Pick of the Week: 11 - 17 May

image: Broadway Cinema

Girlhood 
Set in the outskirts of Paris, a young girl is burdened by the social climate, male dominance in her neighbourhood, and her school failure. She’s sixteen, a difficult time for anyone, what with all the acne, hormones and hair growing where it shouldn’t, and trying to find her way in a not so friendly neighbourhood. Then she meets a bunch of mates who take her from zero to hero, for better or worse. The film is gonna be a refreshing glimpse of modern life told from the perspective of a black teenage girl - a story we don’t hear all too often. Sound like it could be up your street? Then get yourself down to Broadway this week for some proper tasty film goodness.
Monday 11 - Thursday 14 May, various times, £8, Broadway

An English Trip
Addiction has the ability to take over lives. When coupled with substance abuse and mental illness, it can often lead to devastating consequences. One brave man who managed overcome his demons is John Doran, who published a memoir detailing his recovery from the former, entitled Jolly Lad. This week, he will be performing readings from his book, alongside musical accompaniment from Nik Void and Kjetil Nernes. It’s set to be an inspiring evening, with short film screenings to watch, too. It won’t break the bank at just a fiver a ticket, which’ll leave you enough to get a fresh juice from the cafe bar and a slice of that delicious lemon and raspberry cake...
Tuesday 12 May, 8.30pm, £5, Broadway

The former Dog Is Dead

D.I.D 
We’re not sure why they changed their awesome name, but the band formerly known as Dog Is Dead have still got the same classic sound. Standing firmly on the podium reserved for the finest of Nottingham talent, the boys are back on the prowl with their new track Hotel and are ready to deliver. They’ve been a bit quiet of late, because besides rocking up to Rescue Rooms to deliver cracking DJ sets, they’ve been locked away writing and recording their next album. Following two sell-out shows in the ends, they’ve decided to pounce back onto the scene, take us firmly by the scruffs of our necks, and plonk us in front of them. Judging by previous gigs, these lot are gonna sell out faster than the freshest of Birds’ cobs, so you best book your ticket pronto.
Tuesday 12 May, 6.30pm, £12.50, Rescue Rooms

Poison Tree
If you’ve got a penchant for the slightly dark, slightly twisted, then pop on over to The Lofthouse, Warser Gate, for an evening of darkly comic and macabre short films. The talented twins that are John and Tom Turrell are bringing their catalogue of films to you lot, including Poison Tree, the perfectly eerie and uneasy short inspired by William Blake. There’ll be cake, fairy lights and we’re promised a little bit of ‘folk magic’ too. Oo-er. Sam Derby-Cooper will be on the decks with some proper soul, Motown and funk tunes to get your Wednesday really in the swing of it. Oh, and did we mention that it’s free?
Wednesday 13 May, 7pm, free, The Lofthouse

image: Beeston Tales

Beeston Tales 
We don’t half like a good tale at LeftLion, but we love them when we get to sit back to someone tell them. A mere baby on the spoken word scene, Beeston Tales has already found its feet. This month’s session comes from Helen Appleton of The Matlock Storytelling Cafe and she’s got a pick of stories from the edge of the known world. Plus, because they seem to want to spoil you, there’ll be music from Freya Waninge. Open your tabs and gather on the carpet for an evening that will take you to a world where myth and legends rule.
Wednesday 13 May, 7.30pm, £5/£6/£12, The White Lion

Barney Melton Exhibition/Book Launch 
A step above the narcissistic selfie sticks that have adorned our society this past year, Barney Melton brings a touch of artistic class to the self portrait. He’s been a busy bee this year; he’s on the judging panel for the Young Creative Awards Photography category, and he’s been getting snap happy with his camera at various locations around the city. Now, he’s ready to show you the fruits of his labour - and give you a book to take home too. We’re huge fans of his monochrome work at the ‘Lion, so we’re buzzing our little bottoms off at the prospect of seeing his collection of works at independent art gallery, Bohunk. If you wanna find out more about the man himself, check out our interview with him from this month’s mag.
Thursday 14 - Thursday 21 May, various times, free, Bohunk Institute

Celebrating everything Notts...

Young Creative Awards
Every year, loads of Nottingham organisations get together to celebrate the most creative youths the city has to offer. Over the past few months, contenders have been scribbling, sewing, snapping and all the rest of it, to be in with a chance of winning cash prizes and places on prestigious mentoring schemes. And now, it is time. Time for these young ‘uns to stand up and shake hands with the boss men and women of their fields on a stage in front of many a Nottinghamite. Not only will there be mams, dads and nannas welling up with tears of joy, there will be performances from many of these awesome whippersnappers. Expect dancing, poetry, video, live music, graphic animation, and more. Remember, the material might be from people who’re just emerging creatively, but they’re the crème de la crème of their categories in young Nottingham, and trust us when we say you won’t be disappointed. Last year was an absolute corker and we expect the evening to be even better than before. This year’s theme is ‘Made in Nottingham,’ so the mixed bag of tricks will pluck out packets of ibuprofen, Paul Smiths and Raleigh Burners as it speeds along its course. The event is free, but make sure you book your tickets from the Playhouse Box Office to avoid disappointment.
Friday 15 May, 6pm, free, Nottingham Playhouse

Syson Gallery Relocation Opening Party  
The commercial gallery that champions the ever- developing contemporary art scene in our city and beyond has found itself a new place to call home in the heart of the Lace Market. Sat directly opposite Tempreh, there’ll be less need to trek about to get your fix of contemporary art. The exhibition to mark the start of the new era comes from the sculptor Lotti V Closs, the winner of the 2014 Syson Prize from the Nottingham Castle Open exhibition. With all new work, Closs’ work uses boldly abstract visual language while maintaining an attention to detail,  that allows the viewer to see the personal attachments and the playful nature she possesses while creating. No exhibition opening night is complete without drinks, and this night is no different. With cocktails and sounds from the Truth and Lies DJs and Rights of Passage DJs, you’d be daft to miss out.
Friday 15 May (exhibition runs until Thursday 11 June), 6pm, free, Syson Gallery, High Pavement

Football Rocks Tournament 
There’s some pretty big names to have come outta Nottingham in the last few years: Jake Bugg, Saint Raymond and Reverend and The Makers to name but a few. Thankfully for us, they’ve not turned into proper airhead celebs with money on their mind. They’re a right decent bunch who like to do what they can for the rest of us. Raising money for the British Heart Foundation, and Bugg’s Robin Hoodie Foundation which raises money to buy music equipment for schools, the lads are having a good old kick about. Playing against each other in the celebrity match to end all celebrity matches, the boys are kicking off a day long tournament this Saturday. Dig deep, donate, and see if you can grab a snap with some famous faces.
Saturday 16 May, 10.30am, £10, Meadow Lane Stadium

We doubt it'll be as professional as this...

Pongathon 
We just can’t stop doing our bit this week, and don’t it feel bloody great, eh? Adam Sumner and Matt Reynolds of Das Kino are taking on the epic task of a 24 hour ping pong game, to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support, a charity close to their hearts. According to their lads, their love of the game has not transcended into any sort of skill, so we’re predicting the task to be harder than it sounds for the boys. They’ve raised about twenty percent of their goal amount so far, so make sure you follow the link in the title and sponsor their ping-pong marathon. Oh, and pop down to Das Kino for a pizza and a good old chuckle. We’re thinking about 4pm on Sunday afternoon, prime giggle time...
Saturday 16 May, 24 hours, donations welcome, Das Kino

Dusty Bible & The Canadians live LP Recording 
Some beasts aren’t meant to be caged, and Dusty Bible and the Canadians are such creatures. After giving the world a couple of damned good LPs, they feel that they can do better outside of the constraints of a studio. As such, they are bringing their electrified blues and rock and roll to you, the people, and not only that, they’ll be recording it all to create a live album that will take the meaning of ‘bangers’ to a whole new level. With two nights of free gigs they want you to unleash your wild side too for this sonic experience. And with support in the shape of Bus Stop Madonnas and Fists, on the Friday and Saturday respectively, they’re pushing the proverbial boat way out.
Friday 15 and Saturday 16 May, 8 - 11pm, free, JT Soars

Phlexx: Afterdark Movement 
This is gonna be a biggun. Celebrating the release of their third album, Get Rude, The Afterdark Movement are returning to The Maze for an evening of proper reggae/hip hop debauchery. Courtesy of Phlexx Promotions, a bleedin’ huge lineup has been sorted, with names including Unkown Era, Blessing Magore, Bud and Yasmin Issaaka, it’s bound to be a sweaty night to remember. They certainly don’t do things by half, do they?! There’s also gonna be some live art going on, courtesy of Jefe and Man I Wish I Could Paint, so you can pretend to be cultured while sipping on your luke warm Red Stripe. Not bad for a measly three quid, eh?
Saturday 16 May, 9pm, £3, The Maze

Summat you don't see every day...

Einstein on the Beach
Back in the seventies, composer Philip Glass and theatre stage director Robert Wilson got together and created an opera like no other. Deemed a contemporary classic that has inspired pop culture in myriad ways, it’s somewhat of a coup that Backlit have managed to organise this collection. This is the first time it’s been housed together in over a decade and outside of New York, and includes storyboards, manuscripts – score and script – and, its centre piece, Wilson’s sculpture that was used in the stage production, the Einstein Chair. Plus, on Saturday 9 May, project collaborators Dance4 have invited dance artist and Principal Lecturer of Dance at De Montfort University, Sally Doughty, to perform her response to the original choreographic score of Lucinda Childs, followed by a talk. Although the latter performance is free, get booking to ensure you get a look-in – it’s going to be busy.  
Runs until Sunday 17 May, free, Backlit Gallery

Johnny and the Raindrops Album Launch
We love a good fancy dress session and we love having a good old boogy to some new tunes. If you’re on board with this an’ all, then clear your schedule this Sunday and get down t’Polish Club for ‘the Raindrops album launch. With a superhero fancy dress theme and a brand new CD to promote, it’s all stations go for the liveliest ‘day of rest’ you’ve had in a while. They’ve billed it as a family affair, with loads of room for the kiddies to run around, so no need to find a babysitter. Win. There’s also gonna be a bar, and we have it on very good authority that there’s even gonna be cakes. Just for the little’uns, of course.
Sunday 17 May, 2.45pm, £3.50, The Polish Club

For the motherload of everything else going on this week check out our comprehensive Nottingham events listings.

Promoters: Want your event featured in one of our upcoming Pick of the Weeks? If so then you can start by adding your event details into our magazine and website database