Chapel Hill
Actors from the London Stage: Much Ado About Nothing
Gerrard Hall, UNC CampusEveryone knows British people make everything better. Pop music, serialized television, food … OK, maybe not food. But the London stage represents one of the pinnacles of the theater, particularly when it comes to the works of William Shakespeare. To show us how it’s done, five actors from such troupes as the Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre perform the Bard’s classic Much Ado About Nothing in a special minimalist production at UNC-Chapel Hill. In addition to the production, the actors will host a weeklong residency of classes and workshops on campus. Tickets for the show are $18 for the general public and $10 for students and faculty. For more information, visit www.carolinaperformingarts.org; for residency information, contact Ritchie Kendall, UNC associate professor of English, at rkendall@email.unc.edu. Zack Smith

Trianglewide
Valentine’s Day Bands
Wherever your heart takes youIf you don’t have a steamy date this Valentine’s Day (or even if you do), Triangle bands are offering plenty of live music for your misery or ecstacy. The Old Ceremony celebrates the release of its new CD, Walk on Thin Air, at Cat’s Cradle with Roman Candle at 9:30 p.m. for $10. (See cover story, page 34.) At nearby The ArtsCenter, folk singers Lucy Kaplansky and Lucy Wainwright Roche take the stage at 8:30 p.m. for $18-$20. For more brutal tastes and sour dispositions, the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre at The Brewery features Bury Me In December, Worse Than Birth and The Omega Project at 9 p.m. The Berkeley Cafe’s My Bloody Valentine brings the same bitters via Titan Zero, Mumblz, Tantrum and Tommy L at 9:30 p.m. for $5.

Volume 11 hosts a Punk vs. Rockabilly Fest with Antagonizers, Straight 8s, The Shotdowns, The Tremors, Shoot First and Come Down on Luck at 8 p.m. Find a dance partner or simply dance the pain away at Nightlight’s Valentine’s Day Dance Party with WXYC DJs at 10 p.m. for $5. If you prefer sedentary entertainment, the N.C. Symphony performs pieces by Prokofiev, Chopin and Rachmaninoff in Elegance and Grandeur Feb. 13 and 14 at Meymandi Concert Hall for $30-$53. Duke’s Ciompi Quartet plays selections from Schubert, Mozart and Leoš Janácek at Reynolds Industries Theater. It’s free for Duke students and $18 for others.

Soothe love (or a lack thereof) hangovers Feb. 15 with the Valentine’s Jazz Festival featuring Duke, N.C. Central and UNC jazz bands at Hayti Heritage Center at 6 p.m. for $15. The Pour House hosts its 10th annual Love Hangover with local male/female musician and vocalist duo lamentations over relationship troubles at 8 p.m. for $7. Elizabeth Lilly