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Your FREE essential entertainment guide for the Midlands Shropshire ’ Whatwww.whatsonlive.co.uk sOnISSUE 362 FEBRUARY 2016 HEATHER SMALL PROUD TO BE ON TOUR

inside:

Yourthe 16-pagelist week by week listings guide

ADAM HILLS Clown Heart comedian at Theatre Severn BCNO (FP- FEB 16).qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 14:30 Page 1

Fri 1st April Fri 15th April Fri 29th April GRAND THEATRE TOWN HALL THEATRE ON THE STEPS WOLVERHAMPTON KIDDERMINSTER BRIDGNORTH 01902 429212 01562 732158 01746 766477 Contents February Region Shropshire .qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 18:17 Page 2

February 2016

Contents

Horrible Histories - Birmingham Stage Company are back! page 8

Belinda Lang Heather Small Swashbuckling fun the list

talks about her dual role in promises One Night In Heaven half-term activities at your 16-page Single Spies at The REP in the Midlands Staffordshire theme park week-by-week listings guide page 20 page 15 page 15 page 51

inside:

4. First Word 11. Food 14. Music 22. Comedy 24. Theatre 32. Film 38. Visual Arts 40. Events

@whatsonwolves @whatsonstaffs @whatsonshrops Wolverhampton What’s On Magazine Staffordshire What’s On Magazine Shropshire What’s On Magazine

Editorial Director: Davina Evans [email protected] 01743 281708 ’ Sales & Marketing: Lei Woodhouse [email protected] 01743 281703 Chris Horton [email protected] 01743 281704 WhatsOn Matt Rothwell [email protected] 01743 281719 MAGAZINE GROUP Editorial: Lauren Foster [email protected] 01743 281707 Sue Jones [email protected] 01743 281705 Brian O’Faolain [email protected] 01743 281701 Ryan Humphreys [email protected] 01743 281722 Abi Whitehouse [email protected] 01743 281716 Adrian Parker [email protected] 01743 281714 Contributors: Graham Bostock, James Cameron-Wilson, Heather Kincaid, Helen Stallard, Katherine Ewing Publisher and CEO: Martin Monahan Accounts Administrator: Julia Perry [email protected] 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. FIRST WORD Wolves/Shrops/Staffs Only.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 15:39 Page 1

First Word

Exploring women’s roles in the Black Country A one-off event at Black Country Living Museum is set to explore the fascinating history of women workers. Taking place during the half-term holiday, Anvils & Petticoats offers visitors the opportunity to find out about the work and daily lives of the women who once lived in the Black Country. Also explored as part of the event is the story of union leader Mary MacArthur, who led a national campaign to fight for - and ultimately win - a fair wage for women work- ers across the country. The contribution made to the war effort by a 700,000- strong female army who were tasked with supplying muni- tions for the First World War is also examined. Anvils & Petticoats takes place at Black Country Living Museum from 13 to 21 February.

Full virtual reality ride to open at Exhibition Bake Off winner set to Staffordshire theme park inspired by delight fans industrial past Black Country artist Martin Poole has kicked off the temporary exhibi- tion programme at Dudley Canal Trust’s new multi-million pound visi- tor centre, The Portal. Martin’s exhibition fea- tures works inspired by the region’s industrial past and shows until 20 March. All of the featured origi- nal artwork is for sale. The first rollercoaster in the world to be entirely dedicated Other local artists, pho- to virtual reality is set to open at Alton Towers in April. tographers and special Galactica has been customised for the full virtual reality interest groups who are interested in exhibiting experience. Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya their work at The Portal Each rider wears a specialist VR headset. Through this, an Hussain is coming to this year’s Newport are encouraged to contact on board artificial intelligence guides them from the launch Show. the Trust. pad up into space, flying and looping beyond the stars, Nadiya will be giving demonstrations and For more information, banking through wormholes and speeding across undis- talking about her rise to baking fame at the visit covered galaxies. popular one-day event, which last year dudleycanaltrust.org.uk Commenting on the new attraction, Alton Towers’ attracted a record 13,000 visitors. or call 0121 557 6265. Marketing Director, Gill Riley, said: “Galactica uses Commenting on her forthcoming appear- ground-breaking technology to give riders a breathtaking ance, Nadiya said: “I’m very excited to be and completely unique rollercoaster experience. coming to Newport Show and Shropshire for “There’s nowhere else in the world that people can experi- the first time. I’ll be demonstrating recipes ence the feeling of a flying rollercoaster combined with from my book that will be published in June soaring through the universe. For two minutes, our guests and I’m looking forward to meeting Bake Off will be transported into space. We believe Galactica show- fans.” cases the future for theme parks around the world - it’s a To buy advance tickets for the show, go to complete game changer.” www.newportshow.co.uk or call 0845 467 1889.

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Entertainment news from around the region

Shropshire to host Festival favourites to LGBT Festival make a welcome return Shropshire is this month hosting the Canadian folk rockers Blackie And The Rodeo Midlands hub of the National Festival of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisex- Kings are making a welcome return to the ual & trans) History. Shrewsbury Folk Festival this year after taking The festival features presentations, the event by storm in 2014. films, a range of entertainment and The band will take their place in a line-up that an exhibition exploring LGBT stories also includes Grammy Award-winning from Shropshire and beyond. American singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash - Special guests include international human rights activist Stuart Milk. the daughter of country singer Johnny Cash - Stuart’s late uncle, Harvey, was the folk rock band The Levellers, Eliza Carthy And first openly gay elected politician in The Wayward Band, singer-songwriter Tom San Francisco. He was assassinated Robinson and world music star Raghu Dixit. in 1978. The Shrewsbury Folk Festival features four Dr Emma Vickers, academic advisor music stages, a dance tent, more than 100 to the festival, and human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell will also workshops, children and youth programmes, make presentations. onsite camping, a craft fair, real ale, wine and For full information about the pro- cocktail bars, and a food village. gramme, where the events take The event takes place at the West Mid place and how to book tickets, vis- Showground from 26 to 29 August. itwww.shrewsburylgbthistory.org.uk Tickets can be booked through www.shrews- Alternatively, email salopianrain- [email protected] or telephone buryfolkfestival.co.uk or direct at 01743 249888. gigantic.com/shrewsbury-folk-festival-tickets.

Children Banged up! New Shrewsbury Gaol tour invited to take offers insight into life behind bars... First Steps One of Shrewsbury’s most famous buildings can now be explored by mem- with BRB bers of the public thanks to a brand new tour. HM Prison Shrewsbury was built in Birmingham Royal 1877, close to the site where Thomas Ballet is this half term Telford built the Dana Gaol in 1793. Celebrating presenting a special Shrewsbury’s The new tour allows participants to performance for chil- check out the solitary confinement famous son... dren between the ages and condemned-man cells, walk the of three and seven. wings and step inside the execution Shropshire Wildlife Trust is this First Steps: A Child’s month presenting an event in cele- room. The Dream is an hour- bration of Shrewsbury’s most For more information, contact famous son, Charles Darwin. long presentation Jailhouse Tours on 01743 343100 or The 2016 Darwin Festival, taking designed to introduce visit jailhousetours.com place from 12 to 14 February, aims to youngsters to the world ‘inspire people with curiosity about of ballet and live per- the natural world and awaken formance. understanding of the marvellous Contributors needed for radio takeover wildlife with which we share planet Featuring a full cast of earth’. dancers and an orches- BBC Radio WM 95.6 is calling on local listeners to take over its air- For more information, visit discover- tra, the show is based waves for one week in March. darwin.co.uk/ or phone 01743 284 on a one-act ballet by Contributors will be selected by the WM team and invited for training 280. Sir Frederick Ashton in February. Commenting on the initiative, BBC WM’s Editor, Sarah inspired by Harness, said: “This is a really exciting project. We’re inviting listeners All in a good Shakespeare’s A of BBC WM to come in and work with our presenters and journalists to Midsummer Night’s really influence what goes into our programmes and news bulletins. cause... Dream. It’s a fascinating chance for us to see what people really want to hear An internationally acclaimed Abba Tickets for the 19 on the radio, whilst at the same time giving the audience a unique tribute band is next month visiting February event (1pm) opportunity to really shape our programmes and work with some of Shropshire in aid of Macmillan cost £10. To find out their favourite presenters.” Cancer Support. Anyone over the age of 18 who lives in Birmingham or the Black Swedish supergroup imposters more, visit brb.org.uk Platinum appear at the Buttermarket Country can apply to take part. For information on how to get in Shrewsbury on 4 March. Tickets involved, visit www.bbc.co.uk/wmtakeover or call 03453 009956. are available from £20 (plus booking fee) and can be purchased at thebut- termarket.co.uk

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First Word

Holy moley! Alexandra Burke to take NEW SHOWS lead in Craig Revel Horwood musical AND GIGS Alexandra Burke is to star in a national tour of Leicester Curve ANNOUNCED! theatre’s all-new production of hit musical Sister Act. THE JOY FORMIDABLE Wed The one-time X Factor winner will play Deloris Van Cartier in a 24 February - The Rainbow show directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood. Venues, Birmingham Commenting on the news, Alexandra said: “I’m over the moon YOUTH CLUB Tues 1 March - to be given the opportunity to play the wonderful Deloris in The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham Sister Act. It’s such an iconic role and a part I’ve always wanted CROOKS - Wed 2 March - The to play. I love touring the UK and I’m thrilled to be working with Asylum, Birmingham Craig and his amazing creative team. I can’t wait to get started!” LAPSLEY Wed 9 March - O2 Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig added: “I’m truly thrilled Institute, Birmingham that Alexandra is going to be our leading lady in this all-new NATTY Wed 16 March - O2 production of Sister Act at Curve. Alexandra is such a fantastic Academy, Birmingham singer and actress, and I know she’s going to be amazing. I GWYNETH HERBERT Fri 18 March - The Glee Club, couldn’t think of anyone better to play the role of the smart and Birmingham funny Deloris.” KANO Thurs 24 March - O2 Sister Act opens at Curve on Saturday 30 July. The show visits Institute, Birmingham Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre from 12 to 17 September. ALESSIA CARA Fri 25 March - O2 Institute, Birmingham SOX Sat 26 March - O2 Institute, Birmingham BRAIN STORM Thurs 7 April - Explore your ATG founders top Stage 100 list - again! O2 Academy, Birmingham PATENT PENDING Thurs 14 genealogy at The co-founders of Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG), which owns April - O2 Academy, the NEC Birmingham’s New Alexandra Theatre and Stoke’s Regent Theatre, Birmingham have topped The Stage 100 list for a record-breaking seventh consecu- NERINA PALLOT Fri 15 April - O2 Institute, Birmingham The world’s largest family tive year. history show is returning to WOLFMOTHER Sat 16 April - The announcement makes husband-and-wife team Sir Howard Panter O2 Acadmey, Birmingham Birmingham in April to cele- and Rosemary Squire OBE the most successful entrants ever on the THE LOVELY EGGS Sun 24 brate its 10th anniversary. exclusive annual list, which features the 100 most influential people April - Hare and Hounds, Who Do You Think You Are? working in theatre and the performing arts. Birmigham Live brings together some of Commenting on their success, Sir Howard and Rosemary said: “Last KIP MOORE Mon 25 April - O2 Institute, Birmingham the most renowned experts year was an extremely important one in ATG’s history. Alongside con- in family history, all of TINASHE Wed 4 May - O2 tinuing to produce diverse, high-quality work, we also continued our Institute, Birmingham whom will be on hand to global expansion. We are enormously excited about what this means RAT BOY Thurs 5 May - O2 help visitors with ongoing for ATG over the next twelve months. It’s a great honour to yet again Institute, Birmingham research or offer advice top The Stage 100, and we’re delighted to be part of such a vibrant FRANCES Sun 15 May - The about how to start an inves- and exciting industry.” Glee Club, Birmingham tigation into a family tree. GRAHAM NASH Sun 22 May - The show also features Symphony Hall, Birmingham Antiques Roadshow Kaiser Chiefs announce Cannock Chase ZZ TOP Thurs 23 June - O2 favourite Eric Knowles, Academy - Birmingham who’ll be helping to identify Forest Live shows KASIER CHIEFS Sun 3 July - Delamere Forest - Cheshire and and date family treasures. Kaiser Chiefs have announced that they’ll perform at this summer’s Sun 10 July - Cannock Chase Other attractions include a Forest Live event in Cannock Chase Forest, Staffordshire. And accord- Forest, Staffordshire packed programme of work- ing to lead singer Ricky Wilson, the open-air setting will suit them JAMIE LAWSON Sat 15 shops, treasure hunts for October - O2 Academy, down to the ground: “As a band we’ve always loved to play outdoors. Birmingham children, a replica Spitfire We’ve done fields, parks, farms, rooftops, beaches and back gardens, BRING ME THE HORIZON Fri plane from World War Two but this will be the first time we’ve played in a forest. If you go down 4 November - Barclaycard and a specialist military to the woods this summer, you’re sure of a big surprise!” Arena, Birmingham area to commemorate As with all Forest Live gigs, income generated from ticket sales for the ancestors involved in con- 10 July event will be spent on protecting, improving and expanding flict. England’s forests and Who Do You Think You Are? woodlands. Live runs at the NEC Tickets cost £38.50 (plus Birmingham from 7 to 9 £4.35 booking fee) and are April. available from the Forestry Commission box office on 03000 680400 or online at forestry.gov.uk/music Jamie Lawson

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FEATURE

Horrible Histories Novelist and scriptwriter Terry Deary talks about creating one of Britain’s best-selling children’s series - and his relationship with the acclaimed Birmingham Stage Company...

In the early 1990s, actor, novelist and scriptwriter Terry Deary began work on a joke book with history as its theme. While writing, he came to the conclu- sion that the facts he collected were more interesting than the jokes, so de- cided to turn the idea on its head and write a history book with jokes in it in- stead. The result - Horrible Histories - rapidly became one of Britain's best-selling children's series, spawning spin-off science, maths and geography books, a hugely successful TV sketch show, magazines, games, toys and a set of live stage adaptations developed in collab- oration with Birmingham Stage Com- pany. Over ten years after the partnership with Birmingham Stage began, the lat- est Horrible Histories titles to take to UK theatres are Groovy Greeks and In- credible Invaders. “I'd been adapting Horrible Histories as stage shows with another company, the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff, back in 1999, but with Birmingham Stage, they're less entertainments and more educational - 'edu-tainment' as we call it,” Terry ex- plains. Deary's history in theatre dates back be- fore the days of Horrible Histories. As a young actor, he joined Theatre Powys It was a very clever idea to adapt it as a in Wales and began writing children's plays, some of which he later adapted into ‘‘sketch show and to use top adult comedy novels. Over the course of his career, he’s writers rather than children's writers, so continued to write scripts for stage, radio and television, for adults as well as chil- great credit to them. dren, and as such is often able to visualise his ideas in more than one medium. In the case of the Horrible Histories books, how- ever, which tend to give snapshots of mul- tiple true stories rather than a single through-narrative, a little invention is ” needed to bring them to life on stage. “It's rather like writing fiction, in that you

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by Heather Kincaid

1 2 3

have a framework to help you tell the story. toured successfully. We do a lot of festivals opportunity, he says that he'd be keen to That varies from show to show. For exam- with Horrible Histories, which Barmy see them adapted for TV, but wouldn't say ple, in Groovy Greeks, a family in the audi- Britain is quite good for. We're probably up no were a theatre company to take interest. ence is brought up on stage by the great to about Barmy Britain 4 now.” A separate project that may be in the god Zeus to learn the story of Greek his- More than 20 years after the publication of pipeline for him is the development of tory. He then instructs them in voice-over, the first Horrible Histories book, the series family attractions themed around histori- and they act it out. In Vile Victorians, has expanded into a huge franchise. The cal subjects - yet another way of proving there's a group of travelling players, who books themselves have sold around 27mil- that education doesn't have to be dull. set up and tell the story as a series of lion copies worldwide, and been trans- “Horrible Histories is owned by Scholastic, sketches. Every one is different.” lated into multiple languages. Deary still so it would be up to the publisher to de- Since 2005, Birmingham Stage Company remembers the moment when he realised velop anything under that brand, but I’m has produced multiple Horrible Histories how big his creation was becoming. planning some tourist attractions under titles, including the current Groovy Greeks my own brand - a pirate experience, for ex- “Back in 1995, after the fifth book, Blitzed and Incredible Invaders shows, and begin- ample, and other things like that.” Brits, came out, I was watching a show on ning with the first two books in the series, television with Griff Rhys Jones called Nevertheless, the books remain firmly at Terrible Tudors and Vile Victorians. Since Bookworm, which had these ticker tapes the heart of the Horrible Histories success then, the plays have covered the Egyp- running along the bottom of the screen story, and Deary believes strongly in the tians, the Romans, the Blitz and the First with bits of information on them. One of importance of ensuring that writers are World War, as well as a special Christmas those said that the number one best-sell- able to earn a living from their work. show and a couple of local-specific pro- ing children's book that week was Horrible ductions for Nottingham and Warwick Cas- “Digital media is changing the industry Histories: Blitzed Brits. I think I must have tle. massively. I haven't read a real book for cried out, 'Wow!' because my wife came about five years now because I've got a dig- “Which book we adapt is usually down to rushing in from the kitchen asking what ital reader. I buy lots of books and I read Birmingham Stage, who research what's the matter was. When I told her I was the more than ever, but I do it all electroni- going to be popular by going into schools number one best-seller, she said, 'Oh, is cally. When I download books, I do it and finding out what they want to teach that all? I thought there was something legally and pay the full price, but it's true the children. Something like Angry Aztecs wrong!'” that piracy is an enormous problem. I wouldn't sell many tickets because not Today, many children will encounter the know of one author who found out that his many schools study the Aztecs.” brand for the first time through the popu- books were for sale or being given away for The current two shows will plunge viewers lar CBBC series, a top-notch musical com- free on hundreds of websites, and he was into the worlds of ancient Greece and edy sketch show beloved of children and getting nothing from it. How can you af- Roman and medieval Britain. grown-ups alike. If you haven't seen it, it's ford to be a writer if people are stealing In Groovy Greeks, audiences will en- well worth a watch even without kids of your work and publishing it worldwide? counter the very first play and the first your own at home. The music industry has started to find Olympic games as they journey from sav- “I was in the first three series of the show, ways of coping with it. I hope the book in- age Sparta to angry Athens. In Incredible but they've now gone off on their own dustry can do the same.” Invaders, they'll watch as ruthless Romans track, and I don't have much to do with it. go head-to-head with cut-throat Celts, and It was a very clever idea to adapt it as a savage Saxons battle it out with vicious sketch show and to use top adult comedy Birmingham Stage Company bring Horrible Histories: Groovy Greeks and Incredible Vikings. Then, after the current tour, Deary writers rather than children's writers, so Invaders to Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, and Birmingham Stage will be making a great credit to them.” Wed 3 to Sat 6 February; Grand Theatre, return to a familiar favourite. Outside the Horrible Histories franchise, Wolverhampton, Thurs 3 to Sat 5 March, and New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, Tues “We're going back to Barmy Britain, which Deary has also written several history 22 to Sat 26 March; Regent Theatre, Stoke- is a general history of Britain that's already books aimed at adult readers. Given the on-Trent, Tues 19 to Sat 23 April

www.whatsonlive.co.ukwhatsonlive.co.uk 99 FOOD Feb - SHROPS/STAFFS/WOLVES - Brian.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 15:59 Page 1 FOOD Feb - SHROPS/STAFFS/WOLVES - Brian.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 15:59 Page 2

Food

Deliciously daring A taste of love... A new immersive event combining gastrono- Simpsons Restaurant in Birmingham my, performance and visual art is set to pro- is offering romantic lovers and lovers vide an alternative Valentine’s experience for of food alike the chance to indulge the more daring diner. Diabolical Roses their passion this Valentine’s Day. explores themes of romance, sex and unity via The Michelin-starred eatery is pre- a marriage of food and performance. The pro- senting a special tasting menu to cel- duction uses the dining table as a stage and ebrate the day of love - so why not suggests unexpected ways in which food might treat your beloved to what promises be consumed. to be an evening of exquisite dining Tickets for the event cost £40 and include a accompanied by a glass of bubbly? six-course meal and performance. The venue But hurry, as spaces are limited. Call has yet to be announced. the reservations team on 0121 454 For further information about the menu and to 3434. buy tickets, visit billetto.co.uk/diabolical-roses

REVIEW: River Thai, Shrewsbury Riverside dining in Shrewsbury... At first glance, the River Thai spicy salad was amazing. The restaurant in Shrewsbury is platter selection was created by unassuming, its red brick chef Khun Aom with a view to frontage and high windows giv- giving her customers a taste of ing no clue as to what you may authentic Thai street food. This find through the door. is a concept she hopes to expand On entering, what you do dis- on with the introduction of a cover is a smart, fresh and con- specials menu once the team temporary-styled venue - mod- have settled in (they’ve only ern shades of light grey and been open one month!). plum, stylish light fittings and, For main, I chose Gaeng Daeng best of all, floor-to-ceiling win- Goong - aka Thai Red Prawn dows looking out toward the Curry (£12.45) - accompanied by fast-moving River Severn. a fragrant jasmin rice. The We took a table by the window flavour combination of coconut from which we could view the milk, sweet basil and shrimp large, wooden-decked terraced paste was perfectly balanced seating area and the river. It was with the fiery dried chillies and, a little chilly to be sitting out- once again, succulent prawns. side, but the terrace would be The main on the other side of the ideal on a warm spring/summer table was Gaeng Massaman Gae evening. - or massaman lamb curry Now for the food. My dining (chef’s signature dish) - reported partner and I deliberated over by my partner to be some of the the range of appetisers and, best Thai food he’d ever tasted. made coconut ice cream. I usual- nice as the interior was, I can’t unable to decide, we opted for The sauce, flavoured with cinna- ly avoid the deep-fried desserts, wait to revisit and dine outside the River Thai Platter. This fea- mon, cardamom and star anise, as they can be very oliy, but not on the terrace. Ted Finlay tured a selection of classic was very enjoyable (so he said), this one. Fresh banana, hot and starters, including chicken and I can testify to the melt-in- still holding its shape, encased Food: n n n n n satay, tempura prawns and the the-mouth tenderness of the in a crisp, light coconut batter Service: n n n n n chef’s special, spicy papaya massaman stewed lamb. The and served with homemade ice Ambience: n n n n n salad, all presented with accom- dish was accompanied by per- cream was the ideal finish to our Overall value n n n n n panying dipping sauces. At fectly cooked egg fried noodles. meal. Thanks, Tony! OVERALL n n n n n £11.95 per person, it’s not the Throughout the evening we were The service was somewhat cheapest option, but the flavours looked after by Tony, the very patchy, but we were informed were delicious - my favourite personable owner of River Thai, that new staff were undergoing River Thai, was the beautifully tender who advised us on our menu training, so I’m sure such Smithfield Road, Shrewsbury, grilled pork, while my partner selections and persuaded us to teething problems will be sorted. loved the succulent tempura share a dessert - Gulay Tod; SY1 1PG I can’t fault the food - from start Tel: 01743 243153 prawns. Both of us thought the deep-fried bananas with home- to finish it was beautiful - and as

whatsonlive.co.uk 11 FOOD Feb - SHROPS/STAFFS/WOLVES - Brian.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 15:59 Page 3 3 OF SHREWSBURY’S BEST RESTAURANTS AND BARS

all located opposite the historic and beautiful Shrewsbury Abbey!

Cafe Bar & Restaurant Ramen Noodle Bar Bar & Restaurant www.thepeachtree.co.uk www.momonoki.co.uk www.havanarepublic.co.uk

ALL OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK! 18-21 Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury. SY2 6AE. Tel: 01743 355055 FOOD Feb - SHROPS/STAFFS/WOLVES - Brian.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 15:59 Page 4

Food

New Managing Director for Shropshire food centre... Ludlow Food Centre has David Windsor-Clive, Chairman of award-winning food hall, a 160- announced the appointment of Ludlow Food Centre, said: “As a seat café and the Clive Hotel & Jon Edwards as Managing family and board, we’re delighted Restaurant. It also has a satellite Director. to have appointed a new manag- delicatessen and café - the Jon has spent the past ten years ing director. Jon joins the Food Ludlow Pantry - located in the leading the Rhug Estate’s award- Centre at a very exciting time. We nearby town centre. winning retail operation in want to build on our achieve- Corwen, Denbighshire. He ments and to continue evolving. replaces Edward Berry, who’s His understanding and experi- been the centre’s managing direc- ence of the retail sector makes tor for the past four years. him ideal.” Commenting on the appointment, Ludlow Food Centre comprises an

Shrewsbury Food Festival

Something to sink your teeth into... With so many new foodie events springing up across the region, it can sometimes be hard to decide where best to indulge your tastebuds... Here are just some of the Midlands food and drink festivals you can check out this year...

LUDLOW FOOD SPRING FESTIVAL ELLESMERE FOOD & DRINK FESTIVAL music, Fri 8 - Sat 9 July, Victoria September, Ludlow Castle, Shropshire Boasting over 180 small independent Coinciding with Father’s Day, Square, Birmingham food and drink producers from the Ellesmere’s food and drink festival TAMWORTH FOOD GUSTO FESTIVAL Marches, with plenty of food-related encourages families to come together THE GREAT BRITISH FOOD FESTIVAL Taking place in the grounds of activities taking place in the town cen- and enjoy the entertainment on offer, This touring food festival arrives in Tamworth Castle, this ever-popular tre, Sat 14 - Sun 15 May, Ludlow Castle Sat 18 - Sun 19 June, Various venues in Staffordshire. With free chef demos, event is packed with stands from local and Castle Square, Ludlow Ellesmere, Shropshire kids cookery and a cake-off, there’s and regional producers, making it a plenty to see and do, Shugborough great day out for the family, Sat 10th - ALCESTER & FOREST OF ARDEN SPRING DROITWICH SPA FOOD & DRINK Estate, Staffordshire, Sat 9 - Sun 10 Sun 11th September FOOD FESTIVAL A chance to get your FESTIVAL Local food and drink come July Tamworth Castle, Staffordshire hands on the seasonal produce on together in this historic salt town, offer, including artisan cheeses and which welcomes both local residents BIRMINGHAM COCKTAIL WEEKEND LEAMINGTON FOOD & DRINK FESTIVAL breads, beers, wines, fresh produce and visitors from further afield, Sat 18 A chance to sample the very best of Expect a packed programme, includ- and a wide variety of mainly local food - Sun 19 June, High Street, Droitwich Birmingham’s cocktail scene, with sev- ing the Taste Trail - featuring and drink, Sat 21 May, Alcester High Spa, Worcestershire eral exclusive events and masterclass- Leamington’s varied and diverse food Street, Warwickshire es, Fri 15 - Sun 17 July, Various venues and drink, Sat 10 - Sun 11 September, FOODIES FESTIVAL BIRMINGHAM The across the City Centre Pump Room Gardens, Royal ASPARAFEST This music and food festi- all-new Tasting Theatre is an exciting Leamington Spa val not only offers great local produce addition to this national food festival, BIRMINGHAM BEER WEEK Nine days of and real ale and cider, but also a vari- featuring masterclasses designed by beer-related events, activities and pro- STRATFORD TOWN CENTRE FOOD ety of crafts stalls featuring artisan food bloggers and experts, Fri 24 - Sun motions across the city, Mon 15 - Sun FESTIVAL Last year saw celebrity chefs crafts including leather work, willow 26 June, Cannon Hill Park, B’ham 23 July, Various venues across James Martin and Simon Rimmer in weaving and much more... Sat 4 - Sun Birmingham the Cookery Theatre. Keep an eye open ALL OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK! 5 June, Ashdown Farm, Evesham, SHREWSBURY FOOD FESTIVAL for who will be headlining this year, Worcestershire Shropshire’s finest craftspeople are BIRMINGHAM BEER BASH A wide range Sun 25 September, Town Centre, invited to exhibit their wares at this of beers, stunning street food, fringe Stratford-upon-Avon THE GREAT BRITISH FOOD FESTIVAL summertime festival, Sat 25 - Sun 26 events and entertainment, Fri 21 - Sun Taking place at historic venues across June, Quarry Park and around 23 July, Bond Co, Digbeth, Birmingham ALCESTER & FOREST OF ARDEN AUTUMN the Midlands and the North, GBFF Shrewsbury Town Centre FOOD FESTIVAL Forage through the offers lots of things to see and do, LUDLOW FOOD FESTIVAL AUTUMN food festival stalls, plan meals at local including a BBQ stage and Man V COLMORE FOOD FESTIVAL Twenty-five Expect products you won’t find in your pubs, cafes and restaurants, Sat 15 Food competitions, Ragley Hall, of the district’s top venues offer a wide local supermarkets, from rare breeds October, Alcester High Street, Warwickshire, Sat 11 - Sun 12 June variety of tasters alongside cookery of meat to real ale from passionate Warwickshire and cocktail demonstrations and live producers and sellers, Fri 9 - Sun 11

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Gigs

Foals Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, Fri 19 February Indie rock band Foals formed over a decade ago and comprise lead vocalist and lead gui- tarist Yannis Philippakis, drummer and per- cussionist Jack Bevan, rhythm guitarist Jimmy Smith, bassist Walter Gervers and key- boardist Edwin Congreave. The band have released four studio albums to date and certainly show no sign of slowing down. Debut album Antidotes (2008) went straight into the UK Album Charts at number three, with Total Life Forever (2010) and Holy Fire (2013) also making the top ten. Having reached number three in the charts with critically acclaimed new album What Went Down, the band have now embarked on a UK and European tour. Everything Everything support.

Chris Wood Hozier Stafford Gatehouse, Mon 1 February O2 Academy, Birmingham, Tues 2 February Global star Hozier burst onto the music scene following the release of his single, Take Me To Church, which made it to number one in Belgium and peaked at number two in the UK, the US and Ireland. Performances at prestigious events such as Victoria Secret Fashion Show, Billboard Music Awards and Glastonbury have since seen the 25-year- old singer-songwriter’s career go from strength to strength. Hozier is touring the UK prior to taking time out to work on a new album.

Traditional English dance music enthusiast Jarrod Dickenson Chris Wood is an English folk musician and Henry Tudor House, Shrewsbury, Wed 10 February; The Glee Club, Birmingham, composer who plays fiddle, viola and guitar. Thurs 11 February He’s collaborated with a long list of artists, Texas-born Jarrod Dickenson’s critically acclaimed album, The Lonesome Traveler, most recently Dizraeli, Billy Bragg, and Eliza saw him tour with Laura Marling, David Bromberg, John Fullbright, Duke Special and and Martin Carthy in Simon Emerson’s David Ford. Meanwhile, his EP, Songs From Imagined Village. In 2012, he supported Joan Willow St, enjoyed plenty of BBC airplay from radio hosts including Cerys Matthews Armatrading on the British leg of her and Dermot O’Leary. Starlight tour. Dickenson gave breakout performances at Glastonbury and Larmer Tree, and recently Support comes from Polly Barrett. embarked on a 21-date tour supporting The Waterboys. 14 whatsonlive.co.uk Music - February - Region 2.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 16:01 Page 2

Gig previews from around the region

Frank Carter And The Rattlesnakes The Sugarmill, Stoke-on-Trent, Wed 17 February

This is a much-anticipated new project for Frank Carter following his 2011 departure from hardcore punk band Gallows, for whom he was frontman. write songs. After releasing two solo albums - Since hitting the road nine Nathaniel Rateliff And Desire And Dissolving Men (2007) and Falling months ago, The Rattlesnakes The Night Sweats Faster Than You Can Run (2013) - he launched have sold out headline tours in O2 Institute, Birmingham, Mon 15 February soulful rhythm & blues combo Nathaniel the UK, Germany and Nathaniel Rateliff is a folk and blues singer- Rateliff And The Night Sweats. Scandinavia, wowed the masses songwriter from America. He learned to play The seven-piece collective released their self- at last year’s Reading & Leeds the drums at the age of seven, not long after- titled debut offering last summer, securing Festivals and reached the top 20 wards teaching himself guitar and starting to top spot in the US folk album charts. with debut album Blossom.

Heather Small The Jam House, Birmingham, Wille And The Bandits Quill Wed 17 February; Prince Of Wales The Robin, Bilston, Thurs 18 February Lichfield Garrick, Staffordshire, Centre, Cannock, Sun 21 Sat 13 February February; Theatre Severn, Counting blues, rock, Latin and folk among Shrewsbury, the styles of music they play, the Cornwall- When bass guitarist Ben Brain died suddenly Sun 28 February based Wille And The Bandits have toured in 2012, his wife and Quill’s lead singer, Joy M People’s lead singer is one of their huge and eclectic sound with the likes Strachan-Brain, was of a mind to call time on the most successful female of Deep Purple, Joe Bonamassa, The John the popular Tamworth band’s 30-plus years recording artists of recent years, Butler Trio and Status Quo. They’ve also of musicmaking. Eventually, though, she selling several million records reached number two in the UK blues charts, decided it was more important to battle on, and winning two BRIT Awards performed at the London Olympics and in so doing ensuring that the numerous and the Mercury Music Prize. played countless sets at major music festi- songs Ben had written for a new album The title track of Heather’s Proud vals, including Glastonbury and BoomTown would eventually be heard... album became the soundtrack of Fair. Following the success of their show at the London’s successful 2012 Olympic “Describing our music is always hard,” says Garrick last year, they here return to perform bid. Her most famous hits include frontman Wille Edwards. “We get compared a repertoire of songs old and new, including Moving On Up, One Night In to all sorts of artists, so it’s maybe best if peo- tracks from their current album, Brush With Heaven and Search For The Hero. ple make up their own minds.” The Moon.

Jez Lowe & Steve Tilston

Newhampton Arts Centre, Wolverhampton, Sat 27 February English folk singer-songwriter Jez Lowe is best known for writing and performing songs which tell stories of daily life in his native North East of England. He here joins forces with Steve Tilston for a night filled with songs, music, chat, banter and intimate insights into their approach to their craft.

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Classical Music

Ex Cathedra: I Was Glad Town Hall, Birmingham, Sun 7 February

Royal Liverpool British choir and early music ensemble Ex Philharmonic Orchestra Cathedra has based its reputation on the Victoria Hall, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, performance of choral music from the Fri 26 February 15th century onwards. This latest presen- tation features works from the 20th centu- The UK's oldest surviving professional sym- ry, including Benjamin Britten’s Rejoice In phony orchestra is visiting the Potteries this The Lamb. The piece was written by the month. composer during a particularly prolific The award-winning Royal Liverpool period in the mid-1940s and is widely Philharmonic Orchestra has been at the heart considered to be one of his finest choral of the city’s cultural life since 1840. works. Each season, it performs around 70 concerts at The evening’s programme also features: various venues, including Liverpool’s two Janácek’s Otce nás (The Lord’s Prayer), cathedrals. Leighton’s Crucifixus pro nobis, Parry’s I The orchestra’s Victoria Hall programme fea- Was Glad and Walton’s The Twelve. tures Beethoven’s Overture: Egmont, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.20 and Brahms’ Symphony No.4. Lahav Shani (pictured) conducts. The Hanover Band Allington Hall, Shrewsbury School, Wed 10 February

The Hanover Band’s members also teach in some of the UK’s top music conserva- toires. And it’s to a seat of Shropshire learning that the talented period instrument orchestra head this month. Their Shrewsbury School visit sees them presenting a programme of work that fea- tures notable pieces from Bach, Handel Armonico Consort: Coull Quartet and Abel. Dido & Aeneas Ludlow Assembly Rooms, South Shropshire, Sat 27 February Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, Sun 14 February This leading string quartet is celebrat- Unlimited Voices ing its 40th anniversary this year. Birmingham Town Hall, Warwick University’s quartet-in-resi- Sunday 21 February dence since 1977, the group has also made a name for itself in places as far The 200-strong Unlimited Voices choir flung as the Americas, Australia, describes itself as “unlocking ‘unlimited’ China, India and the Far East. potential, covering ‘unlimited’ types of They return to Ludlow with the fol- music in an ‘unlimited’ number of lowing programme: Haydn’s String places”. Quartet in F, Op.74, No.2; Dvorak’s “We cover all different musical styles,” String Quartet in D minor, Op.34; explains a choir spokesperson, “including Beethoven’s String Quartet in E flat, rock, pop, musicals, movies, classical, big Op.74. band, swing, gospel, spiritual and folk music. “We run our concerts on a themed basis Founded by organist and conductor for a particular genre of music - and our Christopher Monks in 2001, Armonico specialist workshops, singing days and Consort use authentic period instruments night classes cover all musical genres. and regularly perform with some of the best Choral singing is our focus, but there are solo musicians in the world. also fabulous solo opportunities for those This Shrewsbury concert sees them present- wishing to partake in them.” ing Henry Purcell’s famous Dido & Aeneas, This Birmingham concert sees the choir the only complete opera written by the com- performing some of the best-known musi- poser during his short life. cal theatre hits, from shows such as Elin Manahan Thomas takes the role of Matilda and We Will Rock You. Belinda.

whatsonlive.co.uk 17 Lisa Maxwell DPS MM.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 14:33 Page 1

FEATURE Lisa Maxwell Loose Women regular talks about starring as the iconic Judy Garland in Peter Quilter’s End Of The Rainbow

In early 1969, after a string of unsuccessful shows generates a bout of bad press, a damaged and deteriorating Judy Garland attempts to get her life and career back on track with the help of her newest husband, Mickey Deans, and her devoted friend and accompanist, Anthony. But will a five-week run at London's Talk Of The Town be enough to rekin- dle a star that's rapidly burning out, and can she rely on the good in- tentions of the men around her? Before the end of June that year, Garland's drug dependence would get the better of her, resulting in her tragic early death. So goes the story of Peter Quilter's End Of The Rainbow, a poignant window onto the final days of one of Hollywood’s greatest icons. In a new production of the show directed by Mercury Theatre's Daniel Buckroyd and touring to Coventry's Belgrade Theatre this month, Lisa Maxwell (The Bill, Loose Women) stars as Judy Garland, alongside Gary Wilmot and Sam Attwater as Anthony and Mickey. What's On spoke to the leading lady to learn more. End of The Rainbow shows at “I'm absolutely in love with Judy, and I feel lationships with other people. very protective of her at the moment,” says “I know at times she behaved appallingly Belgrade Theatre, Coventry Maxwell. “When I was little, I was such a towards other people, but she had no idea Tues 23 to Sat 27 February fan of the family that I wrote a letter to of how to love or be loved because she was Jim'll Fix It asking if I could do a duet with never shown,” Maxwell explains. “Her re- Malvern Theatres Liza Minnelli.” Tues 5 to Sat 9 April lationship with Anthony is one that she's Maxwell is far from alone in her admira- comfortable with because he's just there to Wolverhampton Grand Theatre tion. In portraying such an enormously serve her. Even though he's a gay man, Mon 18 to Wed 20 April popular figure, she's mindful of the expec- there's a lot of chemistry between them, tations that many audience members will and he's partly there to represent her love Lichfield Garrick be bringing with them to the show. for her audience. With Mickey Deans, on Mon 16 to Wed 18 May the other hand, she has quite a volatile re- “The thing I think I'm most worried about lationship, although she’s very much in is really giving people what they expect, New Alexandra Theatre love with him. I think he loves her too, but Tues 21 to Sat 25 June because there'll be a lot of Judy Garland as a frustrated musician, he's nonetheless fans in the audience. Also, as a fan of her aware of the opportunities that being mar- myself, I want to do her justice. Die-hard ried to her can bring him. He's actually her Judy fans know everything about her, so I fifth husband, although she keeps calling hope that with this play we're giving them him husband number four because she what they know and love. For those who can't remember.” aren't fans, we're telling a sometimes funny, sometimes touching story of a Despite having watched all her films grow- woman with a serious alcohol and pill ad- ing up, Maxwell has spent time research- diction problem.” ing the woman behind the stardom, reading biographies and watching clips of The two characters who share the stage her performances on YouTube. with Judy in this show are almost symbolic of the double pull of her public and per- “I want to give the character as much sonal life. Though mostly confident of her depth as possible. It's important to say that audience's adoration, off-stage she strug- this is a play with songs rather than a mu- gled to build trust and maintain stable re- sical, so we're trying to tell a very truthful 18 whatsonlive.co.uk Lisa Maxwell DPS MM.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 14:33 Page 2

by Heather Kincaid

I hope that “people see her vulnerability, as well as how absolutely hilarious she was.

story that’s wonderfully punctuated” with all these moments where we see her in concert. I hope that people see her vulnerability, as well as how absolutely hilarious she was.” One difficulty, of course, is that during her final months, Garland had not been per- forming as well as at the peak of her career, presenting anyone portraying this period of her life with a choice of whether to empha- sise that decline, or to focus on the talent that made her famous. Maxwell knows where she stands. “I want to be able to sing all the songs well, and I've been seeing a vocal coach for a few months. Yes, she wasn't at the top of her game towards the end, but the one thing that she was always able to do was to turn it on and make magic happen on stage. I'm not allowing myself to say, 'Oh, it doesn't matter if you can't sing it, because she was at the end of her life'. I'm not taking that easy way out.” After five years presenting ITV's Loose Women, Maxwell is relishing the challenge of getting stuck into a tough acting role again. With her teenage daughter now old enough not to need her mum around so much, it's the perfect time to get back on stage and start touring again, though family life remains important to her. Outside work, she's also vice-patron of the Cotswolds Dogs & Cats Home and has been helping to raise money for a new, top-quality facility in Gloucestershire. “It's going really well. We're there now and we're going to be opening in May. Hopefully it's going to be the best rescue centre ever! The facilities for the animals are wonderful and there are great working conditions for the staff so that when they come, they'll stay. I'm amazed that in an area where na- ture and animal life play such a big role there are still so many animals being mis- treated. It's a real passion of mine to see this facility flourish. That said, I can't take any of the credit for everything the people who’ve been with the charity for years have done - they've raised every penny them- selves.”

whatsonlive.co.uk 19 Belinda Lang DPS.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 15:18 Page 1

FEATURE Belinda Lang West End favourite stars in a snapshot of Soviet espionage on stage at The REP

At the height of the Cold War, while tour- ing with the Shakespeare Memorial The- atre in Moscow, the flamboyant stage and screen star Coral Browne is thrown into an unexpected encounter with the notori- ous Cambridge spy, Guy Burgess. Years later, while supervising the restora- tion of a Titian painting, Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures Anthony Blunt dis- cusses art and forgery with the monarch, around the time of his exposure as a member of the same spy ring. In a new production of Alan Bennett's Single Spies by the Birmingham REP in collaboration with Chichester Festival Theatre, these two snapshots of Soviet es- pionage are brought to life on stage by Nicholas Farrell (The Iron Lady, The Lady In The Van, Legend), David Robb (Down- ton Abbey, Wolf Hall, The Young Victoria) and Belinda Lang (2point4 Children, Sec- ond Thoughts, Dear John), directed by Olivier Award nominee Rachel Ka- vanaugh. What's On recently caught up with Belinda about her two very different roles in the play. “Coral Browne is very theatrical,” says Lang, “she's an 'actressy actress', whereas the Queen is almost the opposite. She's not in- terested in gossip, and she even mentions how actors just talk about themselves all the time.” A singular, colourful presence, famed for her wicked sense of humour, Coral Browne left an indelible mark on the acting world. Lang recalls growing up with an even keener awareness of her “legendary personality” than of her performances. “My mother was slightly younger than Coral, but they were acting at a similar time, and she's very much someone I remember being spoken of. She was just outrageous and terri- bly funny, speaking with this foul language and always telling it like it is. I think being Australian gave her a different take on the manners of the day. Of course, she was also married to Vincent Price, who was one of my great TV heroes, so that made her all the more interesting to me.” Anyone taking on this role has the unique advantage - or challenge, depending on how you look at it - of being able to refer to the 820 www.whatsonlive.co.uk whatsonlive.co.uk Belinda Lang DPS.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 15:18 Page 2

by Heather Kincaid

real Coral Browne's own take on the story: in the film version of the play's first act, An Eng- lishman Abroad, Browne actually plays her- self. “I think she was a bit too old to play her younger self by the time she came to do it. I’ve watched the film just to see, but I've de- cided to play her more the way that Alan's written her than the way she is in the film.” Meanwhile, the Queen's character is a trickier thing to get a handle on: as well as being The Queen is hard. You think you know how to play her, but when rather less flamboyant than Browne, she has ‘‘ you come to actually do it, you realise how difficult it is. something of an obligation to keep strong opinions under wraps, and to maintain a qui- ” etly dignified demeanour, at least in public. for years, so he was very much a part of her does with his characters: he presents them “The Queen is hard. You think you know how world.” with all their foibles, but he doesn't ask you to judge them, and he makes them kind of to play her, but when you come to actually do As the story has it, Burgess barged into loveable and funny.” it, you realise how difficult it is. It's very easy Browne's dressing room during the interval to go into a caricature and do a ludicrously of a production of Hamlet in which she was Lang has previously described Bennett as posh voice, but actually, she's not like that at playing the Danish Queen, Gertrude. Later, “one of those rocks that makes our country all. I've been watching lots of footage of her she was invited to his Moscow flat, where she sit together artistically”, possessing talents from over the years, but in the end, I'm not measured him for a suit he wanted ordered that extend beyond his compelling character an impressionist, I'm an actor, so I'm not from his London tailor. The specifics of the development. going to try to do an impersonation of her.” conversation between Blunt and the Queen “His use of language is beautiful, and he just Fortunately, Lang will have the interval to are drawn more from Alan Bennett's imagi- captures things in a way that seems so effort- make the transition: enough time to slip into nation, whereby a discussion of faked paint- less, though I'm sure it must take him hours a new character, as well as a new costume. ings once believed to be real serves as a and hours to create such sensitive work. Browne herself famously took issue with the clever metaphor for Blunt's betrayal. Their in- When you're learning one of his scripts, you costumes in the original National Theatre teraction nevertheless offers some profound feel like he's put every word in the right production, describing Prunella Scales' outfit insights into the impact of espionage on the place. He also has this very English humour. as a “defamation”, comprised of “fake fur lives of those involved. It's hard to put your finger on something like and hats that wouldn't have come out of a “People like Burgess were huge figures at the that, but you can almost imagine him laugh- grab bag at the Sally Army on Boxing Day”. time, and the papers were just full of stories ing as he writes.” about this spy ring, and endless speculation “When they first did the play at the National The quiet introspection and gentle pacing about who the fourth man was, and then the Theatre, it was at a time when people were that tend to characterise Bennett's work are a fifth man. Even today, people still talk about very anxious about using real fur, so they got far cry from Lang's previous performances at it and say there must have been others in- a fake one,” Lang explains. “Browne was ab- Birmingham theatres, which included Aunt volved, but of course none of that will ever be solutely appalled by this because she loved Eller in the classic Rogers & Hammerstein known now: it's all kept under firm wraps for furs, and had famously managed to get a fur musical Oklahoma! at the Hippodrome, and reasons of security, as well as out of embar- coat in every show she was in, or at least Ella Khan in a 2009 REP production of East Is rassment. Still, the play isn't so much about that's what's said of her. She was apparently East which met with an exuberant reception. spying as it is about the aftermath of it, and so horrified that she donated a real fur to the “I had a brilliant time,” she says of working having to live a lonely life because of it.” theatre, which they got rid of shortly after- on East Is East. “It was extraordinary - more wards. I'm afraid as a homage to Coral I'm True to form, Bennett blends comedy with like an event than a typical theatre piece be- going to be wearing real fur - I don't want her tragedy to bring a touching humanity to fig- cause it was jam-packed with all these people ghost coming and haunting us!” ures once held up as dangerous traitors. who just shouted wonderful things out. I It's not only the characters' looks and person- “He's a very affectionate writer, and it's loved every second of it! It will be interesting alities that are distinct: the nature of their re- something that you notice particularly when to come back and do a slightly less riotous lationships with the two spies could also you're doing this play, because he's very sym- play - let's hope this gets a warm reception hardly be further apart. pathetic towards these people who were vili- too!” “Coral Browne only met Guy Burgess once, fied in their day. Anthony Blunt was although they had a little correspondence supposed to have been rather unpleasant, after that, so this is just the true story of the but Alan's made him as hilarious and tolera- Single Spies shows at The REP, one meeting they had. On the other hand, for ble as he possibly could. Not because he ap- Birmingham from Wednesday 17 - the Queen, Anthony Blunt was on her staff proved of spying, but because that's what he Saturday 27 February.

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Comedy

Jo Caulfield Glee Club, Birmingham, Fri 19 & Sat 20 February

Enjoy an evening of urban comedy in the company of the sharp-witted Jo Caulfield, one of the most successful and instantly recognisable female comedians in the coun- try. Midlands-born Jo has appeared on plenty of well-known telly shows during her career, including Mock The Week, Have I Got News For You and Never Mind The Buzzcocks. “Information just leaves my brain continu- ally,” says Jo in talking about her latest show, Uninformed Opinions. “I think I realised that a couple of years ago, watch- ing quizzes on TV. I remember thinking, ‘Oh, I like a quiz. I’m quite intelligent, I’m well read...’ Then I realised I didn’t remem- ber anything. “Now I find quizzes quite annoying. I just watch them to see if there are actually peo- ple more stupid than me.

Check out page 53 for EXCLUSIVE Friday night deals at The Glee Club

Six of the best...

Richard Tony Law Mark Steel Herring The Slade Rooms, The Courtyard, Wolverhampton, Hereford, Sat 6 Station Pub, Thurs 11 February; February, Warwick Birmingham, Royal Spa Centre, Arts Centre, Wed 3 February Leamington Spa, Coventry, Thurs 11 Sat 13 February; February Richard Herring The Glee Club, has developed a Birmingham, Wed 17 “I started doing reputation as one February stand-up in 1982, of the UK’s most Zany alternative around the circuit of inventive and origi- comedy is Canadian bizarre gigs,” recalls nal comedians, cleverly using his real-life funnyman Tony Law's stock-in-trade, a fact highly regarded writer and comedian Mark trials and tribulations to inform his high- which means his audience is guaranteed an Steel. “I’d go on after jugglers and escapolo- quality line in comic patter. evening of truly off-the-wall, boundary-defy- gists and people that banged nails into their And he’s certainly not a man to shirk big or ing stand-up. ear. controversial subjects when it comes to his So if you like your comedians to be touched “Since then, I’ve spoken at lots of demon- comedy shows. Previous tours have seen him with genius while at the same time prone to strations, union meetings, protests and ben- ponder religion (Christ On A Bike), politics meander off-topic with gag-laden dialogues, efits - and yet capitalism still seems to rule (Hitler Moustache) and penises (Talking Tony is definitely the laughter merchant for the world. Maybe I’m a jinx!” Cock). you. A well-established performer on the UK com- This latest offering finds him contemplating Jokes include: “My kid was looking at me edy circuit, Mark’s CV includes the BAFTA- the subject of happiness. Questions for con- with doey eyes - we'd been baking that nominated Mark Steel Lectures for BBC Two, sideration include whether true belly laughs morning”. BBC One’s Have I Got News For You and only come from depression, and just how Tony visits the Midlands this month with his Radio Four’s News Quiz. much pressure Happy the dwarf was under brand new touring show, Frillemorphesis. His latest touring show, Who Do I Think I to live up to his name... Am?, takes a look at the subjects of identity and adoption.

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Adam Hills Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, Sat 13 February Birmingham Hippodrome, Sun 28 February One of Australia's most talented comedians, Adam Hills is a Perrier Award nominee and best-selling act at the Edinburgh Festival. His thoughtful comedy, inter- spersed with moments of real spontaneity, have earned him rave reviews across the globe, in the process win- ning him an ever-growing legion of fans. Jokes include: “Deaf people are c***s. I’m not afraid to say that out loud,” and “The Pope is resigning. He’ll soon be known as Ex Benedict”.

Tommy Steve Hall Russell Tiernan Mockingbird Theatre, Birmingham, Kane Sat 20 February Theatre Severn, The Rose Theatre, Shrewsbury, Steve Hall is not only related (via a convolut- Tewkesbury, Wed 10 February; Sat 27 February The Glee Club, ed web of Irish cousins) to Steve Coogan, Birmingham, he’s also often likened in both look and This man's official Sun 6 March sound to the Alan Partridge star. That said, publicity blurb With sold-out Hall is very much his own man, and has has previously shows across the been making a splash on the UK comedy cir- included the fol- world, it’s fair to cuit for many a year now. lowing: “Love. say Tommy Tiernan is a hugely successful Best known as one third of the We Are Klang Race. Politics. Class. Strap in for some super- Irish export - albeit an often controversial sketch group, Steve has also provided sup- speed sunderings and inconvenient sociolo- one. Most notably he once found himself in port for Russell Howard on three sell-out gy in an hour of self-soiling merriment that hot water for comments he made about the tours. will leave you with rickets.” Holocaust, Jews and the death of Christ. Russell Kane is a very funny man - and it’s And he’s not always been the comedian of not just his publicist who thinks so. Kane’s choice with parents of Down Syndrome chil- been drawing a crowd since bursting onto dren either... the scene way back in 2004, serving up liber- With his bag of gags also including jokes al doses of high-quality humour in an which take as their subject matter a act which also features some considerably methadone user, eastern European immi- weighty and thought-provoking material. grant accents and a film idea about gay trav- His latest touring show, Right Man, Wrong eller spacemen seeking a cure for homosexu- Age, is described as ‘a performance about ality, an evening in his company certainly growing up, growing down, and why farts has the potential to be a bit challenging. will always be funny’. That said, Tiernan’s not one of Ireland’s top comedians without very good reason...

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Theatre

WIN! TICKETS To enter, visit whatsonlive.co.uk Impossible New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, Tues 16 - Sat 20 February This West End show has been hailed as ‘the UK’s biggest magic spectacular’. Fusing ‘death-defying’ stunts, technological trickery and close-up magic, Impossible rein- vents some of the biggest illusions in history. The touring version of the show features three original West End cast members - daredevil escapologist Jonathan Goodwin, mind-reading specialist Chris Cox and illusionist Ben Hart. The trio are joined by Britain’s Got Talent star James More, Cirque du Soleil and Hollywood trickster Lee Thompson and hip-hop and break-dancing magician Magical Bones. Expect to have your breath well and truly taken...

Miss Nightingale Doctor Faustus The Best Thing Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon- Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury, Tues 2 February; Tues 9 - Sat 13 February Avon; Thurs 4 February - Thurs 4 August Artrix, Bromsgrove, Sat 6 February; Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, Thurs 11 - Fri 12 First published in 1604, 11 years after its February; Ludlow Assembly Rooms, South author Christopher Marlowe's death, the Shropshire, Sat 13 February; mac, Elizabethan-age story of Dr Faustus is a Birmingham, Thurs 17 - Fri 18 March familiar one. A disillusioned but knowledge- Leading full-mask theatre company Vamos hungry academic enters into a pact with the have collaborated with London International devil - one which will see him relinquishing Mime Festival to present this Swinging ’60s his soul in the afterlife in exchange for the story of unconditional love. enjoyment of unlimited power during his Described as ‘a bitter-sweet tale of mistaken time on earth... morals and broken hearts, 45s and beehives’, Maria Aberg returns to the RSC to direct this it focuses on the character of Susan, a young notorious tale of vanity, greed and damna- woman who finds her life unexpectedly tion. turned upside down at the tender age of 17... Read our interview with Maria online at whatsonlive.co.uk

Round And Round The Garden Described as ‘a heartwarming and hilarious cabaret-style story of love, loss and hope’, Lichfield Garrick, Mon 8 - Wed 10 February; Malvern Theatre, Tues 16 - Sat 20 February Miss Nightingale is set during the Second World War and tells the story of feisty singer Round And Round The Garden is one of Alan Maggie and her songwriter pal, George. Ayckbourn’s 1973 Norman Conquests trilo- As London crumbles around her, Maggie gy, three plays following the same cast of six yearns for the bright lights. George, mean- characters as they spend a weekend together while, keeps hidden a deep, dark secret. But in a Sussex country house. when wealthy club owner Sir Frank sidles The Norman of the title is a beguiling, fatally into their lives, everything suddenly flawed assistant librarian - a man intent on changes, and Maggie is miraculously trans- making women happy. But when he formed into satirical music hall star Miss attempts to seduce his sister-in-law and Nightingale... charm his brother-in-law’s wife - while at the same time attempting to keep on the right side of his own spouse - it soon becomes apparent that he’s bitten off more than he can chew...

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Theatre previews from around the region

WIN! TICKETS To enter, visit whatsonlive.co.uk The Unknown Soldier Old Joint Stock Theatre, Birmingham, Fri 26 - Sat 27 February The need to keep a promise and repay a debt keeps Jack on the World War One battlefields, even though the guns have fall- en silent... Described as a story of comrade- ship and betrayal, and of prom- ises both broken and kept fol- lowing the carnage of the Great War, The Unknown Soldier debuted at Edinburgh last year and was highly praised by the critics. Its author, award-nominated playwright Ross Ericson, enjoyed a 2013 success with Lord Of The Flies Park Theatre and has enjoyed rave reviews. Casualties, a fraught drama “Unfortunately, I don't think this story goes about the Afghanistan War and Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, out of date,” says the show’s director, Tues 23 - Sat 27 February its repercussions. Timothy Sheader. “We're even more exposed Written by William Golding in 1954, Lord Of to these kind of events today than people The Flies tells the story of a group of British were in the 1950s. Then, it was more of a I Know All The boys who find themselves stranded on an ‘what if?’. Now, we've all seen terribly tragic Secrets In My uninhabited island. In an effort to bring examples of violence from and against chil- World some order to their peculiar existence, they dren and young people in the news - whether attempt to govern themselves - but things it's child soldiers in Africa, teenage girls run- The Drum, Birmingham, soon get seriously out of hand... ning away to Syria, or horrible youth gangs Fri 25 - Sat 26 February This new version of Golding’s classic is pre- and murder cases in disenfranchised pockets One of the UK’s first British sented by London’s award-winning Regent’s of our own country.” African theatre companies, Tiata Fahodzi, are the talented ensem- ble behind this thought-provok- ing two-hander. Presented by the actors using mime and Land Of Our Fathers Of Mice And Men movement, the show follows the mac, Birmingham; Tues 2 - Wed 3 February The REP, Birmingham, Thurs 4 - Sat 13 experiences of a father and son February; Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton, as they grieve the loss of the Tues 8 - Sat 12 March woman they both loved... George and Lennie are drifters who only have A resident company at Watford each other and their shared search for the Palace Theatre, Tiata Fahodzi American Dream. George is the sharp little has built a reputation for pre- guy who looks out for Lennie. Lennie, mean- senting accessible productions while, is his big-hearted companion who, with wide appeal, in so doing unaware of his own strength, seems unable crossing boundaries of race, to keep out of trouble. gender, age and wealth. Finding work on a ranch in California, they “We seek to challenge presump- plan to stay long enough to buy a little place tions,” explains the company, of their own - but their arrival triggers a tragic “and to reveal the African expe- chain of events that rience to British audiences in Chris Urch’s play made a significant splash when it debuted in 2013, picking up the Time threatens to destroy ways that are unusual and unex- the very dream that pected. We want to be formally Out Critic’s Choice and Fringe Show Of The Year awards. Hailed as an engrossing and unites them... adventurous as well as rigorous This brand new ver- in our storytelling.” powerful theatrical experience, the play is set in South Wales on the day that Margaret sion of the John Thatcher came to power. Steinbeck classic Trapped down a coal mine, six Welsh miners stars Dudley Sutton await rescue, in the meantime engaging in in the role of Candy. heated conversations that will change their world forever...

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Theatre previews from around the region

Merry Wives The Jersey Boys New Vic Theatre, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Tues 9 - Sat 20 February Fri 5 - Sat 27 February Rockin’ and rollin’ New Jersey boys Frankie Valli Mistresses Page and Ford and The Four Seasons scored some truly massive believe it’s high time that the fat knight Sir John Falstaff was hits during the 1960s. Best-known numbers taught a lesson. After all, the big included Walk Like A Man, Bye Bye Baby, Big fella’s been courting them both - Girls Don't Cry, Sherry and December 1963 (Oh, and caring not one jot about the What A Night). fact that both of them are mar- This massive Tony, Olivier and Grammy award- ried! winning jukebox musical tells their story. This Shakespearian tale of buck- Taking a documentary-style format, the show is baskets, frolicsome fairies and structured as four ‘seasons’, each being narrated mistaken identity here receives by a different member of the band. the Northern Broadsides treat- ment.

Stags And Hens Avenue Q Jeeves And Wooster Prince of Wales Centre, Cannock, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, Tues 16 - Sat 20 Lichfield Garrick, Tues 23 - Sat 27 February Thurs 11 - Fri 12 February February; Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, Mon 21 - Sat 26 March The delightful world of PG Wodehouse is here A typical Willy Russell comedy, This Tony Award-winning musical focuses on brought to the stage by amateur ensemble Stags And Hens manages to be subjects such as dating, racism, being gay and Different Animal. both funny and thought-provok- finding your purpose in life. Featuring an engaging cast of quirky characters, ing. And as with the majority of At the centre of the story is Princeton, a bright- Perfect Nonsense finds Bertie Wooster being the playwright’s work, it also unwittingly called on to play matchmaker when has plenty to say about British eyed college graduate with a tiny bank balance a country house weekend takes a turn for the working class society. First pub- who, as he sets out on a voyage of self-discov- worse. lished thirty years ago in a col- ery, is easily distracted by a busty blonde and a lection with Educating Rita and plethora of weird and wonderful friends. To add to his problems, Bertie needs to steal a Blood Brothers, it focuses on the silver cow creamer from Totleigh Towers. stag and hen parties taking Needless to say, the ever-dependable Jeeves is place the night before Dave and on hand to save his employer’s blushes... Linda’s wedding. Problem is, both events are being held in the same venue. And to make matters worse, Linda’s ex has Wilde Without The Boy unexpectedly turned up, leaving Brewhouse Arts Centre, Burton-upon-Trent, the bride-to-be with a life- Staffs, Fri 12 February changing decision to make... This dramatic interpretation of De Profundis - the letter Oscar Wilde sent to his lover, Lord Life And Times Alfred Douglas, from Reading gaol, where he’d been imprisoned for acts of gross indecency Of The Tat Man Who’s Afraid Of with other males - is directed and dramatised by Old Joint Stock Theatre, Virginia Woolf? the award-winning Gareth Armstrong and per- Birmingham, Wed 3 February; Arena Theatre, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, formed by Gerard Logan. Wolverhampton, Tues 9 - Sat 13 February It’s accompanied by a companion piece from the Sat 13 February same two men, Wilde’s The Ballad Of Reading Edward Albee’s 1962 play is best remembered David Calcutt’s much-admired Gaol - a poem narrating the execution of Charles from its film version, which starred Richard Thomas Wooldridge, who’d been convicted of play is a one-man show that’s Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. The play focuses been variously described as murdering his wife. on a middle-aged couple named Martha and ‘powerful’, ‘stirring’, ‘intimate’ and ‘enthralling’. George, and examines the spectacular decline of The Tat Man is a restless soul, their marriage. As the couple wage war against and from the scrapyard tells one another, in the process drawing their young tales of travelling folk, bloody house-party guests into a series of all-or-nothing births, blacksmiths, devils and ‘games’, it becomes increasingly hard for them talking horses. to distinguish the line between fact and fiction... His stories lead to the landscape of World War One, where, as dreams are shattered, he’s left to gather together the pieces in an effort to make sense of things... For full theatre listings, visit whatsonlive.co.uk

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Spring 2016 A new look for a new year

Wed 17 - Sat 20 Feb Ashton Double Bill Wed 24 - Sat 27 Feb Romeo & Juliet

Tue 9 - Wed 17 - The Barber of Seville Tue 1 & Sat 13 Feb Sat 27 Feb Rossini Fri 4 Mar From £18.50 From £10 NEW PRODUCTION From £16.50

Wed 9 Mar - Mon 25 - Mon 30 May Sat 23 Apr Sat 30 Apr - Sat 4 Jun From £25 From £13.50 From £20

Nederlands Carlos Acosta Cloud Gate Dance Dance: Sampled Ballet BC Dans Theater 2 Theatre of Taiwan

Tue 3 & Fri 6 & Tue 10 & Tue 17 & Fri 20 & Wed 4 May Sat 7 May Wed11May Wed18May Sat 21 May From £15 From £15 From £15 £15 From £15

Produced by DanceXchange in partnership with Birmingham Hippodrome, funded by Arts Council England and Birmingham City Council.

0844 338 5000 birminghamhippodrome.com Calls cost 4.5p per min. plus access charge. 5% transaction charge applies excluding cash sales in person. Theatre February.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 15:29 Page 5

Kids shows this month...

Rapunzel The Return Of Neverland

Gangsta Granny

Annie The Owl Who Was Afraid The Return Of Neverland Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, Mon 1 - Of The Dark The Place, Oakengates Theatre, Shropshire, Sat 6 February; Wolverhampton Grand Fri 12 - Sat 13 February Old Rep, Birmingham, Mon 15 February Theatre, Mon 4 - Sat 9 April Jill Tomlinson’s bestselling children’s classic Even timeless classics can benefit from a Birds Of A Feather actress Lesley Joseph stars is here brought to the stage by the talented fresh perspective - and that’s exactly what as the far-from-pleasant Miss Hannigan in Blunderbus. The ensemble utilise music, this show is giving JM Barrie’s much-loved this latest version of the oft-touring puppetry and storytelling to present the story of Peter Pan. Broadway hit. delightful tale of a baby barn owl who’s not As Neverland’s magic decreases, Peter and The heart-warming rags-to-riches tale of a lit- as comfortable with the darkness of night as the Lost Boys find themselves grounded. tle girl who finds herself transported from a maybe he should be... Then, unexpectedly, a secret is revealed that New York orphanage to the luxurious world may not only save the island but make it of millionaire Oliver Warbucks, the show fea- more powerful than ever before.... tures plenty of memorable songs, including It's A Hard Knock Life and the legendary Gangsta Granny Tomorrow. Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, Tues 16 - Sat 20 February; Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, The Gruffalo’s Child Wed 8 - Sat 11 June; New Alexandra Theatre, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, Birmingham, Tues 28 June - Sat 2 July; Thurs 4 - Fri 5 February Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, Wed 12 - Sun 16 The Lost Things October This Tall Stories Theatre Company’s musical Lichfield Garrick, Mon 15 - Tues 16 February; The ever-popular Birmingham Stage adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel mac, Birmingham, Thurs 18 - Sat 20 February Company make a welcome return with their Scheffler’s much-loved book is sure to be a hit with kids, and finds the Gruffalo and his Award-winning theatre company Tortoise In adaptation of David Walliams’ best-selling youngster embarking on yet another adven- A Nutshell have here teamed up with writer book. ture in the deep, dark wood. Oliver Emanuel to present a show that’s Ben’s no lover of Friday nights - and why Despite her dad's warning to stay away from described as ‘a dark fairytale where nothing would he be? After all, Friday nights mean the wood, the Gruffalo's child decides it's is quite as it seems’. having to stay at Granny’s house, where he’s time to go and explore, unworried by the leg- When a boy falls, he finds himself in a terri- not only bored senseless but also has to eat end of the Big Bad Mouse... All adults must fying new world of lost things - including a an unholy trinity of cabbage dishes - cabbage be accompanied by a responsible child! mysterious girl who’s busying herself build- soup, cabbage pie and cabbage cake. But ing an amazing machine... experiences can sometimes be deceptive, and Ben soon finds out that there’s way more to his boring old Granny than ever he’d imag- Cinder-Ella ined... Rapunzel Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton, Thurs 11 February; The REP, Birmingham, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, Sat 13 February Sat 13 February Immersion Theatre have earned themselves Here Be Monsters The ever-imaginative Krazy Kat Theatre make an enviable reputation for their witty, Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury, Wed 17 February; a welcome return with a show that features tongue-in-cheek retellings of much-loved Old Rep, Birmingham, Sat 5 March puppetry and sign language. tales. Their last visit to Shrewsbury saw them When a grandfather is left holding a rather The villainous Captain Cut-Throat may be presenting a sparky and sold-out version of leaky baby, he decides to create a world of adamant that monsters simply don’t exist, The Wind In The Willows - and there’s every fantasy, using dolls, magic tricks and even but his usually fearsome crew are far from reason to imagine this latest offering will be an old pram to bring alive his favourite fairy- convinced by their skipper... a similar bums-on-seats success story. tale. Based on the book by Jonathan Emmett, this The book and lyrics come courtesy of the cre- sea-faring adventure features a veritable ators of hit US television series Friends... treasure chest of songs and interactive fun. As starting points for an entertaining experi- ence go, that certainly isn’t a bad one. For full theatre listings, visit whatsonlive.co.uk

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Dance

WIN! TICKETS To enter, visit whatsonlive.co.uk Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty Birmingham Hippodrome, Tues 9 - Sat 13 February Described as a fairytale for all ages, Matthew Bourne’s gothic reworking of Perrault’s classic fairytale has received rave reviews since mak- ing its debut at London’s Sadlers Wells. The decade of the 1890s - a period synony- mous with fairies, vampires and decadent opulence - is the starting point for this haunt- ing tale of good versus evil, which begins with the birth of Princess Aurora. The action then shifts to the 1920s, as the princess makes the transition into adoles- cence, and then jumps forward once again - this time to the modern day, and her awaken- ing from 100 years of slumber...

Birmingham Royal Ballet: 2Faced Dance: Into The Hoods: Remixed Ashton Double Bill Dreaming In Code Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Thurs 25 - Sat 27 February Birmingham Hippodrome, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, Tues 9 February Wed 17 - Sat 20 February This double bill of works from award-win- ning choreographer Tamsin Fitzgerald and Eddie Ray for Frantic Assembly is performed by one of the UK’s most innovative male dance ensembles. The Herefordshire-based 2Faced Dance Company was formed by Fitzgerald in 1999, its stated mission being to inspire and increase dance provision to young people and the wider community. The company here performs a work that’s been described as ‘exhilarating, heartbreak- ing, devastating and joyful’. Dreaming In Code comprises two presentations - Lucid Grounds and Milk Night. Both use a combi- This Birmingham Royal Ballet tribute to Sir nation of theatre, dance, film and music by Sadler’s Wells associate artist Kate Prince Frederick Ashton, one of England’s most Angus MacRae and Tony-nominated com- here presents the story of two lost school admired and influential choreographers, poser Alex Baranowski to contemplate what features two of his best-loved one-act bal- the future could look like. children who’re tasked with finding a num lets. ber of items, including trainers as pure as Created by Sir Frederick in 1964, The Dream has been described as an ‘elegant and witty gold and a hoodie as red as blood. Their distillation’ of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. efforts to do so bring them into contact with BRB’s performance of the work kick-starts some truly colourful characters, among the company’s year-long celebration of them wannabe singer Lil Red and vivacious Shakespeare, four hundred years after the playwright’s death. rapper Rap On Zel. A Month In The Country, meanwhile, is a The youngsters soon find themselves inextri poignant, romantic tale inspired by Ivan cably involved in ‘a storybook adventure Turgenev’s play of the same title. It tells the story of a bored housewife, her young foster into the heart of a pulsating community’. daughter, and the rivalry that develops This is a newly revamped version of the between them when a handsome young stu- award-winning 2008 West End production. dent enters their lives...

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Dance previews from around the region

WIN! TICKETS To enter, visit whatsonlive.co.uk Salaam Old Rep, Birmingham, Thurs 4 February A double bill celebrating ‘har- mony, inner-stillness and the simple bliss of being alive’, Salaam (meaning ‘peace’) is the latest work from British-born dancer-choreographer Sonia Sabri and her dynamic ensem- ble. Sonia describes Salaam as “a response to unrest around the world that aims to refocus on and reminisce about all that is good”... Over the years, her highly rated company has established an international reputation for its presentation of Kathak dance in a contemporary context. DeNada Dance Theatre: Ham And Passion mac, Birmingham, Thurs 25 February

The history of homosexuality in 20th century Spain is the subject of this brand new show Richard Alston from choreographer Carlos Pons Guerra and his DeNada Dance Theatre company. Dance Company The dance triple bill is being promoted as an evening of ‘seductive, provocative and emphati- Malvern Theatre, Worcestershire, cally Spanish contemporary dance theatre that will subvert the senses’. Tues 16 - Wed 17 February DeNada has a fast-growing reputation for the vigorously physical style of its shows, blending dance vocabularies to present work that’s been described as accessible, humorous and Richard Alston is recognised as poignant... one of British dance’s most inspiring and influential chore- ographers, his work being described by The New York Times as 'the finest by any cho- Motionhouse Dance Brendan Cole: reographer alive’. Alston is also Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, A Night To Remember renowned for his instinctive Thurs 4 - Fri 5 February; Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, Sun 21 musicality - an attribute which mac, Birmingham, Tues 9 - Wed 10 February; February; Symphony Hall, Birmingham, is sure to be much in evidence in Artrix, Bromsgrove, Fri 26 February Sun 20 March this celebration of the compa- Although Motionhouse’s work is essentially Brendan Cole is once again out on tour with ny’s 20th anniversary. A triple rooted in dance, the Leamington-based this hit production, presenting a show that bill, the performance features: ensemble also draw on theatre, circus, acro- features, among other dance styles, waltzes, Nomadic (connecting Romanian batics and film to create visually stunning quicksteps, tangos and salsas. Described by gypsy music and electronic performances. Cole as ‘an evening with style, with some- sound), Martin Lawrance’s The company is out and about in the thing for everyone’, the production provides Burning (inspired by the Dante Midlands with not one but two presentations the Strictly Come Dancing stalwart with Sonata of Franz Liszt) and this month... plenty of opportunity to demonstrate his Overdrive (in which Alston takes Broken fuses athletic dance with digital slick dance moves and impressive vocal up the pulsating rhythms of imagery and original music to examine prowess. Californian composer Terry man’s precarious relationship with the Riley’s music). earth... Captive and Underground, meanwhile, are performed as a double bill. The former - blending dance, acrobatics and aerial work - is performed by four dancers in a rocking tubular structure. The latter uses ‘physical dance, poignant imagery and surprising aer- ial encounters’ to explore the new reality of train travel.

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Film

CRITIC’S CHOICE

Deadpool CERT 15 tbc Starring Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, TJ Miller, Gina Carano, Brianna Hildebrand, Leslie Uggams Directed by Tim Miller (USA) Special Forces operative Wade Wilson is sub- jected to an experimental treatment to cure his cancer. However, things do not go accord- ing to plan and he is left severely disfigured. But it’s not all bad: although he seems to have acquired a twisted sense of humour and an unstable mind, he is endowed with new healing powers. So he hangs up his khakis and takes on the superhero moniker of Deadpool, setting off to exact his revenge. In the hands of Ryan Reynolds - who does a “twisted sense of humour” proud - this could be enormous fun. Having helmed the title sequence to the American remake of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Tim Miller now steps into his full-length directorial debut. We wish him luck. In IMAX. Released Wed 10 February

Film highlights released in February...

Dad’s Army CERT 15 tbc Rams CERT 15 (93 mins) Starring Bill Nighy, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Starring Sigurður Sigurjónsson, Toby Jones, Tom Courtenay, Michael Gambon, Theódór Júlíusson Blake Harrison, Daniel Mays Directed by Grímur Hákonarson Directed by Oliver Parker (UK) (Iceland/Denmark) In a remote, windswept corner of Iceland reside two prize rams, Garpur and Sproti. Coincidentally, they belong to Gummi and Kiddi, who happen to be neighbours - and brothers - who haven’t spoken to each other in forty years… Anybody who ‘gets’ Icelandic humour Goosebumps should relish the doleful, under-stated and straight-faced portrait of rivalry, competi- CERT PG (103 mins) tion, loneliness and sheep as delineated Starring Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, here. Odeya Rush, Amy Ryan, Ryan Lee The fact that it is so entirely plausible and Directed by Rob Letterman (USA) Don’t panic! This may be another big-screen bleakly beautiful just adds to the distinctive translation of a beloved British treasure, but RL Stine is dubbed ‘the Stephen King measure of this haunting and original work. the cast is truly impressive. No doubt younger of children’s literature’ and here is And if you think you know where the story viewers couldn’t tell John Le Mesurier from played by Jack Black in a comic-horror is going, you may be surprised. It’s grim up John Laurie, so this lot should do very nicely fantasy adapted from his own series. north - but, here, it’s also quite droll and as the inept conscripts of the Home Guard. When Stine’s imaginary demons are surprisingly moving. The scripter Hamish McColl is perhaps best unleashed on the town of Madison in Released Fri 5 February known for co-writing the theatrical hit The Delaware, his daughter Hannah (Rush) Play What I Wrote and contributing to the teams up with a new teenager on the ‘story’ of Paddington. block to try and save the day. In 3D. Released Fri 5 February Released Fri 5 February

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Film releases in February

CRITIC’S CHOICE

Trumbo CERT 15 (124 mins) Starring Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Louis CK, Elle Fanning, John Goodman Directed by Jay Roach (USA) Understandably, Hollywood has proved to be rather obsessed with the McCarthy witch hunts of the 1950s. Here, the Oscar-winning screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (Roman Holiday, Spartacus) is the focus of our sympathies, an anarchic talent with a keen eye for a good line. In the hands of Bryan Cranston, he is a com- pelling figure, brandishing a cigarette-holder in his teeth while knocking out screenplays in the bath. He’s well supported by Diane Lane in an unshowy performance as his long-suffering wife Cleo and by a barnstorming turn from Helen Mirren as the waspish gossip colum- Concussion However, he soon discovers that Webster nist Hedda Hopper. As an engrossing drama was suffering from chronic traumatic CERT 12a (123 mins) recalling such a preposterous passage of encephalopathy, a disorder resulting Hollywood shame, the film is good value. Starring Will Smith, Alec Baldwin, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Albert Brooks, Arliss from concussion sustained during his Released Fri 5 February Howard, Luke Wilson career as an offensive lineman. But with Directed by Peter Landesman (USA) his department’s finances stretched If you think FIFA is corrupt, you should beyond breaking point and with the try this true-life drama. Will Smith plays National Football League making his life Bennet Omalu, an eccentric Nigerian as awkward as hell, Bennet funds his pathologist whose life changes forever own continuing investigation. It may be when he cuts open the brain of former costing him his life savings, but he has to football legend Mike Webster. At first do the right thing... Bennet is confused by what he finds. Released Fri 12 February

Alvin And The Chipmunks: A Bigger Splash The Road Chip CERT U (92 mins) CERT 15 (124 mins) Starring Jason Lee, Tony Hale, Kimberly Starring Ralph Fiennes, Dakota Johnson, Williams-Paisley, with the voices of Justin Matthias Schoenaerts, Tilda Swinton Long, Anna Faris, Christina Applegate Directed by Luca Guadagnino (Italy/France) Directed by Walt Becker (USA) Recuperating from an operation on her Believe it or not, this is the fourth cinematic vocal chords, the androgynous rock star outing for the mischievous ground squirrels Marianne Lane (Swinton) holidays on the (created by a hit single in 1958). remote island of Pantelleria with her consid- Here, they suspect that their human inti- erably younger boyfriend (Schoenaerts). But mate Dave (Lee) is going to dump them in their idyll is rudely interrupted by the favour of his new girlfriend, so they set off arrival of Marianne’s former partner on a road chip [sic] to Miami to stop him. (Fiennes), along with his sultry 22-year-old Expect irritatingly high voices. companion (Johnson)… Reuniting Ms Released Fri 12 February Swinton with Luca Guadagnino, the director of I Am Love (2009), A Bigger Splash is a Oddball and the Penguins loose adaptation of Jacques Deray's crime CERT U (96 mins) drama La Piscine (1969). And it’s an odd Starring Shane Jacobson, Sarah Snook, Alan one, to say the least. There is much to Tudyk, Deborah Mailman, Coco Jack Gillies, admire, but then also little to engage. The Terry Camilleri main problem, though, is that the charac- Directed by Stuart McDonald (USA) ters are more colourful than believable and Oddball is the canine protagonist of this we are given little reason to care for them. decidedly odd true-life story. When a popu- Above all, though, the film suffers from a lation of penguins on an Australian island haemorrhaging unevenness of tone. Is it a are decimated by foxes, a farmer (Jacobson) family melodrama, erotic thriller or madcap decides to train his dog to look after the farce? In spite of the best efforts of all, it seabirds. The result was astonishing. doesn’t succeed on any count. Released Fri 12 February Released Fri 12 February whatsonlive.co.uk 33 Film Feb - Region 1.qxp_Layout 1 22/01/2016 16:17 Page 3

Film

Zoolander 2 CERT tbc Triple 9 CERT 15 (116 mins) Gods Of Egypt CERT tbc Starring Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Starring Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Brenton Penélope Cruz, Kristen Wiig, Benedict Anthony Mackie, Aaron Paul, Woody Thwaites, Chadwick Boseman, Rufus Sewell, Cumberbatch Harrelson, Kate Winslet Gerard Butler, Geoffrey Rush Directed by Ben Stiller (USA) Directed by John Hillcoat (USA) Directed by David Gordon Green (USA) When Set, the god of darkness, plunges It’s been a long time coming, but the sequel If done properly, heist films are pretty Egypt into chaos, a young thief determines to Ben Stiller’s cult comedy of 2001 finally irresistible. This one is directed by to dethrone him for taking the love of his arrives with a very starry ensemble (includ- John Hillcoat, the uncompromising life captive. Not to be mistaken for a sequel ing cameos from Justin Bieber, Kim filmmaker with such credits as The to Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods And Kings. Kardashian, Lewis Hamilton, et al). Proposition, The Road and Lawless When Zoolander’s mesmerising and iconic under his belt. Here, a gang of crimi- Released Fri 26 February ‘blue steel’ look ends up on the faces of a nals in cahoots with a cabal of corrupt string of celebrity corpses, he’s recruited by cops get together to pull off a seem- Interpol to help solve the crimes. ingly impossible robbery. But first Released Fri 12 February they must eliminate a certain police officer… Released Fri 19 February The Finest Hours CERT 12a (117 mins) How To Be Single Starring Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Eric Bana, Holliday Grainger CERT 15 (110 mins) Directed by Craig Gillespie (USA) Starring Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Alison Brie, Leslie Mann, Jason It’s been quite a year for blizzards (cf. The Mantzoukas, Damon Wayans Jr Hateful Eight, The Revenant) and now we Directed by Christian Ditter (USA) have a nor’easter that splits asunder two oil The title says it all: in a world of ever tankers off the New England coast. The year complicated definitions of a meaning- is 1952 and this big-budget disaster movie is Secret In Their Eyes ful relationship, four single New York based on the very true event now known as CERT tbc women strive to live life to the full - on the Pendleton rescue mission. In 3D. their own terms. Based on the novel of Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman, Released Fri 19 February Julia Roberts, Dean Norris, Michael Kelly, the same name by Liz Tuccillo. Alfred Molina Released Fri 19 February Directed by Patricia Riggen (Chile/Colombia) Freeheld A team of investigative agents is thrown into CERT 12a (101 mins) disarray when a murder victim turns out to be the daughter of DA employee Jess Cobb Starring Julianne Moore, Ellen Page, Michael Shannon, Steve Carell, Luke Grimes, Josh (Julia Roberts). A remake of the Oscar-win- Charles ning Argentine film of the same name, this Directed by Peter Sollett (USA) crime thriller should surely, finally cement Last year Julianne Moore won an Oscar for Chiwetel Ejiofor's standing in Hollywood. playing a woman suffering from Released Fri 29 January Alzheimer’s. She’s now playing a victim of a very different stripe. She is New Jersey detective Laurel Hester and the proud same- sex partner of Stacie Andree (Ellen Page). Peter Sollett's Freeheld is a more credible drama than Still Alice (for which Moore won Grimsby CERT tbc her Oscar), and a good deal more moving. It Starring Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark helps, of course, that Laurel Hester is a true Strong, Rebel Wilson, Penélope Cruz, character and that Ellen Page is so damned Isla Fisher, Gabourey Sidibe good as the younger lesbian. Directed by Louis Leterrier (UK) Michael Shannon contributes male ballast Sebastian Grimsby (Strong) is success- as Laurel’s professional partner, while Steve ful, efficient and deadly - and one of Carell adds light relief as a gay legal activist. MI6’s most prized assassins. However, It’s an emotive, eloquent and even funny when the fate of the world is in the drama and a testament to the skills of its balance, he is forced to team up with superior cast. his estranged brother Nobby, a foot- Released Fri 19 February ball hooligan and an idiot. Released Wed 24 February

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FEATURE

Ikon - a flagship venue... Ikon’s Director Jonathan Watkins talks about an exciting new season of thought-provoking work

Arriving as a student at Birmingham Uni- bedroom window and standing alone in the versity's Centre for Contemporary Cul- streets, there are some beautifully tender tural Studies in the late 1960s, Harvard images of Kathleen with her infant children, graduate Janet Mendelsohn embarked on and an insightful collection of interviews a project to document life in the impov- with both her and members of her family. erished inner-city district of Balsall One of the first academic bodies to give seri- Heath. Then notorious for its slum hous- ous attention to popular culture, the Centre ing, prostitution and growing immigrant for Contemporary Cultural Studies that population, the area became a source of Mendelsohn attended was a vital part of the moral panic, inspiring the young development of a new discipline that would Mendelsohn to produce a striking photo- go on to gain international recognition. Nev- essay exploring the medium as “a tool for ertheless, the centre was eventually closed social analysis”. in 2002. Decades later, thanks to historian Kieran Varna Road is just one part of Ikon's 2016-17 Connell and a new exhibition at Ikon, programme with a local connection. Over Mendelsohn's work is finally getting the which became a seat of international ten- the summer, the gallery will display the local recognition it deserves. Publicly dis- sion during the 19th century as foreign pow- striking monochrome landscapes of Jesse playing many pieces for the first time in the ers fought over their natural resources. The Bruton, one of its founding artists. Towards UK, Varna Road opens a fascinating window word guano refers to bird excrement that the end of the year, it will host a comprehen- onto the troubled history of Birmingham has built up over centuries, valued for its sive survey of the work of Birmingham-born and the titular street, once described as “the powerful fertilising properties. Roger Hiorns, known for his innovative use wickedest road in Britain”. of objects and materials. Hiorns will also be “It was like a kind of gold that travelled all “Balsall Heath is a very historic and textural engaging in off-site activities, including the around the world, and resource wars actu- part of the city, and what you see in the pho- burial of a 737 aeroplane on a nearby ally broke out over it,” Watkins explains. tographs is almost unrecognisable now,” brownfields site, and an intervention into “It's only mined occasionally now, but in the says Jonathan Watkins, Director of Ikon church services at Birmingham Cathedral 19th century, everybody pounced on it be- Gallery. “They were taken just before the which will see the choir arranged in random cause it would give you maybe three, four, wrecking machines started to move in for patterns, lying on their backs for evensong. even five times the agricultural yield of what the slum clearance.” had been used previously.” “Ikon is a flagship venue for visual arts in The exhibition follows a glimpse into her this city and this region,” says Watkins, The project marks something of a departure work that was displayed at Balsall Heath's “and it would be negligent of us not to ac- for Lê, who is best known for his work Ort Café as part of last year's Flatpack Festi- knowledge that context and not to be cham- around the Vietnam War, often juxtaposing val. Ghost Streets Of Balsall Heath sought to pioning what happens here, with respect to pictures of Vietnam with images from west- engage residents of the area, offering a both contemporary art practice and to our ern culture. range of activities, talks and screenings to heritage. At the same time, there’s a wider “What the artist wants to do is to relate what help contextualise the images. context of an increasingly globalised art happened then to what's gone on more re- world. You don't just think of yourself in “That selection was made very much with cently in his part of the world. We're still in your local area - you're part of a wider the local community in mind,” Watkins the process of working some things out, but world, and to a large extent the demo- says. “But the selection is going to be much there will be footage from the South China graphic of Birmingham reflects that. Birm- greater here. As well as more of the Balsall Sea and a kind of montage of news reports ingham is a manifestation of a huge global Heath photographs, we have a set focusing on what's happening in that part of the movement of people, so it's locally relevant on the daily life of a prostitute called Kath- world. It's a great privilege to introduce an to have an internationalist programme.” leen. You see her at home, you see her on artist like Dinh Q Lê to an audience which is the streets with friends, you see her work- This “internationalist programme” will in- more or less completely unfamiliar with ing, and you see her with her husband and clude a major exhibition of Dan Flavin's flu- him.” children.” orescent light works in spring, as well as The Colony, a new video installation by Viet- Sensitive yet unsentimental, Mendelsohn's namese-American artist Dinh Q Lê that work gives an unflinchingly honest depic- opens alongside Varna Road. Commissioned Janet Mendelsohn's Varna Road and Dinh Q tion of her subject's world. As well as pic- in collaboration with Artangel, The Colony Lê's The Colony show at Ikon Gallery, tures of her soliciting passers-by from her takes as its subject Peru's Guano Islands, Birmingham, until Sunday 3 April

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Visual Arts

Maureen Cooper: Laura Lancaster Chance, Order, Change: What Remains The New Art Gallery, Walsall, Abstract Paintings Newman Brothers Coffin Works, Birmingham, until Sun 8 May 1939 - 1989 Wed 3 February - Thurs 28 April Drawing inspiration from forgotten The Barber Institute, Birmingham, Incorporating photographs, prints and and discarded photographs and home Tues 11 February - Sunday 8 May mixed-media sculptures, this fascinating movies, Laura Lancaster's expressive Spanning 50 key years in the evolution of exhibition sees Leicester-based artist paintings prompt reflections on mem- modern art, the dozen works in this exhibi- Maureen Cooper reflect on the grieving ory, loss and the passage of time. tion come from an important private collec- process. Divorced from their original contexts, tion, and are being publicly displayed She does so in the resonant setting of the once personal treasures she col- together for the first time at the Barber Birmingham's recently restored Coffin Works. lects from flea markets, charity shops Institute. Following a visit to the former coffin fittings and eBay are revitalised through her In a setting more commonly associated with factory in 2011, before restoration work work, taking on new meanings in the representational and impressionist paint- began, Cooper was inspired to create work space between figuration and abstrac- ings, this is a rare chance to encounter exploring themes of loss and memory. These tion. abstract art at its purest, showcasing impor- took on a personal dimension after the death This free exhibition brings together a tant work by some of the most influential of her mother in 2014. variety of Lancaster's works, includ- artists of the late 20th century. These include The exhibition’s title refers both to the physi- ing a new series of diptychs drawn Josef Albers, Bridget Riley, Victor Pasmore, cal remains of the building and those its from the first and last frames of found Ad Reinhardt and Sean Scully. coffins were produced for, and to the memo- super 8mm films, prompting reflec- Sean Scully, Red Painting, 1989 © Sean Scully ries left in people's minds of their loved ones tions on a lost medium as well as on and of the factory. Metal offcuts and other its subjects. artefacts from the production process are combined with wax, a material whose shape- shifting properties emphasise the idea of mutability and change.

New Art West Midlands Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Fri 12 February - Sun 15 May; mac, Birmingham, Sat 13 February - Sun 10 April; The Herbert Gallery & Museum, Coventry, Fri 26 February - Sun 24 April & Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Sat 12 March - Sat 15 May

After attracting around 80,000 visitors last year, New Art West Midlands returns in 2016 to showcase more work by recent graduates from five West Midlands art schools. For the first time this year, mac Birmingham joins Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Wolverhampton Art Gallery and the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum to exhibit and celebrate the region's achievements in contemporary art. Selected by a panel of leading art world figures - including artists Sonia Boyce and John Stezaker and Head of Programme at ICA London Katharine Stout - the work on display offers insights into current trends and concerns in visual art, as well as providing a plat- form for the region's most promising new artists. Forty-three emerging talents exhibit their work, with a cash prize of £1000 available to five winners. Exhibition highlights include Laura Haycock's reclin- ing self-portraits - inspired by Velasquez's 17th-century oil paintings - Jack Marder's video installation on glut- tony in the modern age, and Matt Parker's The Imitation Archive. Developed in residency at the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park, this audio-visual installation traces the history of digital technology from Colossus to the Cloud.

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Wildlife Photographer Of The Year The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Coventry, Fri 5 February - Sunday 10 April As part of an international tour spanning six continents, this globally renowned exhibition arrives in Coventry on loan from the National History Museum. Launched in 1965, Wildlife Photographer Of The Year is the most prestigious photography event of its kind, with this year's competition attracting over 42,000 entries from 96 differ- ent countries. The 100 award-winning photographs take vis- itors on a journey across seas, skies and sand dunes, the shots of breathtaking landscapes, fascinating animal behaviour and other awe- inspiring scenes from nature celebrating the huge diversity of life on planet earth. The Herbert invites visitors to get involved and explore Coventry's own wild side by tag- ging their nature photographs #WildCov on Twitter and Instagram.

For more visual arts listings visit whatsonlive.co.uk 39 Events 1.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 15:24 Page 1

Events

Destination Space Family Show Thinktank, Birmingham, Mon 15 - Fri 19 February With British astronaut Tim Peake currently doing the nation proud on the International Space Station, this is a timely and topical show for youngsters to enjoy. A range of demonstrations and science experiments present children not only with the opportuni- ty to learn about how rockets are built and launched, but also to find out what life is like for Tim and his fellow space travellers on the ISS. Not surprisingly, Thinktank is billing the show as a real out-of-this world experience.

History unveiled at Dinosaur Zoo Chinese New Year The Arcadian, Birmingham, Tamworth Castle Town Hall, Birmingham, Sun 7 February Tamworth Castle, Staffordshire, Sat 13 - Sun 14 February Sun 13 - Fri 19 February Small children and enormous dinosaurs are brought together in this hit show, here making a welcome return to the Midlands following its T- Rex-size success in previous years. And speaking of the T-Rex, this presen- tation is all about them. Youngsters can either marvel at them from a distance (well, at lifelike models of them anyway!) or get right up close to the ravenous reptiles by sitting in the ‘Danger Zone’ seats. If your child takes a while to build up enough courage to approach, not to Birmingham’s Southside district once again worry - there’s a meet-and-greet ses- plays host to the region’s biggest Chinese sion at the end of the 50-minute show. New Year celebrations (2016 is the year of the Red Monkey). Attractions include dragon dances, acrobatic displays, martial art demonstrations, street Education and entertainment is the package food, traditional market stalls and a fair- being offered to families visiting Tamworth ground. Castle this half-term holiday. “Each year, the Chinese New Year festivities The educational element is provided by bring thousands of new and returning visi- enjoying a walk around the castle, which fea- tors to Southside’s Chinatown,” says Julia tures displays that take visitors on a journey Chance, Southside BID manager. “Despite its from Saxon to Victorian times. Items from the continued and growing success, this year world famous Staffordshire Hoard are also the festival lost its funding from Birmingham available to view. City Council as part of the ongoing budget As for the entertainment, there are lots of cuts happening across the city. Despite this dragon-related activities to keep youngsters hit, spirits haven’t been dampened and the happily engaged - and hopefully to coax resi- entire Southside community has come dent dragon Ruby out of her hiding place... together to raise the much-needed funds to plug this gap.”

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whatsonlive.co.uk 41 Events 1.qxp_Layout 1 22/01/2016 16:15 Page 3

more events from around the region

Events

Classic Dirt Bike Show Telford International Centre, Shropshire, Sat 20 - Sun 21 February Appearances by off-road sports legends Nick Jefferies, Jim Aird, Wayne le Marquand and Barry Briggs are among the highlights at this attraction-packed show. The event also features traders and jumble sellers offering parts, pieces, spares, riding gear, clothing and accessories. Club stands and private entrants will be displaying a variety of classic bikes from numerous disci- plines, including road racing. New show sponsor Hagon Half-Term Holiday At Blists Hill Victorian Town Shocks plans to bring together rare Hagon bikes from across the Blists Hill, Ironbridge, Shropshire, wall with mini-bricks and colour in pictures decades, so anybody who owns Sat 13 - Sun 21 February of Victorian scenes. The venue’s drop-in ses- one is encouraged to get in The chance to print a hand-made Valentine’s sions take place from 11am to 1pm and 2pm to touch. card, have a go at candle dipping and make a 3.30pm, with activities varying from day to miniature roof tile are among the half-term day. Candles and roof tiles carry a small extra attractions at Blists Hill Victorian Town this charge in addition to the museum entrance month. There’s also the opportunity to find fee. out more about the history of sweets, build a

The Alternative & Princess And Pirate Week Burlesque Fair Alton Towers Theme Park, Staffordshire, Fri 12 - Sun 21 February Ancient Oceans O2 Institute, Birmingham, Sat 13 February There’s plenty of swashbuckling action to Sealife Centre, Birmingham, The Edwardian splendour of the 02 Institute enjoy at Alton Towers this half-term holiday. Sat 6 - Sun 21 February concert venue provides the backdrop for The popular Staffordshire visitor attraction is The Midlands has gone dinosaur Birmingham’s latest Alternative & Burlesque hosting an interactive live show featuring crazy this half-term holiday. Not Fair. Up to 60 exhibitors will be presenting Cook and Line from CBeebies’ Swashbuckle. only is there hit West End show their wares at the hugely popular event. The It’s also offering families the chance to visit Dinosaur Zoo to enjoy, there’s also show also features burlesque, twisted Sharkbait Reef, a pirate-themed aquarium. this National Sea Life Centre offer- cabaret, aerial acts, DJs, vintage dining, neo- Evening entertainment comes in the form of ing, providing youngsters with the Victorian clothing, accessories, jewellery and live shows, pirate and princess parties and chance to become dinosaur detec- artwork. character meet-and-greets. tives. Children are invited to com- plete a selection of challenges to February Half Term At earn a special certificate. In the process they’ll learn all about the Wedgwood fearsome creatures that lurked in World of Wedgwood, Stoke-on-Trent, the ancient oceans. The challenges Staffordshire, Sat 13 - Sun 21 February are accompanied by a host of The Wedgwood Museum’s First World War activities and talks to enjoy, with Peace Medallion provides the inspiration for visitors also able to explore the this popular venue’s special half-term activi- centre’s many fascinating displays. ty. Visitors are invited to make their very own Wedgwood Plaque, using the traditional method of applied ornamentation. Participants will be shown how to roll out the clay, cut it to shape and apply decoration, after which they can either take it straight home or leave it behind to have it fired.

42 whatsonlive.co.uk Events 1.qxp_Layout 1 22/01/2016 16:15 Page 4 Events 1.qxp_Layout 1 22/01/2016 16:15 Page 5

more events from around the region

Events

MCM Midlands Heritage Comic Con Weekend Telford Internaitonal Centre, Shropshire, Cadbury World, Birmingham, Sat 13 February Sat 27 - Sun 28 February The seventh Doctor Who, Sylvestor McCoy, is Cadbury World’s 14 chocolate- one of numerous celebrities making guest themed zones - including an appearances at this well-established show, 1824 full-scale replica of Bull which last year attracted in excess of 9,000 Street, location of the first ever visitors. The event features eSports competi- Cadbury shop - offer plenty of tions, a Comic Village packed with artists and reason to get yourself along to writers, and a wide range of popular-culture this latest Heritage Weekend. memorabilia, including games, anime, gadg- There’s also the chance to ets and toys. make a purchase or two in the World’s Biggest Cadbury Shop, as well as the opportunity to visit various other places of interest in the scenic Bournville Village.

Caravan, Camping & driver Terry Grant, drivers competing to jump Motorhome Show over a bed of cars (one’s going to attempt the feat with a caravan attached to the back of NEC, Birmingham, Tues 23 - Sun 28 February his vehicle!), and the guaranteed mayhem of Attracting huge crowds and promising to be the ever-popular car football. A funfair and ‘bigger and better than ever’, the Caravan, range of children’s entertainment ensures Camping & Motorhome Show features over there’s plenty to keep youngsters amused 350 exhibitors. As well as exploring all the and engaged if they fancy a break from latest products, the show also presents a watching the death-defying stunt action. Down Under Live packed programme of events, complete with National Motorcycle Museum, buying tips, cookery demonstrations, holiday Solihull, Sat 13 - Sun 14 advice and - back by popular demand, we’re Half Term at Coventry February told - live dog displays and expert advice on taking pets on holiday. New for 2016 is the Transport Museum If the thought of starting a new Glamping Village, presented at the show in Coventry Transport Museum, life in Australia or New Zealand conjunction with Visit Pembrokeshire. Sat 13 - Sun 21 February floats your boat, be sure to make There’s also the chance to marvel at the A journey through Coventry Transport the somewhat shorter journey to Guinness World Record-breaking Lego brick Museum begins with a look at the transport this hugely informative show. The caravan. industry's history. The story starts in the 19th two-day event features numerous century and ends with a Coventry-made specialist exhibitors, experts on black taxi (which you can hop inside to enjoy every aspect of the emigration a video tour of the city as it is today). Passing process, and a dedicated recruit- by work & leisure vehicles - including unique ment team who’ll help visitors items like a Sky Blues tour bus and a restored find their ideal job down under. 1916 Maudslay lorry - you'll discover the Innovation & Future area. Highlights include glimpses of modern car construction, a state- of-the-art driverless model and projects by local university students. There's also a glit- tering Jaguar room, the bright lights and sparkling floors of which complement the gleaming surfaces of the new F-Type and C- X75. Finally, there's the Supersonic section, Stunt Fest where you can choose from three simulations to enjoy. Half-term attractions at the museum Santa Pod Raceway, Northampton, Sat 20 February include Bristle Bugs - a chance for youngsters to create motorised creatures - and an A to Z This high-octane half-term event offers an trail of Coventry Transport’s impressive col- action-packed day of daredevil activity and See for all your lection. thelist monster truck magic. Attractions include a events listings presentation by world record-breaking stunt

44 whatsonlive.co.uk Events 1.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 18:01 Page 6

Birmingham @WHATSONBRUM Wolverhampton @WHATSONWOLVES Shropshire @WHATSONSHROPS staffordshire @WHATSONSTAFFS Worcestershire @WHATSONWORCS warwickshire @WHATSONWARWICKS

whatsonlive.co.uk 45 Competitions February.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 16:09 Page 1

Win! To enter all competitions go to whatsonlive.co.uk

Tickets to The Classic Dirt Bike Tickets to Horrible Histories Tickets to Into the Hoods Show Groovy Greeks (Remixed)

Closes Monday 8 February Closes Friday 11 March Closes Thursday 18 February Tickets to Hannah Wants Tickets Thriller Live Tickets to Impossible

Closes Friday 11 March Closes Friday 26 February Closes Friday 5 February Tickets to Miss Nightingale Tickets to Gangsta Granny Tickets to End Of The Rainbow

Closes Monday 1 February Closes Monday 8 February Closes Tuesday 16 February Tickets to The Diesel & Electric Tickets to Bring on the Tickets to Matthew Bourne's Show Bollywood Sleeping Beauty

Closes Monday 8 February Closes Friday 15 April Closes Monday 1 February Tickets to Avenue Q Tickets to Goodnight Mister Tom Tickets to Hamlet

Closes Tuesday 9 February Closes Monday 7 March Closes Thursday 24 March

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

46 whatsonlive.co.uk Whats On Readers Awards Shortlist.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 16:58 Page 2

#culturematters Readers’ Awards #artsmatters

Award FINALISTS in each category announced! VOTE for your WINNER! Readers’ What’sOn Awards Yes, you VOTED in your thousands in the first round of nominations in the What’s On Readers’ Awards - over 8,500 votes to be precise! Now it’s time for you to VOTE once more to choose your ultimate WINNER in each category! Here are the award shortlist finalists:

THEATRE: Best Touring Play THEATRE: Best Pantomime In The l Motionhouse - Tigress Midlands 2015/16 l Rambert Dance Company - l Beautiful Thing Red Rooster l Curious Incident of the Dog l Aladdin - Birmingham Hippodrome l Rosie Kay Dance - 5 Soldiers: in the Night-Time l Beauty & The Beast - Belgrade Theatre The Body Is The Frontline l East is East l Cinderella - Barclaycard Arena l Scottish Dance Theatre - YAMA l Lord of the Flies l Dick Whittington - Theatre Severn l Vincent Dance Theatre: l One Man Two Guvnors l Jack & the Beanstalk -Lichfield Garrick 21 Years / 21 Works l The History Boys l Peter Pan - Grand Theatre W’hampton l Twelve Angry Men l Peter Pan - Regent Theatre, Hanley CLASSICAL (inc Opera): Best Production THEATRE: Best Touring Musical THEATRE: Best Amateur Dramatic/Operatic Group (West l BCMG: The Miracle Of the Rose l Annie Midlands) l Birmingham Opera - The Ice Break l Blood Brothers l CBSO at Symphony Hall l The Bodyguard l Bilston Operatic Company l Ex Cathedra - Christmas Music l Dirty Rotten Scoundrels l Bournville Musical Theatre Company By Candlelight l Guys and Dolls l Grange Players - Walsall l WNO - Sweeney Todd l Hairspray l Solihull Theatre Company l Shrek l Telford and District Light Operatic Best Midlands Arts/Cultural Players (TADLOP) Festivals THEATRE: Best Home-Produced l West Bromwich Operatic Society Show In The Midlands (WBOS) l Birmingham Weekender l Wolverhampton Musical Comedy l Birmingham Comedy Festival l Anita & Me - The REP Company (MUSCOM) l Birmingham Literature Festival l Beautiful Thing - The Curve l Fierce Festival l The Borrowers - New Vic Theatre DANCE: Best Production l Flatpack Festival l Crush - The Belgrade l Godiva Festival l The Lion, The Witch l Birmingham Royal Ballet - l Super Sonic Festival & The Wardrobe - The REP The Nutcracker l Wendy & Peter Pan - RSC l Matthew Bourne’s Edward Top Finalists Award - continued... l Treasure Island - Old Rep Scissorhands VOTE today at whatsonlive.co.uk

whatsonlive.co.uk 47 Whats On Readers Awards Shortlist.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 16:58 Page 3

What’sOn Readers’ Awards - TOP

Best Midlands Theatre/Arts Venue l Chris Purchase l Goodnight Lenin (Large: 1000+ capacity) l Masai Graham l Rainbreakers l Barbara Nice l The Rooz l Alexandra Theatre - Birmingham l Andy White l The Twang l Belgrade Theatre - Coventry l Birmingham Hippodrome Best Midlands Music Venue Best Midlands Exhibition l Birmingham Rep (Large: 1000+ capacity) l Grand Theatre - Wolverhampton l The Story of Childrens Television - l The Regent - Hanley l Barclaycard Arena - Birmingham Herbert Art Gallery & Museum l RSC - Stratford-upon-Avon l Birmingham Town Hall l Enchanted Dreams - BMAG l Civic Hall - Wolverhampton l Love is Enough: William Morris and Best Midlands Theatre/Arts Venue l Genting Arena - Birmingham Andy Warhol - BMAG (Medium: 500-1000 capacity) l O2 Academy - Birmingham l New Art West Midlands Exhibition - Best Midlands Theatre/Arts Venue l O2 Institute - Birmingham mac, Herbert, BMAG & Wolves Art (Medium: 500 - 1000 capacity): l Symphony Hall - Birmingham Gallery l Pop Art - Wolverhampton Art Gallery l Arena Theatre - Wolverhampton Best Midlands Music Venue l Secret Egypt - Shrewsbury Museum l Artrix - Bromsgrove (Medium: 500 - 1000 capacity) & Art Gallery l Lichfield Garrick l Staffordshire Hoard - BMAG l mac - Birmingham l The Copper Rooms - Coventry l Malvern Theatre l Lichfield Garrick Best Birmingham Art Gallery/ l Theatre Severn - Shrewsbury l The Robin - Bilston Exhibition Venue l Warwick Arts Centre - Coventry l The Slade Rooms - Wolverhampton l Barber Institute Best Independent Cinema l mac - Birmingham l Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery l Warwick Arts Centre - Coventry l Centrala in Digbeth l Electric Cinema - Birmingham l Grand Union in Digbeth l Light House Media Centre - Best Midlands Music Festival l IKON Gallery Wolverhampton l mac - Birmingham l mac - Birmingham l Mostly Jazz, Funk & Soul Festival l Parkside Gallery, Birmingham City l Old Market Hall - Shrewsbury l Download Festival University l Warwick Arts Centre - Coventry l Fusion Festival l Stoke Film Theatre l Moseley Folk Festival Best Midlands Art Gallery/ l Regal - Evesham l Shrewsbury Folk Festival Exhibition Venue (outside l Slam Dunk Festival Birmingham) Best Midlands Comedian l V Festival l Compton Verney Gallery l Scott Bennett Best Midlands Live Band l Herbert Art Gallery - Coventry l Tom Binns l The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery - l James Cook l Bonfire Radicals

Best Regional Theatre/Arts Venue (Small - under 500 capacity)

Birmingham Black Country Shropshire Staffordshire Warwickshire Worcestershire l Blue Orange Theatre l Stourbridge Town Hall l Theatre on the Steps, l Prince of Wales l l l l Albany Theatre, C’try l Swan Theatre, l l l l The Crescent Theatre l Arena Theatre, W’ton l Bridgnorth l Centre, Cannock l Bear Pitt Theatre, l l l Worcester l The Drum l Newhampton Arts l l Wightman Theatre, l l Brewhouse Arts, l l l Stratford-upon-Avon l Palace Theatre, l l l l Old Joint Stock l Centre, W’ton l Shrewsbury l Burton-upon-Trent l Dream Factory, l l l l Redditch l Theatre l Forest Arts Centre, l l The Hive, Shrewsbury l Stafford Gatehouse l Warwick l Artrix, Bromsgrove l Old Rep l Walsall l Theatre Drayton, l l l Foxlowe Arts Centre, l Criterion Theatre, l l l Evesham Arts Centre l Mockingbird Theatre l Netherton Arts Centre, l Market Drayton l Leek l Coventry l No 8 Community Arts, l Dudley l Ludlow Assembly l l l Mitchell Arts Centre, l l Priory Theatre, l l l l Pershore l Rooms, Ludlow l Hanley, Stoke l Kenilworth Best Regional Live Music Venue (Small - under 500 capacity)

Birmingham Black Country Shropshire Staffordshire Warwickshire Worcestershire l The Oobleck, The l l l Katie Fitzgeralds, l Henry Tudor House l The Sugarmill, Stoke l Copper Rooms, l l l l Marr Barr, Worcester l Custard Factory l The Slade Rooms l Birchmeadow, l l l l Tamworth Assembly l l Coventry l Artrix, Bromsgrove l Hare & Hounds l The River Rooms, l Broseley l Rooms l Kasbah, Coventry l Huntingdon Hall, l l l Ort Cafe l Newhampton Arts l l l The Edge Arts Centre, l The Madhouse, l l l l The Tin Angel, l l l l Worcester l The Sunflower l l l l Centre l Much Wenlock l Burton-upon-Trent l Coventry l Swan Theatre, l l l l Lounge l Dudley Concert Hall l Walker Theatre l Brewhouse Arts, l l l The Arches, Coventry l Worcester l The Flapper l Stourbridge Town Hall l Havana Republic, l Burton-upon-Trent l Leamington Lamp, l l Palace Theatre, l l l l The Glee Club l The Brewery, Ludlow l Stafford Gatehouse l Leamington Spa l Redditch l Prince of Wales l l l l No 8 Community Arts, l Centre, Cannock l Pershore VOTE today at whatsonlive.co.uk 48 whatsonlive.co.uk Whats On Readers Awards Shortlist.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 16:58 Page 4

FINALISTS in each category

l Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery l Ludlow Food Festival l Telford Shopping Centre l New Art Gallery - Walsall l Moseley Folk Festival l Wolverhampton Art Gallery l Shrewsbury Folk Festival Best Sporting Event l Worcester Art Gallery & Museum l Aegon Classic Tennis Best Midlands' Food Festival l British Basketball League Best Midlands' Visitor Attraction l Birmingham Ind Food Festival Championships l Alton Towers l Foodies Festival - Birmingham l British Show Jumping National l Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery l Great British Food Festival Championship l Black Country Living Museum l Leamington Spa Food & Drink Festival l Horse of The Year Show l Cadbury World l Ludlow Food Festival l Rugby World Cup l Coventry Transport Museum l Shrewsbury Food Festival l Sainsbury’s Indoor Grand Prix l Drayton Manor Park l Warwick Food Festival l Yonex All England Open Badmington l Ironbridge Gorge Museums Championships l Severn Valley Railway Best Midlands Street Food Event Best Midlands Nightclub l Brum Yum Yum - Kings Heath/ JQ Best Midlands Outdoor Event l Digbeth Dining Club - Birmingham l The Buttermarket - Shrewsbury l Blists Hill Victorian Christmas l Kings Heath Street Closure l Couture - Stafford l RAF Cosford Air Show l Flying Teapot Events at Sarehole Mill l Faces - Wolverhampton l Shrewsbury Flower Show l mac Food Market - Birmingham l The Nightingale - Birmingham l The Big Hoot - Birmingham l Taste & Liquor - Birmingham l Rainbow Venues in Digbeth l Frankfurt Christmas Market - B’ham Best Midlands Street Food Vendor Midlands Entertainment Best Midlands Indoor Event Personality of the Year Award l Andy's Low n Slow l Antiques For Everyone - NEC l Baked In Brick l Barbara Nice (Janice Connolly) l BBC Good Food Show l Bournville Waffle Company l Beverley Knight l Comic Con - Birmingham l Brum Yum Yum l Citizen Khan (Adil Ray) l Crufts - Birmingham l Buddha Belly l Alison Hammond l Grand Designs - Birmingham l Street Chef Peter l Joe Lycett l International Craft & Hobby Fair l The Vegan Grindhouse l Style Birmingham VOTE Best Midlands Retail Shopping Best Family-friendly/Community Centre NOW at Festival l Bullring - Birmingham whatsonlive.co.uk l Birmingham Weekender l Grand Central - Birmingham l Fun Palaces Festival l Mailbox - Birmingham VOTING ENDS l Imagineer Festival l Merry Hill - Westfields - Brierley Hill 10 MARCH

Best Regional Visitor Attraction

Birmingham Black Country Shropshire Staffordshire Warwickshire Worcestershire l Birmingham l Dudley Zoo l Ironbridge Gorge l l l Trentham Estate l Herbert Art Gallery l Croome Park l Botancial Gardens l Black Country Living l Museums l National Memorial l l l Warwick Castle l Avoncroft Museum l Aston Hall l Museum l Attingham Park l Arboretum l Kenilworth Castle l The Elgar Birthplace l Cadbury World l Wightwick Manor & l l Stokesay Castle l The Potteries Museum l Compton Verney l Museum l Thinktank l Gardens l Hawkstone Park & l l & Art Gallery l Umberslade Farm l Croft Castle l Birmingham Library l RAF Cosford l Follies l Go Ape, Cannock l l l Coventry Transport l l Severn Valley Railway l Winterbourne House l Bantock House l Shrewsbury Museum l Chase Forest l Museum l Forge Mill Needle l l l Birmingham Museum l Dudley Canal & l l l & Art Gallery l Alton Towers l British Motor Museum l Museum l & Art Gallery l Tunnel Trust l Drayton Manor Best Independent Regional Restaurant

Birmingham Black Country Shropshire Staffordshire Warwickshire Worcestershire

l Sabai Sabai l Indigo Restaurant l Csons l The Orange Tree l Greyhound Inn l The Royal Oak, l l l Purnells l The Summerhouse, l l The King and Thai l The Swan with l l l l The Scullery l Evesham l Adams l Dudley l The Peach Tree l Two Necks l The Opposition Bistro l Pundits Fusion l Marco Pierre White at l Ann’s Thai l The Townhouse, l l l David’s Brasserie l Anthony’s, Nuneaton l Casa Med, l l l l l The Cube l Cafe Maxsim l Oswestry l Eastern Eye l Taylors, Warwick l Bromsgrove l Pushkar l Penn Cottage l Hundred House, l Baby Russets l The Black Star, l l l Turners l Miller & Carter l Shifnal l Southport-on-Severn l Maekong Thai, l l l Bromsgrove and choose your WINNER! whatsonlive.co.uk 49 NEC 2016 Spring A4:Layout 1 14/01/2016 11:52 Page 1

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Your week to week listings guide February 2016 thelist TheJersey Boys at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Tues 9to Sat 20 February

Music I Comedy I Theatre I Dance I Film I Events I Visual Arts I and more!

What’s On Mon 1 to Sun 7 Feb Mon 8 to Sun 14 Feb Mon 15 to Sun 21 Jan Mon 22 to Mon 29 Feb

Annie at Regent Theatre, Adam Hills at Theatre Severn, Lucy Spraggan at the O2 Freezin’ at Arena Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent Shrewsbury Academy, Birmingham Wolverhampton Mon 1 to Sat 6 February Sat 13 February Fri 19 February Fri 26 to Sat 27 February

whatsonlive.co.uk 51 The List 1-7 Feb - SHROP/ST/WOL MASTER VERSION MM.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 16:02 Page 1

thelist Monday 1 - Sunday 7 February THROUGHOUT FEBRUARY Shrewsbury Shropshire Gigs THE WINERY DOGS Fri 5 EVERLEY BROTHERS & A WORLD TO WIN: POSTERS OF Feb, O2 Institute, FRIENDS Sat 6 Feb, Birmingham Prince Of Wales PROTEST AND REVOLUTION From the NEKROGOBLIKON Mon 1 Visual Arts Centre, Cannock V&A’s collection, showcasing the Feb, The Slade Rooms, ELIZA AND THE BEAR Fri work of diverse artists, graphic Wolverhampton 5 Feb, The Sugarmill, THE STUMBLE Sat 6 ASSEMBLED DREAMS: A HISTORY OF designers and print collectives, until Stoke-on-Trent Feb, Lichfield Guildhall, CHRIS WOOD Mon 1 BUILDING TOYS until Sat 5 Mar, Sun 10 April, W’hampton Art Gallery Staffordshire Wolverhampton Art Gallery Feb, Stafford SHREWSBURY AND NEWPORT CANAL Gatehouse Theatre THE MOD CONNECTION STILL, STILL LIFE Featuring paintings, EXHIBITION Illustrating the history of Sat 6 Feb, The Actress NECK DEEP, STATE photographs, textiles and installations, canal building, life on the canals and & Bishop, Birmingham until Sun 6 Mar, Shire Hall Gallery, the progress of the restoration of the CHAMPS, CREEPER & HUNTER AND THE BEAR Stafford Shrewsbury canal, until Sun 17 Apr, LIGHT YEARS Mon 1 Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery Feb, O2 Institute, B’ham Sat 6 Feb, The Hive TREASURE! DISCOVERING THE Shrewsbury STAFFORDSHIRE HOARD Interactive JAN VANRIET: THE MUSIC BOY A hugely HOZIER Tues 2 Feb, O2 HOSPITALITY Sat 6 Feb, exhibition telling the story of how the influential painter and poet from Academy, Birmingham The Rainbow Venues, Staffordshire Hoard was found and Belgium, Jan has exhibited widely BLACK STONE CHERRY, Birmingham saved for the nation, until Sat 12 Mar, across the world, yet this is his first SHINEDOWN AND CAPTAIN HORIZON Fri 5 Bilston Craft Gallery, Wolverhampton exhibition in the UK, until Sun 8 May, HALESTORM Tues 2 Feb, Feb, The Asylum, EVOLVE PRESENTS The New Art Gallery, Walsall Birmingham NICOLAS LUTZ & MINTON ARCHIVE An interactive exhibi- Barclaycard Arena, FRANCESCO DEL GARDA tion of some of the museum’s Minton LAURA LANCASTER Laura draws her Birmingham THE CROOKES Fri 5 Feb, Sat 6 Feb, The pieces, until Sun 27 Mar, The inspiration from forgotten and dis- ROD PICOTT Tues 2 Feb, The Rainbow Venues, Rainbow Venues, Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, carded photographs and home Kitchen Garden Cafe, Birmingham Birmingham Stoke-on-Trent movies, until Sun 8 May, The New Art Birmingham MALA Fri 5 Feb, Hare & Gallery, Walsall SWEDE DREAMZ Sat 6 MENTAL SPACES An ongoing project THE WEDDING CRASHERS Hounds, Birmingham Feb, The River Rooms, containing work produced by local A BIG BANG: THE ORIGINS OF THE POP Tues 2 Feb, The Jam HIGHGRADE - WE BLAZE Stourbridge artists affiliated to the Asylum Art ART COLLECTION, PART 2 Andy House, Birmingham Fri 5 Feb, O2 Institute, Warhol’s legendary 1968 Campbells THE STYLE COUNCILLORS Gallery, until Sat 2 Apr, Light House LEE BUTCHER SANDERS Birmingham Soup Can and the iconic maquette of Sat 6 Feb, The Media Centre, Wolverhampton Wed 3 Feb, mac, a statue of King Kong - originally NANCY KERR Fri 5 Feb, Roadhouse, MINER’S TOOLS A range of equipment Birmingham commissioned in 1972 for display in Lichfield Garrick Birmingham used over the years by miners to Birmingham’s Bull Ring - take pride POLLY BARRETT Wed 3 MUSED (MUSE TRIBUTE) extract coal, until Sun 10 Apr, The SPECIAL KINDA of place in this exhibition of Pop Art, Feb, Kitchen Garden Fri 5 Feb, The River Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, MADNESS Sat 6 Feb, until Sat 13 Aug, W’hampton Art Cafe, Birmingham Rooms, Stourbridge Stoke-on-Trent The Robin, Bilston Gallery LOUISE WARREN Wed 3 TRANSMISSION Fri 5 ROXY MAGIC Sat 6 Feb, Feb, The Jam House, Feb, The Roadhouse, Route 44, Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham WHITE NOISE THEORY FAIRPORT CONVENTION U2-2 Fri 5 Feb, The Sat 6 Feb, The Wed 3 Feb, Victoria Robin, Birmingham Sugarmill, Stoke-on- Hall, Stoke-on-Trent ARMANTUS + FREE SUN Trent NGOD Wed 3 Feb, The RISING + GUNNER'S LAW VILLAGERS Sun 7 Feb, Sunflower Lounge, Fri 5 Feb, Route 44, The Glee Club, Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham GORDIE MACKEEMAN & ALEXANDER PHILLIP HENRY & HIS RHYTHM BOYS Wed ARMSTRONG: A YEAR OF HANNAH MARTIN Sun 7 3 Feb, Festival Drayton SONGS LIVE Fri 5 Feb, Feb, Henry Tudor Centre, Market Symphony Hall, House, Shrewsbury Drayton, Shropshire Birmingham TALON - THE BEST OF SUNFLOWER BEAN Wed GROUPER Fri 5 - Sat 6 EAGLES Sun 7 Feb, 3 Feb, Hare & Hounds, Feb, The Jam House, Theatre Severn, Birmingham Birmingham Shrewsbury AN EVENING WITH IAN BOWLING FOR SOUP Sat MILLIE JACKSON Sun 7 MCCULLOCH Wed 3 Feb, 6 Feb, O2 Academy, Feb, The Drum, The Robin, Bilston Birmingham Birmingham TESSERACT Thurs 4 SAY WE CAN FLY Sat 6 THE BEE GEES STORY - Feb, O2 Institute, Feb, O2 Institute, NIGHTS ON BROADWAY Birmingham Birmingham Sun 7 Feb, Victoria THE CROOKES Thurs 4 FRENCH CHANSON AND Hall, Stoke-on-Trent Feb, The Sugarmill, GYPSY JAZZ WITH STIPE Sun 7 Feb, The Stoke-on-Trent MONTPARNASSE Sat 6 Robin, Bilston THE CADILLAC THREE Feb, mac, Birmingham SOULFLY Sun 7 Feb, Thurs 4 Feb, O2 TOGETHER PANGEA Sat 6 The Slade Rooms, Institute, Birmingham Feb, The Sunflower Wolverhampton RICKY COOL & THE IN Lounge, Birmingham SUNDAY CLASSICS Sun CROWD Thurs 4 Feb, GRETCHEN PETERS Sat 6 7 Feb, The Spotted The Jam House, Feb, Theatre Severn, Dog, Birmingham Birmingham Shrewsbury MARTHA TILSTON Sun 7 PEACE AND LOVE SONS OF ICARUS Sat 6 Feb, Kitchen Garden BARBERSHOP Feb, The Asylum, Cafe, Birmingham MUHAMMAD ALI Thurs 4 Birmingham Feb, The Sunflower LIVE & UNSIGNED FEA- AUGUSTANA Sat 6 Feb, Lounge, Birmingham TURING DEVIL'S DICE, O2 Academy, RKBAND, SUNDAY44, JACK JONES Fri 5 Feb, Birmingham BLUE SEASON, BUZZARD Birmingham Town Hall MOTOWN PARTY NIGHT Sun 7 Feb, The Robin, UNFORGETTABLE FEAT. WITH THE KRYSTALLETTS Bilston MICHAEL WILLIAMS Fri 5 Sat 6 Feb, The Place, Feb, Theatre Severn, Oakengates Theatre,

52 whatsonlive.co.uk The List 1-7 Feb - SHROP/ST/WOL MASTER VERSION MM.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 16:02 Page 2

Monday 1 - Sunday 7 February

Sibelius, Fri 5 Feb, Victoria Hall, ROBINSON Thurs 4 Feb, The Glee LAND OF OUR FATHERS Chris Urch's Classical Music Stoke-on-Trent Club, Birmingham award-winning debut play echoes a AN EVENING OF MUSIC AND DANCE KUM-N-AVALOFF COMEDY NIGHT Thurs generation of lost voices, Tues 2 - WITH BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET 4 Feb, Stourbridge Town Hall Wed 3 Feb, mac, Birmingham GLIÈRE, SAINT-SAËNS, BRAHMS, LISZT Birmingham Royal Ballet and its DAMIAN CLARK, SAM AVERY, MASAI AN INSPECTOR CALLS National Theatre Featuring Catherine Thomas (French acclaimed orchestra, the Royal Ballet production of JB Priestley’s classic horn), Joanne Sealey (piano); GRAHAM, SIMON WOZNIAK & LOU Sinfonia, return to Symphony Hall for CONRAN Thurs 4 Feb, Foxlowe Arts thriller, Tues 2 - Sat 6 Feb, Gyorgy Hodozsó (piano); Edward an evening of spectacular music and Wolverhampton Grand Theatre Francis-Smith (double bass) & Centre, Leek, Staffs dance, Sat 6 Feb, Symphony Hall, THE SOLID LIFE OF SUGAR WATER Jonathan French (piano), Mon 1 Feb, Birmingham JOE LYCETT, PADDY LENNOX, JAMES Birmingham Conservatoire BRAN, & GARRETT MILLERICK Thurs 4 Jack Thorne's critically acclaimed CBSO FAMILY FILM FAVOURITES Feb, The George Hotel, Lichfield play offers a candid, intimate and JAMAL ALIYEV Featuring Jamal Aliyev Featuring Alasdair Malloy (presenter) tender portrait of loss, hurt and (cello) and Joanne Sealey (piano). and City of Birmingham Symphony SEAN LOCK Fri 5 Feb, Theatr Hafren, recovery, Tues 2 - Sat 6 Feb, The Programme includes the works of Orchestra. Programme includes Powys REP, Birmingham Schubert, Wieniawski, Schumann soundtracks from Star Wars, Toy ZOE LYONS, ANDY WHITE & STEPHEN A PLEASING TERROR Nunkie Theatre and Chopin, Tues 2 Feb, Birmingham Story, Harry Potter, Mary Poppins, DODD Fri 5 Feb, Katie Fitzgerald's, Conservatoire presents two ghost stories by MR Shrek, Despicable Me, Frozen, The Stourbridge James - Canon Alberic's Scrap-book IAN BOSTRIDGE AND JOSEPH Lego Movie and more, Sun 7 Feb, ANDY WHITE, TOM CHRISTIAN, CHRIS & The Mezzotint, Wed 3 Feb, Theatre MIDDLETON Featuring Ian Bostridge Symphony Hall, Birmingham NORTON WALKER, JON PEARSON & Severn, Shrewsbury (tenor) and Joseph Middleton EX CATHEDRA, I WAS GLAD A concert of AARON TWITCHEN Fri 5 Feb, Stafford (piano). Performing Schubert’s song TRANSPORTS Pipeline Theatre present magnificent 20th century music for Gatehouse Theatre a captivating story which draws on cycle Winterreise (Winter’s Journey), choir and organ, including master- a set of 24 songs based on the poet- JO ENRIGHT, ADAM BLOOM, ANDY real-life experiences. Suitable for pieces by Leighton, Walton, Janácek ROBINSON & KEVIN MCGAHERN Fri 5 - adults and teenagers, Wed 3 Feb, ry of Wilhelm Müller, Wed 3 Feb, The and Parry, whose glorious anthem Barber Institute, University of Sat 6 Feb, The Glee Club, B’ham The Talbot Theatre, Whitchurch, was written for the coronation of King Shropshire Birmingham Edward VII, Sun 7 Feb, Birmingham JUICE COMEDY CLUB - ACTS TBC, Sat 6 CBSO BAIBA SKRIDE: SZYMANOWSKI Town Hall Feb, Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton YIZKOR Sue Moffat’s drama-docu- Featuring Olari Elts (Conductor) and ROFL! COMEDY CLUB - ACTS TBC Sat 6 mentary provides a powerful testimo- Baiba Skride (Violin). Programme Feb, The Old Post Office, Burton- ny to the effects of prejudice and dis- includes work by Mendelssohn, upon-Trent crimination. This event marks the Szymanowski and Shostakovich, Comedy Gigs United Nations Holocaust Memorial GARY DELANEY Sun 7 Feb, The Glee Day, Wed 3 Feb, Theatre On The Thurs 4 Feb, Symphony Hall, Club, Birmingham Birmingham Steps, Bridgnorth, Shropshire DIANE SPENCER, AARON TWITCHEN Mon KEN DODD Sun 7 Feb, Prince Of LA TRAVIATA Thurs 4 Feb, The Edge HORRIBLE HISTORIES: GROOVY GREEKS 1 Feb, Old Joint Stock Pub, Wales Centre, Cannock From savage Sparta to angry Athens, Arts Centre, Much Wenlock, South Birmingham Shropshire discover the truth about growing up RICHARD HERRING Wed 3 Feb, Station in Greece, Wed 3 - Sat 6 Feb, PINES OF ROME Featuring Michael Pub, Sutton Coldfield Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury Seal (conductor) & Birmingham Theatre Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra, LEE NELSON Wed 3 Feb, The Old Rep HORRIBLE HISTORIES: INCREDIBLE Thurs 4 Feb, Birmingham Theatre, Birmingham INVADERS Brand new show from the Conservatoire MOCK THE FLOCK - COMEDIANS TBC ANNIE Birds Of A Feather actress Horrible Histories team. This time Lesley Joseph stars as the far-from- round it's the ruthless ways of the THE WONDERS OF WALT Performed by Wed 3 Feb, The Mockingbird Theatre, Birmingham pleasant Miss Hannigan in this latest Romans which come under scrutiny, percussionist Phil James, his 16- version of the oft-touring Broadway Thurs 4 - Sat 6 Feb, Theatre Severn, RINKOO piece band and 12 vocalists. Wed 3 Feb, Arena Theatre, hit, Mon 1 - Sat 6 Feb, Regent Shrewsbury Featuring music from Snow White, Wolverhampton Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent The Lion King, Beauty And The TRANSPORTS Pipeline Theatre present DAVE'S LEICESTER COMEDY FESTIVAL a captivating story which draws on Beast, Up, Frozen and many more... The festival’s 23rd year is set to be Fri 5 Feb, Birmingham Conservatoire real-life experience. Suitable for its most diverse and inventive yet, adults and teenagers, Thurs 4 Feb, making Dave’s Leicester Comedy RACHEL LEE PRIDAY AND MICHAEL Sparc Theatre, Bishops Castle, Festival the ideal destination for the DUSSEK Featuring Rachel Lee Priday Shropshire (violin) and Michael Dussek (piano). seasoned comedy fan or someone Programme includes the works of just looking for a great night out, THE GRUFFALO’S CHILD Tall Stories Schubert, Ravel & Sarasate, Fri 5 Wed 3 - Sun 21 Feb, Leicester City Theatre Company bring Julia Feb, The Barber Institute, University Centre Donaldson’s award-winning sequel to life in a magical staging of the of Birmingham JUSTIN MOORHOUSE Thurs 4 Feb, The much-loved children’s story, Thurs 4 Brewhouse Arts Centre, Burton-upon- BBC PHILHARMONIC Featuring John - Fri 5 Feb, Stafford Gatehouse Trent Stogårds (conductor) and Martin Theatre Roscoe (piano). Programme features ADAM BLOOM, KEVIN MCGAHERN & works from Elgar, Beethoven & COMEDY CAROUSEL WITH ANDY

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thelist Monday 1 - Sunday 7 February JACK AND THE BEANSTALK Charitable THE DANISH GIRL (15) Period drama, Year celebrations, as thousands of pantomime production presented by Film based on the novel by David festival-goers descend on the area PwC as part of its Community Affairs Ebershoff, about an early recipient of and welcome in the Year of the programme, Thurs 4 - Sat 6 Feb, gender reassignment surgery in the Monkey, Sun 7 Feb, Arcadian Centre, New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham INDEPENDENT LISTINGS: early 1930s. Stars Eddie Redmayne Birmingham OF MICE AND MEN Roxana Silbert STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS (12a) & Alicia Vikander. Until Thurs 11 Feb, directs John Steinbeck's classic The seventh Star Wars epic takes up Old Market Hall, Shrewsbury; Fri 5 - story, Thurs 4 - Sat 13 Feb, The REP, where Return Of The Jedi left off, Sat 6 Feb, Festival Drayton Centre, Birmingham albeit with a 30-year gap. Our new Market Drayton, Shropshire; Fri 5 - Visual Arts protagonist is Finn (John Boyega), a Sat 6 & Mon 8 - Tues 9 Feb, Ludlow ROMEO AND JULIET Blue Orange Arts First Order stormtrooper who’s Assembly Rooms, South Shropshire present Shakespeare's classic redeemed himself and takes up the SOUND MATTERS; EXPLORING CRAFT romantic tragedy, Thurs 4 - Sat 13 lightsabre from Luke Skywalker. Also AND SOUND A Craft Council touring Feb, The Blue Orange Theatre, stars Harrison Ford & Mark Hamill. NEW FILMS ON GENERAL RELEASE: exhibition featuring seven contempo- Birmingham Until Mon 1 Feb, Festival Drayton Released Fri 5 Feb, showing at rary works from a range of creative DOCTOR FAUSTUS Maria Aberg returns Centre, Market Drayton, Shropshire; selected cinemas. disciplines, until Sat 6 Feb, Wolverhampton Art Gallery to the RSC to direct Marlowe's notori- Tues 2 & Thurs 4 Feb, Wem Town DAD’S ARMY (tbc) ous tale of vanity, greed and damna- Hall, North Shropshire THE RICHES BENEATH US: THE BLACK GOOSEBUMPS (PG) tion, Thurs 4 Feb - Thurs 4 Aug, The 45 YEARS (15) In the week leading up COUNTRY'S AMAZING ROCKS Featuring Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon to their 45th wedding anniversary, a RAMS (15) an array of fascinating local fossils, THE MERRY WIVES Shakespeare’s couple receive an unexpected letter TRUMBO (15) many of which are collected from the Black Country’s collieries and lime- calamitous tale is here brought to the which contains potentially life-chang- POINT BREAK (12a) stage by Northern Broadsides, Fri 5 - ing news. Stars Charlotte Rampling & stone mines, until Sat 6 Feb, Sat 27 Feb, New Vic Theatre, Tom Courtenay. Mon 1 Feb, Edge LEE SCRATCH PERRY'S VISION OF Wolverhampton City Archives Newcastle-under-Lyme Arts Centre, Much Wenlock, PARADISE (tbc) OLD WIVES’ TALES: MIGRATION ARE YOU CHICKEN Play by Rob Shropshire TAKING STOCK (tbc) JOURNEYS OF BANGLADESHI WOMEN TO Adcock Drama Services’ students BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S (PG) Revisit MISS HOKUSAI (12a) THE UK Photographic exhibition which gives a unique insight into the lives which explores the power of social Audrey Hepburn’s iconic portrayal of THE AMERICAN DREAMER (tbc) media, peer pressure, dares and society girl Holly Golightly in the of young Bangladeshi women who knockbacks, Sat 6 Feb, Brewhouse much-loved 1961 romantic comedy. See Film section for previews on p38 came to Birmingham between the Arts Centre, Burton-upon-Trent Tues 2 Feb, Mitchell Arts Centre, 1960s and 1980s, until Sun 7 Feb, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery SHOWSTOPPER! THE IMPROVISED MUSI- Stoke-on-Trent CAL Brand new musical comedy cre- LEGEND (18) The story of notorious CONFECTED, BORROWED AND BLUE...AN ated from scratch at every perform- East End gangsters Reggie and Events INSTALLATION BY PAUL SCOTT ance, Sat 6 Feb, Lichfield Garrick Ronnie Kray. Tom Hardy stars as Exhibition organised by the Holburne Museum, until Sun 7 Feb, The FREEZIN’ Fizzog Productions presents both twins. Tues 2 Feb, Foxlowe Arts THE BIG BIRDHOUSE TOUR Featuring 15 Centre, Leek, Staffordshire Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, a Black Country panto set in 1910, larger-than-life birdhouses, individual- Stoke-on-Trent Sat 6 Feb, Stafford Gatehouse MAKE MORE NOISE (PG) “You have to ly and artfully designed by well- FRAGMENTS make more noise than anybody known British talent, raising money A thought-provoking else... if you’re really going to get for the RSPB, Mon 1 - Sat 27 Feb, three-dimensional installation by your reform realised.” Emmeline INTU Merry Hill, Dudley Tracey Cartlidge and Danusha Pankhurst. This BFI compilation on Komar that reflects a sense of the Dance DEER FEEDING Get closer to the fallow beauty and fragility of human and ‘Suffragettes in Silent Film’ shows deer as the wardens feed them in the that they did just that. Wed 3 Feb, other organic forms, until Sat 13 Feb, SALAAM Sonia Sabri Company pres- winter months, Mon 1 Feb - Sun 13 Foxlowe Arts Centre, Leek Foxlowe Arts Centre, Leek, Mar, Attingham Park, Shropshire ent a double bill of work which clev- Staffordshire ENCHANTED DREAMS The first ever erly weaves a dialogue between live WOLVERHAMPTON'S OLDEST HOUSE: A G EROS (15) A troublesome teenager exhibition to be dedicated to Pre- music and Kathak dance to celebrate SURVEY OF GRASELEY OLD HALL A free Raphaelite artist Edward Robert harmony, inner-stillness and the sim- isÜ sent to live with his brother in talk by local archivist Gillian Roberts, Mexico City. Together, they set out on Hughes, until Sun 21 Feb, ple bliss of being alive, Thurs 4 Feb, Tues 2 Feb, Bantock House & Park, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery The Old Rep Theatre, Birmingham a road trip to find legendary rock Wolverhampton musician Epigmenio Cruz. Stars WOLVERHAMPTON SOCIETY OF ARTISTS AN EVENING OF MUSIC & DANCE WITH Tenoch Huerta. Foreign language, ALL STAR SUPERSLAM WRESTLING A Biennial exhibition with a diverse BRB Compered by David Bintley, Sat subtitled. Wed 3 Feb, Ludlow two-hour wrestling spectacular, Fri 5 range of styles, mediums and sub- 6 Feb, Symphony Hall, Birmingham Assembly Rooms, South Shropshire Feb, The Place, Oakengates Theatre, ject matter, until Sat 27 Feb, Shropshire ARRIVE 16 Annual screening of Wolverhampton Art Gallery Second Year short dramas from the BOWMAN ANTIQUES Featuring a selec- TREES IN AUTUMN AND SPRING A pho- Media/Film Production Courses at tion of antiques, curios, vintage, retro tographic exhibition by Gunhild Staffordshire University These are the & collectables in the West Midlands. Thomson which documents the first drama-based films these stu- Up to 400 stalls, Fri 5 - Sun 7 Feb, changes to trees in Autumn and dents have made, Wed 3 Feb, Stoke Staffordshire County Showground Spring. Each series of photos is Film Theatre MANSION WINTER TOURS Step back in taken from the same point of view at THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. (12a) Solo time to experience the site’s atmos- regular intervals over a set period of and Kuryakin team up to stop a crim- pheric rooms and discover stories time, until Sat 27 Feb, Bilston Craft inal organisation from swamping the from the lives of the Berwicks, Fri 5 - Gallery, Wolverhampton globe with nuclear weapons. It may Sun 7 Feb, Attingham Park, STAFFORDSHIRE SOCIETY OF ARTISTS be a Hollywood movie, but the sub- Shrewsbury Exhibition by the Staffordshire ject is as English as James Bond. 4X4 IN THE FOREST Join the rangers in Society of Artists which turns for And, incidentally, U.N.C.L.E. stands your 4x4 to explore Cannock Chase. inspiration to Capability Brown’s for the United Network Command for Meet at Birches Valley Forest Centre, work in Staffordshire and beyond, Law and Enforcement. Stars Henry Sat 6 Feb, Cannock Chase Forest Mon 1 - Sun 28 Feb, Weston Park, Cavill & Armie Hammer. Fri 5 Feb, VOLUNTEER WEEKEND A chance to join Shifnal, Shropshire Forest Arts Centre, Walsall in with conservation work around the EXHIBITION - RESONANCE Featuring TOKYO STORY (U) Regularly voted the farm, Sat 6 - Sun 7 Feb, Fordhall new ceramic work by Stephen Dixon, greatest film ever made, Yasujiro Organic Farm, Shropshire with complementary photography Ozu’s charming, gentle and melan- STAFFORDSHIRE MODEL RAILWAY CLUB and film by Johnny Magee, all of choly tale of the ups and downs of Sat 6 - Sun 7 Feb, Staffordshire which look at the ways in which the family life has moved generations of County Showground Great War affected the Staffordshire cinema-goers. Foreign language, home front, Sat 6 - Wed 24 Feb, subtitled. Fri 5 Feb, The Hive, CHINESE NEW YEAR FESTIVAL Gladstone Pottery Museum, Stoke- Shrewsbury, Shropshire Birmingham’s Southside once again on-Trent plays host to the city’s Chinese New

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Tuesday 16th February HOW THE KOALA LEARNT TO HUG Time: 2.30pm

Friday 19th February BLONDIE - BOWIE TRIBUTE Time: 7.30pm

Saturday 20th February THE ROY ORBISON STORY Time: 7.30pm

Wednesday 24th February ANDY KIRKPATRICK - COLD MOUNTAIN Time: 7.30pm

Saturday 27th February ABBA ARRIVAL Time: 7.30pm

Wednesday 9th March MAGNIFICENT MUSIC HALL Time: 2.30pm

Thursday 31st March MARK BEAUMONT Time: 7.30pm

Friday 1st April ALICE IN WONDERLAND Time: 2.00pm

Saturday 2nd April ROB BECKETT: MOUTH OF THE SOUTH Time: 7.30pm

TWC GP 01042

whatsonlive.co.uk 55 The List 8-14 Feb - SHROP/ST/WOL FINAL ONLY MASTER.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 16:03 Page 1

thelist Monday 8 - Sunday 14 February 25 YEARS OF REEVES & MORTIMER Classical Music Thurs 11 Feb, Victoria Hall, Stoke-on- Trent TONY LAW Thurs 11 Feb, The Slade LUNCHTIME ORGAN CONCERT - THOMAS Rooms, Wolverhampton TROTTER Mon 8 Feb, Birmingham Town Hall DAVE FULTON, STEVE WILLIAMS & COMEDY CAROUSEL WITH ANDY BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTOS 2,3 AND ROBINSON Thurs 11 Feb, The Glee 4 Featuring Rudolf Buchbinder (con- Club, Birmingham ductor/piano), Wed 10 Feb, Symphony Hall, Birmingham CRAIG HILL, DAVE FULTON, STEVE WILLIAMS & COMIC TBC Fri 12 - Sat 13 DAN TEPFER: GOLDBERG Feb, The Glee Club, Birmingham VARIATIONS/VARIATIONS Talented young pianist Dan Tepfer performs ADAM HILLS Sat 13 Feb, Theatre his interpretation of Bach’s master- Severn, Shrewsbury piece, Wed 10 Feb, Symphony Hall, ROFL! COMEDY CLUB - ACTS TBC Sat 13 Birmingham Feb, The Old Post Office, Burton- Little Simz, O2 Academy, Birmingham, Mon 8 February HANOVER BAND 'HANOVERIAN upon-Trent SPLENDOURS' Featuring Mahan PATRICK MONAHAN, SOL BERNSTEIN, RIA Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent Feb, Barclaycard Esfahani (director/harpsichord), LINA & THE RAYMOND & MR TIMPKINS Gigs JOE JACKSON Thurs 11 Arena, Birmingham Rachel Brown (flute), Madeleine REVUE Sun 14 Feb, The Glee Club, Easton (violin) and Kelly McCusker Feb, O2 Institute, SNUFF Sat 13 Feb, The Birmingham (violin). Programme features the Birmingham Slade Rooms, JIM DAVIDSON Sun 14 Feb, Regent LITTLE SIMZ Mon 8 Feb, works of CPE Bach, Abel, JS Bach, Wolverhampton Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent O2 Academy, B’ham CATAPULT CLUB FEAT. Handel, Wed 10 Feb, Alington Hall, SONATA FALL Thurs 11 KIT HOLMES Sat 13 Feb, THE DUBLIN LEGENDS Shrewsbury School Feb, O2 Academy, Birchmeadow Centre, Mon 8 Feb, Theatre MARIA JOAO PIRES IN RECITAL Birmingham Broseley, Shropshire Severn, Shrewsbury Programme features the works of Theatre NIK TURNER’S NEW THE DEFINITIVE ELVIS THE FRONT BOTTOMS Debussy, Mozart & Schubert, Thurs SPACE RITUAL Thurs 11 EXPERIENCE Sat 13 Feb, Mon 8 Feb, O2 11 Feb, Birmingham Town Hall Feb, The Robin, Bilston Prince Of Wales DOCTOR FAUSTUS Maria Aberg returns Institute, Birmingham MARIA JOAO PIRES & MILOS POPOVIC IN MARIA JOÃO PIRES & Centre, Cannock to the RSC to direct Marlowe's notori- THE GAME Mon 8 Feb, RECITAL Programme features the MILO POPOVIC Fri 12 THE COUNTERFEIT ous tale of vanity, greed and damna- O2 Academy, B’ham works of Schubert & Beethoven, Fri tion, Thurs 4 Feb - Thurs 4 Aug, The Feb, Birmingham Town STONES Sat 13 Feb, 12 Feb, Birmingham Town Hall Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon THE COMPOZERS Mon 8 Hall The Robin, Bilston Feb, O2 Institute,B’ham BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTOS 1 AND 5 ROUND AND ROUND THE GARDEN SLIPKNOT Fri 12 Feb, In this second instalment of his RICHIE RAMONE Natasha Gray and Kevin Pallister star Mon 8 Genting Arena, B’ham Birmingham Beethoven cycle, con- Feb, The Robin, Bilston in Alan Ayckbourn’s award-winning NME AWARDS TOUR 2016 ductor/pianist Rudolf Buchbinder play of secrets, lies and deception, FICKLE FRIENDS Wed 10 Fri 12 Feb, O2 tackles the mighty Emperor concerto Mon 8 - Wed 10 Feb, Lichfield Feb, The Sugarmill, Academy, Birmingham itself: music without limits, performed Garrick Stoke-on-Trent with supreme understanding by a liv- GRAHAM BONNET BAND PRIVATE LIVES Tom Chambers and NANCY KERR AND THE ing legend amongst pianists, Sat 13 Fri 12 Feb, The Slade Charlotte Ritchie star in a major SWEET VISITOR BAND Feb, Symphony Hall, Birmingham Rooms, W’hampton revival of Noël Coward's hilarious Wed 10 Feb, Theatre PATSY CLINE & FRIENDS TRAVELLING BY TUBA Featuring masterpiece, Mon 8 - Sat 13 Feb, Severn, Shrewsbury Fri 12 Feb, Ludlow Steward Death (tuba) and Chris New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham JARROD DICKENSON Assembly Rooms, Cranham (piano), accompanied by the Wind and Brass family, Sat 13 THE CROWS PLUCKED YOUR SINEWS Wed 10 Feb, Henry South Shropshire KICK UP THE 80'S Sat 13 Based on real events and featuring Tudor House, Feb, Maidment Hall, Shrewsbury RAT PACK VEGAS Feb, The River Rooms, the epic lyrical tradition of Somalia, Shrewsbury School SPECTACULAR Fri 12 Stourbridge Hassan Mahamdallie's play presents EDGE CHAMBER CHOIR Feb, Theatre Severn, THE BULLETPROOF BOMB A celebration of a unique exploration of the violence 'love' for Valentine's Day by Ludlow's Shrewsbury Sat 13 Feb, The of empire and the poetry of resist- newest chamber choir. Songs and Sugarmill, Stoke-on- ance. This one-man show is per- THE WORLD IS A readings on the subject of love, BEAUTIFUL PLACE & I AM Trent formed by Yusra Warsama, Tues 9 - including music by Chilcott, Moeran, Thurs 11 Feb, The REP, Birmingham NO LONGER AFRAID TO GABRIELLE APLIN Sun Rutter, Holst, Elgar, Pearsall, DIE Fri 12 Feb, O2 14 Feb, O2 Institute, Whiteacre, Muhly, Gjeilo and Mealor, FAME WBS Musical presents an ama- Institute, Birmingham Birmingham Sat 13 Feb, Ludlow Assembly teur staging of the hit 1980 film of the THE KERRANG! TOUR Fri ERNIE HALTER & TONY Rooms, South Shropshire same name, Tues 9 - Fri 12 Feb, The Edge Arts Centre, Much Wenlock, CLIVE BARKS & FRIENDS 12 Feb, O2 Institute, LUCCA Sun 14 Feb, CBSO BENEVOLENT FUND CONCERT South Shropshire IN CONCERT Wed 10 Birmingham Henry Tudor House, Featuring City of Birmingham Feb, New Vic Theatre, THE CLASSIC ROCK Shrewsbury Symphony Orchestra, John Wilson WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF The Newcastle-under-Lyme SHOW Fri 12 Feb, (conductor) and Valeriy Sokolov (vio- Stafford Players present an amateur staging of Edward Albee’s classic DANNY BRYANT Victoria Hall, Stoke-on- lin). Programme includes works by Wed 10 American drama, Wed 9 - Sat 13 Feb, The Robin, Bilston Trent Nicolai, Bruch and Elgar, Sun 14 Feb, Symphony Hall, Birmingham Feb, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre MARIA JOÃO PIRES SYMPHONIC FLOYD FEA- TURING THE EN SUITE ARMONICO CONSORT Featuring Elin WAITING IN THE WINGS Noël Coward’s Thurs 11 Feb, touchingly funny portrait of friend- Birmingham Town Hall ELECTRIC BAND Fri 12 Manahan Thomas (soprano), William Feb, Symphony Hall, Towers (countertenor) & Christopher ship, deviousness and comradeship, Birmingham Monks (director). Programme Tues 9 - Sat 13 Feb, Stoke Repertory Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent CHRIS WHILE AND JULIE includes works by Purcell & Battista MATTHEWS Fri 12 Feb, and Pergolesi, Sun 14 Feb, Theatre JERSEY BOYS This Tony, Olivier and Lichfield Guildhall Severn, Shrewsbury Grammy Award-winning musical SANCHEZ & ROMAIN charts the rise to stardom of one of THE FOOD FIGHTERZ Fri VIRGO - THE 2016 the most successful bands in pop 12 Feb, The River REGGAE VALENTINE music history, Tues 9 - Sat 20 Feb, Rooms, Stourbridge AFFAIR Sun 14 Feb, O2 Comedy Gigs Wolverhampton Grand Theatre Academy, Birmingham SYMPHONY X Fri 12 CINDER-ELLA presented by Krazy Kat Feb, The Robin, Bilston RAYMOND FROGGATT & THRILLER LIVE Thurs 11 TOMMY TIERNAN Wed 10 Feb, Theatre Theatre with puppetry, sign language HIS BAND Sun 14 Feb, - Sat 13 Feb, Regent ALL TIME LOW Sat 13 Severn, Shrewsbury and even an aria, Thurs 11 Feb, The Robin, Bilston

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Monday 8 - Sunday 14 February

Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton romp that explores sexuality, reli- Birmingham Assembly's Eddie Kay, performed by LA BOHEME Staging of Puccini’s gious values, politics and feminism, CONFIRMATION A show about the gulf one of the UK's most innovative male romantic opera, Thurs 11 Feb, without compromising on the daft, between beliefs that we can't talk dance ensembles, Tues 9 Feb, Lichfield Garrick dark fun that is quintessential across, written & performed by Chris Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury Dracula, Fri 12 Feb, Lichfield Garrick THE BEST THING Vamos Theatre pres- Thorpe, Sat 13 Feb, Lichfield Garrick COAL Gary Clarke Company present ent a fully masked performance of a FREEZIN’ Fizzog Productions presents DINOSAUR ZOO Unique stage show an emotional, moving and ever-rele- Swinging 60s story of unconditional a Black Country panto set in 1910, which brings a plethora of prehistoric vant exploration of community, soli- love, Thurs 11 - Fri 12 Feb, Theatre Fri 12 - Sat 13 Feb, Theatre On The creatures to the stage, Sat 13 - Sun darity and survival, Thurs 11 - Sat 13 Severn, Shrewsbury Steps, Bridgnorth, Shropshire 14 Feb, Birmingham Town Hall Feb, DanceXchange, Birmingham Hippodrome STAGS AND HENS Split Mask Theatre THE RETURN OF NEVERLAND A new Company present Willy Russell’s musical which brings the magic and exploration of the pre-marital celebra- adventures of JM Barrie’s much- tions of working class society in the loved characters to the stage, Fri 12 - Dance 70s, Thurs 11 - Fri 12 Feb, Prince of Sat 13 Feb, The Place, Oakengates Talks Theatre, Shropshire Wales Centre, Cannock SLEEPING BEAUTY Matthew Bourne’s THRILLER LIVE A musical celebration THE BEST THING Vamos Theatre pres- ‘gothic tale for all ages’, Tues 9 - Sat NOW YOU SEE IT - NOW YOU DON'T: THE featuring the hit songs of Michael ent a fully masked performance of a 13 Feb, Birmingham Hippodrome ART OF VISUAL DECEPTION Be sur- Jackson & The Jackson 5, Thurs 11 - Swinging 60s story of unconditional prised, amazed and amused in this Sat 13 Feb, Regent Theatre, Stoke- love, Sat 13 Feb, Ludlow Assembly fascinating talk on visual deception, on-Trent Rooms, South Shropshire Mon 15 Feb, RAF Cosford, Shropshire BERT & LEARNED FRIENDS A double bill THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE TAT MAN A of one-act plays presented by Arena powerful one-man play that tells the Collaborative Theatremakers as part rag-and-tat tales gathered during the of the Arena Theatre Development tat man’s years on the road, Sat 13 Film Programme, Fri 12 Feb, Arena Feb, Arena Theatre, W’hampton Theatre, Wolverhampton RAPUNZEL A familiar tale is here spun WILDE WITHOUT THE BOY Gerard into a charming musical perfect for TELFORD DANCE SHOWCASE 2016 CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA (15) A veteran Logan performs a dramatisation of all the family, Sat 13 Feb, Theatre Featuring performances by dance actress comes face-to-face with an De Profundis, Oscar Wilde’s letter to Severn, Shrewsbury troupes from across Shropshire, uncomfortable reflection of herself his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, written FIRST STAGES: CINDER-ELLA Krazy Kat Tues 9 - Wed 10 Feb, The Place, when she agrees to take part in a from his prison cell in Reading gaol, fuse imaginative storytelling, sign lan- Oakengates Theatre, Shropshire revival of the play that launched her Fri 12 Feb, Brewhouse Arts Centre, guage & visual storytelling in a pro- 2 FACED DANCE: DREAMING IN CODE An career 20 years earlier. Stars Juliette Burton-upon-Trent duction for younger audiences. explosive double bill of works from Binoche & Kristen Stewart. Mon 8 Feb, Edge Arts Centre, Much DRACULA THE KISSES Entertaining Recommended for children aged award-winning choreographer three-plus, Sat 13 Feb, The REP, Tamsin Fitzgerald & Frantic Wenlock, Shropshire

Thursday 11th February at 7.30pm Friday 12th February at 7.30pm Saturday 13th February at 7.30pm Arena Collaborative Theatremakers DOUBLE BILL: BERT + LEARNED FRIEND

Black Country Touring Sophie Partridge LIFE AND SONG OF TIMES OF SEMMERSUAQ THE TAT MAN

Tickets £10, £8 Tickets: £5 Tickets: £10, £8

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thelist Monday 8 - Sunday 14 February SUFFRAGETTE (12a) A British drama, Ludlow Assembly Rooms, South Dudmaston Estate, Bridgnorth, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery set in 1912 and 1913, that tells the Shropshire; Sun 14 Feb, Wem Town Shropshire WOLVERHAMPTON SOCIETY OF ARTISTS story of the suffragette movement. Hall, North Shropshire LOVEBIRDS RE-OPENING WEEKEND The Biennial exhibition featuring a diverse Stars Carey Mulligan & Meryl Streep. re-opening weekend of Trentham range of styles, mediums and sub- Tues 9 Feb, Foxlowe Arts Centre, NEW FILMS ON GENERAL RELEASE: Monkey Forest, where visitors can ject matter, until Sat 27 Feb, Leek, Staffordshire see live bird displays and enjoy the Wolverhampton Art Gallery STAR WARS BEGAN 80 YEARS AGO! The Released Fri 12 Feb, showing at Owl Experience, Sat 13 - Sun 14 selected cinemas. TREES IN AUTUMN AND SPRING A pho- year 1936 saw the first great sci-fi Feb, Trentham Monkey Forest, tographic exhibition by Gunhild action hitting the silver screen in the Staffordshire Thomson, who documents the Flash Gordon serials. Star Wars was ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE ROAD DARWIN FESTIVAL 2016 A festival to changes to trees in Autumn and a homage to these exciting new films CHIP (U) inspire people with curiosity about Spring. Each series of photos is - it used their techniques, design and A BIGGER SPLASH (15) the natural world and awaken under- taken from the same point of view at whole style. If you love Star Wars, standing of the marvellous wildlife regular intervals over a set period of you’ll love spotting all the links to DEADPOOL (tbc) with which we share planet earth, Sat time, until Sat 27 Feb, Bilston Craft these classic 1930s movies. The CONCUSSION (15) 13 - Sun 14 Feb, in and around Gallery, Wolverhampton presentation includes a complete ODDBALL AND THE PENGUINS (tbc) Shrewsbury Town Centre episode of Buck Rogers, restored by STAFFORDSHIRE SOCIETY OF ARTISTS SFA from an original 35mm print. ZOOLANDER 2 (tbc) VALENTINE'S WEEKEND Sat 13 - Sun 14 Exhibition by the Staffordshire Feb, Wedgwood Museum, Stoke-on- Society of Artists which turns for Wed 10 Feb, Stoke Film Theatre THE GREEN INFERNO (18) Trent inspiration to Capability Brown’s THE WORLD OF ASTLEY BAKER DAVIES JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS (tbc) work in Staffordshire and beyond, (12a) Mark Baker and Neville Astley’s DRAGON HUNT Visitors are invited to NOBEL (tbc) help in the search for Ruby the Mon 1 - Sun 28 Feb, Weston Park, BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominat- Shifnal, Shropshire ed animations, including Peppa Pig, THE SURVIVALIST (tbc) Castle Dragon, Sat 13 - Fri 19 Feb, Tamworth Castle, Staffordshire EXHIBITION - RESONANCE Featuring are world famous. This programme WELCOME TO LEITH (tbc) brings together some of their best ANVILS & PETTICOATS: WOMEN IN new ceramic work by Stephen Dixon, See Film section for previews on p38 films for adults. Wed 10 Feb, The INDUSTRY Find out about the incredi- with complementary photography Hive, Shrewsbury, Shropshire ble history of women workers in this and film by Johnny Magee, all of which look at the ways in which the TESTAMENT OF YOUTH (15) A searing one-off half-term event which explores how women in industry Great War affected the Staffordshire story of love, war and remembrance, Events home front, Sat 6 - Wed 24 Feb, based on the First World War memoir changed the course of history, Sat 13 - Sun 21 Feb, Black Country Living Gladstone Pottery Museum, Stoke- by Vera Brittain which became the on-Trent classic testimony of war from a FRIDAY TWILIGHT MURDER MYSTERY - Museum, Dudley woman’s point of view. Stars Alicia ST VALENTINE’S MASSACRE Mow Cop FEBRUARY HALF-TERM FAMILY VALHALLA - LIFE AND DEATH IN VIKING Vikander & Kit Harington. Thurs 11 Players take you back to 1920s ACTIVITIES Sat 13 - Sun 21 Feb, Blists BRITAIN Featuring artefacts and Feb, Forest Arts Centre, Walsall America to help solve the mysterious Hill, Ironbridge, Shropshire human skeletons discovered at burial murder in the museum café, Fri 12 sites, alongside key findings from THEY WILL HAVE TO KILL US FIRST (15) FLIGHT WORKSHOPS Take part in inter- Feb, The Potteries Museum & Art archaeologists and the latest A powerful documentary following active activities and make your own Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent research into the lives of our Viking musicians in Mali in the wake of a rocket from the available craft materi- ancestors, Mon 8 Feb - Sun 5 June, MANSION WINTER TOURS Step back in jihadist takeover and the subsequent als, Sat 13 - Sun 21 Feb, Enginuity Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery ban on music. Thurs 11 Feb, Ludlow time to experience the site’s atmos- Museum, Ironbridge, Shropshire pheric rooms and discover stories Assembly Rooms, South Shropshire FEBRUARY HALF TERM AT DRAYTON from the lives of the people who lived JOY (12a) That’s ‘Joy’ as in ‘Joy MANOR Half-term fun at Thomas and worked there, Fri 12 - Sun 14 Mangano’, the remarkable woman Land, the 15-acre zoo and much Feb, Attingham Park, Shrewsbury who founded a business empire after more, Sat 13 - Sun 21 Feb, Drayton inventing the Miracle Mop. Stars PIRATE AND PRINCESS WEEK Head for Manor Theme Park, Staffordshire Alton Towers Resort this half term as Jennifer Lawrence & Robert De Niro. SPRING HAS SPRUNG! Welcome new they welcome Cook & Line from Fri 12 Feb, Festival Drayton Centre, life to the farm during the half-term CBeebies’ Swashbuckle, Fri 12 - Sun Market Drayton, Shropshire; Fri 12 - holiday, Sat 13 - Sun 21 Feb, 21 Feb, Alton Towers, Staffordshire Thu 18 Feb, mac, Birmingham National Forest Adventure Farm, BRIDGE OF SPIES (12a) The tense MCM MIDLANDS COMIC CON Sat 13 Staffordshire Feb, Telford International Centre negotiations over the recovery of U2 FEBRUARY HALF TERM AT WEDGEWOOD pilot Gary Powers in 1960s Berlin are VALENTINE’S ROMANTIC DINING Chance to make your own WORKS FROM TATE INTO THE GARMAN the real-life backdrop to this wonder- EVENING Dine in style with a four- Wedgwood Plaque using the tradi- RYAN COLLECTION As part of a three- fully uncynical thriller scripted by the course evening meal whilst travelling tional method of applied ornamenta- year partnership with Tate, the 2016 Coen brothers. Stars Tom Hanks & in one of the site’s period coaches, tion, Sat 13 - Sun 21 Feb, Interventions into The Garman Ryan Mark Rylance. Mon 15, Wed 17 & gently escorted into the night by the Wedgwood Museum, Stoke-on-Trent Collection are drawn from Tate's Thurs 18 Feb, Ludlow Assembly Valentine’s Steam Express, Sat 13 renowned collection, Thurs 11 Feb CHINESE NEW YEAR OF THE MONKEY Rooms, South Shropshire Feb, Churnet Valley Railway, 2016 - Sat 11 Feb 2017, The New Art Featuring traditional music and Staffordshire Gallery, Walsall SNOOPY & CHARLIE BROWN - THE dance, Chinese craft activities, PEANUTS MOVIE (U) Snoopy embarks FEBRUARY HALF-TERM TILE DECORATING Cantonese opera, tai chi demonstra- RECENT ACQUISITIONS PART 1: PEOPLE on his greatest mission as he and his WORKSHOPS Circus-themed drop-in tions and much more, Sun 14 Feb, AND ARTISTIC CONNECTIONS Premiere team take to the skies to pursue their tile decorating workshops, Sat 13 The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, of two works by Frank Auerbach, arch-nemesis. Meanwhile, his best Feb, Jackfield Tile Museum, Stoke-on-Trent showcased alongside the Garman pal Charlie Brown begins his own Ironbridge, Shropshire Ryan Shroud, by Birmingham-based epic quest back home to win the love artist Sarah Taylor Silverwood, Thurs of his life. Mon 15 - Tues 16 Feb, 11 Feb - Sat 16 July, The New Art Festival Drayton Centre, Market Visual Arts Gallery, Walsall Drayton, Shropshire NEW ART WEST MIDLANDS 2016 THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK (15) A film Exhibition of works by graduates FRAGMENTS A thought-provoking by Robert Epstein and Richard from various West Midlands art three-dimensional installation by Schmiechen. A documentary about schools, Fri 12 Feb - Sun 15 May, Tracey Cartlidge and Danusha the successful career and assassina- Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery Komar that reflects a sense of the tion of San Francisco's first elected and Sat 13 Feb - Sun 10 Apr, mac, beauty and fragility of human and gay councillor. The movie inspired Birmingham other organic forms, until Sat 13 Feb, the film, Milk, with Sean Penn. Sun THE BRITISH FLY FAIR INTERNATIONAL Foxlowe Arts Centre, Leek TREASURES FROM THE GLASS 14 Feb, The Hive, Shrewsbury Sat 13 - Sun 14 Feb, Staffordshire COLLECTION A display of the weird ENCHANTED DREAMS The first ever DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (PG) An epic County Showground and wonderful items from the Dudley exhibition to be dedicated to Pre- romance set against the backdrop of SNOWDROP WALKS Enjoy the great Museum collection, Sat 13 Feb - Sat Raphaelite artist Edward Robert the Russian Revolution. Stars Omar outdoors with a walk through the 31 Dec, Dudley Museum and Art Hughes, until Sun 21 Feb, Sharif & Julie Christie, Sun 14 Feb, Dingle woods, Sat 13 - Sun 14 Feb, Gallery

58 whatsonlive.co.uk The List 8-14 Feb - SHROP/ST/WOL FINAL ONLY MASTER.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 16:03 Page 4

FEBRUARY HIGHLIGHTS

3 February, 12.30pm Dr Jane MacKay: Literature Talk John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’ Tickets £6

4 February, 8pm Justin Moorhouse: Destiny Calling

Tickets £14

6 February, 7.30pm Robert Adcock Drama Services Ltd Are You Chicken?

Tickets £6 Adults, £4 Children

12 February, 7.30pm Gerard Logan Wilde Without The Boy

Pay What You Think It’s Worth

16 - 20 February, 7.30pm Tue, Thurs, Fri & Sat 6.30pm Wed, 2.30pm Thurs Burton Amateur Stage Entertainers: The Sleeping Beauty Tickets £11 Adults, £10 Conc. £36 Family of 4

24 February, 7pm Burton Inclusive Performing Arts: An Evening Of Variety And Pure Entertainment

Tickets £5

25 February, 8pm The Noise Next Door: Noise In The Hood

Tickets £13

26 February, 8pm tHe mAdHoUSe presents: Lowri Evans

Tickets £10, £12 On The Door

27 February, 8pm Faustus

Tickets £12, £14 On The Door

Brewhouse Arts Centre, Union Street, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire DE14 1AA Box office: 01283 508100. www.brewhouse.co.uk

whatsonlive.co.uk 59 The List 15-21 Feb - SHROP/ST/WOL MASTER VERSION.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 16:05 Page 1

thelist Monday 15 - Sunday 21 February CBSO YOUTH ORCHESTRA: Classical Music RACHMANINOV'S SECOND Featuring Jac van Steen (conductor). Programme includes the works of Prokofiev and PETER DONOHOE CELEBRITY PIANO Rachmaninov, Sun 21 Feb, RECITAL Programme includes works Symphony Hall, Birmingham by Scriabin, Schubert, Beethoven and UNLIMITED VOICES PRESENT THE GREAT Brahms, Tues 16 Feb, Birmingham SONGS OF MUSICAL THEATRE Sun 21 Conservatoire Feb, Birmingham Town Hall AISHA ORAZBAYEVA AND JOSEPH CARDUCCI STRING QUARTET: I Featuring HOUSTON Programme comprises Collin Carr (cello). Programme Feldman For John Cage, Tues 16 includes works by Haydn, Dvorak and Feb, Bramall Music Building, Schubert, Sun 21 Feb, Maidment University of Birmingham Hall, Shrewsbury School JOEL SACHS Programme comprises WURLITZER THEATRE ORGAN CONCERTS Cage Sonatas and Interludes for pre- Sun 21 Feb, The Buttermarket, pared piano, Tues 16 Feb, Bramall Shrewsbury Music Building, University of Lucy Spraggan , O2 Academy, Birmingham, Fri 19 February & The Sugarmill, Birmingham Stoke-on-Trent, Sat 20 February TCHAIKOVSKY’S SIXTH Featuring City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Robin, Bilston CASH (PAYIN' RESPECT Comedy Gigs Rafael Payare (conductor) and Alisa TO THE MAN IN BLACK) Gigs PAUL CARRACK Fri 19 Weilerstein (cello). Programme Sat 20 Feb, O2 Feb, Victoria Hall, includes works by Berlioz, Prokofiev, JIMEOIN Wed 17 Feb, Birmingham Stoke-on-Trent Academy, Birmingham Town Hall PARKWAY DRIVE Mon 15 Sinfonia and Tchaikovsky, Wed 17 LUCY SPRAGGAN Sat 20 Feb, O2 Academy, GRETCHEN PETERS Fri 19 Feb, Symphony Hall, Birmingham TONY LAW Wed 17 Feb, The Glee Feb, The Sugarmill, Birmingham Feb, Artrix, Bromsgrove EMMA JOHNSON & MOZART'S CLARINET Club, Birmingham Stoke-on-Trent NATHANIEL RATELIFF AND FOALS Fri 19 Feb, CONCERTO Featuring David Curtis BRIAN CONLEY Thurs 18 Feb, Stafford FAT WHITE FAMILY Sat THE NIGHT SWEATS Mon Barclaycard Arena, (conductor). Programme includes Gatehouse Theatre 20 Feb, O2 Institute, 15 Feb, O2 Institute, Birmingham works by Gluck, Fauré, Haydn and ROGER MONKHOUSE, JOHN HASTINGS & Birmingham Mozart, Wed 17 Feb, Birmingham Birmingham ATOMIC BLONDIE & THE COMEDY CAROUSEL WITH ANDY RAFAEL SERRALLET Sat Town Hall MIKEY BROMLEY Mon 15 BOWIE EXPERIENCE Fri ROBINSON Thurs 18 Feb, The Glee 20 Feb, Ludlow Feb, O2 Institute, 19 Feb, The Place, FIDELIO TRIO Featuring Darragh Club, Birmingham Assembly Rooms, Birmingham Oakengates Theatre, Morgan (violin), Adi Tal (cello) and ED BYRNE Fri 19 Feb, Birmingham Shropshire Shropshire Mary Dullea (piano). Programme Town Hall THE BIG CHRIS BARBER includes Alasdair Nicolson Half Told LUCY SPRAGGAN Fri 19 BLACK PEAKS Sat 20 BAND Mon 15 Feb, New Tales, Judith Weir Piano Trio Two, JENNY ECLAIR Fri 19 Feb, Stafford Feb, O2 Academy, Feb, The Asylum, Vic Theatre, Newcastle- Luke Bedford Chiaroscuro, Scott Gatehouse Theatre Birmingham Birmingham under-Lyme. Wilson New work (premiere), Michael ADAM BLOOM, LUKE HONNORATY, TONY FLOWERS Sat 20 Feb, FATHERSON Mon 15 CATAPULT CLUB FEAT. THE Zev Gordon In the Middle of Things, JAMESON & CHRIS PURCHASE Fri 19 The Rainbow Venues, Feb, The Rainbow YOUNG Fri 19 Feb, O2 Wed 17 Feb, The Barber Institute, Feb, Lichfield Garrick Academy, Birmingham Birmingham Venues, Birmingham University of Birmingham JO CAULFIELD, ROGER MONKHOUSE, DAVE NEWTON TRIO Sat THE LEGENDS OF RYLEY WALKER & DANNY PIANO SHOWCASE Featuring György MICKEY SHARMA & JOHN HASTINGS Fri 20 Feb, The Hive, AMERICAN COUNTRY THOMPSON Fri 19 Feb, Hodozsó (piano) and Csabay 19 - Sat 20 Feb, The Glee Club, Shrewsbury Mon 15 Feb, The The Rainbow Venues, Domonkos (piano). Programme fea- Birmingham Birmingham PORTAL 2ND BIRTHDAY - Robin, Bilston tures Liszt Variations of Weinen, ROFL! COMEDY CLUB - ACTS TBC Sat 20 AMNESIA IBIZA TOUR Sat HUE AND CRY Tues 16 THE DUBLIN LEGENDS Fri Klagen, Sorgen, Zager and the works Feb, The Old Post Office, Burton- 20 Feb, The Rainbow Feb, The Robin, Bilston 19 Feb, Lichfield of Schubert, Wed 17 Feb, upon-Trent Garrick Venues, Birmingham Birmingham Conservatoire BARS AND MELODY Wed COMEDY IN THE MET - ACTS TBC Sat 20 THE BILLY FURY YEARS 17 Feb, O2 Academy, DAVID RODIGAN'S CBSO RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN Feb, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre RAMJAM Fri 19 Feb, Sun 21 Feb, Featuring Martin Yates (conductor) Birmingham RICH HALL Sun 21 Feb, Theatre The Rainbow Venues, Wolverhampton Grand and University of Birmingham Voices. PETE KENT Wed 17 Feb, Severn, Shrewsbury Birmingham Theatre Programme includes songs from The Robin, Bilston CIRQUE DU SOUL MAZ O'CONNOR Sun 21 Oklahoma!, The King and I, The FRANK CARTER AND THE Sound Of Music and more, Fri 19 PRESENT TODDLA T Fri Feb, Henry Tudor RATTLESNAKES Wed 17 Feb, Symphony Hall, Birmingham 19 Feb, The Rainbow House, Shrewsbury Feb, The Sugarmill, Venues, Birmingham THALLEIN PLUS - 8 WORLDS PREMIERES Stoke-on-Trent THE BOSS + BRYAN Following last year's highly successful RUNRIG Thurs 18 Feb, project. Thallein Ensemble are here ADAMS EXPERIENCE Fri Symphony Hall, joined by a number of the UK's lead- 19 Feb, The Robin, Birmingham ing contemporary music performers Bilston in a concert of world premieres from RHINO'S REVENGE Sat 20 Birmingham Conservatoire com- Feb, The Slade Rooms, posers, Fri 19 Feb, Birmingham Wolverhampton Conservatoire HALSEY Sat 20 Feb, O2 FINAL PROJECTS ORCHESTRA Featuring Academy, Birmingham Lucinda Scott (soprano) and Connor ALLISON WEISS Sat 20 HEATHER SMALL Sun 21 Wilcox (piano). Programme includes Feb, O2 Institute, Feb, Prince Of Wales the works of Ravel and Beethoven, Fri Birmingham Centre, Cannock 19 Feb, Birmingham Conservatoire PAUL CARRACK Sat 20 E OF E Sun 21 Feb, The BIRMINGHAM CONTEMPORARY MUSIC MYSTERY JETS Thurs 18 Feb, Symphony Hall, Slade Rooms, Wolves GROUP Featuring Richard Baker (con- Feb, O2 Institute, Birmingham BEFORE THE DAWN Sun ductor), Lucy Schaufer (mezzo sopra- Birmingham BARRY STEELE AS ROY 21 Feb, The River no) and Christopher Yates (viola). JESSE MALIN Thurs 18 ORBISON Sat 20 Feb, Rooms, Stourbridge Programme includes works by Berio, Feb, O2 Institute, Tansy Davies, Judith Weir, Feldman, The Place, Oakengates THE JOHNNY WINTER Birmingham Richard Baker, Michael Sev Gorden, Theatre, Shropshire EXPERIENCE FEATURING and various other composers, Sat 20 WILLE & THE BANDITS DEL BROMHAM Sun 21 RAY QUINN Sat 20 Feb, Feb, Bramall Music Building, Thurs 18 Feb, The Feb, The Robin, Bilston Lichfield Garrick Birmingham

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Monday 15 - Sunday 21 February

the classic novel, Wed 17 - Sat 20 Lichfield Garrick Theatre Feb, Festival Drayton, Market CIRCUS OF HORRORS The Britain's Got Film Drayton, North Shropshire Talent finalists are back on the road SINGLE SPIES Nicholas Farrell (The with a show ruled by the undead and DOCTOR FAUSTUS Maria Aberg returns Lady In The Van), Belinda Lang climaxing in an awesome flaming INDEPENDENT LISTINGS: to the RSC to direct Marlowe's notori- (2point4 Children) and David Robb apocalypse, Sat 20 Feb, Victoria Hall, SONG OF THE SEA (U) In this enchanti- ous tale of vanity, greed and damna- (Downton Abbey) star in Rachel Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent ng animated family film, rich in Irish tion, Thurs 4 Feb - Thurs 4 Aug, The Kavanagh's staging of Alan Bennett's folklore, brother and sister Ben and Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon FIFTY SHADES OF BEIGE A poignant comedy masterpiece, Wed 17 - Sat but uplifting comedy from All & Saoirse encounter selkies, faeries, COUNT DUCKULA & THE JEWELS OF 27 Feb, The REP, Birmingham Sundry, Sat 20 - Sun 21 Feb, Artrix, and witches in their epic journey to DUCKULA Join Duckula, Nanny and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM: A PLAY Bromsgrove save the spirit world. Mon 15 Feb, Igor in a race to find the treasure in a FOR THE NATION A co-production Mitchell Arts Centre, Stoke-on-Trent show packed with songs, games and between the Royal Shakespeare SLOW WEST (15) A young Scottish tons of fun - perfect entertainment for Company and amateur theatre com- man travels across America in pur- all the family, Mon 15 Feb, Theatre panies across the UK, Wed 17 Feb - Dance suit of the woman he loves, attracting Severn, Shrewsbury Sat 5 Mar, Royal Shakespeare the attention of an outlaw who is will- THE LOST THINGS Tortoise In A Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon ing to serve as a guide. Stars Nutshell & Oliver Emanuel present a ASHTON DOUBLE BILL Birmingham Michael Fassbender and Ben ALADDIN JNR Amateur production pre- Royal Ballet present a programme of dark fairytale set in a fantastical sented by Viv Kelly Children's Mendelsohn, Mon 15 Feb, Edge Arts world where nothing is quite as it one-act ballets celebrating one of Centre, Much Wenlock, Shropshire Theatre Group, Thurs 18 - Sat 20 England's most influential choreogra- seems, Mon 15 - Tues 16 Feb, Feb, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS Lichfield Garrick phers, Wed 17 - Sat 20 Feb, MOTHER GOOSE Castle Players pres- Birmingham Hippodrome (U) Amateur inventor Flint REHEARSAL FOR MURDER New produc- ent a classic tale for all the family, Lockwood’s latest invention trans- tion of Agatha Christie’s classic Thurs 18 - Sat 20 Feb, Sparc forms water into food, much to the thriller starring Robert Daws & Amy Theatre, Bishops Castle, Shropshire surprise of the residents of his home- Robbins, Mon 15 - Sat 20 Feb, town. Mon 15 Feb, Mitchell Arts Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent BUGSY MALONE Amateur production Centre, Stoke-on-Trent presented by Starcross Youth SLEEPING BEAUTY Presented by Theatre, Thurs 18 - Sat 20 Feb, VERTIGO (PG) James Stewart and Kim Burton Amateur Stage Entertainers, Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton Novak star in Alfred Hitchcock’s sus- Tues 16 Feb, Brewhouse Arts Centre, penseful 1958 psychological thriller. Burton-upon-Trent THE MIGHTY PRINCE AND OTHER FABU- Tues 16 Feb, Mitchell Arts Centre, LOUS TALES Two performers, five sto- Stoke-on-Trent HOW THE KOALA LEARNT TO HUG Off- ries and a host of bugs, birds, ani- the-wall family musical based on the mals and magical creatures!, Fri 19 THE DARK HORSE (15) The inspiring best-selling book by Steven Lee, Feb, Wem Town Hall, North true story based on the life of Tues 16 Feb, The Place, Oakengates Shropshire Genesis Potini, a charismatic and Theatre, Shropshire A CHILD'S DREAM Birmingham Royal brilliant New Zealand hero and chess SAL TONGUE: PLAYING WITH WORDS KITE The Wrong Crowd theatre com- Ballet present an adaptation of champion who battled severe bipolar Join Shropshire’s favourite storyteller Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s disorder. Tues 16 Feb, Foxlowe Arts pany present a new play without for a morning of songs, tales and words featuring originally composed Dream, specially created for children Centre, Leek, Staffordshire taratiddles, Fri 19 Feb, Ludlow aged between three and seven, Fri music, dance, puppetry and, of Assembly Rooms, South Shropshire SNOOPY & CHARLIE BROWN - THE course, kites. Inspired by the world 19 Feb, Birmingham Hippodrome PEANUTS MOVIE (U) Snoopy embarks of indoor kite flying and stories such MY DEAREST GIRLS Francesca Millican BRENDAN COLE: A NIGHT TO REMEMBER upon his greatest mission as he and as The Snowman and The Red Slater’s warm and witty storytelling, Brand new offering from the Strictly his team take to the skies to pursue Balloon, Tues 16 - Wed 17 Feb, The featuring live music and a touch of star which brings together ballroom their arch-nemesis. Meanwhile, his REP, Birmingham cabaret, Fri 19 Feb, Little Wenlock magic and Latin excitement in what's best pal Charlie Brown begins his Village Hall, Shropshire AVENUE Q Tony Award-winning musi- described as a 'must-see show', Sun own epic quest back home to win cal that centres on a group of love- CHIP SHOP CHIPS An immersive love 21 Feb, Regent Theatre, Stoke-on- the love of his life. Mon 15 & Wed 17 able yet hopeless characters on a story set in a chippy, Fri 19 Feb, Trent Feb, Wem Town Hall, North downtown New York street, Tues 16 - Silverster Horne Institute, Church Shropshire; Thurs 18 - Fri 19, Ludlow Sat 20 Feb, Theatre Severn, Stretton, South Shropshire and Sat Assembly Rooms, South Shropshire. Shrewsbury 20 Feb, Quatt Village Hall, Nr ANNIE (PG) Academy Award nominee Bridgnorth, South Shropshire IMPOSSIBLE The world's greatest illu- Quvenzhane Wallis stars as Annie, a sionists live on stage in a magic PRINCESS IDA Walsall Gilbert & happy young foster kid who's also spectacular, Tues 16 - Sat 20 Feb, Sullivan Society present a powerful tough enough to make her way on New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham story about the early struggle for uni- the streets of New York in 2014. Wed versal suffrage, Fri 19 - Sat 20 Feb, 17 Feb, Forest Arts Centre, Walsall POCKET DREAM Propeller present a Forest Arts Centre, Walsall 60-minute adaptation of THE GOOD DINOSAUR (PG) An animated Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's CINDER-ELLA Krazy Kat fuse imagina- adventure about a dinosaur who Dream, Wed 17 - Thurs 18 Feb, tive storytelling, sign language and finds himself lost in the wilderness, Lichfield Garrick visual storytelling in a production for and who must face his fears in order younger audiences. Recommended to find his way back home. Mon 15 - TREASURE ISLAND Rollicking, seafar- for children aged 3 plus, Sat 20 Feb, Tues 16 Feb, Festival Drayton Centre, ing, fun-filled pantomime, based on Market Drayton, Shropshire; Mon 15 - Tues 16 Feb, Ludlow Assembly Talks Rooms, South Shropshire THE BIG KNIGHTS (U) The adventures NOW YOU SEE IT - NOW YOU DON'T: THE of Sir Boris (the finest swordsman in Fiddler On The Roof ART OF VISUAL DECEPTION Be sur- the world), Sir Morris (not the finest prised, amazed and amused in this swordsman in the world, but the Bridgnorth Sports & Leisure Centre, Bridgnorth, Shropshire, fascinating talk on visual deception, Tues 16 - Sat 20 February most enthusiastic) and their noble Mon 15 Feb, RAF Cosford, pets, Sir Horace the Dog and Sir Shropshire Set in Tsarist Russia in 1905, the story of Fiddler On The Roof centres Doris the Hamster. From the makers on the character of Tevye - the father of five daughters - and his desper- THE MIGHTY PHANTOM: PERSONAL of Peppa Pig. Thurs 18 Feb, Foxlowe ate attempts to maintain his family and religious traditions even as out- RECOLLECTIONS OF THE F-4 DURING THE Arts Centre, Leek, Staffordshire side influences encroach on their lives. COLD WAR Air Commodore (ret'd) Dr MINIONS (U) Minions evolve through Peter Gray of the University of First produced for the stage in 1964, Fiddler is best known from its 1971 the ages, perpetually serving the Birmingham discusses ‘The Mighty movie incarnation, starring Topol in the title role. Hit songs include most despicable of masters. Phantom: Personal Recollections of Continuously unsuccessful at keep- Matchmaker, Matchmaker and the hugely famous If I Were A Rich Man. the F-4 during the Cold War', Fri 19 This version is presented by Bridgnorth Musical Theatre Company. ing these masters, the Minions find Feb, RAF Cosford, Shropshire themselves without someone to

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thelist Monday 15 - Sunday 21 February serve and fall into a deep depres- painting, Mon 15 - Fri 19 Feb, rocket, to fly to the moon and back, matter, until Sat 27 Feb, sion... Thurs 18 Feb, Forest Arts National Memorial Arboretum, Sat 20 Feb, The Potteries Museum & Wolverhampton Art Gallery Centre, Walsall Staffordshire Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent TREES IN AUTUMN AND SPRING A pho- INSIDE OUT (U) After young Riley is HAVE A GO KIDS ARCHERY AND SHIELD SNOWDROP WALKS Enjoy the great tographic exhibition by Gunhild uprooted from her midwest life and PAINTING Mon 15 - Fri 19 Feb, outdoors with a walk through the Thomson, who documents the moved to San Francisco, her emo- Stokesay Castle, South Shropshire Dingle woods, Sat 20 - Sun 21 Feb, changes to trees in Autumn and tions - Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and AIRFIX MAKE AND TAKE Make a 1:72 de Dudmaston Estate, Bridgnorth, Spring. Each series of photos is Sadness - conflict on how best to Havilland Mosquito Airfix kit, Mon 15 Shropshire taken from the same point of view at navigate a new city, house and - Fri 19 Feb, RAF Cosford, THE CLASSIC DIRT BIKE SHOW Traders regular intervals over a set period of school, Fri 19 Feb, Forest Arts Shropshire and jumble sellers come together to time, until Sat 27 Feb, Bilston Craft Centre, Walsall Gallery, Wolverhampton FEBRUARY HALF-TERM: TILE offer parts, pieces and spares for LEVIATHAN (15) An extraordinary, epic DECORATING WORKSHOPS Circus- nearly every project, alongside riding STAFFORDSHIRE SOCIETY OF ARTISTS tale of contemporary conflict: Kolya themed drop-in tile decorating work- gear, clothing and accessories, Sat Exhibition by the Staffordshire employs a lawyer to fight for his shops, Mon 15 - Sat 20 Feb, 20 - Sun 21 Feb, Telford International Society of Artists which turns for rights - but this is just the start of his Jackfield Tile Museum, Ironbridge, Centre, Shropshire inspiration to Capability Brown’s nightmare, as he confronts the cor- Shropshire work in Staffordshire and beyond, rupt power of the Russian state. Fri Mon 1 - Sun 28 Feb, Weston Park, 19 Feb, The Hive, Shrewsbury TOBY JUG Make your own clay mug, Shifnal, Shropshire inspired by the Toby jug collection in IN THE HEART OF THE SEA (12a) A his- the museum, Tues 16 - Thurs 18, The EXHIBITION - RESONANCE Featuring torical seafaring tale in which a Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, new ceramic work by Stephen Dixon whaler and its crew encounter a Stoke-on-Trent alongside complementary photogra- huge white sperm whale. Stars Chris phy and film by Johnny Magee, all of Hemsworth & Benjamin Walker. Sun KITE CHAOS! Make a kite to fly in the which look at the ways in which the 21 - Mon 22 Feb, Ludlow Assembly valley, Tues 16 - Thurs 18 Feb, Great War affected the Staffordshire Rooms South Shropshire Carding Mill Valley & The Shropshire THE DIESEL AND ELECTRIC SHOW: THE home front, Sat 6 - Wed 24 Feb, Hills, Shropshire BEST OF DIESEL ERA MODELLING Sat 20 Gladstone Pottery Museum, Stoke- BIG BUGS AT BANTOCK Enter the tiny - Sun 21 Feb, Telford International on-Trent NEW FILMS ON GENERAL RELEASE: world of bugs and learn how to make Centre, Shropshire VALHALLA - LIFE AND DEATH IN VIKING Released Fri 19 Feb, showing at your own creepy crawly friends to RECORD & CD FAIR A new event for BRITAIN Featuring artefacts and selected cinemas. take home, Wed 17 Feb, Bantock lovers of vinyl, cds, and music mem- human skeletons discovered at burial THE FINEST HOURS (tbc) House & Park, Wolverhampton orabilia, Sun 21 Feb, The Robin, sites, presented alongside key find- FREEHELD (12a) AIRFIX SCALING DOWN REALITY Join Bilston ings from archaeologists and the lat- Simon Owen, lead researcher at est research into the lives of our HOW TO BE SINGLE (tbc) DUB FREEZE Sun 21 Feb, Staffordshire Hornby Hobbies Ltd, for an insight County Showground Viking ancestors, Mon 8 Feb - Sun 5 TRIPLE NINE (tbc) into the fascinating world of Airfix, June, Shrewsbury Museum & Art FRIENDS OF A FEATHER An event for all BONE TOMAHAWK (18) Wed 17 Feb, RAF Cosford, Gallery Shropshire nature lovers and little ones. Make a THE BOY (tbc) nest box to take home, see owls and SNOWDROP EVENING WALKS See the CHRONIC (15) other birds of prey, make bird feed- woodlands transformed by hundreds ers and learn how to identify different MAVIS! (tbc) of candles and fairy lights. Then, at bird species in your garden, Sun 21 ORTHODOX (tbc) the end, treat yourself to a cup of Feb, The Dorothy Clive Garden, mulled wine and step into the Clive, North Shropshire See Film section for previews on p40 warmth of the Bothy, Thurs 18 - Sat 20 Feb, Attingham Park, Shropshire WEDDING FAYRE Featuring local exhibitors, including photographers, THE NATIONAL FRANCHISE EXHIBITION suit hire, wedding cakes and more, Showcasing a huge range of national WORKS FROM TATE INTO THE GARMAN Events Sun 21 Feb, The Snowdome, RYAN COLLECTION As part of a three- franchise opportunities - an ideal Tamworth platform for anyone looking to run year partnership with Tate, the 2016 DESTINATION SPACE: FAMILY SHOW their own business, Fri 19 - Sat 20 Interventions into The Garman Ryan Explore what life is like for the entire Feb, NEC, Birmingham Collection are drawn from Tate's space crew in a family show celebrat- renowned collection, Thurs 11 Feb MANSION WINTER TOURS Step back in ing astronaut Tim Peake’s mission to Visual Arts 2016 - Sat 11 Feb 2017, The New Art time to experience the site’s atmos- the International Space Station, Mon Gallery, Walsall pheric rooms and discover stories of 15 - Fri 19 Feb, Thinktank at the Berwicks, who lived there. Find ENCHANTED DREAMS The first ever RECENT ACQUISITIONS PART 1: PEOPLE Millennium Point, Birmingham out about the work that’s been done exhibition to be dedicated to Pre- AND ARTISTIC CONNECTIONS Premiere SPACE BUGGIES Join the space crew to rescue and restore the John Nash Raphaelite artist Edward Robert of two works by Frank Auerbach, engineering team to design and build roof, Fri 19 - Sun 21 Feb, Attingham Hughes, until Sun 21 Feb, showcased alongside the Garman a space buggy to send to the Moon, Park, Shropshire Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery Ryan Shroud, by Birmingham-based Mon 15 - Fri 19 Feb, Thinktank at artist Sarah Taylor Silverwood, Thurs DSLR PHOTOGRAPHY FOR BEGINNERS A Millennium Point, Birmingham 11 Feb - Sat 16 July, The New Art concise four-week beginner’s intro- Gallery, Walsall HALF TERM FUN Craft activities, nature duction to you DSLR camera, Sat 20 trails and plenty of fun and games... Feb, Birmingham Botanical Gardens NEW ART WEST MIDLANDS 2016 Mon 15 - Fri 19 Feb, Birmingham Exhibition of works by graduates APPLE GRAFTING COURSE Learn the Botanical Gardens from various West Midlands art skills needed to graft your own apple schools, Fri 12 Feb - Sun 15 May, TO SPACE AND BACK Featuring talks tree, Sat 20 Feb, Fordhall Organic Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery from spaceflight writer Phill Parker, Farm, Shropshire and Sat 13 Feb - Sun 10 Apr, mac, plus a rare opportunity to wear DISCOVER YOUR IRISH FAMILY HISTORY Birmingham signed astronaut gear, Mon 15 - Fri Lectures from genealogy expert 19 Feb, The Potteries Museum & Art TREASURES FROM THE GLASS Maggie Loughran on how to discover Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent COLLECTION A display of weird and your Irish family history, Sat 20 Feb, wonderful works from the Dudley HALF-TERM CERAMIC CRAFTS Fun Birmingham Back to Backs Museum collection, Sat 13 Feb - Sat ceramic drop-in workshops where WILDWATCH GROUP: SNOWDROPS 31 Dec, Dudley Museum and Art visitors can have a go at clay model- Activities and walks for children, as Gallery ling and painting on ceramics, Mon well as a chance to discover the 15 - Fri 19 Feb, Coalport China BIG CERAMICS: DISCOVER CLAY ON A wildlife at the Arboretum, Sat 20 Feb, Museum, Ironbridge, Shropshire MONUMENTAL SCALE Bringing together National Memorial Aboretum, eight ceramicists who use clay to FEBRUARY HALF-TERM HOLIDAY Staffordshire create ambitious objects, Sat 20 Feb ACTIVITIES Turn your hand to fossil, WOLVERHAMPTON SOCIETY OF ARTISTS INTERGALACTIC CRUISERS Make a - Sat 28 May, Wolverhampton Art bird & kite making as well as stone Biennial exhibition featuring a diverse speedy spaceship or a zooming range of styles, mediums and subject Gallery 62 whatsonlive.co.uk The List 15-21 Feb - SHROP/ST/WOL MASTER VERSION.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 16:05 Page 4

whatsonlive.co.uk 63 The List 22-28 Feb - SHROP/ST/WOL ONLY MASTER VERSION.qxp_Layout 1 25/01/2016 16:25 Page 1

thelist Monday 22 - Sunday 28 February Beethoven, Sat 27 Feb, Ludlow Classical Music Assembly Rooms, South Shropshire CHAMBER MUSIC NIGHT Featuring the Flute Choir and Clarinet Choir, Sat 27 QUATUOR ZAIDE Programme includes Feb, The Barber Institute, University the works of Haydn, Shostakovich, of Birmingham Francesca Verunelli and Mendelssohn, Mon 22 Feb, BIRMINGHAM CATHEDRAL Birmingham Town Hall TERCENTENARY FESTIVAL OF VOICES (THE 20TH CENTURY) Discover the LUNCHTIME ORGAN CONCERT - THOMAS musical richness and heritage of TROTTER Mon 22 Feb, Birmingham Birmingham Cathedral in The Festival Town Hall of Voices to celebrate the cathedral's HARMONIEBAND Featuring Benjamin tercentenary. The festival will com- Farrar (conductor). Programme plete its series with a 20th century Wet Wet Wet at Genting Arena in Birmingham on 26 February includes Mozart Serenade in B flat, concert at the cathedral, Sat 27 Feb, ‘Gran Partita’, Mon 22 Feb, Bramall Birmingham Cathedral Theatre On The Steps, TORI KELLY Sat 27 Feb, Music Building, Birmingham ST DAVID'S DAY CONCERT Featuring the Bridgnorth, Shropshire O2 Institute, B’ham Gigs SCHUBERT FESTIVAL With five concerts Colwyn Male Voice Choir and Hogia'r JESS GLYNNE Fri 26 JEZ LOWE & STEVE each day, students and staff explore Ddwylan Male Voice Choir. Line-up Feb, O2 Academy, TILSTON Sat 27 Feb, the diverse richness of Schubert’s CLARE TEAL AND HER also includes Dylan Cernyw Birmingham Newhampton Arts music, Mon 22 - Fri 26 Feb, TRIO Mon 22 Feb, New (Harpist), Charlie Lovell-Jones Centre, Wolverhampton Birmingham Conservatoire Vic Theatre, Newcastle- ULRICH SCHNAUSS Fri (Violinist) and compere Dilwyn Price, under-Lyme 26 Feb, The Rainbow PETE OXLEY AND CBSO BENJAMIN GROSVENOR: GRIEG Sat 27 Feb, Theatre Severn, Venues, Birmingham NICOLAS MEIER Sat 27 Featuring Jac van Steen Shrewsbury THE SHERLOCKS Mon 22 Feb, Lichfield Guildhall (Conductor). Programme includes Feb, The Sugarmill, ALEX OHM Fri 26 Feb, TOSCA Ellen Kent Opera present works by Elgar, Grieg and Brahms, Stoke-on-Trent O2 Institute, B’ham FAUSTUS Sat 27 Feb, Puccini's tale of love and treachery. The Brewhouse Arts Wed 24 Feb, Symphony Hall, Sung in Italian with English surtitles, SECTION BOYZ Mon 22 HUNTER AND THE BEAR Centre, Burton upon Birmingham Sun 28 Feb, New Alexandra Theatre, Feb, O2 Institute, Fri 26 Feb, Foxlowe Trent TRIO SEVERN Featuring Zoë Beyers Birmingham Birmingham Arts Centre, Leek, Staffordshire WOLVERHAMPTON (violin), David Powell (cello), Robert SHREWSBURY SCHOOL PRESENTS TWENTY ONE PILOTS Markham (piano). Programme VERDI'S REQUIEM Featuring guest LETS TWIST AGAIN Fri 26 BLUES, RHYTHM & ROCK Tues 23 Feb, O2 includes the works by Beethoven, soloists Claire Morris, Rebecca Feb, Theatre Severn, FESTIVAL Sat 27 Feb, Academy, Birmingham Thurs 25 Feb, CBSO Centre, B’ham Afonwy-Jones, Gareth Dafydd Morris Shrewsbury The Slade Rooms, GOGO PENGUIN Tues 23 Wolverhampton STAR WARS & BEYOND - A SPACE & Jonathan May, Sun 28 Feb, TONIGHT ALIVE Fri 26 Feb, The Glee Club, SPECTACULAR Featuring Anthony Birmingham Town Hall Feb, O2 Institute, THE COMMANDMENTS Birmingham Inglis (conductor) and London Birmingham Sat 27 Feb, The River Concert Orchestra. Programme WALK THE MOON Tues Rooms, Stourbridge 23 Feb, O2 Institute, OUT OF TIME.. MOD includes works of John Williams, REACH OUT TO MOTOWN Birmingham NIGHT Fri 26 Feb, Holst, Strauss and more... Fri 26 Feb, Dance - A CELEBRATION OF 50 Newhampton Arts Symphony Hall, Birmingham WILSON Tues 23 Feb, Centre, Wolverhampton YEARS OF MOTOWN Sat The Slade Rooms, 27 Feb, The Robin, HARRY BICKET AND THE ENGLISH ROMEO AND JULIET BRB present Wolverhampton CATAPULT CLUB FEAT. Bilston CONCERT PERFORM HANDEL'S ORLANDO Kenneth MacMillan’s best-loved BLUE NATION - ‘STEADY Featuring Carolyn Sampson and adaptation of this famous play to THE JAMES BROTHERS SAX IN THE CITY: THE YOUR SOUL’ ALBUM Lestyn Davies in the title role, Fri 26 continue Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Wed 24 Feb, Ludlow NOTEBENDERS Sat 27 LAUNCH Fri 26 Feb, O2 Feb, Birmingham Town Hall 2016 Shakespeare celebration, Wed Assembly Rooms, Feb, Symphony Hall, Academy, Birmingham 24 - Sat 27 Feb, Birmingham South Shropshire Birmingham THE ALMA GUITAR QUARTET LOWRI EVENS Fri 26 Comprising Hannah Woollacott, Hippodrome EWAN MCLENNAN Wed BRITISH SEA POWER Feb, The Brewhouse Sat Brexwedan Kockaya, Jonnie 24 Feb, The Red Lion Arts Centre, Burton 27 Feb, Birmingham Cumming and Rowan McConkey, Folk Club, Birmingham upon Trent Town Hall who perform a broad repertoire rang- INGLORIOUS Wed 24 WHALEBONE Fri 26 Feb, SABATON & ALESTORM ing from early baroque arrangements Feb, The Robin, Bilston The Edge Arts Centre, Sun 28 Feb, O2 to early 20th century works and pop- THE BLUES BAND Thurs Much Wenlock, Academy, Birmingham ular music from South America and 25 Feb, The Robin, Shropshire LEONA LEWIS Sun 28 Cuba, Fri 26 Feb, Birmingham Bilston Conservatoire VOULEZ VOUS Fri 26 - Feb, Symphony Hall, FUN LOVIN' CRIMINALS Sat 27 Feb, Festival Birmingham CHRISTOPHER ORTON AND TOMOKO Thurs 25 Feb, O2 Drayton Centre, Market HEATHER SMALL Sun 28 MATSUOKA Featuring Christopher 016 DANCE ANNUAL DANCE Regent Institute, Birmingham Drayton, Shropshire Feb, Theatre Severn, Orton (recorders) and Tomoko Matsuoka (harpsichord). Programme Theatre Dance Festival, Wed 24 - Sat EXODUS Thurs 25 Feb, BLACK CELEBRATION Fri Shrewsbury includes works by JS Bach, 27 Feb, Regent Theatre, Stoke-on- The Asylum, 26 Feb, The River Telemann and Froberger, Fri 26 Feb, Trent Birmingham Rooms, Stourbridge The Barber Institute, University of INTO THE HOODS (REMIXED) Zoonation BOY AND BEAR Thurs 25 HELLS BELLS Fri 26 Feb, Birmingham present a newly revamped version of Feb, O2 Academy, The Robin, Bilston the award-winning production that Birmingham ROYAL LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC LET'S TWIST AGAIN Fri ORCHESTRA Featuring Lahav Shani stormed the West End in 2008, Thurs SHUGGIE OTIS Thurs 25 26 Feb, Theatre (conductor). Programme includes 25 - Sat 27 Feb, Wolverhampton Feb, O2 Institute, Severn, Shrewsbury works of Beethoven, Mozart and Grand Theatre Birmingham THE X FACTOR LIVE TOUR Brahms, Fri 26 Feb, Victoria Hall, LACK OutsideEye present a physical DEL CAMINO Thurs 25 2016 Sat 27 Feb, Stoke-on-Trent theatre performance exploring the Feb, The Jam House, Genting Arena, B’ham SYMPHONIC ROCK The Royal traumas and emotions experienced Birmingham ABBA ARRIVAL Sat 27 Philharmonic Orchestra presents the in everyday entrapment, Thurs 25 DAMIEN DEMPSEY AND Feb, The Place, most rocking show in town, featuring Feb, Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton HIS BAND Thurs 25 Feb, Oakengates Theatre, all your favourite rock and pop hits, BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET - CLASS ON O2 Academy, B’ham Shropshire STRAY Sun 28 Feb, The including music by: U2, The Verve, STAGE A chance to look behind the Robin, Bilston Eric Clapton, Coldplay, Adele and WET WET WET Fri 26 HOSTILE Sat 27 Feb, O2 scenes and watch BRB’s talented more, Sat 27 Feb, Symphony Hall, Feb, Genting Arena, Academy, Birmingham SUPER SUNDAY FOLK dancers in their final preparations for Birmingham NIGHT Sun 28 Feb, The Birmingham a performance of world class danc- LET'S HANG ON Sat 27 Wightman Theatre, COULL QUARTET Programme includes ing, Sat 27 Feb, Birmingham DARKSIDE - THE PINK Feb, Stafford Shrewsbury works by Haydn, Dvorak and Hippodrome FLOYD SHOW Fri 26 Feb, Gatehouse Theatre

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Monday 22 - Sunday 28 February

JUNIOR JESTERS: FAMILY FRIENDLY 27 Feb, Lichfield Garrick Puccini's tale of love and treachery. Comedy Gigs COMEDY CLUB - MC DAN NIGHTINGALE, MADAM BUTTERFLY Puccini's tragic Sung in Italian with English surtitles, JIM SMALLMAN, JONNY AWSUM Sun 28 love story of a fragile geisha and her Sun 28 Feb, New Alexandra Theatre. Feb, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury American lieutenant, Wed 24 Feb, Birmingham CHARLIE BAKER, ED GAMBLE & MARK ROUGH WORKS Sun 28 Feb, The Glee Stafford Gatehouse Theatre THE 39 STEPS Fiery Angel present OLVER Wed 24 Feb, Henry Tudor Club, Birmingham Alfred Hitchcock's classic spy thriller, House, Shrewsbury PEPPA PIG'S SURPRISE Peppa Pig, George and their friends return with a Mon 29 Feb - Sat 5 Mar, The REP, THE NOISE NEXT DOOR Thurs 25 Feb, brand new live stage show, Wed 24 - Birmingham The Brewhouse Arts Centre, Burton- Thurs 25 Feb, Theatre Severn, upon-Trent Theatre Shrewsbury STEWART FRANCIS Thurs 25 Feb, The THE MUSICIANS Performed by Stafford Place, Oakengates Theatre, Telford DOCTOR FAUSTUS Maria Aberg returns Gatehouse Youth Theatre Group 8, CARL HUTCHINSON & IAIN STIRLING to the RSC to direct Marlowe's notori- Thurs 25 - Sat 27 Feb, Stafford Thurs 25 Feb, The Glee Club, ous tale of vanity, greed and damna- Gatehouse Theatre Birmingham tion, Thurs 4 Feb - Thurs 4 Aug, The FLYING SOLO Manjeet Mann's exhila- JOHN FOTHERGILL, SIMON KING & Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon rating semi-autobiographical story COMEDY CAROUSEL WITH ANDY BREAKING THE CODE The story of about family, survival, guilt and self- ROBINSON Thurs 25 Feb, The Glee British mathematician Alan Turing, a delusion, Thurs 25 - Sat 27 Feb, The Club, Birmingham key player in the breaking of the REP, Birmingham TOM STADE Fri 26 Feb, The Glee Club, German Enigma code at Bletchley FREEZIN’ Fizzog Productions presents Hanley Park during World War Two, and his a Black Country panto set in 1910, attempts to grapple with his homo- GARY COLMAN, STEPHEN CARLIN, JARED Fri 26 - Sat 27 Feb, Arena Theatre, Talks sexuality, Mon 22 - Sat 27 Feb, The SHOOTER, WILL SCAMBLER & AIDEEN Wolverhampton Rose Theatre, Kidderminster MCQUEEN Fri 26 Feb, National ANDY KIRKPATRICK - COLD MOUNTAIN Brewery Centre, Burton-upon-Trent JEEVES AND WOOSTER: PERFECT NON- Wed 24 Feb, The Place, Oakengates SENSE Different Animal theatre com- JOHN FOTHERGILL, DAN NIGHTINGALE, Theatre, Shropshire pany take audiences on a journey SIMON KING & COMIC TBC Fri 26 - Sat into the delightful world of PG A SPOTLIGHT ON: THE LOAN SOLDIER 27 Feb, The Glee Club, Birmingham Wodehouse, Tues 23 - Sat 27 Feb, Join Col (Retd) Bruce Duncan MBE ROFL! COMEDY CLUB - ACTS TBC Sat 27 Lichfield Garrick as he talks about his fascinating mili- Feb, The Old Post Office, Burton- tary career, 25 years after he and his A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED Middle upon-Trent family were caught up in Iraq's brutal Ground Theatre Company presents a invasion and occupation of Kuwait in ADAM HILLS Sun 28 Feb, Birmingham lavish new production of a classic 1990, Sat 27 Feb, National Memorial Hippodrome Miss Marple mystery, Tues 23 - Sat TOSCA Ellen Kent Opera present Arboretum, Staffordshire

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the thelist Monday 22 - Sunday 28 February NEW FILMS ON GENERAL RELEASE: WINTER TREE IDENTIFICATION WALK Gallery, Walsall Take a stroll around the Mile Walk Film Released Fri 26 Feb, showing at RECENT ACQUISITIONS PART 1: PEOPLE and learn how to identify some of the selected cinemas. AND ARTISTIC CONNECTIONS Premiere site’s winter trees from buds and of two works by Frank Auerbach, GRIMSBY (tbc) INDEPENDENT LISTINGS: bark, Sun 28 Feb, Attingham Park, showcased alongside the Garman MACBETH (15) Macbeth receives a GODS OF EGYPT (tbc) Shrewsbury Ryan Shroud, by Birmingham-based prophecy from a trio of witches that SECRET IN THEIR EYES (tbc) artist Sarah Taylor Silverwood, Thurs one day he will become King of 11 Feb - Sat 16 July, The New Art EXPOSED (tbc) Scotland. Stars Michael Fassbender Gallery, Walsall THE FOREST (tbc) & Marion Cotillard. Mon 15 Feb, Visual Arts NEW ART WEST MIDLANDS 2016 Edge Arts Centre, Much Wenlock, KING JACK (tbc) Exhibition of works by graduates Shropshire THE PROPAGANDA GAME (tbc) WOLVERHAMPTON SOCIETY OF ARTISTS from various West Midlands art THE LOBSTER (15) Winning the Jury Biennial exhibition with a diverse schools, Fri 12 Feb - Sun 15 May, See Film section for previews on p40 Prize at Cannes, The Lobster is a range of styles, mediums and sub- Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery surreal, darkly comic satire. Starring ject matter, until Sat 27 Feb, and Sat 13 Feb - Sun 10 Apr, mac, Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz. Tues Wolverhampton Art Gallery Birmingham 23 Feb, Foxlowe Arts Centre, Leek, Events TREES IN AUTUMN AND SPRING A pho- Staffordshire tographic exhibition by Gunhild FOOTBALL LEAGUE CUP – BRINGING IT Thomson, who documents the HOME IN ’72 In the week of this year’s CARAVAN, CAMPING AND MOTORHOME changes to trees in Autumn and League Cup Final, we remember the SHOW The UK’s biggest start-of-sea- Spring. Each series of photos is 1971/72 cup run, the final and the son showcase of caravans, taken from the same point of view at scenes of celebration as the Stoke motorhomes, campervans, trailer regular intervals over a set period of City team came back from Wembley tents and folding caravans, plus tents time, until Sat 27 Feb, Bilston Craft through the streets of The Potteries of all sizes and caravan holiday Gallery, Wolverhampton TREASURES FROM THE GLASS with the League Cup. Wed 24 Feb, homes & lodges, Tues 23 - Sun 28 COLLECTION A display of the weird Feb, NEC, Birmingham STAFFORDSHIRE SOCIETY OF ARTISTS Stoke Film Theatre Exhibition by the Staffordshire and wonderful from the Dudley WOMAN IN GOLD (12) Ryan Reynolds WHAT UNIVERSITY LIVE? A new event Society of Artists which turns for Museum collection, Sat 13 Feb - Sat and Helen Mirren star in this drama for 15-to-19-year-olds to help them inspiration to Capability Brown’s 31 Dec, Dudley Museum and Art based on the real-life story of Maria decide what to do after leaving work in Staffordshire and beyond, Gallery Altmann and her legal campaign school - whether it be an apprentice- Mon 1 - Sun 28 Feb, Weston Park, BIG CERAMICS: DISCOVER CLAY ON A against the Austrian government to ship, training programme or universi- Shifnal, Shropshire MONUMENTAL SCALE Bringing together reclaim her family's losses. Thurs 25 ty after A Levels, Fri 26 - Sat 27 Feb, eight ceramicists who use clay to NEC, Birmingham EXHIBITION - RESONANCE Featuring Feb, Forest Arts Centre, Walsall new ceramic work by Stephen Dixon create ambitious objects, Sat 20 Feb THE REVENANT (15) Inspired by true MANSION WINTER TOURS Step back in alongside complementary photogra- - Sat 28 May, Wolverhampton Art events and filmed in the frozen wilds time to experience the site’s atmos- phy and film by Johnny Magee, all of Gallery of Alberta and British Columbia. pheric rooms and discover stories of which look at the ways in which the THE JOHN RUSKIN PRIZE - RECORDING Leonardo DiCaprio plays Hugh the Berwicks, who lived there, Fri 26 - Great War affected the Staffordshire BRITAIN NOW A showcase for emerg- Glass, an 1820s’ frontiersman who Sun 28 Feb, Attingham Park, home front, Sat 6 - Wed 24 Feb, ing talent and established artists was left for dead after being mauled Shropshire Gladstone Pottery Museum, Stoke- from across the UK, Fri 26 Feb - Sun by a bear. Incensed by his abandon- WINTER STEAM GALA The traditional on-Trent 17 Apr, The New Art Gallery, Walsall ment, Glass dreams of revenge - but Winter Steam Gala sees all of the VALHALLA - LIFE AND DEATH IN VIKING HOTEL DIARIES Made over six years in first must find the will to survive in home fleet operate a selection of BRITAIN Featuring artefacts and hotels in six different countries, Hotel unhospitable terrain. Fri 26 - Sat 27 services along both the Churnet human skeletons discovered at burial Diaries charts the ‘war on terror’ era Feb, Ludlow Assembly Rooms, Valley and Cauldon lines, Sat 27 - sites, presented alongside key find- of Bush and Blair through a series of South Shropshire Sun 28 Feb, Churnet Valley Railway, ings from archaeologists and the lat- video recordings that relate personal SUNSET SONG (15) Many consider Staffordshire est research into the lives of our experiences to the ongoing conflicts Terence Davies to be one of our ROSES AND CASTLES WEEKEND COURSE Viking ancestors, Mon 8 Feb - Sun 5 in Afghanistan, Iraq and finest directors, so a new film of his Learn traditional canal art techniques June, Shrewsbury Museum & Art Israel/Palestine, Sat 27 Feb - Sat 7 is always something of an event. and paint your own unique piece of Gallery May, Wolverhampton Art Gallery Here he’s adapted Lewis Grassic Roses and Castles canalware on this WORKS FROM TATE INTO THE GARMAN TAYLOR WESSING PHOTOGRAPHIC POR- Gibbon's classic 1932 novel about a two-day weekend course, Sat 27 - RYAN COLLECTION As part of a three- TRAIT PRIZE 2015 Exhibition featuring farmer’s daughter who comes of age Sun 28 Feb, Dudley Canal Tunnel year partnership with Tate, the 2016 award-winning entries from the in the years immediately prior to the and Limestone Mines Interventions into the Garman Ryan National Portrait Gallery annual pho- First World War. Sun 28 - Mon 29 NUMBER ONE EVENTS - ANTIQUE FAIR Collection are drawn from Tate's tographic competition, Sat 27 Feb - Feb, Ludlow Assembly Rooms, Sat 27 - Sun 28 Feb, Staffordshire renowned collection, Thurs 11 Feb Sun 5 June, The Potteries Museum & Shrops South Shropshire County Showground 2016 - Sat 11 Feb 2017, The New Art Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent

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Great Theatre at the Grand!

THU 25 - SAT 27 FEB TUE 8 - SAT 12 MARCH TUE 15 - SAT 19 MARCH

Music by STEVEN MARGOSHES Lyrics by JAQUES LEVY Book by JOSE FERNADEZ Based on a concept by David DeSilva (Title song “Fame” written by Dean Pitchford and Michael Gore) This amateur production is presented by arrangement with JOSEF WEINBERGER LTD. ON BEHALF OF MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL OF NEW YORK

SUN 20 - TUE 22 MARCH SAT 26 MARCH THU 31 MARCH THE RUSSIAN STATE BALLET OF SIBERIA THE SNOW MAIDEN Sleeping Beauty Swan Lake

HHHHH “Mesmerising” The Guardian

FRI 1 APRIL SAT 2 APRIL MON 4 - SAT 9 APRIL

“What a great night... Just like it used to be”

A BLACK COUNTRY NIGHT OUT JONNY COLE DANDY THE FIZZOGS and DON’T MISS ANNIE THE RONALDOS! YOU CAN BET YOUR BOTTOM DOLLAR THAT YOU’LL LOVE IT!

Follow us on @WolvesGrand Like us on Facebook: Wolverhampton Grand

Box Office 01902 42 92 12 Book online at www.grandtheatre.co.uk