12 things to do this Summer in St George’s Quarter

St. George’s Quarter is a cultural hub of art, architecture, theatre, and history.

From candlelight concerts to raucous comedies, photo exhibitions to heritage tours, there’s something for everyone in St George’s Quarter this summer.

Check out these 12 things you can experience around the area:

Queen by Candlelight at Liverpool Empire – 4 August

Featuring a live cast of West End singers, accompanied by an incredible rock band, experience Queen as you have never heard them before. The concert will feature some of the most iconic songs of all time including Bohemian Rhapsody, It’s a Kind of Magic, We Are The Champions, Who Wants to Live Forever and many more!

For more info click here.

Hayley Ellis – Hayley’s Comic at Royal Court Studio – 5 August

After the sell-out success of her “The Invisible Mam” show in 2022, Hayley Ellis is back with a brand new show full of silly stories, observations and audience interactions. Including body confidence when ageing, family holidays, and dinosaurs. As seen as Tour support for Sarah Millican, Jason Manford, Ellie Taylor and John Bishop.

For more info click here.

Heritage Tour at Royal Court – 7 August

The Royal Court is a Grade II listed building, a magnificent example of one of the best theatres built in the Art Deco style. The theatre is one of Liverpool’s most enduring and iconic buildings and has a rich history including several ghosts!

For more info click here.

Candlelight Concerts at St George’s Hall

Check out these fantastic Candlelight Concerts at St. George’s Hall:

A Tribute to Pink Floyd – 12 August

The Best of The Beatles – 12 August

The Best of Zelda – 19 August

A Tribute to Coldplay – 19 August

The Minton Tile Experience at St Georges Hall until 18 August

A rare opportunity see the Minton tiles, a beautiful Victorian mosaic, hidden under a wooden floor since the 19^th century and one of Liverpool’s most beautifully preserved pieces of art.

The 30,000 beautifully hand-crafted tiles are an incredibly rare sight and purposely revealed to the public infrequently to ensure they are preserved to the highest possible standard. The encaustic tiles were concealed under a wooden floor in 1860, to preserve against damage ensued by raucous, Victorian parties and dancing.

It has been four years since the tiles were revealed and only the 10th time they have been put on display since the Hall reopened in 2007.

Check it out here!

Legally Blonde at Liverpool Empire – 18-19 August

Following the success of last summer’s Little Shop of Horrors, Liverpool Empire Youth Theatre return with the smash hit Legally Blonde The Musical. The all-singing, all-dancing romantic comedy is all about knowing who you are and showing what you’ve got! Elle Woods can handle anything. So when her boyfriend Warner, dumps her, she decides to follow him to Harvard Law School and win him back. With some help from new-found friends Paulette, Emmett and her dog Bruiser, Elle quickly realises her potential and sets out to prove herself to the world.

Book tickets here.

Greasy Spoon at Royal Court until 26 August

Devilishly Good Food is just your average, everyday, normal caff. Regular staff and regular hours for Mandy and Shannon. They need to get the doors open for the customers but there is a bit of cleaning up to do first. Well, a lot of cleaning up really. They’ve just murdered their boss, you see. Things can escalate quickly in the world of homemade cakes and teas.

A guy has arrived to sell his homemade badges and he just won’t leave. There’s a builder on the warpath and a customer on the footpath. The police are on their way and someone needs to take the fall for this. Their boss is toast and there’s no doubt who done it, but will someone save their bacon?

Book tickets here.

Liverpool 1963 – How Did We Do It? at Liverpool Central Library until August 31 

A fascinating exhibition exploring how and why Liverpool rose to rule the pop world in 1963.

Among a huge number of rare items from the Merseybeat era on display are the lyrics to a ‘lost’ song by the late Merseybeat legend Gerry Marsden. The lyrics to the unfinished “A Girl Like You” were discovered when Gerry’s wife Pauline handed in a photograph of her husband, which had hung in Brian Epstein’s office.

Pauline was responding to a call for never seen before memorabilia from the era to adorn the Liverpool 1963 – How Did We Do It? exhibition, when curators made the discovery re-mounting the photo.

Other items include a telegram from John Lennon apologising to Cavern DJ Bob Wooler, for infamously breaking his nose at Paul McCartney’s 21st birthday. Mr Wooler saw a specialist to determine the compensation and the specialist’s report is also on show.

The exhibition also includes a wonderful photograph of The Searchers (pictured above) promoting the single to residents of Deacon Street, in Everton, and it is hoped visitors will be able to put names to the faces.

Liverpool Biennial until 17 September

Brook Andrew’s ‘SMASH IT’ at World Museum

A digital amalgamation of images, videos, sound and text. Archival film from the Smithsonian Institute collides with found footage and media samples from the artist’s collection. Andrew co-opts and reframes ethnographic photographs, newspaper extracts, film footage and other cultural objects to dismantle racist stereotypes of First Nations people. The work complicates colonial archives and their embedded ideologies by repurposing archival materials to subvert dominant narratives. Throughout, interviews with prominent Australian Indigenous intellectuals, including Marcia Langton, Wesley Enoch and Maxine Briggs, are juxtaposed against imagery of demolished and defaced Western statuary and monuments to colonial power. In its cacophony of voices and materials, ‘SMASH IT’ brings colonial archives into conversation with the present moment, inviting us to consider their contemporary legacies and international relevance.

Gala Porras-Kim’s ‘Roll Call’ at World Museum

An audio piece, resurrecting the names of those who have passed and been reincarnated into objects now stored in museum collections. According to their beliefs, the deceased left conservation instructions for their names to be spoken aloud as their bodies were preserved for reincarnation. Porras-Kim honours their wishes and presents a whispered reading of their names, bestowing agency on the dead and questioning museum conservation models. This work builds on Porras-Kim’s interest in the institutional and linguistic frameworks that define, legitimise and preserve cultural heritage. It invites us to question the ethical principles of museological conservation and to imagine new meanings for artefacts displayed inside museums or assembled in its storages.

Nicholas Galanin presents ‘Threat Return’ at St Johns Gardens

The seven bronze sculptures sit upon concrete plinths, referencing busts and monuments which surround the piece in St John’s Gardens and within the nearby galleries and museums, many of which celebrate men and families who made their wealth in shipping and merchant trade. Galanin references museum displays of Indigenous North American and African basketry and cinematic portrayals of thieves via ski-mask cut-outs incised into each basket, contemplating the commodification, reproduction, theft, and imitation of indigenous cultural traditions. The work is a reflection on what is considered to be theft, a meditation on the reflexivity of threat, and the return of energy as well as cultural property. Galanin insists on the persistence of Indigenous connection to land and culture which is embedded in bodies, memories, traditions, objects and languages.

Photie Man at Walker Art Gallery until 7 January

A new major photographic exhibition from Tom Wood at Walker Art Gallery, showcasing 50 years of the artist’s work. Photie Man celebrates the acclaimed Irish-born artist Tom Wood with a comprehensive survey of work spanning 50 years since the start of his career. The exhibition brings together photography from the 1970’s to the present day, many of which are being displayed for the first time in Liverpool – where a large number of Wood’s iconic photographs were taken.  

Find out more here.

Return of the Gods at World Museum until 25 February

Prepare for the high drama of the ancient world as we meet the gods and goddesses of Mt. Olympus. Their lives were packed with great loves, greater feuds and the powers to influence, save or condemn human lives forever. This family-friendly exhibition dives into ancient Greek and Roman mythology to expose the original ancient characters of the heroes and heroines of our time. This boldly designed exhibition allows you to step inside the stories, as two-metre-high statues tower above you. Featuring a stunning collection of over 100 sculptures and objects, displayed together for the first time, experience the luxury of a Roman villa, before journeying into the underworld to meet Hades.

Find out more here.

Renaissance Rediscovered at Walker Art Gallery

More than three years since their galleries closed for refurbishment, the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque treasures of the Walker Art Gallery return to public display on Saturday 29 July 2023. ‘Renaissance Rediscovered’ features major names including Michelangelo, Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt and more, alongside newly acquired masterpieces on public display for the first time. 

Check it out here.

Make sure you visit St. George’s Quarter this Summer, for more of the latest news click HERE.