Thousands heading to city for literature festival

Thousands are expected to flock to a West Midlands city to celebrate literature and the arts.

The ninth annual Wolverhampton Literature Festival began on Friday and runs until Sunday.

Dozens of events are being held across the city and the event promises a jam-packed schedule with something for all ages, say organisers.

"Really there is a wide range - from poetry, theatre, music... and really captivating what arts and culture means in the city," said Georgina Cheung, from Wolverhampton Art Gallery.

The event is running throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday with things to do across several cultural venues.

They include:

• Wolverhampton Art Gallery
• Bilston Town Hall
• Arena Theatre
• Newhampton Arts Centre
• Mander Centre
• Wolverhampton Central Library
• Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

"I think it's really great that Wolverhampton's such a creative city as well, with a really strong creative community," said Ms Cheung.

"Every year the city completely gets taken over by the festival.

"We have people coming from far and also within the city to the gallery, the arena and all our cultural venues to engage in literature, creativity and arts and culture."

There are some well-known names headlining the festival.

Comedian and actor Al Murray held a sold-out talk at Wolverhampton Art Gallery on Friday.

Other big names include author Abi Daré, the BBC's Ashley John-Baptiste, Jordan Stephens of Rizzle Kicks and comedian Shaparak Khorsandi - who will close the festival on Sunday evening.

There is a children and families programme at Wolverhampton Central Library, which is guest-curated by the Black British Book Festival.

Ms Cheung said there was something for everyone.

"We have poetry events running across the whole weekend, with open mics for people who might want to share their talents.

"We also have two pop-up events in the Mander Centre; one is live music – so it will be a few West Midlands artists celebrating lyricism in the West Midlands, which is happening on Saturday.

"On Sunday, we have a pop-up dance performance… in the centre of the Mander Centre, but we also have theatre performances as well."

Other events include improv theatre, a creative writing showcase and a murder mystery performance that encourages audience interaction.

Tickets are available on the Wolverhampton Literature Festival website or at Wolverhampton Art Gallery's box office.

"We have free events or pay-what-you-feel events, all the way up to general admission ticketed events as well," said Ms Cheung.

"If you want to just pop down and just see what's about, there's loads of free events that people can come to... the fringe room at the Arena [theatre] is actually first come serve, you can go and spend all day listening to different performances.

"There really is something for the family and everyone to come together to celebrate arts and culture."

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