| Hello, and welcome to "Focus on the Arts". |
| I'm your host - Dave Green - |
| and this is your very own local radio programme. |
| Every Friday evening we put the spotlight on different arts and culture facilities, |
| and look at the shows and events that are on offer in the coming week. |
| And today the focus is on The National Arts Centre. |
| Now, if you don't already know it yourself, |
| I'm sure you've all heard of it. |
| It's famous throughout the world as one of the major venues for classical music. |
| But did you know that it is actually much more than just a place to hear concerts? |
| The Centre itself is a huge complex that caters for a great range of arts. |
| Under a single roof it houses concert rooms, theatres, cinemas, art galleries |
| and a wonderful public library, |
| as well as service facilities including three restaurants and a bookshop. |
| So at any one time, the choice of entertainment there is simply enormous. |
| So, how did they manage to build such a big arts complex right in the heart of the city? |
| Well, the area was completely destroyed by bombs during the war in 1940. |
| So the opportunity was taken to create a cultural centre that would be... |
| what they called: 'The City's gift to the Nation'. |
| Of course, it took a while for such a big project to get started, |
| but it was planned in the 60s, built in the 70s |
| and eventually opened to the public in 1983. |
| Ever since then, it has proved to be a great success. |
| It is not privately owned, like many arts centres, |
| but is still in public hands - it's run by the City Council. |
| Both our National Symphony Orchestra and National Theater Company were involved in the planning of the project, |
| and they are now based there - giving regular performances every week - |
| and as the Centre is open 363 days of the year, |
| there are plenty of performances to choose from. |
| So, to give you some idea of what's on, |
| and to help you choose from the many possibilities, |
| we've made a selection of the star attractions. |
| If you're interested in classical music, |
| then we recommend you go along to the National on either Monday or Tuesday evening at 7.30 |
| for a spectacular production of 'The Magic Flute' - |
| probably the most popular of all Mozart's operas. |
| It's in the Garden Hall and tickets start at only £8, |
| but you'll have to be early if you want to get them that cheap! |
| And remember, it's only on for those two evenings. |
| For those more interested in the cinema, |
| you might like to see the new Canadian film |
| which is showing on Wednesday evening at 8 pm in Cinema 2. |
| And that's called 'Three Lives'. |
| It's had fantastic reviews |
| and tickets cost just £4.50, |
| which is a reduction on the usual price of £5.50. |
| So, it's really good value, especially for such a great movie. |
| But you can see the centre's main attraction at the weekend, |
| because on Saturday and Sunday, 11 am to 10 pm, |
| they're showing a wonderful new exhibition that hasn't been seen anywhere else in Europe yet. |
| It's a collection of Chinese Art called 'Faces of China' - that's in Gallery 1 - |
| and it has some really fascinating paintings and sculptures by leading artists from all over China - |
| and the good news is that it's completely free, so don't miss it! |
| So why not go along to the National Art Centre next week for one - or all - of these great events - |
| and you can always pick up a programme |
| and check out all the other performances and exhibitions on offer, or coming soon, |
| on almost every day of the year. |
| Next week, we'll be looking at the new Museum of Science... |