World Premiere of Arnold Bennett Novel The Grand Babylon Hotel Set for New Vic

Plus family magic from The Great Baldini at Mitchell Arts Centre, local art at Smithfield Works, Terrorvision play the Sugarmill and BBC Philharmonic set to wow Victoria Hall

WHAT’S ON/THINGS TO DO ✅

HIGHLIGHTED ⬇️ (FULL EVENTS LISTINGS BELOW)

🎬 Arnold Bennett in Spotlight for Centenary. 13/09-04/10, 7.30pm, New Vic. Arnold Bennett’s comic thriller novel The Grand Babylon Hotel will be adapted for the stage for the first time ever by Deborah McAndrew to mark our centenary year. The stage adaptation of the 1902 novel will be directed by UK Theatre Award Best Director nominee and Artistic Director of Claybody Theatre, Conrad Nelson. Tickets from £15.

Bennett’s comic thriller novel makes its theatrical debut this September

🪄 Now That’s Magic. 15/06, 11.30am, Mitchell Arts Centre. If you want to catch a legendary magician attempt Houdini’s great escape and love a bit of puppetry and tongue-in-cheek silliness, then take the family along to see the Great Baldini performing with his faithful companion, Baldwin the dog. Tickets £10.

🎓 Open Day At Uni of Staffs. 07/06 Stoke Campus & 14/06, Stafford Campus. Ready for a new challenge? Explore the campus at the University of Staffordshire and get an overview of its undergraduate courses. In addition to campus tours, there’s drop-in advice sessions and interactive talks. Book here for both tours.

👩‍🎨 Art Showcase. 23/05, 7pm-10pm, Smithfield Works. Centre Space Arts is shining a spotlight on creatives with a rotating showcase of artists at HD1.0. In addition to ace visuals and immersive experiences, there will be live music plus free food and drink. Check out works by Newcastle steampunk artist David Morrall plus music & visuals from Colin Selstrom, Traindeer and Decadebridge. Free admission, tickets here.

Check out pieces by steampunk artist David Morrall at HD.10 on 23/05. Pic credit: David Morrall/Facebook

🎵 A Night at The Opera. 06/06, 7.30pm, Victoria Hall. It’s another centenary event, this time a special gala opera evening from the BBC Philharmonic. Get along to enjoy an evening of your fave opera songs and arias with conductor Jonathan Bloxham, soprano Elizabeth Watts (check out her amazing voice here), tenor Ilker Arcayürek and baritone James Atkinson at the helm. Tickets from £25.03.

🎸 Bottoms Up – It’s Terrorvision! 21/06, The Sugarmill. Older readers may remember the 90’s rockers and their monster hit Tequila (though Discotheque Wreck better represents the band’s heavy style). The band are in Stoke for a festival warm-up show (they’re playing Sign of The Times festival down in Hertfordshire) and to promote their new album, We Are Not Robots. Tickets £30.

💃 Celebrating Street Dance. 15/06, 9am, Northwood Stadium. The city’s most talented young dancers aged 6-17 will be pulling out their best breakdancing and body popping routines as they try to take top spot in the solo, duo and crew categories at the Stoke-on-Trent Street Dance Championships. Tickets £20.

Catch the city’s most talented young street dancers on 15/06

🎭 A Whip Crackin’ Show. 17/06-21/06, 7.30pm, Regent Theatre. In the mood for a musical? Catch Calamity Jane on its UK and Ireland tour, with Carrie Hope Fisher (Cinderella, Les Miserables) donning a neckerchief and tassled suede jacket as the fearless, gun slingin’ leading lady. Tickets from £15.

EVENTS LISTINGS

• Parkrun, every Saturday at 9am at Hanley Park; Trentham Gardens; Cannock Chase; Lower Milehouse Lane, Newcastle; Birchall Playing Fields; Isabel Trail, Stafford

• Heritage Walks with the Red Haired Stokie, various dates

• Make & Bake, ongoing, Mitchell Arts Centre

• Potteries Centre Events Series, ongoing, Potteries Centre

• Throw a Pot and Pottery Painting, ongoing, Kiln at Number 12

• Throw a Pot Sessions, ongoing, LoveClay

• Guided Walks in the Peak District, Various, Multiple (Peak District)

• Titanic Brewery Tour, multiple dates, Titanic Brewery

• Spitfire Comedy Open Mic, multiple dates, Old Post Office, Burslem

• Electric Tentacle Electronic Music Open Mic, multiple dates, Captain’s Bar

• The Toys Strike Back, until 01/06, Potteries Museum & Art Gallery

• Staffordshire Moorlands Walking Festival, 25/04-05/05, various locations

• Menopause Wellbeing Programme, 22/04 for six weeks, Fenton Manor

• Needle Felting Workshop - Make a Bottle Oven, 29/04, Middleport

• Voices of the Potteries: A Centenary Musical, 02-03/05, Stoke Repertory Theatre

• Dane Trip - Middleport to Etruria, 02/05, Middleport

• The Palette Project: Pink, 03/05, Great Bear Gallery

• The Great British Food Festival 03-05/05, Trentham Estate

• The Ultimate Bubble Show, 04/05, Mitchell Arts Centre

• Science Fair @ The Glebe, 04/05, The Glebe Pub

• The Rocky Horror Show, 05-10/05, Regent Theatre

• Steampunk Orchestra, 09/05, The Rigger

• Lemmy statue unveiling, 09/05, Burslem town centre

• Motorwrecked, 09/05, Grumpys

• Film Show: Reginald Mitchell, Spitfire Inventor, 11/05, Brampton Musem

• Hanley: Moments in a Century, 13/05, Mitchell Arts Centre

• Funhouse Comedy Club, 14/05, The Rigger

• 80s Live, 16/05, Victoria Hall

• Rob Beckett, 17/05, Victoria Hall

• Kickabout for Cancer, 17/05, Kidsgrove Athletic Club

• Harper Street’s 3rd Anniversary, 17/05, Middleport

• Sherlock Holmes Strikes Back, 20/05, Middleport

• Natural Causes, 21-25/05, Endon Village Hall

• Empowering Boys, Strengthening Men, 22/05, Smithfield Works

• Lymelight Festival, 23-25/05, Newcastle Town Centre

• HD1.0, 23/05, Smithfield Works

• Taylor Swift tribute Xenna, 25/05, Mitchell Arts Centre

• Arthur Berry - Theatremaker, 27/05-28/06, New Vic

• The Simon & Garfunkel Story, 28/05, Regent Theatre

• The Wombats, 29/05, Trentham Estate

• Ocean Colour Scene, 30/05, Trentham Estate

• Jax Jones, The House Garage Orchestra & Nathan Dawe, 31/05, Trentham Estate

• Whatever Happened to Phoebe Salt, 31/05, New Vic

• Murder She Didn’t Write, 01/06, Regent Theatre

• Race for Life, 03/06, Trentham Gardens

• The City Music Service Stoke-on-Trent 100 Big Sing, 04/06

• Centenary Bike Ride, 05/06, Hanley Park

• Stoke-on-Trent Day, various locations, 05/06

• BBC Philharmonic: A Night At The Opera, 06/06, Victoria Hall

• University of Staffordshire Open Day, 07/06 (Stoke) & 14/06 (Stafford)

• The Spice Girls Experience, 07/06, Victoria Hall

• The Boys From the Blackstuff, 10/06-14/06, Regent Theatre

• The City Music Service Stoke-on-Trent 100 Big Play, 11/06

• The Great Baldini Presents The Family Magic Show, 14/06, Mitchell Arts Centre

• Stoke-on-Trent Street Dance Championships, 15/06, Northwood Stadium

• Calamity Jane, 17-21/06, Regent Theatre

• Confidence Live, 18/06 & 19/06, Victoria Hall

• Terrorvision, 21/06, The Sugarmill

• North Staffs Symphony Orchestra Centenary Concert, King’s Hall, 25/06

• Stoke-on-Trent Centenary Celebration Concert, King’s Hall, 28/06

• Bat out of Hell, 30/06-05/07, Regent Theatre

• Three Counties Open Art, 26/07-23/08, Burslem School of Art

• The Grand Babylon Hotel, 13/09-04/10, New Vic

• Russell Watson, 24/10, Victoria Hall

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