What's On Now?

bringing you more details on the exhibition and events for

June

Previews Thursday 4th June ~ 6.00pm-8.00pm
Continues until Thursday 30th July 2009
Monsters, Myth & Magic
Gods, magic and superstition have been with us since man could utter his first Ooh! and Aah! He noticed that the big bright yellow ball in the sky during the day made way for a smaller white one that seemed to reduce in size from time to time and the gods made their entrance. Suddenly he seemed to be surrounded by magic - the strength of the wind, the growth from the earth, the tidal motions of the sea and the warmth from the sun and, even more magical, from that piece of sun called fire!
His success or failure might depend on how these elements behaved and that could lead him to believe that his happiness, sorrow, life and death was probably controlled by seen and unseen forces.
How easy, then, must it have been to progress to creating objects of worship, to instill them with all manner of characteristics, powers and appearances.
As humankind became more civilised this served only to increase and separate the gods and omens and, where before tales were just passed from one generation to another orally, once man knew how to record his words the canon of myth, fable, legend and sacred texts just grew and grew … and were then repeated. So many of our myths and fairy tales have travelled from country to country and continent to continent and this theme is visited in the exhibition.
Through books, pictures, puppets, masks and more this exhibitions slips in and out of the enchanting, the spellbinding and sometimes the horrifying. Discover the monsters that were imagined or created, the gods of many lands and the witch-hunts. Yes, fairies and goblins and, of course, angels.
The exhibition is enhanced by the support and contributions of The Library of the Plymouth Athenaeum, The Leeds Library, Newcastle Literary and Philosophical Society, The Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society, Anita Klein and Chris Beetles Gallery. We are grateful also for the books and artefacts from private collections.
Admission free

Wednesday 24th June at 6.30pm !! Sold Out !!
Engels' Manchester
A talk by Tristram Hunt
Friedrich Engels is one of the most attractive and contradictory figures of the nineteenth century. Born to a prosperous mercantile family in west Germany, he spent his career working in the Manchester cotton industry, riding to the Cheshire hounds, and enjoying the comfortable, middle-class life of a Victorian gentleman. Yet Engels was also the co-founder of international communism - the philosophy which in the 20th century came to control one third of the human race. He was the co-author of The Communist Manifesto. His searing account of the industrial revolution, The Condition of the Working Class in England, remains one of the most haunting and brutal indictments of the human costs of capitalism.
We are delighted that Tristram Hunt has agreed to share his relish at the diversity and exuberance of Engels's era. The talk is set against the backdrop of revolutionary Europe and industrializing England telling a story of devoted friendship, class compromise, ideological struggle, and family betrayal. Tristram tackles head-on the question of Engels' legacy: was Engels, after Marx's death, responsible for some of the most horrible turns of twentieth-century history, or was the idealism of his thought perverted by those who claimed to be his followers?
Tristram Hunt is a British historian, broadcaster and newspaper columnist. He also lectures at Queen Mary, University of London. He has made many appearances on television, including presenting a four-part series on the English Civil War in 2002. Hunt is a Trustee of the Heritage Lottery Fund and has a column with The Observer.
Talk & Buffet £16.50 (talk only £5.00) !! Sold Out !!

July

Wednesday 8th July at 6.30pm
A Time and Place in Crime Fiction
Come and listen to 4 northern crime writers talking about their craft and take the opportunity to ask your own questions too!
Portico member and speaker, Jennifer Palmer, will act as moderator
Dolores Gordon-Smith is the author of the Jack Haldean detective stories set in the 1920s - the third, As If By Magic, was published at the end of June. Dolores, who is fascinated by the new world which emerged after the First World War, loves the classic detective stories of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers, and wants to recreate some of the fun, glamour and excitement of that world, as well as the sheer ingenuity of the genre.
Kate Ellis was born in Liverpool and studied drama in Manchester. Her short stories have been nominated for several awards. She has just published her thirteenth Wesley Peterson novel, A Perfect Death, and Seeking the Dead, the first book in her brand new series set in York, is now out in paperback.
Cath Staincliffe writes the acclaimed Sal Kilkenny mysteries, with PI Sal working Manchester's mean streets and is the creator of ITV's hit police series, Blue Murder. Her latest book is Missing.
Martin Edwards is a solicitor who was born in Cheshire and lives in Lymm. He has written 7 books about Harry Devlin, the most recent being Waterloo Sunset, The Arsenic Labyrinth is the third in his Lake District mysteries and his latest novel is a stand alone fictional take on the Crippen case, Dancing for the Hangman. He also writes about crime fiction, does crime reviews and true crime pieces, edits anthologies and writes short stories.
Talk & Buffet £16.50 (talk only £5.00)

Thursday 23rd July at 6.30pm
Hell Bent or Heaven Sent
A talk by Emma Marigliano
Dante wrote his Divine Comedy in 1321 and nearly 700 years later this epic poem continues to inspire artists, illustrators, film makers and musicians. Up until the late 19th century the religious and secular expectations and limitations defined visual interpretations of the poem. After this time artists were less inclined to be restricted to patrons and commercial wiles. This illustrated talk focuses on the images produced from the 20th century onwards and shows the breadth of imagination and diversity that this sometimes frightening but always thought provoking work has influenced. From the fiery Inferno and its horrifying punishments to the saints and angels who inhabit Paradise we share Dante's journey to his Blessed Beatrice.
Talk & Buffet £16.50 (talk only £5.00)

Bookings also now being taken for:

Novels of Far Away - A Novel Discussion Group

and

A Poetry Discussion Course