Music, comedy and much more in the great outdoors.
As lockdown eases and we’re getting ready to enjoy summer, it’s going to be more important than ever to support local independent venues. To help you make up your mind how, the Midlands Art Centre have come up with an eclectic and high quality list of events at their covid-compliant Outdoor Theatre
Tonight, Friday 2nd July, sees live music in the imposing shape of Neville Staple, legendary front man of The Specials, Fun Boy Three and Special Beat, also known as The Original Rude Boy, is credited with changing the face of pop music not only once, but twice. Tickets are from £10
There’s more live music in the Lovers Rock Garden on Saturday 3rd July. Janet Kay, Carroll Thompson, Victor Romero Evans help celebrate the launch of Simmer Down Festival 2021, a specially choreographed programme brings together live music, DJs, dancers, steel-pan maestros plus a sizzling menu of Caribbean food and cocktail bar to create a reggae event not to be missed. Tickets start at £8.
Sunday 4th July has comedy and theatre with The Noise Next Door: Out and About giving audiences the chance to laugh the night away in the great outdoor. Join the quickest wits in comedy as they deliver an alfresco dose of mind-blowing songs, side-splitting gags and jaw-dropping physicality.
After a year of doing as you’re told, it’s the perfect time for a show where whatever YOU say goes, as your wildest ideas are transformed into comedy gold. Tickets from £8.
Daniel Bye and Boff Whalley: These Hills Are Ours is the theatre offering on Thursday 15th July. Do you ever want to run away from it all? Dan and Boff did exactly that: they ran a series of routes from the centre of the city in which they found themselves, to the top of the peak overlooking that city. But what are we really running from? In story and in song, These Hills Are Ours is the story of what they found out on those journeys; escaping it all by running to wild places. Tickets start at £8.
There’s more live music from Martin & Eliza Carthy on Friday 6th August. Legendary ballad singer and guitarist Martin Carthy has influenced generations of artists, including Bob Dylan and Paul Simon. His daughter Eliza is a multiple-award winner at the BBC Radio Two Folk Awards and a double-nominee for the Mercury Music Prize, among many other accolades. Enjoy a great evening of live music in MAC’s Outdoor Theatre as they perform songs from their first duo album, The Elephant. Tickets from £10.
Sunday 15th August sees legendary Warwickshire & England cricketer Dennis Amiss in Conversation One of only 25 cricketers in the history of cricket to have scored 100 first class centuries, Dennis Amiss MBE is one of the undisputed greats of the game. Join MAC for a talk with Dennis, after which he will be signing copies of his critically acclaimed, best-selling book Not Out at Close of Play: A Life in Cricket. Tickets start at £10
On Thursday 19th August folk singer Belinda O’Hooley performs Inversions Live, a chance to enjoy a night with half of four-time BBC Radio 2 Folk Award Best Duo nominees O’Hooley & Tidow alongside her wife Heidi Tidow; together described by the Guardian as “exceptional songwriters”. Their song Gentleman Jack features as the closing theme song for Sally Wainwright’s latest BBC/HBO drama series Gentleman Jack. Tickets start at £10.
Local heroine Barbara Nice will be presenting her Summer Special on Saturday 21st August. Celebrity Housewife, mother of five and now, thanks to lockdown, star of Zoom, Mrs Barbara Nice is back with her very special Summer Special. Come and enjoy comedy music and Barbara’s philosophy of life in the fresh air at MAC’s Outdoor Theatre. Tickets from £10.
You can also visit MAC’s cinema to enjoy hand-picked films – from Oscar-winning titles, to hard-hitting documentaries, and cult classics, there will be something for everyone this summer. Enjoy titles such as Nomadland, First Cow, In The Earth, Madchen in Uniform, Dream Horse, After Love, and Remembering Srebrenica: Quo Vadis, Aida?.
Tickets for all events can be booked at macbirmingham.co.uk .