What’s On

Current

Exhibitions

MK Calling 2024

22 June - 29 September 2024

To celebrate 25 years at the heart of Milton Keynes’ art and culture scene, we have partnered with five local community groups to co-curate this year’s open call summer exhibition.

From Free - £3

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Cinema

Kensuke’s Kingdom (PG)

13 - 14 September 2024

Young Michael, shipwrecked on a remote island, must adapt to life alone. Over time, he feels another presence, learning that this world is home to both unimaginable danger and beauty. A gripping animated adaptation of a beloved novel.

From Free - £9

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Cinema

Q:alliance Presents: Call Me By Your Name (15)

13 - 15 September 2024

In 1980s Italy, romance blossoms between a seventeen-year-old student and the older man hired as his father’s research assistant.

From Free - £9

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Cinema

Milk & Baby: Kensuke’s Kingdom (PG)

13 September 2024

Milk & Baby screenings are for guardians and babies under the age of 1 years old. An adult must be accompanied by a baby to attend. Each ticket also comes with a free tea or filter coffee available from the café. Supported by Milk & Beans, Milton Keynes’ first and only Specialty Coffee Roasters.

From £6 - £7

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Upcoming

Workshops

Drawing from Life Club: Portrait Drawing

16 January - 17 December 2024

Our monthly Drawing from Life Club invites you to draw from a live model alongside our associate artist Paul Berryman exploring the art of portraiture.

All skill levels are welcome but please note that these sessions are only lightly guided.

£15

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Workshops

Drawing from Life Club: Life Drawing

23 January - 26 November 2024

Our monthly Drawing from Life Club invites you to draw from a live model alongside our associate artist Paul Berryman exploring observational figurative drawing.

All skill levels are welcome but please note that these sessions are only lightly guided.

£20

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Learning

Maker Space: Artist Masterclasses for 11-14 Year-olds

21 February - 30 October 2024

Taking place over school holidays, Maker Space is a programme of artist masterclasses for 11–14 year-olds. Led by practicing artists, the workshops offer young people the opportunity to learn from the artists themselves, to experiment with different art forms, materials and mediums.

£25

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Exhibitions

MK Calling 2024

22 June - 29 September 2024

To celebrate 25 years at the heart of Milton Keynes’ art and culture scene, we have partnered with five local community groups to co-curate this year’s open call summer exhibition.

From Free - £3

Read more

Accessible Events

Relaxed Exhibition Viewing: MK Calling 2024

21 July - 15 September 2024

Our Relaxed Exhibition Viewings are quiet hours tailored to support visitors with neurodivergence, inclusive of communication or sensory needs, autism and learning disabilities.

From Free - £3

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Cinema

Kensuke’s Kingdom (PG)

13 - 14 September 2024

Young Michael, shipwrecked on a remote island, must adapt to life alone. Over time, he feels another presence, learning that this world is home to both unimaginable danger and beauty. A gripping animated adaptation of a beloved novel.

From Free - £9

Read more

Cinema

Q:alliance Presents: Call Me By Your Name (15)

13 - 15 September 2024

In 1980s Italy, romance blossoms between a seventeen-year-old student and the older man hired as his father’s research assistant.

From Free - £9

Read more

Cinema

NT Live: Prima Facie

14 - 17 September 2024

Jodie Comer, the Emmy and Bafta Award-winning star of TV’s Killing Eve as well as Free Guy and The Last Duel, makes her West End debut in the UK premiere of Suzie Miller’s award-winning play, Prima Facie which takes us to the heart of where emotion and experience collide with the rules of the game. Justin Martin directs this solo actor tour de force at the intimate Harold Pinter Theatre for a strictly limited season.

From Free - £19

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Cinema

Alien: Romulus (15)

14 - 18 September 2024

While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonists come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.

From Free - £9

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Cinema

RB&O: The Marriage of Figaro

15 September 2024

It’s Figaro’s wedding, and you’re invited to join the Almaviva household for an uproarious day of revelation and scandal. Mozart’s comic opera is packed with plot twists, forbidden desires and unforgettable melodies, combining laugh-out-loud comedy with moments of breathtaking beauty.

From Free - £19

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Cinema

Radical (12A)

18 September 2024

A teacher in a Mexican border town full of neglect, corruption, and violence, tries a radical new method to unlock their students’ curiosity, potential – and maybe even their genius.

From Free - £9

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Cinema

Black Dog (12A)

20 - 24 September 2024

Released from jail, Lang returns to his hometown in Northwest China. As part of a dog patrol tasked with clearing stray dogs before the 2008 Olympics, he bonds with a black stray. The two lonely souls embark on a new journey together.

From Free - £10

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Cinema

Only the River Flows (15)

20 - 22 September 2024

Chief police investigates a series of murders in a riverside town in rural China in the 1990s. An arrest is made quickly, clues push the policeman to dive deeper into the hidden behaviour of the locals.

From Free - £9

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Cinema

Milk & Baby: Between the Temples (15)

20 September 2024

Milk & Baby screenings are for guardians and babies under the age of 1 years old. An adult must be accompanied by a baby to attend. Each ticket also comes with a free tea or filter coffee available from the café. Supported by Milk & Beans, Milton Keynes’ first and only Specialty Coffee Roasters.

From £6 - £7

Read more

Cinema

Between the Temples (15)

21 - 24 September 2024

A cantor in a crisis of faith finds his world turned upside down when his grade school music teacher re-enters his life as his new adult Bat Mitzvah student.

From Free - £9

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Cinema

Miss Saigon (25th Anniversary Show)

22 September 2024

The epic love story tells the tragic tale of young bar girl Kim, orphaned by war, who falls in love with American GI Chris – but their lives are torn apart by the fall of Saigon. Shot in front of a live audience at the Prince Edward Theatre, this screening gives fans the chance to enjoy the spectacular, sell-out event that was Miss Saigon’s 25th anniversary performance.

From Free - £19

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Workshops

Art Club: Ages 5-8

24 September - 17 December 2024

Our Tuesday art sessions for children are returning this September, aimed at nurturing a love of creativity.

This term, the focus will be on developing drawing and painting techniques, inspired by our Autumn exhibition, Vanessa Bell: A World of Form and Colour, and led by artist Julia Roach.

Children will explore various approaches to portraiture, from figurative to abstract, while enhancing their drawing and painting skills.

£7.50

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Workshops

Art Club: Ages 8-11

24 September - 17 December 2024

Our Tuesday art sessions for children are returning this September, aimed at nurturing a love of creativity.

This term, the focus will be on developing drawing and painting techniques, inspired by our Autumn exhibition, Vanessa Bell: A World of Form and Colour, and led by artist Julia Roach.

Children will explore various approaches to portraiture, from figurative to abstract, while enhancing their drawing and painting skills.

£7.50

Read more

Cinema

Blink Twice (15)

27 September - 2 October 2024

When tech billionaire Slater King meets cocktail waitress Frida at his fundraising gala, he invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. As strange things start to happen, Frida questions her reality.

From Free - £9

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Cinema

Paul McCartney and Wings – One Hand Clapping

27 - 29 September 2024

Directed by David Litchfield, this film captured a moment when Paul McCartney and Wings had found and defined their signature sound. Filmed over four days at Abbey Road Studios in August 1974, the film provides an insight into the inner workings of the band as they work and play together in the studio.

From Free - £9

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Cinema

The Italian Job (55th Anniversary) (PG)

27 September - 1 October 2024

A comic caper movie about a plan to steal a gold shipment from the streets of Turin by creating a traffic jam.

From Free - £9

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Cinema

Sing Sing (15)

28 September - 2 October 2024

Divine G, imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he didn’t commit, finds purpose by acting in a theatre group alongside other incarcerated men in this story of resilience, humanity, and the transformative power of art.

From Free - £9

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Performances

Taking the Stage – Day 1

16 October 2024

Taking the Stage is back supporting and celebrating women playwrights. This is the third festival, and like the previous two festivals, there is an exciting lineup of new plays, discussions and talks.

From £10 - £12

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Performances

Taking the Stage – Day 2

17 October 2024

Taking the Stage is back supporting and celebrating women playwrights. This is the third festival, and like the previous two festivals, there is an exciting lineup of new plays, discussions and talks.

From £10 - £12

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Performances

Taking the Stage – Day 3

18 October 2024

Taking the Stage is back supporting and celebrating women playwrights. This is the third festival, and like the previous two festivals, there is an exciting lineup of new plays, discussions and talks.

From £10 - £12

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Exhibitions

Vanessa Bell: A World of Form and Colour

19 October 2024 - 23 February 2025

Vanessa Bell (1879–1961) was a pioneering modernist painter and founding member of the Bloomsbury Group, a circle of influential English artists, writers and intellectuals in the first half of the twentieth century. This exhibition – her largest-ever solo show – provides an in-depth overview that includes drawings, paintings, ceramics and furniture.

From Free - £11.50

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Performances

Taking the Stage – Day 4, Part 1

19 October 2024

Taking the Stage is back supporting and celebrating women playwrights. This is the third festival, and like the previous two festivals, there is an exciting lineup of new plays, discussions and talks.

£8

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Performances

Taking the Stage – Day 4, Part 2

19 October 2024

Taking the Stage is back supporting and celebrating women playwrights. This is the third festival, and like the previous two festivals, there is an exciting lineup of new plays, discussions and talks.

From £10 - £12

Read more

Talks

Taking the Stage – The Role of the Intimacy Co-ordinator

19 October 2024

Over the last few years the role of the Intimacy Co-ordinator has become increasingly important for stage and film. Ita O’ Brien has worked on many productions including  “Normal People”, “I May Destroy You” and more recently “We Live In Time” starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. Ita talks about her role and how she approaches a production and works with the actors.

£8

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Talks

Taking the Stage – Protecting Intellectual Property

19 October 2024

Lesley Gannon from The Writers’ Guild guides us through how copyright works, how playwrights can protect their work and how the Writers’ Guild can give advice and help at any time in your career.

£8

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Cinema

RB&O: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

20 October 2024

Tumble down the rabbit hole in this ballet adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s famous family story. Journey through Wonderland with Alice and encounter a host of curious characters in Christopher Wheeldon’s unique theatrical interpretation.

From Free - £19

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Performances

R.O.G.E.R Radio attempts Frankenstein

23 October 2024

SEE the horror classic Frankenstein as you’ve never HEARD it before!

Those cheeky chappies and lovely ladies of the “renowned ROGER Radio cast” are back and this time it’s DREADFUL!

Prepare to delve into the grim laboratory of Dr Frankenstein from the comfort of your theatre seat.

From £12.50 - £14.50

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Workshops

Form and Colour: Sip n Paint

25 October - 29 November 2024

Inspired by our Vanessa Bell: A World of Form and Colour exhibition, join us for a fun, creative watercolour workshop in our café. Whether you are a first-timer or have experience, local artist Liddy Parry of Something Less Boring will expertly guide and encourage you, offering tips and creative support. Our café bar will be open throughout the workshop serving hot and cold drinks so you can simply sip n paint.

£20

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Cinema

RB&O: Wolf Witch Giant Fairy

26 October 2024

Red Riding Hood is tasked with delivering bread to her Grandmother, deep in the heart of the fairy-tale forest. But en route, Red meets a cunning Wolf who tricks her into taking a different path. Along the way, Red stumbles into a colourful cast of characters, including a scary witch, a talking cat and a rather persuasive Peddler. Join our ragtag band of wild musicians as they guide all the family through this famous tale with new twists, turns, magic and song.

From £8 - £10

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Accessible Events

Relaxed Screening: RB&O: Wolf Witch Giant Fairy

27 October 2024

Relaxed Screenings have sensory-friendly adjustments which aim to reduce over-stimulation and create a relaxed and welcoming environment for those who might need it.

From £8 - £10

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Talks

Explore, Create, Play: IPA Autumn Symposium

1 November 2024

Celebrate six years of MK Gallery’s multi-award-winning Inclusive Practice in the Arts (IPA) programme through our Autumn Symposium.

This site-wide takeover of MK Gallery will showcase a diverse range of projects and partnerships through interactive practice-sharing and open discussions with participants, partners, artists and the IPA team. We invite anyone interested in inclusive practice to come along and join us, including gallery and museum practitioners, supported studios, artists, teachers, and parents/carers.

 

From £40 - £55

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Cinema

The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall

3 November 2024

The 25th anniversary of the first public performance of Phantom of the Opera was celebrated with a fully-staged, lavish production, set in the sumptuous Victorian splendour of the Royal Albert Hall. Starring Ramin Karimloo as The Phantom and Sierra Boggess as Christine, together with a cast and orchestra of over 200 and some special guest appearances.

From Free - £19

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Cinema

Exhibition on Screen: Van Gogh: Poets & Lovers

12 November 2024

200 years after its opening and a century after acquiring its first Van Gogh works, the National Gallery is hosting the UK’s biggest ever Van Gogh exhibition. Van Gogh is not only one of the most beloved artists of all time, but perhaps the most misunderstood.

This film is a chance to reexamine and better understand this iconic artist. Focusing on his unique creative process, Van Gogh: Poets & Lovers explores the artist’s years in the south of France, where he revolutionised his style. Van Gogh became consumed with a passion for storytelling in his art, turning the world around him into vibrant, idealised spaces and symbolic characters.

From Free - £9

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Cinema

Girl from the North Country

24 November 2024

Written and directed by celebrated playwright Conor McPherson and featuring Tony Award-winning orchestrations by Simon Hale, Girl From The North Country reimagines 20 legendary songs of Bob Dylan as they’ve never been heard before, including “Forever Young,” “All Along The Watchtower,” “Hurricane,” and “Like A Rolling Stone.”

It’s 1934 in Duluth, Minnesota. We meet a group of wayward travellers whose lives intersect in a guesthouse filled with music, life and hope. Experience this “profoundly beautiful” Broadway production (The New York Times) brought to vivid life by an extraordinary company of actors and musicians.

£10

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Workshops

Wreath-making Workshop

26 - 30 November 2024

Welcome the festive season by joining one of our Christmas wreath-making workshops. Hosted by an expert florist from Wilder Floral in Northampton, you will be guided through a step-by-step process to create a stunning wreath that you can take home and proudly hang on your front door.

£65

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Cinema

RB&O: Cinderella

15 December 2024

This Christmas, be transported into an ethereal world where a sprinkling of fairy dust makes dreams come true. This enchanting ballet by The Royal Ballet’s Founding Choreographer Frederick Ashton is a theatrical experience for all the family.

From Free - £19

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Cinema

RB&O: The Nutcracker

17 - 22 December 2024

Discover the enchantment of ballet with this sparkling festive treat for the whole family. Julia Trevelyan Oman’s period designs bring festive charm to Peter Wright’s beloved Royal Ballet production, as fairy tale magic comes together with spectacular dancing in this unforgettable classic ballet.

From Free - £19

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Workshops

Form and Colour: Hand Painting Ceramic Plates Workshop

18 January 2025

Create your own decorative plate inspired by the dinner service commissioned by Kenneth Clark and painted at Charleston by artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant.

£30

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Cinema

RB&O: The Tales of Hoffmann

19 January 2025

Four women: four curious love stories. Juan Diego Flórez leads a fantastic cast in Offenbach’s dream-like opera.

From Free - £19

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Workshops

Form and Colour: Lino Printing Workshop

1 February 2025

Whether it’s an introduction to printmaking or practising the print-making skills you already have, join artist Katie Allen for this one-day workshop inspired by the works of Vanessa Bell.

£55

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Cinema

Les Misérables: The Staged Concert Live (40th Anniversary)

2 February 2025

To mark the 40th anniversary of the world’s most popular musical, a unique opportunity to experience the spectacular staged concert version on the big screen featuring an all-star cast including Michael Ball, Alfie Boe, Carrie Hope Fletcher, Matt Lucas and John Owen Jones.

From Free - £19

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Cinema

RB&O: Swan Lake

2 March 2025

Classical ballet’s most powerful tale of love, treachery and forgiveness. Bringing together Tchaikovsky’s sensational score with the incredible imagination of choreographer Liam Scarlett and designer John Macfarlane, Swan Lake on the big screen will be an exceptional way to experience this ultimate ballet classic.

From Free - £19

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Cinema

Jesus Christ Superstar Live

4 March 2025

Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s rock classic Jesus Christ Superstar returns to its roots with this sensational performance filmed in the UK during the Live Arena Tour.

From Free - £19

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Cinema

Exhibition on Screen: Dawn of Impressionism: Paris, 1874

18 March 2025

The Impressionists are the most popular group in art history – millions flock every year to marvel at their masterpieces. But, to begin with, they were scorned, penniless outsiders. 1874 was the year that changed everything; the first Impressionists, “hungry for independence”, broke the mould by holding their own exhibition outside official channels.

From Free - £9

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Cinema

RB&O: Romeo & Julliet

23 March 2025

The greatest love story ever told – through ballet. An ancient family feud casts a long shadow over the town of Verona. In this hothouse of tension, brawls are quick to break out and both sides get caught in the crossfire.

From Free - £19

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Cinema

Billy Elliot the Musical Live (20th Anniversary)

30 March 2025

Based on the Academy Award nominated film, Billy Elliot the Musical has won the hearts of millions since it opened in London’s West End in 2005. Set in a northern mining town, against the background of the 1984/85 miners’ strike, Billy’s journey takes him out of the boxing ring and into a ballet class where he discovers a passion for dance that inspires his family and whole community and changes his life forever.

From Free - £19

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Cinema

RB&O: Turandot

6 April 2025

Puccini’s captivating opera of a cold-hearted princess and her mysterious suitor. Featuring the ever-popular ‘Nessun Dorma’, this opera of love and revenge is brought to life in a dazzling production.

From Free - £19

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Cinema

RB&O: Die Walküre

18 May 2025

Gods and mortals battle in the second chapter of Wagner’s Ring cycle. Conductor Antonio Pappano and director Barrie Kosky reunite to continue the mythical adventure that began with Das Rheingold in 2023.

From Free - £19

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Cinema

Exhibition on Screen: Michelangelo: Love and Death

20 May 2025

The spectacular sculptures and paintings of Michelangelo seem so familiar to us, but what do we really know about this Renaissance giant? Michelangelo’s genius is evident in everything he
touched. Beautiful and diverse works such as the towering statue of David, the moving Pietà in the Papal Basilica of St. Peter and his tour-de-force, the Sistine Chapel ceiling, still leave us breathless today.

From Free - £9

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Cinema

RB&O: Ballet to Broadway

25 May 2025

Sensuous contemporary ballet meets the energy of musical theatre in four distinctive short works. Fool’s Paradise, The Two of Us, Us, An American in Paris: four works showing the remarkable choreographic range of The Royal Ballet’s Artistic Associate, Christopher Wheeldon.

From Free - £19

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