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Liverpool’s Capstone Theatre springs into 2017 with classical and contemporary music, the crème de la crème of jazz and work from Liverpool’s best and newest playwrights.
The new season includes more than 20 free performances and the return of two of the city’s most popular arts festivals – The Liverpool International Jazz Festival (23rd-26th February) and the Cornerstone Festival, which has moved from November to March.
Neil Campbell, Capstone Theatre Manager said: “2017 sees our most packed programme yet. Our reputation as a venue means that we are attracting more international artists and world premieres. We are especially delighted to welcome Ian Salmon’s new play, which was shortlisted for the 2015 Liverpool Hope Playwriting Prize. Our Jazz Festival and the Cornerstone Festival are now firmly established in the City’s calendar, and we look forward to welcoming the public to more than 20 free performances throughout the season. Encouraging as many people as possible to enjoy the arts is at the heart of what we do.”
The season kicks off on Wednesday 25th January with Mandala Theatre’s stirring play Night Light (7.30pm), which tells the story of two teenage asylum seekers, alone and trying to find their place in the world (£13.50, £11.50).
On Saturday 28th January, Indian arts organisation Milapfest presents the first in its free Saturday lunchtime concert series, Music For the Mind and Soul, with Prabhat Rao (1pm). The series continues with Balkan Jazz meets Indian Music on Saturday 25th February, Roopa Panesar on Saturday 25th March, and Pandit Tarun Bhattacharya on 29th April.
On Tuesday 31st January, dance fans can enjoy Upon Awakening (7.30pm, £9.50, £6.50), by the acclaimed Fallen Angels Theatre Group. Upon Awakening depicts the real life journeys for and about people in recovery. The company is led by ex-Birmingham Royal Ballet principal dancer Paul Bayes Kitcher. On Friday 3rd February, Malta’s Zfinmalta Dance Ensemble present a double bill of HOME and Kick the Bucket, both of which explore the human journey in new and moving ways (7.30pm, £10, £8). On Tuesday 2nd May (7.30pm, £9.50, £7.50) Sakoyo Onishi performs two major dance pieces – Animal Science and Primavera Siciliana (Sicilian Spring), which won first prize in the Die Platze Contemporary Dance Festival in Tokyo.
Classical music lovers can enjoy three concerts from Liverpool Mozart Orchestra: Elgar’s Cello Concerto on Saturday 11th February, Grieg’s Piano Concerto on Saturday 25th March and Haydn’s First & Last on Saturday 20th May (all 7.30pm, £15, £13.50, £5).
Liverpool International Jazz Festival celebrates its fifth year in the city with another stellar line up of international headliners, free shows and workshops. The 2017 festival
opens on Thursday 23rd February at 7pm, with a set from MOBO award-winners Sons of Kemet (7pm, £11.50). Other top names include Manchester-based quartet Mammal Hands (Friday 24th February, 7pm, £11.50), The David Helbock Trio (Saturday 25th February, 7.30pm, £11.50) and The Neil Cowley Trio (Sunday 26th February, 7.30pm, £11.50). Neil contributed to Adele’s global chart toppers, 19 and 21. Saxophonist and composer Iain Bellamy will deliver a free saxophone workshop on 26th February (11am), followed by a performance with pianist Huw Warren (1pm, £11.50). For the full programme visit http://www.thecapstonetheatre.com/jazzfestival/
Liverpool Hope University’s free public arts festival, the Cornerstone Festival, runs at The Capstone from Monday 6th-Saturday 11th March. Highlights include the premiere of Anfield Wrap writer Ian Salmon’s comedy The Comeback Special (Saturday 11th March, 5pm), which was shortlisted for the 2015 Liverpool Hope Playwriting Prize. The hilarious new play tells the story of young Scouse lad Robbie, whose life is thrown into disarray when a reincarnation of Elvis Presley takes over. Theatre lovers can also enjoy Negative Space by Reckless Sleepers (6th March, 7.30pm), a performance of Willy Russell’s Educating Rita (7th March, 5pm) and a new stage adaptation of Moby Dick which will close the festival on Saturday 11th March (7.30pm).
Music lovers are in for a treat with an eclectic festival programme. On Tuesday 7th March (7.30pm), The Ensemble of St Luke’s will perform brand new pieces from Craig Wakerley and Ian Percy, Stephen Pratt’s Aphrodite’s Rock and Maurice Ravel’s String Quartet in F Major. On Wednesday 8th March (5pm), Ensemble Alter Klang: London, the Cosmopolitan recreates the music of the capital city in the 18th century. On Thursday 9th March (7.30pm), male soprano Radu Marian and pianist Svetlana Pekarskaya will explore romances by great Russian and Italian opera composers. On Friday 10th March (5pm), Emma Haughton presents ‘Brahms the Progressive’ or ‘Where’s the Progression Going?’ taking the audience on a journey to explore issues of ‘progressivism’ in the clarinet repertoire during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. ‘Among the finest klezmer ensembles on the planet’ (The Australian), She’Koyokh is a Yiddish word roughly translating as ‘Nice one!’ On Friday 10th March (7.30pm), musicians hailing from the UK, Serbia, Sweden and Turkey will perform virtuosic, toe-tapping klezmer, Gypsy music, soulful songs and the best Balkan dance tunes.
International dance comes to the festival in the form of world famous flamenco dancers Marco Vargas and Chloé Brûlé, who present In the Room on 8th March (7.30pm), with pieces ranging from the minimalist to the exuberant and inspired by their favourite dance duos. On 9th March (5pm), VERVE, the postgraduate performance company of the Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD), presents an exhilarating double bill of work performed by a company of eleven dancers trained at some of the world’s leading conservatoires. The festival will also see an exhibition of paintings by Michael Stubbs from FACT. Free Cornerstone Festival tickets will be released soon – visit http://www.thecapstonetheatre.com/ for updates.
Contemporary music continues with composer, musician and record producer Andrew Poppy who brings his mix of acoustic sounds and digital technology to The Capstone on Wednesday 29th March. The concert will include pieces performed at The Rest is Noise Festival in London and festivals in Turin and Porto (£15, 7.30pm).
Allerton Brass bring their annual Spring performance to the Capstone on 13th May (7.30pm, £10, £8) – this year’s concert, Rock of Ages, comprises a journey through rock and pop classics from the 1950s to the 1990s.
On Thursday 18th May, Writing on the Wall (WoW) presents a new interpretation of Estuary, originally performed in 2015, based on Seán Street’s poetry of tides, rivers and harbours, with musical settings by Neil Campbell and featuring vocalist Perri Alleyne-Hughes. This new version is produced in collaboration with acclaimed choreographer and dancer, Rachel Sweeney, and visual realisations by photographer/filmmaker/fine artist Peter Dover, creating a totally unique fusion of words, music, movement and stunning imagery.
Full Listings:
MANDALA THEATRE PRESENTS: NIGHT LIGHT
Wednesday 25 January 2017, 7.30pm
£13.50 (£11.50 concessions). School/group rate £9.50
MUSIC FOR THE MIND & SOUL: PRABHAT RAO
Saturday 28 January 2017, 1pm
Admission Free
(Please book at www.milapfest.com)
FALLEN ANGELS: UPON AWAKENING
Tuesday 31 January 2017, 7.30pm
£9.50 (£6.50 concessions)
ZFINMALTA DANCE ENSEMBLE – DOUBLE BILL
Friday 3 February 2017, 7.30pm
£10 (£8 concessions)
LIVERPOOL MOZART ORCHESTRA:
ELGAR’S CELLO CONCERTO
Saturday 11 February 2017, 7.30pm
£15.00 (£13.50 Senior Citizens, £5 students 17+ in full-time education, free to young
people 16 & under accompanied by an adult)
MILAPFEST PRESENTS CELEBRATE INDIA!
– SAMYO AND SABRANG
Saturday 18 February 2017, 7.30pm
Admission Free
(Please book at www.milapfest.com)
LIVERPOOL INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL
SONS OF KEMET
Thursday 23 February 2017, 7pm
£11.50
PERSPECTIVES ON IMPROVISATION
Friday 24 February 2017, 1pm
Admission Free
MAMMAL HANDS
Friday 24 February 2017, 7pm
£11.50
MAYA JAZZ – BALKAN JAZZ MEETS INDIAN MUSIC
Saturday 25 February 2017, 1pm
Admission Free
FIREBIRD QUARTET
Saturday 25 February 2017, 3.15pm
(Capstone Foyer)
Admission Free
PAT MCCARTHY QUARTET FT SHANNON REILLY
Saturday 25 February 2017, 4.25pm
(Capstone Foyer)
Admission Free
JOHNNY HUNTER QUARTET
Saturday 25 February 2017, 5.35pm
(Capstone Foyer)
Admission Free
DAVID HELBOCK TRIO
Saturday 25 February 2017, 7pm
£11.50
SAXOPHONE WORKSHOP
– IAIN BALLAMY
Sunday 26 February 2017, 11am
(Great Hall)
Free Admission (pre-booking required)
BALLAMY / WARREN (Iain Ballamy – tenor saxophone; Huw Warren – piano)
Sunday 26 February 2017, 1pm
£11.50
NEIL COWLEY TRIO
Sunday 26 February 2017, 7.30pm
£11.50
MARCONI UNION
Friday 3 March 2017, 7.30pm
£11.50
Cornerstone Festival
MICHAEL STUBBS: PAINTINGS
Monday 6 March 2017, 5pm
(Cornerstone Theatre)
Admission Free
RECKLESS SLEEPERS: NEGATIVE SPACE
Monday 6 March 2017, 7.30pm
Admission Free
(please pre book at www.hope.ac.uk/cornerstonefestival/)
EDUCATING RITA
Tuesday 7 March 2017, Cornerstone Theatre, 5pm
Admission Free
(please pre book at www.hope.ac.uk/cornerstonefestival/)
ENSEMBLE OF ST LUKE’S: A QUARTET OF QUARTETS
Tuesday 7 March 2016, 7.30pm
Admission Free
(please pre book at www.hope.ac.uk/cornerstonefestival/)
ENSEMBLE ALTER KLANG: 21 LONDON, THE COSMOPOLITAN
Wednesday 8 March 2017, 5pm
(Cornerstone Theatre)
Admission Free
(please pre book at www.hope.ac.uk/cornerstonefestival/)
MARCO VARGAS AND CHLOÉ BRÛLÉ: IN THE ROOM
Wednesday 8 March 2017, 7.30pm
Admission Free
(please pre book at www.hope.ac.uk/cornerstonefestival/)
VERVE
Thursday 9 March 2017, 5pm
(Cornerstone Theatre)
Admission Free
(please pre book at www.hope.ac.uk/cornerstonefestival/)
RADU MARIAN AND SVETLANA PEKARSKAYA: L’ALBA SEPARA DALLA LUCE L’OMBRA
Thursday 9 March 2017, 7.30pm
Admission Free
(please pre book at www.hope.ac.uk/cornerstonefestival/)
EMMA HAUGHTON: ‘BRAHMS THE PROGRESSIVE’ OR WHERE’S THE PROGRESSION GOING?
Friday 10 March 2017, 5pm
(Cornerstone Theatre)
Admission Free
(please pre book at www.hope.ac.uk/cornerstonefestival/)
SHE’KOYOKH: NICE ONE!
Friday 10 March 2017, 7.30pm
Admission Free
(please pre book at www.hope.ac.uk/cornerstonefestival/)
CNS THEATRE COMPANY: THE COMEBACK SPECIAL
Saturday 11 March 2017, 5pm
(Cornerstone Theatre)
Admission Free
(please pre book at www.hope.ac.uk/cornerstonefestival/)
PIASECKI & PIASECKA: MOBY DICK 27
Saturday 11 March 2017, 7.30pm
Admission Free
(please pre book at www.hope.ac.uk/cornerstonefestival/)
MUSIC FOR THE MIND AND SOUL: ROOPA PANESAR
Saturday 25 March 2017, 1pm
Admission Free
(Please book at www.milapfest.com)
LIVERPOOL MOZART ORCHESTRA: GRIEG’S PIANO CONCERTO
Saturday 25 March 2017, 7.30pm*
(Great Hall)
£15.00 (£13.50 Senior Citizens, £5 students 17+ in full-time education, free to young people 16 & under accompanied by an adult)
ANDREW POPPY – THE BEATING OF WINGS
Wednesday 29 March 2017, 7.30pm
£15
MUSIC FOR THE MIND AND SOUL: PANDIT TARUN BHATTACHARYA
Saturday 29 April 2017, 1pm
Admission Free
(Please book at www.milapfest.com)
SAYOKO ONISHI: ANIMAL SCIENCE AND PRIMAVERA SICILIANA
Tuesday 2 May 2017, 7.30pm
£9.50 (£7.50 concessions)
ALLERTON BRASS PRESENTS “ROCK OF AGES”
Saturday 13th May 2017, 7.30pm
Tickets £10 (£8 Concessions)*
ESTUARY
Thursday 18th May 2017, 7.30pm
Tickets £9.50 (£6.50 concessions)
LIVERPOOL MOZART ORCHESTRA: HAYDN’S FIRST & LAST
Saturday 20 May 2017, 7.30pm*
£15.00 (£13.50 Senior Citizens, £5 students 17+ in full-time education, free to young people 16 & under accompanied by an adult)
MUSIC FOR THE MIND AND SOUL: PANDIT RANAJIT SENGUPTA
Saturday 27 May 2017, 1pm
Admission Free
(Please book at www.milapfest.com)