Capital of Culture Events

[Kev]

THE much-anticipated line-up of events for Liverpool's year as European Capital

of Culture will be announced today.

more (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/liverpoolecho/news/echonews/tm_headline=city-launch-party-poised-to-reveal-70-events-for-2008%26method=full%26object

id=18050174%26siteid=50061-name_page.html)

[Paul D]

Does anyone think there

will be any high profile announcements that we haven't already heard about? I don't.

[Paul D]

Details of Liverpool's programme will

be carried live on BBC Radio Merseyside at 1800 GMT for anyone who's interseted.

[Paul D]

Christmas story to launch 2008


BRITAIN'S biggest-ever nativity will

launch Liverpool's Capital of Culture.

Thousands of people are expected to take part in the live televised event, with torchlight processions from

the city's two cathedrals to the Pier Head.

The music-led event, one of more than 100 to be announced tomorrow, will link the city's 800th

birthday celebrations to the full 2008 calendar.

An invitation from producers to the public today reads: "Whether you have a faith or no faith, come

and join us." The one-hour Liverpool Nativity will be broadcast on BBC television on the evening of Sunday, December 16, 2007.

More than a million

viewers are expected for the programme, which will feature Liverpool-associated songs and singers woven into the traditional Christmas Bible story.



http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/liverpoolecho/news/echonews/tm_headline=christmas-story-to-launch-2008%26method=full%26objectid=18051608%26siteid

=50061-name_page.html

[Louis]

i really enjoyed the manchester passion so hopefully this one will be as

good, i just hope it isnt spoiled by idiots

[Kev]

announcements should be made

around 6pm tonite :)

[Paul D]

announcements should be made around 6pm tonite :)

I'm getting a bit excited for this.:)

[ChrisGeorge]

announcements should

be made around 6pm tonite :)

Is there a Liverpool Echo round here, ha ha. :celb (6):

Seriously, I wish the 'Pool well in the coming

year of festivities.

Chris

[Kev]

SEAN Lennon, the only son of John and Yoko Ono, told the ECHO he would love to play the Cavern in 2008.

continues (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/liverpoolecho/news/echonews/tm_headline=sean-lennon%2D-i%2Dd-love-to-play-cavern-in-2008%26method=full%26objectid=18

051858%26siteid=50061-name_page.html)....

[ChrisGeorge]

They give Sean Lennon's concert at Liverpool university's Stanley Theatre at the weekend a great write-up. Good for him! I hope he

does come back and play the Cavern.

Chris

[shytalk]

Is there a Liverpool Echo round here, ha ha. :celb (6):

Seriously, I wish the

'Pool well in the coming year of festivities.

Chris

www.icLiverpool.com
Liverpool Daily Post and Echo site.

[Kev]

A WAGS (footballers wives and girlfriends) fashion show just mentioned on ITV. :Colorz_Grey_PDT_24: A

concert beamed around the world has been announced :)

Lets not forget: Liverpool will also stage the European Senior Boxing Championships in

February at the Liverpool Arena. This event will be a qualifier for the Beijing Games. Other sporting highlights on Merseyside in 2008 include The Open at

Royal Birkdale (right) in July, the World Firefighter Games in August and the finale of the Tour of Britain in September.

[Kev]

Someones having a laugh

with the WAGS fashion show: For further details about the 08 highlights log on to www.liverpool08.com (http://www.liverpool08.com) from 9am on

Tuesday 7 November, unless you hear them here first :)

[Kev]

An

exhibition of the work of Austrian painter Gustav Klimt will be held at the Tate Liverpool gallery, and work by Van Gogh will go on show at the

Walker.

Inspired by the Klimt exhibition, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra will perform a series of Vienna-themed concerts, and

provide music for two "spectacular" Viennese balls at the city's newly restored St George's Hall.

Liverpool conductor Sir Simon Rattle

will also return to his birth city to perform with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

And the Oscar winner Pete Postlethwaite, who is

from Warrington, may star in a production of King Lear at the Everyman.

The Van Gogh will set alongside works by Turner, Monet and

Hopper in an exhibition of railway-inspired art at the Walker Art Gallery.

The Cricket fashion show will be part of The People's

Festival, to be held in May.

The festival will be a celebration of football, fashion and music, featuring images of the greatest moments

in European football, set to music written by Michael Nyman. source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6120270.stm).....

[SteH]

Jason Harborow said on Radio City at 530 that one event in particular would be something that

everyone will remember for years to come that they were there. Doesnt look like that ones been announced yet then.

[Paul D]

Two new musicals for 2008

one is about The Adelphi :rolleyes: but the other one is all about the mighty Erics,the club that do so much for the Liverpool music scene that'll be

great.:celb (23):

[Paul D]

There's also

going to be a massive concert on a floating stage at the Pier Head,Paul McCartney is said to headline it but he hasn't yet been confirmed.

[Kev]

There's also going to be a

massive concert on a floating stage at the Pier Head,Paul McCartney is said to headline it but he hasn't yet been confirmed.

How could he refuse?

:PDT_13:

[ChrisGeorge]

There's also going to be a massive concert on a floating stage at the Pier Head,Paul McCartney is said to headline it but he hasn't yet been

confirmed.

I think he ought to do it, don't you? Might help him become better known. :slywink:

Chris

[Kev]

Liverpool's initial programme for the city's

year as European Capital of Culture in 2008 includes concerts, commissions, festivals, exhibitions and premieres across all cultural areas.



Capital of Culture highlights

April 2007

Launch of the

2007/08 Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra season including premieres of works commissioned for 2008.

July 2007



Magical History Tour - A major exhibition celebrating Liverpool’s birthday.



September 2007

Vasily Petrenko opens the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s 07/08

season.

October 2007

Turner Prize – The annual art

competition will be held in Liverpool.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/images/2006/11/06/brouhaha_mid_200x150.jpg
Brouhaha

Bluecoat reopens – The UK’s oldest arts centre re-opens with a new wing.

November 2007



Launch of city wide public art programme.

FACT launches five new commissioned films

December 2007

The Liverpool Nativity – The BBC presents the story of the first Christmas told through the music and people of

Liverpool.

New Year’s Eve fireworks show

European Opera Centre, Emilia di Liverpool. A new version of Emilia di Liverpool performed in the small concert room at

St George’s Hall.

Throughout 2008…

Fragant – The story of

Liverpool’s botanical collection

Cities on the Edge – Inter cultural project

exploring the links between the port cities of Liverpool, Bremen, Naples, Marseilles, Istanbul, Gdansk and Stavanger.

Liverpool Song Book – A legacy of music for 2008 featuring new songs commissioned by the Liverpool Philharmonic

culminating in performances in a variety of settings.

January 2008

Opening of Kings Dock arena

International Holocaust Memorial

Day. Liverpool is the designated UK city for 2008's International Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January.

FACT film festival 22nd January – 2nd March



http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/images/2006/11/06/tennis_mid_200x150.jpg
Liverpool Tennis Tournament

British Dance Edition: 2008

World premiere of

new choral work by Kenneth Hesketh

Fresh Festival – Cutting edge jazz, world and

contemporary music.

February 2008

Chinese New Year –

Celebrations of the start of Year of the Rat

High Society – Exhibition by 19th

Century French artist Tissot

European Senior Boxing Championships at Kings Dock

Arena

World premiere of new choral work by Sir John Tavener



Festival of British Music Part 1 – newly commissioned work including pieces from Kenneth Hesketh,

Mark Simpson, Stephen Pratt and Emily Howard

March 2008

Identity and heritage project – Exploration of British identity

Vladimir Ashkenazy conducts the European Union Youth Orchestra

SK-Interface – sci-art commissions at FACT

Leap 08 –

Liverpool’s annual contemporary dance festival

Wimfest – Liverpool Women’s

International Music Festival

King Lear – Pete Postlethwaite is in negotiations

to appear at the Everyman

April 2008

Royal Liverpool

Philharmonic Orchestra Vienna Series

Singh Twins - A commission of work by

Amrit and Rabindra the internationally acclaimed contemporary British artists

Grand National – The world’s greatest steeplechase

Viennese

Balls at St George’s Hall



http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/images/2006/11/06/pete_postlethwaite_mid_150x200.jpg
Pete Postlethwaite could be in King

Lear

Monet to Hopper: The artist and the railway – an exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery

celebrating the power and impact of the railway on art featuring artists including Turner, Monet, Van Gogh and Hopper

Portrait of Liverpool by Ben Johnson – A panorama of Liverpool commissioned for the new Museum of

Liverpool

Adelphi – The Musical – A staging of the colourful history of one of

Liverpool’s most famous landmarks

May 2008

Four Corners –

Five projects devised in the city’s neighbourhoods.

Tate Liverpool’s 20th

birthday

The Liverpool Sound – A special concert on the waterfront featuring

world famous artists playing music that Liverpool exported to the world.

Gustav

Klimt exhibition at Tate Liverpool

Writing on the Wall

festival

Three Sisters – Liverpool writer Diane Samuels relocates Chekhov’s

Three Sisters from Russia to Liverpool at the Everyman

June 2008

Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem – A special performance at Liverpool Cathedral

Opening of the University of Liverpool Victoria Gallery and Museum

A new play by Jonathan Harvey at the Playhouse

The Peoples

Festival – Celebrating working class culture with a specially commissioned work by composer Michael Nyman

Africa Oye – Free annual festival celebrating the best of music of Africa.

Liverpool International Tennis Tournament at Calderstones Park

Splatterfest – Festival of theatre for children

July 2008



http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/images/2006/11/06/mathew_st_mid_200x150.jpg
Mathew Street Festival

Summer Pops – Summer music festival

Liverpool

Arabic Arts Festival

Classical Summer Pops – The big top relocates to Sefton

Park

The Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale



Liverpool Comedy Festival

Hub Festival – The UK’s biggest free urban culture festival

Brouhaha International Street Festival

European Youth

Parliament sits in Liverpool

Poetry in the City – Annual poetry

festival

The Beat Goes On – Exhibition celebrating Liverpool as the capital of

pop and rock at World Museum Liverpool

Maritime Festival including the finish of

the Clipper Race and the start of the Tall Ships Race

Pipilotti Rist film

premiere at FACT

School’s Shakespeare Festival



August 2008

Kev's Birthday :)

World Firefighter Games



Mathew Street Festival

Creamfields (in Widnes?)

Major theatrical event at Liverpool

Cathedral produced by the Everyman and Playhouse

Black Star Liner – The opening of Liverpool’s first dedicated home for black music in Jamaica

Street.

September 2008

Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Berlin

Philharmonic orchestra at the Philharmonic Hall

British Association Festival of

Science

http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/images/2006/11/06/adelphi_chef_200x150.jpg
"Just Cook will

yer!"

Honda Powerboat Grand Prix

Hope Street Festival

The Big Biennial – Liverpool’s fifth

International Festival of Contemporary Art including the 50th John Moores exhibition

Fiesta Latina – A week of Latino music, food, culture and dance.

Finale of Tour of Britain cycle race.

Liverpool Live 2008 an

extensive live arts programme at the Bluecoat and across the city.

Festival of

British Music Part 2 - newly commissioned work including pieces from Kenneth Hesketh, Mark Simpson, Stephen Pratt and Emily Howard



New play for children by Frank Cottrell Boyce premiers at the Playhouse



October 2008

Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

Orchestra

RIBA Stirling Prize – The Oscars of British Architecture are held at

the newly opened Arena and Convention Centre at Kings Dock.

Liverpool Irish

Festival

http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/images/2006/11/06/biennial_mid_150x200.jpg
The Big

Biennial

Le Corbusier – The Art of Architecture a major exhibition in the crypt at the

Metropolitan Cathedral.

Black History Month



Eric’s – The Musical. The story of the other influential Mathew St club at The Everyman



Halloween Lantern Carnival

November 2008



Shipping Lines- Literary festival at the University of Liverpool featuring Seamus Heaney, Jorie Graham,

Doris Lessing, Monica Ali, Roger McGough, Melvyn Bragg, Philio Pullman and Paul Farley.

Dadafest – Celebration of disability and deaf art in the North West

Homotopia – Gay, lesbian and transgender festival

Liverpool

Music Week

December 2008

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Best of Liverpool at the Bluecoat –

A showcase of visual art practice in the

region.

source (http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/articles/2006/11/06/capital_culture_launch_listings_nov06_feature.shtm l)....
[/F

ONT] http://www.bbc.co.uk/f/t.gif

[Paul D]

Creamfields

Are they talking about it being in Daresbury if they are that doesn't count?

[Kev]

No, it doesn't count. Maybe they have plans to bring it back but we cannot

claim it as our own anymore, its gone.

[ChrisGeorge]

Hi Kev

Also in May 2007 there is to be the Trial of James Maybrick (http://forum.casebook.org/showthread.php?t=1328) at the

Liverpool Cricket Club in Aigburth, on the weekend of May 19-20, which will include a number of top Ripperologists and crime experts as well as actors

playing Florie and James Maybrick, side events including a tour of nearby Battlecrease House where the Maybricks lived and Anfield Cemetery where James is

buried.

Chris

[Paul D]

No, it doesn't count. Maybe they have plans to bring it back but we cannot claim it as our own anymore, its gone.


I'd

love to see it return but I've got a feeling it's not.

[Kev]

Hi Kev

Also in May 2007 there is to be the Trial of James

Maybrick (http://forum.casebook.org/showthread.php?t=1328) at the Liverpool Cricket Club in Aigburth, on the weekend of May 19-20, which will include a number of top Ripperologists and crime experts as

well as actors playing Florie and James Maybrick, side events including a tour of nearby Battlecrease House where the Maybricks lived and Anfield Cemetery

where James is buried.

Chris

We should add that ourselves to the list shouldn't we? Cheers :)

[Paul D]

The Liverpool Sound – A special concert on the waterfront featuring world

famous artists playing music that Liverpool exported to the world.


It's safe to say I'll be at that one.:celb (23):

[Kev]

It's safe to say I'll be

at that one.:celb (23):

Hope tickets will go on general sale

[Paul D]

Hope tickets will go on general sale

I'm hoping it's free.:rolleyes: I'll be there

either way even if it means sitting up a crane with Snappel.:)

[Kev]

I'm hoping it's free.:rolleyes: I'll be there either way even if it means sitting up a crane with

Snappel.:)

I reckon Snappel is already diggin holes under the arena just incase

[Paul D]

I reckon Snappel is already diggin holes under the arena just

incase

lol me too.:)

[Paul D]

Is everyone happy with what they've seen so far? personally I'm ecstatic, they've already surpased my

expectations and they haven't announced everything yet.:celb (23):

[Kev]

The Liverpool Nativity - I

cannot wait for that one. The photographers amonst us will have a field day!!! (That will last all year long!)

[lindylou]

The Liverpool Nativity - I cannot wait for that

one. The photographers amonst us will have a field day!!! (That will last all year long!)

That's what I was thinking too. There should be

some great photos. :)

[Paul D]

The Liverpool Nativity - I cannot wait for that one. The photographers amonst us will have a field day!!! (That will last all

year long!)

Yes that one's defo on the agenda I'm going to love it.:PDT_Aliboronz_24:

[Paul D]

Fresh new spin on city

buildings

http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/7281/c222baebf158dc123c2d3e2acff26397bg8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

A

RENOWNED blot on the landscape is to become one of the UK's most spectacular pieces of public art when its facade is made to revolve.

In an amazing

feat of structural engineering Richard Wilson will cut out an egg-shaped, or ovoid, section from the former Yates's Wine Lodge in Moorfields then install

pivots usually used in nuclear power stations to make it spin round.

Turning the Place Over is the artist's most radical project and is expected to

run from May next year through to 2008.

He said: "I'm proposing to turn a section of the facade. An ovoid section will be cut and mounted on to a

spindle, which sits on rollers.

"They turn round the wall in such a way that it spins like a coin on a table.


"The building has six floors

and we are taking a section out of the second and third floors.


"It will create a sense of disorientation. 2008 is all about reinterpreting the

city and revamping the city.


"Taking something that has been written off and discarded and reinventing it flags up what is happening across

Liverpool.


"It is about making things exciting again. It is also a doffing of the cap to all those who have worked on major engineering projects

that Merseyside became known for.


"The piece will run for as long as we have the building."


Wilson has exhibited widely nationally and

internationally for the past 20 years to critical and popular acclaim, particularly for his seminal installation 20:50, a sea of reflective sump oil which is

permanently installed in the Saatchi Collection.

[Paul D]

The £7.5m restoration of the University of Liverpool's famous redbrick Victoria Building, transformed into

an art gallery and museum, has been timed to coincide with 2008. It will become the new home for art and heritage collections acquired by the university

throughout its 100-year history.


Highlights include the skeleton of Manifesto, one of the racing world's most famous horses and winner of the

1899 Grand National, as well as dinosaur footprints, X-rays of Tutankhamen's mummified body and death masks.


Matthew Clough, director of arts and

heritage collections at the university, said: "Most of this material has never been seen before. It is going to be a fantastic gallery and exhibition

space."

[Paul D]

Concert is set to rock the world

THE promise

is for "a once in a lifetime concert" celebrating Liverpool's unrivalled popular music heritage, performed for a global television audience against the

background of the city skyline.

The floating stage spectacular at Albert Dock, organisers say, "will feature some of the world's greatest artists

playing the music the city exported to the world."

Such a talked-up production, although with no names yet signed, must be led by speculation that

Paul McCartney will top the bill with the stars of Merseybeat, later Liverpool bands, and visiting artists of the calibre of U2 or Madonna.



http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/capitalofculture/2008unveiled/tm_headline=concert-is-set-to-rock-the-world%26method=full%26objectid=18056798%26si

teid=50061-name_page.html

[Paul D]

An Everyman/Playhouse musical - Eric's, The Musical - will tell the story of Liverpool cult music club Eric's, which was also in Mathew

Street.

Eric's was the focus for some of the biggest bands of the 1970s New Wave explosion, including home-grown talent such as Echo and the

Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes and Wah! as well as The Clash, The Police, The Sex Pistols and Blondie.

There's so much going on I'm going to be

in my element,it's our CoC make it happen because a Billion eyes will be upon us.:PDT_Aliboronz_24:

[Kev]

LIVERPOOL'S high-profile Capital of Culture launch won headlines around the world - and support from city community groups.

Eye-catching arts events like the Gustav Klimt exhibition and a performance by the Berlin Philharmonic sparked a preview in the New York Times.

And culture experts in the Independent, Guardian and Telegraph all devoted pages to a discussion of the programme.

But the most important verdict issued yesterday came from Liverpool's community groups.

They expressed support for the programme, butwarned it must have a legacy for the people of the city.

Culture chiefs outlined some of the major events at a double launch at Liverpool's St George's Hall and London's international tourist fair.

Michelle Charters, who co-ordinates Black History Month, said: "I hope with the combined effort of everyone already doing events, 2008 will be as impressive as the literature.

"I want to see events which reflect the diverse communities within the city, leaving a real legacy."

Dave Jones, of Cavern City Tours, said: "We're going on a voyage and we don't quite know what we're going to see.

"It's now just a matter of everyone getting behind everything that's going on and demonstrating to the world that Liverpool deserves the title."

David Howard, operations director at youth support charity Connexions, said: "Our talented young people will benefit from the opportunities and jobs Capital of Culture will create.

"We're all working hard to ensure a sustained legacy for the people of the region remains beyond 2008.

"These are chances which our young people could only have dreamed about in the past." The footballers' wives fashion show in the 2008 programme sparked several headlines in the national press.

But the Daily Telegraph's arts correspondent Nigel Reynolds was more concerned with what he saw as a snub to the Beatles.

Tate Liverpool director Christoph Grunenberg said: "It was a very silly argument.

"Who says we have to restrict ourselves to Liverpool artists and celebrities? We're having the European Capital of Culture."

The 2008 message was being spread at a national conference at Aintree racecourse today.

Jason Harborow, Culture Company chief executive, said: "Capital of Culture is the biggest event until the 2012 Olympics." It's about the rest of the country seeing it as the nation's Capital of Culture."

Among other speakers due at the event were London Olympics chief Paul Deighton, tourism bosses and government representatives.

source (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/liverpoolecho/news/echonews/tm_headline=world-turn-its-gaze-on-to-city%26method=full%26objectid=18064002%26page=2%26 siteid=50061-name_page.html)....

[Paul D]

But the Daily Telegraph's arts correspondent Nigel Reynolds was more concerned with what he saw as a snub to the Beatles.

These same people would have had a field day if it was full of Beatles stuff,it would have given them the perfect opportunity to stick the knife in.Isn't the televised concert in the Mersey featuring Sir Paul and the rumoured Ringo good enough for him?

[Kev]

WHEN Liverpool hosts the prestigious Turner Prize, it will be the “curtain raiser” for the city’s Capital of Culture Year, the director of Tate Britain said last night. more (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/liverpooldailypost/news/regionalnews/tm_headline=turner-prize-will-herald-2008%26method=full%26objectid=18211637%26siteid=50 061-name_page.html)

[Kev]

THE man behind show- piece Capital of Culture production Adelphi – The Musical wants to base it on real-life tales of romance from the hotel. more (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_headline=inspire-me-with-your-hotel-stories%2D-says-showpiece-writer%26method=full%26objectid=18331108%26siteid= 50061-name_page.html)

[FKoE]

just to big it up stylee......

Liverpool Remembers Slavery
Commemorative events plus new International Slavery Museum

They will remember that we were sold but they won’t remember that we were strong. They will remember that we were bought, but not that we were brave.
William Prescott, former slave 1937

click (http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/about/news/newsarticle.asp?id=605&venue=0)

[Libertarian]

just to big it up stylee......

Liverpool Remembers Slavery
Commemorative events plus new International Slavery Museum

They will remember that we were sold but they won’t remember that we were strong. They will remember that we were bought, but not that we were brave.
William Prescott, former slave 1937

click (http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/about/news/newsarticle.asp?id=605&venue=0)

oh yeh great Liverpool the nations whipping boy is now staging a guilt fest for our 'role' in the slave trade. Why isn't more being done to emphasise the positive history of Liverpool such as our pivotal role in defeating Hitler or our proud maritime heritage? Looks like PC wins again.

[Kirst]

I cant wait, its going to be a huge year for the city.

[Paul D]

LIVERPOOL will host Britain’s tourism awards in 2008 as they move outside London for the first time.

The news was revealed as Liverpool and Sir Paul McCartney were honoured last night with Britain’s outstanding contribution to tourism accolade, the highest award of its kind in the country.

The awards, run by UK tourism body VisitBritain, will take place in St George’s Hall on April 23 next year.

It is yet another high- profile event coming to the city as it celebrates Capital of Culture, following on the heels of the Turner Prize and the Royal Variety Performance.

http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/liverpoolecho/news/echonews/tm_headline=tourism-honours-sir-paul-and-city%26method=full%26objectid=18926945%26siteid=50 061-name_page.html

[Howie]

Glastonbury team head to city for Culture link-up
Jan 18 2008
by Catherine Jones, Liverpool Echo

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/liverpoolecho/jan2008/0/2/3AC43E2C-C46B-3A27-9F6C34C5180E542C.jpg

THE union organisers behind Glastonbury Festival’s Left Field are to stage an event in Liverpool as part of the city’s Capital of Culture celebrations.

An evening of music showcasing local bands will be held at the Carling Academy on Wednesday, May 14.

The event will also raise cash for an international anti-slavery campaign.

Among the confirmed acts are The Rascals, Elle S'Appelle, Married to the Sea, The Daisy Riots, and The Seal Cub Clubbing Club.

Geoff Martin, director of the Left Field, which mixes music and politics at the world-famous festival, said today: “We’re delighted to have the opportunity to bring a little bit of Glastonbury to the Capital of Culture.”

The Left Field stage will also showcase the bands in a special segment at this year’s Glastonbury.

Meanwhile the TUC has launched its Capital of Culture year programme with a focus on Liverpool’s working lives. It is inviting people to display their own images of working life in the city.

Both amateur and professional photographers can submit their photographs.

Each image will go on to a photo gallery on a Liverpool 08 website.

The winners in both the professional and amateur categories will win £150, with £100 going to the runners-up and £50 to those finishing third.

Plans are being made to exhibit the winning photos and a selection of the other entries at a city centre location during the summer.

The TUC’s north west regional secretary Alan Manning said: “We want to celebrate the contribution of working people to this city and its culture.

“We’re kicking off with a project that’s aimed at showing Liverpool at work that is created by Liverpool’s workers.’’

The closing date is June 13.

Anyone who wants to take part should submit their entries to www.unions08.co.uk

The site also features news and events pages to highlight what the TUC and other organisations have arranged for the Capital of Culture year.

Story time is on way

A MULTICULTURAL storytelling season starts this month with plans for 2008 Liverpool Community Storytelling Festival.

National Storytelling week falls on January 26 to February 2 and there are free events through to March.

There will be an informal storytelling circle at the Life Bank Centre, Quorn Street, Kensington, on Thursday, January 24, from 6-7pm.

An Evening of Telling Tales takes place on Wednesday, January 30, at Edwards Bar, Temple Court, off Stanley Street in the city centre.

Guest storytellers will be at the launch event for Liverpool’s contribution to National Storytelling Week.

08 Diary

Jan 18: 7.30pm - Blood Brothers, Liverpool Empire (until Jan 26). 0844 847 2525.

Jan 18: Nicholas Williams’ triptych, Liverpool Cathedral (until Feb 1).

Jan 18: Anne Frank exhibition, Liverpool Cathedral (until Feb 7).

Jan 18: Collected, Cornerstone Gallery, Haigh Street (until Feb 8). 0151-291 3997.

Jan 18: 7pm - Pinocchio, Unity Theatre (until Jan 19). 0151-709 4988.

Jan 18: 9.30pm - Dark Grumblings, Unity Theatre (until Jan 19). 0151-709 4988.

Jan 18: 7.30pm - Madonna & Me, Actor’s Studio, Seel St (until Feb 2). 0151-709 9034.

Jan 18: Stanley Spencer, Tate Liverpool (until April 27). 0151 702 7400.

Jan 18: 9am-4pm - Clifford Sayer, John Jennings & Dave Donnelly, The People’s Centre Gallery, Mount Pleasant (until Feb 22).

Jan 18: Beatles Hard Day’s Night exhibition, Central Library (until Feb 15)

Jan 19: Number 1 Project Live, ECHO Arena. 0844 8000 400.

Jan 19: 7.30pm - Liverpool Sounds, RLPO. 0151-709 3789.

Jan 20: 7.30pm - Yiddish music concert, Princes Road Synagogue. 0151-708 4034.

Jan 20: 7.30pm - Johann Strauss Gala, RLPO. 0151-709 3789.

Jan 21: Move-Me.com Dance Booth, FACT (until March 15). 0151-707 4450.

Jan 21: 11am-7pm. Respectacles exhibition, Town Hall (until Jan 26).

Jan 22: Twin Vision, St George’s Hall (until Feb 29).

Jan 23: 8pm - Here Be Monsters, Unity Theatre (until Jan 26). 0151-709 4988.

Jan 24: 7.30pm - The Fairest Isle, RLPO. 0151-709 3789.

Jan 24: 5pm - Roscoe Lecture - Clive Tyldesley, St George’s Hall. 0151-231 3852.

Jan 24: 7.30pm - Flight of the Lawnchair Man, Lipa (until Jan 26). 0151-709 4988.

catherinejones@liverpoolecho.co.uk

Source: Liverpool Echo (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2008/01/18/glastonbury-team-head-to-city-for-culture-link-up-100252-20365455/)

[Howie]

Monday, January 21, 2008

Sefton unveils 'capital of culture' events

AN exciting year is planned for Sefton as part of Liverpool’s City of Culture celebrations.

Events such as Southport Comedy Week, the Bootle Comedy and Music Festival and the Sefton Festival of Literature have already taken place in 2007 under the Express Sefton 08 banner. Launched in January the initiative hopes to promote culture in Sefton and encourage people to get involved in the events.

As part of the celebrations six young people from the region will be given the chance of a lifetime and compete in the world famous Tall Ships Race in July 2008.

With Sefton also playing host to the 2008 Golf Open Championships at Royal Birkdale, this year promises to be an exciting one for the region.

Peter Sandman, Sefton Council’s events manager said: “Throughout 2007 we have been delivering a fantastic line-up of events and activities for the whole community to get involved with.

“Sefton already hosts an amazing events calendar every year, which includes the world-famous Grand National horse race, and we are really looking forward to delivering our programme in 2008.

“We hope that people will really get into the Capital of Culture celebrations and enjoy what Sefton has to offer during this unique cultural year.”

If you would like to get involved in Express Sefton, log onto www.sefton.gov.uk/express.

Source: Champion Newspapers (http://www.champnews.com/html/newsstory.asp?id=6391)

[taffy]

Friday 7 March at 2. p.m.

‘History of the Liverpool Welsh’

Lecture in English by Rev. Dr. D Ben Rees at The Athenaeum,Church Alley,
Liverpool L1 3DD.

All those who are not members of the Athenaeum can come along to the lecture by contacting the lecturer at ben@garthdrive.fsnet.co.uk by Wednesday 5 March

[Howie]

On the Ledge

http://image.guardian.co.uk/stars/guardian4.gif Royal Court, Liverpool

Alfred Hickling
Saturday May 3, 2008
The Guardian (http://arts.guardian.co.uk/theatre/drama/reviews/story/0,,2277767,00.html)

Perhaps the most conspicuous omission from Liverpool's year as Capital of Culture is the deafening silence on the part of the city's two most significant playwrights. You might think the programme would find room for Alan Bleasdale or Willy Russell. Were they invited? Did they decline? How come it has been left to the Royal Court - a cabaret-style comedy venue that receives no public funding - to pick up the slack?

Still, a year that commenced with Ringo Starr drumming on a roof now brings us Bleasdale clinging to the side of a building. On the Ledge was first produced by the National Theatre in 1994, but further revival was ruled out on the basis that you need an architect, a hydraulic fireman's lift and a team of safety experts to put it on.
The action takes place over three storeys of a crumbling apartment block on bonfire night, and features a group of characters driven by suicidal desperation, fear or stupidity to congregate on a six-inch shelf running across the face of the building. Some of the staging demands send a rush of blood to the head: Dave Hart's character, known simply as Upside Down, spends the first 15 minutes hanging from the roof and daubing anarchist slogans while his scally pal Right Way Up (Lenny Wood) clings on to his ankles.

The momentum of a play in which the characters can only sidle from side to side is obviously limited. Yet the immobility becomes an almost Beckettian metaphor for characters who are literally going nowhere. Right Way Up complains that he's "dying by instalments", while the prosaically named Man on Ledge (Roy Brandon) clutches a portfolio of newspaper cuttings that he rifles through with the obsessive compulsion of Krapp rewinding his tapes.

There is great work from Andrew Schofield as a bemused fireman, forced to dodge stones thrown by kids who are burning down their own homes. And the apocalyptic climax of Bob Eaton's production is unforgettable. Yet the most revealing contribution comes from Neil Fitzmaurice as a corrupt property developer who uses regeneration as an excuse for the commercial rape of the city.

Back in 1994, the play felt nihilistic; now it seems prophetic. Perhaps there was no need for Bleasdale to produce a Capital of Culture play after all. On the Ledge suggests he had already written it.

· Until May 24. Box office: 0870 787 1866.

Source: guardian.co.uk (http://arts.guardian.co.uk/theatre/drama/reviews/story/0,,2277767,00.html)