Fierce Festival, Birmingham
If a to-scale recreation of the UN general assembly populated by 57 dachshunds sounds like your idea of fun, then look no further than this programme of live art and performance, taking in theatres, galleries, clubs, warehouses and car parks in Birmingham running over the next 10 days. The artist Bennett Miller's Dachshund UN, featuring the aforementioned dogs, will be installed outside the Ikon Gallery at 1pm on 31 March, as one of the quirkier highlights of a schedule that also includes several appearances from acclaimed theatre collective Uninvited Guests; an art installation inviting the intrepid to gaze up at the smog-stained underbelly of Spaghetti Junction; and the chance to participate in former Pogue Jem Finer's Mobile Sinfonia, scored for a chorus of mobile ringtones.
• Venues across Birmingham, 29 March – 8 April. Full details and tickets: wearefierce.org
Peter and the Wolf Live, London
Some of us may remember the gravel-voiced Peter Ustinov bringing the instruments of the orchestra alive as the narrator in Prokofiev's charming children's tale, in which a duck becomes an oboe and a cat slinks around to the sound of a clarinet. On Easter Sunday and Monday, actor Mackenzie Crook – of The Office and Pirates of the Caribbean fame – will be doing the same for a younger generation, performing alongside the hotly tipped young Aurora Orchestra as they make their season debut at London's Southbank Centre. There are four performances, at 2pm and 4pm each day, and they're suitable for all ages - though the ticketing website warns that younger children may find some scenes scary.
• 8 and 9 April, Royal Festival Hall, London. Details and tickets: southbankcentre.co.uk
The Gospel of Us, Port Talbot
Last Easter, renowned actor Michael Sheen returned to his home town, Port Talbot, to play the Christ-like figure of the Teacher in an acclaimed community Passion play, produced by National Theatre Wales and Cornwall-based theatre company WildWorks. Graphic artist and film maker Dave McKean caught the performance, and now, one year on, presents his feature-length film version, The Gospel of Us. The film premiere will take place at the Apollo Cinema in Port Talbot on Easter Sunday, followed by a Q&A session with both Sheen and McKean; there will be additional screenings on Easter Monday, while a multimedia "memory exhibition" commemorating the show will run throughout Easter week at the Aberafan shopping centre.
• Book tickets for the film screenings at apollocinemas.com. More information about all events at community.nationaltheatrewales.org, Gospel of Us sreening on 8 April, 8pm; Memory Exhibition 6-8 April
Barnsley Acoustic Roots Festival
This three-day festival, now in its third year, aims to bring the best acoustic roots acts from Europe and North America to South Yorkshire every Easter. Among the diverse musicians on this year's roster are the London Philharmonic Skiffle Orchestra, who come complete with ukulele, wash-board, and zany costumes; English folk band Brass Monkey, featuring seminal folkster Martin Carthy; and Canadian singer and guitarist Miss Quincy. All concerts will take place at Kingstone School; tickets are available from the Barnsley Civic.
• Kingstone School, Barnsley, 6-8 April. Details: barnsleyacoustic.co.uk
Tagore Festival, Dartington
Dartington Hall occupies a 1,200-acre site near Totnes in south Devon, and is home to a trust that aims to promote social justice, sustainability and the arts. It runs a year-round programme of cinema and live arts, encompassing festivals such as this Easter celebration of British and Indian music, dance, film, visual arts and the spoken word, which returns for a second time this year. At its heart is the memory of the late Nobel Prize-winning Indian-Bengali poet, artist and polymath Rabindranath Tagore; among the contemporary musicians paying tribute to his philosophy of simplicity, moderation and harmony are the superb jazz clarinettist Arun Ghosh, and the jazz fusion sibling duo Idris and Zoe Rahman. There will also be workshops on kathak dance and gamelan, and a performance by the Edinburgh-based Puppet State Theatre Company.
• Dartington Hall, 6-9 April. Full details and tickets: dartington-hall.org
