Culture Diary w/c 29-10-12
Tuesday – The Loneliness of The Long Distance Runner 7.30pm @ Liverpool Playhouse £12/£21
Based on the short story of the same name by author Alan Sillitoe (Saturday and Night Sunday Morning), The Loneliness of The Long Distance Runner has been adapted for stage by BAFTA winning and Olivier Award nominated playwright Roy Williams OBE (Sucker Punch, Fallout, Sing Yer Heart Out For The Lads). The runner of the title is angry young man Colin, his sport an emotional and physical outlet offering escape from his difficult upbringing.
Wednesday – DJ Yoda Halloween Party 10pm @ The Shipping Forecast £6
The hip-hop driven turntablist DJ Yoda first came to our attention with his How to Cut and Paste Mix Tapes in the early naughties. Since then, he’s been described as “one of the ten DJs to see before you die” (Q Magazine) and “one of the top three DJs in the world” (Hip Hop Connection). This week sees him bring his inimitable style to the hold of the Shipping Forecast for a special Hallowe’en appearance.
Thursday – The Right Ballerina 7.30pm @ the Unity Theatre £10/£12
Billy Cowan’s The Right Ballerina is a tale of dilemma so modern that it fairly fizzes with relevance. Principal dancer Penny’s career has been one forged out of personal sacrifice so extreme she is owed respect and loyalty from company director Jack. But in the face of a startling outing, how far can that loyalty stretch? A quick glance at the synopsis confirms The Right Ballerina should prove challenging viewing.
Friday – trioVD 8pm @ The Kazimier £5
Their 2009 debut album Fill It Up With Ghosts earned glowing reviews and was widely thought to have redefined the contemporary British jazz landscape on its release. Three years on and Leeds-based trioVD are back touring a new record (Maze), with Tempest Flute Trio in tow and a special screening of Rhapsody For Clarinet and Wheelchair Basketball Team.
Saturday – Loved Ones 8pm @ Leaf £5
At the back end of April, Loved Ones won the inaugural GiT Award. The site of their victory, Leaf Tea Shop, welcomes them back again this weekend for the launch of new single Weekends Are Ours. The first track from debut album The Merry Monarch, the band are joined on Saturday by Pale Seas and James Canty.
Sunday – Psycho 6pm @ FACT
While Vertigo came out on top in the Sight & Sound Best Film poll earlier this year, it is perhaps 1960′s Psycho which remains Alfred Hitchcock’s most widely known film. Famous for killing off the character we all think is the lead in the equally famous shower scene, and for Anthony Perkins’ turn as Norman Bates, Psycho is that rarest of things: a film considered both cinematic art and stunningly successful at the box office.
Biennial Picks
Wednesday - Deep State plus Q&A 7pm @FACT
Directed by Karen Mirza and Brad Butler in collaboration with award-winning fiction author and comic writer China Miéville (The City & the City, Embassy Town) Deep State is ‘an audacious, semi-fantastic history of the opposing forces of popular protest and clandestine control told through archive material, contemporary footage and future speculation’. Karen and Brad will be on hand after the screening to talk about the film with FACT curator Omar Kholeif.
Saturday - The Anfield Home Tour 11.30am – 1pm @ the Cunard Building. Booking Required
As written about here by Linda Pittwood back in August, the Biennial has been busy in Anfield over the past two years nurturing a community bakery and architecture project 2up2down. This heritage tour with a difference (expect original writing and performance), led by guide Carl Ainsworth, aims to showcase places of interest and local landmarks in the neighbourhood, exploring the past and present of housing politics and the impact that regeneration has had on the local community. Plus, you get to end the tour at Mitchell’s Bakery and indulge in coffee and cake. Meet at Reception at the Cunard Building (0845 220 2800, or call in to the Biennial festival Hub at the Bluecoat).