Trafalgar acquires more pantos

02 Mar 2022

Trafalgar Entertainment has extended its pantomime offer further in a new deal with Imagine Theatre.

The panto producer will provide popular shows like Cinderella and Aladdin in five of Trafalgar's regional venues this Christmas: The Swan in High Wycombe, the Lyceum Theatre in Crewe, Swindon's Wyvern Theatre, the White Rock Theatre, Hastings, and Beck Theatre in Hayes.

"We’re absolutely delighted to be working with the teams at Trafalgar Entertainment and these five fantastic venues... We can guarantee that through this exciting new partnership our audiences can look forward to the very best in family entertainment this Christmas," Imagine's Managing Director Steve Boden said.

Trafalgar says it will continue its association with Crossroads Pantomimes to stage shows in Cardiff, Southend, Dartford and Bromley.

BBC to air Sunday night performances

02 Mar 2022

The BBC will air new plays, concerts and book readings on Sunday nights as part of a programming shift.

Sunday Night Performances on BBC Four will "cement its status as the home of performance", the broadcaster says.

A Welsh comedy from Theatr Clywd, Nitin Sawhney's piece for Coventry City of Culture, and performances from the Royal Shakespeare Company and Shakespeare's Globe are among the programmes scheduled from April.

An eight-part series for BBC Two and iPlayer, The Art That Made Us, will explore significant UK artworks in partnership with a nationwide "festival".

Museums, galleries, libraries and archives will hold events inspired by the objects as their stories are told on television next month.

UNBOXED launches first event

02 Mar 2022

UNBOXED, the 2022 festival of creativity and innovation, has launched its first event in Scotland.

About Us, a multimedia projection and performance artwork celebrating "our place in the universe and the connections between us", is the first of 10 creative projects commissioned for the festival.

Lead creative partner 59 Productions is presenting About Us in Paisley before moving on to Derry, Caenarfon, Luton and Hull. Alongside the nighttime shows, daytime installations and workshops will extend the project's reach to children and young people.

Nine more commissions will be experienced across 80 sites and through digital and broadcast media throughout 2022.

Cultural democracy is key to audience engagement 

Warwick Gates and Whitnash
01 Mar 2022

Creating trust, promoting equity and putting cultural democracy at the heart of the vision for Coventry 2021 has been key to its success, says Kate Danielson.

Avoiding the pitfalls of partnership

hands connecting
22 Feb 2022

Sometimes it seems like successful artist/academic partnerships all come down to agreement over who’s paying for the tea and biscuits, writes Glenda Cooper.  

My Gurus: Storytellers show people they are not alone

22 Feb 2022

This year, the Bush Theatre celebrates 50 years of discovering and developing new writing. Its Artistic Director, Lynette Linton, reflects on the people who influenced her creative journey. 

Touring exhibitions need local focus

21 Feb 2022

Amid Covid, Brexit and climate change, new touring models that prioritise collaboration with communities and other institutions provide a way forward, funders say.

More manifestation, less manifesto

16 Feb 2022

Promises are powerful formulations reflecting genuine intentions. But, Richard Watts argues, they must be accompanied by concrete actions.

Tate’s 'backward step'

La Jornada Food Pantry at the Queens Museum
16 Feb 2022

Tate Exchange – the only dedicated community co-creation programme in a major museum – is to be discontinued. Stella Toonen thinks it’s a step backwards for a sector that had begun to let new voices in. 

Value co-creation key to levelling up

14 Feb 2022

A 'simple but radical' approach to co-creating arts offers a way to move from project to programme to true partnership, academics say.

Culture offers 'clear opportunities' to reinvent high streets

10 Feb 2022

ACE says there is "more to be done on both sides" to bolster culture's role in town centres.

Council culture funding worth £43 per person

09 Feb 2022

Local authority spending has nearly halved over the past decade and could fall further still. Is Levelling Up the solution?

Building on the positives

Grand Union’s The Growing project documentary
09 Feb 2022

Audiences have had almost 24 months of remote engagement with culture. It’s now time to share evidence, learning, success and failure for the post-pandemic landscape, argues Fiona Morris.

UK and Saudi Arabia sign cultural MOU

09 Feb 2022

A memorandum of understanding between Saudi Arabia and the UK will strengthen cultural exchange between the countries.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and her counterpart, Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, have agreed to closer collaboration, residency programmes and joint cultural projects under the non-binding deal.

It will also include cooperation to protect Saudi heritage.

Big Issue invests in east London venues

03 Feb 2022

Iconic London venues Village Underground and EartH have received a boost from Big Issue Invest, the social investment arm of the homelessness charity.

Funding committed to VU X Earth Limited, which owns the venues, will pay for refurbishments for a new creative training workspace.

VU will work with local providers including Hackney Empire to showcase young local talent and prepare them for careers in live entertainment over the next five years.

CEO Auro Foxcroft said: "We are grateful for Big Issue Invest’s support to lead us out of difficult times allowing us to launch new education facilities and programmes, renovate our venues and reopen bigger and better than ever before."

BBC orchestra moves to Great Yarmouth

01 Feb 2022

The BBC Concert Orchestra is taking up a three-year residency in Great Yarmouth.

The move is part of Create Yarmouth, a collaboration with Orchestras Live and East Anglian arts organisations, which aims to to provide new music learning pathways.

BBC Concert Orchestra musicians will deliver workshops in every Great Yarmouth primary school, with free school concerts also scheduled.

Local young producers will develop their cultural industry skills by helping deliver parts of the programme.

A Heritage Action Zone cultural programme will see small ensembles perform in community settings across the region.

Helsinki to host next World Cities Culture Summit

31 Jan 2022

Helsinki will host the 10th World Cities Culture Summit, scheduled for October 5 to 7.

The Finnish capital is expected to welcome representatives from more than 40 cities for the first in-person summit since 2019.

The event's full programme is yet to be revealed, but a focus on reimagining cities to create sustainable and creative environments in the wake of the pandemic is likely.

World Cities Culture Forum Chair Justine Simons says the summit will embrace a new spirit of optimism and urgency.

“I am delighted that the wonderful city of Helsinki will be our host at this critical juncture.”

Digital award winners embrace new audiences

27 Jan 2022

Those who showcased best practice in digital leadership did so by addressing the challenges of the pandemic.

New partners for Leeds 2023

27 Jan 2022

New partners have signed on to deliver creative projects for Leeds 2023.

The British Library, Leeds Rhinos, Leeds United, National Youth Theatre and Women of the World (WOW) are among the partnerships in development for the year-long placemaking festival.

Announcements about the programme will be made in September.

Chair of Leeds Culture Trust Gabby Logan said: “To have attracted such a breadth of partnerships from major organisations across education, arts and sports is amazing and shows that Leeds is already a city of creativity and ambition."

Ways of working with universities revealed

performers dance in front of a lit up building
25 Jan 2022

One of the largest surveys ever undertaken between the arts and academia produced some new perspectives on how collaborations can be forged. Evelyn Wilson and Emily Hopkins share their insights.

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