Frank Turner at Nottingham Arboretum PHOTO REVIEW

Frank Turner Copyright Laura Patterson ©

Nottingham Confidential photographer Laura Patterson was one of the lucky ones to secure tickets for the first of two sold-out nights of Frank Turner's limited capacity, socially distanced, outdoor "Campfire Punk Rock" gig. 

Frank Turner Copyright Laura Patterson ©

It was a whole afternoon of entertainment in the sun at Nottingham's Arboretum Garden Bar and Bandstand, headlined by Frank Turner and Matt Nasir, with fantastic support from Jess Guise, Samantics and S.T. Manville.

 Copyright Laura Patterson ©

Copyright Laura Patterson ©

Copyright Laura Patterson ©

Grace Before Jones Exhibition At Nottingham Contemporary PREVIEW

Model, popstar, actress and Bond girl Grace Jones' thrillingly unique and inimitable mix of style, beauty, strength and versatility has been gracing and wowing entertainment for decades. The free exhibition Grace Before Jones: Camera, Disco, Studio is coming to Nottingham Contemporary from 26 September 2020 until 3 January 2021.

Please note that the dates of this exhibition may be subject to change due to the COVID-19 crisis.

In 1979, Grace Jones had her face moulded by her collaborator and then-partner Jean-Paul Goude to produce multiple ultra-realist masks. These were intended to be worn by fellow musicians, performers and models, but were also for herself. Grace Jones had multiplied and turned herself into sculpture and serial form. Departing from the observation that Grace Jones is not one but multiple, the exhibition Grace Before Jones: Camera, Disco, Studio unfurls a range of Grace Joneses: from disco queen to dub cyborg; Jamaican to French; runway model to nightclub performer; black to white; feminine to masculine.

Grace Before Jones: Camera, Disco, Studio travels through time to present a multifaceted portrait of the iconic singer and seeks to give both a historical background and contemporary perspective to Grace Jones’ image-making, while expanding on stage design, music and fashion. 

Departing from the iconic singer’s career and her collaborations with artists, designers, photographers and musicians to question black image-making and gender binarism as well as both performance and the performance of life, the exhibition promises to be "a cross between fan-fiction, study and biography."

Grace Before Jones: Camera, Disco, Studio is at Nottingham Contemporary from  26 September 2020  - 3 January 21. Entrance is FREE. Full details can be found on the Nottingham Contemporary website.

Prism Starring Robert Lindsay At Nottingham Theatre Royal REVIEW

From Marilyn Monroe to Rambo, the extraordinarily illuminating story of double Oscar-winning cinematographer Jack Cardiff's film career followed by an Alzheimer's-stricken retirement in Buckinghamshire is played by the always incandescent and forever our very own Nottingham Clarendon College alumnus Robert Lindsay.

In his converted garage bursting with memorabilia of a filmography that includes The Red Shoes, The African Queen and The Prince And The Showgirl, together with mementos of his secret romances with legendary movie goddesses, Jack is writing his autobiography whilst grappling with his declining health and the assistance/hindrance of his son Mason, a boho Tara Fitzgerald as his wife Nicky and his newly appointed carer Lucy, played by a fantastically convincing and versatile fellow Nottingham Clarendon College graduate Victoria Blunt.

But this is Robert Lindsay's show and it's a super-stellar performance of the heartwrenching confusion and darkness of Alzheimer's punctuated with moments of that familiar twinkling humour, laughs, song, dance and a bit of fisticuffs from our local neighbourhood sexy sexagenarian. Robert Lindsay ages and rejuvenates remarkably by decades in front of your very eyes, brilliantly mixing pathos with verve and animation and effing and blinding and wooing for Blighty, with a camera and a dirty martini in each hand.

A touching and intimate first act explodes into life after the interval with lighting tricks, techniques and sweeping cinematic flourishes flooding the stage, invoking intoxicating Golden Age Hollywood glamour, with fabulously romantic flashbacks and special movie legend guest stars and confidentially, we recommend you lighten up these descendingly gloomy October evenings not through a glass, darkly, but through a glorious technicolor kaleidoscopic stunning spectrum of light and emotions with this precious multi-faceted gem of a play. Shine on.


Prism is at Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 26 October 2019  Full details and ticket prices can be found on the Nottingham Theatre Royal website

Boyzone at Nottingham Motorpoint Arena PHOTO REVIEW

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Boyzone are currently finishing their Thank You and Goodnight farewell tour with The Final Five, their last shows in Birmingham, Glasgow, Nottingham, Manchester and London.

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Nottingham Confidential photographer Laura Patterson went along to their final show at the Motorpoint Arena to get some shots. The tour ends with five nights at the London Palladium, which run from Monday 21st to Friday 25th October, so there is still time to catch them if you missed the Nottingham date!

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Gandeys Circus At Woodthorpe Grange Park, Nottingham PHOTO REVIEW

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Gandeys Circus has brought Europe’s largest touring big top show to Woodthorpe Grange Park in Sherwood, Nottingham. Their two-hour spectacular “The Greatest Show” has been wowing audiences since last Wednesday. 

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

The international cast of over 30 artistes includes stunning acrobats, talented aerialists, a contortionist and of course a clown! The show features a sensational 5 handed springboard act, an unbelievable bar act, three motorbikes racing around an iron Thunderdome and many more breath-taking acts.

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

We sent Nottingham Confidential photographer Laura Patterson along to capture some of the action.

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

The show runs until Tuesday 24th September, so there is still time to catch one of the final performances with shows at 6.30pm on Monday 23rd and 4.45pm on Tuesday 24th September. If you need any more incentive to go and see this fantastic show, all seats for the Tuesday performance are only £7.99 each! Full details on Gandeys Circus website

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Lauren Alaina And Twinnie At The Bodega Nottingham PHOTO REVIEW

Lauren Alaina 
Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Lauren Alaina supported by Twinnie at the Bodega in Nottingham, 24th July 2019 

Lauren Alaina 

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

American songstress Lauren Alaina stopped off at Nottingham’s Bodega as part of her ‘That Girl Was Me Tour’, supported by rising British artist Twinnie.

Lauren Alaina 

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Nottingham Confidential photographer Laura Patterson joined these two talented singer/songwriters for a spellbinding night of country-pop.

Twinnie 
Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Twinnie 

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Twinnie 

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Olly Murs At Nottingham Motorpoint Arena PHOTO REVIEW

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Olly Murs is back entertaining fans on his 20 date “All The Hits” arena tour, which started on 1st May in Aberdeen and finishes in Gloucester on 7th June. 

Our photographer, Laura Patterson, went along to the first of his two dates at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham on the 6th May to get some shots for Nottingham Confidential.

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Photo copyright Laura Patterson ©

Nottingham Pint Of Science Festival

Instead of coming up to the lab to see what's on the slab, get down to your local and get blinded with science this May as 50 scientists visit Nottingham's pubs as part of the world's largest festival of public science talks. 

After selling out all events last year, Pint of Science returns to Nottingham for its 4th year running, joining nearly 300 cities around the world taking part in this global festival from the 20 – 22 May. The international three-day Pint of Science festival will see thousands of scientists simultaneously bringing their research out of the lab to share with the public across 24 countries.

Researchers from the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University will talk about everything science at pubs across the city, including Rough Trade, Canalhouse, The Waterfront, Parliament Bar, The Angel Microbrewery, Herbert Kilpin and Lord Roberts.

The festival has expanded on last year’s success and will be covering science from all 7 themes: ‘Planet Earth’, ‘Tech Me Out’, ‘Our Society’, ‘Our Body’, ‘Atoms to Galaxies’, ‘Beautiful Mind’ and 'Creative Reactions'  which brings together some of Nottingham’s brightest creatives with local academics to produce science inspired pieces of art.

Tickets are available from the Pint of Science website (pintofscience.co.uk), with each evening costing £4. Attendees in Nottingham will enjoy a variety of exciting talks including:

Dr. Jon McKechnie: ‘Trash or treasure? Finding value in wastes’

Dr Sara Goodacre and Ella Deutsch: ‘Life with eight legs: unravelling the secrets of arachnids’

Gabby Kavaliauskaite: 'The Genetics of Your Sweet Tooth

’Dr Jenni Cauvain: ‘Social Sustainability and the City’

Alongside the main talks, each evening will also include a range of science-inspired activities including real scientific data, comedy, quizzes, games, geeky puzzles, engaging stories and virtual reality demonstrations.

Tickets for Pint Of Science will be on sale from 8 April at  pintofscience.co.uk/events/nottingham

Sean Paul At Nottingham Motorpoint Arena PREVIEW

Grammy Award winner and international hitmaker Sean Paul will be performing at Nottingham's Motorpoint Arena this summer.

Tickets are now on sale for Sean Paul's UK Arena Tour which hits Nottingham on Saturday 1 June 2019. Known for his collaborations with some of the world’s biggest artists such as Beyoncé, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Busta Rhymes, Sia, Kelly Rowland, Enrique Iglesias and Dua Lipa and with the double-platinum success of DuttyRock in 2002 and x4 platinum status of 2006’s Temperature, Sean Paul is one of the most instantly recognisable voices and production styles in music. Huge hits include Cheap Thrills by Sia (feat. Sean Paul) – which went to No1 in the US and over 14 other countries around the world and Rockabye by Clean Bandit (feat. Sean Paul and Anne-Marie) which spent nine consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the UK singles chart and has been streamed 838 million times on Spotify.

"I'm always excited to perform in the UK, especially with this tour where I'll be hitting up the stage in Nottingham," he says."That's one of my favourite things about what I do, just being onstage and feeling a trailer-load of energy from a crowd of people responding to the vibes my music creates. I can’t wait to bring CopperShaun, my DJ from Coppershot Sound, the Baddabanz Band and my Baddagyalz Dancers back to the UK too. It’s always just Mad Love!"

Sean Paul performs at Nottingham's Motorpoint Arena on June 1st 2019. Full details and ticket prices can be found on the Nottingham Motorpoint Arena website

The Madness Of George III Starring Mark Gatiss At Nottingham Playhouse REVIEW

Opening with a beautiful and visually arresting scene with the entire cast pausing in full regalia in the manner of a richly dramatic Baroque painting, this Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company production of The Madness of George III is a local production for local people and also a worldwide audience - with tickets still currently available for a special 20 November performance to be broadcast live to 700 UK cinemas and an incredible 2500 venues in 65 countries 

Mesmerising in the titular role, Mark Gatiss' prolific acting spectrum and range royally lords over the entire play, masterfully portraying the humour, the horror, the gut-wrenching grotesque and gentlemanly gravitas combined with a heart-breaking vulnerability during his brutal and harrowing medical treatments which forces you to mentally strap yourself down to your seat to avoid leaping on stage to give him a comforting hug.

But the distressing scenes of suffering and maltreatment are skilfully balanced with humour by the expert pen of Alan Bennett and never has such a profuse run of poo jokes been such a welcome relief. Mark Gatiss' performance is ably accompanied by Nicholas Bishop as a pensive William Pitt, a magnificent Adrian Scarborough as the didactic Doctor Willis, Debra Gillet fiercely charming as the love-matched Queen Charlotte and Sara Powell as a dignified Lady Pembroke.

Set in ingenious concertina-kaleidoscopic scenery which expands outwards and back into itself to a fold-as-you-go Georgian-Ikea effect and with women cast in several of the male roles with varying degrees of success, confidentially, The Madness of George III is a sumptuous and illustrious event for the city, and with majestic authority and with regal pomp, poop and circumstance, Mark Gatiss Rules OK.


The Madness of George III is at Nottingham Playhouse until Saturday 24 November 2018. Full details and ticket prices can be found on the Nottingham Playhouse website

Shrek The Musical At Nottingham Theatre Royal REVIEW

Photo by Tristram Kenton

To successfully transfer the boundlessly unlimited medium of animated film to the confines of a real-life stage show takes a visionary with outside-upside-backflipping-over-the-box thinking and Shrek the Musical joyfully ticks all those boxes with an imagination of psychedelically monster proportions, roar!

Bellowing onto stage and making the light fittings rattle, Steffan Harri's hunkily-ug-er-lee Shrek teams up with Marcus Ayton's sassily kick-ass Donkey to rescue the smart, wise-cracking and amazingly streetwise for one so longterm-housebound Prncess Fiona, both cutely and fiercely played by Amelia Lily.

From the super-heavily knee-padded dastardly-dinky and irresistibly-naughty Lord Farquaad to an animatronic portable traybake Gingerbread Man, a fluffy slipper turned tap-dancing rat infestation and a staggeringly-gigantic puppet dragon-rockstar, Shrek the Musical sticks to the kiddie-to-adult-appeal script with enough wit and ingenuity as to both equal the classic film version and to create a stand-alone entertainment spectacle all of its own, playfully referencing  Les Mis, Wicked, Avenue Q, The Lion King and more along its merry way.

It's a singalonga farting and belching competition love-story, a screamingly-funny technicolour extravanga, Mother-Hubbard! Confidentially we recommend you get your freak on for the looniest-tooniest real-life cartooniest anti-fairytale in the land! You'd better believe it.


Shrek The Musical is at Nottingham Theatre Royal until Sunday 23 September 2018. Full details, show times and ticket prices can be found on the Nottingham Theatre Royal website