11 Things To Do in Nottingham This Week

Down Shakespeare Street, you’ll find Bonington Gallery. And in Bonington Gallery, you’ll find Listen In. Listen In is an exhibition space just perfect for soundscapes, and this week you can catch Crosswords’ Leanne Moden’s spoken word recording doing its thing, bouncing off the walls of the gaff. That’s right, Malt Cross’ literarily-inclined lass has put together an installation with the help of technician Rob Squirrell of Nottingham Trent University, so get yersen down and see what it’s all about. Rob’s looking to collaborate with other writers and performers in the future, so if you’d like to chat to him about that you can drop him a line on robert.squirrell@ntu.ac.uk
Monday 30 January – Friday 17 February, 10am - 4pm, Monday - Friday, free, Bonington Gallery

We all love a good pun at the ‘Lion, so you can imagine our delight when A Room with a Brew opened up, with its lovely reading spot, and plenty of good beer. Now, unbeknown to many, there’s a regular open mic night that takes place down these ends, and this week you can catch some local talent at its finest. Yep, Scribblers Open Mic Night opens its arms up to any wordy so-and-sos in the city giving them a chance to share their wares or simply find inspiration for the next piece. So you can get down and share something in a welcoming environment, or just sit back and soak up the good stuff.
Monday 6 February, 8pm, free, A Room with a Brew. Event link

Far from your uncle’s dodgy moves at the last family wedding, dance can be used to embody stories, issues, and explorations of the world around us. For the world premiere of her new dance theatre piece, BBC Young Dancer judge and choreographer Shobana Jeyasingh is bringing the good stuff to Nottingham. The piece holds the ancestral stories of the two performing dancers, Sooraj Subramaniam and Shailesh Bahoran, who both share a history rooted in the dark realities of colonial migration and plantation labour. The styles of the two dancers are completely different – hip hop and classical Indian dance – yet Shobana is weaving them together to create movements that address the tales. There’s also a film from Simon Daw contained within the piece, inclusive of real archival materials for a bit of context. This really ain’t one to be missed, giving a real insight into the untold stories of British history.
Tuesday 7 February, 7.30pm, £12/£14/£16, Djanogly Theatre. Event link

Motionhouse are a dance theatre company who’re constantly raising the bar for contemporary dance, and they’re in town to show us the good stuff. Their shows are all about combining dance and digital visuals, and come packed with energy, dynamism and pace. This one, Shattered, delivers an assault on the senses from start to finish. The performers interact with digital projections, creating a proper engrossing experience where music, dance, visuals and physical theatre combine. A cast of seven dancers use the stage to explore our relationship with water, portraying both the majesty and savagery of it. Bodies are swallowed up by the ocean, they cascade down waterfalls and surf an avalanche of snow towards an arctic landscape. Sounds alright, dunnit? Get yersen down to Nottingham Playhouse to catch summat that will properly wow – just make sure you book a ticket, sharpish.
Tuesday 7 February, 8pm, £11 - £18, Nottingham Playhouse. Event link

STEMCity’s aiming to encourage scientific curiosity in Notts folk – possibly a dangerous endeavour, knowing us lot – with a week-long festival filled to the brim with engineering, technology, maths and other science-y goodness. The idea is to show that the science world can be friendly and accessible, not just performed in boring and dusty labs by the light of a single fluorescent bulb. In the past, the STEM subjects haven’t always been exactly welcoming to anyone who doesn’t fit a certain stereotype, but events planned during this half-term festival will help reveal the better side of science and encourage more people to have fun questioning the world around us. Think will be putting on a well-trippin’ light show full of psychedelic flash and bang in their tribute to masters of futuristic funk Bowie and Eno, and there’ll be a chance to question – and pester – scientists over at Cobden Chambers: time to pop down and ask where our hoverboards are, maties. For the little ‘uns Broadway is offering an Explorers Fair featuring hands-on stalls and workshops, letting everyone get stuck into the amazing and messy business of science.
Wednesday 8 February - Wednesday 15 February, free, Nottingham City Centre. Event link

It’s bleddy Light Night muckers! Every year, along with a load of other cities in the world, Nottingham is taken over with awesome art installations of an evening, illuminating our locale like the bright bogger it is. This year, you can expect to see the Wheel of Nottingham in all its glory, outdoor exhibitions up at the Castle, the Arboretum, and loads more places. It’s a proper dreamy evening with surprises around every corner, so make sure you have a walk around the city centre and find out what’s going on. If planning is a bit more up your street, you can check out the Nottingham City Council guide, http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/media/456153/77686-ncd-robin-hood-energy-light-night-final-version.pdf where you can find the full run-down of haps. It’s not one to be missed our kid – we’ll see you there.
Friday 10 February, 6pm, free, Nottingham City Centre. Event link

Well, it wouldn’t be Light Night without a bunch of blokes in Mexican wrestling masks and eighties tracksuits tickling the shiz out of their instruments? Revenge of Calculon are a local band who live in the world of left-field electro, with lashings of grooves, bass, and good vibes. This Friday, they’re taking over Rough Trade with their unique act and they’ve got an upcoming release, Hotdog man/Atari-safari, featuring local beatboxer and all-round good guy Motormouf, to plug right at you. On top of that, there’s support from supercomputer-track-morphing DJ Julian Zizko, and the infamous Stiff Kittens on the decks.
Friday 10 February, 6.30pm, free, Rough Trade. Event link

With recent worldwide events, it’d be easy to lose hope altogether. But fear not – now is the time for discussions and solidarity, both of which can be found at University of Nottingham this weekend. Yes, Friday night sees LGBT History Month come into play via a discussion between Lynda Kelly of Nottinghamshire Police and Hannah-Rose Murray, exploring all the ways we can respond to LGBT hate crime. The event is presented in association with the Rights and Justice Priority Area, and is set to be a busy one. The event is free, but make sure you book your place online. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/responding-to-lgbt-hate-crime-tickets-31281931098 Everyone welcome – and get your questions at the ready.
Friday 10 February, 6.30pm, free, A41, Clive Granger, University Park. Event link

The Notts four-piece are back in the city and smashing it. You can catch them this month at our beloved Rock City, where they’ll be bringing some smooth melancholy, looming peaks and that easy indie rock the rest of the UK has come to love so much. After releasing 5am in 2015, Amber Run are set to release their second album For a Moment, I Was Lost on Friday 10 February – the same day they’re coming home to share it with us lot. You might have seen a recent video they’ve released from it – Stranger – and if that’s owt to go by, we’re in for a proper treat. Get that heart on yer sleeve and tek that bobble out; contort that back and buckle yersen up; fling them arms toward the Rock City ceiling like no cares hath ever been given.
Friday 10 February, 10pm, £14.85, Rock City. Event link

Yes yes, it’s time for another session down Stealth and this time the amazing Artwork is coming out to play. You can expect a massive party from the Croydon legend, with all the best in modern dance music – house, electro, disco, techno, and all that other good stuff. The DJ had the awesome idea of chucking a party in someone’s front room and, since then, has been on a mission to recreate the vibe in clubs. So get strapped in to your best shuffling shoes, kid. This one’s gonna be a corker. And you can pop along after a lovely night in the city centre, ogling all the other art work that’ll be rattling around the town that evening.
Friday 10 February, 10pm, £8.80, Stealth. Event link

All right, we know we like to bang on about Nottingham being full of fun, about Luddites, Sleaford Mods, Xylophone Man, and all those Notts legends, but Robin Hood is summat of a special one. What better way to champion our city than by heading down to The Maze for a full-on mead party and barbecue while watching Robin Hood Prince of Thieves with your mates? But this one ain’t all about Notts – it’s the date nestled between Alan Rickman’s birth and his death, so get stuck in and celebrate the legend himself too. Try not to mention our Kev’s accent though, would you? In pure Maze style, fancy dress is greatly encouraged, while the venue will be making a kind effort to deck out the gaff with all the medieval decor they can put their hands on. Plus, a drink of mead is only three quid. Cheers!
Sunday 12 February, 6.30pm, free, The Maze. Event link

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