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Theatre Review: Macbeth by Nottingham Shakespeare Company

Nottingham Shakespeare Company has conjured the world of Macbeth with a tragic, rugged intensity that grips the audience from the first words to the final clash of swords. 

Local playwright Jane Upton on her brand new play (the) woman

Written by Nottingham’s own Jane Upton and shortlisted for the Bruntwood Prize, (the) Woman is coming to Nottingham Playhouse this month. Following a woman struggling to balance her potential as a playwright with her responsibilities as a mother, it tackles hard truths about motherhood and conflicting identities. Jane was able to take the time out of her day to talk to us at LeftLion, having raced back from picking up arts and craft supplies for her children. But, as Jane herself puts it: “Sums it up, doesn’t it?”

Preview: Showstopper at Mansfield Palace Theatre

Fancy a night out watching a show that has never been seen before and will never be seen again? Mansfield Palace Theatre have just the show for you next week…

Mancunian indie-rockers Doves talk past gigs in Notts and their brand new sixth studio record

When people think of great Manchester bands, alt-rockers Doves can often be overlooked. But across their six albums and multiple decades together, the band have rarely put a foot wrong. With their latest opus Constellations of the Lonely just released – their first in five years - and a show at Rock City on the horizon, we sat down for a catch up with drummer Andy Williams.

A new play shines a light on the first pioneer of film-length animation and it is not Disney!

Lakeside Arts hosts this intriguing and inspiring play about Lotte Reiniger...

Film review: 1% of War, a new documentary reveals harrowing details from the frontline in Ukraine

Ukraine war three years on: new documentary, 1% of War reveals harrowing details from the front...

Overheard in Notts: February 2025

This month's Overheard in Notts features cacti and broken escalators...

Fisher Gate Point party, Peggy’s Spotlight, Super League Basketball Final, and Bongo’s Bingo: Here’s what’s on this week in Nottingham 3 March - 9 March 2025

Seeing sunlight past 5pm is not the only thing we have got going on in Nottingham this week. Bongo Bingo’s long awaited return, up-and-coming Jazz & Blues musicians at Peggy’s Skylight, the UKs Super League Basketball Final, Fisher Gate Point is back and Wille and the Bandits will be taking the stage at The Bodega are just some of the many things going on this week… 

LeftLion's Latest Listens #16: Notts music we're currently spinning

In this edition of LeftLion's Latest Listens, our music team reviews new releases from Otala, Sam Shaw & The Real Eyes, Green Grango, Fallowed and Divorce...

LeftLion Issue #181 March 2025

This month's edition of LeftLion features Fisher Gate Point, Marcus Garvey Centre, Doves, playwright Jane Upton, A Foster Carer in Notts, wild swimming at Colwick Park, Ay-Up Market, The Lace Market Theatre, Bulwell Forest Garden, Sister Midnight and much more...

Music Reviews: February 2025

We chat to Wille Edwards of Wille and the Bandits ahead of their Bodega show

Wille and the Bandits hail from Cornwall, playing rock and blues which they have reinvented in their own innovative style, pushing the boundaries of the genre for a whole new generation. After an extensive European tour in 2024, the band are embarking on a UK tour visiting 18 venues and kicking off in March: just a couple of days in, they will visit The Bodega. We spoke with founder Wille Edwards about the new tour, the band’s music, influences and lots more...

Cosmic Titans: Art, Science and the Quantum Universe at Lakeside Arts

In 1980, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham received a letter containing a loose piece of chalk. The letter was from a former student, who explained that the chalk had been used by Albert Einstein during his visit to the university on 6 June 1930. Einstein had written equations on a blackboard during his visit, signing the corner once he had finished. This unique blackboard is now preserved at the university. Nearly a century after Einstein’s visit, Lakeside Arts is presenting Cosmic Titans: Art, Science and the Quantum Universe, an exhibition featuring newly commissioned artworks by nine artists. Jo Herlihy reviews...

Theatre review: Rosy Carrick's Musclebound at Lakeside Arts

Doctor Rosy Carrick brought her long-anticipated one-woman show to Nottingham’s Lakeside Arts on Thursday 6 February, in which she explores hidden sexual desire and female sexual empowerment through conversations between mother and daughter.

Theatre review: Rosy Carrick's Musclebound at Lakeside Arts

Doctor Rosy Carrick brought her long-anticipated one-woman show to Nottingham’s Lakeside Arts on Thursday 6 February, in which she explores hidden sexual desire and female sexual empowerment through conversations between mother and daughter.

Folk music, theatre, Light Night and dancing: Here's what's on this week in Nottingham 24 February - 2 March

The nights are getting brighter and there's lots of reasons to get out in Nottingham this week! Enjoy some soothing folk music, mesmerising light displays, breath-taking belly dance, hilarious theatre or late night DJs...

How Sarah Bard went from battling chronic illness to breaking through in wheelchair tennis

Wheelchair Tennis player and Nottingham resident Sarah Bard is nothing less than a soldier. Having fought through lifelong chronic pain and mobility problems, which peaked after an accident she suffered at age thirty, she’s cemented her position as one of our city’s most admired sportspeople. Back in 2018, LeftLion joined other local media in promoting Sarah’s story, and ‘Go-Fund-Me’ for a new wheelchair to help her travel to national tournaments. Here we pass Sarah the pen to tell her inspiring story.

Feathers and royalty: Matthew Bourne's New Adventures - Swan Lake flaps into town

Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures - Swan Lake returns to The Theatre Royal. After thirty years, has the ballet lost any of its charm? 

Punk, Shakespearian tragedy, trans cinema, and photography exhibitions: here's what's on this week 17 - 23 Februray 2025

This week in Nottingham! Be sure to check out The DSM IV on tour at The Grove and Scotland’s finest Hamish Hawk at Rescue Rooms, if you love to cook or simply want to scrub up on your culinary skills check out James Martin Live down at the Royal Concert Hall, the history of trans representation will be televised in Broadway, indulge in a Shakespearian tragedy, or visit the critically acclaimed The Lovers exhibition at the New Art Exchange…

Gig review: Inhaler at Rock City

Inhaler are doing things big. This month, they embarked on their biggest-ever UK tour, covering eight cities. This followed four weeks in the US, and preceded 15 dates in Europe and a trip to Asia. We caught up with them at Rock City, where they played an enthralling 18-song set...

LeftLion's Latest Listens #15: Notts music we're currently spinning

In this edition of LeftLion's Latest Listens, our music team reviews new releases from Confyde, Idolvein, Cara Flynn, Marseille and ALT BLK ERA...

An open conversation: journalist Gary Younge tells us about a public assembly on issues facing minority communities coming up in Nottingham

Well known for his twenty years at The Guardian and a current position as Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester, journalist, author and broadcaster Gary Younge has led conversations on minority experiences and systematic racism for decades. Those conversations have become all-the-more pertinent since 2020, so Mr Younge is planning new measures to address the issues facing minority communities. 

This will take the form of public assemblies in four cities, one of which will be Nottingham. In January, Mr Younge arrived here to meet the local community who inform the substance of that assembly. Here he presents an open letter, explaining what people can expect from the meeting.

Musical comedy, Craig David, Festival of Science, and film screenings: Here's what's on this week 10-16 February 2025

This week in Nottingham! Head out with the family to the Festival of Science and Curiosity or the Sooty Show, go retro with Craig David and Lemar, check out some musical comedy or get into some thought-provoking film... 

Preview: The Animator at Lakeside Arts

Against the subversive background of 1920’s Berlin, Lotte Reiniger pioneered groundbreaking new methods of animation and filmmaking . The story of this ‘Queen of Silhouettes’ is coming to Lakeside later this month. Beverley Makin shares why this production matters...  

Nottingham Artists Tom Dale and Barret Hodgson discuss Primal Future, their Light Night 2025 centrepiece

Promising to shine brighter than ever, Light Night 2025 will feature dozens of spectacular light installations, family-friendly activities and live performances across the city centre. Among these is a new collaboration called Primal Future, a dance and digital crossover which will be projected onto Nottingham’s Council House at the event. Created as a collaboration between Nottingham-based dancer Tom Dale and digital artist Barret Hodgson, we asked them to reveal more about their work…