Guided Search: Arts and Culture, British

A new Harry Potter-themed event will come to the city. PotterCon Philly invites adult fans to mingle, drink and play pretend at the Theatre of Living Arts on May 14.

Spine is a funny and touching love song to libraries, an increasingly endangered species under Britain’s austerity government. It is also a galvanizing manifesto on reading and learning by Amy, a frustrated teenager from South London. Thanks to a strong-willed old woman and a house full of stolen books, Amy begins to learn how to chart her own course. Directed by Claire Moyer.

Join Danny Lopez, British Consul General in New York and Director General of UK Trade and Investment in the United States. About the Embassy Series: The World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia and the Consular Corps Association of Philadelphia are pleased to present the 2015 Embassy Series, a program that will bring to Philadelphia senior international diplomats and experts for an informal evening of building new relationships and sharing business opportunities and practices, the culture and cuisine of countries around the world. 

The Free Library of Philadelphia, in partnership with The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre and numerous other cultural organizations from around the region, is excited to present the Year of the Bard: Shakespeare at 450—a year packed full of engaging, enlightening, and entertaining programs and events designed to celebrate Shakespeare in all his classic and modern incarnations.

His debut album One Chance sold over three and a half million albums, rocketed to the number one spot in 15 countries (including the UK, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong and Mexico) and stormed to the top 10 in a further eight.

In the UK, his album outsold the entire top 10 collectively in its first week. January 2008 saw him embark on a world tour with 55 dates but as his popularity soared more dates were added and he completed over 100 sell out shows in concert halls, arenas and stadiums around the globe.

The distinctive sound of Libera has travelled the world in the last few years. The group's albums have topped both mainstream and classical charts in many countries, and their recordings hold their place in top-tens alongside major artists like Bocelli.

The One Book, One Philadelphia Selection Committee chose the recent National Book Award finalist, The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers for its 2014 selection. Winner of the 2013 PEN/Hemingway Award for First Fiction and a finalist for the 2012 National Book Award, The Yellow Birds has been compared to Tim O’Brien’s classic war novel, The Things They Carried, for its powerful depiction of the truth and tragedy of war.

In his dedication to the First Folio Ben Jonson writes of his fellow playwright, “He was not of an age, but for all time.” Shakespeare embodied the Elizabethan age in his plays yet reached back to classical themes and stories. He employed the English language like no other, and his comedies, histories, and tragedies continue to be read, performed, and celebrated today. This exhibition, in honor of the 450th birthday of The Bard, will feature Shakespeare's First Folio—one of the rarest books in existence—as well as the second, third, and fourth. It will also include editions of his plays, many beautifully illustrated, over the course of four centuries.