whatsonlive.co.uk

Competitions January .qxp_Layout 1 18/12/2015 19:21 Page 2

Win!

To enter all competitions go to whatsonlive.co.uk

Tickets for Autosport International

Tickets to BBL Cup Final

Tickets to Into the Hoods (Remixed)

Closes Monday 11 January

Closes Friday 15 January

Closes Thursday 18 February

Tickets to Of Mice and Men

Tickets to Hamlet

Tickets to Avenue Q

Closes Tues 1 March

Closes Thursday 24 March

Closes Tuesday 9 February

Tickets to Dial M For Murder

Tickets to End of the Rainbow

Tickets to Camper Mart

Closes Tuesday 19 January

Closes Tuesday 16 February

Closes Friday 22 January

Tickets to The Monster Energy Arenacross Tour

Tickets to see The Great Gatsby

Tickets to Bring On The Bollywood

Closes Friday 15 January

Closes Friday 22 January

Closes Friday 15 April

Tickets to The Snowman

Tickets to Jackie The Musical

Tickets to Wipers

Closes Wednesday 13 January

Closes Tuesday 8 March

Closes Thursday 5 May

To enter all competitions go to whatsonlive.co.uk also follow us on Twitter for more great competitions whatsonlive.co.uk 47

Whats On 30 years FINAL MM NO PICTURES.qxp_Layout 1 18/12/2015 21:16 Page 1

Celebrating the 30th anniversary of What’s On...

Noticed anything different about this month’s magazine?

Well, to celebrate our 30th anniversary year, we’ve had a bit of a makeover, redesigning your essential What’s On publication.

We hope you enjoy it!

Let’s pause for a moment to contemplate how it all started, the trials and tribulations along the way and, equally importantly, the exciting year ahead!

The 1980s. The decade of Glasnost, yuppies, Miami Vice and mullet hair-dos. The Iron Lady crushed the invading Argentinians and the striking miners. Bob Geldof inspired Live Aid. Football hooliganism saw English clubs kicked out of Europe.

While all of this and plenty more was making the world go round, here in the Midlands we welcomed a brand new dawn in the field of regional entertainment publications.

What’s On Magazine was born, quietly and without any fuss.

Thirty years later, it’s still here and as popular as ever - long after those mullet hair-dos became a ‘badge of shame’ and the Iron Lady relinquished her steely grip on the nation.

Following the dream Our founder and CEO, Martin Monahan, reluctantly posing for a pic with our very first Apple mac (it’s an SE model). Purchased back in 1987, it’s still part of the furniture today, although obviously it’s no longer functional - a bit like Martin, some might say!

48 whatsonlive.co.uk

“I was a man with a dream,” smiles founder and chief executive Martin Monahan. “Not that the bank were impressed by that to begin with.

So I used my personal credit card to buy an Amstrad computer - they were all the rage at the time! - and set about turning that dream into a reality, without any help from the bank.

“The early years were tough by comparison with nowadays, when sending the magazine to

Whats On 30 years FINAL MM NO PICTURES.qxp_Layout 1 18/12/2015 21:16 Page 2

feature Some of the current What’s On team attempting to pose for a quick snap purely for this feature! Quick everyone smile and look at the camera... crikey - oh well this will do!

From left to right: Front: Martin Monahan, founder and CEO; Lauren Foster, Davina Evans, Editorial Director; Lei Woodhouse and Ryan Humphreys.

Middle: Sue Jones and Julia Perry, Back - Abi Whitehouse, Brian O’Faolain, Chris Atherton and Adrian Parker - everyone else was too chicken to pose or washing their hair!

print is a breeze - comparatively! We’d be up all night preparing the magazine for the printers. It had to be printed out into columns of text and then had to be physically pasted with cow gum on to printing sheets. It was a hugely laborious, time-consuming task. By the time we’d finished, we needed matchsticks to keep our eyes open!

“It sounds like a real pain but looking back, it was a fantastically enjoyable time. And we even managed a couple of claims to fame. We were the first publishing company in the UK to pioneer the desktop publishing package QuarkXPress, and one of the first to use an apple mac - before they were famous!”

Fantastic support From the word go, the magazine enjoyed the support of

some of the region’s biggest theatres.

“Both the Birmingham Hippodrome and Wolverhampton Grand theatres were on board from day one,” Martin recalls, “and they’ve advertised every month since. It goes without saying how much we’ve appreciated their support. And the ongoing support, of course, of each and every one of our other regular advertisers.”

As the years passed, the stable of What’s On titles increased.

Where once there was one, now there are six.

“It’s been an amazing experience growing our brand while

“

we needed matchsticks to keep our eyes open

”

at the same time seeing the Birmingham and Midlands’ entertainment scene develop as a brand too,” says Martin. “And plenty has happened these last thirty years, from the arrival of Birmingham Royal Ballet and the opening of Symphony Hall in the early days through to any number of major refurbishments and redevelopments of our local theatres. We’re very proud to have been there throughout, supporting and promoting Birmingham and the Midlands as a vibrant hub of top-quality entertainment.”

An exciting future Thirty years on and still going strong indeed. And the future’s looking bright too, as the magazine’s Editorial Director, Davina Evans, explains. “It’s a really exciting time for us right now, and in 2016 we’ve got some exciting new developments - like

our first ever What’s On Readers’ Awards.

What’s On is now making its presence felt across various platforms. As well as the six magazine titles - Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire - we now have one of the best entertainment websites in the Midlands. And our significant growth on Twitter, with 60k followers in Birmingham and over 150k across the whole region, is phenomenal.

We will soon be moving to new offices in Birmingham’s Southside district too, in addition to retaining our Shrewsbury base. This is a truly exciting era for the Midlands’ entertainment scene. It’s expanding and developing all the time, and we’re very happy to be playing our part every step of the way.”

What’sOn

whatsonlive.co.uk 49

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thelist

The List Cover Region 2.qxp_Layout 1 18/12/2015 19:08 Page 1

Your week to week listings guide January 2016

Peter Pan at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre until Sun 24 January

Music I Comedy I Theatre I Dance I Film I Events I Visual Arts I

and more!

What’s On Fri 1 to Sun 10 Jan

Mon 11 to Sun 17 Jan

Mon 18 to Sun 24 Jan

Mon 25 to Sun 31 Jan

Partikel & String Quartet at The Hive, Shrewsbury

The Circus of Horrors: Carnevil at Lichfield Garrick

The Legend of King Arthur at The Place, Oakengates

Tattoo Freeze at Telford International Centre, Shropshire

Sat 9 January

Tues 12 January

Sun 24 January

Sun 31 January

whatsonlive.co.uk 51

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thelist Theatre

THROUGHOUT January PETER PAN Starring the Chuckle Brothers and John Altman, until Sun 24 Jan, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

LOVE FOR LOVE Selina Cadell makes her RSC directorial debut with Congreve's restoration comedy where love for love is stronger than love for money, until Fri 22 Jan, The Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

ROBIN HOOD & MARIAN Theresa Heskins' staging of the well known Sherwood Forest adventure, featuring on-stage magic and original music, until Sun 31 Jan, New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme ROBIN HOOD & BABES IN THE WOOD Fun and frolics as two well known stories are fused together for some post Christmas entertainment, Sat 9 Sat 30 Jan, Theatre On The Steps, Bridgnorth, Shropshire

MEDALS OF THE MOMENT An exhibition of 8 of the best contemporary art medallists working today, until Sat 30 Jan, Twenty Twenty Gallery, Much Wenlock, Shropshire WINTER CURIOSITIES Unusual artworks - tiny matchbox art, recycollages, wood engravings and stained glass, until Sat 30 Jan, Twenty Twenty Gallery, Much Wenlock, Shropshire

WENDY AND PETER PAN Join Wendy, Peter, Tink and Captain Hook in Ella Hickson's acclaimed re-telling of JM Barrie's classic children's story, until Sun 31 Jan, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon QUEEN ANNE Helen Edmundson's gripping new play exploring the little known story of a monarch caught between friendship and duty. Natalie Abrahami directs, until Sat 23 Jan, The Swan Theatre, Stratford-uponAvon

Visual Arts

ALADDIN Starring Marti Pellow, Julian Clary, Lee Mead, Matt Slack and Andrew Ryan, until Sun 31 Jan, Birmingham Hippodrome

SOUND MATTERS; EXPLORING CRAFT AND SOUND A Craft Council touring exhibition - seven contemporary works from a range of creative disciplines, until Sat 6 Feb, Wolverhampton Art Gallery CONFECTED, BORROWED AND BLUE...AN INSTALLATION BY PAUL SCOTT Exhibition organised by the Holburne Museum, until Sun 7 Feb, The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent OLD WIVES’ TALES: MIGRATION JOURNEYS OF BANGLADESHI WOMEN TO THE UK Photographic exhibition which gives a unique insight into the lives of young Bangladeshi women who came to Birmingham between the 1960s and 1980s, until Sun 7 Feb, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery ENCHANTED DREAMS The first ever exhibition to be dedicated to PreRaphaelite artist Edward Robert Hughes, until Sun 21 Feb, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery WOLVERHAMPTON SOCIETY OF ARTISTS Biennial exhibition with a diverse range of styles, mediums and subject matter, until Sat 27 Feb, Wolverhampton Art Gallery TREASURE! DISCOVERING THE STAFFORDSHIRE HOARD Interactive exhibition telling the story of how the Staffordshire Hoard was found and saved for the nation, until Sat 12 Mar, Bilston Craft Gallery FITTING IN AND GETTING ALONG Through personal stories, film and a selection of objects the exhibition explores the life stories of members of the Birmingham Polish community, until Wed 23 Mar, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery MINTON ARCHIVE An interactive exhibition of some of the museum’s Minton pieces, until Sun 27 Mar, The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent

PHOENIX - CREATED BY WOLVERHAMPTON'S SCHOOL CHILDREN School student in Wolverhampton has been invited to decorate a feather to become part of a glorious phoenix which will be on display, until Thu 31 Mar, Bilston Craft Gallery, Wolverhampton MENTAL SPACES An ongoing project containing work produced by local artists affiliated to the Asylum Art Gallery, until Sat 2 Apr, Light House Media Centre, Wolverhampton MINER’S TOOLS A range of equipment used over the years by miners to extract coal, until Sun 10 Apr, The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent WENDY RAMSHAW’S ROOM OF DREAMS An installation made up of many parts, from small jewels in frames to large, freestanding furniture, until Sun 22 May, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery A BIG BANG: THE ORIGINS OF THE POP ART COLLECTION, PART 2 Andy Warhol’s legendary 1968 Campbells Soup Can and the iconic maquette of a statue of King Kong - originally commissioned in 1972 for display in Birmingham’s Bull Ring - take pride of place in this sure-to-be-popular exhibition of Pop Art, until Sat 13 Aug, Wolverhampton Art Gallery BIRMINGHAM MUSEUM & ART GALLERY IN 130 YEARS The story of the Museum & Art Gallery, told via a special anniversary exhibition, until Thurs 1 Sept, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery ANGLO-SAXON KINGDOM OF MERCIA Featuring pieces from the worldfamous Staffordshire Hoard, until Sat 1 Oct, The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent THE GREAT WAR Dramatic displays bringing to life the period between 1914 and 1918, until Sun 11 Nov 2018, Dudley Museum & Art Gallery FIRST WORLD WAR REPLICA TRENCH Outdoor First World War replica trench system installed next to the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in the city centre. Giving visitors an atmospheric and thought-provoking understanding of the conditions experienced by soldiers on the battlefields, until Sun 11 Nov 2018, The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-onTrent

A Big Bang: The Origins Of The Pop Art Collection, Wolverhampton Art Gallery

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Friday 1 - Sunday 10 January

Classical Music JOHANN STRAUSS GALA The Johann Strauss Dancers and Orchestra return with a brand new show for 2016 with irrepressible showman Rainer Hersch at the helm, Fri 1 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham CBSO: THE MAGIC OF VIENNA Conducted by Stephen Bell & featuring tenor Noah Stewart, the CBSO’s annual Viennese evening features favourites from Strauss, Suppe & Lehar, Sun 3 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham

anniversary. Programme includes works by Strauss, Vaughan Williams, Verdi & Walton', Thurs 7 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham HALLE ORCHESTRA: A VIENNESE CELEBRATION Featuring Jamie Phillips (conductor) & Malin Christensson (soloist), Fri 8 Jan, Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent JOSHUA BELL AND THE ACADEMY OF ST MARTIN IN THE FIELDS Programme includes works by Dvorak, Beethoven, Schumann & Brahms, Sat 9 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham CBSO: SCHUMANN’S PIANO CONCERTO Featuring Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla (conductor) & Beatrice Rana (piano).

Programme includes works by Debussy, Schumann & Sibelius, Sun 10 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham

Comedy Gigs ALFIE MOORE, JAMIE SUTHERLAND, MICKY P. KERR & BRENNAN REECE Thurs 7 Jan, The George Hotel, Lichfield, Staffordshire CBSO: HENRY V Edward Gardner conducts the CBSO and CBSO Chorus in the first in a series of concerts to celebrate Shakespeare's 400th

GARY DELANEY, FREDDY QUINN & CERYS NELMES Fri 8 Jan, Katie Fitzgerald's, Stourbridge GARY DELANEY Sat 9 Jan, Artrix, Bromsgrove

The Ben Poole Band play Lichfield Guildhall on 9 Jan

Gigs

Birmingham

THE ULTIMATE ROCK PARTY: GIN ANNIE BAND Fri 1 Jan, The Robin, Bilston

THE SIMON AND GARFUNKEL STORY Thurs 7 Jan, Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent

KING PLEASURE & THE BISCUIT BOYS Sat 2 Jan, Artrix, Bromsgrove

REM TRIBUTE STIPE Thurs 7 Jan, The Robin, Bilston

THE GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA Sat 2 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham

THE JOHNNY CASH ROADSHOW Fri 8 Jan, Artrix, Bromsgrove

THE ROD STEWART EXPERIENCE Sat 2 Jan, The River Rooms, Stourbridge JOE SEAGAR Sat 2 Jan, Havana Republic, Shrewsbury TOM FORBES Sat 2 Jan, The Red Man, Kidderminster PASADENA ROOF ORCHESTRA Wed 6 Jan, New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme ALIEN ANT FARM, INME & THE DIRTY YOUTH Wed 6 Jan, O2 Institute,

ALI CLINTON Wed 6 Jan, The Robin, Bilston

KINGS OV LEON Fri 8 Jan, The River Rooms, Stourbridge NEARLY DAN Fri 8 Jan, The Robin, Bilston TOM FORBES Fri 8 Jan, The Talbot, Pershore VIN GARBUTT Fri 8 Jan, Lichfield Guildhall, Staffordshire

CAMERON PRICE AND FRIENDS Sat 9 Jan, The Place, Oakengates Theatre, Telford BORN IN THE EIGHTIES Sat 9 Jan, The River Rooms, Stourbridge

ghaBmRUM BirmHATinSO N @W

WHO'S WHO Sat 9 Jan, The Robin, Bilston

erhNaWmOpLVtoESn Wolv HATSO

BEN FOGLER Sat 9 Jan, Havana Republic, Shrewsbury

ShrHoATpsSOhNirSHe ROPS

THE BEN POOLE BAND Sat 9 Jan, Lichfield Guildhall, Staffordshire

ire rdshAF staHffAToSO NST FS

FUTURE Sun 10 Jan, O2 Academy, Birmingham

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@W

@W

ire steWrOsRhCS WorHcATeSO N @W

ire ICKS warHwATicSOkNsWhAR W @W

PARTIKEL & STRING QUARTET Sat 9 Jan, The Hive, Shrewsbury THE JOHNNY CASH ROADSHOW Sat 9 Jan, Regent Theatre, Stokeon-Trent

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Sun 24th January

THE LEGEND OF KING ARTHUR Time: 7.30pm

Tue 2nd February

PG

CIRCUS OF HORRORS Time: 7.30pm

Fri 5th February

ALL STAR SUPERSLAM WRESTLING Time: 7.30pm

Fri 12th & Sat 13th February

THE RETURN OF NEVERLAND Time: 7.30pm, Sat Mat 2.00pm

14+

Thu 10th March

KATHERINE RYAN Time: 8.00pm

18+

Sat 12th March

ROY CHUBBY BROWN Time: 7.30pm

Tue 15th March

SALLY MORGAN Time: 7.30pm

Thu 17th March

A NIGHT OF DIRTY DANCING Time: 7.30pm

Fri 18th March

ELO AGAIN Time: 7.30pm

TWC GP 01041

54 whatsonlive.co.uk

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thelist

Friday 1 - Sunday 10 January

Film

ICE SKATE BIRMINGHAM Ice Skate Birmingham makes a welcome return to the city centre, Fri 1 - Sun 10 Jan, Centenary Square, Birmingham

INDEPENDENT LISTINGS: BEDKNOBS & BROOMSTICKS (U) The magical children’s classic. Stars Angela Lansbury. Sat 2 Jan, Artrix, Bromsgrove THE BIG KNIGHTS (U) From the makers of Peppa Pig comes the adventures of Sir Boris (the finest swordsman in the world), Sir Morris (not the finest swordsman in the world but the most enthusiastic) and their noble pets, Sir Horace the Dog and Sir Doris the Hamster. Sat 2 Jan, Ludlow Assembly Rooms, South Shropshire

BREWERY & COUNTRY PUB TOUR Scheduled and chartered day trips to the Cotswolds from Stratford-uponAvon, Fri 1 - Sat 30 Jan, Alcester, Warwickshire SEGTREK Segwaying trail around the grounds of Chirk Castle, Fri 1 Jan throughout the year, Chirk Castle, Powys

NEW FILMS ON GENERAL RELEASE: Released Fri 1 Jan, showing at selected cinemas.

THE DANISH GIRL (15) JOY (12a) The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe shows at The REP until 16 Jan

Theatre HAIRSPRAY THE MUSICAL New production of the smash-hit musical comedy, until Sat 2 Jan, New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham

WE’RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT Stage adaptation of Michael Rosen & Helen Oxenbury’s popular picture book.

Expect catchy songs, interactive scenes and plenty of hands-on adventures, until Wed 13 Jan, Birmingham Town Hall

THE HATEFUL EIGHT (18) A WAR (18) BOLSHOI BABYLON (PG)

Events FESTIVE SEASON SERVICE Until Sun 3 Jan, Severn Valley Railway, Kidderminster

PETER PAN Starring Jonathan Wilkes and Christian Patterson - don’t miss the chance to see Staffordshire’s biggest and brightest pantomime! until Sun 3 Jan, Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent

DICK WHITTINGTON Evolution Pantomimes presents an all-time family favourite, until Sun 10 Jan, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury

Released Fri 8 Jan, showing at selected cinemas.

See Film section for previews on p38

ALADDIN Traditional family pantomime, written by and starring Malcom Stent, until Sun 3 Jan, Solihull Arts Complex

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK until Sun 3 Jan, Lichfield Garrick

LES MEPRIS (15)

PARTISAN (15)

TREASURE ISLAND Scott Ritchie & BOA present an original adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale, until Sun 3 Jan, The Old Rep Theatre, Birmingham

SNOW WHITE Jeremy Edwards stars as The Prince in a festive tale where evil and vanity battle youth and innocent beauty, until Sun 3 Jan, The Place, Oakengates, Telford, Shropshire

SLEEPING WITH OTHER PEOPLE (15)

LET'S SKATE SOLIHULL Solihull’s first ever outdoor Christmas ice rink, Until Sun 3 Jan, Mell Square Shopping Centre, Solihull

THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE CS Lewis' timeless classic - a perfect festive treat, until Sat 16 Jan, The REP, Birmingham

THE GREAT CANADIAN CIRCUS For the first time ever, The Great Canadian Circus brings their unique daredevil show to Birmingham, Fri 1 - Sun 3 Jan, Star City, Birmingham

DEER FEEDING Get closer to the fallow deer as the wardens feed them in the winter months. Fri 1 Jan - Sun 13 Mar, Attingham Park, Shrewsbury CHRISTMAS IN SPACE Fri 1 Jan - Mon 28 Mar, Thinktank at Millennium Point, Birmingham SCIENCE OF SOUND See Symphony Hall transformed into an interactive sound laboratory, Fri 1 Jan - Fri 17 Jun, Symphony Hall, Birmingham JOG OFF YOUR JUMPER Family fun-run, Sun 3 Jan, Attingham Park, Shrewsbury NEW YEAR'S WINTER WARMER Join the first train service of 2016 on Sunday 3 Jan, with two return trips available taking you along the scenic Churnet Valley Line and steeply graded Cauldon Branch to Ipstones Loop, Churnet Valley Railway, Stoke-onTrent

PUSS IN BOOTS Presented by performing arts students, Tues 5 Jan, The Brewhouse Arts Centre, Burton-uponTrent ONLY FOOLS AND 3 COURSES Expect an evening of chaos and mayhem - with extra large portions of comedy and extra tasty portions of food cooked

by Lichfield's favourite chef, Simon Smith, Thurs 7 - Sat 9 Jan, Lichfield Garrick ROBIN HOOD & BABES IN THE WOOD Fun and frolics as two well-known stories are fused together for some post-Christmas entertainment, Sat 9 Sat 30 Jan, Theatre On The Steps, Bridgnorth, Shropshire

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK THE ROCK'N'ROLL PANTO until Sun 10 Jan, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre

THE LEGEND OF KING ARTHUR Oddsocks brings the English legend to life via an 'exciting, interactive and action-packed winter treat for all the family’, Sun 10 Jan, Artrix, Bromsgrove Ice Stake Birmingham is at Centenary Square until 10 Jan

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JANUARY HIGHLIGHTS Tue 12th Jan, 7.30pm

THE CIRCUS OF HORRORS The latest incarnation ‘Welcome to the Carnevil' is set in Victorian London in 1899, a show ruled by the undead and climaxing in an awesome flaming apocalypse.

Wed 13th Jan, 7.45pm

CHRISTINE TOBIN A Thousand Kisses Deep New arrangements of Leonard Cohen songs.

Her unique interpretations make an inspired celebration of the legendary Canadian singer, songwriter and poet.

Tickets: £12

Sat 16th Jan, 7.30pm

UPTOWN FUNK LIVE! A live tribute to Bruno Mars but also a blend of the greatest old skool Soul & Funk Classic's! The show features guest artist Rihanna (tribute) and the super funky sounds of DJ Mylez!

Tickets: £17.50, £14

Sat 16th Jan. 11am & 2pm THE ELVES AND THE SHOWMAKERS A Derby Theatre & Big Window Theatre Company production

A tale of magic and mischief perfect for ages 3 - 7 and their family & friends.

Tickets: £10, £7 child Wed 20th - Sat 23rd Jan, 7.30pm LICHFIELD PLAYERS PRESENTS:

DAISY PULLS IT OFF Join Daisy and her friends for hockey matches, midnight feasts,expeditions and adventure in this award-winning St Trinians’s style comedy.

Tickets: £12 - £15

Fri 29th Jan,7.45pm

THE REMI HARRIS PROJECT Regarded by many as one of the UK's Top Up and Coming Young Jazz Guitarists.

Tickets: £15 Sat 30th Jan, 7.30pm

FLANDERS AND SWAN Join Tim FitzHigam and Duncan Walsh Atkins as they bring you the wit and wordplay of ingenious comedy songsmiths, Flanders and Swann.

Tickets: £16

BOX OFFICE: 01543 412 121 www.lichfieldgarrick.com LICHFIELD GARRICK, CASTLE DYKE, LICHFIELD, STAFFS, WS13 6HR 56 whatsonlive.co.uk

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thelist Visual Arts

LYNNE SAWYER & KATHERINE WATSON: CONTEMPORARY ART/NATURAL LANDSCAPES until Sun 3 Jan, Artrix, Bromsgrove TOM FROST: PRINTMAKER Solo exhibition of work by Tom Frost, until Sun 3 Jan, Shire Hall Gallery, Staffordshire CHRISTMAS CRAFT Paintings and prints, mosaics, quirky clocks, jewellery and ceramics, until Sun 3 Jan, Shire Hall Gallery, Staffordshire EXPRESSIONS OF HUMAN FORM EXHIBITION Drawings, paintings and sculptures by six RBSA members and associates - Marylane Barfield, Brian Fletcher, John Garbutt, Roger Keeling, Jo Naden and David Walton, until Mon 4 Jan, Weston Park, Shropshire JOANNE MASDING: SHINY SURFACE AMNESTY During the course of her two-week residency, Joanne attempts to capture the glitz of the festive season, celebrating the overload of shiny surfaces attached to tinsel, baubles and lights, until Wed 6 Jan, Airspace Projects, Stoke-on-Trent DUDLEY SOCIETY OF ARTISTS

Friday 1 - Sunday 10 January

EXHIBITION Featuring works in a variety of media by members of the highly respected local art society, until Sat 9 Jan, Dudley Museum & Art Gallery MAT COLLISHAW Works in sculpture, photography, film and installation, until Sun 10 Jan, The New Art Gallery, Walsall WHOSE GAZE IS IT ANYWAY? Exploring the history of Arab pop culture through posters, notebooks, diaries, book covers, films and videos, until Sun 10 Jan, The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs LOWRY & BERRY: OBSERVERS OF URBAN LIFE Works by distinguished artist LS Lowry and his local counterpart Arthur Berry, until Sun 10 Jan, The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-onTrent 'DEFENCE THROUGH THE LENS' 100 YEARS OF DEFENCE PHOTOGRAPHY Exhibition of work by photographers from the army, navy and Royal Air Force, with images of conflicts from World War One through to Iraq and Afghanistan, until Sun 10 Jan, Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery THIS IS NOT A JOKE Exhibition that looks at how contemporary artists

use different facets of humour in their work, until Sat 16 Jan, Wolverhampton Art Gallery

OPENING THIS WEEK:

GUILD OF ENAMELLERS Enamels, jewellery, textiles, ceramics and wood work from local makers, until Sat 16 Jan, The Willow Gallery, Oswestry, Shropshire

QUBE GROUPS Opportunity for those attending Qube workshops to have their work on display in the main gallery, Tues 5 - Mon 25 Jan, Qube Gallery, Oswestry, Shropshire

OSWESTRY & DISTRICT SOCIETY OF ARTISTS Over forty members exhibit works featuring landscape, portrait and abstract art, until Sat 16 Jan, The Willow Gallery, Oswestry, Shropshire

THE LIE OF THE LAND Exhibition of recent paintings by West Midlandsbased artist Shaun Morris, Wed 6 Sun 31 Jan, Artrix, Bromsgrove

THE MAGICAL WORLD OF MASKS AND PUPPETS Featuring masks from Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mexico and Italy, until Sun 17 Jan, Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery THE CLIVE BEARDSMORE GIFT The 2015 interventions into the Garman Ryan Collection is a selection from a substantial gift of artworks donated to the gallery until Sun 24 Jan, The New Art Gallery, Walsall EPSTEIN'S ROCK DRILL I TRANSFORMED BY WAR Rock Drill was destroyed by Epstein at the end of 1915 and reformed into the truncated Torso In Metal from Rock Drill, until Sun 24 Jan, The New Art Gallery, Walsall

STILL, STILL LIFE Featuring paintings, photographs, textiles and installations, Sat 9 Jan - Sun 6 Mar, Shire Hall Gallery, Stafford HOPES + DREAMS: STATEMENTS OF INTENT EXPLORED An exhibition featuring lettered work, in all types of media, by members of Letter Exchange, Mon 11 Jan - Fri 12 Feb, Parkside Gallery, Birmingham WINTER HERITAGE TOURS OF BLAKESLEY HALL Experience one of Birmingham’s finest timber-framed buildings and get a unique insight into the aspirations of the Tudor classes who lived and worked there.

On Wednesdays and Thursdays, Wed 6 Jan - Thurs 11 Feb, Blakesley Hall, Birmingham PUBLIC PARANORMAL INVESTIGATION Fri 8 Jan, Tutbury Castle, Staffordshire

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The List 11-17 Jan - REGION 2 FINAL VERSION.qxp_Layout 1 18/12/2015 20:32 Page 1

THE DINNER CLUB

(EST 86)

A RECIPE FOR FINE FOOD AND GOOD COMPANY

SINGLE?

For the more discerning unattached person, age 40+ Events weekly include dining out, dinner dances, black tie balls,theatre, parties, weekends away and holidays abroad.

NOT A DATING AGENCY

01244 677030 (Day) / 01244 548816 (Eve/W-end)

www.thedinnerclubuk.com

58 whatsonlive.co.uk

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thelist

Monday 11 - Sunday 17 January

Classical Music Theatre CONSERVATOIRE RECITAL Featuring Roderick Williams (baritone) & Iain Burnside (piano). Programme includes works by Schubert & Schwanengesang, Tues 12 Jan, Adrian Boult Hall, Birmingham

THE CIRCUS OF HORRORS: WELCOME TO THE CARNEVIL The Britain’s Got Talent finalists are back on the road with a show ruled by the undead and climaxing in an awesome flaming apocalypse, Tues 12 Jan, Lichfield Garrick

CBSO: SCHEHERAZADE Andrew Gorley conducts the CBSO as they present three of Ravel’s musical fairytales, Thurs 14 & Sat 16 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham CBSO CENTRE STAGE: VERDI AND PUCCINI Featuring Zoë Beyers & Amanda Lake (violins), Michael Jenkinson (viola), Kate Setterfield (cello), Fri 15 Jan, CBSO Centre, Birmingham COMPLETELY BRAHMS CONSERVATOIRE CONCERT Featuring Luke Westcombe (clarinet), Tingting Yao (piano), Maria Oguren (violin) & Anna Barsegjiana (viola) & Lucy French (cello), Fri 15 Jan, Recital Hall, Birmingham Conservatoire THE TIPPETT QUARTET Programme includes works by Hadyn, Robert Simpson & Mendelssohn Fri 15 Jan, Artrix, Bromsgrove

Blair Dunlop plays Stafford Gatehouse on 11 Jan

Gigs

Jan, O2 Institute, Birmingham

SUPREME QUEEN Sat 16 Jan, Artrix, Bromsgrove

BLAIR DUNLOP Mon 11 Jan, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre

THE NEW ROMANCE, IVORY WAVE, GEORGE WILSON, OAK STREET & BEYOND THE BAY Fri 15 Jan, O2 Academy, Birmingham

BILL CADDICK Sat 16 Jan, Birchmeadow Centre, Broseley

BESIDE ALL HOPE Fri 15 Jan, The Rainbow Venues, Birmingham

MAZ MITRENKO BAND Sat 16 Jan, Katie Fitzgerald's, Stourbridge

KASAI MASAI Wed 13 Jan, New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme AVERSIONS CROWN Wed 13 Jan, The Rainbow Venues, Birmingham PHOENIX RISING Wed 13 Jan, The Robin, Bilston CHRISTINE ROBIN Wed 13 Jan, Lichfield Garrick, Staffordshire THE JOHNNY CASH ROADSHOW Thurs 14 Jan, New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham LIMEHOUSE LIZZY Thurs 14 Jan, Foxlowe Arts Centre, Leek THE SIMON AND GARFUNKEL STORY - 50TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR Thurs 14 Jan, The Robin, Bilston TROPE & DISTRICTS Thurs 14 Jan, Hare & Hounds, Birmingham

LEGEND - LEGENDS OF ROCK Fri 15 Jan, The River Rooms, Stourbridge THINK FLOYD Fri 15 Jan, The Robin, Bilston ONE NIGHT OF ELVIS: LEE 'MEMPHIS' KING Sat 16 Jan, New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham SYNERGY Sat 16 Jan, Havana Republic, Shrewsbury THE BRUNO SHOW - A TRIBUTE TO BRUNO MARS Sat 16 Jan, Lichfield Garrick, Staffordshire ELKIE BROOKS Sat 16 Jan, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre

LISBON Sat 16 Jan, The Sugarmill, Stokeon-Trent

THE YOUNG Sat 16 Jan, The Rainbow Venues, Birmingham CLUB BERLIN Sat 16 Jan, The River Rooms, Stourbridge SMALL FAKERS Sat 16 Jan, The River Rooms, Stourbridge THE MODFATHERS Sat 16 Jan, The Robin, Bilston MC NUTCRACKER’S SPECTRE BIRTHDAY BALL Sat 16 Jan, O2 Institute, Birmingham RAT PACK LIVE Sun 17 Jan, Artrix, Bromsgrove BLACK DYKE BAND Sun 17 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham

KEVIN DONALDSON FROM THE MURMUR Thurs 14 Jan, Katie Fitzgerald's, Stourbridge

TURNOVER, TEEN BRAINS & CLAWS Sun 17 Jan, The Rainbow Venues, Birmingham

BEYOND THE BARRICADE Fri 15 Jan, New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham

BRAVADO - TRIBUTE TO RUSH Sun 17 Jan, The Robin, Bilston

JAMIE LAWSON Fri 15

BARBER LUNCHTIME CONCERT WITH SAVITRI GREER & RICHARD UTTLEY Programme includes works by Bartok, Debussy & Faure, Fri 15 Jan, The Barber Institute, Birmingham

BUGSY MALONE Presented by Mellow Dramatics, Tues 12 Jan, The Brewhouse Arts Centre, Burton-uponTrent ABUELO Amahra Spence’s story, which follows the journey of a young black woman experiencing change, Thurs 14 - Sat 16 Jan, The REP, Birmingham

NEW ENGLISH ORCHESTRA AND SINGERS 40TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION CONCERT This last concert of the season features works by Mendelssohn, Strauss & Charpentier, as well as Scottish folk & spiritual music, Sat 16 Jan, Birmingham Town Hall WURLITZER THEATRE ORGAN CONCERTS Sun 17 Jan, The Buttermarket, Shrewsbury DVORAK AT TWILIGHT The programme comprises Cypresses' for String Quartet; String Quintet Op97 & String Sextet Op48, Sun 17 Jan, Maidment Hall, Shrewsbury School

Comedy Gigs

HENRY ROLLINS: CHARMINGLY OBSTINATE EUROPEAN TOUR Henry Rollins visits, complete with an uncompromising attitude towards spoken-word performances and journalism, Fri 15 Jan, Birmingham Town Hall

ELLIE TAYLOR, JOHN ROBERTSON & DALISO CHAPONDA Thurs 14 Jan, Bramall Music Building, Birmingham

BEYOND THE BARRICADE Recreating original West End/Broadway musical hit songs, Fri 15 Jan, New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham

KEVIN HART Fri 15 Jan, Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham ADAM HESS, KIERAN BOYD & TOMMY ROWSON Fri 15 Jan, The Courtyard, Hereford ANDREW LAWRENCE Sat 16 Jan, The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton STEPHEN K. AMOS Sat 16 Jan, The Old Rep Theatre, Birmingham

THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKERS A new production of the popular Brothers Grimm fairytale, fusing live music, puppetry, physical storytelling and plenty of elf magic, Sat 16 Jan, Lichfield Garrick SNOW CHILD Tutti Frutti & York Theatre Royal present a magical story about family, love and the power of dreams, Sun 17 Jan, mac, Birmingham RED RIDING HOOD - THE PANTO Join Little Red as she endeavours to escape the clutches of the evil Squire Bullymore’s orphanage in this Appletree production inspired by the popular Brothers Grimm tale, Sun 17 Jan, Ludlow Assembly Rooms, South Shropshire

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Monday 11 - Sunday 17 January

Events PERFORMANCE CAR SHOW With iconic brands like Lamborghini, Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin and Porsche, Thurs 14 - Sun 17 Jan, NEC, Birmingham EXCALIBUR COMPUTER FAIR Computer goods at trade prices, Sat 16 Jan, National Motorcycle Museum, Solihull AUTOSPORT INTERNATIONAL Cars, stars and action, Sat 16 - Sun 17 Jan, NEC, Birmingham

The Revenant

BBL CUP FINAL Two of the top teams in UK Basketball go head to head for this coveted prize, Sun 17 Jan, Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham

Film NEW FILMS ON GENERAL RELEASE:

CREED (12a) THE REVENANT (15) IP MAN 3 (15) See Film section for previews on p38

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Visual Arts

FIONA BANNER - SCROLL DOWN AND KEEP SCROLLING Text pieces, drawings, sculptures and films, until Sun 17 Jan, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham

THIS IS NOT A JOKE Exhibition that looks at how contemporary artists use different facets of humour in their work, until Sat 16 Jan, Wolverhampton Art Gallery

JACQUES NIMKI: SEEN/UNSEEN A new permanent installation featuring more than 300 barely visible works referencing plant drawings, until Sun 17 Jan, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham

GUILD OF ENAMELLERS Enamels, jewellery, textiles, ceramics and wood work from local makers, until Sat 16 Jan, The Willow Gallery, Oswestry, Shropshire

THE CLIVE BEARDSMORE GIFT The 2015 interventions into the Garman Ryan Collection is a selection from a substantial gift of artworks donated to the gallery, until Sun 24 Jan, The New Art Gallery, Walsall

OSWESTRY & DISTRICT SOCIETY OF ARTISTS Featuring landscape, portrait and abstract art, until Sat 16 Jan, The Willow Gallery, Oswestry, Shropshire

Released Fri 15 Jan, showing at selected cinemas.

ROOM (15)

The Clive Beardsmore Gift shows at New Art Gallery until 24 Jan

MIDLAND CLOCK AND WATCH FAIR Sun 17 Jan, National Motorcycle Museum, Solihull

THE MAGICAL WORLD OF MASKS AND PUPPETS Featuring masks from Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mexico and Italy, until Sun 17 Jan, Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery

EPSTEIN'S ROCK DRILL I TRANSFORMED

BY WAR Rock Drill was destroyed by Epstein at the end of 1915 and reformed into the truncated Torso In Metal from Rock Drill, until Sun 24 Jan, The New Art Gallery, Walsall

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HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE ARENA THEATRE TICKETS FOR OUR SPRING 2016 SEASON ARE NOW ON SALE! 3rd February at 7.30pm

5th February at 8.00pm

6th February at 1.30pm

6th Februaryat 7.30pm

JEAN TOUSIANT'S ROOTS AND HERBS

THE NOSE THAT NOBODY PICKED

JUICE COMEDY CLUB

Tickets £10, £8 conc.

Tickets £20, £18 conc.

11th February at 7.30pm

12th February at 7.30pm

Tickets £5 13th February at 7.30pm

Tickets £12

25 February at 7.30pm

SONG OF SEMMERSUAQ

BERT + LEARNED FRIENDS

LIFE AND TIMES OF THE TAT MAN

OUTSIDEYE: LACK

Tickets £10, £8 conc.

Tickets £5

Tickets £10, £8 conc.

Tickets £10, £8 conc.

RINKOO BARPAGA AM I FUNNY?

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Monday 18 - Sunday 24 January

Classical Music Theatre CBSO SERENADE TO MUSIC Featuring Michael Seal & Simon Halsey (conductors), the CBSO Youth Chorus, CBSO Children’s Chorus & sixteen soloists from UK conservatoires, Programme includes works by Grainger, Vaughan Williams & Judith Weir, Thurs 21 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham JONATHAN ANTOINE Re-arranged date for the classically trained tenor, Thurs 21 Jan, Bramall Music Building, Birmingham University MUSICAL PORTRAITS: LECTURE RECITALS WITH KEN HAMILTON Programme includes works by Chopin, Liszt, Ireland & Debussy, Fri 22 Jan, The Barber Institute, Birmingham

The Corrs play Genting Arena on 19 Jan

Gigs

THE COUNTERFEIT STONES Fri 22 Jan, Artrix, Bromsgrove

THE CORRS Tues 19 Jan, Genting Arena, Birmingham

ONE NIGHT OF ROCK Fri 22 Jan, New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham

JEREMIH Tues 19 Jan, O2 Institute, Birmingham

CANCER BATS Fri 22 Jan, O2 Academy, Birmingham

DELANO MILLS AND STRICTLY NOT JAZZ Tues 19 Jan, The Jam House, Birmingham

IN THIS MOMENT Fri 22 Jan, O2 Institute, Birmingham

MICHAEL SCHENKER'S TEMPLE OF ROCK Wed 20 Jan, The Robin, Bilston THE PITMEN POETS Wed 20 Jan, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre CANCER BATS Wed 20 Jan, The Sugarmill, Stoke-on-Trent MALC STENT IN THE AFTERNOON Wed 20 Jan, Solihull Arts Complex DAUGHTER Wed 20 Jan, O2 Institute, B’ham THE EDUARDO NIEBLA DUO Wed 20 Jan, New Vic Theatre, Newcastleunder-Lyme RICHARD DIGANCE Thurs 21 Jan, Artrix, Bromsgrove THE ELVIS YEARS Thurs 21 Jan, The Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury BACK TO BACHARACH Thurs 21 Jan, New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham AYNSLEY LISTER BAND Thurs 21 Jan, The Robin, Bilston BEN SMITH Thurs 21 Jan, Katie Fitzgerald’s, Stourbridge

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NAHKO AND MEDICINE FOR THE PEOPLE Sat 23 Jan, The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton THE NOTEBENDERS Sat 23 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham

OCEAN COLOUR SCENE Fri 22 Jan, Irish Centre, Birmingham DEFINITELY MIGHTBE & ADORED Fri 22 Jan, The River Rooms, Stourbridge CREEDANCE CLEARWATER REVIEW & THE RAINBREAKERS Fri 22 Jan, The Roadhouse, B’ham THE SUPERSKAS Fri 22 Jan, The Robin, Bilston MINUS THE BEAR & AERO FLYNN Fri 22 Jan, The Sugarmill, Stoke-onTrent

BIRMINGHAM PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA CONCERT Programme includes works by Sullivan, Gounod, Ponchielli, Suppe & Coates, Sun 24 Jan, Bramall Music Building, Birmingham University

LEE HURST Fri 22 Jan, Solihull Arts Complex and also Sun 24 Jan, Artrix, Bromsgrove

G2 - DEFINITIVE GENESIS Sat 23 Jan, The Robin

ABBA MANIA Sat 23 Jan, New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham

BEFORE THE DAWN Sat 23 Jan, Lichfield Garrick, Staffordshire

ANDY MILLS Sat 23 Jan, Havana Republic, Shrewsbury LIFESIGNS Sun 24 Jan, The Robin, Bilston

DAISY PULLS IT OFF Award-winning St Trinian’s-style comedy presented by the Lichfield Players, Wed 20 - Sat 23 Jan, Lichfield Garrick THE SNOWMAN Stage show based on Raymond Briggs' popular children's book, Wed 20 - Sun 24 Jan, The REP, Birmingham LADY LUST Using pornography and her own sex life as a starting point, Sarah Hamilton Baker investigates what it means to be a woman in the twenty-first century, Thurs 21 - Sat 23 Jan, The REP, Birmingham

THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKERS Brothers Grimm fairytale fusing live music, puppetry, physical storytelling and plenty of elf magic, Sat 23 Jan, Brewhouse Arts Centre, Burton-uponTrent FREEZIN’ Black Country panto from Fizzog Productions, Sat 23 Jan, Crescent Theatre, Birmingham THE LEGEND OF KING ARTHUR Oddsocks present an 'exciting, interactive and action-packed winter treat for all the family’, Sun 24 Jan, The Place, Oakengates, Telford

THREE BLIND MICE Sat 23 Jan, Katie Fitzgerald’s, Stourbridge KEITH JAMES Sat 23 Jan, Brewhouse Arts Centre, Burton upon Trent

AUSTENTATIOUS A new musical which follows a theatre group’s journey as they unwittingly butcher Jane Austen’s classic novel, Pride And Prejudice, Wed 20 - Thurs 21 Jan, Lichfield Garrick

THE BOY WHO BIT PICASSO Hands-on family show introducing one of the twentieth century’s most influential artists through the eyes of a young boy, Fri 22 - Sat 23 Jan, Newhampton Arts Centre, Wolverhampton

ERADIKATOR Sat 23 Jan, O2 Academy, B’ham

THE COUNTERFEIT STONES Sat 23 Jan, Artrix, Bromsgrove

MALCOLM STENT IN THE AFTERNOON, Wed 20 Jan, Solihull Arts Complex

SINGALONG WITH THE CBSO: HAYDN'S THE CREATION Featuring Simon Halsey (conductor) & the CBSO Chorus, Sun 24 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham

THE STARVING RASCALS Sat 23 Jan, The River Rooms, Stourbridge

QUADROPHENIA NIGHT DJ DREW STANSALL (THE SPECIALS), THE ATLANTICS & THE COPPERS Sat 23 Jan, O2 Academy, Birmingham

THE SOUND OF MUSIC New production of the timeless family musical, Tues 19 - Sat 23 Jan, Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent

COMPLETELY BRAHMS CONSERVATOIRE CONCERT Featuring Jung Yoon Cho (violin), Nafis Umerkulova (piano), Naoko Senda (violin), Ruri Kuroda (cello) & Yenting Wang (piano), Fri 22 Jan, Recital Hall, Birmingham Conservatoire

Comedy Gigs SEYES Sat 23 Jan, Prince Of Wales Centre, Cannock

AN EVENING WITH CHRIS HADFIELD The twenty-first century’s most famous astronaut reflects on his career, Tues 19 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham

STEPHEN BAILEY Fri 22 Jan, The Old Post Office, Burton-upon-Trent JOEL DOMMETT, GARY TRO, BEC HILL & CHRIS PURCHASE Fri 22 Jan, Lichfield Garrick, Staffordshire COMEDY IN THE MET Sat 23 Jan, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre KEN DODD Sun 24 Jan, Royal Spa Centre, Leamington Spa

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Monday 18 - Sunday 24 January

Film

Visual Arts

INDEPENDENT LISTINGS:

ECO-CRAFT EXHIBITION An exhibition showcasing designer makers with an ethical approach to craft-making, Mon 18 Jan - Sat 7 May, RBSA Gallery, Birmingham

STEAMBOAT BILL, JR. (U) Buster Keaton delivers his most famous stunt in this 1928 silent-movie favourite about the accident-prone captain of a paddle steamer. Sun 24 Jan, Electric Cinema, Birmingham SUNSET SONG (15) An adaptation of Lewis Grassic Gribbon’s classic novel, telling the tale of a farmer’s daughter coming of age immediately prior to World War One. Stars Agyness Deyn & Peter Mullan. Old Market Hall, Shrewsbury, Fri 22 - Thurs 28 Jan

NEW FILMS ON GENERAL RELEASE: Released Fri 22 Jan, showing at selected cinemas.

THE 5TH WAVE (12a) THE BIG SHORT (15) OUR BRAND IS CRISIS (15) RIDE ALONG 2 (12a) THE LAST DIAMOND (tbc) LOST IN KARASTAN (15) See Film section for previews on p38

ASSEMBLED DREAMS: A HISTORY OF BUILDING TOYS Sat 23 Jan - Sat 5 Mar, Wolverhampton Art Gallery MATHÉ SHEPHEARD ARBSA A semiabstract approach that explores a variety of landscapes, including skies, mountains, water, contours and textures, until Sat 23 Jan, RBSA Gallery, Birmingham

The Monster Energy Arenacross Tour takes place at Genting Arena, 23 - 24 Jan

Events AN EXPERIENCE WITH... ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER A black-tie dinner event which sees Arnie interviewed on stage by a yet-to-be announced celebrity host, Thurs 21 Jan, International Convention Centre (ICC), Birmingham GHOST TOURS OF ASTON HALL, Sat 23 Jan, Aston Hall, Birmingham

THE MONSTER ENERGY ARENACROSS TOUR Two nights of indoor motocross racing and freestyle MX action, Sat 23 - Sun 24 Jan, Genting Arena, Birmingham BURNS SUPPER A special homage to Scottish poet Robert Burns, complete with traditional Scottish food and entertainment, Sat 23 Jan, Churnet Valley Railway, Froghall, Staffordshire

THE CLIVE BEARDSMORE GIFT The 2015 interventions into the Garman Ryan Collection is a selection from a substantial gift of artworks donated to the gallery until Sun 24 Jan, The New Art Gallery, Walsall EPSTEIN'S ROCK DRILL I TRANSFORMED

BY WAR Rock Drill was destroyed by Epstein at the end of 1915 and reformed into the truncated Torso In Metal from Rock Drill, until Sun 24 Jan, The New Art Gallery, Walsall FLINCK IN FOCUS Marking the 400th anniversary of Govert Flinck’s birth, until Sun 24 Jan, The Barber Institute, Birmingham

JANUARY 2016 BROMSGROVE’S THEATRE, CINEMA, LIVE MUSIC AND COMEDY VENUE Sat 9th January

Sun 10th January

Sun 17st January

GARY DELANEY

THE LEGEND OF KING ARTHUR

THE RAT PACK

THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT GARY

FANTASTIC FAMILY SHOW FROM ODDSOCKS

TOP TRIBUTE TO FRANK SINATRA, DEAN MARTIN & SAMMY DAVIS JNR

Fri 22nd & Sat 23rd January

Sun 24th January

Sun 31st January

THE COUNTERFEIT STONES

LEE HURST COMEDY SHOW NO 9

WHITNEY HOUSTON LIVE EXPERIENCE WITH NYA KING

TWO NIGHTS OF FRAUD ROCK

FORTHCOMING CINEMA: Spectre (12A) // Brooklyn (12A) // The Lady In The Van (12A) // Burnt (15) // Bridge Of Spies (12A) // Pride (15) Carol (15) // By The Sea (12A) FORTHCOMING SCREENINGS: Les Liaisons Dangereuses (NT Live) // La Traviata (ROH Live) // As You Like It (NT Live) // The Magic Flute (ENO Live) The Car Man (Matthew Bourne) // Giselle (Royal Ballet Live)

Download the Artrix brochure on www.artrix.co.uk

www.artrix.co.uk or phone 01527 577330 Artrix, Slideslow Drive, Bromsgrove B60 1PQ

Free parking on-site

@artrixarts @artrix arts centre

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ELKIE BROOKS GATEHOUSE THEATRE

Sat 16 Jan

JANUARY & FEBRUARY HIGHLIGHTS

Quite simply one of the most successful and popular singers the UK has ever produced.

Performing some of her classic hits, blues and jazz, an electric evening with Elkie is guaranteed to leave you begging for more.

Elkie is a stunning performer and whatever she does, she does it best live. Don't miss the chance to see a truly great artist in action.

12 - 16 January, 7.30pm 2.30pm Sat Mat Mellow Dramatics presents:

Bugsy Malone

Tickets £12, £10 (Tues eve & Mat) 7.30pm, £24

THE PITMEN POETS

23 January, 2pm

GATEHOUSE THEATRE

Derby Theatre & Big Window:

The Elves and the Shoemaker

Wed 20 Jan

Tickets £6, £20 Family

23 January, 7.45pm 7.30pm, £17.50 The Pitmen Poets celebrate the songs, humour and culture of North East England's Coal Mining tradition, bringing together four of the region's leading champions of its musical heritage. With archive footage and photographs, this is a journey through the centuries of a once-great industry, from the songs that saw it thrive and dominate, to those that saw its demise and the resulting aftermath.

NT LIVE: LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES GATEHOUSE THEATRE

12a

Kieth James in Concert Tickets: £12 adv, Otd £14

3 February, 12.30pm

Literature At Lunchtime - Film & Talk with Dr Jane MacKay

Of Mice And Men Tickets: £6

Thu 28 Jan Following the hugely successful broadcasts of Coriolanus and King Lear, National Theatre Live brings the Donmar Warehouse’s highly anticipated new production of Les Liaisons 7pm, £12.50 Dangereuses to cinemas.

Directed by Josie Rourke (Coriolanus), the cast includes Elaine Cassidy (The Paradise), Janet McTeer (The White Queen) and Dominic West (The Wire).

4 February, 8pm Justin Moorhouse ‘Destiny Calling’ Tickets: £18 (16+)

12 February, 7.30pm Gerard Logan Wilde About The Boy

CARL HUTCHINSON THE MET STUDIO

Fri 29 Jan In this show, Carl contemplates what exactly he’s brought to the table of life and why he’s even asking such questions at the age of 27. Between doing his job as a comedian and being a lifelong fan of 8pm, £10 wrestling, he hasn't really done that much. Carl explains his love of wrestling and how it’s remained the one constant from childhood to adulthood.

Attempting to escape the strict parameters of stand-up and wrestling, how can he improve the CV of such a sheltered existence?

DAVID O’DOHERTY

14+

GATEHOUSE THEATRE

Tickets: Pay what you think it is worth

16 - 20 February, 7.30pm 6.30 Wed, 2.30pm Thu & Sat Mat, Burton Amateur Stage Entertainers:

The Sleeping Beauty £11, £10 (Conc) £36 Family

25 February, 8pm The Noise Next Door Tour: Noise In The Hood Tickets £13

Sat 30 Jan David O’Doherty, the Lidl Enya, the broken Bublé, is delighted to present an evening of talking and songs played on a stupid keyboard from 1986. Life is like a box of chocolates, but one where somebody else has eaten all the chocolates. And replaced them with mouse heads and dishwasher tablets.

The Madhouse presents:

26 February 12.30pm The Madhouse presents:

Lowri Evens 8pm, £16/£14 concs

THE GRUFFALO’S CHILD GATEHOUSE THEATRE

3+

Thu 4 & Fri 5 Feb Following hot on the heels of The Gruffalo’s monstrous success comes The Gruffalo’s Child - with attitude! Just how brave is she?

Find out for yourselves by joining her at Stafford Gatehouse Thu 4,1.30pm, Theatre. The Gruffalo said that no Fri 5, 10.30am and 1.30pm Gruffalo should ever set foot in £11.50 the deep dark wood...One wild and windy night the Gruffalo’s child ignores her father’s warning and tiptoes out into the snow.

After all, the Big Bad Mouse doesn’t really exist... does he?

BOOKONLINE Box Office 01785 619080 www.staffordgatehousetheatre.co.uk

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Tickets: £10 adv, Otd £12

27 February, 7.45pm Fausturs Tickets: £12 adv, Otd £14

Brewhouse Arts Centre, Union Street, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire DE14 1AA

Box office: 01283 508100. www.brewhouse.co.uk

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Monday 25 - Sunday 31 January

Classical Music Dance LUNCHTIME ORGAN CONCERT WITH THOMAS TROTTER Programme comprises music from Bizet’s Carmen, Mon 25 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham NICOLA BENEDETTI: SZYMANOWSKI Lahav Shani conducts, Wed 27 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham MORICOSTA STRING TRIO Featuring Lucy Baker-Stockdale (violin), Steven Burnard (viola) & Jessica Burroughs (cello), Wed 27 Jan, New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme

The Libertines at Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham on 27 January

Gigs THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT Mon 25 Jan, O2 Institute, B’ham

Stourbridge

Leek

WHITESNAKE UK, PURE PURPLE & THE BLACKMORE LEGACY Fri 29 Jan, The Robin, Bilston

RODERICK WILLIAMS & SUSIE ALLAN Sat 30 Jan, Ludlow Assembly Rooms, Shropshire

MUTEMATH Tues 26 Jan, O2 Academy, B’ham

THE REMI HARRIS PROJECT Fri 29 Jan, Lichfield Garrick, Staffs

THE LIBERTINES Wed 27 Jan, Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham

STARK Fri 29 Jan, Katie Fitzgerald’s, Stourbridge

VOODOO GLOW SKULLS Wed 27 Jan, The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton

FLESH, RELEASE, THE TORCH & ARCADIA Fri 29 Jan, The Sugarmill, Stoke-on-Trent

JEREMY LOOPS Wed 27 Jan, O2 Institute, Birmingham

LET’S TWIST AGAIN Fri 29 Jan, Solihull Arts Complex

GRIEVED Wed 27 Jan, The Rainbow Venues, Birmingham

THE SENSATIONAL 60'S EXPERIENCE Sat 30 Jan, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

BILLY WALTON BAND Wed 27 Jan, The Robin, Bilston THE SYD LAWRENCE ORCHESTRA Wed 27 Jan, Solihull Arts Complex BARRON KNIGHTS Thurs 28 Jan, Solihull Arts Complex

JASON DERULO Sat 30 Jan, Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham T.REXTASY Sat 30 Jan, Artrix, Bromsgrove T'PAU FEATURING CAROL DECKER Sat 30 Jan, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury

PENTANGLE Thurs 28 Jan, The Robin, Bilston

PAUL JONES & DAVE KELLY ACOUSTIC DUO Sat 30 Jan, Number 8 Community Arts Centre, Pershore EASTWOOD Sat 30 Jan, Katie Fitzgerald’s, Stourbridge THE CLASSIC ROCK SHOW - TOP 20 GREATEST GUITAR RIFFS OF ALL TIME - LIVE! Sat 30 Jan, Birmingham Town Hall BOOTLEG ABBA & BEE GEES FEVER Sat 30 Jan, The Robin, Bilston THE WEEKEND ANTHEMS Sat 30 Jan, The River Rooms, Stourbridge

CHINA INSTITUTE CHINESE NEW YEAR CONCERT Special concert featuring Di Xiao (piano), Jiaxin Lloyd Webber (cello) & Jiafeng Chen (violin), Thurs 28 Jan, Bramall Music Building, Birmingham University

EVIL SCARECROW Fri 29 Jan, The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton

MASSIVE ATTACK Sat 30 Jan, O2 Academy, Birmingham

MAYDAY PARADE Fri 29 Jan, O2 Institute, Birmingham

VIVA NEIL DIAMOND Sat 30 Jan, Solihull Arts Complex

MARTYN JOSEPH Fri 29 Jan, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury MINUS THE BEAR Fri 29 Jan, O2 Academy, Birmingham

AWAKE BY DESIGN, WOUNDED CROSS, ENGRAVED DISILLUSION, CELESTIAL WISH & WITHOUT GRACE 30 Jan, O2 Academy, B’ham

THE SMYTHS Fri 29 Jan, The River Rooms,

TIM O'BRIEN Sat 30 Jan, Foxlowe Arts Centre,

BRENDAN COLE - A NIGHT TO REMEMBER The Strictly star presents an evening of ballroom magic and Latin excitement, Fri 29 Jan 2016, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

MUSICAL PORTRAITS: LECTURE RECITALS WITH KEN HAMILTON Programme includes works by Liszt, Ravel & Merrick/Stephenson, Fri 29 Jan, The Barber Institute, B’ham RODERICK WILLIAMS & SUSIE ALLAN IN CONCERT Programme comprises the late Schubert song-cycle Schwanengesang, Sat 30 Jan, Ludlow Assembly Rooms, Ludlow

CHOTTO DESH Akram Khan Company present an adaptation of their own 2011 work, DESH. For children aged seven-plus and their families, Fri 29 Sat 30 Jan, DanceXchange, Birmingham Hippodrome ANTON AND ERIN Sat 30 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham

NIGEL KENNEDY Presents an acoustic version of the Verdi’s Four Seasons, Sun 31 Jan, Symphony Hall, B’ham

GUTS FOR GLORY, SOUTHFALL, EVIL EMPIRE & ARAMANTUS Sat 30 Jan, The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton THE SULTANA BROS Sat 30 Jan, Ludlow Brewery, South Shropshire

BENJI KIRKPATRICK AND JANIE MITCHELL Sun 31 Jan, Henry Tudor House, Shrewsbury

FROM THE JAM - SOUNDS AFFECTS TOUR II Fri 29 Jan, The Buttermarket, Shrewsbury

ZOORESIDENCE SHOWCASE: NURSERY RHYMEZ: REMIXED Showcase of work - the culmination of in-school dance residencies, Wed 27 Jan, Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton

CBSO SMOOTH CLASSICS Featuring Michael Seal (conductor), Oliver James (clarinet) & Zoe Beyers (violin). Margherita Taylor presents.

Programme includes works by Barber, Vaughan Williams, Pachelbel, Mozart, Albinoni, Elgar, Tchaikovsky & Dvorak, Fri 29 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham

Comedy Gigs

TIMES SQUARE BAND Sat 30 Jan, Havana Republic, Shrewsbury

INTERIOR CASTLE Thurs 28 Jan, Katie Fitzgerald’s, Stourbridge

WBS PARTNER PRIMARY’S DANCE FESTIVAL: STEPPING UP Showcase of work presented by William Brookes School & Encore, Tues 26 - Wed 27 Jan, The Edge Arts Centre, Much Wenlock, South Shropshire

CARMEN Olivier Award-winning OperaUpClose present a new English version of Bizet's wildly popular opera, Sun 31 Jan, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury

DAVE GORMAN Tues 26 Jan, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury ISY SUTTIE Tues 26 Jan, The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton CARL HUTCHINSON Fri 29 Jan, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre SIMON BLIGH, JO ROMERO, HARRY STACHINI, MATT HOBS & JONNY EMMETT Fri 29 Jan, National Brewery Centre, Burton-upon-Trent DAVID O'DOHERTY Sat 30 Jan, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre MARK STEEL Sat 30 Jan, Ludlow Assembly Rooms, South Shropshire

WHITNEY HOUSTON LIVE EXPERIENCE FEATURING NYA Sun 31 Jan, Artrix, Bromsgrove

STEWART LEE Sun 31 Jan, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre MIKE GUNN, ADAM ROWE, ANTHONY J BROWN & DAN NIGHTINGALE Sun 31 Jan, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury

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YIZKOR Sue Moffat’s powerful dramadocumentary provides a powerful testimony to the effects of prejudice and discrimination. This event marks the United Nations Holocaust Memorial Day, Mon 25 Jan, New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW Starring Diana Vickers as Janet and Ben Freeman as Brad, Mon 25 - Sat 30 Jan, New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham

Monday 25 - Sunday 31 January MOSCOW STATE CIRCUS The worldfamous circus presents the Russian folklore story of Cvetik-Semicvetik, Thurs 28 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham THE GREAT GATSBY Presented by Blackeyed Theatre, Thurs 28 - Sat 30 Jan, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury ROBINSON CRUSOE AND THE PIRATES Thurs 28 - Sun 31 Jan, Prince of Wales Theatre, Cannock LET’S TWIST AGAIN Popular musical set in an American diner and featuring the music of Elvis, Dusty, Buddy, Petula and more, Fri 29 Jan, Solihull Arts Complex FREE FOR ALL Choice, control and the death of post-war utopia are explored in Richard O’Brien’s darkly comic verse-play, Fri 29 Jan, mac, Birmingham

ENTERTAINING ANGELS Richard Everett’s sharp-edged bittersweet comedy, which moves between adultery, divorce and deception, Mon 25 Sat 30 Jan, The Rose Theatre, Kidderminster PRIVATE LIVES Tom Chambers and Charlotte Ritchie star in this major revival of Noël Coward's hilarious masterpiece, Mon 25 - Sat 30 Jan, Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent

CAPTAIN HOOK’S REVENGE A punk fairy called Tonkerbell and a poisoned cake present an alternative angle on JM Barrie’s classic tale, Fri 29 - Sun 31 Jan, The Belfrey Theatre, Wellington, Shropshire

Events

THE SINGULAR EXPLOITS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES Don’t Go Into The Cellar presents a one-man homage to the world’s greatest detective, Sat 30 Jan, Lichfield Garrick

VITALITY NETBALL SUPERLEAGUE Netball heroes get ready to start the season with a bang, Sat 30 Jan, Genting Arena, Birmingham

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Amateur production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s critically acclaimed musical, Sat 30 - Sun 31 Jan, The Place, Oakengates, Telford CHINESE NEW YEAR Featuring an array of Chinese acrobatics and kung fu, Sun 31 Jan, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Film

Tattoo Freeze at Telford International Centre on 31 Jan

CANDLEMAS Music food and candlelight in the medieval Great Hall, Sat 30 Jan, Hartlebury Castle, Kidderminster TATTOO FREEZE From live tattooing and music to children's entertainment and workshops, Sun 31 Jan, Telford International Centre, Shropshire TNA WRESTLING The Maximum Impact Tour 8, Sun 31 Jan, Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham CAMPER MART One-day VW buying extravaganza, Sun 31 Jan, Telford International Centre, Shropshire

SUNSET SONG (15) An adaptation of Lewis Grassic gribbon’s classic novel, telling the tale of a farmer’s daughter coming of age immediately prior to World War One. Stars Agyness Deyn & Peter Mullan. Stoke Film Theatre, Tues 26 Jan

MACBETH Following their acclaimed collaboration on Medea at the National Theatre, Carrie Cracknell and Lucy Guerin present Shakespeare’s supernatural tragedy, Tues 26 - Sat 30 Jan, The REP, Birmingham NEW WORK NIGHTS: LIGHT Nightmarish tale of love, betrayal and technological power, inspired by Edward Snowden’s revelations and the ensuing debate on state surveillance, Thurs 28 Jan, Old Rep Theatre, Birmingham

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NEW FILMS ON GENERAL RELEASE:

13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI (tbc) THE 33 (12a) CAPTURE THE FLAG (PG) DIRTY GRANDPA (12a) SPOTLIGHT (15) YOUTH (15) BACKTRACK (15) See Film section for previews on p38

KELLY MARK: 108 LYTON AVE Opposite but asymmetrical roles performed by the artist for a split-screen projection, Wed 27 Jan - Sun 3 Apr, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham

JAN VANRIET: THE MUSIC BOY A hugely influential painter and poet from Belgium, Jan has exhibited widely across the world, yet this is his first exhibition in the UK, Fri 29 Jan - Sun 8 May, The New Art Gallery, Walsall

HECTOR (15) Hiding from his past, Hector makes the motorway rest stops of Britain his home, but he can’t hide forever... Stars Peter Mullan. Stoke Film Theatre, Thurs 28 Jan

Released Fri 29 Jan, showing at selected cinemas.

DINH Q LÊ Video installation, organised in collaboration with Artangel, Wed 27 Jan - Sun 3 Apr, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham

LAURA LANCASTER Laura draws her inspiration from forgotten and discarded photographs and home movies, Fri 29 Jan - Sun 8 May, The New Art Gallery, Walsall

INDEPENDENT LISTINGS:

A BEAUTIFUL ENDING Haunting but funny account of how Mohamed El Khatib came to terms with the loss of his mother, Tues 26 - Wed 27 Jan, The REP, Birmingham

Birmingham, Wed 27 Jan - Sun 3 Apr, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham

Visual Arts DAVID TEDHAM ARBSA Series of abstract paintings by artist David Tedham, Mon 25 Jan - Sat 12 Mar, RBSA Gallery, Birmingham JANET MENDELSOHN - VARNA ROAD This exhibition, in collaboration with the University of Birmingham, features original prints from Mendelsohn’s archive of over 3,000 photographs taken predominately in the Balsall Heath area of

A WORLD TO WIN: POSTERS OF PROTEST AND REVOLUTION From the V&A’s collection, showcasing the work of diverse artists, graphic designers and print collectives, Sat 30 Jan - Sun 10 April, Wolverhampton Art Gallery

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Great Theatre at the Grand!

TUE 2 - SAT 6 FEB

TUE 9 - SAT 20 FEB

SUN 21 FEB

TUE 8 - SAT 12 MAR

TUE 15 - SAT 19 MAR

The National Theatre Production J.B. Priestly’s Classic Thriller

Directed by Stephen Daldry

THU 25 - SAT 27 FEB

Music by STEVEN MARGOSHES Lyrics by JAQUES LEVY Book by JOSE FERNADEZ Based on a concept by David DeSilva (Title song “Fame” written by Dean Pitchford and Michael Gore) This amateur production is presented by arrangement with

JOSEF WEINBERGER LTD. ON BEHALF OF MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL OF NEW YORK

SAT 26 MAR

SUN 20 - TUE 22 MAR

THU 31 MAR

THE RUSSIAN STATE BALLET OF SIBERIA THE SNOW MAIDEN Sleeping Beauty Swan Lake

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