Live at Bluecoat Explore our Collections
Performing arts have been central to Bluecoat since the early 20th century. Then, breakaway art school group, the Sandon Studios Society, and its supporters who established the building as an arts centre, staged concerts and plays, as well as cabarets and parties, at which there was live entertainment. The Sandon's music and drama groups were active for many years, and its dining room hosted visits from many illustrious composers, including Stravinsky, Holst, Bartok, and musicians, actors and choreographers like Kathleen Ferrier, George Balanchine, Margot Fonteyn and Laurence Olivier. The Concert Hall upstairs was the location for many memorable performances, and this collection gives a snapshot of some of them.
There is very little documentation of events until the 1980s, so the main focus here is on that and subsequent decades, when the programme became increasingly eclectic and adventurous, moving beyond the building to other sites and venues in the city. This reflected Bluecoat’s embrace of more experimental work, particularly in the field of live art and, along with its visual arts profile, its growing reputation as a multi-art form arts centre.
There are hundreds more performance images in our archive, which will become available on this website as we develop our collections. You can also search our season brochures, all of which, from the early 1980s to the present, are included here. These list the many performances that have taken place here, including classical, jazz, folk, experimental and global music, poetry and literature, theatre, live art and other performances.
Image: Elin Strand live art performance, Speaking Bernina, in the Concert Hall during the exhibition, Veil (2003).

1920
Sandon cabaret design by George Harris

1965
Liverpool Mozart Orchestra rehearsing at Bluecoat

1967
Yoko Ono event at Bluecoat

1990
Urban Strawberry Lunch performance

1985
Summer Dance '85 Brochure

1987
Phil Hughes and Bob Connolly, Executive Golf

1988
Peter McRae, Avenue of Heroes, St. George's Plateau

1988
TEA, Baggages performance

1989
Keith Khan, Soucouyan performance

1989
Robin Blackledge performance

1990
Sun Ra and his Cosmic Love Arkestra at Bluecoat

1990
Lily Savage at the Liverpool Comedy Festival

1992
Delta Streete, gallery performance

1993
Jazz Poetry Conversation event poster

1995
Nina Edge, Sold Down the River

1996
Euro 96 Football Fashion Show in the Bluecoat courtyard

1996
Jane Sanders, Elvis Evils Lives

1997
Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, Doing it for the kids

1997
Jeremy Deller, Acid Brass

1997
Rona Lee, Autonomous

1999
Max Factory, offsite performance

2002
Cai Yuan and JJ Xi performance

2004
Grace Surman, White

2004
Amanda Coogan, Beethoven the Headbangers

2005
He-Chengyao, offsite performance

2008
Richard DeDomenici, Bored of Shopping, Liverpool One

2006
Philip Jeck performance, Shanghai Biennale

2006
Marcus Young performance, Church Street, Liverpool

2009
Reverend Billy & The Church of Stop Shopping at Bluecoat

2009
Janek Schaefer performance

2009
Tom Smith, Music For Sleeping

2009
Angie Hiesl, TWINS – how do I know I am me ...

2009
Angie Hiesl Produktion: The making of TWINS - how do I know I am me, 2009

2010
Bed in at the Bluecoat, with Chuck Perkins

2011
Rhys Chatham performance

1965
Sandon Sound LP

1967
Mark Boyle event, 1967

1981
Sounds Scintillating Brochure, 1981-82

1980
Schools music workshop in the Concert Hall

2003
Elin Strand, Speaking Bernina performance

1980
Unknown dance performance

1990
Unknown youth dance performance

2004
Liverpool Arab Arts Festival at Bluecoat

2017
Poster for Captain Beefheart Weekend

2008