Performing arts

The sixth edition of the Shubbak Festival: A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture runs from 20^th June – 17^th July, 2021. Born out of the rupture across Arab countries ten years ago, Shubbak 2021 returns with an ambitious programme that connects audiences and communities with the best of contemporary Arab visual arts, film, music, theatre, dance, literature and debate.

The Royal Shakespeare Company has developed a unique version of the Midsummer Night's Dream described as "a live, shared experience between actors and online audience members" involving the latest gaming and theatre technology with an interactive symphonic soundtrack "in a pioneering collaboration". The production is a collaboraiton with virtual reality performance company Marshmallow Laser Feast and biennial creative industries festival leaders Manchester International Festival.

Leeds Playhouse will offer new theatre space as exclusive use for artists and companies in the Leeds City Region to help in the recovery of the cultural sector.

The take over of the studio space is being offered as part of Playhouse Connect, an ongoing response to the pandemic aimed at aiding reconnection and recovery within the City.

Enquire and book your slot on the Leeds Playhouse website.

Two brand-new digital works by Hot Brown Honey and Esosa Ighodaro will be available this Thursday, 11 February, via HOME’s website, homemcr.org.

The works are part of HOME’s Homemakers series, launched in April last year, which commissions theatre and live art markers to create work at home, for an audience who are also at home.

THE DEMOCRACY BOX 

Blowing the lid off the shame of not knowing

Calling all music groups of different shapes, sizes and specialisms. Brass Bands England's industry-leading BandSafe programme is designed to support safeguarding in any musical setting - not just bands.

After last year's online world-class ballet lessons with Tamara Rojo, Artistic Director and Principal Dancer, English National Ballet has launched a subscription service for on demand video classes for all skill levels. BalletActive is an additional service to ENB at Home which already offered full-length recordings of classic ballet performances for rent, including 'Akram Khan's Giselle' and 'Dust'. Learn more here.

Southbank Centre has revealed the first digital Unlimited festival programme accessible to a global audience, featuring dance, performance, comedy, film, talks, workshops and art that celebrates the artistic vision of disabled artists over five days on 13-17 January 2021.

National Theatre has launched a new subscription service giving members access to a select number of its recorded live performances, with new plays added each month.

The first set of plays available to subscribers from 1 December 2020 are: