I Wish You A Merry Christmas.

 

Happy Holidays,

it was always worth a try

to inject a phrase into a time

to which I feel no connection.

Happy Christmas, goes, goes, goes

to the back of the pile,

not one for the season of Santa

and his air traffic controlled nose

reindeer, Blitzen and adding

Donner meat to the Kebab

rammed down the throat, drunk

on Christmas Eve, traffic cone on head

and singing loudly at midnight.

Having worked in retail and in catering,

the best thing about it was willing

Andrew Hesford, Any Moment Now. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Any Moment Now; an outburst of declaration, a quiet inward wish, a spoken treaty with fate, whichever way you tend to look those three small words, they are weighted with expectation, demand and more than enough hope inside of them. Any moment now, the realisation of years of practise, of dedication and often setback will conjoin and see the lightning strike in the same place twice, leaving the onlooker dazed by the flash of brilliance but rejoicing in having been able to witness its arrival.

Shoes, Almost In The Cupboard.

 

It is nearly time

to put my well worn shoes

at the back of the wardrobe, making sure to

cover them up so

nothing falls in

and causes me to yell out in surprise

come the middle of January

when I start this madness

once again.

Surprised that they have lasted all year,

the red boots, have served me well

and deserve the foot rest

that this festive period

that bleeds into New Year hope

and dreams already dashed

as other’s resolutions canker and spoil, provide.

20th Century Novel A Passage To India Brought Vividly To Life At The Playhouse For Five Nights.

An adaptation of E. M. Forster’s classic novel A Passage to India will visit the Playhouse from the 6th-10th February as audiences are posed the question: how can we love one another in a world divided by race, power and religion?

This classic story is brought to life by award-winning theatre company Simple8, who create bold, new plays through movement, mime, live music, puppetry and magic to stage work that is inventive and daring.

Award Winning Hand In Hand Theatre Embark On 10th Anniversary Tour.

4 women-2 plays-1 rollercoaster of emotions equals Bags! Boxes! Laughter & Tears!

Hand in Hand Theatre celebrates their tenth birthday with a mini tour. After having produced many large ensemble productions, from Shakespeare to contemporary theatre, they are delighted to be taking their work to other audiences in the North West, including a night at the Casa on Hope Street on Thursday 25th January 2018.

In a double-bill of one act plays for women written and directed by Bev Clark, A Bus Stop Production presents –

Baggage:

Bryony Kimmings’ A Pacifist’s Guide To The War On Cancer Aims To Break Taboo Of ‘The Little C’.

From Friday 26th January to Saturday 3rd February, the Playhouse opens its spring 2018 season by welcoming writer Bryony Kimmings and internationally acclaimed theatre company Complicite, as they present A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer.

This funny and moving production tackles the often difficult subject of cancer to look behind the poster campaigns and pink ribbons at the realities: newfound friendships, pain and death, mundane treatment cycles, hairlessness and scars… with songs.

Creating and starring in this unique look at cancer and illness, Bryony Kimmings is known for tackling “unspeakable” subjects like sexual and mental health (Sex Idiot, Fake It Til You Make It) head on to ignite conversation with her audience.

Raphael Callaghan, Said And Done. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Don’t Let the Devil Drive, but then He does write all the best tunes and offers the finest scathing one liners to which he has no issue in you pursuing and making your own, when all is Said And Done, if the ride is free and you get to shoot the breeze with someone who is going to plant random gems in your mind then don’t just let the Devil drive, make him sing as well.

Arrayan Path, Dawn Of Aquarius. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

When the light becomes overpowering, when the tales and myths of the age of reason become too much and threaten to bring darkness, there is always salvation to be found, a restorer of balance, a new birth in which to celebrate and take thanks in. The Chronicles of Light may have faded under the weight of the scribe’s pen but in the following year, that self same scribe has come to realise there is now in the ashes of midnight’s dusk, the Dawn of Aquarius and it is brighter, more bold and adventurous than before.

Scaredycats, Dumb Animals. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

If you can imagine a smile, beaming in the face of adversity, usually thankful for just having made it through each day without causing some sort of incident in which the brain will replay it over and over again till the subject becomes engrained, scarred, indelibly stamped on the forehead and seared like a brand on a cattle farm somewhere deep in the heart of Texas. If you can imagine that smile, then it doesn’t matter what they call you, you are in the realm of the Dumb Animals and it is arguably the best place to be.

The Cherry Dolls, Viva Los Dolls. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Once upon a time, in a land far away from the shores of Britain, was a place in which almost anything seemed possible, it was to many who heard the sound of the siren like adverts, a place of opportunity and sunshine, of a fresh optimism, a definite sense of positivity compared to the grey and the soggy brow beaten of the British Isles.