Don't miss the UK's biggest museum festival. In this Jubilee year it is a celebration of Britain's diverse, fascinating and unusual heritage. Museums at Night 2012 starts on Friday 18th May and sees over 450 venues stay open late across the weekend and host special events. Visit www.museumsatnight.co.uk for all details.

On the menu; cake ‘bake offs', traditional pints, ‘live' taxidermy, a world record attempt to ‘float' Brunel's SS Great Britain on the world's biggest, lime scented jelly, sleepovers in haunted houses and Royal castles, nightclubs in museums run by artists, exclusive steam train rides through working steel mines, iconic photographers, whole city celebrations, Medieval garrisons, secret gardens, world war 2 bunkers, award winning authors, ghost tours, bat safaris, re-enactments, RAF cockpits, restored treasures, protesters and much, much more.

Available for interview about the event are: Lauren Laverne (BBC Radio 6 Music/ C4 Culture Show), Terry O'Neill (photographer), Polly Morgan (celebrated taxidermist), Bompas and Parr (Jellymongers), Simon Roberts (award-winning election photographer) and organisers of the event. Don't miss it - do something different with your weekend. For details of all venues, events and activities visit www.museumsatnight.org.uk, where listings information will be updated right up until the weekend itself.

1. Museums at Night is the annual after-hours celebration of arts, culture and heritage when hundreds of museums, galleries, libraries, archives and heritage sites open their doors for special evening events. It takes place over the weekend of Friday 18^th - Sunday 20^th May 2012. www.museumsatnight.org.uk

2. Culture24 is a non-profit cultural publishing organisation supporting arts and heritage venues to reach audiences across digital platforms. We collect and share cultural data, publish websites, run the national Museums at Night campaign and lead action research projects. www.WeAreCulture24.org.uk

3. Arts Council England champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people's lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries - from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2011 and 2015, we will invest £1.4 billion of public money from government and an estimated £0.85 billion from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk

4. Love Art London is the leading independent arts club in London, providing its members with exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the art world. Every month Love Art London creates 4 unique pop-up events at galleries, studios and places of cultural interest, each of which are led by artists, curators, critics and those in the know. www.loveartlondon.com

5. The Historic Houses Association represents 1500 privately owned historic houses, castles and gardens throughout the UK. These are listed buildings or designated gardens, usually Grade I or II, and are often outstanding. www.hha.org.uk

6. The Arts Marketing Association is open to all arts professionals involved in bringing the arts and audiences together. The AMA has an active and diverse membership of over 1900 who regularly participate in professional development opportunities to improve their working practices. www.a-m-a.org.uk

7. The National Trust is a charity with a statutory duty to preserve places across England, Wales and Northern Ireland 'of historic interest and natural beauty for the benefit of the nation'. As Europe's largest conservation charity we protect over 350 historic houses, 160 gardens, 1,100 kilometres of coastline, 254,000 hectares of land of outstanding natural beauty, six World Heritage Sites, 28 castles and 60 pubs - and give access to them for people to enjoy. The Trust has around 4m members and 61,000 volunteers. Find out more at: www.nationaltrust.org.uk

8. English Heritage is the Government's advisor for the historic environment. We provide advice on how best to conserve England's heritage for the benefit of everyone. Most of England's heritage is in private hands. We work with landowners, commerce and industry, planners and developers, national, regional and local government, the Third Sector and local communities to help them conserve the historic environment. We promote public knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of our heritage. We are also entrusted with the custodianship of some of the most important monuments of human history - such as Stonehenge and Hadrian's Wall. For further information about our work, please visitwww.english-heritage.org.uk

Following his critically acclaimed performance in Arthur Miller’s All My Sons at the Apollo Theatre in 2010, David Suchet returns in Eugene O’Neill’s masterpiece. Long Day’s Journey into Night. Set in 1912, the story is a compelling family drama between James Tyrone (David Suchet), Mary Tyrone and their sons, Jamie and Edmund during a long summer’s day.

This multi-award winning play is one of the great David Suchet returns to the West End stage in Eugene O’Neill’s Pulitzer prize-winning masterpiece, Long Day’s Journey Into Nightfollowing his critically acclaimed performance in Arthur Miller’s All My Sons last year. Directed by award-winning director Anthony Page, Eugene O’Neill’s semi autobiographical play paints a powerful portrait of a family tormented by the past and paralysed by its own personal demons. Set in 1912, the story is a compelling family drama between James Tyrone (David Suchet), Mary Tyrone (Laurie Metcalf) and their sons, Jamie (Trevor White) and Edmund (Kyle Soller) during a long summer’s day. This multi-award winning play is one of the greatest American plays written in the twentieth century.

David Suchet is one of Britain’s most respected actors on stage, screen and television.Best known for his role as the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in Agatha Christie’s Poirot his other television work includes the award-winning BBC drama Maxwell for which he won Best Actor International Emmy Award in 2008, The Life of Freud, Victoria and Albert, Murder in Mind, Anthony Trollope’s The Way We Live Now (BAFTA nomination). Suchet’s film credits include Executive Decision, A Perfect Murder, Flood and The Bank.

Aside from his television and film work, David has also worked extensively in theatre.

His recent stage credits include All My Sons (Best Actor What’sOnStage.com Awards, Evening Standard Theatre Awards nomination and Olivier Award nomination), Complicit (The Old Vic), Once in a Lifetime (National Theatre),The Last Confession (Theatre Royal Haymarket) and the Royal Shakespeare Company productions of Troilus and Cressida, The Tempest and Othello. Other credits include Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Critic's Circle Award), Separation (Olivier Award nomination), Oleanna and Amadeus (Best Actor, Royal Variety Club Award, Tony nomination on Broadway and Olivier Award nomination).

Laurie Metcalf is widely known for her performance as Jackie Harris on the ABC sitcom Roseanne for which she is a 3 time Emmy Award Winner.

Her other television work includes The Big Bang Theory, Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy. Metcalf’s film credits include the well known voice of Andy’s Mum throughout Pixar’s Toy Story Trilogy as well as appearances in Scream 2 and Desperately Seeking Susan. She has also won numerous awards for her performances on Broadway including The Other Place (Obie Award, Lucille Lortel Award), A Lie Of The Mind (Obie Award), November (Tony Award Nomination) and Balm In Gilead (Joseph Jefferson and Obie Award Winner)

royalalberthall.

The 26 World, European and National Championship skaters, who between them hold more than 250 competition medals, take contemporary ice dance to a new level with their awe-inspiring and agile feats, some of which are so complex they haven’t yet been named.

Leading ice choreographer Tony Mercer combines daring high-speed leaps, throws and lifts with the most graceful and sublime ice dancing, performed on a specially-created frozen stage.

With Tchaikovsky’s glorious and memorable music performed by a live orchestra, this innovative portrayal of the classic love story and the triumph of good over evil will take your breath away.

This never-seen-before performance, specially adapted for the magnificent setting of the Royal Albert Hall, will feature sumptuous costumes, stunning projection, and magical special effects.

Over the last eight years, The Imperial Ice Stars have built up a worldwide following and established an unrivalled reputation for their sophisticated interpretations of classic works, receiving nightly standing ovations and outstanding reviews from Sydney to Singapore and Cape Town to Tokyo. This adrenaline-rich Swan Lake on Ice will bring you to the very edge of your seat...

SELECT A DATE

Royal Albert Hall event   Due to overwhelming demand the hugely popular TOTEM returns to the Hall in 2012. Tens of thousands were blown away by the record breaking run of shows in 2011 in which the mesmerising Cirque du Soleil displayed a fascinating journey into the evolution of mankind. Inspired by founding myths, this spectacular production traces the journey of the human species from its original amphibian state to its ultimate desire to fly.

A marvelous idea began to take shape in the early 1980’s in Baie-Saint-Paul, a charming village nestled on the north shore of the St-Lawrence River, east of Quebec City. Les Échassiers de Baie-Saint-Paul (‘The Stiltwalkers of Baie-Saint-Paul’), a theatre troupe founded by Gilles Ste-Croix, walked on stilts, juggled, danced, breathed fire and played music. These young entertainers, among whom was Cirque du Soleil-founder Guy Laliberté, constantly impressed and intrigued Baie-Saint-Paul’s residents

In 1984, during Quebec’s 450th anniversary celebrations of Jacques Cartier’s discovery of Canada, the province sought an event which would bring the festivities to all Quebecers. Guy Laliberté convinced organisers the answer was a provincial tour of Cirque du Soleil performers and it hasn’t stopped since!
From then on, Cirque du Soleil tale is that of a remarkable bond between artists and spectators from around the world. And it is the latter who feed the sacred fire of Cirque du Soleil.

Cirque du Soleil is a Quebec based company recognized the world over for high-quality, artistic entertainment. Since its dawn in 1984, Cirque du Soleil has constantly sought to evoke the imagination, invoke the senses and provoke the emotions of people around the world.
In 1984, 73 people worked for Cirque du Soleil. Today, the business has  5,000 employees worldwide, including more than 1,300 artists.At the Montreal International Headquarters alone, there are close to 2,000 employees.More than 100 types of occupations can be found at Cirque.The company’s employees and artists represent more than 50 nationalities and speak 25 different languages.More than 100 million spectators have seen a Cirque du Soleil show since 1984.Close to 15 million people will see a Cirque du Soleil show in 2012. Cirque du Soleil hasn’t received any grants from the public or private sectors since 1992

Ever since Cirque du Soleil had the resources to pursue its dreams and perform around the world, it chose to become involved in communities, particularly troubled youths. Concerned with the future, Cirque du Soleil turned its attention and resources to global issues, such as the fight against poverty. Working together with valued partners, Cirque du Soleil is making a difference in nearly 80 communities, in over 20 countries on five continents

Cirque du Soleil wants above all to take its place in society as a good citizen, with all the duties and responsibilities that go with citizenship. Beyond philanthropic gestures, good citizenship consists of an attitude of social responsibility at the very heart of all our business strategies and management.

Show schedules:

15.00 shows        15.30 shows         19.30 shows         20.00 shows
Doors: 14.15          Doors: 14.45          Doors: 18.45          Doors: 19.15
Show: 15.00           Show: 15.30           Show: 19.30          Show: 20.00
Ends: 17.30            Ends: 18.00            Ends: 22.00           Ends: 22.30