THEATRE
Tap Factory
7 February
St Albans Arena
After mesmerizing audiences across five continents with over 700 shows, Tap Factory returns to the UK with its 10th anniversary tour. Prepare to be captivated as eight extraordinary male performers deliver a sensational blend of dance, acrobatics, music, and comedy, creating a show that appeals to audiences of all ages. Brace yourself for an electrifying display of high-energy dance, explosive percussion, and jaw-dropping acrobatics, seamlessly woven together with live music here in Hertfordshire.
MUSIC
Giovanni
25 February
St Albans Arena
Dancer, choreographer and Strictly Come Dancing star, Giovanni Pernice, is back in 2024 for his brand-new live tour, Let Me Entertain You. A dancer on the hit BBC show since 2015, Giovanni is one of the most popular and successful professionals in the show’s history. The tour promises to showcase his exceptional talent, captivating energy, and dynamic dance moves, and will be his biggest and most spectacular show to date.
EXHIBITION
A Is For Armadillo
Until 4 February
Hertford Museum
Discover a world of animals – from extraordinary creatures to familiar friends – as Hertford Museum explores our relationship with animals, and how their image and characteristics have captured the imagination of artists and craftspeople for thousands of years. This is an exhibition that will capture the hearts and minds of both adults and children alike.
FILM
Next Goal Wins
6 February
The Odyssey
From New Zealand’s finest Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit, Hunt for the Wilderpeople), Next Goal Wins follows the American Samoa football team, infamous for their brutal 31-0 FIFA loss in 2001. With the World Cup Qualifiers approaching, the team hires down-on-his-luck maverick coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) hoping he will turn the world’s worst soccer team around in this heartfelt underdog comedy.
Manon
13 February
Watford Palace Theatre
Experience the passionate and tragic story of Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon live in cinemas in February 2024. Returning to the Royal Opera House Main Stage, this live cinema event will see the dramatic tale of love and loss broadcast to 976 cinemas in 21 countries across the world. Follow the story of the capricious Manon and experience the best of ballet up close through the stirring music by Jules Massenet and evocative designs by Nicholas Georgiadis that conjure up contrasting worlds both opulent and impoverished.
FAMILY
Kaleidoscope
28 February
Artsdepot
Day by day your world is filling up with colour, little one. Reds and blues, yellows and greens. Twinkling lights that glisten and gleam. Your reflection is staring back at you. Wide eyed and full of hope. Mirrors, lights, colours and sounds. The world is your Kaleidoscope. Inspired by research into how a baby’s sense of sight develops and how they instinctively begin to categorise colour, watch as a multi-coloured Kaleidoscope is brought to life for you and your baby.
Landmark stories
A unique exhibition opens this month with a special look at St Albans’ past
Becoming Us: African Caribbean St Albans, opening at St Albans Museum + Gallery on 16 February, will explore the role of the African Caribbean community in St Albans and celebrate its multifaceted contributions to the city over the past 80 years.
Co-curated by Leeannas Wish and Active Lifestyles, the free exhibition in the Keeper’s Galleries runs until 30 June 2024 with a view to ‘inspiring the next generation and encourage people from different backgrounds to embrace a shared history’.
The exhibition will focus on the period between 1948–1971, but will also refer to black St Albans residents before this time while celebrating achievements up to the present day. The main themes include; Windrush and Arrival, Working lives, Overcoming Adversity, African Caribbean Culture, Commercial Music and Celebrating Achievements.
To enable the museum to share the rich and diverse stories of local St Albans residents, a number of workshops were held where oral histories were captured and digital images and objects were identified for loan or donation, all helping to inform and shape the exhibition.
A range of immersive experiences will be offered including a reconstructed 1970s West Indian front room using original ornaments and furniture loaned from St Albans residents-
visitors will be invited to sit on the room’s sofa and listen to a curated playlist while filling in their own family tree through specially created charts. There will also be family activities, talks and a special portrait wall with photography by Stephanie Belton.
