Entertainment News

The winner of 10 Tony and 5 Olivier Awards, Billy Elliot the Musical will be at Birmingham Hippodrome for the first time ever from Tue 7 Mar – Sat 29 Apr 2017. Seen by almost 11 million people worldwide,Billy Elliot the Musical is set in a northern mining town against the background of the 1984/85 miners’ strike and follows Billy’s journey from boxing to ballet class where he discovers a passion for dance that inspires his family and whole community and changes his life forever.

Imagine 20 pianists, TV star and impressionist Alistair McGowan and celebrated actor Simon Callow in an all-night musicfest, plus a pianist who cycles through the night across the UK, arrives at dawn and sits down to play…  Well now you don’t have to! For one night only (Friday 3 March at Town Hall Birmingham) Birmingham Conservatoire has put together a ‘Piano All-Nighter’ – a nocturnal ‘pianothon’ of featuring some of today’s greatest pianists, celebrity guests and musicians from its own ranks. 

Birmingham Repertory Theatre has announced that the world premiere of One Love: The Bob Marley Musical, set to run at The REP from March 10 – April 8, will be extended due to popular demand.  The show is now booking until April 15. Set across a dramatic period in the music legend's life, One Love: The Bob Marley Musical, written and directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah, tells the story of a man propelled from rising reggae star to global icon.

The highly anticipated Club Anthem by DNA Productions was released yesterday at 12 midday! This is the massive new single by singer songwriter Mark Dwayne who has also created a name for himself as party host DJ and performer for some of the top clubs in Britain. This new sound of House is creating a massive buzz on social media, Mark invited his Facebook friends to support the single at his dynamic video shoot and wow what a turn out!

More than 5,000 butterflies from around the world have been released into the tropical Butterfly House at Blenheim Palace. Head Gardener, Hilary Wood, helped release dozens of exotic species from South America, Africa, Australia and South Asia as well as a selection of native butterflies in time for the start of the February Half Term holidays. Alongside the live butterflies, staff also delivered around 180 pupae from Africa and the Philippines which have been placed in the Butterfly House's hatchery area where visitors can see them develop within their chrysalises before being released in to the main area.

Escape to the Wild, is a new three-part series on Channel 4 with presenter, Jimmy Doherty. In the second episode Jimmy travelled to the wilderness of Canada to meet former actress Louise and ex-office worker Neil, who swapped London for a log cabin in the Yukon. This would seem like the perfect place to get some peace and quiet. But with no electricity or running water, Jimmy soon learns the harsh realities of living so far off-grid as he helps the couple prepare for winter, hunting moose and grouse, and keeping up their wood supplies.

Happy Valentines Day to all of our readers, friends, advertisers and supporters!

Life-size versions of Roald Dahl’s most iconic creations have been hand-crafted from paper and cardboard as part of an exhibition celebrating 100 years since the writer’s birth. Students on Birmingham City University’s Design for Theatre, Performance and Events course have created the unique structures which features a cast of Dahl’s most well-known characters from Matilda and George to Augustus Gloop and Fantastic Mr Fox.

Birmingham Royal Ballet has searched across the Midlands to find the perfect fit for Cinderella’s jewelled slipper, in a production that brings to life the big ballet aspirations of young and old alike. Cinderella Dreams, which premieres on 20 February, is the culmination of a six month quest to inspire and develop dancers from across the region. The production adapts David Bintley’s classic choreography and Sergei Prokofiev’s lush score to create a new and vibrant version of Cinderella, showcasing emerging talent from ages eight to 76 working alongside dancers from Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Release just in time for Valentines, ‘Mahi NRI’ (My Beloved Non-Resident Indian), is already kicking up a storm; both here in the UK and further afield. Set ostensibly in Birmingham, the romantic comedy that follows the life of student, Sherry (Hardy Sandhu), who lands in the UK with very little experience of the British way of life. He’s in England to become an NRI (Non-Resident Indian) to please his girlfriend’s mother back in the Punjab who feels that a man from UK is the only suitable match for her daughter.

Madrid's newest property Only YOU Hotel Atocha welcomes cocktails from Brooklyn's premium cocktail bar Clover Club, modern day craftsmanship from Brooklyn barbershop Ludlow Blunt, and weekly jazz performances from US jazz label Blue Note as part of three month hotel takeover from US gin brand Seagrams.

After a sell-out West End run and nationwide tour, Britain’s favourite circus, Cirque Berserk!, will be bringing their danger-filled spectacle to the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. From February 20 – 26 they will be combining contemporary cirque skills with thrilling stunt actions that will amaze audiences of all ages, they will be presenting the world’s most dangerous circus act live on stage – the legendary Globe of Terror (4 motorcyclists speeding around inside a steel cage at over 60mph), plus a troupe of over thirty jugglers, acrobats, aerialists, dancers, musicians, death-defying stunt men and the award-winning clown, Tweedy, this is a show not to be missed.

Throughout February half- term (11 – 19 February), youngsters are invited to become the ultimate Rainforest Explorers. By adventuring through Dynamic Earth's galleries, they will discover the amazing array of wildlife which inhabits the world's rainforests and learn how they survive in their changing environment. As they make their way through the attraction, explorers will be put to the test to see if they have what it takes to survive in their tropical surroundings.

Wolverhampton Grand Theatre will produce its second night of musical entertainment with a Great Gatsby Night on Saturday 1 April 2017. Following on from the reopening Gala night on 10 September 2016, the theatre will once again host an evening of live music, both in the auditorium and front of house.

Following a successful run in Madrid, The Art of the Brick: DC Super Heroes makes its London debut on 1st March 2017. The contemporary art exhibition will be shown in an exclusively built space on London’s South Bank, home to the capital’s cultural quarter. Together with Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment, the well-known and celebrated artist Nathan Sawaya has created the world’s largest collection of artwork inspired by DC's Justice League, including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, alongside DC Super-Villains the Joker, Harley Quinn and more.

It was their last ever show before the curtain closes on what has been an illustrious, nearly five-decade career for the pioneers of Heavy Metal.  This was the gig that every Black Sabbath fan wanted to attend as Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and drummer Tommy Clufetos, took to the stage for one last time. And they didn’t disappoint, performing some of the band’s greatest hits to a sell-out audience of 14,500 at the Genting Arena in their hometown of Birmingham.