Ready to fill that culture-shaped hole in your life? While a complete easing of lockdown isn’t happening just yet that won’t halt the battered arts and entertainment sectors from preparing for a full return – and thank goodness. Social distancing may still be in place and you’ll most probably need your mask on indoors, but that’s a small price to pay to be able to go to that museum exhibition you’ve been eager to view or to stuff your face with popcorn at the cinema. Who would have thought that would be such a treat?
The only problem is, after a year of being starved of live events, where do you start? We highlight three to see.
.jpg?ssl=1)
Visit an exhibition: Autograph, London
Can’t wait to get back to the hushed rooms of a museum? Book your free ticket to Autograph, a wonderful arts space in Hackney, east London which explores identity, representation and human rights. Like all other galleries, it’s been closed during the pandemic but reopens 23 June (please check before booking).
Patrons include the Guardian journalist Gary Younge and author and academic Professor Carol Tulloch. Autograph’s programme is always thought-provoking – and it’s worth getting a taster by joining one of their online events. The next is Composing a Cause: A Meditative Sonic Visual Experience, led by artist Wilfred Ukpong, on 14 July.
Reopening 23 June, entry is free.
See a musical: Get Up, Stand Up, Lyric Theatre
Not much has been released about Get Up, Stand Up, but given it’s based on the life of singer Bob Marley, and has been given the thumbs up by his family, and features his most memorable songs, you can’t really go wrong. Clint Dyer, the first black British artist to direct a West End musical with The Big Life, is in the director’s chair, and Arinzé Kene, star of the one-man show Misty, takes the main role. Expect to bellow out I Shot The Sheriff, Exodus, No Woman No Cry, Redemption Song and many more.
Get Up, Stand Up starts in October 2021 at the Lyric Theatre, London. Tickets on sale now.
Pitch up at a music festival: Marsden Jazz Festival, Yorkshire
Miss live music? Then head to the hills and join the (socially-distanced) throng at Marsden Jazz Festival. Set against the backdrop of the beautiful Yorkshire Pennies, you’ll be hard pushed to find a more picturesque festival. Listening to a band won’t get better than this! Cancelled last year because of Covid, it’s slated for a comeback in October this year. What’s more, it’s signed up to the Black Lives in Music campaign to widen opportunities for black artists at the festival, as well as celebrating the history and achievements of black jazz musicians throughout the UK.
Keep up to date on who’ll be gracing the stage and ticket releases on their website.
