This year, Liverpool LightNight 2019 is set to be bigger and better than ever, so we thought we’d round up the best events taking place around the city.
Over the past couple of years, LightNight has illuminated Liverpool with creativity, talent and amazing events – taking shape as arts and crafts, visual installations, exhibitions and theatre.
On the evening of Friday 17th May 2019, visitors of all ages will have the chance to explore Liverpool’s most stunning landmarks and hidden gems.
The theme of Liverpool LightNight this year is ‘Ritual’ – they say that they will explore the theme of ‘Ritual’ as a “universal phenomenon, spanning the breadth of human history, and also as an artistic process by which we shift our state of mind. Ritual offers us an active and creative process by which to create shared meaning, understand the world, and define – and transcend – our place within it.”
We can’t wait to see what Liverpool LightNight 2019 has in store. Here are the best events being hosted across the city during the course of the evening.
Table of Contents
Hidden Elements
Location: St. George’s Hall
Time: 18:00-22:00
Liverpool Empire Youth Musical Theatre Company presents Hidden Elements, an interactive experience that explores the hidden elements of performance.
Ever wondered what goes on backstage? Hidden Elements enables you to discover aspects of performance that are ordinarily concealed.
Join the Liverpool Empire Youth Musical Theatre Company as they reveal everything that goes on behind closed curtains.
Mersey Hub Brass
Location: St. George’s Hall
Time: 18:30-19:30
Young brass musicians aged 11-18 from across Liverpool, Knowsley and St. Helens are coming together to perform a wonderful concert.
Immersed in the whole musical experience, Mersey Hub Brass take classical music to the next level. From old fashioned numbers to dancefloor hits, join Mersey Hub Brass as they put on a show to remember.
What we can ensure you is that their performance is truly astonishing.
Torquemada: In the Mind of the Inquisitor
Location: Liverpool Central Library
Time: 21:00-22:00
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Hornby Library plays host to an evening of magic and wonder this May. The president of the Liverpool Mahatma Magic Circle introduces you to the rituals and practices of medieval magic and the dark arts.
This interactive show, which takes place in the Oak Room from 18:00, is guaranteed to inform and scare you in equal measure.
Do you dare to open this cabinet of curiosities?
Pachamama
Location: Liverpool Central Library
Time: 22:00- 21:30
This year, Liverpool LightNight plays host to Pachamama, a multi-disciplinary performance by LUMA Creations.
Pachamama is a tale of redemption, ending in a cleansing ritual that restores Mother Earth’s goodness.
Complemented by performances by La Bomba, Women Drummers, DrumClash, Makefest and many more, Pachamama brings together the four elements – Earth, Fire, Air and Water – in this visual and visceral extravaganza.
Pachamama is not to be missed, that’s for sure.
Cave Rave
Location: UOL Victoria Gallery
Time: 17:00-22:00
Immerse yourself in the mysterious ritual culture of Stone Age people at LightNight Liverpool this year.
Make your own cave paintings using the oldest know pigment in the world, take part in a dance performance led by costumed dancers and listen to music played on instruments made from bone.
Get ready to be led by lanterns through a maze of fun by an authentic shaman as the Victoria Museum is taken back to the Stone Age.
New Spaces, Technology and Dance
Location: LJMU John Lennon Building
Time: 19:30- 21:30
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By using the latest technology in conjunction with choreography, students at Liverpool John Moores University are gearing up to put on a spectacular show of epic proportion.
Live dancers and virtual video performers work together not only to create a narrative that reflects the rituals of our daily lives, but they also aim to disrupt them and, in the process, make us rethink them.
Captured using 360-degree immersive video, this interactive show is set to be one of the most popular exhibitions LightNight Liverpool has ever seen.
The Drag Lab
Location: The Everyman Theatre
Time: 20:00-23:00
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Taking inspiration from RuPaul’s Drag Race, The Drag Lab is inviting you on a journey of self-discovery.
By working with some of the city’s most subversive and outrageous drag performers – who can normally be found in some of Liverpool’s best loved gay bars – The Everyman Theatre is encouraging audience members to embrace the artistry of drag.
A unique offering, The Drag Lab is an exploratory promenade piece that aims to explain the concept of drag and is set to take LightNight Liverpool by storm.
Bombed Out Church Food Hub
Location: Bold Street
Time: 17:00
Back by popular demand, the Bombed Out Church Food Hub – with its wide selection of fabulous food and drink vendors including Perfect Samosa, Cake Up North and Derby House – is the best place to eat, drink, socialise, relax and unwind.
With an array of bars to choose from also, The Bombed Out Church on Bold Street is the place to be this May.
Rubbish Shakespeare
Location: Liverpool Central Library
Time: 18:00-19:30
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Don’t know your Macbeth from your Midsummers Night’s Dream, then Central Library is the place to be.
Mankind’s oldest rituals: courtship, marriage and friendship are made a mockery of by the Rubbish Shakespeare Company.
A hilarious take on some of the greatest tales ever told, “this isn’t your granddaddy’s Shakespeare – this is Rubbish Shakespeare!”
Baltic Alight: Stories from the Fireside
Location: Baltic Triangle
Time: 19:00-22:00
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Liverpool LightNight is inviting you to the oldest of rituals: stories by the fireside.
The fire is roaring so gather around and journey through the Baltic Triangle. Delve underground and discover a treasure trove of stories just waiting to be told.
This creative tour of the Baltic Triangle is not to be missed by booklovers, as an expert team of narrators regale you with tales of heroism, loss and love by the fireside.
Liverpool LightNight at World Museum
Location: Liverpool World Museum
Time: 17:00
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The World Museum is home to a whole host of amazing exhibitions this May.
From the family friendly Night at the Museum exhibition to the breath-taking Ancient Egyptian Rituals and Mummification show, The World Museum is jam packed with things to do and see.
Join everyone from astronauts to scientists and artists to dancers, for nonstop fun and learning inside one of Liverpool’s oldest and most loved buildings.
Street Party Along Windsor Street
Location: Windsor Street
Time: 18:00-22:00
Windsor Street’s creative organisations are throwing a street party packed with performance, spoken word, dance, music and food.
This epic street party celebrates the L8 community and draws upon the area’s rich and vibrant history. Beginning with a carnival performance from Katumba Drumming, Windsor Street is one of the most creative, inclusive and exciting streets in Liverpool.
If you wish to escape the madness of the city centre, head to Windsor Street and take in everything it has to see and do.
LightNight Celebrations
Location: The Kazimier Garden
Time: 17:00-00:00
City wanderers of Liverpool are invited to converge at L1’s original botanical wonderland.
Find haven in the Kazimier Garden as the celebrations draw to a close.
Partake in traditional Kazimier rituals and drink and dine beneath the stars. There’s no better way to celebrate this unique and fun event coming to a close.
Liverpool LightNight sees venues old and new stay open late to celebrate the amazing arts and culture Merseyside has to offer. No wonder then that Liverpool is a go-to destination for street artists. Check out some of the best places to spot street art in Liverpool.
Stay and Dine in Liverpool
Carpathia Champagne Bar & Restaurant is the perfect spot to wine and dine on Liverpool LightNight. Just a stone’s throw from Liverpool landmarks and LightNight events, this rooftop bar and restaurant is rich in maritime history, perfect for those with a love for culture in Liverpool. Why not book a table today to avoid missing out?