Shropshire What's On January 2020

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Your FREE essential entertainment guide for the Midlands SHROPSHIRE WHAT’S ON

Shropshire

KOJO ANIM INTERVIEW INSIDE...

ISSUE 409 JANUARY 2020

JANUARY 2020

’ What sOn FILM I COMEDY I THEATRE I GIGS I VISUAL ARTS I EVENTS I FOOD shropshirewhatson.co.uk

PART OF WHAT’S ON MEDIA GROUP

thelist

inside:

Your 16-page week by week listings guide

GET DANCING!

TWITTER: @WHATSONSHROPS FACEBOOK: @WHATSONSHROPSHIRE INSTAGRAM: @WHATSONSHROPSHIRE SHROPSHIREWHATSON.CO.UK

Jake Quickenden hosts new show at The Place in Telford

THE MORMONS ARE COMING...

Award-winning musical on tour

GLORIOUS FOOD

check out some of our favourite eateries in 2020

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Contents January Wolves/Shrops/Staffs.qxp_Layout 1 13/12/2019 16:18 Page 2

January 2020

Contents

Go, go, go, Joe! - Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat visits the Wolves Grand - page 32

the list

Welsh Wonder

Kojo Anim

Circus Of Horrors

Cerys Matthews headlines Wolves Literary Festival

comedian shares stories of life, parenthood and family...

celebrating 25 years with ‘an amazing amalgamation of acts’

Your 16-page week-by-week listings guide

page 4

page 22

page 32

page 53

inside: 4. First Word

11. Food

17. Gigs

24. Comedy

30. Theatre

43. Film

46. Visual Arts

@whatsonwolverhampton

@staffordshirewhatson

@whatsonshropshire

Wolverhampton What’s On

Staffordshire What’s On

Shropshire What’s On

What’sOn MEDIA GROUP

49. Events

Managing 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: Lauren Foster lauren@whatsonlive.co.uk 01743 281707 Brian O’Faolain brian@whatsonlive.co.uk 01743 281701 Abi Whitehouse abi@whatsonlive.co.uk 01743 281716 Lauren Cole lauren.cole@whatsonlive.co.uk 01743 281733 Sue Jones sue@whatsonlive.co.uk 01743 281705 Subscriptions: Adrian Parker adrian.parker@whatsonlive.co.uk 01743 281714 Contributors: Graham Bostock, James Cameron-Wilson, Katherine Ewing, Jenny Ell, Nanci Davies, Patsy Moss Publisher and CEO: Martin Monahan 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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Entertainment news from around the region

Fab-u-lous! Strictly Ballroom to visit two Midlands venues The fab-u-lous Craig Revel Horwood is to direct a 2020/21 UK and Ireland tour of Baz Luhrmann's smash-hit musical, Strictly Ballroom.

The all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza stops off at two Midlands venues during the tour and comes complete with a selection of hit songs, including Love Is In The Air, Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps and Time After Time.

The show foxtrots into the region at the Wolverhampton Grand from 5 to 10 October, and then next year at Birmingham Hippodrome, from 10 to 15 May.

Voulez Vous - Abba dinner Welsh wonder headlines party at the Garrick Wolves Literary Festival Mamma Mia! Now here’s an event no selfrespecting Abba fan will want to miss...

The Lichfield Garrick Theatre is this month hosting Voulez Vous - The Dinner Party (Friday 24 & Saturday 25 January), a two-hour musical theatre show, accompanied by a three-course meal, which sees talented West End singers performing the Swedish supergroup’s greatest hits. For more information, visit lichfieldgarrick.com

Wacky Races named best new event in the UK Shrewsbury’s first Wacky Races get-together, which took place in the town’s Quarry Park last summer, has won the FIA Formula E Championship’s ‘best new event in the UK’ award.

Featuring unique homemade creations in the form of soapboxes racing down a hill, Wacky Races attracted around 17,000 people and raised over £20,000 for charity. The event returns to Quarry Park on Sunday 24 May.

Canadian comedian Tom to headline gala show

Catatonia founder Cerys Matthews is the star attraction at this month’s Wolverhampton Literature Festival, where she will be talking about her new book, Where The Wild Cooks Go. Now in its fourth year, the festival takes place from Friday 31 January to Sunday 2 February and also features comedy, storytelling sessions, poetry events, and the chance to have afternoon tea with popular characters from Jane Austen novels.

For more information and to buy tickets, visit wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk.

Noel’s High Flying Birds set to sing in the forest...

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds will appear at this summer’s Forest Live show in Cannock Chase Forest on Friday 19 June. The band will be joined by Australian outfit Con4 whatsonlive.co.uk

fidence Man. Forest Live is a major outdoor live music series, held every year by Forestry England, which has been attended by 1.9 million people across the last 19 years.

For more information and to book tickets, visit forestryengland.uk

Canadian iconoclast Tom Stade will headline this year’s Shrewsbury International Comedy Festival Gala Show, which will bring down the curtain on a weekend of laughter-making on Sunday 19 July.

“We’re thrilled to be able to announce Tom,” says Festival Director Kevin Bland. “He’s a world-class act who sells out huge venues across the country and has always enjoyed tremendous support in Shrewsbury. He’s worth the price of admission alone, but there’s more to come, and we’ll be announcing further top-quality acts during the coming months.”

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First Word

Stoke stadium date for Robbie Robbie Williams will this summer perform a special show at Port Vale Football Club's Vale Park Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent.

Local lad and Vale supporter Robbie will take to the stage on 20 June for a concert in aid of three charities - the Donna Louise Hospice for Children & Young People, Unicef UK and The Hubb Foundation.

Jack Savoretti to play Telford Town Park this summer Jack Savoretti will play Telford’s QEII Arena this summer (Saturday 27 June).

Fast-rising singer-songwriter Jack, who last month released his third consecutive UK gold-certified album, Singing To Strangers, will be joined for the gig by Imelda May, who recently performed alongside the legendary Ronnie Wood. To purchase tickets for the show, visit gigantic.com

Racecourse Rick One-time teen idol Rick Astley will perform a live set at Uttoxeter Racecourse on Saturday 16 May. The ’80s legend, best known for number-one single Never Gonna Give You Up, is the star attraction at the end of a full day of racing action.

Tickets for the Live After Racing event are available at ticketmaster.co.uk

Cyber sculpture The Shropshire artist best known for creating a Knife Angel sculpture - as a symbol of the campaign against knife crime - has turned his attention to cyber crime.

Alfie Bradley’s new sculpture, Trojan, is an ironworked horse representing the Trojan horses prevalent in cyber crime. The horses are a way of disguising malware in order to mislead internet users as to its intent.

Alfie unveiled the new artwork on a piece of land near his studio on the edge of Oswestry. "I’ve chosen a dilapidated location, as it represents the current decaying internet landscape.

Like these battered buildings, the internet is getting ravaged by Trojan horses and cyber crime.”

Walliams magic at Alton Towers Resort A unique collaboration between Alton Towers Resort and David Walliams will see a number of the bestselling author’s most-loved creations being brought to life across the venue.

Commenting on the news, David said: “It’s a huge thrill for some of my favourite characters to be getting their own attractions at Alton Towers. I can’t wait to experience them for myself - and judging by all the work that’s gone into it, I think people are going to love it.

All will be revealed in the spring.” whatsonlive.co.uk 5

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First Word

Theatre extends dementia services Wolverhampton Grand Theatre has announced plans to extend services for those living in the local community and surrounding areas who are affected by dementia.

Although it’s already providing entertainment specifically for people living with dementia and their carers at monthly dementia-friendly Memory Cafes, the Grand wants to do more, so will be increasing provision throughout 2020.

This will include the first dementia-friendly performance in the West Midlands - the matinee showing of Million Dollar Quartet on Thursday 2 July.

New name for Walsall venue Forest Arts Centre has been renamed the Walsall Arena & Arts Centre.

The change is partly due to the increasing popularity of the venue's state-of-the-art A3 Arena, which in a few short years has gained an impressive reputation both with artists and audiences.

Bat Out Of Hell flying into the Midlands in the autumn Hit stage show Bat Out Of Hell-The Musical will stop off at Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre from 29 September to 10 October as part of a UK tour.

Featuring Jim Steinman and Meatloaf’s greatest

Sea Life Centre to become home to rare Alaskan otters

Folk icon homage An evening of music by the late Midlands folk icon Nick Drake features in Lichfield Arts’ January programme of entertainment.

Drake, who hailed from Tanworth-in-Arden in Warwickshire, made three albums of fragile, melodic songs before taking his own life in 1974 at the tragically young age of 26.

Singer and guitarist Keith James (pictured) pays homage to his music on Sunday the 19th. To check out the whole January line-up of shows, visit lichfieldarts.org.uk 6 whatsonlive.co.uk

hits, the show takes its inspiration from the legendary album of the same name, which has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide.

For more info, visit BatOutOfHellMusical.com

Line-up announced for award-winning folk festival Globally acclaimed Galician piper Carlos Núñez will headline the 2020 Shrewsbury Folk Festival.

Núñez is one of several acts already confirmed for the four-day West Mid Showground event, this year taking place from 28 to 31 August.

He will be joined at the festival by eight visionary musicians performing The Lost Words: Spell Songs.

The work is a musical companion piece to The Lost Words: A Spell Book, which responds to the removal of everyday nature vocabulary from a widely used children’s dictionary.

Welsh supergroup Pendevig also feature on the bill, as do Calan (pictured), Truckstop Honeymoon and Blackie And The Rodeo Kings, among many others.

For more information about the 2020 event, visit shrewsburyfolkfestival.co.uk

In a UK first, two Alaskan sea otters will soon become residents at Birmingham’s National Sea Life Centre.

The otters will travel more than 5,000 miles by land and air to reach the Centre, where they will set up home in a new multi-million pound marine mammal rescue facility.

The facility is part of a pioneering education & conservation project in partnership with the Sea Life Trust and Alaska Wildlife.

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HISTORY LESSONS

Alan Bennett’s classroom comedy-drama visits Wolverhampton Grand Theatre next month...

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by Lauren Cole

A brand new production of Alan Bennett’s classic classroom comedy-drama, The History Boys, visits the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre early next month.

It’s the 1980s, and an unruly bunch of bright and funny sixth-form boys are in pursuit of sex, sporting achievement and a place at university…

Widely acknowledged to be one of the UK’s finest modern-day playwrights, Alan Bennett is perhaps best known for the frank yet compassionate way in which he unveils his characters’ many layers, exposing both their shortcomings and triumphs for his audience to see. His plays are jam-packed with sharp wit, devastating moments of raw emotion and incomparable humanity.

The History Boys is no exception.

“It’s all about considering what the point of education is,” says Ian Redford, who stars in the new production. “What are schools for? Is school about passing examinations or is it about actually learning stuff? And then is that learning focused on how to be a human being, or finding out about how the world around you works - or both? Education is always on people’s minds and everyone has an opinion about it. I think the further away an individual gets from having been in education, the more strident their opinions become.

I was reading an article years ago about parents running around in Starbucks bragging about their children’s material possessions and arbitrary achievements. But it’s not about that. It’s about whether kids are growing up into happy human beings, not just being raised to achieve certain things, like fulfilling a school’s desired number of pupils going to Oxford and Cambridge, which is certainly part of the story in The History Boys. Education is the nub of the way society works and can become a topic in which people explore what it means to be human, but almost by accident.”

So what was Ian’s own education like?

“I had a particularly extraordinary teacher at school. I wasn’t academic and was pretty lazy too. I really wasn’t interested in school, but I was in plays, theatre and acting. This wonderful teacher - who was a History teacher, funnily enough - taught me how to live through my passions. Reading a book or seeing a play is like going on a magic-carpet ride where you go into this whole different world.

“We also have this desperate focus on achievement; who’s got a better car, a nicer phone, whatever. The History Boys is about that, and it’s also about being human and the power of language.”

As he’s got older, Bennett has become more political, particularly when it comes to the arts. I suppose everything is political in the end, but The History Boys is certainly more overtly so.

The play also delves into the subject of male relationships...

“And it’s so funny too. The humour and wit in it is so funny; “History is just one f***ing thing after another”! It’s truly brilliant. I can’t think of any other playwright who does the combination of politics, comedy and human relationships so well. I’d say he does it in a very understated English way. There’s a gentleness and a sardonic humour around his work. He’s the most extraordinary writer.”

“A few of the characters, both the boys and the teachers, are homosexual or are pretty open when it comes to what they’re willing to try. Putting aside sex, what Alan Bennett discusses is male love of all kinds - a sense of caring for another male. There are all these pressures about what a man should be, how to be an alpha male and what masculinity means. Women obviously have their own pressures, but in the 1980s, men weren’t supposed to hug, touch and be caring towards one another in the same way as women were.

It’s also about adolescence and how to navigate that. It’s about the value of teachers as guides - and not just academically either; not just to get you through the exam and be done with you.”

Ian plays the character of old-school history teacher Hector.

“Hector is married and described as a latent homosexual. He’s a teacher who’s been around a long time and is getting to the latter stage of his career. He survives through humour, definitely knows the limits of his influence - as most teachers do - but has a burning passion which has kept him going throughout his years in teaching. The beauty of language is particularly important for Hector. He has a beautiful relationship with all of the boys, in the sense that he’s a sort of parental figure, but also knows when to give them a cuffing. Hector is forced to share a class with Irwin - a younger teacher who’s come in to shake things up. Irwin’s idea is not to teach the subject as it is, but to embellish and subvert it in a way that makes it more appealing to the students. It’s almost as if he’s flogging stuff! So Hector and Irwin’s relationship is certainly a little confrontational.”

How does Ian think The History Boys compares to Bennett’s other plays?

“In a way I think this play is his most political, although he doesn’t really come up with a specific leaning towards one side or the other.

He just throws up into the air all the questions for the audience to consider for themselves.

Lee Comley, taking on the role of Hector’s rival, Irwin, and Victoria Carling, playing the only female teacher, Mrs Lintott, also have plenty of praise for Bennett and The History Boys.

“This is a play that everyone can relate to,” says Lee. “That feeling of moving from being a late teen into an adult is a strange time for all of us. I think everyone will leave at the end of the show having had a great time, but also holding onto those really important parts of the play. What I like the most, though, is that the boys are very open to their sexuality being fluid. To have that viewpoint in the ’80s is quite unusual. I think what’s so striking about Bennett is how he just lays everything out there, just as it is.”

Victoria is equally complimentary about The History Boys: “After I’d read the script, I tried to describe to my husband what sort of humour Bennett injected into his plays, but it’s really hard to do that. It’s almost like it’s so subtle that you don’t quite know why you’ve laughed, but you do anyway. The comedy in his plays is so clever, but certainly not in an inaccessible way. Bennett is nothing to be afraid of!

“The History Boys never struck me as a play I ever wanted to see, but now having read it, my thinking has been completely altered. It’s moving, funny and thought-provoking. I would compare it to a heartfelt chamber piece. It’s not a great, showy symphony - all fire and bangs - but it’s something you will keep thinking about afterwards.”

The History Boys shows at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from Friday 7 to Saturday 22 February.

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Dine out in 2020

Enjoy great food? Here’s a selection of some of our favourite eateries for you to try out in 2020.

Don’t forget, you can read all of our restaurant reviews in full at whatsonlive.co.uk

The Coach House - ★★★★★

Five Rivers À La Carte - ★★★★★

The Quarter - ★★★★★

Nestled in the Upper Only Valley between the Stiperstones ridge and the Long Mynd an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that’s hugely popular with walkers, cyclists, mountain-bikers and photographers - The Coach House has been providing travellers with hospitality, warmth and comfort since the early 1700s.

This award-winning restaurant boasts a sumptuous fine dining menu created by Head Chef & founder Rashpal Sunner, a man who has prepared banquets for the likes of former President of the United States Bill Clinton and ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The Quarter is a cafe by day and a bistro with a quirky home-style menu by night.

Situated just yards from the Regent Theatre, it provides a wide and mouthwatering variety of food & drink options, regular themed evenings, and function facilities for special events.

Pricing - ££££ 11 Vicarage Place, Walsall, WS1 3NA

Pricing - £££ The Quarter, 65 Piccadilly, Stoke-onTrent, ST1 1HR

Il Michelangelo - ★★★★

Blanc NRI - ★★★★★

The Clive Arms - ★★★★

Il Michelangelo has been trading for eight years and, alongside its extensive a la carte menu, produces daily menus designed to create a truly seasonal dining experience.

The restaurant uses local produce wherever possible, imports the finest seasonal Italian ingredients, and employs chefs who’re expert in creating modern takes on classic Italian recipes.

Brought to Staffordshire’s ever-expanding culinary scene by the owner of the awardwinning James Dahl restaurant in The Arcadian, Birmingham, Blanc NRI is located on the A34 and specialises in serving kebabs and curries originating in the north west, south and Awadh region of India and on the streets of Delhi.

This popular venue boasts fresh, new open-plan dining and bar areas, an additional three bedrooms and an impressive outdoor eating terrace.

The new layout includes a main 40-cover restaurant, with further dining opportunities offered in the extended bar area, snug and lounge.

Pricing - ££££

Pricing - ££££

Pricing - £££

Blanc NRI, A34 Stone Road, Stoke-onTrent, ST15 0QT

The Clive Arms, Bromfield Road, Ludlow, SY8 2JR

Pricing - ££££ The Coach House, Norbury, Bishops Castle, SY9 5DX

Il Michelangelo, Brierley Hill High Street, Brockmoor, DY5 3JA

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Food

and flavour, and definitely one of my highlights of the evening.

REVIEW: Larder

All flavour, no pomp at Lichfield gem “All flavour, no pomp. Pomp overbearing, pretentious and self-important” is the leading line on Larder’s website.

Located on the bustling Bore Street, less than 10 minutes’ walk away from some of the city’s most popular locations the Cathedral, Garrick Theatre and the Guildhall, to name but three - Larder offers a relaxed, honest and ingredient-led fine dining experience in the heart of Lichfield.

The restaurant has just celebrated its first birthday and has become well known for its commitment to local ingredients and bold flavours. Diners can enjoy two courses for £30, three for £40 or a five or a seven-course tasting menu. Vegetarian options are also available.

Larder’s welcoming and attentive manager, Alec, made us feel right at home from the moment we walked through the door. We perused the menu options in the bar area whilst admiring the modern and contemporary decor. Exposed brick, dark wood, and grey, teal, navy and mustard notes run throughout the building. As well as its bar area and main restaurant, Larder also boasts a chef’s table, located next to the kitchen, which can accommodate up to 10 people.

I had heard nothing but glowing

reports about the venue prior to my visit, so my partner and I thought it best to opt for the seven-course tasting menu, to ensure we sampled as much of Larder’s delectable cuisine as possible.

First up was the best bread course that has ever touched my lips - a black truffle crumpet with cultured butter. Due to the way in which it’s made, cultured butter is the more sophisticated and deeper-flavoured version of your average butter, boasting a tangier taste. A generous helping of that, spread all over (and melting into) a warm, doughy, black truffle crumpet is one of the most comforting food experiences you could possibly have.

From the word go, we were beyond impressed!

Next up was the first dish on the tasting menu - torched mackerel.

As well as being aesthetically stunning, it was the nicest-tasting mackerel I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. Beautifully fresh and incredibly soft, its skin was torched to perfection. The fish was complemented by a welcome crunch from a sesame seed cracker, bursts of Japanese-inspired flavours from a soy & ginger gel, and yet more freshness from the little cubes of compressed kohlrabi (German turnip). It was the most vibrant of dishes in both presentation

The Creedy Carver chicken terrine that was presented to us next was my partner’s Larder highlight. The dish featured a precisely formed, soft and succulent chicken terrine, alongside a piece of salty chicken skin, cep powder, a pickled cep mushroom and a strong-flavoured green tarragon emulsion. The classic chicken & mushroom flavour combination is commonplace for a reason - because it’s downright delicious - and Larder’s take on it was exceptional.

I thoroughly enjoy a scallop and find myself being drawn to them if they’re on a menu. My partner, however, is usually left disappointed by them. Not at Larder, though! Hand dived scallop with compressed apple, crispy parsnip, pickled shallots and curry oil was the next dish we tried. The scallop, large in size, was absolute perfection. Sealed nicely on the outside yet soft on the inside, the meaty delight was accompanied by a combination of sweet flavours from the compressed apple and pickled shallots. The curry oil helped bring the dish together without being overpowering, while the crispy parsnip added another dimension to the experience with its crunchy texture. Simply divine.

Next up was a meaty and perfectly cooked piece of monkfish, presented on a bed of salty chorizo jam and accompanied by a creamy sweetcorn sauce and a buttery piece of baby gem. A colourful dish, it married together contrasting and complementary flavours in a way that was nothing short of delicious.

Another highlight.

The main meat course of the evening came in the form of a high quality and beautifully cooked fillet of beef, served atop the most exquisite truffle mash, a tasty little ox cheek croquette, an ale shallot, beef jus and watercress emulsion. The knife

glided through the meat as if it were butter, the emulsion added a sense of freshness to the dish, and the mash was worlds apart from any I'd previously tasted.

The portions were of an impressive size for a tasting menu, too.

The first of two desserts was Larder’s take on a crumble - the most luxurious crumble you’re ever likely to try, in fact! It comprised compressed apple, sharp pickled blackberries, a sweet blackberry puree and a verbena shortbread crumb, all enclosed in a light and airy apple foam. It was a concept I’d never come across in a restaurant before, but one that I’d definitely be drawn towards again.

The finale of chocolate crémeux served with Baileys ice cream, candid hazelnuts and salted caramel was as rich and naughty as it sounds. The caramel sauce was the nicest I’ve ever tasted, and the candid hazelnuts boasted an almost sweet popcorn taste and texture. It was the perfect end to a perfect evening.

The food at Larder was the equal of any I’ve tasted in a Michelinstar restaurant. The flavours were exceptional and every course showcased a combination of culinary precision and excellent technical ability. Everything here is faultless service and atmosphere included - and now that I’ve paid this gem of a restaurant a visit, I can indeed confirm the accuracy of that opening line on its website: ‘All flavour [and then some!] no pomp’ sums up Larder nicely.

Lauren Foster Food: Service: Ambience: Overall value OVERALL

nnnnn nnnnn nnnnn nnnnn nnnnn

Larder 17 Bore Street Lichfield Staffordshire WS13 6LZ Tel: 01543 471342 whatsonlive.co.uk 13

Asking For It Warwicks Worcs.qxp_Layout 1 13/12/2019 17:23 Page 1

ASKING FOR IT The subject of sexual consent takes centre stage at Birmingham Repertory Theatre when an acclaimed stage adaptation of Louise O'Neill's devastating novel, Asking For It, receives its UK premiere this month. A young woman’s life is left in tatters as 21st century morals and the traditions of a small, fictional town in County Cork collide...

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Lauren Cole

The critically acclaimed stage adaptation of Irish author Louise O'Neill’s novel, Asking For It, makes its UK debut in Birmingham this month. And it’s set to cause quite a stir too, focusing, as it does, on the experience of sexual-assault victim Emma O’Donovan, its fictional main character.

“Emma is a very confident, beautiful, popular, ambitious young woman,” explains author Louise. “She really has the world at her feet, but she can definitely veer from being devastatingly vulnerable to monstrously selfish. A lot of the reasons why I wanted to explore the less pleasant aspects of her personality is that I think it’s really important that we dismantle this myth of the perfect victim. People seem to have a finite amount of sympathy for survivors of sexual violence, and it’s as if you have to meet this strict set of criteria: you can’t have been drinking or wearing a short skirt, and if you’ve had any sexual history with your attacker previously, then that will be held against you. I wanted to emphasise that people we dislike who are sexually assaulted are just as deserving of our support.”

So what prompted Louise to write such a provocative novel, particularly for a ‘young adult’ target audience?

“There was a case in America called the Steubenville High School rape case. It was in a small town where the local school’s football team were treated like gods. At a party, a young woman drank a lot, passed out and was then sexually assaulted by multiple members of the team. Photos and videos were taken and circulated on social media. I was struck by the story, and what I found most disturbing was when a CNN reporter said, and I’m paraphrasing, how sad it was to see a day in court where these promising young men were having their futures taken away from them. She didn’t mention the victim at all! It was then that I really understood the term ‘rape culture’. We are still part of a culture that will do anything it can to normalise sexual violence in some degrees because of its prevalence. I was so angry about that, and I usually end up writing to process my emotions.”

Louise also drew on her own experiences of living in a small town in Ireland: “I wanted to translate this topic into an Irish context because I grew up in a small town there, and I

wanted to reflect that sense of claustrophobia and lack of anonymity in a place where everyone knows everyone. It felt important to write a story like this primarily targeted at a youngadult audience because so many of the young people who read the book need to hear about stories like this; to have some form of facilitating difficult conversations. Art really is the perfect tool to do that. It’s essential to raise awareness of consent, sexual violence, rape culture and victim blaming in this age group.”

Louise’s main focus was to make sure that Emma’s story felt as real as possible: “Firstly, I’ve been sexually assaulted myself, so I used a lot of my own experiences and ways I processed the feelings of depression, numbness and disassociation to create this novel. Also, I worked closely with the sexual violence centre in my hometown of Cork to speak to survivors.

I read memoirs and first-person fictional narratives, watched documentaries and really just fully researched anything I could get my hands on. I even spoke to a barrister. I wanted to make sure that I could not only make Emma’s experiences as authentic as possible, but that all the other parts of the story rang as true as they possibly could as well.

“I was nervous when it went to be published because there are so many myths out there about both the perpetrators and survivors of sexual violence. I was very aware that I could put something out in the world that could perpetuate those misconceptions and actually cause even more harm if I didn’t do it right. I’m incredibly proud of the book and its message, which is why I was so excited by the prospect of a stage adaptation. The prospect of this message getting as far and wide as possible is incredible. Sexual violence is such an epidemic in our culture, an important and devastating issue that needs to be addressed and eradicated, and we’re not going to do that unless we face the issue head-on.”

It was Landmark Productions and The Everyman in Cork that approached Louise about the prospect of adapting her novel for the stage.

“Having had a conversation with them, I really felt that they understood what I was trying to get at in the book. It felt like I had passed the baton on with the play. Even when writing Asking For It, I quickly realised that I didn’t feel the same kind of ownership over it as I did

with other works because it doesn’t feel like my story. It feels like something for everyone. I was away when the previews of the play happened, and I started getting phone calls and messages gushing about how amazing the play was. And on the opening night, I wasn’t disappointed. I was so blown away by the production values, the incredible set and the talented young cast.

It felt so vibrant, alive and exciting.

“Seeing the impact on the audience felt like such a powerful, collective experience. People were openly weeping by the end, which felt like both a grieving process and a catharsis like breaking a fever. It’s an extraordinary piece of work, and I feel so humbled by what the play has achieved. I always think about what kinds of conversations and stories have been, and will continue to be, shared between people who’ve gone to see Asking For It together - that’s vital. It broke the box office records at The Everyman in Cork and it was great to know that people who wouldn’t usually go to the theatre were going to see the play.”

Asking For It has also found its way into schools: “A programme was devised where staff went in to discuss the play, the pupils then saw it and had further discussions. The reports that came back were genuinely remarkable. At one girls’ school, they were engaging in a lot of victim blaming, and then they were able to display a great deal of empathy for Emma. Another school banded together to write a letter to their Principle asking for better sex education surrounding consent. Then some boys at another school had some very upsetting, misogynistic views surrounding female victims of sexual violence. After seeing the play, they were able to have a very frank conversation about their own vulnerabilities and the pressure they felt to conform to ideals of masculinity. That’s why people create art: it forces a sense of empathy by making you live in another person’s shoes and understand their motives. To think that Asking For It could shift attitudes is very overwhelming.”

Asking For It makes its UK debut at Birmingham Repertory Theatre on Wednesday 29 January, continuing its run at the venue until Saturday 15 February. whatsonlive.co.uk 15

Classical January Wolves Shrops.qxp_Layout 1 12/12/2019 12:19 Page 1

Classical

Innovation Ensemble: Quintets At Dusk The Lion Hotel, Shrewsbury, Sun 19 January

Innovation Ensemble comprises five highly respected chamber musicians drawn from the circle of colleagues and friends of the late Peter Cropper. Repeatedly hailed for his creativity and musical fearlessness, and often lauded for an undoubted streak of genius, violinist Peter was the leader of the Lindsay Quartet for almost four decades. He died suddenly in late May 2014 at the age of 69. Among the musicians performing this latest concert is his son, Martin.

The programme features works by Mozart and Beethoven.

Halle Orchestra: New Year On The Danube Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, Fri 3 January

Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Sun 26 January

One of the UK’s top symphonic ensembles, the Manchester-based Halle is admired around the world for its extensive orchestral repertoire. This Victoria Hall concert sees Gergely Madaras (pictured) taking the helm for ‘a New Year journey along the Danube

from Budapest to Vienna, with waltzes and polkas by the family Strauss and some added Hungarian flavour’. Jenö Lisztes (cimbalom) and Lajos Sárközy Jr (violin) also contribute to what will surely be an evening of exceptional musicmaking.

British Philharmonic Concert Orchestra

Orchestre National de Lille

Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Sun 19 January

Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Tues 28 January

The 33-piece British Philharmonic Concert Orchestra kickstart 2020 in style with a show that recalls the glories of Johann Strauss, Franz Lehar and Viennese operetta.

Featured works include Strauss’ By The Beautiful Blue Danube, The Thunder And Lightning Polka and the masterful Die Fledermaus. Highlights from Lehar’s Merry Widow also feature, along with a wealth of operetta favourites from, among other works, The Student Prince, The New Moon, The Gypsy Baron and The White Horse Inn.

Lending their unmistakable Gallic style to proceedings, the widely admired Orchestre National de Lille visit Birmingham with their inspirational music director & conductor, Alexander Bloch (pictured), to perform a programme that features Claude Debussy’s magnificent seascape, La Mer. The orchestra will also be turning their attention to the works of Maurice Ravel, presenting their interpretation of two of his compositions - the Ma mère l'Oye Suite and La Valse.

Award-winning pianist Eric Lu completes the programme with a performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No4.

16 whatsonlive.co.uk

Ex Cathedra: Missa Solemnis It’s hard to imagine a more appropriate time for Ex Cathedra to team up with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and perform Ludwig van Beethoven.

The highly rated choral music ensemble is celebrating its 50th year and the CBSO its centenary, while 2020 also marks the 25oth anniversary of Beethoven’s birth.

Singer Roderick Williams (pictured) is among the soloists contributing to an event that promises to be every bit as majestic and monumental as the composition being performed, a piece to which Beethoven devoted four years of his life.

The composer’s diligence and tenacity certainly paid off - Missa Solemnis is considered by some to be one of the greatest classical works of all time.

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Gigs

The Wedding Present Newhampton Arts Centre, Wolverhampton, Fri 10 January

Best known for playing fast-paced indie rock their influences include The Fall, Buzzcocks and Gang Of Four - The Wedding Present have had 18 UK top-40 singles since debuting in 1985; not bad for a band who’ve always stubbornly refused to play the record industry’s game.

There have been numerous line-up changes down the years, with vocalist, guitarist and original songwriter David Gedge the band's only constant member.

Kaiser Chiefs Fifteen years into their career, Kaiser Chiefs are hitting new artistic peaks. “It’s more exciting than it’s ever been,” says charismatic frontman Ricky Wilson. “Every time there’s

a big obstacle, it just gets blown away in the wind like a dandelion. We’re still selling out arenas but under the radar.”

Seventh album Duck came out in summer 2019, and the Leeds lads are celebrating its release with this new UK tour, supported by Razorlight and Life.

The Superskas

Chantel McGregor

The Robin, Bilston, Sat 18 January

Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, Thurs 16 January

Arena Birmingham, Sat 25 January

Martyn Joseph Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, Fri 31 January

“Really what I do is try to write songs that might step up and make some sense of a moment in time,” explains modern folk artist Martyn Joseph. “A good song makes you feel like you’re not alone in the world.”

Often compared to the likes of Bruce Springsteen, John Mayer, Bruce Cockburn and Dave Matthews, Martyn is a unique performer who’s driven by passion, social awareness and an abiding love for his trade. His career spans 30 years, 32 albums, over half a million record sales and thousands of live performances.

The Superskas perform a catalogue of hits from the golden ages of trojan ska and 2Tone, covering songs from original pioneers including Toots & The Maytals, Desmond Dekker, The Specials, Madness and The Selecter.

Complete with horn section and male & female vocalists, the band count among their career highlights live collaborations with Damon Albarn of Blur, Dave Wakeling, Ranking Roger and The Beat.

Blues rock musician Chantel McGregor was once told by a major label that she had a "great voice, but girls don't play guitar like that!" Ignoring their comments, she enrolled at the Leeds College of Music and became the first student in the college’s history to achieve a 100% pass mark at BTEC, with 18 distinctions.

She’s since released two albums, Like No Other and Lose Control, and is currently writing her third.

Slipknot Arena Birmingham, Fri 24 January

Slipknot return to Birmingham in support of their album, We Are Not Your Kind.

The record was so popular it knocked Ed Sheeran off the top of the charts...

As well as favourites from the new offering, expect to hear a selection of hits from the band’s back catalogue, including Duality, Before I Forget, Psychosocial and Wait And Bleed. whatsonlive.co.uk 17 whatsonlive.co.uk 17

David Baddiel Birmingham.qxp_Layout 1 16/12/2019 11:12 Page 1

Taking on the trolls...

David Baddiel talks trolls, Twitter and Trump ahead of his new 52-date UK tour

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by Lauren Cole

David Baddiel is critically acclaimed in a number of creative fields. In his time in the spotlight, he’s been a comedian, presenter, author, screenwriter and playwright. His previous touring comedy show, My Family: Not The Sitcom, even transferred to the West End and was nominated for an Olivier Award.

“I decided when I came back to performing in 2013 that I didn’t just want to do generalised banter in that comedian way,” explains David, who’s visiting the region this month with his latest stage offering, Trolls: Not The Dolls - a show based around the subject of social media. “I wanted to talk about stuff; things that are important to me. I’ve watched quite a lot of Ted Talks and actually hosted a programme on Radio Four about people doing serious talks. I started to wonder about whether there could be a comedy version of really digging into a single subject. So my first show, Fame: Not The Musical, was about how weird the celebrity world is, and then My Family: Not The Sitcom was about my family.

During both shows I was using social media to talk about the ways in which the world was changing, and particularly the way people were getting really angry. Those parts worked so well in my previous shows that I realised there was probably a whole show to be had there.

“Certainly social media never fails to surprise me. For example, going back to when it was first becoming a thing, a journalist called India Knight described it as this website that’s like a cocktail party where you can mingle with others and have a lovely time. I’m sure many would’ve been surprised that it’s turned into mainly people shouting at each other.

Fortunately or unfortunately, social media does actually influence people a lot. If you fast-forward just over 10 years on from Twitter’s launch, Donald Trump becomes President of the United States. He is the archetypal troll - and not just in his presence on Twitter, but in his whole dialogue and very loud, angry, extreme discourse with conspiracy theories and all the rest of it. So we’re not talking about trolls as something on the fringes of our society here - they’re at the very centre of the changes that we see happening in our world.

"I think people used to dismiss social media snootily as a place where people try to show off or talk about what they had for breakfast.

Incidentally, I do the breakfast thing with my whole series of tweets about Full English

Breakfasts, and people go barmy about placing the beans next to the sausages and whatever. Even that gets an extreme reaction! So social media can be really trivial in that way, but also it can be so influential and is really changing everything. I predominantly use Twitter, and I think Twitter is where a lot of the battles - particularly political ones - are happening. Social media has changed the fundamental ideas behind the way humans think and just are, especially in regard to power and the way people interact.”

David’s Twitter interactions with trolls was one of the inspirations for his show: “When this really abusive part of social media began happening, people started this campaign about not ‘feeding the trolls’. Just ignore them. I found that really strange as a comedian, because trolls are essentially hecklers they’re people saying ‘you’re s***’ in one way or another. Generally a comedian’s response to hecklers is to try and put them down funnily. It’s seen as part of the job; to take what they’ve said and to disarm them in a way that makes the rest of the audience laugh. I didn’t see that as any different on Twitter. When I had a troll tweet me, I would retweet it with my own response above and it had the same response from the audience as it would in a live show... people laughed! I can sort of be a conductor of this great big comedy orchestra too, because others are itching to join in. So I’ll start something by responding to a troll with a joke, and someone else will then add to that with a graphic or whatever. People always ask me if what trolls say to and about me hurts me - and the true answer to that is yes. But seconds later I think it’s just immaterial. The window of feeling hurt is definitely getting smaller and smaller. One thing that Trolls: Not The Dolls tries to do is take this terrible, abusive thing and transform it into something joyful and funny. That’s one way of thinking about trolls that takes away any power they thought they had.”

Trolls: Not The Dolls has been described as Baddiel’s most political show yet, an assessment with which he agrees: “But I should stress from the start that it doesn’t come from a set political perspective. I certainly was left wing when I was young, but now I’m no wing whatsoever. I use that phrase rather than ‘centrist’ because I don’t really like that word, and, in fact, it’s something that trolls often use. What I mean is that I try not to fit any prearranged ideological map. If something

happens in the news, I don’t go, ‘Oh, I’m left wing so I should think about this like this’.

I just try to go off what I think, which doesn’t mean I won’t end up thinking about things in what is traditionally seen as a left or rightwing way. It just means that I’m more focused on my own identity. The show is actually about that, too. There’s a lot about how one’s pre-thought-out identity leads to anger. For example, I made this incredibly innocuous joke about Nicola Sturgeon, which led to unimaginable rage from Scottish Nationalists.

But being a Scottish Nationalist had absolutely nothing to do with the joke. I think social media is a lot about saying, Here I am, and wanting to have an identity in amongst the sea of people. One way of doing that is to turn up the volume and make people notice your identity - and the most obvious way to do that is through anger.”

So how come David has so many strings to his bow?

“From the word go, I’ve never really acknowledged boundaries between different types of storytelling. Take the children’s books as an example - my son, who was eight at the time, asked me why Harry Potter didn’t just run away from the Dursleys and find better parents, which gave me the idea for my first children’s book. In that world, children choose their own parents. I immediately saw that that particular idea was right for a children’s book rather than a live show, but what I didn’t do was decide that because I wasn’t a children’s author I couldn’t write it.

“Then, with my play, God’s Dice, I had an idea about a scientist who proves the existence of God with the help of his student - and to me that felt like an idea best fitted to a play.

I really don’t feel strapped into one medium.

People always tell me I do so many things in my job, but I don’t feel like that: I’m not a comedian and a plumber! I’m just a storyteller in different forms.”

Trolls: Not The Dolls visits Huntingdon Hall, Worcester, Thurs 6 February; Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-uponAvon, Sun 9 February; Royal Spa Centre, Leamington, Sat 14 March; Dudley Town Hall, Sat 29 February; Royal Spa Centre, Leamington Spa, Sat 14 March; Symphony Hall, Brimingham, Thurs 19 March For further dates, visit davidbaddiel.com

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18 whatsonlive.co.uk

Readers' Awards 2020.qxp_Layout 1 13/12/2019 13:51 Page 1

VOTING

Get for your favourite Midlands events, shows and venues in the...

’ What sOn Readers’ Awards 2020

Some of last year’s winners...

and heatre mime to arge T Best L idlands Pan drome o Best M gham Hipp Birmin

Best Kids Show - The Snowman, Best Birmingham Arts/Theatre Venue nue Birmingham Repertory Theatre and Best Home Produced Show wBirmingham Repertory Theatre’s The Wizard Of Oz

B Wolverh est Arts/The atre Ve ampto nue in n&B Wolverh lack Countr yampto n Gran d

whatsonlive.co.uk 19

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#culturematters #artsmatters Yes, it’s once again time for you to show just how much you appreciate Birmingham & the West Midlands’ ever-vibrant arts & entertainment scene.

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

The shortlist will be announced in our February issue. You will then be able to VOTE for your WINNER in each category.

So get voting now!

And complete our Readership Survey for the chance to WIN £1,000 cash!

VOTE for your NOMINATIONS

by Saturday 18 January WINNERS will be announced in the Spring

Best Midlands and Best Birmingham Arts Festival - Birmingham Comedy Festival

Best Birmingham Independent Restaurant - Purnell’s

CATEGORIES INCLUDE: Best Large Theatre Best Regional Theatre Best Touring Musical Best Home Produced Show Best Touring Show Best Kids Show Best Panto Dame Best Classical Production Best Orchestra Best Panto Best Amateur Theatre Company Best Arts Venue Best Large Music Venue Best Regional Music Venue Best Band/Artist Best Exhibition Best Comedy Night Best Dance Production Best Visitor Attraction Best Indoor Event Best Outdoor Event Best Music Festival Best Arts/Cultural Festival Best Food Festival Best Independent Restaurant Best Independent Coffee Shop Best Independent Bar Best Market

VOTE now at whatsonlive.co.uk whatsonlive.co.uk 21

Kojo Anim.qxp_Layout 1 12/12/2019 11:57 Page 1

kojo anim The Britain’s Got Talent finalist chats to What’s On as he prepares to hit the road with stories and observations about life, parenthood and family.

22 whatsonlive.co.uk

Kojo Anim.qxp_Layout 1 12/12/2019 11:57 Page 2

When did you first realise you were funny?

I’d always been entertaining my family and friends. I was witty and quick with a response. In school, if I got in trouble, it was always what I’d said, not what I’d done. I had an answer for everything. Comedy happened almost by accident. My first love was always football, but I had terrible discipline as a footballer. I was selected with some of the best young players in England for a school of excellence to study and play football, but I had a terrible attitude about being on time etc and relied on being very talented. But it didn’t work out.

I learned a big lesson in hindsight, and it turned out to be a blessing. Missing that opportunity to change my life, the pain I felt when it ended, kept me disciplined when I found comedy. I would never, ever let an opportunity slip through my hands again. I have so much respect for every opportunity that comes my way now. I realised I was a natural with comedy, but also determined that I was going to work hard, find solutions and make no excuses.

You were ‘discovered’ on Britain’s Got Talent, but you’d already been working the circuit for 20 years. How did you turn that natural ability into a career?

I was doing talent shows at university and had the chance to go to comedy school, so I borrowed £150 from my Aunty Sandra - I’ve more than paid her back now. After that, I did a lot of university comedy gigs and built up a fanbase. From that, I was able to set up Kojo’s Comedy Fun House, which ran every Sunday for eight years, with 300 people queueing up outside each week, packing it to the rafters and coming along week after week. I came from a partying background, so would invite celebrities to the comedy shows - as well as hosting exciting new comedians and DJs - so it became somewhere people wanted to be.

What really made it big, though, was when David Chapelle was in town and heard about the club. I called someone who’d seen him and got them to put him on the phone. He just came down and performed. ‘Going viral’ wasn’t even a thing at the time, but that’s kind of what happened. It was the first show he’d done after going away following his big success, so everyone was talking about it. It was huge on YouTube, and it was a real international moment to see him back on stage.

So then people started talking about the Fun House, and I was hearing from American comedians over in the UK who wanted to come down. I was just a young comedian wanting to express myself there, and all this came from that small place.

Before Britain’s Got Talent, you were almost better known in America than here in the UK. How was that?

I’d met, through friends, Nick Cannon, who at the time was still married to Mariah Carey how crazy is that? - and he was bringing a big improvisation show, Wild N Out, back to American TV and wanted to include some UK talent. I leapt at the chance. I’d watched the show as a kid, and it was a ridiculous opportunity to go and work with all these famous and amazingly funny people in America.

Everyone I grew up with used to watch it, and there I was being invited to be the first British comedian on it.

So what made you audition for Britain’s Got Talent?

I’d been going through a bad period both financially and in terms of opportunities. I’d had my son, and that increased the pressure on me to decide what I was going to do with the rest of my life. I was feeling like I’d been placed in the ‘has-been’ box so far as a comedy career was concerned. I was approached

by Britain’s Got Talent - they’d seen some videos online - and I was told the producers had loved the videos and were dying to get me on the show, so I thought, ‘Why not?’

I’d always said it wasn’t for me - I didn’t think it was credible. But when I discussed it with my fiancée, she said the fact they’d had to find me as an ‘unknown’ meant they didn’t know me - so I had nothing to lose.

What was it like preparing for that first audition?

I didn’t just plan for the first audition, I planned my acts for every round from the first audition to the final. I had 20 years of material, so why not? I just had to decide which way round to use it, and to get my head straight about what was to come. As I gradually went through each phase, I realised what the opportunity was actually going to mean to me. The show’s called Britain’s Got Talent, but I suddenly realised that the world would be watching online because ‘Got Talent’ is a global thing. I know people in the comedy industry were saying, ‘Why is he doing it?’, but people across the country didn’t know me. I had to be able to look at my son and know I’d taken the chance, taken that massive leap of faith.

Simon Cowell famously hates comedians on the show, but he gave you his golden buzzer. How did that feel?

I was so nervous. The judges genuinely don’t know what’s coming next as you walk out; it’s a conveyor belt of talent. Simon had given two

comedians on before me absolute hell that day. My plan was to get Amanda Holden’s and David Walliams’ approval. Alesha Dixon had seen me at gigs, so I hoped she’d be on side.

I’d actually written Simon Cowell off, as I knew I only needed three of them to back me.

It was the very first day of filming, and - to add to the madness - Simon had never pressed his golden buzzer on day one. So when it happened, everyone was so shocked day one and a comedian! The reaction was so gratifying. It told me, ‘I can do this’. I’d proven myself and removed my doubts about me. After that, I knew I was good enough.

How’s it been since the show?

Absolutely life-changing. My dad was in Ghana and it came up on the news. I didn’t leave the house for four days after the goldenbuzzer audition was aired. I had so many messages on my phone, and everywhere I went, people were giving me their love and support. All the work during those 20 years had been gearing me up for it, and that’s made it all a bit easier to cope with.

It’s crazy and has all happened at the same time as adjusting to life as a first-time dad.

Roman’s oblivious to it, but we’re capturing it all on our phones and it’s amazing that he’s been on the journey with us. Roman’s also been life-changing. He’s allowed me to be selfish, and people told me how much harder I’d want to work after becoming a parent…

You’re making decisions for your child, not just for yourself.

How do you feel ahead of the tour?

Touring nationally is a dream come true; we’re working on material at the moment.

There’s definitely going to be a look at fatherhood - looking at what goes through a man’s mind as a new dad, as well as asking some serious questions like, ‘Will I end up looking like my parents, will my child end up in the same situation as me?’

I’m looking forward to touring - going to places I’ve never been to, like Swindon, Malvern, New Brighton and places in Wales I can’t even spell…

I’m now 40. I told my fiancée, Tiff, that I believe the best years of my life will be my 40s - and it’s definitely looking that way. Let’s have it!

Kojo Anim appears at the Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, on Thursday 6 February; Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, on Tuesday 25 February; Forum Theatre, Malvern, on Wednesday 26 February and Stafford Gatehouse Theatre on Monday 9 March. whatsonlive.co.uk 23

Comedy January.qxp_Layout 1 12/12/2019 14:37 Page 1

Comedy

Jamali Maddix Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, Sun 26 January; The Glee Club, Birmingham, Mon 17 February; Henry Tudor House, Shrewsbury, Tues 25 February; Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton, Fri 28 February

Former Chortle ‘student comedian of the year’ Jamali Maddix has been praised both for his frank yet ironic take on everyday racism and for his willingness to tackle the ‘hot potato’ subject of terrorism.

With influences ranging from Gandhi to his Uncle Mark, the 28-year-old Londoner describes his new show, Strip Club Einstein, as “a reflection on tales from the front line of social change and uncomfortable home truths”.

The Thinking Drinkers The Old Rep, Birmingham, Sat 25 January Now here’s an offer that no self-respecting lover of quality comedy and the occasional cheeky tipple could possibly ignore...

Bag yourself a ticket for this show and you get five - yep, that’s right, five - free drinks!

There’s also every chance that you’ll leave the theatre at the end of the night with a splendidly enhanced understanding of the significance of alcohol. Enlightenment will

come as a result of Thinking Drinkers Ben McFarland and Tom Sandham sharing their fascinating facts and absorbing anecdotes about the role the demon drink has played in inspiring some of history’s greatest names, from Plato and Picasso to Nelson, Napoleon, and even, we’re reliably informed, Norm from Cheers.

Jimmy Carr

Marcus Brigstocke

Sandi Toksvig: Live

Dudley Town Hall, Fri 31 January; Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, Thurs 13 February;

The Glee Club, Birmingham, Sat 4 January

Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Mon 27 January; Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, Sat 1 February

Jimmy Carr’s comedy is all about quickfire, deadpan one-liners - and so many of them, in fact, that he’s not sure their content matters all that much: “People don’t really remember the individual jokes I tell because I tell such a lot; what they do remember, though, is how those jokes make them feel.”

Jimmy is a comedian for whom no subject is off limits: “I’ll talk about anything as long as I feel the joke justifies it. It may cause controversy, but controversy is an easy story on a slow-news day. And I never apologise for jokes. After all, I’m not making a serious political statement, I’m just trying to make somebody laugh.”

24 whatsonlive.co.uk

Peddling a line in dark, intelligent humour, the award-winning Marcus Brigstocke is one of the most inventive talents on the comedy circuit. Jokes include: “I realised I was dyslexic when I went to a toga party dressed as a goat,” and, “If Pac-Man had affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in dark rooms, munching pills and listening to repetitive electronic music.”

Marcus is joined at the Glee by Paul Tonkinson, Joanne McNally and one other yet-tobe-announced comedian.

Best known nowadays as co-host of The Great British Bake Off, the everastute Sandi Toksvig is a woman of many talents. As well as her presenting work on television, she’s also written children's books, bestselling novels and a shedload of newspaper and magazine columns, not to mention kept her hand in as an impressively adept stand-up comic.

Her new one-woman comedy show sees her combining ‘tall stories’ with ‘fascinatingly funny facts, really silly jokes, a quickfire Q&A and a quiz’. She is, however, adamant that tap-dancing, the wearing of leotards and the performing of a forward roll will not be featuring in the show.

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Milton Jones Artrix, Bromsgrove, Wed 15 January; Dudley Town Hall, Fri 7 February; Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, Sat 8 February; Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, Fri 21 February

With a style of humour that’s mainly based around puns and one-liners, Milton Jones has established himself as one of Britain’s most in-demand funnymen.

“If my comedy’s working well, I put a cartoon in people’s heads that surprises them,” explains Milton. “So you start off and they’re thinking one thing, then you surprise them by changing the ending as you go along. It’s not political or particularly edgy, it’s just daft.

Gags include: “Militant feminists - I take my hat off to them. They don't like that,” and, “Recently on a flight to America, all the way across my wife was going, ‘Why don't you get an upgrade, why don't you get an upgrade?’ It took a bit of time, but in the end I got a better wife.”

Ed Byrne Birmingham Town Hall, Thurs 30 January; Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, Sat 1 February; The Place, Telford, Thurs 12 March; Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, Sat 14 March; Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, Tues 17 March; Walsall Arena, Tues 24 March

If you fancy a good heckle, don't bother going to an Ed Byrne show. Ed's style of delivery is so fast that any attempted witticisms from the audience get drowned out by his barrage of top-quality material. A highly regarded master of observational comedy, the Mock The Week star admits to being a little uncomfortable about some of the more

Mark Watson Darren Harriott Artrix, Bromsgrove, Sat 18 January; The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton, Thurs 23 January

Darren Harriott spent his childhood in Oldbury and at the age of 13 began carrying a knife.

Fortunately for the now-30-year-old comedian, he managed to turn away from a potential life of crime, finding his salvation in the business of making people laugh.

“I need to get this stuff out,” he explained in a recent interview. “All I’ve really got as a stand-up is my honesty. I’m okay if audiences hate me. What I don’t want is pity.

These stories might sound like tragedy, but I don’t compute it as tragedy. I’m enjoying this rollercoaster. I just worry that it could all go. This is the most important time in my career, but my main goal is to have fun.”

The Brewhouse Arts Centre, Burton-uponTrent, Thurs 30 January

Well established on the UK comedy circuit, Mark Watson was born in Bristol to Welsh parents and initially delivered his act with a Welsh accent, claiming he felt “more comfortable talking in a voice that I didn't quite recognise as my own”.

A regular contributor to the Edinburgh Fringe, Mark has the curious distinction of having performed stand-up shows which have lasted for a period in excess of 24 hours. “Comedy is certainly a timeconsuming element of my life,” he admits, “but then while I’m out touring and on stage, there are people at home doing far less glamorous things. There have certainly been times when I’ve been very happy to say, ‘Of course I’d like to stay and help out with that plumbing crisis, but Burton awaits!’”

laddish material he used in the early days of his stand-up career.

“My comedy reflected my life at that time single and enjoying myself. Most of it was fairly harmless - 'the difference between men and women' kind of thing. But some of the stuff about an ex-girlfriend I can see was a bit angry, and I wouldn't do it now.”

Ivan Brackenbury Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, Sun 19 January; Foxlowe Arts Centre, Leek, Staffs, Sat 15 February; Just The Tonic Comedy Club, Birmingham, Fri 28 February

Ivan Brackenbury is an inept hospital radio DJ - and he’s also the creation of former XFM radio presenter Tom Binns.

A Jongleurs award winner, Binns came up with the character relatively early in his career and has enjoyed great success with him ever since. Brackenbury is here providing support to his creator, who will be performing on this tour as another of his characters, Ian D Montfort, the ‘psychic comedium’.

whatsonlive.co.uk 25

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All-American Prophets

by Louis Wise

Smash-hit musical comedy The Book Of Mormon visits Birmingham for the very first time this spring. What’s On catches up with one of its creators, Robert Lopez, a man whose CV also includes hit Broadway show Avenue Q and both of Disney’s Frozen movies...

At first glance, not a huge amount would seem to connect the story of female empowerment that is Disney’s Frozen with the naughty, dirty, sweary phenomenon that is hit Broadway show The Book Of Mormon.

Sure, they’re both full of great tunes and both have a sense of humour, but one is definitely for the kids, the other definitely not. One is all about love, magical powers and sisterhood, the other showcases shocking AIDS jokes and features unseemly things being done with frogs. Yet a surprising, even slightly scary, revelation is that both came from the mind of the same man - songwriter Robert Lopez.

“I mean, it is weird,” chuckles the 43-year-old New Yorker, pondering how the guy who wrote Let It Go also gave us Mormon’s Hasa Diga Eebowai. “I’m still trying to figure it out.

What’s wrong with me?!”

Little is wrong with Lopez - at least from a showbiz perspective. When you’ve already become, twice, a so-called EGOT - a winner of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony - you can only be doing things right. Robert’s CV includes not only The Book Of Mormon and Frozen (and now, of course, Frozen 2) but also his first great hit, Avenue Q, and the beautiful theme tune to Pixar’s film, Coco, entitled Remember Me. Sitting in the comfortable Brooklyn studio he shares with his wife and fellow tunesmith, Kristen Anderson-Lopez (with whom he co-wrote the Frozen movies), Robert is gentle and unassuming. If he’s always believed in his abilities, ever since he settled on his voca-

tion aged 13, he still manages to seem politely surprised about the huge success of his shows - not least The Book Of Mormon, which he co-composed with the dark geniuses behind South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

Since opening on Broadway in 2011, the show has become one of the most successful theatre productions of the decade. “The truth is,” says Robert, “we’d imagined it would be controversial, and we hoped that it would manage to run maybe a year.” Nine years down the line, it’s clear that theatre-goers’ love for the show massively outweighs any minor controversies. And as it prepares to visit continental Europe and the UK, having already conquered not only America but also Australia and Canada, it’s fair to assume that it’s about to gain nearly as many new converts as the missionaries it so lovingly sends up.

The Book Of Mormon is a great marker of Robert’s work, combining classic song craft and a deep love of musicals with a fresh, contemporary, often irreverent tone. The story follows the journey of two bright-eyed Mormon teenagers, Elder Price and Elder Cunningham, who, as tradition requires, are sent out to spread the word as they reach the age of 19. When they reach Uganda, though, they are somewhat shocked by the reality of the situation - The Lion King it ain’t! The Ugandans don’t necessarily need saving in the Mormon sense of the word - but they could definitely do with being saved from the terrifying warlord next door, who is threatening all the female villagers with FGM...

Somehow, all of this is relayed amid uproarious laughter within the first 20 minutes.

The real shocker, though, is that by the end, the show reveals it has a huge heart too. And Robert, who, along with Parker and Stone, has always had a surprising soft spot for Mormonism, wouldn’t have it any other way: “It’s about what we talked about the very first day we met. People are so quick to laugh at Mormons - and we wanted, in the end, to be able to turn it around on them, because although any belief in anything impossible is sort of funny, it’s also very inspiring and empowering.”

To understand how Robert came to co-write the show, you have to rewind way back to before he even met Parker and Stone in 2003.

You have to go back even beyond him seeing their film, South Park The Movie: Bigger, Longer And Uncut, and being dazzled by its pace and wit (“I was, like, this is the best musical of the last 10 years, for sure!”). You’d probably have to go back to when he was first taken to see a musical - A Chorus Line.

“It was way over my head,” he admits.

It clearly had an effect on him, though, because he started writing songs on the piano, encouraged by the teacher he was taking classes with at the time. “I wrote a song called Oy Vey, What A Day for some reason.

I’m not Jewish, but I guess growing up in New York pushes you in that direction.”

The son of a journalist-turned-press officer for NYU and a stay-at-home mother, Robert’s new passion for theatre grew and grew. Watching whatsonlive.co.uk 27

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West Side Story in 5th Grade is what sealed the deal. Then, from the age of 13, he started writing shows every term for an amateur group.

The eureka moment came when he decided, as he puts it, “to write a show that was funny all the way through”. For Robert, who had grown up in a raucously funny family, it seemed within his reach: “It was an area where Broadway had flagged behind in the culture. The humour in the shows was sort of a moderate chuckle, and I thought to myself, I bet I could do this.”

The result was Avenue Q, co-written with Jeff Marx and Jeff Whitty. An immediate smash hit, it was an absolute game-changer for Robert. When Parker and Stone came to watch the show one night, they saw a note in the programme in which Robert thanked them for the influence they’d exerted on him, from the South Park musical onwards. When the three met for a drink after the show, they discovered a shared fascination for Mormonism.

Parker and Stone’s interest in the faith could be explained by the fact that they grew up near its heartland of Utah; they were one state away in Colorado. But Robert? A FilipinoAmerican growing up in Brooklyn? “I was just a nerd, and a little bit of a class clown, I guess. I remember reading about Joseph Smith (the founding father of Mormonism, who discovered the original Book of Mormon) in an American history textbook in 8th Grade

and just having to read it twice, because I couldn’t really believe what I was reading.

The whole idea of him digging up the golden plates, and the lost tribe of Israel, and Jesus being here in America. I was fascinated by that.”

It must be said that the founding story of the faith - as with every faith - requires a leap of the imagination. The story of Smith being visited by the Angel Moroni in the early 19th century, and discovering said Book on said golden plates, has an outlandish quality to it.

But Robert ultimately wanted to treat Mormonism with affection, as did Parker and Stone.

“We weren’t trying to get protesters. We were trying to make a show that was about the way we felt about the best parts of religion. We were writing a show about it that was sort of for atheists and believers at the same time, because it summed up how we felt about it that whether or not the stories are true, they do something that’s good. Believing in something impossible makes you do impossible things.”

Ultimately, The Book Of Mormon is mostly an unlikely bromance between the mismatched pair of Price and Cunningham. Ask Robert with which of the two he most associates and he smiles. “I was a straight-A student, and you know, I’ve been accused of being a little too arrogant at times.” This is very Price, the all-American kid whose perceptions of the world - and of himself - are jolted by his visit

to Africa. And yet, when it came down to actually working on the show, Robert went a bit more Cunningham, the goofy sidekick who’s in thrall to Price, his hero. “When I was with Matt and Trey, I was definitely following them. I was just so in awe of getting to work with my heroes.”

Truth be told, The Book Of Mormon is nowadays quite far away in Robert’s rearview mirror. His main preoccupation of late has been Frozen 2, but in a sense he’s looking forward to leaving behind the Disney phase of his career: “I don’t like to have a brand - I don’t like to be one thing.” After Mormon and Avenue Q, he was happy to leave the scabrous funny stuff for a bit and do something more emotional; now, having filled up on all those Disney emotions, he’d like to move on once again.

More immediately, though, Robert is looking forward to taking his 13-year-old daughter to see The Book Of Mormon for the first time.

“She’s ready,” he shrugs. “She’s already heard the cast album - her friends listen to it.

I think she had a nice, shielded, sheltered childhood mostly. And now I think she’s ready to enjoy some adult comedy!”

The Book Of Mormon shows at Birmingham Hippodrome from Wednesday 4 to Saturday 28 March. whatsonlive.co.uk 29

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Theatre

Theatre from around the region

The Bodyguard Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, Tues 21 January - Sat 1 February This blockbusting West End musical is of course based on the similarly blockbusting 1990s Hollywood movie starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston. When ex-Secret Service agent Frank Farmer is hired to protect superstar Rachel Marron from an unknown stalker, sparks soon begin to fly between the pair. Each expects to hold the whip-hand in the relationship; neither expects to fall in love...

Featuring classic numbers including One Moment In Time, I Wanna Dance With Somebody and the legendary I Will Always Love You, the stage show received mixed reviews from the critics when it opened in 2012 but has since proved to be a real hit with its audiences.

Alexandra Burke and Jennlee Shallow share the role of Rachel, with the former appearing in evening performances only.

Beneath The City

Blithe Spirit

The Gift

The REP, Birmingham, Thurs 16 - Sat 18 January

Malvern Theatre, Mon 27 January Sat 1 February

Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, Sat 18 - Sat 25 January

The critically acclaimed Upstart Theatre are the talented ensemble behind this thoughtprovoking production...

When a young woman looking for sanctuary in a new city finds herself being put on trial for a crime she denies, the community finds itself wrestling with its commitment to the people and to power...

Bringing together music, movement and lyrical writing, Beneath The City has been made in Birmingham with a chorus of Young REP and Adult Drama Company members, refugees and asylum seekers.

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One of Noel Coward’s best-loved plays, Blithe Spirit focuses on the character of successful author Charles Condomine.

Charles’ decision to hold a seance at his home has disastrous consequences, as eccentric medium Madam Arcati - here played by Jennifer Saunders no less - accidentally summons the spirit of his deceased first wife, Elvira. Unhappy to see Charles settled with second wife Ruth, Elvira proceeds to do everything she can to sabotage her ex-husband’s happiness - and that includes trying to bump him off...

Described as ‘an outrageous play about imperialism, cross-racial adoption, cultural appropriation… and tea’, The Gift tells the contrasting stories of two Sarahs: one, an African girl adopted by Queen Victoria and raised in Her Majesty’s circles; the other, a present-day black middle-class woman staying in a Cheshire village with her husband and small child.

The production is presented by Eclipse, a prominent Black-led national production company committed to delivering diverse programming in theatres across the country.

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Theatre

more theatre from around the region

Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, Tues 28 January Sat 1 February; Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Tues 25 - Sat 29 February

Joseph marked Tim Rice & Andrew Lloyd Webber’s first foray into the world of musical theatre, paving the way for later offerings Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita. Fabulously fun and frothy, the show offers great entertainment for anybody who fancies the kind of night out that lets you leave your brain at home.

Joseph sees the future in dreams, and tells his 11 brothers that he’s had a vision in which he’s seen them all bowing down to him.

Not surprisingly, the lads are a tad annoyed with him about this - and feel even less enamoured towards their sibling when their dad gives him a coat of many colours...

Mark McMullan stars as Joseph.

Jane Eyre Albany Theatre, Coventry, Wed 22 & Thurs 23 January; Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton, Thurs 6 - Sat 8 February; Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, Mon 10 - Wed 12 February; Lichfield Garrick, Thurs 13 - Sat 15 February

proboscis - is here presented by everzany funsters Oddsocks. Expect plenty of merry music and marvellous madcap humour. And unlike Pinocchio, we say that without a word of a lie...

Dead Good Blackeyed Theatre visit the Midlands with this latest stage version of Charlotte Bronte's classic novel. For those not up to speed with the story, it follows the orphaned Jane as she's sent by her cruel Aunt Reed to the bleak Lowood School. Later, on securing a position as governess at Thornfield Hall, Jane finds herself falling for the charms of the enigmatic Edward Rochester, unaware that the new object of her affection harbours a dark and terrible secret...

The Adventures Of Pinocchio Artrix, Bromsgrove, Sun 12 January; The Place, Telford, Sat 1 February; Bridge House Theatre, Warwick, Sun 2 February

The legendary tale of the wooden boy with a disappointing propensity for telling porky pies - to the detriment of his fast-growing 32 whatsonlive.co.uk

Swan Theatre, Worcester, Thurs 23 & Fri 24 January; Malvern Theatres, Wed 5 February; Bridge House Theatre, Warwick, Thurs 6 February; Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, Thurs 27 February; Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton, Thurs 5 - Fri 6 March

Worcestershire-based full mask theatre company Vamos here tackle the thorny subject of death - the ultimate shared experience.

Witty and wordless, Dead Good focuses on the characters of Bob and Bernard, two men who have only a couple of things in common: one, that they’re both dying; and two, that they’re not going down without a fight. And

so, with a bottle of Bollinger in hand, they set out on one final death-defying adventure in Bernard’s Bentley... Vamos have created the show in collaboration with palliative care patients and specialists.

Circus Of Horrors Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, Fri 10 January; Swan Theatre, Worcester, Mon 10 February; Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, Wed 4 March; The Place, Telford, Thurs 19 March; KKS Steel Mill, Wolverhampton, Fri 20 March

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 company’s sheer ‘wow’ factor.

This latest offering sees the ensemble celebrating 25 years on the road by presenting ‘an amazing amalgamation of acts driven by a rock’n’roll soundscape’.

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more theatre from around the region

The Boy In The Dress Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-uponAvon, until Sun 8 March

David Walliams’ The Boy In The Dress - helmed

by RSC Artistic Director Gregory Doran - ticks all the boxes of the feelgood family musical: young protagonists, splendidly choreographed scenes (including football playing and disco dancing), a lightweight but thoroughly engaging storyline, a timely message (about embracing difference) and a fantastically memorable score (by one of the world’s hottest songwriting partnerships - Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers).

The show is fun, fast, lively, colourful, clever and utterly absorbing, with an energetic and confident cast who’ve evidently got the greatest of faith in their material and more than enough talent to maximise the magic.

Ghost Stories

Dead Men’s Eyes

Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, Tues 7 - Sat 11 January

Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, Wed 22 January

The Alex has issued a word or several of warning about this production...

‘Ghost Stories,’ it says, ‘contains moments of extreme shock and tension. The show is unsuitable for anyone under the age of 15. We strongly advise those of a nervous disposition to think very seriously before attending.’

Written by Andy Nyman & Jeremy Dyson and presenting ‘a fully sensory and electrifying encounter’, Ghost Stories has become something of a global stage phenomenon.

It won’t be surprising to learn that the show comes complete with phantoms, poltergeists and things that go bump in the night...

,

The Political History Of Smack And Crack The Old Joint Stock Theatre, Birmingham, Wed 22 - Sun 26 January

The fallout for communities crushed by the heroin epidemic at the height of Thatcherism is the challenging and thought-provoking subject matter of this one-hour two-hander from playwright Ed Edwards.

Inspired by the writer’s own experience in prison and rehab, the play was one of five finalists in Theatre503’s 2017 Playwriting Award, making the shortlist out of 1,600 entries from 58 countries.

34 whatsonlive.co.uk

This is the latest instalment in a series of one-man shows which aim to revive the tradition of ‘oral, supernatural storytelling’. And given that fact, which hair-raising tales could possibly be more appropriate to recount than those of Montague Rhodes James (more commonly known as MR James), the man widely considered to be the master of the English ghost story...

RM Lloyd Parry, the actor here charged with the task of making spines tingle, presents two classics from the James canon - A View From A Hill and The Treasure Of Abbot Thomas.

Two New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Fri 31 January - Sat 22 February

Jim Cartwright’s sharp and touching slice of English life is set in a northern pub owned by a savagely bickering husband and wife.

The play is actually a series of short vignettes that skilfully combine pathos and humour, with all 14 characters being played by just two actors. During the course of the evening, assorted customers pass through the pub, including a little boy left behind by his father. The young lad’s plight triggers a fragile reconciliation between the pub couple, as their own dark tragedy is finally revealed...

Captain Breadbeard’s Bready Brilliant Cookbook The Blue Orange Theatre, Birmingham, Fri 24 - Sat 25 January

Have you ever taken the time to consider the dangers that people with floury facial fuzz encounter every day, ask the producers of this delightfully quirky family show. If you haven’t, not to worry, because Captain Breadbeard is all set to take you on ‘an energetic and shameless punfilled journey of enlightenment’. A salty notso-old seadog with a beard made of bread, the Cap’n is joined in this surreal two-handed comedy sketch show by his ever-faithful sidekick, Davy Scones (geddit?).

Dad’s Army Radio Show The Old Joint Stock Theatre, Birmingham, Wed 22 - Sun 26 January

You’ve seen the TV show, now listen to the radio broadcast! And what a highly acclaimed one it is, with two talented actors taking up position behind their microphones to play no fewer than 25 characters between them. Working from original radio scripts many of the TV episodes were remade for BBC Radio Four with the original cast - the actors will present three much-loved episodes of Jimmy Perry & David Croft’s classic 1970s’ sitcom, complete with sound effects and vintage music.

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Theatre

Peter Pan

Peppa Pig’s Best Day Ever

The REP, Birmingham, until Sun 19 January

Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, Wed 29 & Thurs 30 January

Fly away to Neverland with the boy who wouldn't grow up, meet a real fairy, marvellous mermaids, wonderful Wendy and the down-on-their-luck lost boys. Oh, and beware the ever-so-wicked Captain Hook and a very hungry crocodile who goes tick-tock (he swallowed a clock!).

This ‘thrillingly reimagined’ version of the JM Barrie classic (the show is set in the 21st century and located in Birmingham) is helmed

by Liam Steel, who last Christmas directed The REP’s acclaimed production of The Wizard Of Oz.

If you’ve taken your little ones to any of the previous Peppa Pig stage shows - and enjoyed the experience of watching them having a fantastic time - you’ll already know that this latest production is well worth catching.

Peppa Pig is heading out on a road trip with George, Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig, and there are plenty of adventures waiting to be had - including ones that involve dragons, dinosaurs, ice-creams and muddy puddles...

Pantos and festive shows into January Snow White

tricked by an evil fairy and pricks her finger on a spinning wheel, causing her to sleep for 100 years, offers a great story around which to build a pantomime production of real quality. Jonathan Wilkes stars.

The Regal, Tenbury, until Fri 3 January; Swan Theatre, Worcester, until Sun 5 January; Royal Spa Centre, Leamington Spa, until Sun 5 January; Birmingham Hippodrome, until Sun 2 February

Dick Whittington

Everybody knows the story - the nasty old queen’s less than keen on her younger and more beautiful stepdaughter, who takes refuge from her royal evilness by holing up in the deep, dark forest with a household of vertically challenged miners.

The Hippodrome version stars Lesley Joseph as the Wicked Queen.

The story of a young man who heads for London in search of fame and fortune is one of the most popular in all of pantoland.

Ex-Corrie favourite Ryan Thomas and onetime Hi-De-Hi! duo Su Pollard and Jeffrey Holland star.

Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, until Sun 12 January

Peter Pan

Cinderella

Stafford Gatehouse, until Sun 5 January

Lichfield Garrick, until Sun 5 January; Palace Theatre, Redditch, until Sun 5 January

Peter Pan’s producers describe their production as ‘a high-energy localised show packed with all the ingredients that make pantomime such an unforgettable experience for the entire family”... What more could a panto-loving theatre-goer possibly want?

With its comical Ugly Sisters, matchmaking fairy godmother, drop-dead-gorgeous Prince Charming, super-cute mice and fits-one-footonly glass slipper, Cinderella can justifiably lay claim to being the most popular of all pantomimes.

Aladdin

Sleeping Beauty

Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, until Sun 12 January

Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, until Sun 5 January

Flying carpets at the ready, boys and girls...

A perfect story for an evening of family entertainment finds street youth Aladdin trying

The tragic tale of a young princess who’s

We’re Going On A Bear Hunt Birmingham Town Hall, until Sun 12 January

Suitable for children aged three and older, this lively adaptation of Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury’s popular picture book follows the adventures of a family as they head out on an intrepid quest to find a bear.

Catchy songs and enchanting puppets are combined with no shortage of ‘swishy swashy grass’ and ‘oozy, squelchy mud’ in a show that seems certain to keep youngsters splendidly entertained.

against all odds to win the hand of the beautiful princess - and being helped in his endeavours by the mystical genie of the lamp...

Robin Hood: The Pantomime Adventure The Core, Solihull, until Sun 5 January

A dashing hero, a Santa’s Sack-worth of audience participation and more corny gags than you could fit into an oversized Christmas stocking. What’s not to like?...

Puss In Boots Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, until Sat 11 January

A show which producers Imagine Theatre have referred to as ‘the cat’s whiskers’, Puss In Boots tells the tail, sorry, tale, of a fabulous feline who outwits both a king and an ogre to make his master the top, er, dog...

The Prince And The Pauper New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme, until Sat 25 January

An interesting and imaginative choice for a Christmas show, Mark Twain’s famous story here features ‘imaginative storytelling, live music, humour, puppetry and plenty of festive magic’. whatsonlive.co.uk 35

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Dance

Dance previews from around the region

Anton & Erin: Dance Those Magical Movies Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Sat 25 January; Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Wed 29 January

Celebrity dancing duo Anton du Beke and Erin Boeg return to the Midlands this month to present their brand new show.

Blending smart choreography and sparkly costumes with much-loved music from some of Hollywood’s greatest ever movies, Anton and Erin are joined by a 23-piece orchestra, a ‘spectacular’ dance ensemble, guest singer Lance Ellington and conductor Richard Balcombe.

The programme of music features hits from musical classics including Breakfast At Tiffany’s, Singin’ In The Rain, Casablanca, The Wizard Of Oz, The Greatest Showman, Titanic and Moulin Rouge.

Big Bond blockbusters also feature.

Shen Yun International Convention Centre, Birmingham, Tues 31 December - Thurs 2 January

The New York Times described Shen Yun as ‘5,000 years of Chinese music and dance in one night’ - which, as evenings of theatrical entertainment go, sounds like a pretty good deal.

Based in New York, Shen Yun is a not-for-

profit organisation dedicated to reviving authentic Chinese culture. And it certainly achieves its aim, presenting shows which have been enjoyed by millions of people across the globe.

Expect ethnic and folk dancers, ‘stunning costuming, high-tech backdrops, an orchestra like no other’ and plenty more besides when the company stops off in Birmingham early this month....

Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour Arena Birmingham, Thurs 16 - Sun 19 January

The Wizard Of Oz Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, Wed 22 January; Tamworth Assembly Rooms, Tues 28 January

A marvellous mix of magic, mayhem and munchkins, this classic story from the pen of L Frank Baum comes complete with some of the 20th century’s best-known children’s characters, including the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the cowardly Lion and, of course, the Wicked Witch of the West.

Baum’s story is certainly in safe hands with the ever-excellent Ballet Theatre UK, a 12-year-old company with an impressive history of producing bright and colourful shows designed to promote classical dance as a hugely accessible artform.

The Wizard Of Oz is one of two brand new offerings being toured by the ensemble this season the other is Sense And Sensibility - with a revival of the company’s critically acclaimed production of Giselle also featuring.

With 2018 winner Stacey Dooley taking on the presenting role, the Strictly Come Dancing Live tour is back in Brum with a bang.

Waltzing its way into the city mid-month, the sequin-saturated show features TV judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli. Taking to the dancefloor

with their professional dance partners are celebrities Karim Zeroual, Kelvin Fletcher, Saffron Barker, Mike Bushell, Alex Scott, Emma Barton and Catherine Tyldesley.

If you’re a fan of the hit BBC TV series, this is definitely an evening out not to be missed...

whatsonlive.co.uk 37

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Dance

Dance previews from around the region

Joseph Toonga: Born To Manifest Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham, Fri 31 January

“I feel a responsibility as a black male,” says Joseph Toonga, “to empower the younger generation as a role model and as an example of how dance can provide a positive, successful route. Mental health, and black men’s experiences of it, is little discussed, which is why I’m so passionate about creating awareness and shifting stigmas.”

Toonga’s hour-long presentation is a new hiphop dance double bill that illuminates the experience of young black British men. The show draws from real-life accounts with the aim of simultaneously championing cultural identity and challenging racial stigmas.

Spirit Of The Dance Malvern Theatres, Fri 31 January; Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, Sun 2 February

A colourful and lively theatrical event celebrating dance and music from around the world, Spirit Of The Dance follows in the high-kicking traditions of the ever-popular Riverdance and Lord Of The Dance productions.

The show is this year celebrating its 21st birthday and boasts the pounding rhythms

not only of Irish dance but also Scottish, flamenco, Latin, salsa, street, hip-hop, techno and American Tap. It’s been seen by more than 20 million people worldwide since debuting in the 1990s and very much retains its reputation as one of the best and most spectacular dance shows around.

Dance To The Music Albany Theatre, Coventry, Tues 14 January; The Place, Telford, Shropshire, Sun 26 January

One-time X-Factor contestant Jake Quickenden is the man at the helm of this highenergy show, created, directed and choreographed by ex-Strictly professional Kristina Rihanoff.

Featuring 15 different dances, the production portrays the evolution of dance through numerous musical eras and gen-

res, from the Roaring ’20s with its Charleston and tap dances, through to modern-day ballroom and Latin. ‘Fabulous’ costumes, ‘stunning’ vocals, ‘breathtaking’ choreography and an ‘electrifying’ dance troupe are all present and correct in a show that promises to banish the winter blues, at least for an evening.

Moscow State Ballet: The Nutcracker Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, Mon 20 - Wed 22 January

One of the great ballet staples, Tchaikovsky’s enchanting tale of Clara and her nutcracker doll has been delighting audiences for generations. The fantasy of soldiers, giant rats, snow fairies, magic and mystery this month visits the region courtesy of Moscow State Ballet, a young company which has earned an impressive reputation for its thoughtful and energetic productions. whatsonlive.co.uk 39

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A TASTE OF ITALY Popular Italian chef Gino D’Acampo talks about his new Birmingham restaurant, his children’s book, his television show, his favourite food and, er, his wife’s apparently ample bosom...

On Halloween, the UK’s favourite Italian chef, Gino D’Acampo, opened much-anticipated Birmingham eatery Gino D’Acampo My Restaurant.

Situated on the bustling Temple Row, it features 165 covers, a 25 metre cocktail bar at which patrons can dine, a deli bar and a private dining area. A 15 metre open kitchen with a spectacular hand-crafted copper wood 40 whatsonlive.co.uk

oven sits centre restaurant, providing guests with the opportunity to watch Gino’s chefs in action.

The opening of the restaurant marks the completion of the first of a two-phase grand plan which Gino has for Birmingham - still to come is a rooftop sky bar and restaurant with spectacular views across the city...

“My new restaurant serves real Italian food and has a real Italian look,” explains the charismatic chef. “Don’t get me wrong, I have other restaurants in Birmingham - we have Piccolino and Bank, which are both great restaurants, and I do all the menus and all the stuff like that - but this is different. Here, you’ll have real Italian food, fresh ingredients, the lifestyle. And the look of the restaurant is

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by Lauren Foster

different, too. We source everything from Italy. I have a company where we import ingredients. We bring them here, we store them here, and then we send them to the restaurants. Everything you see, everything you touch, has been chosen and looked after by me.”

Alongside an extensive food menu offering Italian classics aplenty, Gino D’Acampo My Restaurant’s wine list boasts one of the biggest selections of prosecco, sparkling wine and Franciacorta in the country. There are more than 30 varieties to choose from, many of which you won’t find available anywhere else.

If Gino was visiting his new eatery as a diner, which dishes would he order from the menu?

“I would definitely have rigatoni with wild boar ragu. I usually have the calamari - we make it to perfection, with fried courgettes, fried peppers and a beautiful lemon mayonnaise. I would rock a pizza, because I’m greedy. My favourite pizza is the Real Neapolitan pizza, with Italian sausage, friarrielli, mozzarella and chilli. We make the best. If I had enough space in my belly, I would rock in with the slow-roasted pork belly - that is very sexy, with the radicchio and the chopped roasted hazelnuts on the top; it's very cool.

For dessert, I always have a tiramisu. We make the traditional tiramisu with the Savoiardi biscuits, mascarpone, Amaretto liqueur. Mwah! Fantastico!”

After Italian, what’s Gino’s favourite cuisine and is there anything he really can’t stand?

“I always eat Italian food! I like Japanese food, Chinese too. I’m not a huge fan of Indian cuisine; there are too many herbs and spices. It's very different from Italian cuisine.

We use four or five ingredients to make one thing, they use 23 different spices and ingredients. It's just not the way I cook or eat.

“I hate cucumber and I don't like coriander it's too overpowering. When you eat something with coriander, the only thing you taste is coriander. It reminds me of soap. Once, I was invited somewhere - I can't be too specific because it was a royal thing - but ****ing hell, do you know what they served me? Cucumber and coriander sandwiches! Cucumber sandwiches with a kind of coriander pesto in it. I pretended to eat one, but I had a napkin on my leg, so I rolled it into the napkin and threw the napkin underneath the table. It was

a table of 10, so it could have been anyone who’d thrown it.”

Birmingham boasts a brilliant and explosive food scene, with six Michelin-star restaurants, an abundance of high-quality independent eateries, one of the UK’s most popular street-food events and plenty of big-chain restaurants. So what is it about the city that makes it so appealing to restauranteurs and diners?

“Birmingham has always been a great city for food, because here is where the BBC Good Food Show is. I remember 20 years ago we used to do it. It was Gordon, Ainsley Harriott, Jamie Oliver, Rick Stein, all those people. For us, it's always been a foodie place. Birmingham is getting cooler, I think - it's a cool city now. It was always one of those places which had a lot of negativity - “it's too industrial, it's too this, it's too that”. It's a beautiful city and it's definitely on the up, if not already up there. For anyone interested in good restaurants, this is the place to be now.”

Originally from Naples, Gino moved to London when he was 19 and worked in both The Orchard Restaurant in Hampstead and the Cambio Restaurant in Guildford.

“I moved because of my wife. I met my wife when I was 18. We were in Spain, we were in Puerto Banús. I used to be the chef at the restaurant and she used to be the waiter. I had just come from the south of Italy and I fell in love with her. Blonde, clever, huge knockers, beautiful eyes. Eyes, brain, hair, knockers - we'll put knockers at number four. You can't have them at number one; that would make me very shallow.”

Gino rose to fame as a regular chef on longrunning ITV magazine show This Morning.

He’s since presented cookery programmes including Let's Do Lunch, There's No Taste Like Home and Gino's Italian Escape, and has also taken part in I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! - which he won in 2009 - and Celebrity Juice. His most recent TV project is Gordon, Gino And Fred, a second series of which he’s just finished filming with Gordon Ramsey and First Dates’ Fred Sirieix.

“I cannot tell you a lot about this, but it's out in April. It's four episodes and we went to America. I think it was the best two weeks of my life - it was awesome! We couldn’t stop having fun. I know at work you shouldn't have too much fun, but I absolutely loved it.

Sometimes there was tension between us because we're three very strong characters Gordon is the alpha male, Fred is the sensible Frenchman, and I'm the one who doesn't give a shit - yet we really gelled well together. I can tell you that we're going to Morocco and we're going to film a Christmas special.”

Having already successfully conquered a multitude of markets, Gino recently added another string to his bow - children’s books.

His first publication, Get Cooking With Wiskella, is guaranteed to get your little ones excited about food. All Gino’s books, his recipe books included, can be bought in Gino D’Acampo My Restaurant.

“The inspiration for Get Cooking With Wiskella came from my daughter, Mia. She's seven years old. She always makes up stories in her mind as to why she should cook. She pretends that she's with friends. As I was watching her, I was thinking, 'I can make this reality; I can actually come up with a character'. The character is a whisk that turns into a little girl. All the characters in the book are cooking utensils, and I made them into humans. Wiskella is a girl who loves cooking and who goes around looking for all the ingredients that she needs. Eventually she gets all her friends around and they cook together. Usually when you read a book with your kids, the experience ends once the book is ended. But at the end of Get Cooking With Wiskella there’s a recipe. So you read the book and then, at the end, the idea is that the children, the parents, grandparents or whoever say, 'Hey, why don't we do the recipe?'

I've given them a full recipe - a pancake recipe - with the method. Wiskella explains exactly how she does it. The interaction doesn't end there - that's what's important to me. It's important to get kids interested in food and in cooking from a really young age. And on every page there is a little cat to find, too.

“My children cook and explore a lot with food. We have a rule in my house that anything I put on the table, they eat. If they don't like it, that's fine, but at least they've tried it.

And when I say anything, I mean anything. I once got them to try donkey testicle with butter, sage, salt & pepper. It was quite good.”

Gino D’Acampo My Restaurant can be found at 61-63 Temple Row, Birmingham whatsonlive.co.uk 41

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Film

1917 CERT 15 (119 mins) Starring George MacKay, DeanCharles Chapman, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Claire Duburcq, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Mays Directed by Sam Mendes (UK/USA)

Partly based on fact - as relayed to the director Sam Mendes by his grandfather - this First World War epic is unfolded in one continuous shot. Two British soldiers are entrusted with the assignment of penetrating enemy lines in order to deliver a warning of an impending ambush by the Germans.

Mendes, of course, is the Oscarwinning director of such outstanding movies as American Beauty, Jarhead and the James Bond films Skyfall and Spectre.

Released Fri 10 January

CRITIC’S CHOICE

Film highlights released in January...

The Gentlemen CERT 18 (113 mins)

Starring Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding, Michelle Dockery, Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant Directed by Guy Ritchie (UK/USA)

After toying with family entertainment and the Arabian Nights, Guy Ritchie returns to familiar territory with this highly adult gangster thriller. When a drug dealer decides to offload his criminal empire, he inadvertently triggers a war of unimaginable mayhem.

Released Wed 1 January

Jojo Rabbit CERT 12a (108 mins) Starring Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, Taika Waititi, Rebel Wilson, Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson Directed by Taika Waititi (New Zealand/USA/Czech Republic)

Jojo, a 10-year-old recruit of Hitler’s Youth, is nicknamed Rabbit because of his cowardice - his inability even to kill a rabbit for the Führer. But with the help of his imaginary friend - none other than a blustering Adolf Hitler played by the director - he does

his best to toe the party line and learn to hate the Jews. Jojo Rabbit is a strange mix in that on the one hand it is very naturalistic - filmed in the picturesque town of Ustek in the Czech Republic - but also wildly farcical, at times resembling a sort of Carry On Hitler. Sadly, it has neither the confident cheek of Mel Brooks’ fictitious musical Springtime For Hitler nor the harrowing satire of George Roy Hills’ SlaughterhouseFive (1972).

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Film

Seberg CERT tbc (96 mins)

Just Mercy CERT 12a (136 mins)

Starring Kristen Stewart, Jack O'Connell, Margaret Qualley, Zazie Beetz, Vince Vaughn, Anthony Mackie, Yvan Attal Directed by Benedict Andrews (USA/UK)

Starring Michael B Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson, Rob Morgan, Tim Blake Nelson, Rafe Spall, O'Shea Jackson Jr Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (USA)

Based on the memoir by Bryan Stevenson, this is the story of the attorney (Jordan) who fought to clear the name of a wrongly convicted killer (Foxx). The US reviews have been pretty good so far.

The Personal History Of David Copperfield CERT PG (119 mins)

Starring Dev Patel, Peter Capaldi, Hugh Laurie, Tilda Swinton, Ben Whishaw, Paul Whitehouse Directed by Armando Iannucci (UK/USA)

Released Fri 17 January

No mere biopic of the 1960s’ icon Jean Seberg, this political drama focuses on the FBI’s targeting of the actress because of her involvement with the civil rights activist Hakim Jamal (Mackie).

Armando Iannucci, the creative force behind The Thick Of It and The Death Of Stalin, gives his own singular spin to Charles Dickens’ favourite novel, making it both pertinent and, apparently, hilarious.

Released Fri 10 January

Bad Boys For Life CERT tbc Starring Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Joe Pantoliano, Theresa Randle Directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (USA)

Released Fri 24 January

Plus One CERT 15 (99 mins)

The Turning CERT tbc

Starring Maya Erskine, Jack Quaid, Beck Bennett, Rosalind Chao, Perrey Reeves, Ed Begley Jr, Finn Wittrock Directed by Jeff Chan and Andrew Rhymer (USA)

Starring Mackenzie Davis, Finn Wolfhard, Brooklynn Prince, Joely Richardson, Mark Huberman Directed by Floria Sigismondi (USA)

Marriage is in the air. So committed singletons and best friends Ben and Alice agree to be each other’s ‘plus one’ at every nuptial they’re invited to. Expect comparisons to When Harry Met Sally.

When he is entrusted with the care of his niece and nephew, a man hires a governess to look after them at his spooky mansion. Believe it or not, this is yet another re-working of Henry James’ 1898 The Turn Of The Screw, executive-produced by Steven Spielberg.

Released Fri 17 January

Released Fri 24 January

Just as old partners Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) and Mike Lowery (Will Smith) are due to retire, they are forced together on one final assignment when the latter is targeted by a Romanian mob boss. Unusually for a big Hollywood film, the action-comedy is directed by a Belgian filmmaking duo (who are also developing the next Beverly Hills Cop sequel).

A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood CERT PG (109 mins) Starring Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Cooper, Christine Lahti Directed by Marielle Heller (USA)

Released Fri 17 January

A Hidden Life CERT tbc (173 mins) Starring August Diehl, Valerie Pachner, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Nyqvist, Jürgen Prochnow, Bruno Ganz Directed by Terrence Malick (USA/Germany)

This is the true story of Franz Jägerstätter (Diehl), a devout Catholic farmer who refused to collude with the Nazis during the Second World War. Incidentally, the film proved to be the last for both the late Michael Nyqvist and Bruno Ganz.

Released Fri 17 January 44 whatsonlive.co.uk

Waves CERT 15 (135 mins) Starring Kelvin Harrison Jr, Lucas Hedges, Taylor Russell, Alexa Demie, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Sterling K. Brown Directed by Trey Edward Shults (USA)

Life comes in waves and that is certainly the case for an African-American family living in a suburb of Southern Florida. In spite of the film’s subject matter, its writer-director is not African-American.

Last year we had the documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? about Fred Rogers. Here, Tom Hanks plays the children’s TV presenter, who is befriended by a cynical journalist from Esquire magazine (Rhys), on whose article the screenplay is loosely based.

Released Fri 17 January

Released Fri 31 January

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Film highlights released in January...

The Grudge CERT tbc Starring Andrea Riseborough, Demián Bichir, John Cho, Betty Gilpin, Lin Shaye, Jacki Weaver Directed by Nicolas Pesce (Canada/USA)

This is the second American remake of the 2002 Japanese horror film in which a young female detective investigates a horrific murder in a house that is, frankly, doomed.

Released Fri 31 January

The Lighthouse CERT 15 (109 mins) Starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson Directed by Robert Eggers (USA)

When two lighthouse keepers are stranded on their island by a storm, they both begin to lose their sanity… Robert Pattinson has said that the experience of making the film has made him renounce Method acting for good.

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Released Fri 31 January

Bombshell CERT 15 (108 mins) Starring Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, John Lithgow, Kate McKinnon, Connie Britton, Malcolm McDowell, Allison Janney, Mark Duplass, Alice Eve Directed by Jay Roach (USA)

One doesn’t come across a cast like this very often. But in the #MeToo era, true-life dramas like this will be popping up all over. Set in the toxic atmosphere of Fox

Queen And Slim CERT 15 (131mins) Starring Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Bokeem Woodbine, Chloë Sevigny, Flea Directed by Melina Matsoukas (USA)

Having killed a cop after being pulled over in their car, a loved-up African-American couple go on the run... The British actress-model Jodie Turner-Smith has had rave reviews for her part, even prompting talk of an Oscar nomination.

News, the film follows several women as they attempt to expose the unbecoming conduct of the TV executive Roger Ailes, played by an unrecognisable John Lithgow.

Interesting that the three leads are, respectively, South African, Australian and Australian. From the director of the Austin Powers and Meet The Fockers films, so maybe there will even be some humour.

Released Fri 24 January

The Rhythm Section

Richard Jewell CERT 15 (129 mins)

CERT 15 (110 mins)

Starring Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm, Olivia Wilde, Paul Walter Hauser Directed by Clint Eastwood (USA)

Starring Blake Lively, Jude Law, Sterling K. Brown, Max Casella, Daniel Mays, Geoff Bell Directed by Reed Morano (UK/USA)

Released Fri 31 January

Clint Eastwood, now 89, directs and produces this true-life drama about a security guard (Hauser) who saved the lives of thousands from a terrorist attack at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. However, the press and media set out to destroy his life…

Released Fri 31 January

Stephanie Patrick (Blake Lively) was meant to be on a flight that killed her family. Then she discovers that the crash was not an accident… Based on the novel by Mark Burnell and directed by the former cinematographer Reed Morano, so it should look good.

Released Fri 31 January whatsonlive.co.uk 45

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Visual Arts previews from around the region

Tim Mara: Not Pop? Wolverhampton Art Gallery, until Sun 29 March

Although frequently associated with the Pop Art movement, Irish printmaker and one-time Wolverhampton Polytechnic student Tim Mara - who died in 1997 at the age of 48 - found his inspiration elsewhere. “I knew that the Pop thing was going on,” he said. “Screen printing was there, photography was there, the everyday objects were there - but I was much more interested pictorially in Velásquez and Vermeer. Those prints had much more to do with painting.”

Mara’s work saw him blending traditional processes with digital printing techniques, but his main consideration was always the subject matter: “In the hierarchy of fine art, printmaking is usually associated with craft skills - with technique. And that gets in the way. My work was always about the ideas more than the medium.”

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Visual Arts

John Walker: New Paintings

La Patrie, 1916 By Christopher Richard W. Nevinson

Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, until Sun 23 February

Birmingham Revolutions: Power To The People Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, until Fri 4 September

play aims to highlight the different ways in which people can protest and campaign, and also to take a look at specific examples from history - from the Priestley Riots of 1791 all the way through to the LGBTQ+ campaigns of modern times.

Radical Drawing: Works From Coventry And The Courtauld Herbert Art Gallery, Coventry, until Sun 19 January

The radical and creative potential of drawn marks and lines is explored in an exhibition featuring not only artwork from the Herbert but also pieces both from The Courtauld Gallery in London and the University of Warwick.

The display offers viewers the opportunity to contemplate work by a number of artists who have pushed the boundaries of what it means to draw.

Also on display are objects linked to the Courtaulds factory in Coventry and a specially produced film about Courtaulds Ltd. The long-established manufacturer of fabric, clothing, artificial fibres and chemicals set up shop in the city in 1905.

Truly Bright And Memorable

The Influence Project Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham, Sat 18 January - Sun 22 March

A photography exhibition celebrating the impact of leading black musicians on contemporary sound and culture, The Influence Project chronicles pioneering voices from the 20thcentury music scene. Along the way, the show assesses their impact on music, exploring the ways in which they have creatively, socially and politically influenced and inspired modern-day artists.

Barber Institute, Birmingham, until Sun 19 January

Subtitled Jan de Beer’s Renaissance Altarpieces, this latest in the Barber’s Masterpiece In Focus series showcases the venue’s very own double-sided altarpiece, featuring The Nativity and the ‘apocryphal tale of Joseph and the suitors’.

The altarpiece is one of many created by 16th century Flemish artist de Beer, a man whose star shone brightly for centuries after his death but whose relevance has been somewhat downgraded in recent times.

The exhibition also brings together for the first time all of de Beer’s paintings and drawings from public and private collections in Britain.

Image: Laura Mvula, London 2017 C-Type © Alexis Chabala

Voting reform, nuclear disarmament, trade unionism, anti-racism and human rights all feature in Power To The People, an exhibition exploring Birmingham’s vibrant and varied history of protest and activism.

In the process of the exploration, the dis-

Birmingham artist John Walker left the city of his birth more than 50 years ago and now resides in Maine. The US state is renowned for its rocky coastal landscape, and it’s these stark natural features that have provided Walker with the inspiration for this new exhibition of ‘anti-scenic’ paintings.

Recently described as one of the standout abstract painters of the last 50 years, John was the first artist to show at Ikon Gallery when it moved to new premises in the Birmingham Shopping Centre above New Street Station in 1972.

His return to the venue, now of course in a different location, has been long awaited, his new paintings being widely acclaimed as works which reveal an artist at the very peak of his powers.

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Events

Events previews from around the region

Ice Skate Birmingham Centenary Square, Birmingham, until Sun 12 January

Vitality Netball Nations Cup Arena Birmingham, Wed 22 January

The Vitality Roses, England’s elite netball team, play in front of a home crowd this month for the

Autosport International NEC, Birmingham, Thurs 9 - Sun 12 January

Described as ‘the world’s greatest four-wheel indoor extravaganza’, Autosport International caters for industry professionals and motorsport fans alike. Featuring every level of motor racing from karting through to Formula One - the event offers visitors the chance to check out the latest performance road cars, chat to club members and watch precision-driving displays in the Live Action Arena. The show is this year marking the 70th anniversary of the F1 British Grand Prix.

first time since the Netball World Cup. As part of a new four-day three-city international series, the Roses face South Africa in a World Cup bronze medal rematch, while Jamaica lock horns with New Zealand.

Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live Arena Birmingham, Fri 31 January - Sun 2 February

Jumps and stunts and crashing and smashing is very much the order of the day when the Hot Wheels Monster Trucks take to the stage.

In addition to the trucks, each show features a range of entertainment that includes world record attempts and performances by stars of the freestyle motocross world. Oh, and there’s the Megasaurus too - a massive car-eating firebreathing prehistoric robot that loves to chomp on anything with four wheels.

Best leave your skateboard at home, we thinks...

Christmas may be over, but there’s still plenty of opportunity to enjoy Ice Skate Birmingham and the Big Wheel this month.

While the wheel offers the chance to enjoy fantastic views across the city, the ice rink accommodates up to 300 people per session and is this year weather-proofed thanks to the addition of a roof. Younger or inexperienced skating enthusiasts can keep upright by using special penguin skating aids.

And when skaters have finished their Torvill & Dean routine, they can warm themselves up with some festive fare in the nearby Ice Lounge.

The Arenacross Tour 2020 Resorts World Arena, Birmingham, Fri 31 January & Sat 1 February

An absolute must for extreme sports fans, the 2020 Arenacross tour brings indoors all the spectacular elements of motorcross for a ‘non-stop white-knuckle ride’. Set to a pumping soundtrack and laser show, the event sees some of the world’s top freestylers hitting the track to present what organisers describe as ‘truly awe-inspiring entertainment’.

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Festivals

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 taste. And 2020 looks set to be another bumper year for the region’s festival-goers. Get your diary out and get booking!

APRIL NANTWICH JAZZ, BLUES & MUSIC FESTIVAL Line-up includes Big Country, Sari Schorr, Stereo MCs, Ruby Turner, The Blockheads, Jeremiah Ferrari, Suburban Symphony.

Thurs 9 - Mon 13 April, various venues in Nantwich. More information at nantwichjazz.com WONDERLAND 2 Line-up includes Filta, Rooted and Booted, Totally Tina, Daft Punk Tribute, Jay Francis as George Michael, Flash, Gimme Some Lovin Soul Band, The Blue Print Blues Brothers featuring Aretha Franklin tribute, Erasured - Erasure Tribute – Marquis Drive. Fri 10 - Mon 13 April, Chillington Hall, Brewood, Wolverhampton. More information at dubscollective.com

MAY UPTON UPON SEVERN FOLK FESTIVAL Line-up includes Martyn Harvey, Dovetail Trio, Worcestershire Levellers, Rod Penlington. Fri 1 - Mon 4 May, various venues, Upton upon Severn, Worcestershire. More information at uptonfolk.org LEAMINGTON MUSIC FESTIVAL Line-up to be announced. Fri 1 - Tues 5 May, Royal Pump Rooms, Leamington Spa. More information at leamingtonmusic.org

50 whatsonlive.co.uk

CHELTENHAM JAZZ FESTIVAL Line-up to be announced. Tues 5 - Sun 10 May, Montpellier Gardens, Cheltenham.

More information at cheltenhamfestivals.com/jazz FOCUS WALES Line-up includes Flamingods, Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita, Georgia Ruth, John, Gruff Rhys.

Thurs 7 - Sat 9 May, various venues in Wrexham, Wales. More information at focuswales.com SWINGAMAJIG Line-up to be announced. Fri 8 May, Birmingham Botanical Gardens. More information at swingamajig.co.uk FORBIDDEN FOREST Line-up to be announced. Sat 9 May, The Oaks Forest, Grimethorpe. More information at forbidden-forest.co.uk BEARDED THEORY Line-up includes The Flaming Lips, Nova Twins, Derange, The Dualers, Ferocious Dog, The Bar Steward Sons Of Val Doonican, KT Tunstall, The Undertones, The Kubricks. Thurs 21 - Sun 24 May, Catton Hall, South Derbyshire. More information at beardedtheory.co.uk BREAKING BANDS Line-up includes Gorilla Riot, Stellsword, Midnite City, King Creature. Thurs 21 - Mon 25 May, Stoke Prior Sports & Country Club, Bromsgrove. More information at breakingbandsfestival.com MELLO Line-up includes Odyssey, Steeleye Span, Craig Charles, Fairport Convention. Fri 22 - Sun 24 May, Seven

End Country Estate, Hanley Castle, Worcestershire. More information at mellofestival.co.uk LECHLADE MUSIC FESTIVAL Line-up includes The Boomtown Rats (Headliner). Fri 22 - Sun 24 May, Riverside Park, Lechlade, Gloucestershire. More information at lechladefestival.co.uk GLASTONBUDGET Line-up Who's Who, One Step Behind, The Kommitments, The Bootleg Beatles, T.Rextasy, Dolly Parton Experience, Vicky Jackson as Pink. Fri 22 - Sun 24 May, Turnpost Farm, Leicestershire. More information at glastonbudget.org

nbhdweekender.com BIRMINGHAM PRIDE Line-up to be announced. Sat 23 - Sun 24 May, Birmingham Gay Village.

More information at birminghampride.com ROCK AND BOWL Line-up to be announced. Sat 23 - Mon 25 May, Picnic Area, Market Drayton. More information at rockandbowlfestival.com DOT TO DOT FESTIVAL Line-up to be announced. Sun 24 May, various venues in Nottingham. More information at dottodotfestival.co.uk

STAFFS FEST Line-up to be announced.

Fri 22 - Sun 24 May, Lower Drayton Farm, Penkridge, Staffs. More information at staffsfest.co.uk

LICHFIELD BLUES AND JAZZ FESTIVAL Line-up to be announced. Thurs 28 May - Sun 31 May, various venues around Lichfield. More information at lichfield-jazz.co.uk

HOWTHELIGHTGETSIN The world’s largest philosophy and music festival.

Line-up includes Nitin Sawhney, Belle and Sebastian, The Correspondents, Ayanna Witter Johnson. Fri 22 - Mon 25 May, Hay on Wye, Hereford. More information at howthelightgetsin.org

THE ACOUSTIC FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN Line-up includes Lindisfarne, Lucas Marks & The Glorious Unknown, Merry Hell, The Quireboys, Old Town Sailors.

Fri 29 May - Sun 31 May, Uttoxeter Racecourse. More information at acousticfestival.co.uk

CHESTER FOLK FESTIVAL Line-up includes Kimber’s Men, Wet The Tea, Sam Carter, Albireo. Fri 22 - Mon 25 May, Kelsall Village. More information at chesterfolk.org.uk

WYCHWOOD MUSIC FESTIVAL Line-up to be announced. Fri 29 May - Sun 31 May, Cheltenham Racecourse.

More information at wychwoodfestival.com

NEIGHBOURHOOD WEEKENDER Line-up includes Ian Brown, Catfish And The Bottlemen, Shed Seven, The Wombats.

Sat 23 - Sun 24 May, Victoria Park, Warrington. More information at

JUNE WIRRAL FOLK FESTIVAL Line-up in-

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cludes Lindisfarne, Trials Of Cato, Merry Hell, The Churchfitters. Thurs 4 June - Sun 7 June, The Whitby Club, Ellesmere Port. More information at wirralfolkonthecoast.com GATE TO SOUTHWELL Line-up includes Show Of Hands, Madison Violet, Talisk, Track Dogs. Thurs 4 - Sun 7 June, Southwell Racecourse, Nottinghamshire. More information at gtsf.uk DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL Line-up includes Kiss, Iron Maiden, System Of A Down, Deftones, Korn, The Offspring. Fri 12 Sun 14 June, Donington Park, Derby.

More information at downloadfestival.co.uk NOCTURNE LIVE AT BLENHEIM PALACE Line-up includes David Gray, Lionel Richie. Thurs 18 - Sun 21 June, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire. More information at nocturnelive.com SONIC ROCK SOLSTICE 2019 Line-up includes Acid Mothers Temple, Atomic Rooster, Astralasia, Heavy Metal Kids.

Thurs 18 - Sun 21 June, Stoke Prior Sports and Country Club, Worcester.

More information at sonicrocksolstice.com BEARDY FOLK FESTIVAL Line-up includes Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys, Rura, Gaz Brookfield, Calan, Luke Jackson, Midnight Skyracer. Fri 19 - Sun 21 June, Hopton Court, Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire. More information at beardyfolkfestival.co.uk UPTON JAZZ FESTIVAL Line-up includes Black Cat Jazz Band, 12 Shades Of Jazz, Ben Cummings Gerry Mulligan Quartet, Keith Nichols Hot Seven. Fri 26 Sun 28 June. Various venues in Uptonupon-Severn, Worcestershire. More information at uptonjazz.co.uk

JULY NAPTON MUSIC FESTIVAL Line-up to be announced. Fri 3 - Sat 4 July, Napton Village Hall Grounds, Napton On The Hill, Warwickshire. More information naptonfestival.co.uk CAMPERJAM Line-up to be announced.

Fri 3 - Sun 5 July, Weston Park, Shropshire. More information at camperjam.com ALSO FESTIVAL Line-up to be announced. Fri 3 - Sat 5 July, Park Farm, Warwickshire. More information and tickets at also-festival.com TIMBER FESTIVAL Line-up includes The Unthanks, Sam Lee, Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Gary Stewart’s Graceland. Fri 3 Sun 5 July, Feanedock, The National

Forest. More information and tickets at timberfestival.org.uk

Bolesworth Castle, Chester. More information at carfest.org

THE ROCK AND BIKE FEST Line-up includes Fleetwood Bac, Guns 2 Roses, Green Haze, The Animals & Friends.

Thurs 9 - Sat 11 July, Carnfield Hall, Derbyshire. More information at rockandbikefest.co.uk

BAREFOOT FESTIVAL Line-up to be announced. Fri 31 July - Mon 3 August, Prestwold Hall, Leicestershire. More information at barefootfestival.com

2000TREES FESTIVAL Line-up to be announced. Thurs 9 - Sat 11 July, Upcote Farm, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

More information at twothousandtreesfestival.co.uk BROMSGROVE FOLK FESTIVAL Line-up includes The Lost Notes, Keith Donnelly, Union Jill. Thurs 9 - Sun 12 July, various venues across Bromsgrove.

More information at bromsgrovefolkclub.co.uk NOISILY FESTIVAL Line-up to be announced. Thurs 9 - Fri 12 July, Coney Woods at Noseley Hall, Leicestershire.

More information and tickets at noisilyfestival.com THE MOSTLY JAZZ FUNK AND SOUL FESTIVAL Line-up to be announced. Fri 10 - Sun 12 July, Moseley Park, Birmingham.

More information at mostlyjazz.co.uk LICHFIELD ARTS FUSE FESTIVAL Line-up to be announced. Fri 10 - Sun 12 July, Beacon Park, Lichfield, Staffordshire.

More information at fuselichfield.org.uk LET’S ROCK SHREWSBURY Line-up includes Adam Ant, OMD, ABC, Tony Hadley, Go West. Sat 11 July, The Quarry, Shrewsbury. More information at letsrockshrewsbury.com UPTON BLUES FESTIVAL Line-up to be announced. Thurs 16 - Sun 19 July, various venues around Upton upon Severn, Worcestershire. More information at uptonbluesfestival.com THE BIRMINGHAM, SOLIHULL & WESTSIDE FESTIVAL Line-up to be announced. Fri 17 - Sun 26 July, The Crossing + Boxxed + Wilde Building in Floodgate Street, Birmingham. More information at birminghamjazzfestival.com NOZSTOCK Line-up to be announced.

Thurs 23 - Sun 26 July, Rowden Paddocks, Bromyard, Herefordshire. More information at nozstock.com WARWICK FOLK FESTIVAL Line-up to be announced. Thurs 23 - Sun 26 July, Warwick School and Warwick Town Centre. More information at warwickfolkfestival.co.uk CARFEST NORTH Line-up to be announced. Fri 24 - Sun 26 July,

AUGUST MADE BIRMINGHAM Line-up to be announced. Sat 1 August, Perry Park, Birmingham. More information at made-festival.co.uk BOARDMASTERS Line-up to be announced. Wed 5 - Sun 9 Aug, Watergate Bay, Newquay, Cornwall. More information at boardmasters.com BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR Line-up includes Skindred, Paradise Lost, Butcher Babies. Thurs 6 - Sun 9 Aug, Catton Hall, Derbyshire. More information at bloodstock.uk.com ROCK THE PARK WREXHAM 2019 Lineup includes Vengaboys, K-Klass, Robin S, DJ Sash. Fri 7 - Sun 9 Aug, Borras Hall Lane, Wrexham. More information at rockthepark.co.uk 110 ABOVE FESTIVAL Line-up to be announced. Thurs 13 - Sun 16 Aug, Gopsall Hall Farm, Leicestershire. More information at 110above.com

Buuren. Thurs 27 - Sun 30 Aug, Daresbury, Halton, Cheshire. More information at creamfields.com BEERMAGEDDON FESTIVAL Line-up to be announced. Fri 28 - Sun 30 Aug, Stoke Prior Sports & Country Club, Bromsgrove, Worcester. More information at beermageddon.co.uk SUNSHINE FESTIVAL Line-up includes B*Witched, David Essex, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel. Fri 28 - Sun 30 Aug, Fish Meadow, Upton upon Severn, Worcestershire. More information at uptonfestival.co.uk CAMPER CALLING Line-up includes Skunk Anansie, The Fratellis, Ash, The Feeling. Fri 28 - Sun 30 Aug, Ragley Hall, Warwickshire. More information at campercalling.com THE BIG FEASTIVAL Line-up to be announced. Fri 28 - Sun 30 Aug, Kingham, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.

More information at thebigfeastival.co.uk SHREWSBURY FOLK FESTIVAL Line-up includes Show Of Hands, Carlos Núñez, The Young’uns, Kabantu. Fri 28 - Mon 31 Aug, Greenhous West Mid Showground, Shrewsbury. More information at shrewsburyfolkfestival.co.uk

LAKEFEST Line-up includes Echo and the Bunnymen, Ash, Starsailor. Thurs 13 - Sun 16 Aug, Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire. More information at lakefest.co.uk FARMER PHIL’S FESTIVAL Line up to be announced. Fri 14 - Sun 16 Aug, near Gatten Farm, Shropshire. More information at farmerphilsfestival.com THE MOIRA FURNACE FOLK FESTIVAL Line-up includes Steve Tilston & Hugh Bradley, Granny’s Attic, Robin Laing, Kenny Spiers. Fri 21 - Sun 23 Aug, Moira Furnace Museum and Monument Site, Derbyshire. More information at moirafurnacefolkfestival.co.uk OLD BUSH BLUES FESTIVAL Line-up includes Pot Kettle Black, Trafficker, Wayne Martin. Fri 21 - Sun 23 Aug, The Old Bush, Callow End Worcester. More information at oldbushblues.co.uk THE JUST SO FESTIVAL Line-up to be announced. Fri 21 - Sun 23 Aug, Rode Hall Parkland, Cheshire. More information at justsofestival.org.uk SHAMBALA Line-up to be announced.

Thurs 27 - Sun 30 Aug. A secret location in Northampton. More information at shambalafestival.org CREAMFIELDS Headliner Armin Van

SEPTEMBER MOSELEY FOLK FESTIVAL Passenger announced as first headliner. Fri 4 - Sun 6 Sept, Moseley Park, Birmingham.

More information at moseleyfolk.co.uk OFF THE TRACKS Line-up to be announced. Wed 4 - Fri 6 Sept, Castle Donington. More information at offthetracks.co.uk BROMYARD FOLK FESTIVAL Line-up to be announced. Thurs 10 - Sun 13 Sept, Bromyard, Herefordshire. More information at bromyardfolkfestival.co.uk

OCTOBER LICHFIELD FESTIVAL OF FOLK Line-up to be announced. Fri 16 - Sun 18 Oct, venues around Lichfield, Staffordshire.

More information at lichfieldarts.org.uk

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Subscription Advert New Jan 2020.qxp_Layout 1 13/12/2019 15:00 Page 1

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The List Cover January Wolves Shrops Staffs.qxp_Layout 1 13/12/2019 17:30 Page 1

Your Y Yo ur weekb by -week by-week llistings li isti is t ng ngs gs gu gguide ide d de

January 2020

Ellen Kent’s La Boheme at Wolverhampton Grand - Sun 26 January

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

What’s On

and more!

Wed 1 to Sun 5 January

Mon 6 to Sun 12 January

Mon 13 to Sun 19 January

Mon 20 to Fri 31 January

Nearly Dan at The Robin, Bilston

The Wedding Present at Newhampton Arts Centre

Miloš Karadaglic in concert at Stoke Repertory Theatre

Tim Baker at Henry Tudor House, Shrewsbury

Fri 3 January

Fri 10 January

Sat 18 January

Fri 24 January

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THROUGHOUT JANUARY

Visual Arts New Art Gallery - Walsall WALSALL SOCIETY OF ARTISTS - 70TH ANNUAL EXHIBITION Range of work by local artists, including portraits, still lifes and urban & rural scenes, until Sun 5 Jan AMALIA PICA Major solo exhibition exploring the material culture of bureaucracy, until Sun 2 Feb

Nefelibata Photography -four photographic artists based in Anglesey Shropshire Guild of Contemporary Craft and Borderland Visual Arts, until Sat 11 Jan NEW NEW YEAR OPEN 2020 Sat 18 Jan Sat 7 Mar

Wolverhampton Art Gallery REFRAMING THE WILD: HUMANS, ANIMALS AND ART 1750-1950 Exhibition exploring the relationships between humans, animals and artworks from 1750 to 1950, until Sun 5 Jan ARTS AWARD EXHIBITION Exhibition by students from Wolverhampton Schools showcasing artwork created by utilising recycled materials provided by SCARF, until Sun 19 Jan

TOO RICH A SOIL Exhibition by three photographers presenting new work focused around portraiture, culture and female identity, until Sun 19 Apr SARAH TAYLOR SILVERWOOD - KATHLEEN AND SALLY SERIES Body of drawings based on text and images abstracted from photographs, letters, and documents relating to the two creators and donors of the Garman Ryan Collection, Kathleen Epstein (née Garman) and Sally Ryan, until Sun 7 June

Himley Hall & Park, Dudley NEW ANDREW SARGEN EXHIBITION Sat 18 Jan - Sun 5 Apr

Newcastle Borough Museum & Art Gallery B(U)Y ME FOR CHRISTMAS! Exhibition where visitors can buy exclusive hand-made gifts and featuring work by 30 artists, until Sun 5 Jan PAINTING WITH STITCH - LYN LEECH With hand embroidery and a sewing machine, Lyn creates landscapes that have both depth and realism, until Sun 12 Jan

Potteries Museum & Art Gallery - Stoke-On-Trent NEW ARRIVALS: 2018 Display of flora and fauna never before seen in the county, until Wed 1 Jan STAFFORDSHIRE HOSPITALITY: CERAMICS THAT CATER TO THE WORLD Exhibition exploring the 300-year history of North Staffordshire ceramics created for the hospitality industry, until Sun 19 Jan

The Willow Art Gallery, Oswestry ART & CRAFT 2019 Including works by

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THE BLOOMSBURY EFFECT Visitors to the Wolverhampton Society of Artists Centenary Exhibition can also enjoy a display of three prestigious early 20th century British paintings on loan from the Courtauld Gallery, London, until Sun 16 Feb WOLVERHAMPTON SOCIETY OF ARTISTS CENTENARY EXHIBITION Exhibition documenting the story of the Society, featuring a selection of works by WSA’s alumni, until Sun 16 Feb 50 YEARS ON: THE NORTHERN IRELAND COLLECTION REVISITED Exhibition featuring new acquisition Rocket Man,

by Northern Irish artist Gerry Gleason, and also including items from the gallery’s nationally important collection of art relating to the Troubles, until Sun 29 Mar

Other VISUAL ARTS RURAL SURREALISM AND WINTER EXHIBITION Exhibition exploring the use of dream imagery, folklore and fantasy in the traditions of painting, sculpture and print, until Sun 26 Jan, Twenty Twenty Gallery, Ludlow CHANGING TIMES: HUMOUR AND SATIRE Exhibition exploring the prints and objects that poked fun at new technology such as steam power and the possibilities it held, until Fri 28 Feb, Enginuity Museum, Ironbridge NEW QUBE CREATIVE GROUPS Display of recent works by members of Qube art classes, Mon 6 Jan - Tues 4 Feb, Qube Gallery, Oswestry NEW EAST SIDE ARTS COMPETITION Showcase of the annual competition entries, Sat 11 - Sat 25 Jan, The Brewhouse Arts Centre, Burton-uponTrent NEW ODDFELLOWS ARTS 'ECLECTICA' EXHIBITION Collaboration of work in a range of media by nine artists from the West Midlands, Mon 13 - Tues 28 Jan, Museum of Cannock Chase, Staffordshire

Gigs GUNS 2 ROSES Thurs 2 Jan, The Robin, Bilston SONS OF ANGER AND REDEMPTION PRESENT KEN BONSALL AND DAN BOOTH Thurs 2 Jan Fri 3 Jan, Katie Fitzgerald’s, Stourbridge NEARLY DAN IN CONCERT Fri 3 Jan, The Robin, Bilston SHOP FRONT HEROES Fri 3 Jan, Albert’s Shed, Southwater, Telford SLEEPY HEADS + HOTPLATE + GLASS CEILINGS + THE COMMON Fri 3 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, B’ham ROD STEWART & THE FACEZ Fri 3 Jan, The River Rooms, Stourbridge ION MAIDEN Fri 3 Jan, Route 44, Birmingham DAN BUDD AS ROBBIE WILLIAMS Fri 3 Jan, Eleven, Sandyford, Stoke-on-Trent

Nearly Dan - The Robin, Bilston

JEAN GENIE Sat 4 Jan, The Robin, Bilston ESSENTIAL 80S Sat 4 Jan, The River Rooms, Stourbridge GEMIMA AND THE EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN Sat 4 Jan, Albert’s Shed, Southwater, Telford BOWIE NIGHT 2020 Sat 4 Jan, Night Owl, B’ham DEAF BALLOONS + SEC-

Classical

OND HAND GENES + HONEY FACTORY Sat 4 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham THE FREDDIE & QUEEN EXPERIENCE Sat 4 Jan, Eleven, Sandyford, Stoke-on-Trent BAD GIRLFRIEND + FEED ME MILK + SIMPLE TRIXX + SPIT Sun 5 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham

until Sat 4 Jan, The Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham

THE JOHANN STRAUSS GALA Featuring the Johann Strauss Orchestra, John Rigby (conductor) and Lizzie Holmes (soprano), Wed 1 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham HALLE ORCHESTRA Featuring Gergely Madaras (conductor) & Jenö Lisztes (cimbalom) & Lajos Sárközy Jr (violin). Programme includes works by J. Strauss, Lehár, Brahms, Liszt & J. Strauss II, Fri 3 Jan, Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent STOURBRIDGE CHOIR & ORCHESTRA: VIENNESE GALA Sat 4 Jan, Stourbridge Town Hall CITY OF BIRMINGHAM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: VIENNESE NEW YEAR GALA Featuring Thomas Rösner (conductor) & Sarah-Jane Brandon (soprano). Programme includes works

by Nicolai & J.Strauss II, Sun 5 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham

Theatre CHRISTMAS CAROL CASEBOOK: AWAY IN A DANGER Festive farce featuring ‘murder, mayhem & more Christmas puns than you can wave your conductor’s baton at’, until Sat 4 Jan, Lichfield Garrick THE KING & I Tony Award-winning Rodgers & Hammerstein classic,

THE GIN CHRONICLES CHRISTMAS SHOW The Misfits of London present a festive evening of ‘fast-paced, vintage comedy’, until Sun 5 Jan, The Old Joint Stock Theatre, B’ham PETER PAN New version of JM Barrie's swashbuckling creation... until Sun 19 Jan, The REP, Birmingham A MUSEUM IN BAGHDAD A story of treasured history, desperate choices and the remarkable Gertrude Bell, until Sat 25 Jan, The Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER The classic tale told with ‘imaginative storytelling, live music, humour, puppetry and plenty of festive magic’, until Sat 25 Jan, New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire THE BOY IN THE DRESS World premiere based on David Walliams' bestselling book and featuring songs by Robbie Williams and Guy

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Wednesday 1 - Sunday 5 January Chambers, until Sun 8 Mar, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratfordupon-Avon KING JOHN Shakespeare’s rarely performed tale of a nation in turmoil, until Sat 21 Mar, The Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

Pantomime JACK AND THE BEANSTALK Starring Coronation Street actor Oliver Mellor as Fleshcreep & comedy star Carl Dutfield as Jack, until Sun 5 Jan, The Place, Telford CINDERELLA Festive family favourite starring Rebecca Keatley (CBeebies) and Sam Rabone, until Sun 5 Jan, Lichfield Garrick SLEEPING BEAUTY Starring Potteries panto royalty Jonathan Wilkes & Christian Patterson, until Sun 5 Jan, Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent PETER PAN Starring Coronation Street’s Ian Reddington as Captain Hook & Corey Jones as Peter Pan, until Sun 5 Jan, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre DICK WHITTINGTON Starring Su Pollard, Ryan Thomas, Jeffrey Holland, Aaron James & Ian Adams, until Sun 12 Jan, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre SNOW WHITE & THE SEVEN DWARFS Featuring Lesley Joseph, Matt Slack, Joe McElderry, Faye Brookes, Flawless, Doreen Tipton & Andrew Ryan, until Sun 2 Feb, Birmingham Hippodrome

Kids Shows WE'RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT ‘Catchy songs, interactive scenes and plenty of hands-on adventure’ combine in this adaptation of Michael Rosen & Helen Oxenbury's much-loved picture book, until Sun 12 Jan, Birmingham Town Hall

Comedy GRAEME MATHEWS, PAUL SINHA (PICTURED), EAMON GOODFELLOW & THOMAS GREEN Thurs 2 Jan, The George Hotel, Lichfield

MARCUS BRIGSTOCKE, PAUL TONKINSON, JOANNE MCNALLY & COMIC TBC Fri 3 - Sat 4 Jan, The Glee Club, B’ham

Dance SHEN YUN Epic production fusing classical Chinese dance, scenographical effects and original orchestral works, Tues 31 Dec - Thurs 2 Jan, International Convention Centre (ICC), Birmingham

Film INDEPENDENT LISTINGS: A CHRISTMAS CAROL (U) Drama/Family. Starring George C. Scott, Frank Finlay. Old Market Hall, Shrewsbury, until Tues 24 Dec STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER (12a) Action/Adventure. Starring Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver. Light House Media Centre, Wolverhampton, Wed 18 - Mon 23 Dec LOVING VINCENT (12) Animation/Biography. Starring Douglas Booth, Jerome Flynn. The Hive, Shrewsbury, Fri 20 Dec LOVE, ACTUALLY (15) Romance/Drama.

Starring Hugh Grant, Martine McCutcheon. Wellington Orbit, Telford, Shropshire, Fri 20 - Sat 21 Dec LAST CHRISTMAS (12a) Comedy/Drama. Starring Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding. Old Market Hall, Shrewsbury, Fri 20 - Tues 24 Dec, Fri 27 - Tues 31 Dec; Festival Drayton Centre, Market Drayton, North Shrops, Mon 23 Dec; Lichfield Garrick, Fri 27 Dec FROZEN 2 (PG) Animation/Adventure.

With the voices of Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell. Light House Media Centre, Wolverhampton, Thurs 19 - Mon 23 Dec; Wem Town Hall, North Shrops, Fri 20 - Tues 24 Dec; Old Market Hall, Shrewsbury, Fri 20 - Tues 24 Dec, Fri 27 Dec - Sun 5 Jan; Festival Drayton Centre, Market Drayton, North Shrops, Fri 27 Dec OLIVER! (U) Drama/Musical. Starring Oliver Reed, Mark Lester. Light House Media Centre, Wolverhampton, Sat 21 Dec A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE: FARMAGEDDON (U) Animation/Family. With the voices of Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes. Festival Drayton Centre, Market Drayton, North Shrops, Sat 21 Dec IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (U) Drama/Family. Starring James Stewart, Donna Reed. Ludlow Assembly Rooms, South Shropshire, Sat 21 Dec ABOMINABLE (U) Animation/Adventure.

With the voices of Chloe Bennet, Albert Tsai. Festival Drayton Centre,

Dick Whittington - Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Market Drayton, North Shrops, Sun 22 Dec MALEFICENT: MISTRESS OF EVIL (PG) Adventure/Fantasy. Starring Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning. Festival Drayton Centre, Market Drayton, North Shrops, Fri 27 Dec TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT (PG) Adventure/Comedy. Starring Maggie Smith, Alec McCowen. Festival Drayton Centre, Market Drayton, North Shrops, Fri 27 Dec CABARET (15) Musical/Drama. Starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York. Wellington Orbit, Telford, Shropshire, Sat 28 Dec

Events PAW PATROL PUPS SAVE CHRISTMAS TRAIL Featuring 21 characters and buildings from the hit Nick Jr show, all built by BRICKLIVE from brightly coloured toy bricks and placed around the city centre, until Fri 3 Jan, Birmingham City Centre CONTINENTAL CIRCUS BERLIN Brand new show for the festive season, until Sat 4 Jan, NEC, Birmingham

STARDOG & TURBOCAT (U) Animation/Comedy. With the voice of Luke Evans, Nick Frost. Lichfield Garrick, Mon 30 Dec CABARET (15) Musical/Drama. Starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York. Wellington Orbit, Telford, Shropshire, Thurs 2 Jan AFTER THE WEDDING (12a) Drama.

Starring Billy Crudup, Michelle Williams. Old Market Hall, Shrewsbury, Thurs 2 - Thurs 9 Jan THE ADDAMS FAMILY (PG) Animation/Comedy. With the voices of Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron. Festival Drayton Centre, Market Drayton, North Shrops, Fri 3 Jan HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE (PG) Adventure/Fantasy.

Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint. Mitchell Arts Centre, Burtonupon-Trent, Staffs, Sun 5 Jan

NEW FILMS ON GENERAL RELEASE: Released from Wed 1Jan, showing at selected cinemas JOJO RABBIT (12a) THE GENTLEMEN (18)

THE SNOW HOUSE BAR Snow House Bar makes a welcome return, complete with super-popular VIP igloos, until Sun 5 Jan, The Bullring Shopping Centre, Birmingham ICE SKATE BIRMINGHAM Ice Skate Birmingham and the Big Wheel make a welcome return to Centenary Square, until Sun 12 Jan, Centenary Square, Birmingham NEW YEAR CRAFT: CREATE YOUR OWN CALENDAR Use a variety of craft materials to design and create a unique calendar for 2020, Thurs 2 Jan, Blakesley Hall, Birmingham JOG OFF YOUR JUMPER ‘Fun run’ to burn off those extra Christmas calories, Sat 4 Jan, Attingham Park, Shrewsbury NEW YEAR, NEW YOU Featuring a variety of activities and stalls, Sun 5 Jan, Soho House, Birmingham

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TWC GP 01459

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music

COUNTRY SUPERSTARS EXPERIENCE

SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK

HELLO AGAIN...THE STORY OF NEIL DIAMOND

Fri 7 Feb @ 7.30pm

Sat 8 Feb @ 7.30pm

Thurs 13 Feb @ 7.30pm

music

music

comedy

THE MUSIC OF JUDY GARLAND STARRING DENISE NOLAN

SHOWADDYWADDY LETS ROCK N ROLL

DOM JOLY'S HOLIDAY SNAPS

Fri 14 Feb @ 7.30pm

Sat 15 Feb @ 7.30pm

Tues 18 Feb @ 7.30pm

music

music

family

WOMAN LIKE ME THE LITTLE MIX SHOW

GENESIS CONNECTED

MILKSHAKE! LIVE

CELEBRATING THE MUSIC OF GENESIS

MILKSHAKE MONKEY’S MUSICAL

Thu 20 Feb @ 7.00pm

Fri 21 Feb @ 7.30pm

Sat 22 Feb @ 12.00pm & 3.00pm

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Monday 6 - Sunday 12 January

Classical Music LUNCHTIME MUSIC Featuring Phoebe Cheng (double bass) performing a programme of works by Bottensini.

Also Charlotte Sleet (mezzo-soprano) & Jonathan French (piano).

Programme includes works by Vivaldi & Ravel, Mon 6 Jan, Recital Hall, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

Theatre PETER PAN New version of JM Barrie's swashbuckling creation... until Sun 19 Jan, The REP, Birmingham A MUSEUM IN BAGHDAD A story of treasured history, desperate choices and the remarkable Gertrude Bell, until Sat 25 Jan, The Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

ELISABETH BRAUSS PIANO CONCERT Programme includes works by Schubert and Beethoven, Tues 7 Jan, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

The Wedding Present - Newhampton Arts Centre, Wolverhampton

Gigs

CATAPULT CLUB FT. THE REPTARS Fri 10 Jan, O2 Academy, Birmingham

THE BUTTERS ALIENS + CORNFLAKE’S AT KELLY’S + IN OUR LIVES + HONEY I SHOT THE PRESIDENT Mon 6 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham

NEW MODEL ARMY Fri 10 Jan, O2 Institute, Birmingham

THE NU + FUTURE FIRES + AKANDE + THE FLOW Tues 7 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, B’ham DINO BAPTISTE Wed 8 Jan, The Jam House, Birmingham COSMOTHEKA Wed 8 Jan, The Red Lion Folk Club, B’ham OUTLINE + CRYMSON + EASY COMPANY + THE BRACKET Wed 8 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham PAUL SMITH: FOLLOWING Thurs 9 Jan, O2 Academy, Birmingham ASOMVEL PLUS SUPPORT, THE MIGHTY WRAITH AND SEVERN Thurs 9 Jan, The Robin, Bilston LADY SANITY + ED GEATER + A$TROBOY$ + STELLA Thurs 9 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham KINGS HEATH & MOSELEY NEIGHBOURHOOD Thurs 9 Jan, Hare & Hounds, Birmingham THE PASADENA ROOF ORCHESTRA Thurs 9 Jan, New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-underLyme, Staffordshire

KEITH DONNELLY Fri 10 Jan, Lichfield Guildhall PAPER BUOYS + THE GOOD WATER + HEADSHRINKERS + BERMUDA Fri 10 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham BACK TO THE 80’S Fri 10 Jan, The Robin, Bilston CIVIL WRONGS Fri 10 Jan - Sat 11 Jan, The Jam House, B’ham BACKSTREET THUNDER Fri 10 Jan, Eleven, Sandyford, Stoke-onTrent SINGLE BY SUNDAY Fri 10 Jan, The Asylum, Birmingham ALL MOD CONS Fri 10 Jan, Night Owl, B’ham BROKEN MINDS, WAX ON & THE SOURCE PRESENTS: A TRIBUTE TO TANGO Fri 10 Jan, Hare & Hounds, B’ham PJ MORTON Fri 10 Jan, O2 Institute, B’ham THE BUSINESS Fri 10 Jan, Hare & Hounds, Birmingham THE WEDDING PRESENT Fri 10 Jan, Newhampton Arts Centre, Wolverhampton SHOWADDYWADDY Fri 10 Jan, The Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-

Trent FROM THE JAM Fri 10 Jan, The Mill, Digbeth, Birmingham ULTIMATE COLDPLAY Fri 10 Jan, The River Rooms, Stourbridge A VISION OF ELVIS Fri 10 Jan - Sat 11 Jan, Lichfield Garrick MARK MORTON Sat 11 Jan, O2 Academy, Birmingham BLACK ELVIS Sat 11 Jan, Night Owl, B’ham TRUE STRAYS Sat 11 Jan, Lichfield Guildhall ABBA - SWEDE DREAMZ Sat 11 Jan, The River Rooms, Stourbridge

EDWARD LEUNG PIANO RECITAL Programme includes works by JS Bach, Haydn, Chopin, Ives & Stravinsky, Wed 8 Jan, Recital Hall, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire CITY OF BIRMINGHAM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: A VISION OF THE FUTURE Featuring Jaume Santonja Espinós (conductor) & Vesselin Gellev (violin). Programme includes works by Shostakovich, Arturo Marquez, Debussy, Anna Meredith, Piazzolla, Gershwin & Mason Bates, Thurs 9 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham BRAHMS’ HORN TRIO Fri 10 Jan, CBSO Centre, Birmingham

Comedy ESTHER MANITO (PICTURED), CHRIS WASHINGTON & COMEDY CAROUSEL WITH ANDY ROBINSON Thurs 9 Jan, The Glee Club, Birmingham

THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER The classic tale told with ‘imaginative storytelling, live music, humour, puppetry and plenty of festive magic’, until Sat 25 Jan, New Vic Theatre, Newcastleunder-Lyme, Staffordshire THE BOY IN THE DRESS World premiere based on David Walliams' bestselling book and featuring songs by Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers, until Sun 8 Mar, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratfordupon-Avon KING JOHN Shakespeare’s rarely performed tale of a nation in turmoil, until Sat 21 Mar, The Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon THE ACID TEST Written by award-winning and critically acclaimed playwright Anya Reiss, Wed 8 - Sat 11 Jan, The Blue Orange Theatre, Birmingham ALICE IN PANTOLAND Birmingham Youth Theatre present a new and original take on one of Britain’s favourite tales, Thurs 9 - Sat 11 Jan, The Old Rep, Birmingham

THE ASSIST + KARKOSA + ROMA COVE + THE NEW CONSISTENT Sat 11 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham

PETER PANTIES! The Market Theatre Company return to corrupt another traditional pantomime classic beyond all recognition. Not suitable for under-16s, Fri 10 Jan, Prince Of Wales Centre, Cannock

LINK N PARK Sat 11 Jan, Eleven, Sandyford, Stoke-on-Trent CLAUDE BOURBON Sat 11 Jan, Birchmeadow Centre, Broseley, Shropshire

CIRCUS OF HORRORS Immersive celebration set to a rock’n’roll soundscape & featuring bizarre and beautiful acts, Fri 10 Jan, Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent

BRAVADO - TRIBUTE TO RUSH Sun 12 Jan, The Robin, Bilston BLACK DYKE IN CONCERT Sun 12 Jan, Symphony Hall, B’ham

PHIL WALKER, ADAM BEARDSMORE, JOSH PUGH & DAN SMITH Thurs 9 Jan, Stourbridge Town Hall

DAMIAN WILSON & ADAM WAKEMAN Sun 12 Jan, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre

ESTHER MANITO (PICTURED), CHRIS WASHINGTON, DOMINIC FRISBY & BEN NORRIS Fri 10 - Sat 11 Jan, The Glee Club, B’ham

RISCAS + FLARES + 11 57 + SOUKI Sun 12 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham

ALISTAIR BARRIE, BRENNAN REECE, JOHN GAVIN & DANNY MCLOUGHLIN Sat 11 Jan, The Comedy Loft, B’ham

BEYOND THE BARRICADE Featuring best-loved songs from Broadway and the West End, Sat 11 Jan, Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent

Pantomime DICK WHITTINGTON Starring Su Pollard, Ryan Thomas, Jeffrey Holland, Aaron James & Ian Adams, until Sun

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thelist 12 Jan, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

SNOW WHITE & THE SEVEN DWARFS Featuring Lesley Joseph, Matt Slack, Joe McElderry, Faye Brookes, Flawless, Doreen Tipton & Andrew Ryan, until Sun 2 Feb, Birmingham Hippodrome DICK WHITTINGTON Sun 12 Jan, Prince Of Wales Centre, Cannock

Kids Shows WE'RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT ‘Catchy songs, interactive scenes and plenty of hands-on adventure’ combine in this adaptation of Michael Rosen & Helen Oxenbury's much-loved picture book, until Sun 12 Jan, Birmingham Town Hall

Film INDEPENDENT LISTINGS LATE NIGHT (15) Comedy/Drama. Starring Emma Thompson, Mindy Kaling.

The Edge Arts Centre, Much Wenlock, South Shrops, Mon 6 Jan

RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER (PG) Comedy/Crime. Starring Peter Sellers, Christopher Plummer. Mitchell Arts Centre, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffs, Tues 7 Jan

THE AERONAUTS (PG) Action/Biography. Starring Felicity Jones, Eddie Redmayne. Stoke Film Theatre, Tues 7 & Thurs 9 Jan

Monday 6 - Sunday 12 January Starring Matthew Goode, Elizabeth McGovern. Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre, Fri 10 Jan LITTLE WOMEN (U) Drama/Romance.

Starring Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson. Light House Media Centre, Wolverhampton, Fri 10 - Thurs 16 Jan

DUMBO (PG) Family/Fantasy. Starring Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton. Mitchell Arts Centre, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffs, Wed 8 Jan

1917 (12a) Drama/War. Starring Andrew Scott, Benedict Cumberbatch.

Light House Media Centre, Wolverhampton, Fri 10 - Thurs 23 Jan; Old Market Hall, Shrewsbury, Fri 10 Thurs 30 Jan

LE MANS ‘66 (12a) Action/Biography.

Starring Matt Damon, Christian Bale.

Market Drayton, North Shrops, Fri 10 Jan

CATS (12a) Comedy/Drama. Starring Idris Elba, Taylor Swift. Old Market Hall, Shrewsbury, Fri 10 - Thurs 23 Jan

GREASE (PG) Drama/Musical. Starring John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John.

Light House Media Centre, Wolverhampton, Fri 10 Jan

KNIVES OUT (12a) Comedy/Crime.

Starring Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis. Stoke Film Theatre, Sat 11 Jan

BURNING (15) Drama/Mystery. Starring Ah-in Yoo, Steven Yeun. Foreign language, subtitled. The Hive, Shrewsbury, Fri 10 Jan MY LIFE AS A COURGETTE (PG) Animation/Comedy. With the voices of Gaspard Schlatter, Sixtine Murat.

Birchmeadow Centre, Broseley, South Shrops, Fri 10 Jan DOWNTON ABBEY (U) Drama/Romance.

cliffe, Rupert Grint. Mitchell Arts Centre, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffs, Sun 12 Jan

Events ICE SKATE BIRMINGHAM Ice Skate Birmingham and the Big Wheel make a welcome return to Centenary Square, until Sun 12 Jan, Centenary Square, Birmingham AUTOSPORT INTERNATIONAL Must-attend event for motorsport fans and industry professionals featuring ‘an unmissable combination of cars, stars and action’, Sat 11 - Sun 12 Jan, NEC, Birmingham

BUGSY MALONE (U) Comedy/Crime.

Starring Jodie Foster, Scott Baio.

Light House Media Centre, Wolverhampton, Sun 12 Jan SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (U) Musical/Romance. Starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds. Light House Media Centre, Wolverhampton, Sun 12 Jan HARRY POTTER AND THE AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS (PG) Adventure/Fantasy. Starring Daniel Rad-

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Classical Music THOMAS TROTTER LUNCHTIME ORGAN CONCERT Mon 13 Jan, Birmingham Town Hall LUNCHTIME MUSIC Featuring Brigitta Sveda (piano), Helena Townsend (mezzo-soprano) & Johnny Budd (piano). Programme includes works

by Bernstein, Larsen, Chanier, Barber, Duke & Hundley, Mon 13 Jan, Recital Hall, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

Toyah - The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton

Gigs DELTA AUTUMN + ROSIE TEE + GABY KETTLE + CARISS AUBURN Mon 13 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham SUE + PRETTY VILE + TWELVE TWELVE + THE WOLF WITHIN Tues 14 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham MCCARTNEY - THE SONGBOOK Wed 15 Jan, Lichfield Garrick THE SIMON & GARFUNKEL STORY Wed 15 Jan, The Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham KIOKO + THE PAGANS S.O.H + SKETCH + STRESS RELEASE Wed 15 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham WENDY KIRKLAND QUARTET Wed 15 Jan, Cathedral Hotel, Lichfield WAGE WAR Thurs 16 Jan, O2 Institute, Birmingham VIOLET+ RAI KAH MERCURY + WISHBONE + THE SPACE Thurs 16 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham LOST IN MUSIC - ONE NIGHT AT THE DISCO Thurs 16 Jan, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham FRED ZEPPELIN Fri 17 Jan, Eleven, Sandyford, Stoke-on-Trent SOULIN’ LIVE FUNK AND PERCUSSION NIGHT Fri 17 Jan, The Night Owl, Birmingham CHASE RICE: THE PINT OF ANYTHING TOUR Fri 17 Jan, O2 Institute, Birmingham A COUNTRY NIGHT IN NASHVILLE Fri 17 Jan, The Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham SIMPLY RERED Fri 17 Jan, The Robin, Bilston SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK: ROD STEWART TRIBUTE Fri 17 Jan, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre

THE SUPERSKAS Sat 18 Jan, The Robin, Bilston XHOSA COLE QUARTET Sat 18 Jan, The Hive, Shrewsbury YOU WIN AGAIN - CELEBRATING THE MUSIC OF THE BEE GEES Sat 18 Jan, The Place, Telford

HELLBENT FOREVER Sat 18 Jan, Eleven, Sandyford, Stoke-onTrent

BRITISH PHILARMONIC CONCERT ORCHESTRA: VIENNESE STRAUSS GALA Sun 19 Jan, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

TOYAH Sat 18 Jan, The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton

CBSO: MAHLER'S SYMPHONY OF A THOUSAND Featuring Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla (conductor), Erin Wall and Natalya Romaniw (sopranos).

Programme comprises Mahler's Symphony No. 8 (Symphony of a Thousand), 85’, Sat 18 - Sun 19 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham

THE SIMON & GARFUNKEL STORY Fri 17 Jan, The Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent

MORE THAN 30 YEARS OF BLUES ROCK AND SOUL - POPA CHUBBY Sun 19 Jan, The Robin, Bilston

UB40 - LABOUR OF LOVE Sat 18 Jan, The River Rooms, Stourbridge JUDY COLLINS Sat 18 Jan, Birmingham Town Hall JOE BROWN Sat 18 Jan, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

CHANTEL MCGREGOR Thurs 16 Jan, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre INSOMNIUM Fri 17 Jan, O2 Academy, B’ham

ALEX OHM + JACK CATTELL + MATT MILLARD + COTTER Sat 18 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham

SPILT MILK SOCIETY + ODD SOUL + CHERRY CHERRY + AMY LOUISE ELLIS Fri 17 Jan, The

RETROFORWARD & WEIRD WAX PRESENT PARANOID LONDON (DJ SET) Sat 18 Jan, Hare

SCOTT HAMILTON Sun 19 Jan, Newhampton Arts Centre, Wolverhampton NAMIWA JAZZ + RUTH KOKUMO + FERGUS CHANNELL + DEMELZA Sun 19 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, B’ham KEITH JAMES - THE SONGS OF NICK DRAKE Sun 19 Jan, Lichfield Guildhall VICARAGE X SEMPER VERA TOUR Sun 19 Jan, Hare & Hounds, Birmingham THE NICK ROSS ORCHESTRA Sun 19 Jan, Lichfield Garrick

ALLYSON SMITH, MATT RICHARDSON, EMMANUAL SONUBI & DANNY CLIVES Sat 18 Jan, The Comedy Loft, B’ham JAMES DOWDESWELL, CATHERINE BOHART, JOHN SCOTT & DAMION LARKIN Sat 18 Jan, Regent Theatre, Stokeon-Trent TOM BINNS Sun 19 Jan, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre

Theatre PETER PAN New version of JM Barrie's swashbuckling creation... until Sun 19 Jan, The REP, Birmingham A MUSEUM IN BAGHDAD A story of treasured history, desperate choices and the remarkable Gertrude Bell, until Sat 25 Jan, The Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER The classic tale told with ‘imaginative storytelling, live music, humour, puppetry and plenty of festive magic’, until Sat 25 Jan, New Vic Theatre, Newcastleunder-Lyme, Staffordshire THE BOY IN THE DRESS World premiere based on David Walliams' bestselling book and featuring songs by Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers, until Sun 8 Mar, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratfordupon-Avon

WINTER CARNIVAL FT. SHENSEEA Sat 18 Jan, O2 Institute, B’ham

TOM JONES - MY MY MY DELILAH Sat 18 Jan, Lichfield Garrick

SIDHU MOOSE WALA Sat 18 Jan, O2 Academy, Birmingham

MILOŠ KARADAGLIC IN CONCERT Programme includes works by Bach, Granados, Albeniz, Villa Lobos, Beatles & Duplessy, Sat 18 Jan, Stoke Repertory Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent

PURE QUEEN Sat 18 Jan, Newhampton Arts Centre, Wolverhampton

AC/DC UK Fri 17 Jan, The River Rooms, Stourbridge

80S MANIA Thurs 16 Jan - Fri 17 Jan, Lichfield Garrick

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& Hounds, B’ham

SIR SIMON RATTLE & LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Also featuring Dorothea Röschmann (soprano).

Programme includes the works of Berg and Beethoven, Tues 14 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham

18 Jan, The Glee Club, Birmingham

INNOVATION ENSEMBLE: QUINTETS AT DUSK Featuring Ben Nabarro & Martin Cropper (violins), Robin Ireland & Sarah-Jane Bradley (violas) & Richard Jenkinson (cello). Programme includes works by Mozart & Beethoven, Sun 19 Jan, The Lion Hotel, Shrewsbury

Comedy MARLON DAVIS, JARLATH REGAN & COMEDY CAROUSEL WITH ANDY ROBINSON Thurs 16 Jan, The Glee Club, Birmingham

KING JOHN Shakespeare’s rarely performed tale of a nation in turmoil, until Sat 21 Mar, The Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon I’M SORRY I HAVEN’T GOT A CLUE BBC Radio’s award-winning antidote to panel games, hosted by Jack Dee & featuring Tim Brooke-Taylor, Tony Hawks, Miles Jupp, Rory Bremner & Colin Sell, Mon 13 Jan, The Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham GHOST THE MUSICAL Based on the hit 1990 film of the same name and presented by The Mellow Dramatics, Tues 14 - Sat 18 Jan, The Brewhouse Arts Centre, Burton-uponTrent BENEATH THE CITY The critically acclaimed Upstart Theatre combine music, lyrical writing & movement to tell a tale about how the decisions we make go on to haunt us, Thurs 16 - Sat 18 Jan, The REP, B’ham VAMPIRES ROCK - GHOST TRAIN Musical sensation featuring ‘some of the greatest classic rock anthems of all time’, Fri 17 Jan, The Place, Telford

JIM DAVIDSON Fri 17 Jan, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Pantomime

LOL COMEDY CLUB Fri 17 Jan, Newhampton Arts Centre, Wolverhampton

SNOW WHITE & THE SEVEN DWARFS Featuring Lesley Joseph, Matt Slack, Joe McElderry, Faye Brookes, Flawless & Doreen Tipton, until Sun 2 Feb, Birmingham Hippodrome

MARLON DAVIS, JARLATH REGAN, LEE MALONE & KELLY CONVEY Fri 17 - Sat

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Monday 13 - Sunday 19 January ALADDIN Featuring local performers Alex Farrell (Dame Widow Twankey) and Terry Batham (Abanazar), Sat 18 - Sun 26 Jan, Tamworth Assembly Rooms, Tamworth, Staffs

Dance STRICTLY COME DANCING LIVE TOUR Hosted by Stacey Dooley & featuring TV judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood & Bruno Tonioli, Thurs 16 Sun 19 Jan, Arena Birmingham SWAN LAKE Presented by Moscow City Ballet, Fri 17 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham

Film INDEPENDENT LISTINGS: GLORIA BELL (15) Comedy/Drama.

Starring Julianne Moore, John Turturro. The Edge Arts Centre, Much Wenlock, South Shrops, Mon 13 Jan WILD ROSE (15) Music/Drama. Starring Jessie Buckley, Matt Costello.

Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, Tues 14 Jan DOGMAN (15) Crime/Drama. Starring Marcello Fonte, Edoardo Pesce. Foreign language, subtitled. The Hive, Shrewsbury, Wed 15 Jan LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (PG) Horror/Musical. Starring Rick Moranis, Steve Martin. Light House Media Centre, Wolverhampton, Fri 17 Jan THE GOOD LIAR (15) Crime/Drama.

Starring Helen Mirren, Ian McKellen.

Festival Drayton Centre, Market Drayton, North Shrops, Fri 17 Jan KNIVES OUT (12a) Comedy/Crime.

Starring Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis. Stoke Film Theatre, Tues 14 & Thurs 16 Jan; Lichfield Garrick, Fri 17 - Sat 18 Jan JUDY & PUNCH (15) Animation/Adventure. Starring Mia Wasikowska,

Mansion Winter Tours - Attingham Park, Shrewsbury

Damon Herriman. Stoke Film Theatre, Fri 17 Jan

Events

JOJO RABBIT (12a) Comedy/Drama.

Starring Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie. Light House Media Centre, Wolverhampton, Fri 17 - Thurs 23 Jan

MANSION WINTER TOURS Out-of-season chance to see inside the mansion, Fri 17 - Sun 19 Jan, Attingham Park, Shrewsbury

MOULIN ROUGE (12a) Drama/Musical.

Starring Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor. Light House Media Centre, Wolverhampton, Sat 18 Jan

GHOST TOURS Exclusive opportunity to venture into the Hall at night - prepare for a scare! Sat 18 Jan, Aston Hall, Birmingham

THE TWO POPES (12a) Biography/Comedy. Starring Jonathan Pryce, Anthony Hopkins. Stoke Film Theatre, Sat 18 Jan

ADULT JEWELLERY WORKSHOP: SILVER HANDMADE CHAIN One-day jewellerymaking event, Sat 18 Jan, Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham

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Classical Music

LUCY MAY WALKER + MIDGE + ELLIE POOLE + LUCY SHAW Mon 20 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham

MILOŠ KARADAGLIC IN CONCERT Programme includes works by Bach, Granados, Albeniz, Villa Lobos, Beatles & Duplessy, Tues 21 Jan, Birmingham Town Hall

TRIBUTE TO: THE FYING BURRITO BROTHERS Tues 21 Jan, The Robin, Bilston

CONSONE QUARTET Programme includes works by Mendelssohn and Schumann, Tues 21 Jan, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

MARK BRZEZICKI’S DRUM CLINIC Tues 21 Jan, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre

CBSO: YAMADA: BRAHMS AND SCHUMANN Featuring Kazuki Yamada (conductor), Francesco Piemontesi (piano) and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Programme includes the works of Brahms and Schumann, Wed 22 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham

Y!KES + FREE GALAXY + BADDREAMS + BLEACH Tues 21 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham HEATHER FINDLAY LIVE IN CONCERT Wed 22 Jan, The Robin, Bilston DEAD MOB + BORN ZERO + INSURGENT + CHLORINE Wed 22 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham CANNABIS CORPSE Wed 22 Jan, The Asylum, Birmingham INDIGO & BAND Wed 22 Jan, The Jam House, Birmingham JOHN WARD TRIO Wed 22 Jan, The Red Lion Folk Club, B’ham GENUINE PANAMA + MELOTONE + SRIRACHA PEOPLE + TRADIN’ FIVES Thurs 23 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham

Tim Baker - Henry Tudor House, Shrewsbury

Arena Birmingham TALON Fri 24 Jan, Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton THE UK MONSTERS OF ROCK SHOW Fri 24 Jan, Forest Arts Centre, Walsall LIMEHOUSE LIZZY Fri 24 Jan, Foxlowe Arts Centre, Staffordshire THE NEW RIGHTEOUS MOOD + LA DHARMA + FAT CAT + CELLAR DOOR Fri 24 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham

LAUNCH PARTY Sat 25 Jan, Night Owl, B’ham SING-A-LONG A BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY Sat 25 Jan, Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton THE GEORGE MICHAEL LEGACY - FEATURING WAYNE DILKS Sat 25 Jan, The Place, Telford THE SMITHS LTD Sat 25 Jan, Eleven, Sandyford, Stoke-on-Trent BURNS NIGHT CELEBRATION Sat 25 Jan, Lichfield Guildhall

THE ROCKET MAN - A TRIBUTE TO SIR ELTON JOHN Fri 24 Jan, Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent

SONS OF ANGER AND REDEMPTION PRESENT SCOTT DOONICAN Sat 25 Jan, Katie Fitzgerald’s, Stourbridge

RESURRECTION + OASIS - CO HEADLINE TOUR 2020 Fri 24 Jan, The Mill, Digbeth, B’ham

BOOTLEG ABBA + BEE GEES FEVER Sat 25 Jan, The Robin, Bilston

DOWN FOR THE COUNT “SWING THAT MUSIC” Fri 24 Jan, Sutton Coldfield Town Hall

KAISER CHIEFS Sat 25 Jan, Arena Birmingham

THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC - ABBA TRIBUTE Thurs 23 Jan, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

ULTRA 90S Fri 24 Jan Sat 25 Jan, The River Rooms, Stourbridge

JOHNNY 2 BAD Fri 24 Jan, The Robin, Bilston

INTO THE SHADOWS Fri 24 Jan - Sat 25 Jan, Lichfield Garrick

T. REXTASY Fri 24 Jan, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre

SHAKATAK Fri 24 Jan Sat 25 Jan, Pizza Express Live, B’ham

THE MILK CARTON KIDS Fri 24 Jan, Birmingham Town Hall

KREPT & KONAN Sat 25 Jan, O2 Academy, Birmingham

GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA Sun 26 Jan, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury

HI ON MAIDEN Fri 24 Jan, Eleven, Sandyford, Stoke-on-Trent

SHAI BRIDES + THE RESERVOIR CATS + THE SILVER LINES + BOATS ON THE OCEAN Sat 25 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham

GEORGE PANNELL + ROBERT CRAIG OULTON + THE PINES + LAUREN HOYLE Sun 26 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham

THE GUNS N’ROSES EXPERIENCE, WRONG JOVI Sat 25 Jan, The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton

SIMPLY DYLAN Sun 26 Jan, The Glee Club, Birmingham

POTENTIAL VICTIMS YEAR ZERO CODE 46 Fri 24 Jan, Route 44, Birmingham TIM BAKER Fri 24 Jan, Henry Tudor House, Shrewsbury SLIPKNOT Fri 24 Jan,

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THE DEEP SIX : EP

GEMIMA AND THE EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN Sat 25 Jan, Albert’s Shed, Shrewsbury THE FIRST PROG SUNDAY ALL-DAYER Sun 26 Jan, The Robin, Bilston

ROZI PLAIN PLUS SUPPORT Sun 26 Jan, Hare & Hounds, B’ham

RBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: STRAUSS OBOE CONCERTO Featuring Jaume Santonja (conductor) & Jonathan Kelly (oboe), Fri 24 Jan, The Bradshaw Hall, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

Sun 8 Mar, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon KING JOHN Shakespeare’s rarely performed tale of a nation in turmoil, until Sat 21 Mar, The Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon I’M SORRY I HAVEN’T GOT A CLUE BBC Radio’s award-winning antidote to panel games, hosted by Jack Dee & featuring Tim Brooke-Taylor, Tony Hawks, Miles Jupp, Rory Bremner & Colin Sell, Mon 20 Jan, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre EMILIA An all-female cast from Birmingham Ormiston Academy present a play set against a turbulent backdrop of Elizabethan England, Mon 20 Tues 21 Jan, The Old Rep, B’ham THE BODYGUARD Alexandra Burke stars as Rachel Marron in the muchacclaimed romantic musical, Tues 21 Jan - Sat 1 Feb, The Alexandra, Birmingham

EX CATHEDRA: BEETHOVEN, MISSA SOLEMNIS Featuring the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Jeffrey Skidmore (conductor), Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Sophie Rennert (Mezzo Soprano), Andrew Tortoise (tenor) & Roderick Williams (bass), Sun 26 Jan, Symphony Hall, B’ham KALEIDOSCOPE SAXOPHONE QUARTET Programme includes works by Rameau, J.S Bach, Schumann, Debussy & Dvorak, Sun 26 Jan, Festival Drayton Centre, Market Drayton, North Shropshire

Comedy DARREN HARRIOTT Thurs 23 Jan, The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton ALLYSON SMITH, RAY BRADSHAW & COMEDY CAROUSEL WITH ANDY ROBINSON Thurs 23 Jan, The Glee Club, Birmingham ALLYSON SMITH, RAY BRADSHAW, THE NOISE NEXT DOOR & ANNE EDMONDS Fri 24 - Sat 25 Jan, The Glee Club, Birmingham ANDREW BIRD, KAE KURD, PIERRE HOLLINS & DAVE LONGLEY Sat 25 Jan, The Comedy Loft, Birmingham COMEDY IN THE MET Sat 25 Jan, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre

Theatre A MUSEUM IN BAGHDAD A story of treasured history, desperate choices and the remarkable Gertrude Bell, until Sat 25 Jan, The Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon THE BOY IN THE DRESS World premiere based on David Walliams' bestselling book and featuring songs by Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers, until

EXTRAORDINARY WALL (OF SILENCE) Ad Infinitum combine physical storytelling with British sign language as they unveil three coming-of-age stories, Wed 22 - Thurs 23 Jan, Patrick Studio, Birmingham Hippodrome PORRIDGE New production bringing together three classic episodes from the 1970s’ TV series, Wed 22 - Sat 25 Jan, Crescent Theatre, Birmingham DAD’S ARMY RADIO SHOW Two actors, two microphones, over 25 characters and lots of sound effects, as Perry & Croft’s classic BBC sitcom is brought to life, Wed 22 - Sun 26 Jan, The Old Joint Stock Theatre, Birmingham EARTHQUAKES IN LONDON Birmingham Ormiston Academy Year 13 students present their version of Mike Bartlett’s contemporary play, Thurs 23 - Fri 24 Jan, The Old Rep, B’ham CAPTAIN BREADBEARD’S BREADY BRILLIANT COMEDY COOKBOOK Fast-paced pun-filled comedy sketch show about a sailor with a beard made of bread...

Fri 24 Jan, Blue Orange Theatre, Birmingham VOULEZ VOUZ - THE DINNER PARTY Twohour musical theatre show and oneof-a-kind dinner party experience, Fri 24 - Sat 25 Jan, Lichfield Garrick THE VICAR OF DIBLEY Stage show based on Richard Curtis’ iconic TV

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Monday 20 - Sunday 26 January series, Sat 25 Jan - Sat 1 Feb, Crescent Theatre, Birmingham LA BOHEME Ellen Kent’s brand new production of Puccini’s romantic opera. Sung in Italian with English surtitles, Sun 26 Jan, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Pantomime SNOW WHITE & THE SEVEN DWARFS Featuring Lesley Joseph, Matt Slack, Joe McElderry, Faye Brookes, Flawless, Doreen Tipton & Andrew Ryan, until Sun 2 Feb, Birmingham Hippodrome

Kids Theatre THE GOOSE WHO FLEW Storytelling, playful puppetry and an assortment of quirky characters combine in an age-appropriate exploration of the issues facing people who seek safety in a new land, Fri 24 Jan, The Brewhouse Arts Centre, Burton-upon-Trent EXCITING SCIENCE SHOW Featuring silly, fun, factual science experiments, Sat 25 Jan, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury

Dance ANTON & ERIN: DANCE THOSE MAGICAL MOVIES ‘The nation’s favourite ballroom couple’ return with a brand new show, Sat 25 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham

ring Jakob Cedergren, Jessica Dinnage. Foreign language, subtitled.

The Hive, Shrewsbury, Fri 24 Jan THE REPORT (15) Biography/Drama.

Starring Adam Driver, Annette Bening. Stoke Film Theatre, Fri 24 - Sat 25 Jan THE GENTLEMEN (18) Action/Crime.

Starring Matthew McConaughey, Michelle Dockery. Light House Media Centre, Wolverhampton, Fri 24 Thurs 30 Jan THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD (PG) Drama. Starring Dev Patel, Tilda Swinton. Light House Media Centre, Wolverhampton, Fri 24 - Fri 31 Jan LES MISERABLES (12a) History/Musical.

Starring Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe. Light House Media Centre, Wolverhampton, Sun 26 Jan

NEW FILMS ON GENERAL RELEASE: Released from Fri 24 Jan, showing at selected cinemas THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD (PG) THE TURNING (tbc) La Boheme - Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Events VITALITY NETBALL NATIONS CUP 2020 England’s elite netball team features in a new international series, Wed 22 Jan, Arena Birmingham CHINESE NEW YEAR 2020 Featuring performances, crafts & family-friendly activities, Thurs 23 - Sat 25 Jan, various locations in Southside, B’ham

INDEPENDENT LISTINGS:

MANSION WINTER TOURS Out-of-season chance to see inside the mansion, Fri 24 - Sun 26 Jan, Attingham Park, Shrewsbury

THE FLOOD (15) Comedy/Drama. Starring Lena Headey, Amira Ghazalla.

The Edge Arts Centre, Much Wenlock, South Shrops, Mon 20 Jan

PUBLIC THEATRE TOUR Go behind the scenes and learn about the theatre’s history, Sat 25 Jan, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

CATS (12a) Comedy/Drama. Starring Idris Elba, Taylor Swift. Wem Town Hall. North Shrops, Mon 20 - Thurs 23 Jan

WOMEN'S WORK IN THE JEWELLERY QUARTER Tour explaining the work undertaken by women in the jewellery industry from the late 1800s to the 1980s, Sat 25 Jan, Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham

Film

THE TWO POPES (12a) Biography/Comedy. Starring Jonathan Pryce, Anthony Hopkins. Stoke Film Theatre, Tues 21 Jan WEST SIDE STORY (PG) Drama/Musical.

Starring Natalie Wood, George Chakiris. Light House Media Centre, Wolverhampton, Tues 21 Jan HONEY BOY (15) Drama. Starring Shia LaBeouf, Lucas Hedges. Stoke Film Theatre, Thurs 23 Jan JUMANJI THE NEXT LEVEL (PG) Action/Adventure. Starring Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black. Festival Drayton Centre, Market Drayton, North Shrops, Fri 24 - Sat 25 Jan

SING-A-LONG-A BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY Immersive presentation of the smashhit film, Sat 25 Jan, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre SING-A-LONG-A THE GREATEST SHOWMAN Immersive presentation of the smash-hit film, Sat 25 Jan, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre THE NATIONAL RUNNING SHOW Featuring 250-plus leading brands, Sat 25 Sun 26 Jan, NEC, Birmingham BBL CUP FINAL 2020 Featuring showpiece games and the 2020 BBL Dunk Contest, Sun 26 Jan, Arena B’ham

THE GUILTY (15) Crime/Drama. Star-

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Monday 27 - Friday 31 January

Gigs

Classical

Theatre

WATERPARKS Mon 27 Jan, O2 Institute, Birmingham

THOMAS TROTTER LUNCHTIME ORGAN CONCERT Mon 27 Jan, Birmingham Town Hall

THE CLASSIC ROCK SHOW Mon 27 Jan, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury

ORCHESTRE NATIONAL DE LILLE Featuring Alexandre Bloch (conductor) and Eric Lu (piano). Programme includes works by Ravel, Debussy and Beethoven, Tues 28 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham

THE BOY IN THE DRESS World premiere based on David Walliams' bestselling book and featuring songs by Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers, until Sun 8 Mar, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

GEORGIE + JEN NORTH Mon 27 Jan, The Sunflower Lounge, B’ham

YCAT AT THE CONSERVATOIRE Featuring Jonian Kadesha (violin) & Fillippo Gorini (piano). Programme includes works by Enescu, Beethoven, Skalkottas & Brahms, Wed 29 Jan, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

THE INTERRUPTERS Tues 28 Jan, O2 Institute, Birmingham PETE WAY BAND + SPECIAL GUESTS BURNT OUT WRECK Tues 28 Jan, The Robin, Bilston

NOA WILDSCHUT IN RECITAL Also featuring Elisabeth Brauß (piano). Programme includes works by Schubert, Joey Roukens and Tchaikovsky, Wed 29 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham

THE ROY ORBISON STORY Tues 28 Jan, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre THE TESKY BROTHERS Tues 28 Jan, O2 Institute, Birmingham PEANESS Tues 28 Jan, Hare & Hounds, Birmingham SCHOOLBOY Q WITH SPECIAL GUEST JAY ROCK Wed 29 Jan, O2 Institute, Birmingham ASWAD Wed 29 Jan, The Jam House, Birmingham JONAS BROTHERS Wed 29 Jan, Arena Birmingham KEITH JAMES - THE SONGS OF LEONARD COHEN Wed 29 Jan, The Robin, Bilston WIRE Wed 29 Jan, Hare & Hounds, Birmingham IVW 20 - WARMDUSCHER + SPECIAL GUESTS Wed 29 Jan, The Sugarmill, Stokeon-Trent DENO Thurs 30 Jan, O2 Institute, Birmingham AUBREY LOGAN Thurs 30 Jan, Pizza Express

Clare Teal - Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury

Live, Birmingham SAM FENDER Thurs 30 Jan, O2 Academy, Birmingham CLARE TEAL TRIO Thurs 30 Jan, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB Fri 31 Jan, O2 Academy, Birmingham THE ART IS MURDER Fri 31 Jan, O2 Institute, Birmingham U2+1 VS ALIVE & KICKING UK Fri 31 Jan, The Robin, Bilston A FESTIVAL, A PARADE + SPECIAL GUESTS Fri 31 Jan, The Actress & Bishop, Birmingham THE CHRIS BEVINGTON ORGANISATION + SUPPORT Fri 31 Jan, Eleven, Sandyford, Stoke-on-Trent NED’S ACOUSTIC DUSTBIN Fri 31 Jan,

Newhampton Arts Centre, W’hampton PRINCE TRIBUTE: ENDORPHINMACHINE Fri 31 Jan, The Place, Telford NATHAN CARTER 2020 Fri 31 Jan, Prince Of Wales Centre, Cannock LOS PACAMINOS FEATURING PAUL YOUNG Fri 31 Jan, The River Rooms, Stourbridge THE CLASSIC ROCK SHOW 2020 Fri 31 Jan, Birmingham Town Hall 80’S LIVE Fri 31 Jan, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre SAD CAFÉ: 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR Fri 31 Jan, Sutton Coldfield Town Hall

CBSO: MIRGA'S BEETHOVEN Featuring Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla (conductor) and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Programme includes works

by Beethoven, Unsuk Chin and Britten, Wed 29 - Thurs 30 Jan, Symphony Hall, Birmingham MARTIN JAMES BARTLETT PIANO RECITAL Programme includes works by Bach, Mozart, Liszt, Schumann, Granados, Wagner & Scriabin, Thurs 30 Jan, Stoke Repertory Theatre, Stoke-onTrent SCHUBERT’S PIANO TRIO Featuring Jonathan Martindale (violin), David Powell (cello) & Robert Markham (piano). Programme comprises Schubert’s Piano Trio No.2 in E flat, Thurs 30 Jan, CBSO Centre, Birmingham DANIEL LEBHARDT PIANO RECITAL Programme includes works by Beethoven, Liszt & Bartok, Fri 31 Jan, Recital Hall, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

AVENUE Q Amateur staging presented

by Curtain Call Theatre Company, Mon 27 - Tue 28 Jan, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury CHASE ME UP FARNDALE AVENUE French farce presented by The Nonentities, Mon 27 Jan - Sat 1 Feb, The Rose Theatre, Kidderminster DEATH OF A SALESMAN Birmingham Ormiston Academy Year 13 Acting students present an amateur staging of Arthur Miller’s iconic play, Tues 28 Wed 29 Jan, The Old Rep, B’ham HOUSE GUEST Lichfield Players present an amateur staging of Francis Durbridge’s ‘exciting thriller’, Tues 28 Jan - Sat 1 Feb, Lichfield Garrick PSYCHIC SALLY - 10 YEARS AND COUNTING, Wed 29 Jan, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF SMACK AND CRACK An ‘angry, funny, love-song to a lost generation, inspired by the playwright’s own experience of jail and rehab’, Wed 29 Jan - Sat 1 Feb, The REP, Birmingham ASKING FOR IT UK stage premiere of Louise O’Neill’s devasting novel about sexual consent, Wed 29 Jan - Sat 15 Feb, The REP, Birmingham THAT’LL BE THE DAY Nostalgic cabaret show featuring smash hits from the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s & ’80s, Thurs 30 Jan, Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent

Comedy

AN EVENING WITH GEOFF HURST Thurs 30 Jan, Prince Of Wales Centre, Cannock

SANDI TOKSVIG Mon 27 Jan, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

ANNIE Amateur staging presented by Walsall Youth Theatre, Thurs 30 Jan Sat 1 Feb, Walsall Arena VAMPIRES ROCK - GHOST TRAIN Musical sensation featuring ‘some of the greatest classic rock anthems of all time’, Fri 31 Jan, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury

THE ILLEGAL EAGLES Fri 31 Jan, Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent

MARK WATSON Thurs 30 Jan, The Brewhouse Arts Centre, Burton-uponTrent ELEANOR TIERNAN, ADAM HESS & COMEDY CAROUSEL WITH ANDY ROBINSON Thurs 30 Jan, The Glee Club, B’ham

Los Pacaminos feat Paul Young - The River Rooms, Stourbridge

KING JOHN Shakespeare’s rarely performed tale of a nation in turmoil, until Sat 21 Mar, The Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

ELEANOR TIERNAN, ADAM HESS, ROSIE JONES & COMIC TBC Fri 31 Jan, The Glee Club, Birmingham

THE LITTLE PRINCE Protein’s awardwinning mix of dance, humour & spoken word combine to tell a story about friendship and the complexity of love, Fri 31 Jan, SpArC Theatre, Bishops Castle, South Shropshire TWO Jim Cartwright’s poignant twohander, set during the course of one night in a workingclass pub, Fri 31 Jan - Sat 22 Feb, New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme

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thelist Pantomime

SNOW WHITE & THE SEVEN DWARFS Featuring Lesley Joseph, Matt Slack, Joe McElderry, Faye Brookes, Flawless, Doreen Tipton & Andrew Ryan, until Sun 2 Feb, Birmingham Hippodrome

Kids Theatre PEPPA PIG'S BEST DAY EVER Brand new show for younger audiences, packed full of songs, games & laughter, Wed 29 - Thurs 30 Jan, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury

Dance THE WIZARD OF OZ Join Ballet Theatre UK as they venture along the Yellow Brick Road, Tues 28 Jan, Tamworth Assembly Rooms, Tamworth, Staffs ANTON & ERIN: DANCE THOSE MAGICAL MOVIES ‘The nation’s favourite ballroom couple’ return with a brand new show, Wed 29 Jan, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

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COPPELIA Presented by the Russian State Ballet of Siberia, Thurs 30 Jan, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre JOSEPH TOONGA: BORN TO MANIFEST Dance double bill illuminating the experience of young black British men, Fri 31 Jan, Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham

SLEEPING BEAUTY Presented by the Russian State Ballet of Siberia, Fri 31 Jan, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Film INDEPENDENT LISTINGS YESTERDAY (12a) Comedy/Music. Starring Himesh Patel, Lily James. The Edge Arts Centre, Much Wenlock, North Shrops, Mon 27 Jan SYSTEM CRASHER (tbc) Drama. Starring Helena Zengel, Albrecht Schuch.

Foreign language, subtitled. Stoke Film Theatre, Tues 28 Jan RAFIKI (12a) Drama. Starring Samantha Mugatsia, Neville Misati. Foreign

Monday 27 - Friday 31 January language, subtitled. Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, Tues 28 Jan

NEW FILMS ON GENERAL RELEASE:

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER (12a) Action/Adventure. Starring Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver. Wem Town Hall, North Shrops, Tues 28 & Thurs 30 Jan; Festival Drayton Centre, Market Drayton, North Shrops, Fri 31 Jan

Released from Fri 31 Jan, showing at selected cinemas

DONBASS (15) Drama. Starring Tamara Yatsenko, Irina Zayarmiuk. Foreign language, subtitled. The Hive, Shrewsbury, Wed 29 Jan

QUEEN AND SLIM (tbc)

A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD (PG) THE GRUDGE (tbc) THE LIGHTHOUSE (15) RHYTHM SECTION (tbc) RICHARD JEWELL (tbc)

FIRST A GIRL (U) Comedy/Musical.

Starring Jessie Matthews, Sonnie Hale. Stoke Film Theatre, Thurs 30 Jan

Events

LITTLE WOMEN (U) Drama/Romance.

Starring Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson. Stoke Film Theatre, Fri 31 Jan; Old Market Hall, Shrewsbury, Fri 31 Jan

THE ARENACROSS TOUR 2020 ‘Stunning winter showdown from Europe’s leading action-sports show’, Fri 31 Jan - Sat 1 Feb, Resorts World Arena, Birmingham

HARRIET (12a) Biography/Drama. Starring Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr. Light House Media Centre, Wolverhampton, from Fri 31 Jan

HOT WHEELS MONSTER TRUCKS LIVE Combining Hot Wheels’ iconic jumps and stunts with ‘epic crashing and smashing’, Fri 31 Jan - Sun 2 Feb, Arena Birmingham

THE NIGHTINGALE (12a) Drama/Thriller.

Starring Aisling Franciosi, Sam Claflin. Light House Media Centre, Wolverhampton, from Fri 31 Jan

MANSION WINTER TOURS Out-of-season chance to see inside the mansion, Fri 31 Jan - Sun 2 Feb, Attingham Park, Shrewsbury

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