Out & About September 2017

OA what’s on

The new season may only just be getting into swing after the August lull, but there’s still a variety of entertainment on offer within an hour’s drive of Newbury. Here’s the September pick from Arts Editor TRISH LEE. For arts news and reviews see N2 in the Newbury Weekly News each week September dates for your diary

Thinking person’s farce Loot by Joe Orton The Watermill, Bagnor September 28 to October 21

Conversing with Culshaw Jon Culshaw Does The Great British Take Off The Corn Exchange, Newbury September 9 Bookings: 0845 5218 218 www.cornexchangenew.com

Bookings: 01635 46044 www.watermill.org.uk It’s great to see the subversive genius Joe Orton on the Watermill’s 50th anniversary bill. It was also 50 years ago that the playwright was bludgeoned to death by his boyfriend Kenneth Halliwell, who feared Orton was going to leave him,

Who’s ready for a bit of topical satire then? It’s been a busy year for impressionist and comedian Jon Culshaw with the return of a new series of ITV’s impressionist show Newzoids , as well as the hugely successful BBC Radio 4 comedy Dead Ringers , which is now into its 17th series. And now he comes to Newbury with the legendary comedy producer Bill Dare for the first time following their sell-out tour earlier in the year. The Great British Take Off is an evening of unscripted, unrehearsed, spontaneous comedy and conversation as politicians, sports personalities and celebrities old and new are all up for a roasting.You, the audience, help choose which characters appear and what direction the show takes. Jon reveals the secrets of mimicry and together with Bill reveals some of the mishaps and mayhem of life behind the scenes in television and on the celebrity circuit.

and then took a fatal overdose. At 34, Orton was at the peak of his career and he was riding high on the success of his latest play, Loot , a dark comic masterpiece that shocked and delighted audiences in equal measure when it premiered, winning the Evening Standard Best Play award. Loot was made into a film of the same name in 1970, directed by Silvio Narizzano and starring a young Richard Attenborough, Lee Remick, Hywel Bennett and comedian Dick Emery. In this production, uproarious slapstick meets dubious morals as two young friends stash the proceeds of a bank robbery in an occupied coffin, attempting to hide their spoils from the attentions of a psychopathic policeman, a gold-digging nurse and a grieving widower – it’s funny, but bleakly funny. Loot starts at Park Theatre, London before its run at The Watermill and is directed by Michael Fentiman, whose credits include acclaimed productions of Titus Andronicus and The Taming of The Shrew for the RSC. It should be a cracker.

New contemporaries Modern Artists Gallery, Whitchurch on Thames Throughout September Ring to check opening times: 0118 984 5893 www.modernartistsgallery.com

Full-on feelgood Flashdance the Musical

New Theatre Oxford September 18 to 23 Bookings: 0844 871 3020

If you’ve never visited this lovely little gallery, September is a good time to do it – you could combine it with one of the walks, long or short, that take in the river, woods and hills surrounding the village. Director Peggy Brodie, with her eye for quality contemporary, innovative work is showing a selection of the gallery’s featured artists in a group exhibition, including Angela Smith’s abstracted figurative paintings; Marcia Hester Keeling Scott’s mesmerizing work that expands the possibilities of enamel paint; Ashley Hansen’s paintings inspired by Paul Auster’s novel City of Glass from The NewYork Trilogy combining images sourced from narrative and text, plus favourites Alice Cescatti, who works with gold leaf, Kate and Paul Kessling from West Hendred and stunning new monotypes by Paul Wright. Go see.

www.ents24.com/oxford-events/new-theatre-oxford Leg-warmers at the ready, you fans of the 80s movie Flashdance who hold it in a special place in your nostalgic hearts.You’re gonna love Flashdance the Musical , on a UK tour with Strictly Come Dancing’s Joanna Clifton in the starring role, and 90s boy band

A1’s Ben Adams (known back in the day for his iconic curtains). A welder by day and ‘flashdancer’ by night, this rock musical tells the inspiring story of 18-year-old Alex, who dreams of going to the prestigious Shipley Dance Academy and becoming a professional dancer. When a romance complicates her ambitions, she harnesses it to drive her dream. Prepare to be blown away with an astonishing musical spectacle and phenomenal choreography to this iconic score including the smash hits Maniac, Manhunt, Gloria, I Love Rock & Roll and the sensational title track Flashdance –

What a Feeling . Age guide 11+

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