Our pick of what’s on in arts & entertainment this week
20-27
Newbury Symphony Orchestra
RISING star of the classical music world Oliver Simpson will join the Newbury Symphony Orchestra for the second time on Saturday 7.30pm), to play the popular Dvořák cello concerto in B Minor. Nineteen-year-old British Cypriot Oliver lives in the UK and recently performed Elgar’s cello concerto with NSO to great acclaim. Oliver was selected as an London Philharmonic Orchestra Junior Artist in 2021 and played with the orchestra as soloist, guest principal and guest co-principal at the Royal Festival Hall. At Saturday’s concert, in addition to the Dvořák concerto, the orchestra will play excerpts from Bizet’s opera Carmen and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Local charity Loose Ends, will be providing refreshments during the concert interval, raising money for homeless people in the area. Tickets are £15 for adults, £5.00 for students and £2.00 forunder-18s. They can be bought online from the NSO website – www.newburysymphonyorchestra.org – or purchased on the door.
Allo Allo
The Ravensbury players are performing ‘Allo ‘Allo 2; The Camembert Caper, based on the original TV series written by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, from tonight (Thursday) to Saturday (with a matinee and evening performance on Saturday) at Ramsbury Memorial Hall.. Doors & bar open at 7pm for 7.45pm curtain up. Tickets from www.ticketsource.co.uk or Ramsbury Post Office.
Stand-up comedy
Triple BAFTA-winning stand-up sensation, Mo Gilligan, brings his highly anticipated world tour, In the Moment, to The Anvil, Basingstoke, tomorrow night (Friday, 8pm). As one of the UK's biggest comedy stars, he's achieved phenomenal success in just a few short years, with two sold-out national tours including London's O2 Arena, three stand-up specials, and numerous smash-hit TV credits to his name, with highlights including The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan, That's My Jam, The Brit Awards, and The Masked Singer
Or… at Oxford Playhouse on Sunday Lou Saunders No Kissing in the Bingo Hall. A show about being human. Can you relate? Just like Tom Cruise does all his own stunts, Lou Sanders is going to do all her own jokes! A deep, dumb show for the masses by the star of Dancing On Ice (ITV), champion of Taskmaster (Channel 4), co-host of Mel Giedroyc’s Unforgivable (Dave), regular on QI (BBC) and as seen on The Late Late Show with James Corden (CBS) and Would I Lie To You? (BBC).
Chesney Hawkes
With his era-defining smash hit ‘The One and Only’, film star good looks and boy next door charm, Chesney Hawkes was one of the UK’s biggest pop stars of the ‘90s. He’s playing Arlington Arts tonight (Thursday). Three decades on, and now certifiably the kind of bloke you’d love to have a pint with, the national treasure Chesney introduces himself to brand new audiences with a single release taken from his forthcoming album. Premiered on Radio 2, ‘Get A Hold Of Yourself’ finds Chesney applying that famous voice to a classic, high energy pop-rock sound - but with a bright modernist edge that brings him back up to date without losing the essence of what he’s best known for. https://arlington-arts.com/
Crafts workshops
And there’s a host of activities going on at The Base, Greenham, this weekend for National Crafts Month: on Saturday there’s Drawing with Wire: Spring Flowers Workshop from 10am – 3pm, where participants join artist Flora Gare in making their own posy of spring flowers using coloured copper wire, or from 2pm-4pm a large scale Life Drawing Masterclass, with Base resident artist Richard Francis Bellin. Suitable for everyone. For Young Crafters, age 6-14, there’s a fun session from 10am to 11.30am exploring a variety of different crafts. On Sunday, crafters can make a Mosaic Art Shard for the Garden,, between 10am and 4pm - a unique opportunity where Denise Jaques of Mosaic Happy will help participants to design and make a unique piece of mosaic art for the garden. Pre-booking required for all these workshops. Visit https://thebasegreenham.co.uk/ for booking info.
