BPreviews Archives - Page 28 of 69 -

August 25, 2017

BPREVIEW: Bank Holiday Weekend Screenings @ Custard Factory 25-27.08.17

As the holidays draw to a close, Factory Cinema Co. invites audiences to see out the summer with a series of cinematic classics over the Bank Holiday Weekend. Making the most of the last of the August weather, five outdoor screenings will transform the Custard Factory courtyard into one of Birmingham’s biggest cinema spaces.

Films scheduled for outdoor screenings are: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (25^th), The Lion King (26^th), Grease (26^th), Back to the Future (27^th), Batman (27^th). The Mockingbird Cinema will also be hosting its regular progamme of films, but on the indoor screen. For full details of all screenings at the Custard Factory this Bank Holiday Weekend, indoor and outdoor, click here.

Street food, snacks and a fully licensed bar will all be available to attendees, with a promise of prices more reasonable than the average multiplex. To add to the laid-back summer party atmosphere the area will also undergo something of a makeover, with artificial turf laid down and audiences invited to ‘BYOPCB’ (bring your own pillows, cushions and blankets). Fancy dress, as well as singing and dancing along to musical numbers are all encouraged – there’ll even be spot prizes for the best costumes.

But perhaps best of all there’s something to appeal to all ages, with family-friendly showings of The Lion King and Back to the Future taking place on Saturday and Sunday afternoon respectively, while The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Grease and Tim Burton’s Batman provide more grown-up evening entertainment, followed by late-night after parties.

Working in partnership with The Mockingbird Cinema and Supersonic Events, Factory Cinema Co. has been establishing itself as a key component of the Custard Factory’s creative community. A string of successful events held at The Mockingbird have ranged from brand new releases for just £4, to music tributes, movie quizzes and sing-along specials. Themed nights, marathons and anniversary screenings have proved particularly popular, with fans of everything from Moulin Rouge to Phoenix Nights getting the chance to show their appreciation with fellow enthusiasts.

Since the project to redevelop the complex first got underway in 1993, Digbeth’s Custard Factory has undergone several permutations, evolving and changing as businesses have come and gone with varying degrees of success. But the former Bird’s Factory was recently sold on to private investment and asset management company, Oval Real Estate, together with the nearby Fazeley Studios.

This change is a much larger conversation with a multitude of voices, but the programme of events at The Mockingbird – and those being put forward by Factory Cinema Co. – could play a significant part in securing a future for Digbeth-based creative complex. It is hard to imagine a Custard Factory today without the previous programme of events from The Medicine Bar and Factory Club. So watch this space… no pun.

For full details of the Bank Holiday Weekend outdoor screenings, click here.

For more on Factory Cinema Co. and its events, visit www.facebook.com/factorycinemaco

For more from The Mockingbird Cinema, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.mockingbirdcinema.com

For more on Supersonic, visit www.supersonicfestival.com

For more on the Custard Factory, visit www.custardfactory.co.uk

August 22, 2017August 22, 2017

BPREVIEW: Time in Motion @ Crescent Theatre 25-26.08.17

Words by Lucy Mounfield / Pics by Tim Cross

2017 marks the 30^th anniversary of the National Youth Ballet of Great Britain (NYB) – a company that offers talented young dancers an opportunity to participate in the production and performance of ballet at a professional touring level.

For this 30^th anniversary season the NYB will present Time in Motion – a mixed programme of seven ballets choreographed by some of the UK’s most eminent professionals and rising talents, all performed by a company of young dancers aged 8-18yrs from across the UK.

Time in Motion comes to the Crescent Theatre on 25^th to 26^th August, marking NYB’s first performance on a Birmingham stage and following the company’s summer school programme at Elmhurst School of Dance in Edgbaston. These young dancers have been working with several professionals from Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB), including soloist Jonathan Payn, first artist Ruth Brill and BRB’s director Sir David Bintley, who will guest judge the in-house choreographic competition at the end of the summer school. The young dancers from Birmingham’s Elmhurst School of Dance will perform in Time in Motion alongside a 105-strong ensemble of dancers from NYB’s season of events.

The artistic director of NYB, Mikah Smillie, sees the importance of their 2017 season as a platform for nurturing and encouraging young artistic talent from a variety of backgrounds, stating that ‘it not only provides our young dancers with a snapshot into how company life works but it also develops important learning skills, creative partnerships and most importantly, lifelong friendships which are at the beating heart of every dancer’s life.’

Across the production, Time in Motion will bring together seven short ballets from eminent choreographers in the dance world, taking us on an exploratory journey through time and space. Such a theme has been a source of inspiration for many choreographers during the evolution of ballet, and particularly in contemporary productions where the story becomes more abstract and instead themes can be explored through the movement of dance.

Furthermore, Time in Motion will encompass a wide variety of styles and choreography – from the more representational story-telling aspect of ballet, to the abstract contemporary world of modern dance. The evening will open with Christopher Hampson’s Carnival, followed by Jonathan Payn and Samira Saidi’s classical works, IKEN and Aspirations.

NYB’s Time in Motion will also feature Etta Murfitt’s character led piece – inspired by Dream Ballet from Oklahoma!, a new contemporary piece titled T-Symmetry by Rambert graduate Arielle Smith, as well as a playful short ballet by Louise Bennett set to Leo Delibes’ score of Coppélia. The production will be brought to a close with the ‘keenly anticipated’ premiere of Steamboat Summer from Birmingham Royal Ballet’s first artist and choreographer, Ruth Brill. This selection highlights NYB’s commitment to young artistic development by showcasing new original work as well as acknowledging the classical roots from which each dancer must learn to progress.

Time in Motion will not only mark the beginning of a professional career for many of the young dancers and choreographers who take to the Crescent Theatre’s stage, but is a fitting celebration of the National Youth Ballet of Great Britian’s time as a world leading youth dance company.

For more on National Youth Ballet, visit www.nationalyouthballet.org

For more from Crescent Theatre, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.crescent-theatre.co.uk

August 21, 2017

BPREVIEW: West Side Story @ New Alexandra Theatre 23-26.08.17

Words by Paul Gallear

Running from Weds 23^rd to Sat 26^th Aug, the New Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham presents its annual Stage Experience production – West Side Story. For direct info, including venue details online ticket sales, click here.

Stage Experience is an opportunity for 9–24 year olds to spend two weeks of their summer mounting a full-scale production of a classic musical and then perform it to a paying audience.

A range of opportunities are open to applicants. As well as performing roles, lighting, sound, wardrobe, and stage management positions are all available for people to hone their talents. Previous productions include Grease in 2016, 42^nd Street in 2015, and Footloose in 2014. This year it’s the Bernstein and ‎Sondheim adapted for stage classic, West Side Story, with just two week’s preparation until curtain-up.

The narrative of West Side Story, based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, is a well-known one: two street gangs in Upper West Side New York, both alike in infamy, is where we lay our scene . . . (okay, I’ll stop now). The Jets and The Sharks vie for control of dominance of a New York neighbourhood. Tony, former leader of The Jets, and Maria, sister to the leader of The Sharks, fall in love across the bounds of the rivalry. They plan to run away together. But can they escape the clutches of gang life, or the downward spiraling circumstances and rising levels of violence?

West Side Story is one of composer Leonard Bernstein’s and lyricist Stephen Sondheim’s most famous Broadway musicals. With the book by book by Arthur Laurents and the choreography by Jerome Robbins, West Side Story first hit the stage in 1957, winning critical acclaim and Tony Awards.

It went on to make the transfer to the silver screen in 1961, winning a total of ten Academy Awards at the 1962 Oscars – including Best Picture and Best Director, a record for a musical. It will afford those who took part in this year’s Stage Experience the opportunity to tackle such well-known songs as ‘Maria’, ‘America’, and ‘I Feel Pretty’.

And for the audience, this could turn out to be a fantastic place to see the stars of tomorrow performing in their first role. But there are also lots of risks: with the short rehearsal time and the inexperienced nature of the cast, as well as West Side Story being such a well-known and well-liked musical, it is possible that the Stage Experience could fall short. But equally, the fresh talent could bring something exciting to a show now in its 60^th year – a silver lining of many new cast productions. The joy, both on stage and off, is finding out.

Daily performances of West Side Story at the New Alexandra Theatre start at 19:30 with a 14:30 matinee on Saturday – running from Weds 23^rd to Sat 26^th Aug. Tickets will cost between £16.50 and £26.90 (though Theatre Card holders can get tickets for as little as £15.00) plus booking fees. For direct information, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

For more from the New Alexandra Theatre, including full event listings and online sales, visit www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-alexandra-theatre-birmingham

August 15, 2017August 15, 2017

BPREVIEW: An Indian Summer with Paul John Indian Single Malt Whisky @ The Electric Cinema on 17.08.17 & The Wellington on 25.08.17

Words by Ed King

Paul John Single Malt Whisky invites you to enjoy their ‘Indian Summer’ with two tasting events this August – as presented by The Birmingham Whisky Club.

There’s a film/cocktail combo at The Electric Cinema on Thursday 17^th August, followed by a more extensive tasting session at The Wellington on Friday 25^th. We’ve gone into a little more detail about each event below, but for direct info and booking from The Birmingham Whisky Club, click here.

But first a little background… Paul John Indian Single Malt Whisky is distilled in the small(ish) Goan town of Cuncolim – mainly known for its large church, larger private hospital, and sewing the violent seeds for the eventual liberalisation/invasion of the Portuguese stronghold. What better place to brew moonshine.

Straddling the NH66 (or the Panvel/Kochi highway) Cuncolim is a prime place on the modern silk route to distribute domestically produced liquor – a vice that’s not officially welcome in every pocket of India, but one that fuels the tourist trade of the Konkan coast line.

And whilst the neighbouring state of Maharastra has become quite prominent for its wine in recent years, Goa is still the place for beer and spirits – between a Kingfisher and a seven year Old Monk (or a Honey Bee, should you have a taste for formaldehyde) most restaurants and hotels in ‘The Pearl’ are on a constant lookout for more premium products. So if you’re going to start a single malt distillery anywhere in India, Goa’s probably your best bet. Or the Foreign Correspondents Club in Delhi.

So what are these August tasting sessions all about then? On a mission to booze up every corner of Birmingham, in the most refined way of course, The Birmingham Whisky Club has come up with two cross promotions to whet your whistle with some Paul John Indian Single Malt Whisky – have a looksie below:

Thursday 17^th August / The Darjeeling Limited cocktail tasting @ The Electric Cinema

Serving two whisky cocktails – prepared by the owner of the cocktail taster menu magnificence that is Smultronställe (Go Team Birmingham) – we are invited to sit back, relax and watch Wes Anderson’s film about frustrated bothers. You know, the one set on a train that runs through North East India… like haggis in St Ives. But who really cares when it’s Wes Anderson and cocktails from Smultronställe. Doors open at 8pm, with tickets to this sub continental love in priced between £25.50 – £30.30 (+booking fee). For direct info and online booking, click here.

Friday 25th August / A Taste of Goa with Paul John Indian Single Malt

Now this looks like fun. Paul John Single Malt Whisky’s UK brand ambassador, Shilton Almeida, will be walking us through five of their ‘delicious whiskies’ and ‘delectable drams’. On the menu are: Paul John Brilliance, Paul John Edited, Paul John Bold, Paul John Classic, Paul John Peated – with some background, history and the ‘many personalities of Goa’ that surround each single malt being presented by Mr Almeida. Just a shame we won’t be sitting on the banks of the Mandovi, but The Wellington will do. Until the end of monsoon, anyway. Tasting starts at 7pm, with tickets priced at £20 (standard) or £15 to members of The Birmingham Whisky Club. Or direct event details and online booking, click here.

For more on Paul John Indian Single Malt, visit www.pauljohnwhisky.com

For more from The Birmingham Whisky Club, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.thebirminghamwhiskyclub.co.uk

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For more on The Electric Cinema, visit www.theelectric.co.uk

For more on The Wellington, visit www.thewellingtonrealale.co.uk

For more on Smultronställe, visit www.barsmultronstalle.co.uk

August 10, 2017August 10, 2017

BPREVIEW: Goodnight Lenin @ Hare & Hounds 11.08.15

Words by Damien Russell

Presented by Moseley Folk, Goodnight Lenin are headlining the Hare & Hounds on the 11th of August – supported by Boat to Row, and Katherine Priddy.

The night is scheduled to start at 19:30 and tickets are priced at £11.00, excluding bookings fees etc. For direct gig info, including online ticket sales, click here.

A lot can happen in a week.

As I discovered when, six days ago, I found out Goodnight Lenin’s ‘indefinite hiatus’ was being brought forward and they sadly won’t make it to the Beyond The Tracks festival. But before they go, they are going to join us for one last show at the Hare & Hounds in Kings Heath which ‘so happens to be at our favourite venue with our favourite bands playing alongside us’, as they said in their farewell post. Arguably the most heart-warming way for any band to begin a break.

A lot can happen in a month, too. It was only three weeks ago that Goodnight Lenin announced ‘We are now well and truly finalising our second album’ and confirming that there will be a run of physical copies. As a happy listener and owner of the first album, this was very good news. The second hard copy recording they will have done. They did say, however, that it might be a couple of months more before it’s finished so fingers crossed it’s done before the hiatus hits.

And in six months? A year? Well, perhaps not filled with the same level of press-stopping headlines but I would describe Goodnight Lenin’s seven years as more of a book than an article, and the chapter that would be this last year has, in itself, been quite something.

A year ago this Friday they were in the studio nailing bass lines to ‘Desire’, released on the 21^st of November 2016 and ceremoniously rung in with a launch show at Muthers on the 26^th.. The single was advertised as one of four to be released before the album comes out this winter.

Before the official release date, ‘Desire’ had piqued media interest and the band made appearances musically or in person on Brum Radio, BBC Radio2 and BBC Introducing West Midlands. While I’m on the topic of radio airplay; in January, BBC Radio 6 played ‘Desire’ and on the 24^th, Goodnight Lenin were live on air with Steve Lamacq. On the same day, they were also featured on BBC Midlands Today who were reporting on Independent Music Week and interviewed Sammy.

The 2nd of December saw the two-year anniversary of the release of In The Fullness Of Time – their debut album and the record that cemented my (and a lot of other people’s) appreciation for Goodnight Lenin’s music. It wasn’t the album or even its lead single ‘You Were Always Waiting’ that first grabbed my attention though, it was their Sofar Sounds performance of Tell-tale Heart in Oxford that I found by accident while trying to get my own band some gigs and mooching through the Sofar Sounds website. But I digress…

On the 25^th of January, the announcement came out that the second of the four singles would be ‘Portrait Of Youth’, released digitally on the 27^th of March. Of course, another single means another party and this one was on the 2^nd of April (no fools) at the Hare & Hounds. I must admit, the four single releases, four parties idea is great and one I must try to put into practise myself at some point.

But the great plan has now changed. Singles two and three (and associated parties) have seemingly been put on the back burner. It’s all about the album (I hope) and the last show. Goodnight from Goodnight Lenin. Hopefully not forever but at least for the foreseeable.

It’s always a shame to see a good band leave the limelight but, like any passing, it’s surely better to mark with a celebration of all that we’ve enjoyed up to now and to raise a glass (or five) to ‘until we meet again’. But before the currently unknown ‘next time’, we get this, one last time.

‘Portrait of Youth’ – Goodnight Lenin

Goodnight Lenin play at the Hare & Hounds on Friday 11^th August, with support from Boat To Row, and Katherine Priddy – as presented by Moseley Folk. For direct gig info, including online ticket sales, click here.

For more on Goodnight Lenin, visit www.soundcloud.com/goodnightlenin

For more on Boat To Row, visit www.soundcloud.com/boat-to-row

For more on Katherine Priddy, visit www.soundcloud.com/katherine-priddy

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For more from the Hare &Hounds, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk

For more from Moseley Folk, visit www.moseleyfolk.co.uk