Ulster Hall, Belfast: Saturday 28^th September 2019

More than 30 years ago, Ben Elton exploded into the national consciousness hosting Channel 4’s ground breaking Saturday Live. Now, after a 15 year absence, the Godfather of modern stand-up returns to the medium he did so much to define. Back on the road with an all new stand-up show, Ben promises to try and make sense of a world which appears to have gone stark raving mad.

As Ben says: “The last time I toured I was still smarter than my phone. Things have definitely taken a funny turn.”

The 53 date tour kicks off in Dublin on 27 September and then travels across the UK culminating in Torquay on 30 November.  Tickets for all shows will go on sale on Monday 10 December.

‘Just give him a stage and a microphone and Ben Elton is the best. No contest.’

The Sunday Times

‘There is nothing, absolutely nothing to beat Ben Elton live!’

Evening Standard

TICKETS ON SALE MONDAY 10^th DECEMBER at 10am

Tickets for the Ulster Hall are available:

In person at the Ulster Hall box office

By Telephone: 028 9033 4455
Book On Line: www.waterfront.co.uk / www.ulsterhall.co.uk

In person: From 100 Ticketmaster Outlets Nationwide
By Telephone (24 Hour): Northern Ireland – 0844 277 44 55
Book On Line: www.ticketmaster.ie

CHRISTMAS SHOPPER

Travel in style from Whitehead or Carrickfergus to Belfast to do your Christmas shopping! Leave the car at home and enjoy the coastal scenery from your steam train as you head up to Belfast, where the attractions range from St George’s Market to the Christmas Market at City Hall, and of course all the shops and restaurants.

Produce your ticket and get a free Tea/Coffee on your way to Belfast.

Adult £10 / Child £5

For more info on tickets visit: https://bit.ly/2BSCsY6

AFTERNOON TEA

☕🍰 AFTERNOON TEA ☕🍰

The perfect Christmas present for an Afternoon Tea lover. Share this experience with a loved one and spend quality time together between Christmas and New Year!

🍰Dine in our atmospheric Edwardian Tea Room
🍰Enjoy delicious homemade treats
🍰Tea is served in our finest china
🍰£18 p.p
🍰Sat 29th Dec @ 2pm

☕Booking is essential as spaces fill up fast! Book now to avoid disappointment!☕ For more info and to book visit: https://bit.ly/2UhqXjV

 

 

Conleth Hendron and Annie Campbell get ready to ring in 2019 in Belfast’s most luxurious cocktail lounge, the Observatory in the Grand Central Hotel, where there will be a fabulous Roaring 20’s Cocktail Party on New Year’s Eve. Book your table for the night and you can sip on the finest cocktail and drinks selection and take in the unique views of Belfast and beyond. Tickets are priced at £100 per guest and include a welcome cocktail, 1/2 bottle of Bollinger, seasonal Tapas at 10pm and live musical entertainment from jazz & swing singer, James Huish and a piper at Midnight. To purchase, call the Observatory on 028 9023 1066.

NYE package availablepackage – £170pp sharing to include your ticket to the Roaring 20’s Cocktail Party, luxurious overnight accommodation with a complimentary upgrade to a deluxe room, Full Irish Breakfast and 1pm check-out on New Year’s Day

If you’re looking for a festive night out in December then Portico in Portaferry is the place to be. It’s got a cracking line up of Country music celebrities coming plus not one but two carol concerts!

Country music stars Hugo Duncan, Dominic Kirwan, Owen Mac, Stephen Smyth and Country Harmony are all coming to Portico on Thursday 13 December. Starting at 7.30pm, the concert will be full of festive favourites all delivered in fine Country style.

Tickets cost £17 or £5 for the Under 25s. Concerts at Portico always finish in good time for the last ferry. For further information or to buy tickets visit www.porticoards.com or buy in person at The Rock Bakery in Portaferry.

On Tuesday 11 December ‘The Peninsula Choir Sings Christmas!’ Starting at 7.30pm, this all female choir are launching their new Christmas CD with a celebratory concert singing songs from the new album. The choir will be joined by special guests including Kirkistown Primary School choir. Tickets cost £6 or £3 for Under 18s and can be purchased online www.porticoards.com or at the door.

Begin the Christmas break, on Saturday 22 December at 7pm, with the NewQuay Singers at Portico’s beautifully atmospheric annual service of Nine Lessons and Carols. This year the choir will sing works by Lauridsen, Rutter, Wilcocks and Shaw amongst others plus the usual favourites for the congregation to sing. No tickets but donations will be requested (suggested donation £10).

 

Tickets are flying out the door for this year’s pantomime spectacular, ‘Aladdin’, at Armagh’s Market Place Theatre.

‘Aladdin’, will combine dazzling costumes, stunning sets, mischievous fun and thrilling musical numbers all wrapped up in an adventure unlike any you will have ever witnessed….oh yes it will!!

Leave winter behind this Christmas and escape to balmy oriental nights as The Market Place Theatre takes you on a high-flying, magical carpet ride headed for the exotic and mystical lands of the East.

Join a cast of well-loved characters including old Widow Twanky and her poor son Aladdin, and let your imagination take flight with this action-packed and mesmerizing pantomime. Times are tough but Aladdin’s life is dramatically changed when he falls in love with the most beautiful woman in the Kingdom. Enter the evilest baddie in the Kingdom, Abanazer. Will the evil Abanazer destroy Aladdin’s dreams to get rich and marry the Princess? A high-flying adventure you won’t want to miss.

Performances will run from Saturday 1 December, right up to Sunday 23 December, at a variety of times to suit all ages! Ticket prices range from £10 to £15.

To book your tickets for the most exciting pantomime of the season, phone the Box Office now on [028] 3752 1821. The house is sure to be packed to the rafters for this annual festive hit, so book now, before it’s too late! There are BSL signed, captioned and relaxed performances during the run. Please contact the Box Office for full details.

Tickets for all performances can be booked through the Box Office on [028] 3752 1821, or online at www.visitarmagh.com/marketplacetheatre And to keep up-to-date with the latest news at the Market Place Theatre, you can follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/marketplacearmagh) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/mptarmagh) where you will find all the latest information, special offers and video previews.

It’s that time of year when nostalgia rules and that’s exactly what’s coming up at The Crescent.

If you were lucky enough to have experienced the epic parties in The Crescent Gym during the 90s and early 00s then you are in for a treat.  Even if you didn’t you are still in for a treat. Get ready as, on Saturday 8^th December, The Crescent will take a trip down memory lane, take back the Crescent Gym and give it a reboot for the first ever The Crescent Moon Club.

Just like back in the day The Crescent Moon Club will provide the best music Belfast and Northern Ireland has to offer.  The first event will feature three acts and a late night DJ set. The line-up for the evening includes:

Amy Montgomery is an Irish singer, songwriter with a powerful and raw voice. Together with Michael Mormecha (Drums) and Zach Trouton (Keys), the threesome deliver a fresh, edgy and original live performance.

Waking Android is the coming together of two well-known figures on the Belfast hip-hop scene, dsgrace & Kronus. Officially formed in October 2016 the duo have been  touring all over the country in the lead up to the release of Adrenochrome  which arrived in July 2017 to much fanfare across Irish hip-hop and beyond.

Headlining the event is the incredible The Tragedy of Dr Hannigan. The brainchild of Belfast’s musicians Tony Wright and Dean Stevens this blues-rocking duo slammed onto the Belfast music scene in 2017.

Belfast based duo Dimebag DJs will take you into night with a mix of disco, funk and electro beats.

The Crescent Moon Club event organiser Peter McCloskey said:

“ What a privilege it has been to create the first ever The Crescent Moon Club which will take place in the room where it began all those years ago.  Not only will there be an air of nostalgia but great anticipation for the brand new music acts who will perform on the evening.  We are delighted to bring to audiences some of the finest music acts from Belfast and across Northern Ireland. It’s an incredible line up for the first ever event and we hope this will become a regular event fixture at The Crescent.”

Roger Courtney, Director of The Crescent added:

“ We are very excited to launch the first ever The Crescent Moon Club. This is a great opportunity to show off one of Belfast’s best kept secrets for live music. This is guaranteed to be a fantastic evening but be quick as tickets won’t be around for long!”

The Crescent Moon Club (9pm-2pm) is an over 18s event with a Bring Your Own policy. Tickets can be pre booked at £15 or pay on the door for £18. For further details and to book tickets visit www.crescentarts.org

The Creative Peninsula Craft Fayre is taking place in Ards Arts Centre, Conway Square, Newtownards on Friday 30 November and Saturday 1 December 2018, 10am – 5pm.

An array of local craft makers and artists will once again be giving you the opportunity to purchase a range of unique, local, handcrafted products.

The festive Fayre, now in its sixth year, is organised by Ards and North Down Borough Council. Join over 25 craft makers and artists in the galleries of Newtownards’ Arts Centre, including local ceramicist Ellen Cunningham, owner of Cula Ceramics, who is just back from exhibiting at a major exhibition in China.

Relax, enjoy complimentary refreshments and shop for that inspirational gift. Free gift wrapping is available. Admission is free.

On Friday the very talented harpist Ruth Corry will be performing between 12 – 1pm.

Then on Saturday florist Jill Hunter of ‘Wild and Wonderful Flowers’ will be demonstrating on how to decorate Christmas wreaths and festive arrangements throughout the day.

Speaking about the event, Emily Crawford Arts & Heritage Manager with Ards and North Down Borough Council said: “The Creative Peninsula Christmas Fayre presents a unique opportunity to purchase a beautiful Christmas gift that is hand crafted in our Borough. You will find a variety of quality hand-crafted items ranging from art prints and illustrations, to pottery, papercraft, textiles and silver jewellery to name a few. Join us in the opulent setting of Ards Arts Centre’s galleries for a superior seasonal shopping experience.”

Comedy writing and acting duo Caroline Curran and Julie Maxwell have teamed up for a bawdy and hilarious take on the perennial Christmas classic ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’.

This year’s big festive show at Theatre at The Mill ‘It’s a Wonderful Wee Christmas’ combines all the charm of the original heart-warming story with some added Belfast banter.

This is the fourth Christmas show penned by and starring the two best pals and they have brought together the familiar team of Paddy Buchanan, Jimmy Doran and Abi McGibbon and director Finn Kennedy.

Julie said: “It’s my favourite film because it has such a big heart and I knew that it would transfer well to modern day Belfast where family and friends are all important, especially at Christmas.”

Instead of 1940’s small town America it’s set in modern day Belfast where an angel is more likely to get wings by downing a can of Red Bull than helping out a troubled soul and ‘Every time a Bell rings…..’  it means last orders at the bar.

Central to this seasonal tale is Geordie Bailey, the big hearted manager of the Credit Union who is the heart of his community, helping his cash-strapped customers eke out enough to enjoy Christmas.

Just like the Jimmy Stewart character, Geordie’s ambition to travel and see the world has been stymied and he reaches the end of his rope when his office is robbed on Christmas Eve.

Stepping in to save the day is very unorthodox angel, Clara Crackingbody, a potty-mouthed force of nature far removed from the gentle Clarence Peabody of the Frank Capra version.

Clara descends from ‘upstairs’ to convince Geordie that life is worth living and ‘no man is a failure who has friends’.

It’s a Wonderful Wee Christmas is full of topical jokes. In this modern day Belfast fable nothing runs smoothly – bus lanes, the Glider or ‘Stormount’ but daily life goes on with a combination of resignation and black humour.

Will Clara Crackingbody get her wings? Will she help save Geordie and the credit union? Find out in ‘It’s a Wonderful Wee Christmas’ at Theatre at The Mill from December 4-31.

For tickets go to www.theatreatthemill.com or call Box Office T: 028 9034 0202

Young Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice patients and their families had the chance to enjoy some festive cheer at the exclusive launch of Titanic Belfast’s Magical Christmas Experience.

Titanic Belfast invited the families to the world leading attraction to see Father Christmas arrive and launch the Magical Christmas Experience.

The event enabled families to start the festive season at the visitor attraction where they stepped through the Old Curiosity Shop to enter into the Elves’ Workshop, join Mrs Claus at her cosy kitchen, hear Christmas tales, enjoy festive games, badge making, look up their names on the naught or nice list and meet Father Christmas himself.

Titanic Belfast’s Chief Executive Judith Owens, commented: “Christmas is a truly magical time of year and our Experience is all about embracing festive cheer and creating unique memories, which couldn’t be more important for the children and their families. We are delighted to support Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice by adding some sparkle to families this festive season, and hope the Experience will be a shining memory for them.”

Grace Stewart, Head of Children’s Services at Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice said: “We are delighted that Titanic Belfast invited our patients and their loved ones to a very special Christmas experience. Christmas can be a challenging time for some, so it is important families get opportunities like this to be together.”

Titanic Belfast’s Magical Christmas Experience runs until 23 December. To book, visit www.titanicbelfast.com

The Dicken’s mystical Christmas fable – ‘A Christmas Carol’ is brought to you at The Market Place Theatre, Armagh, on Sunday 25 November.

Olivier Award winner, Guy Masterson, brings us Dickens’ classic festive fable. Famed for bringing multiple characters to vivid life, Masterson recreates Scrooge, Marley, the Fezziwigs, Tiny Tim and more, in an enchanting performance that will dazzle and linger long in the memory.

Guaranteed to get you into the Christmas Spirit – in more ways than one!

‘Just when you thought you’d seen enough Christmas Carols to guide you to your grave, along comes one of the best yet!’ BBC Radio.

Tickets for all performances can be booked through the Box Office on [028] 3752 1821, or online at www.visitarmagh.com/marketplacetheatre

And to keep up-to-date with the latest news at the Market Place Theatre, you can follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/marketplacearmagh) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/mptarmagh) where you will find all the latest information, special offers and video previews.