What Do You Fancy? The Atkinson’s New Season is Announced

What Do You Fancy? The Atkinson’s New Season is Announced

The Atkinson launches its new season featuring exhibitions, music, theatre, dance, film, comedy and family theatre.

The Southport venue, funded and managed by Sefton Council continues to attract big names and the spring season is no different with Eddi Reader, Thea Gilmore, The Christians, Richard Alston Dance Company and Seth Lakeman making an appearance.

The Atkinson Gallery presents the first major exhibition in the UK of Japanese Shojo Manga, providing a beautiful insight into this beautiful and moving world of stories and images.

The comics, aimed at teenage girls, tend to tell stories about love, which can be dark and dramatic as well as sweet and romantic. It has developed into a broad-ranging and hugely popular form thanks to the innovative work of a small group of women. This exhibition profiles manga artists Akiko Hatsu, Keiko Takemiya and Yukiko Kai, whose work explores themes such as young love, science fiction and fantasy.

The exhibition supported by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation and The Daiwa Foundation is on display at The Atkinson from Saturday 9 January – Sunday 14 February.

Other major exhibitions this season bring us a little closer to home, Lord Street: Past, Present and Future is a celebration of one of England’s most famous and well-loved shopping Boulevard’s. The exhibition will include different events taking place alongside an exciting programme of talks from local historians and tours that highlight the hidden gems, the glamour and the beautiful architecture of the street, including its centrepiece –Wayfarers Arcade.

We open The Landing, our exciting new commercial gallery this February with an exhibition of work by Birkdale resident and Dublin born Derek Culley. He exhibits his work internationally and we are delighted he has chosen The Landing to display his vibrant paintings and prints. Derek Culley’s work will be on display and available to buy from Saturday 6 February – Sunday 15 May. More information on this will be available very soon.

One Day, Something Happens:Painting of People is an Arts Council exhibition crated by Jennifer Higgie, co-editor of Frieze Magazine. Reflecting a personal period of radical change in art, it looks at the everyday theatricality of the body and includes a selection of 20th century painting by acclaimed artists such as Walter Sickert, Lucian Freud, David Hockney, Paula Rego and Richard Hamilton. It is on display from Saturday 20 February until Sunday 22 May.

Our family programme will have you getting creative with our new Make It! activities and we ask you to get up close and personal with objects from our Ancient Egypt collection with our Hand On! activities, which are both free drop in activities during half terms and holidays.

Our family programme is as imaginative as ever with new tales of a Husky and Bear in Breaking the Ice (Sunday 28 February) and we find out whether Bumblewasps are poisonous, and what Whistling Panks eat in the puppet-packed, ludicrously lyrical extravaganza – Marvellous Imaginary Menagerie (Sunday 20 March).

Classic tales are given a new lease of life with Tom Thumb (Saturday 6 February), Puss in Boots (Sunday 6 March) and the tale of Barney and Stig in Stig of the Dump (Sunday 3 April).

Under the sea, out of the farm and into the jungle we go with Tiddler and Other Terrific Tales from Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler’s best loved books (Friday 15 April).

The popular Ballet Theatre UK makes their seasonal visit to The Atkinson with their new classic ballet version of Pinocchio (Saturday 16 April).

Visit us in the daytime and take part in creative workshops with leading designers, enjoy lunchtime ensembles of classical music with Cake & Classical or live entertainment as part of our monthly Tea Dances. The daytime talks take you through our collections and artefacts, introducing you to different topics and themes.

It’s a big season for Music with Gretchen Peters (Friday 5 February), Oysters3 (Wednesday 20 January). Fairport Convention stop of for their Winters Tour (Saturday 30 January) and they are quickly followed by The Christians, who have just launched their new album WE.

We have a number of artists making their first visit to the venue including the gifted singer/songwriter Thea Gilmore (Friday 11 March) and the contemporary pop-folk group Keston Cobblers Club (Saturday 27 February). Eddie Reader who was brought into the limelight through the Fairground Attraction fame, but has effortlessly developed into one of popular music’s most thrilling and affecting performers (Saturday 2 April).

We are delighted to welcome back Fay Hield, this time performing with her longstanding band The Hurricane Party (Friday 18 March). Staying with folk theme the two time BBC2 Folk Award winners Greg Russell and Ciaran Algar perform with the upcoming rising roots singer Luke Jacobs (Friday 1 April), Feast of Fiddles entertain us (Monday 11 April), Show of Hands (Duo) Steve Knightley and Phil Beer bring their genre defying mix to the party (Thursday 14 April) and The Rheingans Sisters explore traditional and contemporary folk music across Scandinavia, Britain and America (Thursday 21 April).

We take you down memory lane with a glittering gem of a show at the end of April. Chris Dean’s Syd Lawrence Orchestra SWING – The Ultimate Big Band features the music of Glen Miller, Coiunt Basie, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and more (Saturday 30 April).

If you are a little done after Christmas then do not fret as our comedy programme is jam -packed! Hal Cruttenden (Thursday 18 February), Alun Cochrane (Thursday 17 March), Dave Spikey (Thursday 28 April) and Ed Byrne (Friday 22 April) bring their new shows to us. Plus Chris Ramsey has re-booked a date with us after he had to cancel his show last season due to having a baby (Wednesday 9 March) for his show All Growed Up. Not to mention the monthly Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club that hits the spot on the first Saturday of every month.

Richard Alston Dance Company once again bring musicality, choreographic excellence and superb dancing (Thursday 3 March) with a free pre-show talk. While Bolshoi Ballet’s season continues with The Taming of the Shrew Encore (Sunday 31 January), Spartacus Encore (Sunday 13 March) and finally Don Quixote Live (Sunday 10 April .

Don’t forget we are a National Theatre Live venue. Come and see the best of British Theatre at The Atkinson. The spring programme includes  Les Liaisons Dangereuses Live 12a (Thursday 28 January) and As You Like It Live 12a (Thursday 25 February).

To top of the season Southport celebrates its unique part in motor-racing history with the 90th Anniversary of Sir Henry Seagrave’s land-speed record on Southport Beach, and a week-long Festival of Speed with unmissable events taking place from Saturday 12 – Sunday 20 March.

For the first time in 90 years, the record breaking car-Sunbeam Tiger –returns to Southport, thanks to the generosity of a private lender. It is reunited here with its sister car, the Cub, in collaboration with the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu. These two remarkable cars will be on display in The Atkinson – together for the first time – as a centrepiece of our Festival.

Keep an eye on the website for information about the range of the themed events and activities taking place during this week, just visit theatkinson.co.uk

For more information about the full programme, please visit our website. The new brochure is available to download on the website or pick up a copy inside The Atkinson

Tickets are available online at theatkinson.co.uk or by calling the Box Office on 01704 533333. They are also available over the counter during The Atkinson opening hours.

Please be advised there is a £1 booking fee for telephone and online sales and a 2% fee for credit cards at the Box Office.

 

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LISTING INFORMATION

Please be advised there is a £1 booking fee for telephone and online sales and a 2% fee for credit cards at the Box Office.

 

The Atkinson
Lord Street
Southport
Merseyside
PR8 1DB

HOW TO BOOK

In person: Visit The Atkinson box office on Lord Street

For tickets: visit the website theatkinson.co.uk or call box office on 01704 533333

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About The Atkinson

The Atkinson is Southport’s beautiful new home for music, theatre, art, poetry, literature and history, right in the middle of Lord Street in Southport. Significant investment has been made in refurbishing the stunning 19th century buildings, to create a really welcoming multi art-form venue with a strong contemporary feel.

The Atkinson offers an exciting and varied destination for families, cultural tourists and arts enthusiasts alike, with a full day and night time offer. Wile the day away visiting the new shop, that sells gifts and contemporary crafts from regional makers and then relax in the Bakery, choosing from a selection of artisan bread sandwiches, cakes and sharing platters. You can even take little bit of The Atkinson home with you from the delicatessen. Wonder through the major exhibitions and see performances from some of the UK’s foremost musicians, actors, performers and companies, films, family activities and much more.

 

Posted on 7 December 2015 under Just announced

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