Liverpool International Music Festival

Various venues, 27-31 August

Liverpool International Music Festival (LIMF) returns to the city, taking over iconic venues and locations with a host of free and ticketed music events. Big names including Basement Jaxx, Echo and the Bunnymen (pictured), Labrinth, Katy B and Alesha Dixon will be joined by top DJs, up and coming acts and local talent on this year’s packed line-up. The festival will also continue 2015’s celebrations of Liverpool’s transatlantic links as well as world music, with several specially commissioned events including ‘Routes Jukebox’, ‘Liverpool, Next Stop New York’, ‘The Revolution Will Be Live: A Tribute to Gil Scott-Heron’, and ‘Global Roots Mixtape’.

 

Open air theatre

Exchange Flags, 8 August – 15 September

From ‘The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes’ to ‘Jungle Book’ and ‘Jane Eyre’, Exchange Flags will be transformed into a spectacular open-air theatre with something for everyone. Bring a blanket and enjoy a summer picnic while Chapterhouse Theatre Company brings the plays to life. The run of performances will kick off with ‘Pride and Prejudice’.

 

Ndaba Mandela marks Slavery Remembrance Day 2015

International Slavery Museum, 21 August

A series of events to honour Slavery Remembrance Day will be held at the International Slavery Museum. Ndaba Mandela, grandson of the beloved and iconic Nelson Mandela, will deliver the Dorothy Kuya Slavery Remembrance Lecture in Liverpool this year on 21 August. On 23 August, a walk of remembrance will take place through the city centre from 12pm and 22 August will see a family day take place at the museum.

 

 Gung-Ho! Liverpool

Aintree Racecourse, 29 August

Take on Europe’s largest inflatable slide at the home of the Grand National, when Gung-Ho! Liverpool arrives in the city. Huge inflatable obstacles including a daunting ‘moon walk’, jungle climbers and a labyrinth will cover this 5K course, in a bold new take on the traditional fun run. Spectators can watch from the sidelines for this event,

 

Liverpool Comedy Festival

Various venues, 18 September–4 October

The celebration of comedy returns for a 14^th year, with local comedians and those from further afield raising a chuckle across a host of Liverpool venues. Alan Car will bring his show, ‘Yap Yap’ to the Philharmonic Hall on 18 and 19 September, while Phoenix Nights star Dave Spikey will appear at the same venue on 2 October. Other performances will take place in bars, theatres, buses and homes across the city.

 

The Odyssey: Missing Presumed Dead

Everyman, 25 Sept – 17 Oct

A reinvention of Homer’s classic tale as a government minister is sent on a diplomatic mission to Istanbul and becomes Europe’s most wanted man overnight. Flitting between the modern world and the ancient past, the play brings Sirens, Cyclops and Circe to the stage for this new performance. Liverpool actor Colin Tierney plays Odysseus in this production, which sees award-winning author and poet Simon Armitage and Everyman & Playhouse associate director,Nick Bagnall join forces.

 

Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia

25 -26 September, Camp & Furnace, Blade Factory and District

Having won the NME Best Small Festival Award, the International Festival of Psychedelia is returning in 2015 to its home at Camp & Furnace and Blade Factory, with an expansion into nearby venue, District. The two-day ‘Psych Fest’ is headlined by space-psych pioneers Spiritualized and features Factory Floor, The Heads and Hookworms in its exciting line-up. Expect music, installations and audiovisual explorations in the biggest Psych Fest to date.