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Interview: David Almond

Master story-teller, Nottingham Trent lecturer and novelist David Almond has broadened the landscape of dreams with his latest book Mouse Bird Snake Wolf. And he’s not afraid to scare the kids…

Interview: John Newling

After three years of pulling in art from all over the world, Nottingham Contemporary have finally handed their main space to a locally-based artist. John Newling has produced works in hotels, swimming pools, burnt-out cars and on the streets of Los Angeles and New York. So what does he have lined up for his adopted home town?

May Contain Notts: Dec 2012 - Jan 2013

"Winter Wonderland opens in the Square. Jesus Christ, what gibbon in the Council House stopped licking lead paint off a stick long enough"

LeftLion Magazine #51

Featuring John Newling, Thomas Turgoose, The Invisible Orchestra, David Almond, Dating in Nottingham, Retina, The Lion List and more...

Katie Half-Price: Issue 50

"Christian is a violent bulleh, but Ana dunt mind cuz he’s gorra bell-end the size o’ Jay Leno’s head."

Spirits of the Caves Tour

We were warned that we may feel signs of spirits, such as an itchy sensation or chilly breezes even though the caves are at a constant temperature

Newstead Abbey in Photos

A nose around the former home of Lord Byron, a poet who was "Mad, bad and dangerous to know"

Django Unchained

"The rich vein of humour that runs consistently through it superbly enhances the very dark, and very real heart of the film"

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Interview: Alison Moore

Alison Moore’s unsettling debut novel The Lighthouse explores grief, helplessness and abandonment in a style  that threatens to crash against the rocks at any moment. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, it’s the  first glimmer from an important new writer...  

Nottingham Ball Bois

The Nottingham Ball Bois - your gay-friendly neighbourhood football team - are one of the few local clubs in a national league. But, as Scott Lawley (chair and full-back) and Craig Simpson (player-manager) point out, they do a lot more...

White Collar Zoo

Notts-powered Web TV entertainment that aims to introduce local talent to the world. But will  the world - and people round here - stop looking at grot and cats long enough to take notice? Lee Thomas and Guy Williams are banking that enough of us will...

Interview: Kagoule

Formed at school - and still at High Pavement - the grunge-cum-post-punk stylings of Kagoule have got more than a few onlookers into a froth, with XFM already pricking up their ears and a support slot on the main stage at Rock City under their wing. Adjusting their toggles and unzipping their lips are vocalist Cai Burns and bassist Lucy Hatter.

Tarantino - A Retrospective

Love him or loathe him, Tarantino has made an indelible mark on cinema's history

Shane Meadows: The Early Years

Forty-nine issues ago, we interviewed Shane Meadows for the first ever LeftLion Magazine. Since then he’s gone from being an underground Midlands filmmaker to a BAFTA-winning tour de force of both British cinema and television. We’re now on issue fifty and Shane took a break from working on his current project (a documentary about The Stone Roses) to give us a rare interview, reflecting on his early years learning his trade in Nottingham…

Jumpers for Goalposts

"We don't hate football. We're just not sure we want to buy what it's selling"

We Are The 25%: The Creative Quarter Launches

The Creative Quarter: another regeneration project, an attempt to catapult Nottingham into the big league of British cities, a massive hand-out for the city’s arty sorts, or the last attempt to drag the city out of its chain-shop morass? Toby Reid, Director of BioCity and Creative Quarter committee member, reveals the people who will be tasked with shaping the destiny of The Lace Market over the next decade - and don’t look now, but one of them could be you...

Photos: IMAX launch

We snuck along to the opening of Nottingham's monster IMAX cinema screen to see just how big it is

Interview: Reactor

Fancy some audience participation, but hate panto? How about being coerced into submitting to a make-believe totalitarian regime, or having aliens decide if you’re worth being enslaved or just got rid of? That’s the kind of thing that Niki Russell, Dan Williamson and their Reactor collective get up to...

Interview: Hatch's Nathan Miller

For five years now, Hatch have taken away the pretentiousness of performance art, brought back the fun, and have redrawn the boundaries of the stage by refusing to acknowledge them. Playwright Michael Pinchbeck is one of the founders, and the other - Nathan Miller - used to put in serious work for an independent magazine you may have heard of...

Interview: Kappa Gamma

Picked up by Denizen Records, linked up with Dog Is Dead, championed by Dean Jackson and glommed onto the  Radio One playlist, it’s been a very decent year for Kappa Gamma and their freewheeling dream-pop stylings. Time, then, to talk to Tom Towle and Max Starbuck of the band...

May Contain Notts: Oct-Nov 2012

The news diary that leaves its Christmas lights up all year round and doesn’t give a toss what the neighbours think

LeftLion Magazine #50

A bumper fiftieth issue with the Creative Quarter, Shane Meadows, Kappa Gamma, Kagoule, Nottingham Ball Bois, Hatch, Reactor, Damn You! and more

Interview: Gonzo Unit

Gonzo Unit - a collaboration between Anna Schwanz and Rachel Murray - aimed to bring together artists from Notts and beyond to create and perform new works. Problem was, they didn’t have gallery space - so they got really creative and found space in an unexpected place...

Interview: Peter Bowles

Peter Bowles went from a childhood in Hyson Green to an acting career that spans the early days of television, the golden age of sitcoms and the admiration of Marlon Brando - and he owes much of it to a theatre in town that now carries his name...