OUR NEW SEASON HAS LAUNCHED
In case you missed it, our new April – August season launched earlier this week. Bursting with a range of diverse, innovative and exciting events, covering genres including comedy, theatre, music and exhibitions, as the cliché goes there really is something for everyone. We’ve put together a selection of some of our favourite seasonal highlights, but be sure to visit the full series of listings on our website to see why this season is bigger and better than ever.
Knowing that laughter really is the best medicine, check out some of our comedy performances. From Lakeside returning favourite, George Egg, best known for his DIY cooking skills, to TV favourites Jack Barry and Andrew Maxwell, our comedy programme this season is the largest to date. Alternatively, enjoy some classic humour with Mark Thomas’ latest show or take it really far back with Oddsocks’ slapstick take on Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors.
However, if you’re looking for something a little more subdued, be sure to check out Roger McGough as part of the Nottingham Poetry Festival. Having written over 100 poetry books, Roger is one of the nation’s finest poets. In an afternoon dedicated to celebrating the rhythm and emotion of the written word, Roger will be shaking and stirring his poems in what will be a Nottingham party to remember. If this couldn’t get any better, he will be supported by Michelle Hubbard and Peter Ramskill and introduced by Nottingham’s first Young Poet Laureate. It really will be a feast for any literature lovers out there.
Continuing the theme of celebrations, to mark the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, we are joining up with the Royal Concert Hall to put on a festival like no other. Beethoven 250: The Complete Piano Sonatas is a Nottingham first, whereby all 32 of Beethoven’s piano sonatas will be played across the two venues over a four day period. Featuring performances by leading international artists, as well as Q&A sessions, masterclasses and more fringe-based events, our Beethoven festival seeks to be one of the richest celebrations of Beethoven’s work in the UK.
In addition to being 250 years since Beethoven’s birth, 2020 marks the Year of the Nurse and Midwives. Throughout June and July, Wallner Gallery will house an exhibition dedicated to the role that nurses and midwives play on a day to day basis. Likewise, from April to August, the exhibition Florence Nightingale Comes Home will be in the Weston Gallery and will shed a new light on the Lady with the Lamp.
In spite of all of these new and exciting events, something the oldies really are the goodies, and how could we not bring back our Wheee! Free Family Weekend. Perfect for small kids (and the big kids too), Wheee! is back and this year it coincides with Nottingham Puppet Festival. Expect lots of arts and crafts, live performances and a whole host of puppetry designed to bring fun to all the family – there’s a reason it’s called Wheee! after all.