There's more than enough for you to be getting on with, my youths...
Rent
Life is tough for us artists; particularly in this political climate. It’s nigh on impossible to make a bit of dollar in the creative industry, despite the fact that there’s no business like show business. Believe us, we know. Telling that story impeccably, is the classic musical Rent. A group of impoverished artists are struggling to survive in NYC, battling money troubles, relationship problems, and HIV/AIDS. Having won four Tony Awards, six Drama Desk Awards, and the coveted Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the show is making it’s way to the Playhouse so make sure you bag tickets before they fly out the door.
Runs until Saturday 20 May, £13.50 - £33.50, Nottingham Playhouse, event link
Pint of Science Festival
The event that combines your love of learning with the comfort of a pint has had a growth spurt. The University of Nottingham and Impact have joined forces with the team behind Pint of Science to bring you a three-day festival, spread across six venues, all geared towards teaching you a thing or two in a familiarly boozy setting. Get down to Rough Trade on Monday to find out what makes a spider fly, head over to Nottingham Contemporary on Tuesday to work out whether it’s possible to make antibiotics from scorpion venom, and Bunkers Hill on Wednesday sees Meghan Grey mapping out the cosmic web. Oo-er. There’s no end of stuff cracking off over the course of the festival, so make sure you head over to the website to book tickets and plan your week.
Monday 15 - Thursday 18 May, prices and times vary per event, city centre venues, event link
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
You know when you get asked them questions about what three people you wanna have round for some scran? Well, Jack Nicholson is well and truly on our list. He’s a bleddy legend, for crying out loud. After making his big screen debut as a masochistic patient in Little Shop of Horrors, he went on to star as a loveable, obsessive compulsive romantic novel writer in As Good As It Gets, and writer-turned villain, Jack, in The Shining. To celebrate the big man’s eightieth birthday, the BFI are re-releasing One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and it’s being brought to a cinema near us courtesy of The Loft Movie Theatre and Porlock Press. You’ll need to book your tickets sharpish, and make sure you arrive bang on time, cos for once there’s no adverts before the film starts. Get yourself in a love seat with a bag of popcorn and relax, duckies.
Monday 15 May, 8.15pm, £4.75/£6.50, Savoy Cinema, event link
Reading Octavia Butler
Sci-fi writers have been known for their eerily accurate portrayals of the future; George Orwell’s 1984 is basically a blueprint for modern life, and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World prophesied the mass-prescription of antidepressants. Octavia Butler went a step further. She literally predicted the rise of an American senator with a penchant for violence, whose catchphrase was “Make America great again” in her nineties novel, Parable of the Talents. Woi. The New Art Exchange are hosting a reading of our Octavia’s texts, led by Iniva Programme Coordinator, Laura Castagnini, and University of Liverpool PhD candidate, Beata Bubasci. Unearthing topics of colonialism, slavery, and the future of gender fluidity, biopolitics and the apocalypse. Interesting stuff. Make sure you register interest so the relevant texts can be sent to you.
Thursday 18 May, 6.30pm, free, 16+ event, New Art Exchange, event link
Paint A Pot
Sometimes, all you need is a day off work, a sweet cup of char and a slice of cake, and the chance to get a little bit creative. The Harley Gallery are offering you just that, this week, with their weekly Paint a Pot Thursday event. Pick yersen a bit of ready-made pottery; from mugs to plates, tea pots to vases; and get to it with a bit of paint. Leave it with the professionals for a week, and pick it up freshly glazed and ready to rock and roll. You get a bit of you time, and yer nana gets a lovely new ornament for her mantlepiece. It’s basically a win win situation for all involved. If you really wanna boss the game, start sketching some patterns and designs before you get there. There’s a Clarice Cliff in you yet, my friend.
Thursday 18 May, 10am, £5 studio fee plus price of pot, The Harley Gallery, event link
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