Stephen Dunstan, Author at Blackpool Social Club

20 Jul

Pleasure Beach To Host Refreshed Slimefest

Stephen Dunstan0 CommentsLocal News

The average altBlackpool reader probably isn't in the Slimefest cognoscenti, but may know younger culture vultures in the target audience. If so, tell them that following two sellout concerts at the Winter Gardens in 2016 it returns this October at a new home in the form of the Pleasure Beach Arena. Among the acts already confirmed for this year's Slimefest is JoJo Siwa. The 14 year old singer and dancer will be performing her hit single 'Boomerang' live and exclusively for the first time, as well as other new songs. JoJo has 5.8 million followers on Instagram and over 600…

11 Jul

Rear View comes to you

Stephen Dunstan0 CommentsTheatre, Dance & Performance

‘Buses run for those who wait, they don’t wait for those who run’, as the old saying goes. You need to get your skates on however if you haven’t already got tickets for LeftCoast’s bus based theatre experience Rear View, as it starts on Thursday and finishes Saturday. The streets of Blackpool become the stage as Yorkshire based IOU’s new location-specific production Rear takes to the road. Take a trip aboard the custom-made open top bus for an unforgettable journey that begins in a life-drawing class, and quickly becomes a moving story about a woman’s life. Led by performance poets…

06 Jul

Cilla Stars Announced

Stephen Dunstan0 CommentsMusic & Gigs, Theatre, Dance & Performance

Next month Cilla The Musical arrives at the Winter Gardens, and the full cast details have now been revealed. The musical reunites Tom Dunlea, Michael Hawkins and Gemma Brodrick-Bower, all of whom starred in Jeff Pope’s original ITV mini-series Cilla, on which the musical is based. It also sees Andrew Lancel reprise the role of Brian Epstein, which he played on stage to great critical acclaim in Epstein – The Man Who Made The Beatles. Lancel is best known to TV audiences as super-villain Frank Foster in Coronation Street and as DI Neil Manson in the long-running ITV television series…

04 Jul

Enjoy Summer Punch At The Grundy

Stephen Dunstan0 CommentsHeritage, Visual Arts & Exhibitions

Following Act I at PEER in London in 2016, Jonathan Baldock and Emma Hart bring a dramatically expanded version to Blackpool in the next few weeks in the form of Act II. This involves more than a nod to a certain famous seaside puppet... In the artists’ most ambitious collaboration to date, Baldock and Hart have radically re-imagined the traditional seaside show of Punch and Judy. Through ceramic sculptures, videos, installations and other works, the artists transform the puppet booth living quarters of the pair into an oversized and darkly humorous place where the ever-present threat of violence acquires a…

15 Jun

Pepper at the Pavilion

Stephen Dunstan0 CommentsMusic & Gigs

Being the culture vultures you all are altBlackpool readers won’t have missed the coverage of the 50th anniversary of the issue of the iconic Beatles Sergeant Pepper album. And things are Getting Better (see what I did there) with the news that Lytham Festival will include a concert in which the album will be played in its entirety. The Mersey Beatles will be appearing a Lowther Pavilion on Wednesday 2nd August. Part one will be Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band uncut, whilst the second part of the concert will plunder the extensive other special tracks penned and performed by the Fab…

25 May

Art Fair returns to iconic Lytham Hall

Stephen Dunstan0 CommentsLocal News, Visual Arts & Exhibitions

Jane Austen once said that where an opinion is general, it is usually correct. Few would argue with the view that Lytham Hall is a fine venue in a great setting, and the Spring Art Fair staged there on 3 & 4 June by Hopeful and Glorious will have an Austen theme on the bicentenary of her death. The Art Fair will bring together a showcase of over 35 brilliant north west artists, makers and designers showing and selling a wide range of ceramics, glass, textiles, painting, print, jewellery, upcycling and much more. Tours of the stunning Lytham Hall will also be…

22 May

Rear View Needs You

Stephen Dunstan0 CommentsLocal News, Theatre, Dance & Performance

Want to be star of a unique show taking place on the streets of Blackpool this summer? LeftCoast want to hear from you. They are looking for Fylde Coast groups and clubs to volunteer to play a part in an unusual mobile theatre show. ‘Rear View’ by IOU will start at the Grundy Art Gallery before the audience take to a double decker bus which has been specially converted into a mobile theatre. Sports, activity and social clubs are invited to be part of the ‘street scene’ by undertaking their group activity in unusual locations along the route. The idea…

02 May

I Spy Classic Graham Greene At The Grand

Stephen Dunstan0 CommentsTheatre, Dance & Performance

Fresh from their successful staging of Travels With My Aunt at The Grand in the autumn Creative Cow are back at the theatre this week with another Graham Green classic – Our Man In Havana. Our Man In Havana tells the story of a luckless vacuum cleaner who get sucked (pun presumably intended) into a world of espionage and double agents. Although this play about spies and covert intelligence operations is almost 60 years old viewers will find many of the themes still highly relevant today. The play has many other parallels with Graham Greene’s own life. This includes his obsession…

20 Apr

Lioness back in Black(pool)

Stephen Dunstan0 CommentsMusic & Gigs

There are no shortage of tribute acts to Southgate’s finest, reflecting a distinctive persona and style. But if you want to see an acclaimed Amy Winehouse tribute act from a locally trained artist get down to Viva this Friday. Stars In Their Eyes finalist Emma Wright, aka ‘Lioness’, is bringing her stunning tribute to the late songstress to Blackpool for a one-off homecoming gig. Emma, who trained at the resort’s Scream Theatre School in Blackpool for eight years, has been touring the country for the past three months. So far she has performed to over 4500 people. Emma said “After…

10 Apr

Peter Kay Drives Car Share Success

Stephen Dunstan0 CommentsVisual Arts & Exhibitions

When Peter Kay announced that series two of Car Share would be previewed at The Opera House Theatre, Blackpool, it was always going to be a sellout. So did it live up to the hype? In the end, the answer was a resounding yes. So why in the end? The event kicked off with a repeat of the final episode of series one. Whilst the audience being comprised mostly of diehard fans, this was guaranteed a reasonable reception. It was a great idea in theory; "movie marathon" events being such a popular feature of franchise releases such as Twilight. However, in this case,…