Liverpool, Capital Of Culture for 2008

Liverpool Summer Pops 2008 Line Up

Posted by Stephen

Liverpool’s Summer Pops event will be hosted at the new Liverpool Echo Arena this year. New performers are being announced on a regular basis. This is the lit of events so far:

June
29th - Westlife
July
1st - Mick Hucknall
2nd - Meat Loaf
3rd - Sugababes + Bjorn Again
4th - The Australian Pink Floyd Show (Wish You Were Here/The Best Of The Wall)
5th - Duran Duran
6th - Paul Simon
8th - Counting Crows
9th - Crowded House
10th - Beatles Day: Imagine The Concert
11th - Deacon Blue
12th - Diana Ross
14th - Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings and John Martyn
15th - Def Leppard + Whitesnake
18th - The Farm
19th - Michael Ball
20th - Michael Buble
22nd - Blondie & The Stranglers
24th - The Rat Pack
25th - Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra
26th - The Australian Pink Floyd Show (Dark Side Of The Moon/Animals)

For information on ticket prices please call the Box Office on 0844 8000 400.

The Magical History Tour - The Story of Liverpool

Posted by Stephen

The Magical History Tour is an exhibition being staged at the Merseyside Maritime Museum. The exhibition has already been running for many months and will continue until 27 September 2009. The Merseyside Maritime Museum is open every day from 10am until 5pm and entry to all exhibitions is free.

Map

Magical History Tour takes visitors on a fast paced, dynamic journey of discovery, with help from a time travelling taxi driver.

Told through the lives of Liverpool people through the ages, the exhibition charts the city’s growth from a tiny fishing village to a busy port. It traces the evolution of the settlement from its earliest pre-historic roots and examines life in the medieval and early modern town before the port’s emergence rpool Art anas a Victorian metropolis of global significance.

The story is brought up to date with the challenges faced by those living in the city during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, before finally considering the evolving perceptions of Liverpool and Liverpudlians in the recent past.

Iconic objects on display include the Liverpool charters and a reconstruction of the long-lost Liverpool Castle.

Discover:

• the origins of the Pool - a muddy river inlet that was to give the city its name
• why King John first established a town in this location in 1207
• how political turbulence engulfed the medieval town
• what effect the English Civil War had on the city in 1644
• how Liverpool became ‘the second city of the British Empire’
• why life expectancy in the city dropped drastically in the 19th century
• how war has affected the people and city in the last century

Please note that the Huxley hoard of Viking silver, which was on display in the exhibition until early February 2008, is no longer on display and will be touring to other venues. However, visitors to Magical History Tour can see a selection of items from the Cuerdale hoard in its place. Discovered in 1840 on the banks of the River Ribble in Lancashire, the Cuerdale hoard is the largest Viking hoard ever found.

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Art in Liverpool

Writing on the Wall

Posted by Stephen

“One Year in Liverpool” is the name given to a project by Stockholm artists collective A-APE. The project will last for the whole of the year and will be engaging the residents of Liverpool and visitors to the city as they go about their business. Buildings and public spaces will be adorned with slogans designed to question beliefs and evoke emotions in order to gauge the opinion’s of the average Liverpudlian.

The project will manifest itself in a series of installations that will spread through unexpected locations in the city centre to reveal the bigger picture.

The A-APE website is currently hosting a questionnaire containing 10 questions, the answers to the questions will enable statistics to be gathered about how the average Scouser currently feels about life, their city and other peoples’ perception of the city. At the end of the year, when all the questions have been asked, the answers will be collated and published in a newspaper supplement to give a clearer picture of how people feel about living in Liverpool.

Answering the questions will only take a minute of your time and once you have submitted yours you will be able to see the overall level of opinion at this time.

Alive After Five!

Posted by Stephen

Alive After Five! is the name given to an event that will be taking place every Thursday night from 3 August until the end of the year. Shoppers will be able to satisfy their urge on an otherwise restricted night as most of the shops in Liverpool city centre will be open until 8pm.

It is expected that most of the larger stores will be open, but you should check before setting off as all shops have the option to open and not every shop owner will want to do so, especially in August! They might prefer to be having a beer or eating out somewhere!

Further Information – 0151 233 2008
Website

Review : Ken Dodd and His Kings of Comedy

Posted by Stephen

COMEDY legend Ken Dodd paid tribute to Liverpool humour in his own unique contribution to the Capital of Culture celebrations.

The Squire of Knotty Ash recalled some of the city’s comedy greats last night in the first of two sell-out shows at St George’s Hall.

And he told his tickling stick-wielding audience: “Liverpudlians possess a laughter gene.

“Our favourite pastime is play time.”

In a show lasting almost four hours the 80-year-old king of comedy mixed songs and rapid fire gags from his legendary live act with his own recollections and tributes to more than a century of Liverpool comedians.

Source : Liverpool ECHO
Author : Catherine Jones
Full Article

Review : A Liver Bird Sang - Opening Night

Posted by Stephen

Wendy and I attended the opening night of A Liver Bird Sang this evening.

This operatic production, funded on a shoe-string because Capital of Culture wouldn’t support it, was a true Liverpool musical production.

The cast all performed for free, and some of them, like the magnificent Nick Hardy, and highly talented Jane Hamlet, Julie Davitt and Valerie Watts must surely have been professionals from time to time.

It is the story of the revival of a Liverpool night club - the Scouse ‘Ouse, and a love story between Ella McCabe, cabaret singer in the club and Matt Lightfoot, who wants to buy the club. The whole set against a backdrop of class differences and the striving of the working classes of Old Swan to achieve through education.

The music is by Schubert, arranged beautifully by Geoff Lavelle, with lyrics by John Dixon.

The opening song and regular refrain “The City passes by” was stunning, although there were so many actors performing in this busy city scene that it was hard to catch all of the action at the same time. We got used to the bustle in each scene though and it allowed for some wonderful pastiches and bursts of comic genius from the young Ashley Guidera in terrific form as the nightclub bouncer.

Source : Louise Baldock
Author : Louise Baldock
Full Article

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