BEFORE I launch into my review I'd like to share a couple of things in Tim Rice's biography in the Joseph programme that amused me. Somehow he manages to list all is many accomplishments while being so self-depricating that it comes out as modest - "He has won a variety of awards, mainly for the wrong things or just for turning up" it says about his three Oscars, four Tonys, 13 Ivor Novellos and Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Anyway, here's my review...

I WAS lucky enough to go Paris with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra last weekend - they're on tour in Europe at the moment playing seven concerts in seven different cities over seven days. I've written a feature about their tour here if you want to find out more.

Their performance of Tchaikovsky's Manfred was astounding - I sat bolt upright despite my 4am start as they played it at the Theatre de Champs Elysees. It's being repeated at the Philharmonic Hall on Sunday and is on this recording if you can't make it to the concert but would still like to listen.

A COUPLE of events that are worth looking out for this week:

First up photographer Zoe Richards is giving a talk on fashion through the ages with special reference to paintings and sculpture in The Walker's collection. It's at 1pm. Places are free of charge but limited so book ahead on 0151 794 6900.

GREAT news that Liverpool Discovers has been expanded until May 8 - although some of the sculptures will be taken down from March 28. Keep checking the public art trail's websites for updates.

ON MONDAY, David Morrissey and Jemma Redgrave had the uneviable task of talking about a show they have not rehearsed. It is of course Macbeth at the Liverpool Everyman - Morrissey's grand return to the stage where he started his acting career 30 years.

For Redgrave, it's also an emotional experience as her grandparents - the wonderful Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson - met and became engaged at the Liverpool Playhouse in the 1930s. It was his first professional job - the Playhouse offered him more pay than the Old Vic.

A TYPICAL Friday night out in Liverpool - you leave the house feeling a million dollars and return your own poor relation. And that's how it is for the motley crew in Dead Heavy Fantastic as they lurch their way from tentative first drinks to apocalyptic sunrise sure in the knowledge that they're pretty likely to do it all again next week.

Blood Brothers favourite Con O'Neill returns to the Liverpool stage for the first time in more than 20 years as Vince, the compelling borderline sociopath who's great for a pint but you wouldn't want him living next door.

IF YOU'RE looking for a peaceful way of protesting against government arts funding cuts then you could get yourself along to Theatre Uncut's Liverpool event at the Everyman on Saturday evening.

Part of the national event, Drawlight Productions is presenting new work at a free showcase. Rehearsed readings by actors from across the region will take place at 10pm, after the evening performance of Dead Heavy Fantastic, the Everyman's current show.
Writers Mark Ravenhill, Dennis Kelly and Lucy Kirkwood have all donated their work rights free for the event.

STEPHEN KING's amazing images of Lewis's hidden fifth floor, which were displayed at the National Conservation Centre in 2009, are going on display at the Orange Dot Gallery in Bloomsbury, London. They give a snapshot of a lost way of life - when shopping was an real experience rather than a push and shove contest.

He records the beautiful old-fashioned lifts, hair salons complete with those funny space-age bubble hairdryers and a room filled with pink Christmas trees. It's deliciously kitsch and leaves you nostalgic for an era beyond your own lifetime.

As the Liverpool department store is now closed, these photographs have become even more historically significant - a rare snapshot of a proud shopping emporium that kept its doors open for 150 years despite Luftwaffe bombings, radically changing lifestyles and tough trading conditions.

Lewis's Fifth Floor: A Department Story runs from March 18 to April 23, 2011.

OVER the last forty years and without fanfare, David Lewis has assembled a rather impressive private collection of European art from the 16th century onwards. The Schorr Collection numbers over 400 paintings and many have been loaned anonymously to museums and galleries across the UK. Now for the first time, an exhibition of 64 paintings at the Walker Art Gallery brings together highlights of the collection publicly.

The collection has developed according to somewhat unusual criteria. A potential purchase must meet two out of three characteristics: aesthetic appeal, emotional impact and intellectual fascination or historical interest. This seems an intensely personal approach to collecting; Lewis appears to be the anti-Saatchi and has no wish to become a celebrity collector.

THIS amazing image is part of an exhibition of rare photographs depicting the influence of Italian style on film opening at FACT today.

Co-curated by celebrated photographer Rankin and fashion commentator Anna Battista, the exhibition will explore the relationship between Italian fashion design and its continual influence on film making, image making and characterisation.