Liverpool City Guide - Culture

Music, Dance and Theatre: The city has several top theatre venues in or close to Hope Street in the centre of town, including the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall (tel: (0151) 210 2895; website: www.liverpoolphil.com) and the Everyman and Playhouse theatres (tel: (0151) 708 3700; website: www.everymanplayhouse.com). Close to the main train station on Lime Street, Liverpool's Empire Theatre (tel: 0870 606 3536) is the largest two-tiered theatre in the UK. All have a packed year-round programme of theatre and dance productions. The Olympia (tel: (0151) 263 6633; website: www.liverpoololympia.com) on West Derby Road is one of the city's largest concert venues with an interior modelled on the Moscow Kirov Ballet. For more music info, see Nightlife.

Comedy: Comedy is another important part of the Liverpudlian identity and the city has produced famous comics as diverse as Jimmy Tarbuck and Paul O'Grady, otherwise known as Lilly Savage. Many of the bigger comedy acts perform in the large theatres but some of the city's up-and-coming talent can be caught at the Rawhide Comedy Club (tel: 0870 787 1866; website: www.royalcourtliverpool.co.uk/rawhide) located on Roe Street, close to Lime Street train station.

Film: For quieter nights, there is no shortage of cinemas in the city; for mainstream releases take your pick from the Odeon (tel: 0871 224 4007; www.odeon.co.uk) on London Road, or Cineworld (UGC) (tel: 0871 200 2000; website: www.cineworld.co.uk) on Montrose Way in the Edge Lane Retail Park slightly out of town. For art house releases, try the Picturehouse inside the city's excellent FACT (tel: 0870 758 3217; website: www.fact.co.uk), multi-media arts centre that is dedicated to film, art and creative technology.