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Theatre review: Fences at the Nottingham Playhouse

The Nottingham Playhouse are hosting a brand new production of Pulitzer Prize winning 1985 play Fences. It's on for two more days. Here's what our reviewer Sam Harvey thought about it... 

Game on: The Dice Box Board and Brick Lounge recommends some cosy games to play this winter

If you are looking for cosy ways to spend your evenings as the nights roll in, look no further than The Dice Box in Sneinton Market. The board and brick lounge (they have games to play and Lego) which opened in May has over 700 games to play, from the competitive to the co-operative, and family friendly and to more complex titles. Along with a social drop-in event on Thursdays, you can book a table to chill with friends in their fully-licensed cafe, and lots of titles are available to buy and take home.

Here co-owner David Walden gave us some of his top picks to play or buy at The Dice Box this winter…

Theatre review: Pride and Prejudice (*sort of) at Nottingham Playhouse

The Laurence Olivier Award winning Pride and Prejudice (*sort of) is at Nottingham Playhouse until Saturday 7 November, bringing an audacious retelling of Jane Austen’s classic with added pop hits.

Theatre review: Once Upon a Time in Sokoto at Nottingham Playhouse

In Once Upon a Time in Sokoto at Nottingham Playhouse, tense beaten rhythms intertwine with the voices of joyous ululation as relationships are continually tested in Northern Nigeria at the turn of the 20th century.  Zinara and Nafisa juxtapose their tales about the slaver and the enslaved, husband and wives, the Boko language and cowrie shells - all of which are underpinned by the power and riches of the colour indigo.

Comedy Review: Kiell Smith-Bynoe’s Kool Story Bro at the Nottingham Playhouse

Kiell Smith-Bynoe (star of Ghosts, Taskmaster and Stath Lets Flats) fronts the Kool Story Bro, which is renowned for inventive, off the hoof improvised comedy with a bevy of surprise celebrity hosts. But will they deliver tonight, and who is the special guest...

Theatre Review: Tell Me Where It Hurts at Nottingham Playhouse

A fiercely honest, darkly funny exploration of women's health, confronting the devastating consequences of living with a condition that, for too long, has gone unheard...

Theatre Review: Till the Stars Come Down at the Nottingham Playhouse

A wedding might bring everybody together. Beth Steel is much more interested in what happens once they are all in the same room...

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 …

Gig review: Playback launch showcase at The Carousel

Luke Brennan, the creator of Playback, wants to change the music industry for the better to help support the local scene. The first Playback showcase took place at Notts grassroots venue, The Carousel, and was completely sold out with 100% of ticket sales going towards the artists performing - proving that change is possible for the industry...

Theatre Review: The Market Deeping Model Railway Club at Nottingham Playhouse

The third of Nottingham Playhouse's new season by local playwrights is a charming production, written by William Ivory. It focuses on a group of seven men (and one woman) who bond and overcome personal traumas by exhibiting model railways...

Theatre Review: Dyke Systems Ltd by Fag Packet at the Nottingham Playhouse

This award-winning theatre double act come to Nottingham with a comedy show that is part queer fever dream and part corporate seminar, and much more...  

Pick Six: playwright and actor William Ivory

For this month’s Pick Six we turned to Notts born screenwriter, playwright and actor William Ivory ahead of his play The Market Deeping Model Railway Club, which runs at the Nottingham Playhouse until Saturday 25 July.

Theatre Review: Smoke at Nottingham Playhouse

SMOKE is a new play from acclaimed queer theatre-maker Alexis Gregory whose work has appeared in the West End and internationally. Award-winning filmmaker Campbell X directs...

Play Review: Television Workshop's I Had A Wheelbarrow at The Nest

The Nottingham Television Workshop, famed for nurturing many local actors, is launching a play about Notts County FC and fans. You can't get more local than that... 

Plays, classic films, and gigs in association with LeftLion: Here's what's on in Nottingham this week, 15 - 21 June

There's a lot to do this week in Nottingham, with a classic film shown in 35mm at the Savoy and local institution the Television Workshop showcasing a play about Notts County FC, among other options. Here's a few things we think are worth doing. 

Interview: Alexis Gregory in Smoke, a queer thriller at Nottingham Playhouse

Smoke is a new play from acclaimed queer theatre-maker Alexis Gregory coming to Nottingham this month. As well as a hard-hitting, savage, comic-thriller, a panel follows the play, hosted by You Are Loved and exploring issues from the play. LeftLion speaks to Alexis about social media, drugs, homophobia and much more...    

Comedy Review: Danny Bhoy at the Nottingham Playhouse

A veteran comic’s vibrant victory lap at the Nottingham Playhouse has the audience smiling...

Theatre Review: Barnum at the Nottingham Playhouse

Roll up, roll up! Barnum brings big top joy to Nottingham Playhouse...

LeftLion Interviews Podcast #18: Nyrobi and Chaya of ALT BLK ERA on winning a MOBO, playing Jools Holland, touring with Pendulum and homecoming gigs

This episode we are joined by Nyrobi and Chaya of ALT BLK ERA, who talk about their whirlwind year of winning a MOBO, appearing on Jools Holland and touring Europe with Pendulum…

Theatre Review: Scenes from a Friendship at Nottingham Playhouse

Time-hop through nineties teendom into adulthood with the latest gem from Nottingham playwright, Jane Upton. A messy trip down memory lane to make us laugh, cry and celebrate the friendships that shape us...

Interview: Aisling Loftus, Nick Preston and Oliver Huntingdon on Television Workshop's new play ' I Had A Wheelbarrow'

Nottingham’s Television Workshop and acclaimed director Shane Meadows are collaborating on I Had a Wheelbarrow, a play about football. Leftlion were invited along to the County Stadium for the filming and met with a hat-trick of Workshop alumni. Aisling Loftus (Sherwood), Nick Preston (Ladhood) and Oliver Huntingdon (Grantchester) kindly tackled the questions…

Comedy, music festivals and local talent: Here's what's on this week in Nottingham 18 -24 May

 This week in Notts! Enjoy local theatre performances and live comedy, or head to Dot to Dot music festival and dance the night away in various venues across Nottingham. Here's our top picks...

Left Magpie: Play Offs Again

Our Notts County columnist Julian McDougall reflects on a Notts County’s season that has delivered another play-off push - but under a model that feels as safe as it does limiting...

Theatre Review: Small Island at Nottingham Playhouse

A play that focuses on the harsh realities of postwar Britain for the Windrush generation and examines the consequences of empire...

Comedy Review: Russell Kane in Chuckl Comedy at Nottingham Playhouse

Russell Kane headlines a night of comedy at Nottingham Playhouse, under the Chuckl comedy banner.  And he has got Gen Z and the world of toxic masculinity in his sights...