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Interview: Richard Herring

TV Comedian and celebrity interviewer, Richard Herring, brings his multi-award-winning show to Nottingham's Playhouse this November. In this exclusive preview, he talks of testicles, godlike powers and when podcasts go wrong...     

We Speak to Poet Ravelle-Sadé Fairman About Performing on Stage and Inspiring Young Writers

Getting in front of an audience and revealing your innermost thoughts sounds pretty daunting, but the rewards of speaking your truth are many. We spoke to Ravelle-Sadé Fairman about performing on stage, inspiring young writers and the purpose of poetry.

Theatre Review: The King and I

Ian C Douglas reviews the King and I at the Theatre Royal...

Boatyard Builders: Bringing Notts’ Disused Boatyard Back to Its Roots of Adventure

With demand in Nottingham for a new climbing centre, Boatyard Boulders are bringing a disused boatyard back to its roots of adventure...

Theatre Review: It’s A Bird at Lakeside Arts Centre 

What a show: It’s a Bird from the Equality Act. Bea Udeh reviews Jordan Gray's latest show... 

Introducing Humanity Project, the Motley Group Putting Humanity Back Into Our Politics

Imagine a House of Citizens filled with a representatively selected jury of people who aren’t professional politicians, informed by the best expertise, sat atop government alongside the two Houses of Parliament (the Commons and Lords). This House would not be beholden to any manifesto or particular ideology, but steered by thousands of ongoing conversations around the country - inclusively, deliberatively, collectively making long term policy decisions based on the things we can all agree on. Sounds pretty far out right? Well that’s the plan for Humanity Project…

Down to the Bare Bones: An interview with Mayhem Film Festival

October is in full swing, so that can only mean one thing for Nottingham’s film fanatics: Mayhem! Founded in 2005, Mayhem Film Festival commences on 12 October, and brings you four days of some of the best contemporary horror in the game. LeftLion HQ caught up with the organisers: Steven Shiel, Chris Cooke, and Film Programmer Melissa Gueneau ahead of the festival...

Literature Review: Imagine an Image by Nottingham writer Teo Eve

Experiments in language and image, meaning and visual form lie at the heart of a new collection of poetry, Imagine an Image, by Nottingham writer Teo Eve.

Interview: The Royal Concert Hall Goes Psycho for Halloween

The Psycho soundtrack is coming to Nottingham. But this is more than your everyday kind of concert. Clelia McElroy from Monstrous Flesh, Emma Duncan from The Fortune & Glory Film Club and Paul Murphy from the Limelight Orchestra share their journey from horror movie to the podium... 

Nottingham Family Festival Young Hustlers Aims to Ignite The Flames of Creativity

Catherine Ross: Voices from Nottingham's Windrush Generation

To celebrate Black History Month and the 75th anniversary of Windrush we have been working with the New Art Exchange and their NAE YOUnity Commission funded by Freelands Foundation. Our aim is to highlight the voices of Nottingham's Windrush generation and some of the challenges they faced...

Jordan Gray: The Scene-Setter, The Story Teller, The Bird, Has Already Taken Off To Several Flights

Jordan Gray steps out of the spotlight to give a little backstory to her upcoming self-penned, touring production, Is It A Bird...

Nigel Best: Voices from Nottingham's Windrush Generation

To celebrate Black History Month and the 75th anniversary of Windrush we have been working with the New Art Exchange and their NAE YOUnity Commission funded by Freelands Foundation. Our aim is to highlight the voices of Nottingham's Windrush generation and some of the challenges they faced...

Here’s the Inspiration Behind Laura Decorum’s Black History Month LeftLion Cover

Laura Decorum designed the beautiful cover for Issue #164 of LeftLion. Here's what she had to say about it...

Biggest Ever Hockley Hustle Will Be An Inspiring Showcase of Nottingham’s Music Scene

Vicky McClure’s Our Dementia Choir and the UFO Orchestra are just two of the 350 stellar acts lined up to deliver a fantastic showcase of Nottingham’s thriving music scene at the biggest ever Hockley Hustle on Sunday 22 October...

6 Places in Nottingham to Get a Perfect Instagram Photo

POV: You want to upload an aesthetic image to Instagram, but you don’t know where to take it. Don’t worry, we’re here to help. Here is a list of six places in Nottingham to get that perfect Instagram shot…

Poetry Reading: Arlo Parks at Rough Trade

Celebrating the release of her debut poetry collection The Magic Border, Grammy-nominee and Mercury-prize winner Arlo Parks visits Nottingham’s Rough Trade for an evening of intimate conversation, storytelling, and poetry-reading…

20 Great LeftLion Interviews You Should Re-Read

Over the last two decades we’ve interviewed a lot of people within our pages. It’s not easy to pick out favourites, but we love you so much we’ve given it a go. Here are twenty of our best interviews, listed in chronological order, that we think you should take a second look at…

LeftLion Issue #164 October 2023

Our October Black History Month issue is out now! Guest edited by Addie Kenogbon, with a gorgeous cover by Laura Decorum, this issue features Nottingham's Windrush Generation, Veronica Pickering, Jorja Smith, Melonyx, Jah Digga, Honey Williams, and more...

We Talk To Baby Tap About His Upcoming Album ‘Enki’ And Its Release Party at Rough Trade

A key figure in the Notts LGBTQ+ scene, Baby Tap's new album Enki is out at the end of October, with an album release show shortly after on 8 November at Rough Trade. We caught up with them all about the album and the Notts queer scene...

In Photos: BBC Introducing at Metronome

Once again, BBC Introducing took over Metronome. Our Rae Dowling was there to capture some of the East Midlands' best up-and-coming artists...

Tastemaker Dean Jackson Tells Us How He Identifies Nottingham’s Most Talented Musicians

Whether you’ve heard his voice on BBC radio, or seen his friendly face announcing who’s coming on stage next at a festival, Dean Jackson is one of the most important figures in Nottingham when it comes to the music industry. He tells us all about the origins of his career, the artists he’s been loving recently, and what the future holds for the local music scene…

Meet Ignite, the Organisation Who Have Been Unleashing Creative Sparks for 20 Years

Everyone has a creative spark that simply needs unleashing, and that’s where Ignite! come in. Along with organising the Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity, this Nottingham-based charity has been supporting young people to achieve their potential for twenty years. We spoke to the founder of it all, Rick Hall, for a ‘potted history’ of Ignite!, the lowdown on their unique Nottingham festival, and his outlook on creativity in our city…

Theatre Review: The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man

Ian C Douglas reviews The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man... 

We Chat to Virgin Radio UK’s Amy Voce About Her Time at Nottingham Trent University and Her Most Memorable On-Air Moments

Before her voice became familiar across the nation thanks to her work on Gem 106 and Virgin Radio UK, broadcaster Amy Voce studied a degree in Communication Studies at Nottingham Trent University. We chat to her all about her connections to the city, her Two New Mums podcast, and her most memorable on-air moments…