Fulham today pulled off a coup of a signing, with the transfer of former Real Madrid midfielder Mahamadou Diarra.

Diarra is joining on a short term deal, with an option to extend in the summer from AS Monaco. He has won La Liga twice and won Ligue 1 on four occasions. Diarra’s decision to make the move has furthered the belief that Fulham are showing their strength and their experience when dealing with ‘noisy neighbours.’

Although the ‘noisy neighbour’ tag handed to Premier Leagu..

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Fatal events and zany set-ups provide the foundation of Hotel Paradiso, a business run by an old Italian family.

Although primarily a comedy, the play has more than its fair share of darkness and black humour. German mask and mime company Famile Floz brought their brand of surreal, dark comedy to Leicester’s Curve and left people in debate and discussion over the events. Remarkable for a play that featured no spoken word in its 90 minutes.

Featuring a grandma, he..

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Dennis Kelly’s bleak view of teenage culture is given the Hull Truck makeover in thriller ‘DNA.’

Translated into 35 languages and now a set text on A-Level English Literature, the play is undoubtedly an influential part of literature with young people.

Dubbed ‘The Lord of The Flies’ acted out by a Skins cast, DNA shows the group dynamics between eight young people and what tactics they will use to get to their own fundamentally selfish ends.

We are shown the aftermath of an ..

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London based and Coventry born Ghostpoet performed his Mercury award nominated album to an eager crowd at Leicester’s Sumo.

I honestly came in with slightly low expectations when I heard he was headlining a lively Friday night show; debut album ‘ Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam’ is quite low-key in the vein of Gil-Scott-Heron and The Streets. Despite preconceived ideas of what his show would entail, I was pleasantly surprised.

Support act Alt-J (∆) have received a lot of hype..

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Howler- Bodega Social Club. Nottingham.

Much hyped ‘saviours of rock n roll’ Howler continued their tour of the UK with a tight and fun performance of their debut album ‘America, Give Up’.

A small, cosy club with a student friendly happy hour from 4pm-9pm was a great venue for the indie rockers as they swept through material such as ‘Beach Sluts’ £2 pints at the bar ensured that the crowd were well fired up for their sunny and bouncy set.

Howlers debut album has received ..

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Arsenal will be spluttering. Chelsea will be in disbelief. Real Madrid will be shocked.

Young Belgium playmaker Eden Hazard announced his intention to join the renaissance at Spurs under Harry Redknapp and, in my opinion, there’s no place better for him.

He told Belgium TV station RTBF: “I will go to England to play my football. It could well be Tottenham; they are a great English club.”

Spurs’ attacking and free flowing football will suit the Belgium’s style of play and he ..

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Simon Munnery is a man who brings his unique brand of musical and stand-up comedy to enthralled audiences. He performed at the Mighty Boosh festival, and has initiated acts such as God & Jesus, Alan Parker: Urban Warrior, and The League Against Tedium into the booming alternative scene in the 80’s. Munnery has never cracked the mainstream (some say he wouldn’t want to) yet has secured respect from his peers through his defiant, absurd, and often very funny comedy.

This month he brings his..

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Photo courtesy of Johan Persson.

There are messed up and confused families everywhere. However, the one portrayed by Paul Kerryson and his creative team of Sam Shepard’s Pulitzer prize winning Buried Child is darker and more twisted than most could ever imagine.

Olivier award winning Matthew Kelly plays Dodge, a lonely, alcoholic, immature man who “sits there festering on the sofa” according to his harsh and uncompassionate wife Halie (Jane Lowe.)

Dodge is meant to be the head o..

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Photo credited by Simon Banham

Manchester’s Quarantine theatre company enjoyed a 3 day stint at Curve, displaying their most recent work of an 11-year career. However, I didn’t enjoy it as much as they seemed to.

I had high hopes for this production, having read a four star review in the Guardian the day before.

Basically it was theatre turned on its head, but instead of the Memento or Inception adaptation I was expecting, it was a muddled, dull and strange piece.

I witnesse..

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Marilynn Ricci and Alice Nicholas debut plays Extract I and Extract II at the Momentum festival at Curve this October. The plays focus on inner city life and the problems that come along with it and life abroad in Somalia and the civil war struggles, drawing a parallel between the two seemingly vast realities.

Do you write from personal experience in your plays?

MR: My most recent play The Road to Baardheere is about a Somali family in the civil war which wasn’t written from my own life e..

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