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Till the Stars Come Down
Nottingham Playhouse
Sat 5 – Sat 26 Sep
You’re invited to the wedding of the year!
It’s Sylvia and Marek’s big day and the Stone family have gathered in Mansfield. The bride, her sisters and aunties are getting their glam on and everyone’s on their best behaviour. For now. But once the vows have been made and the drinks start flowing, deep-seated family resentments begin to bubble up. When secrets start spilling out, alliances shift, and by the end of the night, nothing will ever be quite the same again. Funny, relatable and deeply moving, this brilliant night out explores what happens when we’re forced to choose between family, and love.
Beth Steel’s Olivier-nominated, uproariously funny family drama comes to Nottingham for the first time in this regional premiere. Beth Steel is an award-winning playwright. Wonderland, her critically acclaimed play, won her the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Most Promising Playwright, was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and had its regional premiere at Nottingham Playhouse. Till the Stars Come Down was nominated for 2 Olivier Awards and transferred from the National to the West End in 2025.
Triggers and Advisories: Contains strong language, sex, abusive behaviour, bullying and racism.
FILM SCREENING: PRESSURE
New Art Exchange
1 OCT AT 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Join us for a free screening of Horace Ové’s landmark 1975 film, Pressure.
Set in 1970s London, the film follows Tony, a young British man born to Trinidadian parents, as he navigates racism, unemployment, family expectations and questions of identity and belonging.
A key film in the history of Black British cinema, Pressure explores the experiences of a generation growing up between cultures and the social and political tensions of the time.
Come along from 5 pm to enjoy our Community Kitchen, serving a Caribbean plant-based meal..
15+ | Free
LAGOSPHOTO: STORIES OF MOVEMENT AND BELONGING
Lakeside Arts
Sat 19 Sep 2026 – Sun 10 Jan 2027
This thought-provoking exhibition brings together artists from across the African continent and the diaspora, alongside a selection of international practitioners, who are part of the LagosPhoto Festival network. Their works explore ideas of borders, memory, belonging, and the unseen forces shaping human movement.
LagosPhoto Festival is one of Africa’s most significant international contemporary arts festivals. Founded by the African Artists’ Foundation in 2010, this month-long event biennially celebrates both emerging and established photographers through photography installations, large-scale outdoor prints, exhibitions, workshops and talks.
Through diverse photographic practices, the featured works question who can move freely, whose stories gain visibility, and how photography might resist reductive narratives. Like the Festival, this exhibition will not be contained to the Djanogly Gallery. Visitors are encouraged to discover outdoors works around Lakeside and across University Park campus.
This exhibition is curated by Maria Pia Bernardoni and Courage Kpodo.
Much Ado About Nothing
Theartre Royal Consert Hall
Mon 21 Sep 2026, Mon 28 Sep 2026
Pre-booked tickets: £5
On the day tickets: £7
The Theatre Royal Players Present: William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing
Love. Wit. Mischief. And a little bit of scandal…
The Theatre Royal Players bring Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing to life in a vibrant queer reimagining that places identity, attraction, and fluidity at the heart of the story.
As Beatrice and Benedick spar, Claudio and Hero navigate a complex relationship under scrutiny, and Don John quietly stirs trouble, misunderstandings spiral and loyalties are tested. This playful and contemporary production explores the many ways we love, resist, and reveal ourselves to one another – a joyful reclaiming of one of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies.
MATRIKA: SHE WHO MAKES WORLDS BY SAROJ PATEL
New Art Exchange
23 MAY – 12 SEP
Matrika: She Who Makes Worlds by Saroj Patel is an exhibition exploring women’s strength, ancestral memory, and the futures we imagine into being. In Hindu cosmology, Matrika refers to the divine mothers, a group of powerful feminine energies connected to creation, protection, and transformation.
Drawing on mythology and intergenerational stories, the works reflect on how worlds are carried forward through courage, care, and transformation. Through material, gesture, and collective presence, the exhibition honours the power of women to shape the past, present, and what is yet to come.
Everyone Welcome | Free
NEWARK HUSTLE 2026
Saturday 29th August, various venues
Since 2022, we’ve joined forces with Newark Festival to bring a slice of Nottingham’s music scene to the venues of Newark for a glorious day in late August.
This year, we’re delighted to present 9 lineups of Notts’ finest and freshest acoustic artists and bands, curated by us @the.hustlecollective and I’M NOT FROM LONDON, all gathering together on Bank Holiday Weekend, Saturday 29th August. 
Join us at Loose CannonThe Fox and CrownOscar’s InnDave DuddlesThe Organ Grinder Newark The Old King’s Arms The locke and keye NewarkAnn et Vin Wine Shop + Just Beer Micropub to see out the Summer Hustle style!
Oh, and did we mention.. it’s completely FREE 
Horrorshow Edinburgh Fringe Preview
Fisher Gate Point
21 Aug 2026 at 19:00 – 20:00
Catch this exclusive preview before Horrorshow opens at Summerhall (one of the Fringe’s most prestigious venues.)
Dan’s got a rucksack full of stolen drugs and a plan that’ll definitely work. Ollie’s got his A-level reading list and serious reservations. They’ve been mates their whole lives. They’re also becoming strangers. Set against the 00s music festival that swallows their town every summer, this gig theatre show tears into class, nostalgia and masculinity, backed by a live band playing original songs that hit like a headline set. Messy, honest and completely on your side, from multi award-winning theatre company Chronic Insanity.
Written by Doug Deans
Original Music and Musical Direction by Anya Pearson
Performed by Doug Deans and Joe Matty
Directed by Joe Strickland.
NAE OPEN 2026
New Art Exchange
23 MAY – 12 SEP
The NAE Open returns for its sixth iteration in 2026, with a presentation of works that includes paintings, print, video, installation, photography, textiles and sculpture.
This dynamic exhibition was created through a competitive open application process for Nottinghamshire based artists and Global Ethnic majority* artists living anywhere in the UK.
Tasked to seek out the most innovative and high-quality artworks that address key societal concerns and interests, a panel of advocates including neighbours, artists and curators chose from a substantive number of submissions. The result is an eclectic and compelling selection of artists at different stages of their careers.
Everyone Welcome | Free
Sunday 25th October
Various Venues across Nottingham
The music and arts charity festival takes place on Sunday 25 October 2026 with 500 acts across 50 bars, pubs, cinemas, chapels and galleries spread around Nottingham’s independent quarter.
Every October, thousands of people fill the streets and venues of Hockley and Sneinton to enjoy the all day festival. From 70 piece orchestras with world class vocalists to tiny little rooms packed out with people listening to an acoustic guitar, to streets full of Samba and silent discos, to choirs on Broadway’s steps and beatbox battles in Bodega, Hockley Hustle brings together communities.
As well as championing grassroots artists, local promoters and independent venues, Hockley Hustle has raised £250,000 for 27 local charities, from mental health organisations and refugee support groups to hospices and youth services. This year, the festival is asking everyone to help them raise £20,000 to mark the 20th milestone and support six local charities.
1525: Slow Craft Social
Nottingham Contemporary
Sun 27 Sep, 1pm–4pm
Join us for a relaxed day of creative making for 15-25 year olds, led by local textile artist Emma Graves, where you’ll explore techniques including embroidery, collage and printing. Take time to slow down and enjoy making in a contemplative, supportive space which encourages creativity over productivity.
These drop-in workshops are all about enjoying the process rather than creating a finished piece, and no previous experience is required.
Drop-in at any time during the session, but booking is required.
Materials will be provided, or feel free to bring your own!
This event is aimed at 15-25 year olds.
Out Burst Base51
Open to LGBTQIA+ community, questioning or allies! Free social group every Wednesday in Nottingham City Centre. Just show up, no need to book! 11-21 year olds only. Email [email protected] to find out more.
CENTRAL LIBRARY PHOTO CLUB
After the success of the 2025 World Photography Day program, Nottingham Central Library are proud to initiate a seasonal photography club.
The Library is nestled within the Green Heart, a budding nature scape that changes with the seasons which has provided a rich source of material on our previous photography walks. Now, the library are formalising a free space in the building, once a season, for local photographers to meet, socialise, learn and head out on their own photo walks with the Green Heart as stop number 1.
With some sessions self-directed, and others featuring bite-size lectures from partners across the city, this club is an open and inclusive space to experiment and create.
Group Information:
Location: Nottingham Central Library, Atrium
Dates:
- Spring: Saturday 11 April, 12pm to 3pm
- Summer: Saturday 13 June, 12pm to 3pm
- Autumn: Saturday 12 September, 12pm to 3pm
- Winter: Saturday 5 December, 12pm to 3pm
The City for Incurable Women
A darkly comic history of hysteria
Sat 12 Sep
Nottingham Playhouse
Ladies and Gentlethem – feeling a little upset? Have you tried hypnosis, psychoanalysis, smelling salts and it just doesn’t work? Try The City for Incurable Women!
Paris, 1880s. In a psychiatric hospital, female patients performed ‘hysteria’ for the public. The doctors went to extraordinary lengths to prove their theories about the four stages of madness. Today, in the 21st century, the storyteller Kae, begins to explore this history. They trace the echoes to the present, feeling them linger in their own body, and perhaps get a little too caught in the story.
International theatre-collective, fish in a dress follows the thread of the history of hysteria in their critically-acclaimed show (★★★★ The Guardian, The Stage, ★★★★★ Theatre Weekly) as the audience becomes complicit in an outrageous tale of medical misogyny. (Warning: hysteria cure not included).
Devised by fish in a dress. Supported by Goethe Institut and London Performance Studios.
Stonebridge Summer Market
Stonebridge City Farm & Gardens
Saturday 22nd August, from 10am
Free Entry
Join us for a lovely day of local shopping, sweet treats and family fun! 🛍️🍰
✨ Browse stalls from talented local makers & crafters
🍭 Treat yourself to some delicious sweet treats
💇♀️ Get festival-ready with hair braiding
🐑 Follow our fun trail around the farm
👕 Pre-loved clothes shopping for just £1!
Come along, support local, discover something new and enjoy a summer day at the farm!
GOBS Poetry Book Club: Hannah Silva’s Crow, Pirate, Fly
Saturday 26 September 2026, 11:00 13:00
Nottingham Central Library, 1 Carrington Street, Nottingham, NG1 7FH
Join us to chat about Hannah Silva’s Crow Pirate Fly, followed by writing activities inspired by the book.
GOBS Collective invites you to chat and scribble your heart away at our Poetry Book Club, hosted at Nottingham Central Library and via Zoom.
GOBS Poetry Book Club provides a space for poets, writers, readers, performers and artists to meet over a cuppa and have a good chinwag over our poetry collection of the month. For the first half of the session we’ll talk about the book, and in the second half we’ll do some focused writing exercises based on our favourite poems.
It’s preferable that you read the book before you come along, but if you don’t get chance and fancy heading down anyway, just pop along – there’s sure to be something for you to say, listen to or write. No judgement.
METRONOME NOTTINGHAM
Just the Tonic has been producing comedy shows in Nottingham for over 25 years. We have now found a new home in Metronome. Described by many comedians as one of the best comedy venues in the country. With Just the Tonic’s notorious reputation for the best comedy line ups in the country… you can be sure you are getting one of the best nights in town…
We bring you four different acts at every Standard Saturday show including some of the best up & coming comperes and headliners from the UK & abroad. We open from 8pm so you can have a pre show chat and grab some drinks from the bar. Our show starts at 9pm, so you get your laughs in then make further plans for the night. Or catch the Early shoes from 6pm.
Drop-in Gardening Sessions
Primary
Friday April 17 – Friday July 31 , 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Free weekly gardening sessions are back every Friday!
Join us for gardening activities and relax in a friendly, informal social space. Learn more about growing vegetables, fruit, flowers and dye plants and gardening in urban areas.
All ages welcome, children must be accompanied by an adult.
Refreshments provided.