Bread&Circus
“Bread & Circus is a distraction of two Birmingham based designers. Posting travel, design, fashion, music and food.” Claire Hartley (who helped make CiB look like it does) and Gavin Auty got a blog
New Year’s Eve. You either either love it or you hate it. Or you watch Jools Holland. Either way, there’s a lot going on in Birmingham to see in the new year, so here’s a NYE selection.
Not to be outdone, Birmingham City Council are putting on “low level pyrotechnics” in Victoria Square while the Big Screen will show the BBC One New Year Celebrations between 10pm and 12.30am.
Briefing Document « Stan’s Cafe Theatre Company
From: ACE Dance and Music, Big Brum, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Birmingham Arts Partnership , Birmingham Jazz, Punch, Sound It Out, Stan’s Cafe, Women and Theatre. To: Birmingham City Council
Introducing this year’s patron saint : Flatpack Festival
“he appeared in more Laurel and Hardy films than anyone else, as well as writing gags, building sets and working with the likes of Abbot and Costello, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. He grew up in Ward End, Birmingham”
Straina – 21st Century Fox
This video was filmed around Birmingham and the German markets at the beginning of December
It’s the BrumNotes/This Is Tmrw Christmas Party at The Victoria tonight. Click the link or ogle the poster below (sidenote: are Lewes Herriot‘s gig posters the best around town at the moment? Answers on a postcard).
Birmingham Hippodrome have Cinderella on until the end of January and has already picked up some really good reviews from the Birmingham Mail and The Stage. I went along to the press night last night (disclosure: that means they gave me free tickets) and liked the lovely horsey best.
Meanwhile, down in that London, Birmingham Royal Ballet are seeing out the year performing The Nutcracker at the O2, which sounds like a pretty big deal to me.
There’s loads of other stuff too, obviously. If you’ve got any other good suggestions then bung them in the comments.
From now until February 2012, Birmingham Libraries are setting free 1,000 copies of Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson for people to read, review and pass on to a friend in the Birmingham Big City Read.
In 2010, Birmingham was due to become a leading digital city. I’ve no reason to assume that didn’t happen on schedule, although I’ve been flicking through The Drum’s list of Top 100 Digital Agencies (by fee income) and they don’t seem to have got the memo.
The Midlands (east and west) only have three agencies listed. Those are:
WAA, who are identified as Sutton Coldfield rather than Birmingham but we know the truth (90th)
The good news is we beat Wales (one agency listed) and the North East (also one agency, although their fee income easily outstrips the combined Midlands ones). Hurrah, I suppose.
It’s been more than a year since I last mentioned RoxXxan. In the time since she’s been signed by Polydor and keeps cropping up in interviews all over the place. There’s been talk of a mixtape called Prepare 4When I Land but it looks like that’s going to be out in the new year now.
Shared Creative Studio Space Birmingham
“A small digital agency are currently looking at subletting desk space to like-minded individuals, or a small team.” Based in Fazeley Studios and sharing with good people
The other night I went to Speak Up at the Hare and Hounds - a night of poetry, spoken word and music with a little bit of crazy dancing thrown in for good measure.
It was good – the place was busy, there was a nice, relaxed atmosphere and the performers were an entertainingly mixed bunch. I’ve seen Polarbear a few times and usually enjoy his stuff so it was good to catch him again. I’d heard of Byron Vincent but hadn’t expected him to be quite so funny as he was. On the musical side of things, Tom Peel was a revelation, Martyna Baker was impressive and there was a young lady called Mahalia who blew everyone’s socks off.
Everything was admirably compered by Jodi Ann Bickley and Matt Windle, who were both very good too. A good night out, all told. Keep an eye out for the next one of these (if there is one – hopefully there will be).
The Birmingham Post has a pretty grim report on the latest Birmingham City Council arts funding decisions. You may remember that a significant chunk was taken away this time last year. Well, the current level of funding will be frozen for a couple of years, with plans to take away a further £1.4m in 2014.
In response to that, mac have said they might have to close for 6 weeks from January 2013, reduce their operating hours and feature less adventurous work.
The Music Hub organisations (Symphony Hall, the Town Hall, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Ex Cathedra) are apparently being accused of not getting their act together sufficiently and have been told they can just have one year of funding for the time being.
So, yes. Grim. The Post goes so far as to use the phrase ‘plunged into crisis’.
The leaked figures suggested a rather bleak scenario of 2012/13 and 2013/14 – one that’s been described as ‘politically unacceptable’. The idea, as I understand it, is for the figures announced yesterday to hold for the next three years. Funding is to be kept at this level by income generated by (for example) sponsorship secured by the likes of Performances Birmingham (Town Hall/Symphony Hall to you and I)
Is the scenario any less bleak or, for that matter, politically acceptable? The attempts to sell naming rights for the Town Hall and Symphony Hall have apparently fallen through too, by the way – corporate cash being a bit more tricky to come by these days.
One last thing – it’s worth noting that the Birmingham Post article was written by Paul Dale who left the paper yesterday. Over the years he’s done more than his fair share of bothering people in power and I’ve enjoyed reading his work. I was gutted to see him go (I bet there are a few who feel relieved) and wish him all the best in whatever he does next.
33TV is an online music channel based in Birmingham. We are dedicated to showcasing upcoming artists and musicians, featuring interviews, freestyles and unplugged performances
And then the website, which was built by Made Media (which is where I work, full disclosure fans).
Also, blimey – I’ve just noticed that next year they’ve got a show called The Infernal Comedy:
John Malkovich stars in a stage play for baroque orchestra, singers and actor, based on the real-life story of convicted serial killer Jack Unterweger.
Yes, that John Malkovich. I’m a bit impressed by that.
