Entertainment News

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.

It's not surprising that Kielder Observatory's Aurora Nights (throughout February) are its most popular events. A bucket-list experience for many, The Northern Lights have influenced both religious beliefs and folklore for millennia and this event looks at just what causes this spectacular natural phenomenon. While a glimpse of the elusive lights cannot be guaranteed, this evening leaves participants clued up on both the science behind the Lights and how best to spot them.

Hot on the heels of the news that singer/producer Pharrell Williams and wife Helen Lasichanh celebrated the arrival of triplets, fellow R&B star, Beyoncé broke the news that she and husband Jay Z were expecting twins. Pharrell and Helen celebrated their ‘Happy’ news after making public the birth of three new bundles of joy, according to a representative for Williams.

When it comes to humour on television, no topic is off limits for modern audiences, although offence is likely to be caused if the social majority addresses a minority group, according to a new study. Research at Birmingham City University and University of Leicester has been exploring the fine line between humour and offence on television in the UK and Germany, and context has emerged as key in terms of what keeps people tuned in.

Lego lovers young and old will be blown away by a major exhibition coming to Wolverhampton Art Gallery between Friday, April 7 and Wednesday, July 5. Three galleries at the Lichfield Street venue will be filled with Warren Elsmore’s amazing Brick Wonders exhibition, which opens just in time for the Easter holidays. Using thousands and thousands of pieces of the much-loved plastic bricks the master LEGO artist and author has created more than 70 awe-inspiring models.

A love letter to the sleepless, 2am Facebookers and shift workers, writer and performer Francesca Millican-Slater DJs her own late night radio show, channelling the rambling raconteurs of presenters from the wee hours to spin a noirish stack of stories, odd, familiar, funny, true and stolen. 

A joint exhibit by Fraport AG and the Senckenberg Natural History Museum opens today at Frankfurt Airport. What do octopuses and rockets have in common? How have pterosaurs inspired the design of gliders? These and many other questions are answered by “The Evolution of Flight”, an exhibit that opened today in Terminal 2 at Frankfurt Airport. It is jointly hosted by Fraport AG and the Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung.