9 Things To Do In Nottingham This Week

Having taken the Edinburgh Festival Fringe by storm, Joe Strickland is back with a bang to showcase brand new scenes from his top dollar show, Strangers: A Magic Play. Right from when he was but just a wee lad, our Joe wanted to change the way we saw magic shows. Stepping away from the norm that is a sequence of unrelated magic tricks and cheesey gimmicks, Joe – a finalist at the Magic Circle’s Young Magician of the Year – brought his show, and magic, well into the 21st century. Professional theatre folk up at the Fringe thought it was right good (four stars worthy, in fact) so you should catch a performance while it’s right here on your doorstep.
Monday 13 - Wednesday 15 February, 7.30pm, £5, The Lofthouse, event link

This time last year, you vowed to have bagged yourself at least a semi-casual shag to see you through the rest of the miserable hell hole that was 2016. Instead, you went on three shoddy tinder dates before throwing in the towel, deleting the app and settling in with the cat. This year shall be different. Cash in on the Valentine’s hooha  with other desperate, I mean, hopeless romantics and pop over to Pitcher and Piano to get stuck in to their speed dating night. You could meet the man or woman of your dreams, or at least accumulate some hilarious stories to keep you warm during another year of solitude. Ya know, every cloud and all that.
Tuesday 14 February, 7.15pm, £20, Pitcher and Piano, event link

You might have seen Harry Baker in rap battles on Don’t Flop, performing at Mouthy Poets’ Say Sum Thin 10 event, or even winning the World Poetry Slam in 2012. This month, you can find him up at The Maze, saying rhythmical stuff alongside his jazzy partner in crime Chris Read. The pair have been collaborating for years and years, in many forms, and now they’re teaming up for a tour full of poetry, music, love and laughter. After selling out The Harry and Chris Show at Edinburgh Fringe last year, they’re ready for a Nottingham pit stop with their new performance, and we can’t wait. Joining them on their journey is Gecko – the playful lyricist who’s played Glastonbury and made Huw Stephens “instantly happy”. It’ll be a night of giggles, proper jazzeh tunes, and expertly crafted words. We’ll see you there, at the front, with a superfan banner.
Wednesday 15 February, 7pm, £6 - £8, The Maze, event link

Folk all over the shop have lost their minds over the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise; locking themselves away for hours on end to, er, savour, the naughtiness that is Christian Grey and his red room of whips and chains. If you reckon you’ve got it in yer to write the next best seller that gets people right hot under the collar, but you just need a ‘prod’ in the ‘right direction’, get yourself over to Waterstones this week for their erotica workshop. The writing workshop will be led by author and development editor for a New York publishing house, Victoria Villasenor, so she’s a woman who definitely knows what she’s talking about. It’ll set you back around fifty bob, but hey, that’s a small price to pay for the shot at the next big raunchy read.
Thursday 16 February, 10am, £55, Waterstones, event link 

Hélèlne and Laurence live outside of what society deems ‘normal’. They’re out lesbians, disabled women and live outside the buzz of the city working as poets and artists. In the documentary feature film, directed by Karine Lhémon, audiences are invited to enter into a world that’s often bypassed by the film and television industry. The film works to “expose an environment designed primarily for able-bodied people, but also the doubts, dramas, tenacity, creativity, laughter, complicity and love of two people”. Sounds like interesting stuff to us. Lecturer in the Department of History at the University of Nottingham, Karen Adler, will be leading a post-screening discussion, so make sure you stick around. The screening forms part of UoN’s LGBT History month, so make sure you head over to their website to find out what else they’ve got cracking.
Thursday 16 February, 6.30pm, free, Djanogly Theatre, event link

If a dry January and a bank account still in recovery from the festive season has left you proper gagging for a big night out, you may binge watch Netflix no more, young friends. The I Club are here to help. Co-founder of the infamous Sex Tags Mania record label, DJ Fett Burger is taking over the Wilford Street venue with the baddest beats about town set to blare from the speakers. Not only are you to be treated to tunes from one of the most exciting DJs to grace the face of the earth, but Vancouver-based LNS has crossed the pond to drop some of her class a mixes and enlighten us all to the ways of Canada’s west coast. The night is curated by Project, follow them on Facebook to keep in the know for future events. If this one is a bit of you, you best book your tickets pronto cos we don’t reckon they’ll be on sale long...
Friday 17 February, 10pm, £8, The I Club, event link

Ooh the busy bees at UoN are working right hard to bring you the good stuff this week. Computer science students, along with the folks at @hacksocnotts have joined their almighty forces to encourage all you lovely lot to get involved in tech. The event is open to everyone and anyone who is interested in learning how code or experiencing virtual reality, be you man, woman, child and everything in between. All the experts are women, and they’ll be showing off their knowledge and giving you the chance to get proper hands on with the world of tech. Sound good? Wait, there’s more! The event is completely free, your lunch will be provided along with refreshments throughout the day. There’s also rumour of a cake drop occurring in the afternoon, and a free goodybag for all attendees. We’re sold. See you there.
Saturday 18 February, 9.30am, free, Business School South, Wollaton Road, event link

The anti-Valentine’s army unites once more as DirtyFilthySexy present their February session – This Is Not a Love Song. Expect to see drag queens, performers and musicians from near and far in a party that sticks a middle finger up to love and raises money for charity all in the same breath. That’s right, you’ll get to hear the musical fruits of bluesy singer-songwriter Emily Franklin; electro-punk rapping from Baby Tap; alternative heartache tunes on the decks with DJ Greyskull and DJ Boz; plus performances from resident drag queens Glitterhawk, Nana, and Marilyn Sane – all to help George Ward raise money for the LGBT Foundation. After running the London marathon, George is back in Notts with buckets at the ready, so get out and support yer local roadrunner. There’ll be a raffle, laughs, awesome music, and dancing. Lots of dancing.
Saturday 18 February, 9pm, £4/£5, Spanky Van Dykes, event link

The University of Nottingham are pulling out all the stops to deliver an inclusive, diverse range of events for their LGBT History month. After clocking the screening of Storm Drenched Minds on Thursday, make sure you get over to Broadway cinema this Sunday for the screening of Pay It No Mind. The film tells the story of Marsha P Johnson, a revolutionary black trans activist, Andy Warhol model, Stonewall instigator, prostitute and drag queen. Ms Johnson lived life by her motto “pay it no mind”, a life lesson we reckon we could all do well to follow. You’ll need to book your tickets online, and do it sharpish. We’ll see you there, chums.
Sunday 19 February, 11am, free, Broadway Cinema, event link

For the full motherload of goings-on this week, check out our What's On section.