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Philip Key

Les Dennis, Liverpool comic/actor/presenter

Les Dennis is still a local boy at heart

IF YOU feel a little down in the dumps don’t worry, it will probably pass. As an example, one need only look at the experience of the Liverpool-born entertainer Les Dennis. Read

Musical veteran takes on new production of her dream role in Evita

IT IS a long way from Buenos Aires to the Bedfordshire town of Leighton Buzzard where West End musical star Louise Dearman was born. Read

One night stands mark film release

THE film, Blueprint, is about to get one of the strangest cinema re- leases ever dreamed of by the gimmick industry. Read

Sixties Scottish band continues its winning formula with bagpies at the Southport Arts Centre

THE Highland Bagpipes are not usually associated with driving guitar rhythms and flutes. Read

Rehearsing 'Art', l - r, Simon Phillips, Steve Davies and Andy Jordan

Amateur theatre’s Tip Top season

CHESTER’S Gateway Theatre may have closed a year ago, but the building is not quite dead as a theatre. Read

Fact hosts Euro songs jamboree party time

LIVERPOOL’S most recent contribution to the Eurovision Song Contest became the stuff of legend. Read

Liverpool to be capital of comedy

IT WILL be difficult to escape the sound of laughter on Merseyside next week as comedians take to the streets, buses, pubs and even conventional stages for this year’s Liverpool Comedy Festival. Read

Pentangle: The band that defied description

SINGER/GUITARIST Bert Jansch is alive and well, it must be stated immediately. After all, this is the man who has received a lifetime achievement award from the BBC – twice. Read

The play, Rock, at the Unity Theatre, Liverpool

THEATRE REVIEW: Rock, Unity Theatre, Liverpool

THE magic of the movies worked not only on screen but off in Hollywood. It was where spurious biographies were produced for stars and gimmicks could get you to the top Read

THEATRE REVIEW: Tartuffe, Roger McGough, Liverpool Playhouse

THERE are times when a critic is redundant and last night was one. There is absolutely nothing to criticise about Tartuffe at the Liverpool Playhouse. Read

Cinderella comes to the Liverpool Empire: Cilla Black as Fairy Godmother

Surprise, surprise, Cilla’s back in panto with a lorra laughs at the Liverpool Empire

‘I ALWAYS wanted to do something for the Capital of Culture year and this seemed ideal.’ This was Liverpool icon Cilla Black back in Liverpool yesterday, explaining why she had decided to go back into pantomime after a lengthy break. Read

Liverpool theatreland booms as four shows open

LIVERPOOL’S theatreland – once dismissed as the weak link in the city’s Capital of Culture bid – could never be described so these days. It is about to launch four premieres in three days. Read

Randolph Caldecott's Babes in the Wood at The Liverpool Academy of Arts

EXHIBITION: Randolph Caldecott and Red Dot, Liverpool Academy of Arts

TWO important exhibitions in a single gallery is quite a coup for the Liverpool Academy. And make no mistake, they are important. Read

THEATRE REVIEW: Sinatra, Liverpool Empire Theatre

WE KNOW Frank Sinatra had a great way with a lyric, unique phrasing and picked the best songs and the best arrangers. Read

Unity’s Splatterfest! has worldwide inspiration

The Unity Theatre will join with Fuse to create their own new show, Treasure, for a series of performances from May 29 in which the theatre space will be changed to allow the audience to be part of a story involving Rabbit and a treasure search. Read

Car parts ad band plays for charity

DO THOSE car parts played as musical instruments on the TV ad for the Ford Focus really work? Read

Bringing Ol’ Blue Eyes back to life

PHILIP Key takes a colourful musical journey through the life of Frank Sinatra Read

One of the great names in jazz at Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall

TO MISQUOTE the writer LP Hartley, America is a foreign country: they do things differently there. Read

Exhibitions celebrate a decade of links with Cologne

FOR the last ten years, the Eight Days a Week project has been creating artistic exchanges between Liverpool and Cologne, two cities both with vibrant arts communities. Read

Mersey bands prove best in show for HUB festival

MORE than 140 unsigned bands from across the country competed to perform in HUB, this year’s annual urban youth festival in Liverpool. Read

Author Profile

Arts Editor Philip Key spends his week attending and reporting on the numerous live arts events in Liverpool. Plays the banjo ukulele, collects classic true crime books and performs (badly) magic tricks. Tel: 0151 472 2499