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Philip Key

MUSIC: Local talent lines up to create a tribute to the legendary Buddy Holly

EACH time record shop owner David Crosby went to a concert at Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall, he had but one thought on his mind: “I could never stop thinking that Buddy Holly played here,” he says. Read

THEATRE REVIEW: War and Peace, Liverpool Playhouse

TOLSTOY’S War and Peace is a mammoth novel and its stage adaptation is an equally mammoth undertaking from the Shared Experience company, so much so that the six-hour play comes in two parts. Read

Liverpool Rock 'n' Roll music archivist Spencer Leigh

Author embraces legendary tour which defined rock and roll

IT WAS the tour which defined rock and roll in its moody glory of hair styled with enough grease to lubricate a battleship, liquorice-tube trousers, padded shoulders, sneers, leers, a few good tunes and panting girls. Read

The Singh Twins with their Liverpool Coat of Arms

Six short-listed for first Liverpool Art Prize

SIX Liverpool-based artists will be competing for the first Liverpool Art Prize. The contest – planned to become an annual event – is for fine artists based in the Liverpool area. Read

George Harrison with guitar in 1963

Beatle birthday tours on offer

HAD he lived, Beatle George Harrison would be 65 on Monday and picking up his old age pension. Read

Vasily Petrenko, principal conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Key Arts events

CLASSICAL: The Royal Liverpool Phil’s principal conductor Vasily Petrenko takes the orchestra through exciting works by two composers - Wagner and Holst. Tonight and tomorrow, 7.30pm, Philharmonic Hall. Tickets range £10-£30. 0151 709 3789. Read

The cast of the stage musical, Shout! at the Liverpool Empire

THEATRE REVIEW: A musical with not a lot to Shout about

MUSICALS often have feather-light plot-lines: Shout! is unusual in having a virtually non-existent one. Read

Ellen Page and Michael Cera from the film comedy/drama Juno

Film Review: Juno


IT’S hard to imagine a more immaculately conceived or perfectly delivered comedy this year than Juno. Read

Anima by Momentum at the Unity Theatre, Liverpool

THEATRE REVIEW: Anima, Unity Theatre, Liverpool

BIZARRE things often happen in dreams and they certainly do in the dreamworld of Anima, the latest production from the Liverpool company Momentum. Read

James Edwards and Alison Crawford in Snow White at Southport Arts Centre

Southport Arts Centre repeats Easter panto revival

THE Easter pantomime became a tradition at Liverpool’s Neptune Theatre, now sadly closed.But it a tradition that is being taken up by the Southport Arts Centre, thanks to Liverpool choreographer Lee Kelly. Read

Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company

DANCE REVIEW: Triple Bill, Liverpool Empire Theatre

THE four-day gathering of the international dance world in Liverpool – the British Dance Edition 2008 – ended appropriately on Saturday, with three of Britain’s most acclaimed contemporary dance companies on stage at the Liverpool Empire. Read

Tate Liverpool curator Kyla MacDonald with some of French artist Niki de Saint Phalle's work

Niki de Saint Phalle: Model approach to the world of art

PHILIP Key looks at a major retrospective of the work of controversial French artist Niki de Saint Phalle Read

Actor Bjorn Thors in Kafka's Metamorphosis at the Liverpool Playhouse

Change can be an exhausting process for an actor

“BRUISES? You can’t imagine!” declares Icelandic actor Bjorn Thors. “I feel like I have been run over by a train – twice.” Read

Russell Maliphant Dance Company performing at the Liverpool Empire

Lording it at the dance

AS dancers from around the world gather in Liverpool, Philip Key talks to the choreographer of one of the newest and most exciting groups Read

Philippa White and Michal Zahora from the Scottish Dance Theatre, perform at the Empire Theatre, Liverpool

DANCE REVIEW: Dance Triple Bill, Liverpool Empire

THERE were three very different dance companies on stage at the Empire last night as part of the British Dance Edition 2008 gathering in Liverpool. Read

Three Sisters on Hope Street at the Liverpool Everyman - Suzan Sylvester (May), Samantha Robinson (Rita) and Anna Francolini (Gertie)

THEATRE REVIEW: Three Sisters on Hope Street, Everyman Theatre

THREE Sisters on Hope Street has the look, feel and sound of an important play. It may well be so. Read

Key art events

DANCE: The gathering of dancers and promoters known as British Dance Edition 2008 is in town filling many of the venues. Most are not open to the public but this event is. Three of the best dance groups in the UK - Russell Maliphant, Scottish Dance and Henri Oguike - show three very different dance works. Tonight, 7.30pm, Liverpool Empire. Tickets £10-£15. 0844 847 2525. Read

Syrus Lowe and Sushil Chudasama in the play, Testing The Echo, at the Liverpool Playhouse

Liverpool Playhouse drama examines the meaning of Britishness

JUST what does it take to be British? Well, there is now a test. The Citizenship Test examines would-be British citizens on all things British. Read

Superlambananas arrive in the city for Capital of Culture event. Picture: Colin Lane

What colour would you like your Superlambanana?

TWO Superlambanana sculptures are going to get a new artistic look – by having paint poured over them. Read

View Two Gallery art on show for the whole year

LIVERPOOL’S commercial View Two Gallery in Mathew Street has scored something of a first in its field by producing a colourful brochure detailing all of its exhibitions for 2008. 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

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