Site search

Out of Time: How Divine came to Notts

Over the years, Divine has become one of the most instantly recognisable drag performers thanks to her iconic performances in John Waters’s camp classics, Pink Flamingos and Hairspray. She also had a pop career that took her on UK tours, including two performances in Nottingham.

Theatre Review: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time

An autistic teenage girl investigates a murder...

Mansfield Town Film Festival Celebrates Independent Film at 2026 Awards

The 2026 Mansfield Town Film Festival celebrated independent cinema and diverse voices, recognising filmmakers across a range of categories. With award-winning films, inspiring stories from local and international creatives, and its BIFA-qualifying status, MTFF continues to champion emerging talent and establish Mansfield as a growing hub for independent filmmaking.

Gig review: Man/Woman/Chainsaw at Rescue Rooms

Let’s start with a little history lesson. Around the late 2010s, a scene began to emerge based out of the south of London. This was a scene full of experimental and boundary-pushing artists, all based around The Windmill in Brixton. Many young bands cut their teeth at this venue, eventually blowing up into juggernauts of the underground. One of these bands is, incidentally, Man/Woman/Chainsaw. Formed in 2019 by Billy Ward and Vera Leppänen, they have expanded into a sextet of some of the finest musicians in the British Isles. Now, they are taking their critically acclaimed debut album Cannonball on the road - and they stopped at Rescue Rooms to show just how much they can do...

Competition: Win A Pair of Tickets to watch Suede and the Manic Street Preachers at Motorpoint Arena

Two of the UK's biggest indie rock bands are playing a double-header at the Motorpoint Arena on Wednesday 11 November. We have a pair of tickets to give away, all you have to do is enter our competition below...

The Thompsons on Mansfield, The Death of Robin Hood, and vaccinations

Nottingham's most opinionated grocers on Mansfield, The Death of Robin Hood, and vaccinations 

Darren Simpson on his latest frightening folk tale: Lykewise

Genre-hopping and Carnegie-nominated Darren Simpson has carved a unique space in folk horror with his new novel Lykewise. We sat down with him to unpack his inspiration, the journey behind its publication, and what scares teenagers these days.

Life Behind Bars: With Jake Jenkinson, assistant manager at Effy

For this month's instalment of Life Behind Bars we spoke to Jake Jenkinson: assistant manager of Effy, Heathcoat Street's cosy haven for coffee.

Out of time: anti-vaxxers in Victorian Notts

When we think of the anti-vaccination movement, we tend to think of COVID and anti-lockdown protests. However, the anti-vax movement is surprisingly far older than typically expected – and one that the East Midlands played a significant part in. In the Victorian era, thousands demonstrated against the new compulsory smallpox vaccinations, leading to fines and arrests… 

Stage Interview: Dan Lewis on Tommy Cooper – Have I Got Time For More?

A new show celebrating comedy giant Tommy Cooper visits Nottingham this November. Director, actor and producer, Dan Lewis, sits down with Left Lion to share the importance of being Tommy. Just like that...   

Mansfield Town Film Festival 2026: in conversation with director Jay Martin

Coming up later this month, Mansfield Town Film Festival provides a packed three day schedule of working-class voices, locally made films, live screenings, masterclasses, and Q&As. We spoke to festival director Jay Martin about representation, community and why Mansfield is putting the East Midlands firmly on the cinema map… 

Folk legend: Jim Ghedi on his soundtrack for Michael Sarnoski's The Death of Robin Hood

Sheffield musician Jim Ghedi has for years carved a unique corner of folk music, but now that he’s composed the soundtrack for a new film starring Hugh Jackman: The Death of Robin Hood, a lot more people will probably be recognising his name from here on out. He’s also playing a gig in Nottingham in October, so there was no better time for us to meet and chat with him… 

Forged in Mansfield: local playwright Beth Steel on her play Till the Stars Come Down and going international

Born and brought up in Warsop, playwright Beth Steel has seen her work performed in London, Tokyo, Mexico, Iceland, Peru and more.  What’s particularly brilliant about this is that they’re usually set in her hometown of Mansfield. She tells us more about her fifth play Till the Stars Come Down, which is coming home to Nottingham Playhouse one week from now …

Theatre Review: The Mantrap at Theatre Royal

Set on a wet and wild winter night, a desperate husband is searching for his missing wife and is confronted by a woman claiming to be her... 

Life Behind Bars: With Gaz Peacham, Deputy Manager at The Embankment Pub

For this month's edition of Life Behind Bars we take a jaunt down to Trent Bridge to speak to Gaz... 

Out of time: Nottingham's history of opium

Content warning, substances and the historical passing of children

Although it’s hard to believe today, in early to mid-Victorian Britain, it was possible to walk into a chemist’s and pick up a bottle of laudanum (opium) or cocaine, with or without a prescription. Even stranger than that, you might do so with the intention of giving it to your baby. You might even send your oldest child to go and pick it up for you. 

Gig review: Man/Woman/Chainsaw at Rough Trade

It was a baking hot Tuesday in mid-August, the nation was awaiting an eclipse, and Man/Woman/Chainsaw were in the mood for dancing. Rough Trade Nottingham provided the venue...

René House: A race against time to change homeless people’s lives

René House, a new hub for people experiencing homelessness is opening on Mansfield Road, and there's just one month to transform the new space. We meet fundraiser Shani Jayawardena to learn how the community can help...

Out of Time: Noel Coward in Nottinghamshire

Noel Coward is remembered as a playwright and actor most often associated with the West End and London. Yet, his work has been performed for decades on stages across Nottingham’s leading theatres, with his film adaptations regularly screened in our historic cinemas. The Midlands also became something of a retreat for him. Here’s the role that our part of the world played in his life… 

Exhibition review: Drawn Through Time at Lakeside Arts

Nottingham's cultural landscape has quietly become one of the most exciting in the Midlands, with Lakeside Arts consistently bringing ambitious exhibitions to the city that challenge how audiences engage with contemporary art. Its latest exhibition, Drawn Through Time, is no exception. Housed within the Djanogly Gallery at the University of Nottingham, the exhibition takes what many might consider the simplest of artistic practices – drawing – and transforms it into something far richer: a way of navigating history, memory and imagination.

Nottingham Puppet Festival, music at the waterfront, film quiz, and history made fun: Here's what's on in Nottingham this week, 29 June - 5 July

This week our list of things to look out for this week includes the Nottingham Puppet Festival, Waterfront music festival, a walk down memory lane with events for music, film, and the sewing history in prisons.

Historian CJ DeBarra on their book Queer Nottingham 1991-2020

Journalist, author, historian, and LeftLion history editor CJ De Barra takes us back to Nottingham’s resilient queer scene from the 90s all the way through to surviving 2020, in their second archival history book Queer Nottingham. 

Out of Time: How Sneinton's Victoria Lesiure Centre once hosted wrestling matches

Wrestling matches at what’s now the Victoria Leisure Centre on Gedling Street happened recently enough to be a childhood memory for some, but for others, it’s an almost forgotten occurrence. Here’s the colourful and chaotic history…