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Out of Time: Exploring the History of the Victorian Freak Show With Author Dr John Jacob Woolf
Tue 07 Jun 2022How is it that, in the space of less than a century, society’s attitudes towards people born with disabilities changed from them being exploited as the most popular form of entertainment in Victorian society to being seen with sympathy, dignity and respect? Partly based on our intrinsic fear and fascination with ‘the other’, and partly down to a myriad of other reasons - including the intervention of Queen Victoria herself - the freak show played an enormous role in shaping modern attitudes, and remains one of the most macabre, unusual and complex periods of British cultural history. Ahead of his talk at Nottingham Theatre Royal this month, Dr John Jacob Woolf, historian, author and expert on the Victorian freak show, explains more…
10 Years Later: John Carter
Wed 09 Mar 2022It flopped at the box office, but has this sci-fi adventure become worthy of cult classic status a decade later?
Five Years Later: John Wick Chapter 2
Thu 17 Feb 2022The sequel's world-building remains the series' best...
How Nottingham-Born John Russell Hind Helped to Expand the Field of Astronomy
Sun 13 Feb 2022We celebrate the life and work of John Russell Hind, the Nottingham-born astronomer who made huge strides in the discovery of asteroids…
Exhibition Review: John Newling in the Studio at Beam
Sat 15 Jan 2022In this online exhibition, John Newling explores the Earth and ecology through the medium of soil, followed by a short essay. We discuss some of the most poignant works on display…
Film Review: Dear Evan Hansen
Wed 27 Oct 2021The latest Broadway hit to be adapted for the big screen is an unintentional disturbia flick we didn’t know we wanted this Halloween...
The Cod’s Scallops Owner John Molnar Reflects on Ten Years of the UK’s Best Fish and Chip Shop
Wed 04 Aug 2021Despite being about as far from the sea as you can get in the UK, The Cod’s Scallops was named as the UK’s best fish and chip shop in 2020, capping off an impressive list of accolades for one of Nottingham’s biggest culinary success stories. Opening as a single shop ten years ago, Nottingham is now home to four of the renowned chippies. With a fifth on the way, as well as a 10% discount running throughout August to celebrate their anniversary, we caught up with owner John Molnar to find out the secrets of his success…
John Holmes MBE on His Autobiography, BBC Legacy and Career Highlights
Fri 23 Jul 2021John Holmes MBE – the voice of Nottingham Radio - has put pen to paper for a cracking autobiography that documents fifty years of shenanigans. He spoke to Hollie Anderson about his BBC legacy, career highlights and the process of writing his own life story…
Out of Time: Sir William Neville and Sir John Clanvowe, the Medieval Knights Who May Have Had a Same-Sex Union
Sun 11 Jul 2021During the 1913 renovation of a mosque in modern-day Istanbul, a fourteenth century tomb was rediscovered bearing the names of two men. The first was Sir William Neville, a former Constable of Nottingham Castle, while the second was Sir John Clanvowe, the man said to have penned the Robin Hood ballad upon which all later iterations of the legend are based. But the nature of the tomb, and other recorded evidence, suggests that Neville and Clanvowe could have been bonded in an early example of a same-sex union…
Out of Time: Nottingham's John Shaw and the Battle of Waterloo
Wed 16 Jun 2021It was the most famous battle in human history, helping to shape Europe as we know it today and finally ending Napoleon’s dreams of a French Empire. While the Battle of Waterloo ensured that names like Bonaparte and Wellington would be forever etched into history, it was the exploits of one man from Nottingham that caught the public’s attention more than any other on that day in 1815. With 18 June marking the battle’s 206th anniversary, we take a look at the extraordinary life and death of Cossall-born John Shaw…
Notts Rebels: John Deane
Wed 05 Aug 2020Despite a long and illustrious naval career that saw him interact with the likes of Robert Walpole and Peter the Great, as well as being a key figure in the capture of Gibraltar, Wilford-born John Deane would always be associated with the events on Boon Island. For all the heroics and accolades he received afterward, it would be those 24 days of deception, shipwreck, murder and cannibalism that would haunt Captain Deane until the day he died…
Out of Time: Nottingham Doctor John Arderne, England’s First Surgeon
Sun 19 Apr 2020As the most devastating pandemic recorded in human history, the Black Death decimated Europe in the 14th century, killing somewhere between 30-60% of the continent’s entire population. But amidst the death, misery and chaos, one Nottingham doctor named John Arderne blazed a medical trail that still sees him referred to as England’s first surgeon…
89-Year-Old Albert Johnson: “I want to go to Jamaica, one last time”
Thu 19 Mar 2020As a member of the Windrush Generation who came to Britain in the 1950s after World War II, 89-year-old Albert Johnson devoted his life to being a well-respected and productive member of society. His reward? Being threatened with deportation and denied his legal rights as part of the 2017 scandal. With the dream of returning home to his native Jamaica one final time, we talked to Johnson as he looks back on a life of hard work, endurance and survival…
Brass Monkey Turns 20: Manager John McDermott Shares How…
Fri 13 Mar 2020We track down the general manager of the bar that’s open ‘till the early hours seven days a week, to learn why it hasn’t run out of steam, or rum, just yet…
Notts’ Panto Legends Kenneth Alan Taylor and John Elkington on Bringing Sleeping Beauty to the Playhouse This Christmas
Thu 05 Dec 2019This year marks 35 years since Kenneth Alan Taylor first brought pantomime to the Nottingham Playhouse when he arrived as Artistic Director. For a generation, his gentle northern tones were the voice of the quintessential panto dame, a role he reprised over and over before hanging up the costume changes for writing instead. It’s also been 21 years since John Elkington first appeared in a Playhouse panto and solidified himself as the current dame of choice. Our Stage Editor – and massive panto fan – sat down with them both during rehearsals for Sleeping Beauty to find out about this year’s production…
Behold: The Boris Johnson Donut from Doughnotts
Tue 12 Nov 2019Get 'The Johnson' in stores today. £2 from each treat sold goes to a worthy cause...
What Do Johnny Vegas, Ricky Gervais, Ross Nobel and Stewart Lee Really Think of Just The Tonic Owner Darrel Martin?
Thu 03 Oct 2019Nottingham’s longest-running comedy club Just the Tonic is back with a brand new residency at Metronome. To celebrate, we’ve delved deep into the LeftLion archives to let owner Darrell Martin know what some of Britain’s most famous comedians really think of him and his club...
Out Of Time: Johnny Cash's Hallucinogenic Trip to Nottingham
Tue 27 Aug 2019Everyone and their Nan can name at least one Johnny Cash song. But did you know that a drug-induced hallucination in Nottingham might have saved his life?