Site search

Which side are you on? Talking to an infiltrator of far right protests

Roundabouts, flags, boats and protests… Recent months have been fraught in the UK, with the political divide seeming at an all time high. But taking things offline and onto the street, how do we begin to resolve the tensions that are threatening our democracy and sense of cooperation? Matteo D’Alesio spoke to a protest infiltrator whose aim it is to find out what is truly at the heart of the rise in far-right political action…

Artist Hetain Patel on his new audio visual show and his early career spent in Notts

Hetain Patel is an English visual artist specialising in performance, sculpture, video and photography. Born and brought up in Bolton, his work is influenced by identity, his family's Indian heritage and mainstream Western pop culture. Hetain came to Nottingham in 2000 as a Fine Art student and spent more than a decade here before spreading his wings; exhibiting in Norway, India, Belgium and more. He’s back with his latest work as part of nottdance Festival 2025…

Local racer Alicia Barrett talks her ongoing journey to international motorsport success

Motorsport is an expensive and male-dominated industry, usually only accessible for Cornelius and Clifford using their trust funds. However, 21-year-old Alicia Barrett from Southwell is looking to buck this trend. Despite her tender years, she’s more than a decade into her racing career, currently moving from kart racing to race cars, and looking for support to take it to the next level…

Ballet Black founder Cassa Pancho on growing an inclusive dance company and bringing it to Nottingham's Theatre Royal

Ballet Black was set up in 2001, in response to a lack of black and Asian dancers working in professional ballet across the UK. It has since emerged as a pivotal force in altering the landscape of British ballet. With a new show heading to Nottingham’s Theatre Royal this month, we put some questions to Ballet Black founder Cassa Pancho…

How the Sisterhood Collective is connecting women photographers in Nottingham

Meet the Sisterhood Collective — a volunteer-led network giving women and women-identifying photographers in Nottingham a space to connect, create, and be seen. Run by photographer and arts programmer Susana de Dios and Alecia Barnes, co-owner of Sneinton Market’s film camera shop and film lab LensFayre, the Collective has grown into a supportive hub where photographers can share their practice, sharpen their skills, and build confidence together.

Born out of a need to challenge the systemic barriers that women in photography still face, from limited access to funding and equipment, to a lack of exhibition opportunities and mentorship, the Sisterhood Collective blends monthly meet-ups with hands-on workshops, peer critique sessions, themed projects, informative talks, and more.

Ahead of their collaborative exhibition at Nottingham Central Library, on 6 November, Susana and Alecia spoke about what it means to create a safe and educational space for Nottingham’s women photographers…

Theatre Review: Sealskin at Lakeside Arts

A spellbinding tale of selkies comes to Lakeside Arts... 

Gig review: Allo Darlin' at The Old Cold Store

A reunion of many, with the moon looking down on it all... LeftLion's Michael Prince found himself in awe and happiness as he witnessed the long-overdue return of indie-pop band Allo Darlin'...

All singing, all dancing: Here's what's on in Nottingham 13 - 19 October

There's plenty to do this week in Nottingham, whether you're flexing your singing muscles, enjoying some immersive theatre, or participating in the yearly Reclaim the Night march. Here are our Picks of the Week. 

Left Stag: October 2025 - A Love Letter to Proper Footy

Our man in Mansfield Josh Osoro Pickering is back from an away trip to Port Vale where he was very happy to partake in their local delicacy of Oatcakes...

Night Creatures Podcast #2: Laurence and Steve from Smokescreen Soundsystem on thirty years of club nights, free parties, police, gangsters and more

Night Creatures is a new LeftLion podcast, shining a light on the promoters of Nottingham. Your host and interviewer is Beane, co-founder of Nottingham’s beloved Soul Buggin’ night and he brings with him over twenty years of experience of putting on great parties in the city...

Comedian Rosa Keaton shares highlights from the coming Club Wormhole Festival

Alternate comedy is thriving in Nottingham. And among the comedians leading that boom is Club Wormhole, very much a home for non-conventional humour. And with Wormhole Weekend coming up, now is a great time find out more... 

LeftLion's Latest Listens #33: Notts music we're currently spinning

In this edition of LeftLion's Latest Listens, our music team reviews new releases from Bored Marsh, George Gadd + The Aftermath, Molly Godber and The Red Line...

Pick Six: Steven Sheil at the Mayhem Horror Film Festival

For this month’s Pick Six we turn to Steven Sheil, Co-Director at the Mayhem Horror Film Festival which takes place at Broadway Cinema between Thursday 16 - Sunday 19 October.

LeftLion Interviews Podcast #14: Artist, Performer and Filmmaker Hetain Patel on Inspiration, Superheroes, Nationalism and Nottdance

This episode we are joined by artist, performer, filmmaker, sculptor and general arts polymath Hetain Patel to talk about his time in Notts, his work, superheroes, nationalism and quite a lot more...

Actor Matt Gavan gives the inside scoop on Nottingham Playhouse's new play Eureka Day

Matt Gavan has acted in big hitting films and series like Christopher Robin, Masters of the Air and Pennyworth. But now he is treading the boards in Nottingham Playhouse's new comedy Eureka Day. Leftlion caught up with Matt on day two of rehearsals... 

Paradigm shift: acclaimed filmmaker Adam Curtis talks politics, filmmaking, and Wollaton Hall

Bafta-winning documentary filmmaker Adam Curtis is one of the country’s most intriguing, with a long career under his belt of making surreal films exploring how people think, feel, and act in the West. His latest: Shifty: Living in Britain at the End of the Twentieth Century just happens to feature archival footage from Wollaton Hall, filmed back in the 80s by the BBC. With this in mind we jumped at the opportunity to pick his brain about filmmaking, politics, and more…  

Director Eoin McKenzie on masculinity, role models and The Show for Young Men

Glasgow-based theatre producer and director Eoin McKenzie’s The Show for Young Men – a GuestHouse Projects production – which comes to Nottdance in November as part of a national tour, uses dance to explore the friendship between a man and a boy. We chatted to McKenzie, who delves into the creative processes behind The Show for Young Men and shares his thoughts on masculinity and community among men...

We chat to Sonya Madan of Echobelly about touring, enduring friendships and the state of the nation

Gig review: Club Onion 5 at The OId Cold Store

Club Onion is the brainchild of Twisted Onion promoters Steve Solbé and Steve Hardaker. The events bring a mix of live bands, electronic artists and DJs to locations across the UK with the vibe being very much 1988–1992, bringing to mind the Megadog events from back in the day. The fifth Nottingham edition took place at The Old Cold Store...

Comedy Review: John Shuttleworth's Raise the Oof at the Nottingham Playhouse

Celebrating forty years in showbiz, John Shuttleworth flew into Nottingham on his Yamaha organ and wowed audiences. But what is an oof? And is it true that there is more to Mr Shuttleworth than his mild-mannered personality suggests...  

LeftLion Interviews Podcast #13: Filmmaker Adam Curtis on Shifty, politics, filmmaking and Wollaton Hall

For our latest episode we are joined by veteran BBC documentary filmmaker, whose latest project Shifty promintently features some 1980s footage of Nottingham's Wollaton Hall...

Artworks: Lucy Suggate and Tender Stones

For this month’s Artworks, we speak to dance artist and choreographer Lucy Suggate about her work Tender Stones, which will be performed this month as part of the 2025 nottdance Festival.

Atticus Finch, Sunk and cider: here's what's on in Nottingham this week Monday 5 - Sunday 11 October 2025

October is here! To start the month off, you can find everything in Nottingham from the punk scene to uplifting singing-storytelling, from a stage adaptation of a world-famous American Southern Gothic novel to the annual Robin Hood Beer and Cider Festival...

Comedy Review: Mark Steel at the Nottingham Playhouse

BAFTA-nominated Mark Steel, a regular on the nations TV, radio and bookshelves, gives us insight into his journey surviving cancer...

Stapleford singer George Gadd talks about his new band and debut album Too Many Ghosts

He’s been a stalwart of the local Nottingham music scene for over a decade now, so it seems quite remarkable that George Gadd’s debut album – the recently-released Too Many Ghosts – has taken this long to manifest. We caught up with the Stapleford singer-songwriter to hear about the making of this deeply personal first record, his musical influences, as well as his upcoming launch show at The Bodega…