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Artworks: Anna Mylonas of Nine Two Five Silver

For this month’s Artworks, we hear from Anna Mylonas, a Notts-based silversmith who runs Nine Two Five Silver.

5 Perfect Gifts for Coffee Lovers This Black Friday

Black Friday is one of the best times of the year to score great deals on everything coffee-related — from premium beans to high-end brewing equipment. Whether there’s a coffee lover in your family or you’re looking to upgrade your own setup, this is the perfect opportunity to find thoughtful and affordable gifts.

Nouvelle Vague's Marc Collins and Mélanie Pain talk about the band's beginnings ahead of the Metronome show

With twenty years of covering some of the most seminal post-punk and new wave tracks of all time, French band Nouvelle Vague bring their elegant live performance to Metronome next Wednesday. We sat down to speak to producer Marc Collins and singer Mélanie Pain to discover how the band began and what inspired their sound...

Hart of the Wood: the film installations at Newstead Abbey inspired by forest folklore

With its elegant ruins, serene rolling gardens and rich literary history, Newstead Abbey already makes for an atmospheric autumnal wander, but currently, another escape awaits within its historic landscape. Dotted within the grounds, the Hart of the Wood project shares a series of intriguing 16mm films exploring the seasons, our relationship with folklore and the land. We spoke to Notts filmmaker Benjamin Wigley to hear about the artistry and story behind these curious hand-powered moving pictures…

Theatre review: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at Nottingham's Theatre Royal

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe came to Nottingham's Theatre Royal this week, bringing dazzling theatrics, humour and heart...

Gig review: The Lovely Eggs at Metronome

We sent one of our writers to reunite with lo-fi psych-rock duo The Lovely Eggs as they visited Nottingham's Metronome - on Halloween night - as part of a UK tour. He came away impressed, entertained and thoroughly reassured about the future of rock...

Artist and actor Heather Agyepong on her latest exhibition at New Art Exchange

Heather Agyepong is a British-Ghanaian photographer, visual artist and actor based in London. In 2024 she entered her work into the New Art Exchange Open and won one of the awards. This led to her current solo exhibition From Sunrise to Sunset, She Worked to Reform Herself: Part 1 which is on show in the city until January. She told us more about her intriguing art practice, finding space for rest and life as an actor…

Rap artist JayaHadADream on her debut record and the Nottingham music scene

Since winning last year’s Glastonbury Festival Emerging Talent competition, things have only been on the up for Cambridge-via-Notts artist JayaHadADream. From collaborating with both local names and national heavyweights in dance music and hip hop, like Andy Zoutr, Gardna, and Flowdan, to receiving nods from the likes of Stormzy, there’s truly no stopping her. Wonderfully, she also got her start right here in Nottingham.

With her debut album Happiness From Agony now released, plus a Metronome show this month, she told us how life’s going at the moment.

Undercover artist: illustrator Isabelle Farrar is busy and inspired

Artist Isobelle Farrar, who designed this month’s spooky cover, tells us about her inspirations and recent projects…

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…

Primary talks about their new open exhibition and visual arts in the Lenton and Radford community

Primary  has a lot going on. After years of renting, the multi-purpose arts organization bought their own building in 2020 (no mean feat in a sector that’s often chronically underfunded), and have since enjoyed an incredible period of growth, with investment from Arts Council England kicking off an upgrade project for their pretty beautiful Grade II listed former school building. This month Primary will host an exciting new open exhibition, so we decided to find out more about the building and its connection with the local community.

Theatre Review: Sealskin at Lakeside Arts

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

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...

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...

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

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.

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…

Comedian Carl Donnelly previews his new gig at The Squire Performing Arts Centre

TV and radio comedian Carl Donnelly is touring with his first new show in five years. So what kept him so long? It's quite a story and one he shares with Left Lion... 

We speak to Dekker about music, personality and artistic intention

With a new album Neither Up Nor Down under his belt, US-born Nottingham resident Dekker is preparing for a hometown show at Rough Trade. We caught up with Brookln to talk about his streaming platform success, the personal nature of his music persona, and the creative influences Nottingham provides...

Comedian and activist Mark Thomas talks Ordinary Decent Criminal

Cathy Symes interviewed Mark Thomas, the political activist, comedian, actor and director who is starring in Ordinary Decent Criminal, an award-winning play coming to Nottingham's Lakeside Arts in November...

Theatre Review : The Poitin Maker's Child at Lakeside Arts

Inspired by time in Irish history when Irish boys wore dresses to confuse the fairies, this immersive performance channels Irish mythology to explore identity, gender and power...

The Thompsons on street art, Rocky Horror, and Notts venues

In late August, Nottingham's most opinionated grocers told us their opinions on September's hot topics - spanning street art, Nottingham venues, and surreal two trips that they made to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Theatre Royal...

A chat with Professor Elemental about lovely things ahead of his gig at The Chapel

Ahead of his gig this week at The Chapel, we caught up with chap-hop maestro Professor Elemental to chat about Bob Ross, his latest album, and injecting loveliness into the world...

Theatre, gigs, poetry and art: here's what's on this week 22 - 28 September 2025

Whether you fancy indulging in some playful art, enjoying some excellent theatre, checking out some chap hop or getting inspired by poetry, there's plenty on in Notts this week...

Exploring street art in Beeston with Jeanie Barton

Over the past ten years, the suburb south-west of Notts: Beeston, has become a hub for striking and inspiring street art, thanks to the efforts of the ever-industrious Beeston Civic Society. From tributes to Nottingham legends like Paul Smith and Richard Beckinsale, to an artistic interpretation of the butterflies that migrate from Africa to Attenborough Nature Reserve and Beeston Marina, take a stroll through Beeston and you’ll be treated to many visual treats lauding local culture. We asked Jeanie Barton, the person who set the Beeston street art wheels in motion, to tell us more about it.