Now Then

01/11/2024

Just *one day* to go until the acclaimed Fearless Cities summit lands in South Yorkshire for the first time, co-hosted by Opus who also publish Now then 🥳

Register for a free place 👉 fearlesscitiessy.org

31/10/2024

In two days time Opus Independents, which also publishes Now Then, welcomes the Fearless Cities summit to South Yorkshire and the UK for the first time ever 🎉

Have you reserved your free ticket to join us this weekend?

Check out the programme below, and then reserve a place 👉 fearlesscitiessy.org

31/10/2024

In this in-depth long read piece, Kathryn Schoon talks about the history, present and future of public transport with campaigner Matthew Topham and Mayor Oliver Coppard, and explores what people in South Yorkshire need from their bus and tram network.

In this long read, Kathryn Schoon explores what people in South Yorkshire need from their bus and tram network, and talks public transport with campaigner Matthew Topham and Mayor Oliver Coppard.

30/10/2024

⏰ This weekend Opus Independents, which also publishes Now Then, is bringing the internationally celebrated Fearless Cities to South Yorkshire for the first time.

🏘️ The summit will focus on reimagining our commons through neighbourhoods of care

⬇️Check out our exciting programme, or follow this link for detailed descriptions of each session.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vybCrr1J7d8hOISwxRdDv5EQ4SpZL0Vu/view

30/10/2024

The Enfield Poltergeist has real heart, with strong writing, stripped-back production and two great performances from Kiera Rhodes and Paul Voodini, writes Paul Szabo about the two-hander staged at The Lantern Theatre, Sheffield this week.

This short two-hander has real heart, with strong writing, stripped-back production and two great performances from Kiera Rhodes and Paul Voodini.

30/10/2024

"Wilson changed women's lives with his bill for women's rights. His legislation included allowing divorce on grounds of 'unreasonable behaviour/ – a game-changing law"

Was the Yorkshire-born son of a dye manufacturer the greatest Prime Minister this country has ever had? Alan Johnson thinks so.

29/10/2024

"This has taken around four years to complete – I wanted to make sure I covered all the musical, historical and political lenses I could"

Off the Shelf Festival Of Words

In his new book, the south London writer travels to communities across the UK and explores how they’re shaping and have been shaped by British rap music.

29/10/2024

Could the old John Lewis building become an ambitious new community space for public good?

That Looks Q***r ✍️

With a bit of imagination, this empty but protected building could be used for public good, whether that's a community-run cafe or as a new home for the city's art collection.

28/10/2024

Akeem Balogun reviews Low End Activist's new concept album about growing up on an Oxford council estate, and find that "despite municipal fantasies, things haven’t changed" ⬇️

Oxford’s Low End Activist documents his evocative and resilient history with patient realisation on Municipal Dreams.

25/10/2024

"The lyrical landscape of Wake The Dead is one evidently haunted by the ever-present spectre of mortality"

Boasting rousing refrains atop loping Latin rhythms, Chuck Prophet’s latest outing is an intoxicating concoction potent enough to wake the dead.

24/10/2024

The at-risk Salvation Army Citadel has finally been bought by Sheffield City Council from an out-of-town landlord. But what will the refurbished building actually be used for? 🤔

Sited right in the middle of the Heart of the City II development, the Grade II-listed building has been left abandoned for a quarter of a century and is in urgent need of repairs.

24/10/2024

"You get the impression that the group purposely try to downplay their musical depth and melodic sensibilities in favour of punch and attack"

The New York indie outfit stage a thrilling smash-and-grab raid, with 24 songs packed into an hour-long set.

24/10/2024

"Rising above the chaos is the sound of hundreds singing along to a back catalogue that includes songs about internet trolls, addiction, mental health and bin juice"

Hamish Yewdall caught Soft Play at The Octagon 🛑⬇️

After a triumphant Tramlines set, the raucous two-piece return to Sheffield with songs about mental health, addiction and bin juice.

23/10/2024

Social enterprise Food Works Sheffield is partnering with growers to improve 1,650 square metres of glasshouses in Graves Park with the goal of producing nature-friendly food for local people. Coordinator Maddy shares more detail in her own words.

Food Works is partnering with growers to improve 1,650 square metres of glasshouses in Graves Park with the goal of producing nature-friendly food for local people. Coordinator Maddy shares more detail in her own words.

22/10/2024

If Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis is ultimately about itself, it might be about its own failure to envision the future it wants to believe in, writes Patrick Ball in his less than complimentary review.

If Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis is ultimately about itself, it might be about its own failure to envision the future it wants to believe in.

22/10/2024

"It may be the most important and personal piece of work in her 15 year career so far"

Steve Hunting reviews Laura Marling's eighth album 'Patterns in Repeat', a love letter to the folk singer's new daughter ⬇️

Inspired by the birth of her actual daughter, Marling's marvellous new LP is the stunning follow-up to the figurative 2020 album Song For Our Daughter.

21/10/2024

The two-day participatory Fearless Cities conference hosted in Sheffield on 2 and 3 November will explore themes of neighbourhoods of care, municipalism, local democracy and the commons. Find out more 👇

The two-day participatory Fearless Cities conference hosted in Sheffield on 2 and 3 November will explore themes of neighbourhoods of care, municipalism, local democracy and the commons.

21/10/2024

"When Suella Braverman called pro-Palestinian anti-war protests "hate marches", she was really tagging everyone under the Muslim banner"

Sayeeda Warsi gave Off the Shelf Festival Of Words a damming account of the corrosive effects of Islamophobia within the Conservative Party ⬇️

Britain's first Muslim cabinet minister unapologetically challenges corrosive Islamophobia in her new book.

20/10/2024

Life Aquatic Band - L.A.B premiere their new video for 'You Can Do It!' in Now Then. Watch ⬇️

Sheffield-based five-piece Life Aquatic Band, or L.A.B. for short, are unapologetically party people…

19/10/2024

The Festival of Debate, the UK's biggest grassroots politics festival, is returning in 2025 for its tenth year 🎉

And we want to hear your ideas for exciting events that explore systems change and alternative futures.

The tenth year of the UK’s largest politics festival will explore systemic responses to the urgent problems we face, from inequality and racism to the democratic deficit and climate breakdown.

18/10/2024

Ahead of the opening on Tuesday, curator Shivaya Prasad shares some details about the Give Over exhibition at the Workstation, which includes commissioned photography, poetry and a comic book - "a small contribution to wider abolitionist and revolutionary narratives around racist media reporting and border abolition."

Give Over's free month-long exhibition at the Workstation will tackle racist reporting of immigration, featuring commissioned work by Sarah Lasoye, Nasha Cash and Wemmy Ogunyankin. Here are the details.

18/10/2024

"Saturday morning and I’m in the basement of Exchange Place Studios at Castlegate, which has been transformed into the bed of the River Sheaf" 🌊

Hamish Yewdall takes a trip into the unknown at this year's No Bounds Festival ⬇️

The seventh edition of the annual multi-venue get-together devoted to forward-thinking music and art is a celebration of Sheffield's underground.

16/10/2024

"Slowly but surely, Divorce have been building up a reputation both live and on record"

Steve Hunting caught Divorce showcasing their particular brand of "country and emo-esque indie" at Yellow Arch Studios ⬇️

It's Goldenhammer time, as Nottingham's finest deliver a tight set of country and emo-esque indie.

16/10/2024

🚨 New data seen exclusively by Now Then shows that The University of Sheffield have taken even more money from arms manufacturers than previously thought.

Totalling nearly £100m, this includes companies manufacturing weapons used by the Israeli military in the genocide in Gaza.

Investment from companies that manufacture weapons, some of which have been used in the genocide in Gaza, neared £100 million over the past 12 years.

16/10/2024

One of Sheffield's best-loved painters, Andy Cropper - artist, returns this week with a new solo exhibition at Gallery 24 on Snig Hill. Get a sneak peek at his new work and hear the story behind it in our monthly art feature.

One of Sheffield's best-loved painters returns this week with a new solo exhibition at Gallery 24. Get a sneak peek at his new work and hear the story behind it in our monthly art feature.