Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove MP, and Shadow Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner MP, will deliver keynote speeches at this year’s Convention of the North, it can be revealed.

The Convention, which will be held in Leeds across two days on 29 February and 1 March, is the North of England’s flagship annual gathering for business, political and civic society leaders. The conferences are spearheaded by Northern partnership network NP11, which brings together local government and private sector leaders.

The high-profile event will provide a platform for public and private sector voices to debate the challenges and opportunities facing the region, across a series of key areas including transport, energy, trade and investment, and health and culture.

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Today, renowned musician, actor, and entertainer Justin Timberlake announces the long awaited European and UK leg of his momentous The Forget Tomorrow World Tour with thirteen new shows in 8 countries. Produced by Live Nation, stops include performances in Poland, Germany, Belgium, the UK, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and France. Full routing and ticketing details are below.

Additionally, the multi-award-winning artist releases his new track Drown via RCA Records – click HERE to listen. Written by Timberlake, Louis Bell (Taylor Swift, Post Malone), Henry Walter, Amy Allen, Kenyon Dixon and produced by Timberlake Louis Bell, Cirkut (Maroon 5, The Weeknd).

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Little known to many, Colombian born Griselda Blanco amassed a staggering drug empire, in 1970s and 80s Miami – unsuspecting to many around her, and with this, enduring a life of brutality and ambition that would inevitably result in an ascent to power. Supported by her right hand man – Rivi Ayala, Griselda would gain the reputation as the ‘Godmother of the Underworld’. Currently a hit Netflix drama available to stream, her story is dramatised by leading Hollywood star Sofia Vergara, alongside multi-award winning actor Martín Rodriguez who takes on the role of Rivi. Enjoying critical acclaim, Martin tells us more about approaching playing the role, working with the cast and crew and what viewers who haven’t yet watched the show can expect.

Hi Martin! You star in the hit Netflix series Griselda currently available to stream now. What feedback have you received towards the show so far?

We are very happy with the results from the series this year, it was very hard work during the whole year of 2022. It is very exciting because it is something that we did from the heart with Latin American actors featuring Sofia Vergara who was very, very generous with everything that she could be, so yeah, we’re very happy!

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Brazilian theatre company São Paulo make their long-anticipated London debut at Sadler’s Wells Theatre this Spring. Postponed due to the pandemic, was the triple bill worth the wait? For this part-time reviewer the answer is a resolute and lukewarm ‘afraid not’. Although technically brilliant, it is hard to believe that the dance company is at the forefront of the South American contemporary dance scene. The music was often dull, and when more engaging, hardly exciting. This was then paired with dances that failed to be creatively united due to unimaginative staging, uninspired costumes, and predictable choreography.

Courtesy of Camilo Munoz + Iari Davies.

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Iconic rock band Crowded House announce exclusive album launch show at London’s O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire on 13th June 2024. Following the news of their upcoming album, Gravity Stairs, which will be released globally on 31st May on BMG. The show will give fans an exclusive opportunity to hear the album live in its entirety for the first time. Tickets for the show will go on general sale, Friday 23rd February at 9am via LiveNation.co.uk

The announcement of the show and album comes after the band’s recent release of the surprise new single Oh Hi, which debuted last week as the lead single from their forthcoming 8th studio album.

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Cosprop and Kerry Taylor Auctions today announce over 60 iconic costumes from film and TV, as worn by screen legends will go under the hammer in Lights Camera Auction on 5^th March, alongside an online auction, to launch on 22^nd February until 10^th March, featuring film and TV related experiences and celebrity memorabilia.

Treasures from the archives of Cosprop, one of the world’s leading costume houses, founded by Academy & BAFTA award winning costume designer John Bright in 1965, includes a vintage 1950’s Christian Dior taffeta ball gown, worn by Madonna in Evita (1996), Johnny Depp’s costume as Ichabod Crane in the film ‘Sleepy Hollow’, (1999); Colin Firth’s infamous wet shirt from the BBC TV’s drama series Pride & Prejudice (1995), Heath Ledger’s masquerade ball costume from Casanova (2005) and the memorable dress and hooded cape worn by Meryl Streep in The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981).

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Geoffrey Brown is standing down at 30 June 2024, after 7 years as Director of OffWestEnd and the Offies.  His successor will be announced at the 14^th Offies Awards Ceremony on 25 February.

In Geoffrey’s 7 years, OffWestEnd and the Offies have grown and developed significantly:

• New Offies categories have been added: Solo & Duo Performances, Cabaret, Pantomime and Video Design – in addition, some categories have been expanded – for TYA (theatre for young audiences) and for IDEA (Immersive / Devised / Experimental / Atypical)
• An “Access” category has been introduced for productions breaking down barriers and also one for “Community Outreach Youth” work.  In addition, the Offies were the first major theatre or film awards to scrap the gender split in key performance categories in 2020.
• In response to Covid, 8 new categories were introduced for online productions, and 2 of these continue today.
• The Offies now send 2 assessors to over 400 shows per annum.
• The OffComm (Offies Commendation) was introduced to recognise the best of the many productions with short runs.  The OffFest award was introduced for theatre performances at festivals, and we now have the participation of fringe festivals in Brighton, Camden, Manchester and Edinburgh.  Finally we also now offer the occasional OneOff award to recognise special achievements.

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In a matter of days, the BAFTA Awards will descend on one of the UK’s most prestigious arts venues – the Royal Albert Hall. The annual celebration an acknowledgment of Britain’s finest filmmakers and their undeniable storytelling skillset at both a televisual and filmic level. With a total of 25 categories in all, the nation’s emerging, as well as high profile stars will don the red carpet in anticipation of the evening’s results, and overall, in appreciation of art and how art is expressed. Having honed his craft as an animator at the National Film and Television School (NFTS) on the Directing Animation MA course, Ross Stringer’s coastal themed film Crab Day is one of this year’s ‘British Short Animation’ finalists awaiting Sunday’s result. An exploration of self acceptance, nurturing our differences and going against the status quo, the film follows a fishing community’s annual ritual, whereby a young boy must kill his first crab in order to become a man and gain his father’s approval. Ahead of the award ceremony on Sunday 18th February, Ross tells us more about what it means to make it as a finalist, exploring the film’s themes further and the creative process.

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Pearl Jam will release their twelfth studio album, Dark Matter, on Monkeywrench Records/Republic Records on April 19, 2024. The album’s title track is available now HERE. Produced by GRAMMY® award winning producer Andrew Watt, Dark Matter, marks the band’s first release since critically-acclaimed Gigaton (2020).

Dark Matter is now available for pre-order HERE.

In 2023, the members of Pearl Jam—Eddie Vedder [vocals], Jeff Ament [bass], Stone Gossard [rhythm guitar], Mike McCready [lead guitar], and Matt Cameron [drums]—retreated to Shangri-La Studios in Malibu where they simply plugged in and played under the careful watch of producer Andrew Watt.

The musicians faced one another in the same space and communicated sonically at the highest level. Writing and recording in a burst of inspiration, Dark Matter was born in just three weeks.

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