Things To Do / Sponsored
20 things to do in Bristol this week, July 22-28 2024
Monday: Into It. Over It., Exchange
The recording project of Chicago-based songwriter Evan Weiss, Into It. Over It. finds the prolific emo-pop veteran of numerous bands striking out on his own.
Tuesday-Saturday: Is Dat U Yh?, Bristol Old Vic
Tolu and the ‘Back Of the Bus Queens’ relive and rediscover their love of home in this “joyous and whacky adventure down memory lane”.
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Until August 11: Disney’s Aladdin, Bristol Hippodrome
From the producers that brought you The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and Frozen, comes the spectacular Disney Broadway and West End musical Aladdin. Already seen by over 14 million people worldwide, this exuberant production, based on the 1992 animated film, is filled with unforgettable magic, comedy, breathtaking sets and dazzling costumes. It also features new music, alongside all the smash hit songs by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, Friend Like Me, A Whole New World, One Jump Ahead, Prince Ali, and Arabian Nights.
Aladdin – photo: Bristol Hippodrome
Wednesday: The Jungle Giants, Strange Brew
Australian indie-rock royalty the Jungle Giants are driven by optimism, creative freedom and a desire to “go weird, go funny and not be scared”.
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Wednesday-Sunday: Cinema Rediscovered, Watershed
Cinema Rediscovered returns to venues in and around Bristol: City of Film with 60+ screenings and events of newly restored films, rediscoveries and film-on-film rarities, cinema walks, a quiz and a multitude of starting points for conversation.
Cinema Rediscovered – photo: Watershed
Wednesday-September 1: Look Up!, Aerospace Bristol
A new exhibition in partnership with Cameron Balloons tells the story of hot air ballooning in Bristol.
Cameron Balloons in Bedminster is the world’s leading hot air balloon manufacturer – photo: Bristol24/7
Thursday-Sunday: Frankie’s Fried Chicken, Kongs
From Masterchef quarter-finalist Adam Ball, Frankie’s Fried Chicken is a pop-up which he promises will serve “some bloody fantastic fried chicken”.
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is needed now More than ever
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Thursday-Sunday: Queer Cinema From the Eastern Bloc, Watershed
Defiant, joyous, tender, and multifaceted: whilst being openly queer in socialist Eastern Europe was difficult, these films shine a light on the varied experiences of LGBTQ+ people from the Eastern Bloc outside of the Western context. A reminder that progress is rarely straight!
Lauren Square – photo: Watershed
Friday: Ali Vowles Friday Night Chat Show, Balmoral
Celebrating the return of the Balmoral to her usual berth outside the M Shed, former BBC broadcaster Ali Vowles will be speaking to Maddie Difazio Wright, who rowed the Atlantic as part of a three-women crew in a small boat; and Roger Francis, a retired sea captain and one of only a few master mariners of his kind in the world.
Friday: Write On!, Waterstones (Galleries)
It’s a Pride special at tonight’s open mic evening, with a group of illustrators also sketching the evening, taking inspiration from the words spoken live.
The future of Waterstones in the Galleries is uncertain due to the shopping centre’s proposed closure – photo: Martin Booth
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Friday: Jon Hopkins, Bristol Beacon
Jon Hopkins is a London based electronic artist, producer and classically trained composer, whose solo and collaborative works have received widespread acclaim, as well as Grammy, Mercury Prize and Ivor Novello nominations. Initially gaining exposure through his work with Brian Eno and Coldplay, Hopkins found his voice as a solo artist utilising intricately crafted beats with serene, meditative textures, having since forged a reputation for music that marries the dance floor to the devotional, and for live performances that are visceral, generous and charged with a rapt, sensuous beauty. Boasting an output that flows from rugged techno to transcendent choral music, solo acoustic piano and psychedelic ambient, the Mercury Prize-nominated Immunity (2013) and the Grammy-nominated Singularity (2018), were among the decade’s most lauded electronic albums. Support comes from LUXE and limited availability remains.
Jon Hopkins – photo: Bristol Beacon
Friday & Saturday: Improv Appreciation Weekend, Bristol Improv Theatre
As part of the Save the Bristol Improv Theatre campaign, this weekend will be celebrating the art of improvisation with workshops, taster sessions and shows.
The Bristol Improv Theatre are raising money in order to keep the venue’s doors open – photo: Bristol Improv Theatre
Friday-Sunday: Feast On, Downs
A new food festival sees restaurants and traders showcase their signature dishes; as well as wine tastings, food sustainability talks, live cooking demos over fire and a banqueting area.
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Friday-July 31: Work Tap, Centrespace Gallery
Work Tap, an exhibition of work by artist Alex Head, takes its name from a Berlin zine. Head says he is “exploring the blockages to creativity as the means for creativity”.
Work Tap is an exhibition that also features talks from artist Alex Head
Saturday: Dubtendo, The Boxing Gym
A day of raving and gaming from everyone’s favourite Boomtown street party with all profits going to Broad Plain & Riverside Youth Project.
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Saturday: Conversations with Baldwin, Bristol Beacon
Conversations with Baldwin is a day’s programme with poetry, workshops and performance from incredible artists celebrating the life and work of James Baldwin. Experience an exceptional day of activities, a free book club session, and a writers workshop with T.S Eliot prize-winning poet Roger Robinson, followed by the evening event where five artists will respond to the theme of ‘the Artist as Witness’, drawing on James Baldwin’s legacy as one of the 20th century’s most revered writer-activists. ‘Conversations with Baldwin’ is presented in collaboration by Words of Colour and Raise the Bar, and is part of the wider Conversations with Baldwin festival taking place across the UK which celebrates the 100th birthday of iconic writer James Baldwin (1924 – 1987).
Conversations with Baldwin – photo: Bristol Beacon
Sunday: Shallow Roots, Tobacco Factory bar
Shallow Roots are an eight-piece Bristol band playing dance music fusing Afro, Caribbean, Spanish, Latin and Western pop.
Sunday: Bushman, Cube
“Truth is stranger than fiction in Bushman, a rare sort of film portrait, part documentary, part imagined – poetic in its approach to real events.” It will be preceded by the short film to, from, by poet Olivia Douglass, this work has been commissioned by Other Parties in response to Bushman.
And coming soon…
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July 31: Cillian O’Connor – My Magic World, Redgrave Theatre
Cillian O’Connor is bringing his first ever live stage show on tour to the UK and Ireland in 2024! Cillian literally burst onto an unsuspecting world during Britain’s Got Talent in 2023 and immediately captivated the hearts of the entire nation, reaching the top three in the final. His performances online have now been the most watched of the entire series reaching over 500 million views in just a few weeks.
Cillian O’Connor – photo: Redgrave theatre
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August 2-4: The Gruffalo, The Witch and The Warthog with Julia Donaldson, Redgrave Theatre
Following a sell out season at the Edinburgh Fringe, Britain’s most popular children’s author presents a show full of magic, music and excitement. Along with four actors, including her guitar playing husband Malcolm, Julia brings six of her stories to life with songs, puppetry, and of course an appearance by the Gruffalo himself.
Julia Donaldson – photo: Redgrave Theatre
Main photo: Shallow Roots
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