News

Personalised wheelchairs, physics papers and scripts from 'The Simpsons' belonging to the famed professor have been acquired by the Science Museum and Cambridge University Library.

Hawkings' office will be preserved as part of the museum's collection. Highlights will go on display in 2022, with more items due to be digitised in an online archive.

Cambridge University will make his 10,000 page collection of papers, photographs and correspondence with world leaders and scientists across the world available to students.

A major fundraising drive will be launched to fund the "painstaking" cataloguing work, the university said.

Norwich's OPEN could become a live music, events and conference venue once more.

The former venue has been vacant for more than a year following the closure of its operator, OPEN Youth Trust, but talks are under way between Lind Trust, the building's owner, and events space Epic Studios.

Under the proposal, creative businesses would be able to hire space, including some of OPEN's former tenants.

Laura Rycroft, previously Chief Executive of OPEN and now part of Epic Studios, said the new venture would operate as "a business, not a charity, but it would still be there for the community and be accessible".

"I know first hand the challenges the building has, having spent six months trying to work through them. We all know what a huge loss it has been for the community since it closed.

"I'm sure there are lots of people who would want to run it for this purpose, but there won't be many with the same level of experience and business acumen to make it work as the team at Epic."

Fifteen people have tested positive for Covid-19 after attending DCMS pilot events.

Nine events attracted nearly 60,000 attendees so the rate of infection is similar to the UK at large (about 22 cases per 100,000 people at the time of writing).

This would appear to indicate that mass events with testing and other mitigations in place can avoid becoming 'super spreaders', although they are not without risk.

A Government spokesperson said the Events Research Programme had been "designed in a scientifically controlled way to reduce the risk of transmission for attendees".

"We are working closely with NHS Test and Trace to ensure everyone can be traced following a positive test."

The UK's largest producer of Christmas pantos has been acquired by Crossroads Live, a global production company backed by private equity.

Crossroads Theatrical Group Chairman David Ian will lead Crossroads Pantomimes, with Qdos Founder Nick Thomas leaving the business. 

Former Qdos Managing Director Michael Harrison will be Chief Executive of the new business while continuing to produce independently via Michael Harrison Entertainment.

HQ Theatres will assume operation of the New Theatre in Cardiff from July.

The deal was meant to take effect in March last year but was delayed due to the pandemic, Wales Online reports.

Cardiff New Theatre, currently run by Cardiff Council, has been trying to find a private owner since 2014.

HQ said it will “invest significantly to protect the building for the future”.

The company acts as the operator of 11 venues across the UK that now belong to Trafalgar Entertainment following an acquisition at the end of March.

An upward trend in ticket sales over March and April is being driven by the regions, data collected by TRG Arts and Purple Seven indicates.

Smaller markets are recovering faster. In the South West for example, ticket sales are 52% of April 2019 levels - double the UK average.

The revival is strongest in venues that present touring work, the largest of which are attracting 45% of their pre-Covid sales.

TRG Chief Executive Officer Jill Robinson said: "While this analysis does give some grounds for optimism, the recovery so far in the UK is partial and uneven."

"With such a reliance on a tourist market, it is not a great surprise that the recovery in London is slower than other
parts of the UK, but it is also clear that many regional organisations that have worked consistently to deepen their relationships with their customers during the pandemic are now being rewarded with strong sales.

"Organisations that have effectively hibernated for the past year will find re-engaging with their audiences far more challenging."

Wiltshire's Trowbridge Museum has reopened after a £2.5m redevelopment.

With Lottery funding and support from Trowbridge Town Council and the Friends of Trowbridge Museum, the museum has expanded its collection into an empty floor of the Grade II listed Home Mills above the museum. 

The new exhibition space profiles the role of technology and weaving over the wool-producing town's 2000-year history.

Initially due to reopen last year, the works were delayed due to the pandemic.