10 Things To Do in Nottingham This Week

Oh what a joyous time of year. The days are getting longer, there are lambs frolicking in the fields, and that familiar hum of hayfever in the air. If you’re a parent, the kids are gonna be harping on about the Easter bunny setting ‘em some tasks in exchange for a couple chocolate eggs. Who do they think you are?! You haven’t got time to deck the bleddy garden with mini eggs and tiny fluffy chicks. You’re far too busy adulting and keeping the little boggers alive to be messing about with pastel coloured baskets and brightly coloured eggs. Tek ‘em over to Rufford Park, instead, where the Easter Bunny has got it all covered for you. It’ll set you back a bob per kid, but they can run around finding clues to exchange for chocolate, and you can have a moments peace. We love it when a plan comes together.
Runs until Monday 17 April, 10am, £1, Rufford Abbey Country Park, event link

Well mow us over and call us flat. It don’t half feel like sprogs these days are on permanent school holiday. You poor boggers have only just seen ‘em shipped back to school after February half term, and now they’re running rings round your ankles of a Tuesday afternoon once again. Good news if your little burdens are aged between 11 and 16 – the New Art Exchange are running a four-day theatre making programme that’ll keep ‘em off your hands for a couple of hours. Drop ‘em off at two, and the little dears will explore the themes of the current exhibition, create their own original play script, and learn a couple of fresh drama skills while they’re at it. Then you can pick ‘em up at four, plonk ‘em in front of the TV and crack open a bottle of vino. You’ve got this parenting thing sorted.
Monday 3 - Thursday 6 April, 2pm, free but book a place on the NAE website, New Art Exchange, event link

The weekly Rescue Rooms Quiz and Karaoke has become a bit of an institution. Wednesday nights just wouldn’t be the same without dragging your mates to the Goldsmith Street venue to battle it out in teams for the chance to win a teapot of shots or free entry to Stealth VS Rescued. This month, they’re going all out, and hosting the quiz to end all quizzes in the main venue. Ooooh. There’s trophies and a rumoured big cash jackpot to win, and all you have to do to secure your place is book a table for you and three of your mates. Not only that, but the post-quiz karaoke sesh is having a makeover, and you’ll be able to live out your wildest dreams of performing main stage at Rescue Rooms as you serenade the crowd with your rendition of Uptown Girl. This is the stuff that dreams are made of.
Wednesday 5 April, 7pm, £22 per table, Rescue Rooms, event link

So far we’ve seen the Television Workshop youth transport us to 17th century Mexico, taken us on a whirlwind tour of what it means to be personal assistant to the rich and famous and had us on a day trip to the British seaside. This week, it’s down to the farm for their family-friendly interpretation of Charlotte’s Web. Little kids, medium sized kids, big kids, and folk who don’t reckon they’re kids at all are invited to watch as little Wilbur the pig and Charlotte the spider embark on a whirlwind story of friendship, alongside little human, Fern Arable. It’s the perfect place to take the kiddies on Saturday afternoon, plus, you can get a full family ticket for twenty quid.
Wednesday 5 - Saturday 8 April, various times, £5/£8/£20, Richmond House, event link

The toughest girl gang on the block are on the hunt for new blood. They want some tough cookies to join them in taking over the roller derby circuit one ring at a time. Despite their hard-as-nails exterior, the team are proper lovely, and pride themselves on creating a diverse, inclusive community. And they have a lot of fun. They’re not too shabby at the owd game either, and last year, the A Team smashed their way up the leaderboard and are currently ranked in eighth place in the UK Roller Derby Association rankings, so you’ll be joining a team of champions. If you reckon you could show ‘em a thing or two, or just fancy giving it a go and making some new mates, you can pop over to their open recruitment session this week, learn the ropes, and maybe become a part of the squad.
Thursday 6 April, 7pm, £5 per session, £1 kit hire, Mapperley Sports Village, event link

Let’s get down to Brass tax. New Orleans freshest export – Hot 8 Brass Band – return to Nottingham to deliver you some devilish all-brass funk. This raucous ten-piece wall of horns are probably best known for their version of Sexual Healing. They were nominated for a Grammy back in 2013 for their second album The Life and Times Of, you best start warming up now, cos you’ll be rockin’ and rollin’ till the early hours. Prepare yourselves for some truly inspired originals mixed gracefully with some shit-hot renditions of some classics by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Snoop Dogg and the specials.
Thursday 6 April, 6.30pm, £20.35, Rescue Rooms, event link

There’s no stopping the musically-gifted fellows and fellettes of this city once they get going. Just look at the beard – Trekkah – and brows – Bru-C – behind Phlexx. They’ve been storming the city with their top quality events, showcasing some of the best in Notts talent, and this week ain’t no different. Rough Trade, everyone’s favourite Broad Street record shop, will be home to the likes of Benjamin Zięc and the Rarebreeds, a band made up of members from one of Hoodtown’s favourite unsigned bands, The Afterddark Movement, and fronted by Trekkah himsen. There’ll also be sets from Daisy Godfrey and Hashtagobi, and new gal on the block, Onkaur. Proper.
Friday 7 April, 7pm, free entry, Rough Trade, event link

Don’t ever let it be said that there’s nowt for the youth in this city to be getting on with. Nottingham Contemporary and Collabor8 put their noses to the grind time and time again to bring creative opportunities to Hoodtown’s whippersnappers. This week, they’ve teamed up with the Anti Gallery – the pop up gallery inspired by graffiti art and urban culture – to deliver a stencil and spray paint workshop. You’ll be tasked with creating your own artwork that’s reflective of your views on the time we’re living in. Learn how to cut stencils and use spray paints in a guided workshop led by Whimsy Wood. Plus they’ll be providing snacks and drinks to keep you on your a-game all night. Sound like a bit of you? Good. We’ll see you there, our kid.
Friday 7 April, 6pm, free, Nottingham Contemporary, event link

Shock shock. Horror horror. Yeah, you heard us right. The legendary Space are playing a set at Spanky Van Dykes. ‘Am I having a deja vu?’ We hear you cry. ‘Nay, ‘tis no deja vu,’ we reply. The band were originally scheduled to play last month, but the poor boggers came down with a bout of the flu and got fully written off for a period. How. Ever. The musical monsters are back, hopefully with a large vat of Lemsip in tow as well as a whole lot of funk. The Liverpudlians are famous from their golden period in the nineties, when hit singles Female of the Species, Me and You Versus the World, and Neighbourhood first tickled our lugholes. Get down to experience them in their apocalypse-era glory, and don’t forget to check out our interview with ‘em on our website this month.
Saturday 8 April, 8pm, £15, Spanky Van Dykes, event link

#NottsMan has taken the world of Facebook by bleddeh storm over the last couple of months. The anonymous social media maestro has been filling our timelines with Notts nostalgia, and a couple of pretty slick Nottingham Citeh t-shirts to boot. This month, the guys behind the page are stepping out into the known with a massive takeover day at The Angel Microbrewery. There’ll be live music from the likes of Origin One, Motormouf and DJ Fever, plus artwork on sale from the likes of Emily Catherine. We’re promised poets, dancers, DJs, a talent show, local independent clothing stalls, the finer details of which will be announced nearer the time. Plus, Dave Bartram aka the Cockleman will be there, selling his cockles and muscles, proving to both the rotten folk who attacked him recently, and cancer, that you can’t keep that old dog down. We’ll see you there.
Sunday 9 April, 12pm, £1/£2 entry, The Angel Microbrewery, event link