Entertainment News

Amazing historic buildings in Sandwell will be sharing some of their secrets and stories when they open their doors to the public as part of national Heritage Open Days. From September 8 to 11 lots of events and activities are lined up showcase the borough’s fascinating past including the childhood home of one of the most famous historical characters in American history. Visitors can learn what West Bromwich was like in the 1650s, enjoy live music, talks, walks, open days, food tasting, canal heritage and much more.

The Spiegel Tent – a beautiful and unique historical travelling dance hall, which made its first appearance in Nottingham in 2015 - will once again be taking up residence in the city's Old Market Square as part of this year's October Festival, which makes Nottingham the biggest festival city in the UK that month. Between 1 – 8 October, the hugely popular attraction will offer eight days of family panto, theatre, music, dance, comedy, burlesque and more – with Russell Howard headlining at the Just the Tonic Comedy Night on Sunday 2 October.

Bantock House is turning the clock back for a weekend giving visitors the chance to experience life in the 1940s. The beautifully restored Edwardian house and gardens is holding its annual World War II Weekend on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 September. Enthusiasts from Nostalgia Unlimited will be dressed as all sorts of characters from the 1940s including a classic spiv, a doctor, soldiers and women in fabulous wartime fashions.

Can you really huff and puff and blow a house down? Will running in the rain keep you drier than walking? Can you react fast enough to dodge a paintball? Don't try these things at home – try them this fall at Mall of America®! MythBusters: The Explosive Exhibition is a true MythBusters creation, with flying airplanes, duct tape canoes and rain that glows. It took over five years of research, guessing and testing to translate a television series with special effects masters and explosion shield into a hands-on indoor exhibition. The result? An exhibition that pushes the boundaries farther than ever before!

A British furniture maker, landscape designer and taxidermist are amongst the first artists to be announced for this year's ICEHOTEL which is set to open its doors to the first guests in Swedish Lapland in less than three months' time as Arctic travel specialist, Discover the World, also confirms its full travel programme including the 10th year of its exclusive direct flight between Heathrow and Kiruna.

Following a weekend of mixed weather conditions, the ninth Bournemouth Air Festival came to a spectacular close on Sunday with a show-stopping finale from a trio of RAF aircraft – the Red Arrows, Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and Typhoon. Taking place over four days from 18 – 21 August, festival-goers enjoyed highlights including the Swiss Super Puma Display Team, Red Arrows on all four days, demonstrations from the armed forces on the ground and at sea, Otto the Helicopter and Bournemouth's first ever Typhoon dusk display.

A wash of activity provides something for everyone. Like Music? The Annual Music Festival will astonish the audience with the gorgeous settings and superior classical sound. Like Art? Both the monthly Art Walk and annual Studio Tour are held in September. Athletic? Colorful parachutes dapple the sky during the Boogie Skydive Festival, bikers test new mountain bike models at Outerbike, and hikers get into the National Parks free for National Public Lands day.

Ever wondered how Jack the Ripper got away with his heinous crimes back in the 1880s? Fancy yourself as CSI geek? Find out how modern day forensics could have shed more light on the identity of one of the world's most shady serial killers at the London Dungeon's exclusive 'Uncloaking the Ripper' evening events, in partnership with the experts at Forensic Outreach.

Twenty-four ‘extras’ from across the Midlands will take part in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s (RSC) forthcoming production of King Lear, which features Antony Sher in the title role, and is directed by RSC Artistic Director, Gregory Doran.  The extras will appear on stage in a number of scenes as Lear’s knights, soldiers and vagrants, in a production that runs until the 12 October in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.

London remains a top tourist destination and open to the world following the EU referendum vote, according to new research, with two thirds of US visitors pledging to return to the capital. Analysis carried out by London & Partners, the Mayor of London's promotional company, shows that London's booming tourism trade is set to continue post-Brexit, as two thirds of Americans who visited in the last two years said they will definitely return due to a more favourable exchange rate.

The first Sark Roots Festival takes place from Friday 16 to Sunday 18 September on the Channel Island of Sark. The festival will celebrate the land, sea and community of Sark and the neighbouring islands of Guernsey, Alderney and Herm with live music, local food and brews, and creative workshops. The festival is themed around wellness and creativity with a full live music line up from local artists such as Buffalo Huddlestone, Benny the Moth, Wondergeist, Blue Mountains and Big Sheep plus many more.

Snow White- The World’s Biggest Pantomime has been postponed, which was scheduled for 19-22 December at the Barclaycard Arena and 28-30 December at The SSE Arena, Wembley. A spokesperson for Arena Panto Ltd said: “Due to recent illness, Jon Conway is regretfully unable to fulfil his role of Producer for Snow White - The World’s Biggest Pantomime, which was scheduled to take place at the Barclaycard Arena and The SSE Arena, Wembley this December.

Hot on the heels of their new EP release ‘kinda’, LA trio LANY have announced details of four headline shows in the UK. The dates - which run from 30th Aug til Sept 2nd - follow their appearance at Reading and Leeds festival and will be the first time the band have played headline shows out of London. LANY will then play their first shows in mainland Europe with six dates running from 5th to 15th September.

Greg Davies, BAFTA nominated star of Cuckoo, Man Down, The Inbetweeners and Taskmaster, is back with his first stand up show in four years. Tickets are flying out for next year’s Greg Davies show, and they have added an extra date on Saturday 9 December 2017. Join “undoubtedly one of the kingpins of British comedy” (Evening Standard) on his biggest ever tour. Come witness the magnificent beast that is Greg Davies.

This year’s 10-day festival features headline appearances from Romesh Ranganathan (9 & 12 Oct, Town Hall), the entrancing silent Boy With Tape On His Face (13-15 Oct, mac Birmingham), and Kerry Godliman, co-star of Ricky Gervais’ Derek (14 Oct, The Glee). The festival also welcomes Irishman Jason Byrne (16 Oct, Town Hall), topical stand-up Matt Forde (7 Oct, The Old Rep), Nathan Caton (13 Oct, The Glee), Justin Moorhouse (8 Oct, The Old Rep), and Tony Law (14 Oct, Comedy Junction).

England’s gardens, farms and leisure and theme parks have seen the most significant growth in visitor numbers in VisitEngland’s Annual Attraction Survey published today.  Out of the 1500 English attractions in the survey, outdoor attractions performed particularly well in 2015. Gardens, farms and leisure and theme parks reported the biggest increase in visitors, each up 7%, with wildlife attractions and country parks also seeing visitor numbers grow by 4%.