Sep - Dec
September 2023
Mikron Theatre Presents: Twitchers
Springwatch came to RSPB Shrikewing nature reserve via Chester Lane Library on Wednesday 13th September 2023
Jess, the Reserve Warden, showed the world this special place, with its amazing wildlife and incredible birds.
But Shrikewing is not an island.
From pollution and vandals to an overzealous mayor, Jess started to feel that protecting birds from human interference might just be impossible, as we met raucous rooks, booming bitterns and plenty of tits and realised the birds of Shrikewing were its real stars.
The people of St Helens nest(led) down with Mikron in this flight through birdwatching history, feathered with birdsong and laughter. They didn't 'egret coming!
Paul Harfleet - Birds Can Fly Take Home Exhibition & Family Workshop
'Accidental activist' and award-winning interdisciplinary artist Paul Harfleet, used art, illustration, and design to educate and inspire bird lovers and promote creativity, kindness, and acceptance.
Paul invited the audience to take part in a drawing workshop at St Helens Library on Monday 11th September, where they created perfectly beautiful drawings inspired by birds and nature. Then, Paul shared some of his top tips for 'gentle referencing' - so the audience could go home and create a look inspired by their favourite bird.
This project was in partnership with Heart of Glass.
Tadhg Devlin - Amelia & Amelia Exhibition
This moving photographic exhibition from artist Tadhg Devlin featured in Eccleston Library from Monday 11th September until Friday 6th October.
The exhibition told the story of 'Two Amelias' - a daughter and a mother, who started a journey together with Tadhg Devlin in 2014, when Amelia Senior was formally diagnosed with Alzheimer's Dementia.
The work is dedicated to Amelia Roach, & all those whose lives have been touched by experiences of Alzheimer's Dementia.
For more information about this project & the artist's work, visit Tadhg Devlin's website.
Re:Charged Music Festival - Acoustic Library Sessions
As part of Re:Charged Music Festival was a free lunchtime performance from local musicians on Saturday 16th September at St Helens Library, including musicians from the current music scene, giving them a platform to showcase their talents, fostering a sense of community and camaraderie through shared musical experiences.
In the evening, Re-Dock were excited to host a heritage music event at The Citadel, featuring performances from, Android 80, The Bordellos, TUT, Dan Wilson & The Counterfactuals and Poisoned Electrick Head. It was an evening filled with great music and lively performances celebrating this cultural legacy of the town.
The day was developed with Arts Council England funding as part of the wider Creative Underground project, led by St Helens Borough Council Library and Archive Services.
Find out more about the Re:Charged Music Festival online.
Artists Together - Reside* Showcase Co-Creation Events
Reside* has been a year of exciting activity in the form of an Artist's Residency for the creative community of St Helens. The plan is to showcase the work that people have been making and creating this year in two ways:
- Creating a special publication that shows the brilliant range of artists and how they are spread right across the borough. This will share some of the artwork that has been created by people during 2023 along with guidance from one artist to another about how they have been able to make their work.
- Hold a showcase event that launches the publication where we can share what people have made.
How artists got involved:
Although no decision has been made on exactly what the publication will look like yet, what we do know is that we'd like this to be something that is created by YOU - the artists involved. Artists came to events at Parr Library on Monday 18th September and Haydock Library on Saturday 23rd September, where there was creative activities to design and decide what to include in the publication. These were spaces for attendees to celebrate artists have created this year!
Wired Aerial Theatre - Me vs Me
This exhilarating aerial dance piece came to St Helens Town Hall on Thursday 28th September, which saw two performers animate the emotional ranges inherent in the duality of mental health. At times tender, passionate and confrontational, Me vs Me, choreographed by Henri Oguike, explored the instinct of fight and flight, using the context of a boxing ring to emphasise the physical impact of being caught between two powerful imperatives.
Renowned for their innovative use of Bungee-Assisted dance, Wired Aerial Theatre's production is an explosion of high leaps, swoops and dives which spill from the stage accompanied by three stunning operatic pieces. Developed within a safeguarded framework, working with Mental Health activists, incredible performers, climbers, and education experts, "I defy anyone not to connect with the messages and images we bring to life on stage, it's a cultural experience that allows conversation to happen." - Wendy Hesketh-Ogilvie, Artistic Director, Wired Aerial Theatre.
This 15-minute performance was followed by a 45 minute in-conversation with the company, exploring Wired Aerial Theatre's exciting history, and relationship to St Helens.
October 2023
Dora Colqhoun Presents: ADHD - The Musical
In celebration of ADHD Awareness Month, the makers of ADHD: The Musical brought a special concert to Chester Lane Library, St Helens on Wednesday 4th October 2023.
This one off special concert included the original tunes 'Thinking About Bees' and 'I could get Hit By a Bus.' The audience joined Dora and her friends as she shared the highs and lows of being diagnosed with ADHD as an adult as posed the question: 'what the funk is normal anyway?'
Luna Loves Library Day - The Musical
Luna and her Dad came to Parr Library on Saturday 28th October for an adventure among the library shelves in this exciting new musical for families.
Luna looks forward to one special day... Library Day! It's the day when she discovers magic among the library shelves, from dinosaurs to mummies, from unexplained mysteries to monsters and magic. But for Luna, Library Day is also a chance to spend time with Dad, making it all the more special.
Based on the critically acclaimed book by Waterstones Childrens Laureate Joseph Coelho and illustrator Fiona Lumbers, Luna Loves Library Day was the perfect treat for children aged 3+ and their families.
Luna Loves Library Day was a co-production from Little Seeds Music and Z-arts.
Presented in partnership between St Helens Library Service and WonderArts.
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November 2023
A Labour of Love
Colin Greenall & Mark Peachy
Part of St Helens Borough of Culture 2023 Open Grants, A Labour of Love exhibition was a celebration of E&C Greenall Bakers and Confectioners.
Owned by Colin Greenall and, in its early years in the 1950s by his mother Elizabeth, E&C Greenall was a stalwart of the landscape of Duke Street for over 60 years. When Colin retired in November 2022 it was a fitting time to document the shop both in photographs and audio interviews with Colin.
A book with photographs of the shop over the years also formed part of the exhibition.
This project is possible through a St Helens Borough of Culture Open Grant, awarded by St Helens Borough Council and funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
We Reside* Here - Map & Exhibition
24th November - 20th December
St Mary's Market Event Space
Free
Presented as part of St Helens Borough of Culture 2023, We Reside* Here was a specially curated exhibition that celebrated the artists who are based in St Helens and the work they have made in 2023.
Produced by, and for the artists of St Helens, We Reside* Here highlights the work of nine recipients of the St Helens Borough of Culture 2023 Reside* Commissions, and maps the creativity of 50+ further artists living and working across our borough.
We Reside* Here marked the culmination of the Reside* programme in 2023, and invited us to experience what the future of creativity in St Helens might look and feel like.
Reside* is supported by St Helens Library Service's - Arts in Libraries programme, and funded through Arts Council England.
Queering My Pitch
Part of St Helens Borough of Culture 2023 Reside* Commissions, Queering My Pitch was an autobiographical cabaret performance based on experiences of a gay man growing up on a council estate in St Helens in the 1950's & 1960's.
What a Palaver! Artist's Workshop
Making Queer-Positive Performance for Children & Family Audiences" with Adam Carver was a show and workshop that gave LGBTQ+ artists working with performance an opportunity to think about how, why, when, and where to start making performance for young audiences. Through a series of interactive exercises they worked together to start conversations about what you need to know, what opportunities there are to create for family audiences, and start to imagine ideas for new work you might want to create. It was especially aimed at professional LGBTQ+ artists working with performance (including, but not limited to, theatre, dance, music, cabaret, drag, & live-art) who were interested in thinking about creating work for children and families.
The workshop was led by artist Adam Carver (aka Fatt Butcher). They are the director of Fatt Projects, a queer performance company based in Birmingham focused on advancing queer joy and creating change for LGBTQ+ communities in Birmingham and beyond. Fatt Projects have developed a range of LGBTQ+ inclusive performance for children and family audiences, most notably through their project PALAVER which supports artists, organisations, and the wider sector to create queer-positive performance work for children and families. For more information on Fatt Projects visit www.fattprojects.org
Really Fabulous Family Cabaret
A specially curated event for Wonder Arts, St Helens Arts in Libraries and Homotopia to get interactive.
A group of marvelous highly skilled performers brought a rip-roaring ride of fabulousness. Song, dance, and specialty acts that shared the stage to bring a joyous fest of a show.
With an awesome compère that kept audiences entertained between acts, Ghetto Fabulous ensured a fabulously fun-filled show for all the family. It certainly got you reaching for your, your hula hoops, top hats, feathers, and fans, making you BE FABULOUS!
Alexa Fox got you to sit back and relax to the transcendent story of Kevin the Mermaid and Natasha Moonshine brought her amazing hoop skills and got the family up and having a go, whilst Shanika Sunrise - The Nicki Minaj of drag, rapped up a storm and taught us some of her TikTok trademark dance moves!
This event was part of Wonder Arts as part of Homotopia Festival 2023.
Another Country - Film Screening
Commissioned during St Helens Borough of Culture year by the National Lottery Heritage Fund 'Creative Underground' project, the film "Another Country" explored a memorable period when culture, music and creativity flourished in St Helens. Through interviews with people involved at the time, archive film footage and original images, as well as personal memories, Roger Hill follows a path from exuberance through exhaustion and onward into future renewal of the town's unique creative heritage.
The film was followed by a discussion with Roger Hill, Barrie, Pennington, Paul Hogan and Catherine Brooks.
The Arcade Showcase - Roll Model CIC
Local children worked to develop new skills and produce digital drawings inspired by the landscape and monuments of our town. With support from Mako Create, Roll Model CIC and Roll Model Arcade, the Arcade Showcase invited you to see these digital drawings come to life as full size arcade machines which YOU could play on! It combined our town's history with modern technology and local craftsmanship for a unique way that really shows why we were the Borough of Culture 2023.
This project is possible through a St Helens Borough of Culture Open Grant, awarded by St Helens Brought Council and funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
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December 2023
A Very Special Winter Cabaret
It was a night of extraordinary talent! Our special evening brought together a lineup of incredible performers who left the audience in awe. Nana Funk, the Cabaret sensation, who defies age barriers, was joined on stage by The Bathtub Gin Band, a dynamic duo consisting of Mr. Andrew Bain on vocals and guitar, and Mr. Matthew Wilcock on drums and percussion, making the audience dance and sing to their infectious tunes.
But that wasn't all! We had the Mucky Mountains Morris, a dance group based in St Helens, showcasing traditional dances from the Welsh borders and the Cotswolds.
And let's not forget Frankie Fuzzelli, the Crimson Crooner (even though he was Magenta), brought to life by Liam from Saintly Puppet Workshop. It was Frankie's debut performance that got everyone tapping toes to some unforgettable big-band hits.
In addition, we heard comedy poetry from Tom Stocks, a poet who also goes by the name of The Chubby Northerner. Tom opened the 2021 Champions League final on BT Sport with his poem "The Final Step" and it was reused for the 2023 Champions League final too. He was the most featured artist on BBC Radio Manchester's BBC Upload and was the runner-up at 'A Lovely Word' poetry slam at the Grand Final in The Liverpool Everyman.
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