Pick of the best events in and around Newbury for the coming week
Bands night
Saturday night’s Rising Stars Showcase at Arlington Arts, Snelsmore, features local bands Who Ate All The Crayons, Revenant, No Good Sons and Small Town Saviours. Doors open at 6.30pm for a 7.30pm start. https://arlington-arts.com/
English Touring Opera
English Touring Opera bring Manon Lescaut to Oxford Playhouse on Tuesday. A dramatic and musical triumph, it was Puccini’s first great success. Based on a controversial book by the Abbé Provost, Manon Lescaut is a devastating depiction of a woman wrestling with her desire for love on her own terms, and the rigid double standards imposed on her by society. Jude Christian, fresh from a critically acclaimed Titus Andronicus at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, brings her incisive direction and a sharp, poetic new translation to the production, while ETO Music Director Gerry Cornelius conducts. Sung in English with English surtitles. https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/
Stevie Wonder tribute
There’s a Stevie Wonder Celebration at Basingstoke’s Anvil on Saturday (7.30pm). This international hit production brings you four decades of the biggest hits and tracks from Stevie Wonder's vast songbook.You'll hear truly authentic renditions of Superstition, Sir Duke, Higher Ground, Master Blaster, Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I Just Called to Say I Love You, Living for the City, and many more. Along with on-screen visuals, come and journey through the cultural moments and movements for which Stevie's music became the soundtrack.
Princess Smartypants premiere
The world premiere of the stage adaptation of Babette Cole’s Princess Smartypants opens at The Watermill tonight (Thursday) and runs to Saturday. A subversive, fun-filled adventure for children and their families. Princess Smartypants does not want to get married. She wants to carry on making music with her menagerie of monstrous pets, but the King and Queen have other ideas... Find out how Princess Smartypants fights to preserve her independence in this hilarious fairy-tale-with-a-difference. Full of songs and madcap comedy, Princess Smartypants is a treat for all the family.Perfect for anyone who is fed up of traditional fairy tales and wants to see what happens when girls are in charge of the castle. https://www.watermill.org.uk/princess-smartypants
Comedy
Get ready to laugh out loud with an evening of great comedy as Avalon presents The Comedy Network. At the Corn Exchange tomorrow (Friday, 8pm). These popular comedy clubs have been making people laugh for a few years now, so why not grab a drink, sit back and relax in the company of some of the best up-and-coming comedians on the circuit. This month’s line-up: ex-street performer and comedian Stuart Goldsmith. As well as having written and performed stand up around the world, he is the creator of Chortle award nominated The Comedian's Comedian Podcast; Cecily Hitchcock is a comedy siren, crowd charmer and heckler annihilator. Her zesty and descriptive storytelling style, animated expressions and lightning fast wit are gaining a presence online and on stage and her sketches and TikTok videos have amounted almost 3 million views. Micky Overman is a comedian and writer living and working in the UK. She's originally from the Netherlands, giving her a unique and fresh perspective on all things British, comedy and life. Michael Akadin’s natural charm and cheeky, observational style has already seen him make an impact on the UK comedy scene. He’s the inaugural winner of the Komedia New Comedy Award and starred in the London finals of the BBC Comedy Awards in 2021 (BBC Three).
Wildlife photography exhibition
THE 59th instalment of the world-renowned exhibition Wildlife Photographer of the Year, on loan from the Natural History Museum, is showing at The Base at Greenham until April 14. The world’s most prestigious photographic event of its kind celebrates the very best nature photography and photojournalism, using the unique emotive power of photography to inspire wonder and create advocates for the natural world they live and the challenges they face. Book your slot at https://thebasegreenham.co.uk
Coming soon
Fizz & Fiction: Georgina Moore & Becky Hunter
TREAT yourself to a bit of Fizz & Fiction with authors Georgina Moore and Becky Hunter. Join Hungerford Bookshop between 6pm and 8pm, on Wednesday, April 24 at an evening of sparkling conversation with Georgina Moore and Becky Hunter, accompanied by fizz in the bookshop beforehand. https://hungerfordbookshop.co.uk/
