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LOVELY BONES, HARROWING PLOT
"My name is Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered." As opening lines go, The Lovely Bones doesn't have a start you'll forget. But if you somehow got past your angsty teenage years without tearing your way through Alice Sebold's brutal, beautiful global bestseller (with a 'borrowed' copy, in a corner of Waterstones, or was that just us?) it's coming to the stage for the first time. The plot — piecing together the story of Susie's end and the fallout — might sound like it would make for fairly horrendous theatre going, but quite apart from being a compelling mystery murder (for everyone except Susie), the cast, set and design behind the new production looks as clever as it is acclaimed. With recent credits from the National Theatre, RSC and Olivier nominations going to both cast and directorial team. At The Rep from October 30. Tickets are from £10.
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KICKSTART
WITH HEART
There aren't enough independent restaurants in Birmingham. It's a fact. Sure, things are better than they were ten years ago, but indy set-ups still struggle to get the sort of breaks they need to get open, particularly in the city centre. Street food and open fire chef Andy Low N Slow has found a spot he likes. It's a stone's throw from town and he needs £50,000 to add to the £100,000 he's already raised (half of which is his hard-earned coin) to open a barbecue restaurant we can all be extremely proud of. Andy's story is an incredible one. And if you've eaten his food you'll know of his commitment to only the best, ethically sourced meat, cooked with influences of Mexico and Texas. Read how he quit his factory job to follow a dream, here, and dig deep to help Andy open his own restaurant through his crowdfunder. If you can afford it, this is your chance to make our city's food scene better.
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BREAKING: WATERS SKYBOUND
Over the last three decades, Andy Waters has been at the pass at multiple Midlands Michelin-starred restaurants, from Simpsons to Edmunds. For his next trick, he'll be taking over the penthouse of Brum foodism at Resorts World. From January 10, you'll find Chef at the very top of the building, in his new rooftop bar and restaurant, Sky by Waters. Expect the classic cooking with a contemporary twist that has defined his career so far, a dedicated bar with a silly good cocktail menu and a (not-so-secret because we're telling you about it) secret garden: there'll be private covered outdoor pods for afternoon tea, evening drinks, and putting the world to rights, presumably. The move, two-floors up from Andy's current digs, is more than twice as big, comes with private dining, a Chef’s Table and the sort of views of Birmingham you didn't know existed. And having got into the detail of the fit-out for this particular project, may we just say, this is one to get very excited about.
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FILM: BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
For fans of Queen, this biopic of the band will be a joy. It traces the group’s growth from their days of being largely ignored at student gigs to holding the world in the palm of their hands at Live Aid in 1985, the whole story told with upbeat affection. That affection for the band, and especially Freddie Mercury, is also what keeps this from being a great biopic. There appears a fear of shining too much light on the more hedonistic aspects of Mercury’s life and risking tarnishing his memory. Rami Malek (Mr Robot) is superb as Freddie, a whirlwind of charisma and camp excess, not a second of his screen time wasted. The film particularly comes alive in the stage performance scenes, Malek commanding a crowd as magnificently as Mercury at his best. Just as Freddie did with Queen, Malek fights to make something good into something fabulous. Times & trailer
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MAN LOVED MUM
Nabi artist Édouard Vuillard spent a hefty portion of his artistic career knocking out paint and pastel pictures of his beloved mother — sometimes as the main focus, sometimes as a bit part player, but almost ever present. So much so, that the Barber’s latest expo is the first to feature naught but his depictions of the old dear, and the first UK show to big-up the artist in nearly 15 years. Bare time. This incredible selection from the total 500 mum-pics comes from public and private collections in the UK and France and helped garner Vuillard the reputation of the ‘intimist’ among his French avant-garde chums. Marking his big one-five-oh, the at times humorous showcase (see her hands above? He's messing with you) is also accompanied by a series of talks, a study afternoon and art workshops for all. Maman runs til January 20. Entry is free.
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