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12 of Nottingham's Best Museums

We’re blessed with a cracking selection of museums in Nottingham, some quite obvious and others a little further off the beaten track. Here are some of our top picks – from the old favourites to the new arrivals on the scene.

LeftLion Film Podcast #27 - Moonlight and Magnolias

Ash and Derry visit the set of Moonlight and Magnolias at the Nottingham Playhouse where they talk to actors Joe Alessi, who plays legendary Hollywood producer David O. Selznick and Hayley Doherty, who plays his long-suffering secretary Mss Poppenghul 

University of Nottingham Alumni Andy Wilson Works on the Call of Duty Franchise as Part of Sledgehammer Games

As Chief Operating Officer for Sledgehammer Games, University of Nottingham alumnus Andy Wilson has overseen some of the biggest video game franchises in the history of the medium, including Call of Duty. We caught up with him to talk about the current state of the industry, the unprecedented success of COD and violence in video games…

Out of Time: The 1936 Nottingham Chess Tournament

When you think of Nottingham’s rich sport and gaming history, your mind might immediately wander to the worldwide success of Warhammer, the unprecedented double European Cup winning Forest team, or even Herbert Kilpin, the Notts legend that founded A.C Milan. What you might not know is that the city hosted the 1936 Nottingham Chess Tournament, which is still remembered as one of the most legendary events in the history of the game...

6 Escape Rooms to Tackle in Nottingham

Nottingham’s escape room scene has a reputation for being one of the best in the country. So, during two weeks of searching, puzzle-solving and code cracking, we decided to see what all the fuss about...

Local Game Developers Dambuster Studios Give Us the Lowdown on their Future Plans

Located in the heart of Nottingham, Dambuster Studios has been one of the country’s biggest video game developers for over twenty years. With projects including dystopian first-person shooter series Homefront: The Revolution and Dead Island, their Studio Development Director Rob Matthews tells us they have no plans of slowing down...

Live Music Review: Fatoumata Diawara’s Nottingham Debut at Rescue Rooms

Our Addie looks back on a Sunday evening show that she won't be forgetting in a hurry...

Queer Band Slash Fiction on their Upcoming Show at JT Soar: " If we don't fight for visibility, what are we even doing?"

Since I moved to Nottingham as a young, queer person, I’ve been fortunate to stumble into the world of local indie, punk and DIY punk gigs, which have provided me with a community and more importantly, a place to go on a Friday night. Now, as an older, queer lesbian, I’m aware of the importance of carving out queer spaces, especially within rock clubs and bars that can be dominated by cis-gender, heterosexual boys.

We spoke to Beans from Queer band Slash Fiction ahead of their upcoming Fan Club debut show at JT Soar about personal lyrics, influences and their EP Flowers...

Inside Nottingham's LARPing Community: A Day with Fools and Heroes

Gaming isn’t just about smashing controllers and passing Go for £200, you know. In the UK alone, thousands of people regularly meet up to get involved in live action role-play. We decided to head along to the Nottingham branch of Fools and Heroes, a UK-based LARP society, to get a peek into the world of high fantasy, magic, monsters and mystery…

The Found Footage Film Festival Comes to Nottingham

In March, The Found Footage Film Festival will come to Nottingham as part of its 15th anniversary UK tour. Hosted by comedians Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett, the festival promises a night of delightfully cringe-worthy comedy…

9 Gigs to Go to in Nottingham This Month

Get yourself out the house and in the crowd for these lot... 

The Festival of Science and Curiosity is Back for 2020 with a Live Heart Dissection and Much More

The term science might throw up images of luminous test tubes and crazy-haired Einsteins, but that’s a microscopic portion of it all. To get you in the know, Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity is back, bringing a whole galaxy of knowledge and excitement into streets, universities, community centres and more. We chatted with producer Megan Shore about what’ll be occurring this year and why you should go along..

Aussie Folk-Rockers Boy & Bear Prepare for Debut Nottingham Gig

ARIA award-winning Australian indie-rock band Boy & Bear captured our hearts with their charming folk sound way back in 2010. Following a four-year hiatus due to lead-singer Dave Hosking’s illness, the platinum record-holding band from Sydney are back on the scene with new album Suck on Light. We spoke with keyboardist Jon Hart about the band’s “weird” approach to developing their sound, preparations for their worldwide tour, and why Australia is dominating the charts internationally…

Theatre Review: Holes at Nottingham Playhouse

Gold is in those holes: if you're eight (or ever were) just see it...

Metal Music in Notts: Then VS Now

Notts has had an esteemed love affair with metal music for decades, with devil horns being thrown up to the skies and genre-dwelling titans visiting this great county ever since Rock City swung the floodgates open in 1980. So, for those who adorn the spike and patch-covered jackets we thought we’d take a trip down hellfire lane, as well as a look to the fiery future, to see which heavy metal legends have come to owd Nottingham and who, in 2020, are yet to go. We’ve even sorted them into their venue stomping grounds to keep things geographically neat and tidy…

6 Items to Put in Your Nottingham Picnic Hamper

After all, the way to the heart is through the stomach...

3 Nottingham Books to Read This February

Three page-turners to get lost in this month... 

5 Nottingham Albums to Listen to This February

The latest sounds from the Nottingham vault...

Neon Wolf Tattoo Studio Have Opened A Coffee Shop, and It’s Beautiful

"It’s all vegan and all really good – you won’t be able to taste the difference"

11 Things to Do at Light Night 2020

Nottingham loves Light Night so much that this year’s festival has been extended to a two-date event. For its thirteenth year of dedicated displays of luminosity, there will be over a hundred different activities and performances spanning across Friday 7 - Saturday 8 February...

The Nottingham Anime and Manga Society Meet Every Week for Special Screenings, Events and More

Nottingham’s anime and manga society, aka NAMSOC, invited LeftLion to come to one of their weekly meetups to talk all things community, anime, and identity...

Nusic New Music Podcast #219 with Do Nothing, Alice Robbins, Alfie Sharp, The Avion and More...

Review: NTU Documentary Film Screening

Screen section co-editor Jamie Morris gives the verdict on the new short films from NTU’s latest batch of skilled documentary directors...

Nottingham Pubs and Nightclubs of the 90s

Feeling Nottstalgic? As part of LeftLion's work digitally archiving our predecessor Overall magazine we rediscovered some favourite Nottingham haunts of the nineties...

Interview: Grammy-Nominated Fatoumata Diawara Prepares For Her First Nottingham Trip

Addie Kenogbon chats with the star about staying true to her roots and sharing her music with the world as she embarks on a rare UK tour, coming to Rescue Rooms this February...