Entertainment News

The National Theatre announces today that its critically acclaimed, sold-out production of Dear England will transfer to the Prince Edward Theatre, in London’s West End, from 9 October 2023 for a strictly limited 14-week run.  This new play by James Graham, directed by Rupert Goold, tells the story of the England men’s football team under Gareth Southgate.  Tickets go on sale to the General Public on 11 August at 10am.

Birmingham Festival 23 came to a momentous close on Sunday evening with a finale that featured a host of the city’s finest established and emerging music, poetry, and spoken word talent in B:Music’s Next Track. Councillor Saima Suleman, Cabinet Member Digital, Culture, Heritage and Tourism at Birmingham City Council said: “What a fantastic 10 days this has been!

Spotify users listened to the 19 songs from the extended edition of The Barbie Album over 372.7 million times in just two weeks after the movie premiere. What Was I Made For, by Billie Eilish, accounts for nearly 78 million of these streams – the most of all the tracks on the official movie album. Meanwhile, Aqua gained the most new listeners among all the artists featured on the album. Five tracks from the Barbie album are currently featured on the Billboard Hot 100, including Ryan Gosling's I'm Just Ken - his first ever song on the reputable chart.

This is according to the educational music platform Music Industry How To, who monitored the Spotify data for all Barbie-related music before and after the movie’s release on July 21^st.

Mikron Theatre, one of the UK's most versatile and unusual touring theatre companies, have announced that it will be touring Twitchers, Poppy Hollman's brand new play with original live music, celebrating all things birds, birders and the RSPB. Mikron tours the country by historic narrowboat and by road when venues aren't quite close enough to a canal or river.

Mischief, the multi award-winning company responsible for the global comedy phenomenon, The Play That Goes Wrong, and the BBC One television series, The Goes Wrong Show, has announces the full casting for its forthcoming UK Tour of Peter Pan Goes Wrong.

The touring production reunites returning Mischief cast members with some courageous new recruits. The full cast line-up includes: Jake Burgum (Trevor), Jack Michael Stacey (Chris), Matthew Howell (Robert), Jean-Luke Worrell (Francis), Ciara Morris (Sandra), Theo Toksvig-Stewart (Max), Clark Devlin (Dennis), Jamie Birkett (Annie), Gareth Tempest (Jonathan) and Rosemarie Akwafo (Lucy). With understudies: Romeo Mika, Clare Noy, Consuela Rolle and Phil Yarrow.  

Despite the persistent rainfall, there was no stopping the party as ‘Carnival’ was at the centre of this Birmingham Festival 23 day of fun. With events on the main stage in Centenary Square washed out, The Rep theatre took centre stage as Karine Annick - aka Black Rose Yogini – got everybody into the party mood.

And boy, was it time to party! From Calypso to Classical the ACE Dance & Music academy got all on their collective toes as three different generations of its current incumbents, and alumnus, brought the best of Soca as the pulsating rhythms of Trinidad within the four walls of the iconic venue, bringing a collage of colour and dance, amidst the incessant weather outside. With great defiance, there was no stopping the Festival.

Using a specially constructed, counterweighted lift that allows the dancers to move as if in zero-gravity, Corey Baker Dance took everyone to space, during lunch, with their interpretation of ZeroG – their exhibition, which influences the movements of stars and space, which brought unified gasps of “Wow,” “Oh My Word” and “I Don’t Believe It,” But, those who were there just, simply had to… believe it, that is!

Global pop sensation, Armaan Malik, is set to captivate the hearts of music lovers worldwide with his new track ‘Sleepless Nights’, which follows on from previous hit singles ‘You’, ‘How Many’, ‘Control’ and the Ed Sheeran collaboration ‘2step’. Armaan has gained support from the Guardian, Clash, Daily Star, FAULT, tmrw, Wonderland, BBC News and continues to be the youngest Indian-origin artist to ever perform at Wembley Stadium's SSE Arena.

As Forró Tempo got things going with the rhythm, beats, and melodies of Brazil, it was the Wan Sheung cultural dance group, from the city’s Chinese Community Centre, who stepped up to the fore as the Birmingham Festival 23 geared up for its long weekend crescendo. Performing their own interpretation of traditional Tibetan Mountain dance, plus dragon dance, Southeast Asia was the destination during what would be a rain-interrupted – yet still fulfilling – day for all.

Paying homage to some of the greatest voices of all-time, Sony Music Entertainment (SME) and Certified, the digital destination platform celebrating SME’s R&B and Hip Hop catalogues, will unveil over 50 product releases via Legacy Recordings, Record Store Day, Vinyl Me, Please, Get On Down, Mobile Fidelity, and Urban Outfitters in 2023 to celebrate, commemorate, and honour the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop in partnership with entertainment company Mass Appeal.

This bevy of titles spans new physical configurations, first-time digital releases, and limited-edition vinyl from the genre’s most influential and indelible icons, including Big Pun, Cypress Hill, Nas, Outkast, Q-Tip, RUN DMC, Three 6 Mafia, Wu-Tang Clan, and more.

With the Barbie movie breaking box office records, a cinema in Barton-Under-Needwood received a very special visit from a barbie-themed pink elephant on Wednesday morning.

Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” movie has inspired a cultural and fashion trend dubbed “Barbiecore,” reportedly contributing to a pink paint shortage — and now even local hospice, St Giles Hospice, are jumping on the trend to promote their 2024 sculpture trail - “March of the Elephants”, which will hit the streets, towns and open spaces of Lichfield, Tamworth and Sutton Coldfield in July next year.

Commissioned and supported by Birmingham City Council, B.Fest 23’s (Birmingham Festival 23) 10-day programme of free events continued to showcase the city’s rich cultural on offer as ‘lady’s day’ took over in Centenary Square, with the likes of the sounds of SHE Choir Birmingham, a community choir for women with their original arrangements of pop, rock, indie, R&B and more, Natty Ola’s showcase from her new album Stories, Shine Girl Shine by IAM West Midlands celebrated Black female talent in the underground music scene, in the West Midlands.

Bringing their own unique blend of sophism fused with a smooth ting of poetic jazz to the Birmingham Festival 23 (B.Fest 23) as the lunchtime crowds in the city was treated to the likes of locally based bands, The Seekers, A Hologram Maze, Insurgent and Santu, amongst others.

After kicking off with the daily Sense Wellbeing Sound Bath, from their album ‘Journey of Light,’ a mixtures of Sufi, jazz and exotic rhythms, The Seekers, led by Rubaya Pirzada, brought their own blend of poetic enhancement, together with traditional south Asian dance - by Aruna – to the growing hordes of men women and children, with a great deal of them regularly tapping away to the sound and surroundings of a mild midday sun.

Huma Qureshi is an actress who fearlessly conquers both the reel and real worlds of the entertainment industry. With her bold and intellectually compelling on-screen personas, the 36-year-old starlet has solidified her position as a force to be reckoned with in the world of cinema.

In a recent interview, the actress delved candidly into various topics, including the hot-button issue of pay parity in the film industry. Huma was asked if working on her new project, ‘Maharani 3,’ instilled confidence in her to speak up about the pay gap in the industry.

Birmingham Hippodrome and Bullring & Grand Central have announced Birmingham Weekender is returning to the city this August Bank Holiday Weekend with free events for everyone to experience.

On Saturday 26th August and Sunday 27th August, Birmingham Weekender will take over the heart of the city with colorful installations, interactive experiences and energetic performances from some of the best local, national and international artists.

Micky Flanagan has had a colossal year, with his hugely successful ‘If Ever We Needed It’ breaking records left, right and centre in some of the biggest venues in the UK, including Birmingham, Bournemouth, and London’s The O2. But, he’s only just getting started.