I'M BEGINNING this post with a taste of the absurb because it feels on this dreary Thursday afternoon that we could do with some. First up, I received a little book of Edward Lear poetry through the post. It's been self-published by London-based cartoonist Zhenia Vasiliev - the text is out of copyright - and is really lovely. I was originally speaking to Zhenia about running some of his cartoons as a picture gallery for LiveRead - given Lear's links with Merseyside (he was employed by Knowsley Hall to draw Lord Derby's menagerie) - but they weren't ready in time. Perhaps we'll be able to do something with them next year instead but for now here is a suitably ridiculous limerick:

FRANKIE Goes to Hollywood singer-turned-artist Holly Johnson is one of more than 60 artists, musicians and writers to include a work in the Ghosts of Gone Birds exhibition - a project that aims to draw attention to the plight of our feathered friends.

Also involved are Sir Peter Blake; Rob Ryan; Gorillaz's Jamie Hewlett; Wallasey-born illustrator Ralph Steadman, who is most famous for his working partnership with US journalist Hunter S Thompson; wildlife artists Olly and Suzi; Charming Baker, who is collected by Damien Hirst; Pete Fowler, who designed the album artwork for Welsh band Super Furry Animals; Stuckist co-founder Billy Childish; and explorer Captain Scott's granddaughter Dafila Scott.

IT'S Light Night tonight - an annual one night only festival where cultural venues across Liverpool stay open until after dark and organise events and activities outside their usual programming.

I'm like a big kid when it comes to going into places at hours when you wouldn't normally be there - probably goes back to late nights in my school's drama studio painting Christmas trees and making paper flowers for our ambitiously dramatic shows - so I love this sort of event.

FINALLY, the show we've all been waiting for opened at the Everyman. Not only had David Morrissey returned to play one of theatre's greatest roles but it would be the last time we would sit in those funny orange seats and watch a homegrown production.

At the end of my review I'll post links to some others so you can compare our viewpoints. Please add your own in the comments section at the bottom. I'd love to read them...

BREATHS were bated in anticipation for this collision of moments in theatrical history - Liverpool Everyman's final major show, before it closes for demolition this summer, and the return of David Morrissey to the stage where he first discovered his passion, and aptitude, for his craft.

JUST a quick note to say The Bluecoat's artistic director Bryan Biggs is giving a guided tour of the building from 2-3pm on Saturday May 7, describing the damage suffered during the 1941 May Blitz.

He will also provide some background to the Bluecoat's artistic life in that period and the building's subsequent restoration, both post-war and more recently.

The tour starts in the Bluecoat Hub where there will be a small archive display about the event (open May 4-8, from 9.30am-6pm daily).

Tour is free, but places are limited, so you will need to book in advance.

SOME of the daring feats carried out by the cast of Swan Lake on Ice are so complex they haven't yet been named, we are told in the accompanying bumpf.

So expectations are higher than a butterfly jump for this to be an adrenaline-fuelled, daredevil version of the classic ballet.

WITH a brand spanking new studio to prepare in Phoenix Dance say from now on the only limit to their work will be their imaginations so this charismatic programme of four diverse pieces includes one centred around aerial movement, something the Leeds-based company has never done before.

Melt, by Phoenix's artistic director Sharon Watson, draws on the visual effect of elements colliding - the dancers shape-shifting to the primeval-meets-pop sounds of Mercury-nominated Wild Beasts as fire comes into contact with ice.

WHAT pressure Matthew Bourne must have felt devising a new version of Prokofiev's Cinderella ballet with the composer's son in the room sketching the dancers at work.

But he needn't have worried for while there are muses a plenty in this thrilling take on the rags to riches tale - 1940s films and real-life bombing raids among them - the original score remains the choreographer's most deeply felt inspiration.

Set during the London Blitz, the piece draws on the themes of loss, isolation and hurried romance to create an interpretation that enhances the fairytale qualities of the Cinderella story while embedding it in reality.

I SAW Tiny Volcanoes at Latitude last year when it was still a bit rough around the edges but showed real potential. It was a delight to see it polished and even more energetic at the Everyman tonight.

My review:

THOSE with a sensitive ear to strong language, an aversion to dodgy David Cameron impressions or with BNP membership should probably avoid Liverpool writer Laurence Wilson's latest concoction.

But if you're not flustered by swearing or adult themes and like to question your own beliefs as well as those of others then this Marmite play could be your show of the year.

TODAY's news that Jemma Redgrave will not be playing Lady Macbeth at the Everyman next month is a double whammy of disappointment for LDP Arts. Firstly because I will no longer get to see a Redgrave on the Liverpool stage and secondly because it means pulling my interview with the actor, which was due to run in tomorrow's paper.

She was a lovely person to meet and I wish her every luck in dealing with the "personal problems" she cited as her reason for quitting the play.

It may not be that relevant now but so it doesn't go to waste, here is the interview which should have run in tomorrow's Daily Post