Thanks to everyone performed, worked or volunteered at this year's festival! Another beautiful year for the Little but LIVE! in Moseley Park. Thanks most of all to those of you who came to watch and support the arts!
This year we were able to welcome over one thousand members of the local community, families and young people, to enjoy live theatre, music and a range of wonderful workshops.
If you would like to support our future theatre work, festivals and help us to keep creating and presenting live entertainment at an affordable rate please consider donating to support our work.
Friday 22nd September
The Wizard of Oz 11.00am / 12.30pm
Paperback's brummy twist on The Wizard of Oz. Featuring original music, punk lions and and a fantastic cast of West Midlands performers - join us for a rip-rouring exploration of what "home" really means.
Introducing Stage ft. Red Zest
6.00pm
now at The Moseley Hive
This year we hosted our first ever "Introducing" Stage, putting a spotlight on the best young emerging talent in the city. This year's headliners were Red Zest - a group of students from UoB representing shes and theys on the Birmingham indie scene, with bedroom pop vibes and twinkling saxes.
Comedy Open Mic Night
8.00pm
After running Giggle on the green, and Little but LIVE'S Comedy Hour (or so...) or inimitable comedy host Rachel Baker opened the floor to a host of fantastic comedians trying our new material!
There superb local comics had us belling laughing all the way home!
Saturday 23rd September
Wizard of Oz
Stomp & Clay Workshop
12.00pm
Rhiannon, forest school leader and nature lover led us on a mystical stomp about Moseley Park to collect natural items to then take back get & get creative with the sensory joy of clay, as we bought the characters of the Wizard of Oz to Life!
The Wizard of Oz
2.30pm
Following Dot, a young Brummie in the care system, this new adaptation of a well loved tale, relocates "Oz" to Birmingham taking the audience on a raucous exploration of what "home" really means.
Fiesta in the Park with The Edgar Macías Quintet
6.00pm
The signature sound of Birmingham's Jazz scene: The Edgar Macías Quintet!
Playing an eclectic mix of Buena Vista Social Club, Salsa, Latin Jazz & Brazilian Music, they created an evening to remember as the summer closed in.
"A five-piece band that combines different jazz styles and rhythms from funk to South American. Edgar is a fantastic Venezuelan pianist and a great exponent of Latin jazz."
Family Food Workshop with Itzatna
12.00pm
Itzatna, local Mexican artist collective, taught us how to make affordable healthy food, inspired by Mexican cuisine and history - in their own creative and entertaining way!
Urban Sketchers Tim and Janet Griffiths as provided us with an introduction to urban sketching as a more social way of approaching art and the linking of art and music.
This workshop came with free entry to our, Fiesta In the Park with The Edgar Macías Quintet to give participants the opportunity to try out new found skills!
Salsa Dance Workshop
(supported by ABS Latin Promotions)
8.00pm
We learnt how to dance the night away in our favourite community hide out, The Moseley Hive.
This workshop is suitable for all levels of experience and will provide an introduction to salsa for real beginners.
Sunday 24th September
Wizard of Oz
Toy Making Workshop
12.30pm
Local artist Trevor Boddington led a junk-modelling, toy workshop making characters & scenes from the Wizard of Oz from recycled materials.
Wizard of Oz Drama Workshop
with The Playhouse
4.00pm
The Wizard of Oz
**Additional Performance Added due to high demand**
12.00 & 2:30pm
A theatre production for all the family with music inspired by Midlands artists including UB40, Ozzy Osbourne, The Streets and Nick Drake, this show was a truly magical celebration of the wonderful city we call home.
Local theatre in education company, The Play House, led a short drama workshop in the park.
Using drama exercises and chances to act out your favourite bits of the story - they explored responses to our new production of this well loved story!
Misfits Music, and South Asian Arts and Heritage Organisation led us through a fantastic introduction to South Asian singing.
Suitable for beginners!
Sunset Folk Farewell
with the Bonfire Radicals
6.00pm
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Folk Open Mic Night
hosted by Thorpe & Morrison
8.00pm
The Bonfire Radicals hosted our annual Sunset Folk Farewell as we said goodbye to Summer in a raucous celebration of rocking world folk music!
"A serious powerhouse of a performance ... foot-stomping and adrenalin-powered and came on like folk music played by ravers."
- The Artsdesk ★★★★
Thorpe & Morrison returned to host our new annual Folk Open Mic night!
Thorpe & Morrison are an enthusiastic, energetic traditional folk duo based in Birmingham. They have developed their reputation through playing at local folk clubs and look forward to the chance to offer that opportunity to other local musicians and enthusiasts.
Previous Festivals
Little but LIVE! was our hopeful response to the outbreak of COVID-19. In September 2020 we organised the first Little but LIVE! in Moseley Park - a small socially distanced outdoor festival. This featured a varied programme of events across one weekend, including Indian Dhol drumming, stand-up comedy, reggae, folk, and our own production of Romeo and Juliet.
We partnered with Sebastian Hicks, from Coventry University, who provided us with the beautiful Chapel of Many, a unique performance space made up of folding chairs. We were also gratefully supported by Moseley Together, a local community fund to support the recovery from COVID-19.
After the success of the first festival we returned in 2021, a little bit bigger and a little but better with a range from fantastic acts from BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year 2018, Xhosa Cole, to our own charming adaptation of The Wind in the Willows to a range of workshops targeted a families and young people.
In 2022 we were delighted to receive Arts Council funding for the first time to allow us to produce a new version of The Comedy of Errors and to provide a range of free workshops for families and adults!
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