Pick of the Week: 21 - 27 September

image: Nottingham Theatre Royal

OAKS 
A brand new eatery has popped up on the owd Maid Marian Way, with links to Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, and they’re doing all they can to raise some dollar for the charity. Bringing a taste of the USA to gloomy old Notts in the form of American Lumberjack Day, the chaps and chappettes over at OAKS are hosting their very own Woodcutter Week. Don your best checked shirt and backcomb that hipster beard in exchange for a free pint of Harvest Pale this week. That’s right, your bleary Sunday afternoon eyes are not deceiving you - there is free alcohol on offer here. Take a snap in your woodcutter get-up and pop it on their social media sites for your chance to win a meal ‘fit for a lumberjack’. As well as dishing out freebies, the bar and restaurant will be donating a percentage of each sale of their very own Midlands Spritz pale ale cocktail towards the conservation of Sherwood Forest. The merry men would be proud. As all the food in the joint is cooked over wood sustainably sourced from the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, the business are keen to pay their dues back to the trees.
Runs until Sunday 27 September, OAKS Bar and Restaurant, Bromley Place

Hood
The legend of Robin Hood has seen more makeovers than a Trinny and Susannah episode. To celebrate the Theatre Royal turning the grand old age of 150 - we know, she doesn’t look it - New Perspectives theatre company have teamed up with a whole host of local playwrights to retell the tale like never before. Gone are the Lycra tights (much to our dismay, eh ladies), and instead, Hood takes a journey through the twentieth century, taking his band of merry men and the mighty Maid Marian with him. With writing from Laura Lomas, Tim Elgood and Brian Mitchell, you can expect to see our Robin take on great train robberies, march with the suffragettes, and even take his place in the dole queue. If this snippet of information hasn’t quite buttered your muffin, then you can have a goose at our interview with New Perspectives artistic director to find out all the inside goss from the show. They're also running free tours of the theatre, this weekend, and you can click here to find out more. 
Runs until Saturday 26 September, various times, £12.50 - £17.50, Theatre Royal

GiNa doin' her thang...

Yoga with GiNa
The ancient practice seems to have taken the city by storm, and cleansing your chakra has bumped the twenty-minute treadmill session way off the list of easy ways to work out, thanks to a host of yoga sessions popping up left right and centre. Now, one of the most effervescent women in Notts has taken it upon herself to impart yogi pearls of wisdom into beginners and intermediates alike. GiNa – formerly known as Gina – opens the doors to her studio on Tuesdays for Vinyasa yoga (slow, intense flow yoga for strength and conditioning) and Thursdays for Hatha yoga (to revitalise the body and mind through breathing techniques and deep stretches). Having honed her skill at the Vinyasa Yoga School in India, you can rest assured you’re getting your spiritual value for money with a true expert. Plus, she’s a right gem.
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6pm, £7, Thirtyfive Gamble Studio

Glitch 
We love new stuff; shoes, notebooks, mugs, you name it. We especially love new events, though, giving the city an extra little something it never knew it was missing before. The latest such event is Glitch, a bi-monthly night that wants to get the digital creative community together for a couple of drinks, a nice chat and a bit of sharing and learning. Each event will also have a key note speaker who you can then ask any burning questions that arise from their talk – for the inaugural event it will be Jon Burgerman, the ex-Nottingham, now New York-based artist and doodler with the mostest. Nowt faulty with this concept.
Tuesday 22 September, 6pm, free, National Videogame Arcade

Talkin' 'bout a revolution...

Revolution House
To quote Sandi Thom’s 2006 smash hit, I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker, revolution is in the air. Not least with the election of Jeremy Corbyn as the new leader of the Labour party - but we’re not a politically-aligned paper, so of course, we remain neutral. Joining the brigade and inspiring us all to kick the status quo right in the gonads is Surface Gallery, with their Revolution House showcase evening. Revolutionaries, activists and game-changers from all over Notts and beyond have come together to share a selection of their creative works under the theme of ‘turning’. From spoken word to live music and art, the stage is open for creative free-thinkers to inspire, intrigue and challenge. Have your mind shaken up a little bit, and perhaps a few preconceptions turned on their heads this week. All for nowt out yer wallet.
Wednesday 23 September, 7.30pm, free, Surface Gallery

Women into Broadcasting 
Women of Nottingham. If you feel like your voice isn’t being heard, then you ought to be clearing your Thursdays for the next couple of months, and popping The Lofthouse postcode straight into Google maps. The women behind NG Digital’s female powerhouse of a show, NG:SHE, are ready and waiting to pass on boulder-sized pearls of knowledge in an open, inclusive, women-only environment. If you’ve ever had dreams of being a radio presenter, DJ, podcaster or producer, wanted to learn more about the world of broadcasting, or just want to meet some new, wicked-as-owt women, then all your crimbos have come at once with this one. The course is run by the WEA in partnership with the WLL branch, and is free to most women on a low income. For more information, or to book a place on the course, call or text 07850524319, or just turn up at The Lofthouse on Thursday morning.
From Thursday 24 September, weekly, 11am, free, The Lofthouse

Mulletproof gets deep...

Mulletproof Poet: God Save The Teen
Oh, those glorious teenage years: the onset of BO that could melt steel pipes, acne that covers 78% of your face, and that terrible, all-encompassing nausea that floods your veins every time your best mate’s totally handsome older brother shouts at you for playing on his Game Cube. The man with the best barnet in Notts and the lyrical mastermind to match, Andrew Graves, is letting us in on the deepest, darkest secrets of his own teenage years as well as his experience as a council youth worker, with a brand spankin’ spoken word show. The usual teen dramas can be expected; drugs, bullying, divorcing parents, as well as Andrew’s own relationship with a father who could not understand his son’s ‘poncey poetic leanings’. If you can find us a better way of spending your Friday night, we’ll eat our hats.
Friday 25 September, 7.30pm, £5, Nottingham Writers’ Studio

The Megaphone Thrift + Fists + JCDecaux + BAD MEN
If out-of-this-world psychedelic pop rock in multi-purpose city centre venues is just the ticket, then we don’t ever want to hear it said that we don’t supply the goods. The Lofthouse on Warser Gate – art gallery cum rehearsal space cum gig venue cum recording studio – will tick all your venue boxes, and they’re hosting an evening of loud, proud rock and roll for you to enjoy. All while guzzling down £3 doubles at the bar. The Megaphonic Thrift are coming all the way from Norway to blow your Hoodtown minds with ‘psych-noise-rock-dream-pop’, apparently, and home town faves, JCDecaux are prepping the guitar strings to bring you a sound to rival no other. Ain’t no place you’d rather be, right?
Saturday 26 September, 9.30pm, £5, The Lofthouse

Collabor-8ing in style...

Collabor-8 
Aged 15-25? Want to dust off a few of your signature moves, cleanse your mind and chill out into tranquillity? Well Collabor-8 is the host of a free art and music social. Take the lift – or the stairs, if you’re feeling particularly active – down to The Space at ‘Tempreh, and have a ball. Sophie Mahon, a Manchester-based visual artist is the ‘red carpet’ guest of the event; you can have a chinwag about social concerns – such as mass media and consumption – or get crafty in art and music workshops. Drag a few of your best pals along for a natter, and make full use of the free snacks and drinks. With live music and DJ sets, there’s not much else you could want, is there? Give yourself a well-deserved break from the studying, get your nose out the book and get stuck in.
Saturday 26 September, 6.30pm, free, Nottingham Contemporary

Soul Buggin 11th Birthday 
Those crazy cats at Soul Buggin’ have been encouraging, nay, demanding, that the good folk of Nottingham throw the wildest shapes in town for eleven years. Eleven bleedin’ years. That’s the definition of dedication to disco. To celebrate they’ll, obviously, be chucking a massive party and it’s a residents special. Wrighty, Beane, Elmo and Mark A will be selecting their finest vinyl until the wee hours. If you’ve got down before, we’re already preaching to the converted. If you’ve never been to a Soul Buggin’ night, this is a rather fine place to start.  
Saturday 26 September, £5, 11pm – 4am, The Bodega

For the motherload of everything else going on this week check out our comprehensive Nottingham events listings.

Promoters: Want your event featured in one of our upcoming Pick of the Weeks? If so then you can start by adding your event details into our magazine and website database.