KILN THEATRE RETURNS TO THE STAGE WITH ITS FIRST

LIVE STREAMED READING OF

AYAD AKHTAR’S THE INVISIBLE HAND

For the first time since the theatre was closed in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kiln Theatre returns to the stage with a live streamed reading of Ayad Akhtar’s critically acclaimed The Invisible Hand on 18 December at 7pm. First staged by the company in 2016, Kiln Theatre’s Artistic Director Indhu Rubasingham directs this specially revised reading of the play for this one-off performance.Rubasingham reunites Tony Jayawardena and Daniel Lapaine from the original company, with new cast members Scott Karim and Maanuv Thiara.

All tickets for the reading are free and can be reserved via Kiln Player:https://kilntheatre.com/whats-on/the-invisible-hand-play-reading/.Ticket bookers will have the opportunity to make a donation to Kiln Theatre as part of the checkout process. Donations will go towards the Kiln Community Appeal, supporting Kiln Theatre’s many communities through new and existing projects. Read more at https://kilntheatre.com/kiln-community/.

Artistic Director of Kiln Theatre, Indhu Rubasingham said today, “The Invisible Hand was my last production before we closed down for refurbishment in 2016, and it was a play I was deeply proud of, and one that seemed to really resonate with audiences. Ayad and I have stayed in touch ever since, and after reading his wonderful new book Homeland Elegies in the height of lockdown, I asked whether he would host a supporter’s night via Zoom. He kindly accepted and we went on to discuss bringing the show back for a new audience. So, here we are – stripped back to just Ayad’s thrilling and fastidiously researched words, in our first ever (but hopefully not the last) live stream.”

This reading is the first in a series of events for the company over the coming months – further details will be announced shortly. For the duration of rehearsals and performance, the company will be observing social distancing protocols in line with current government advice.

LIVE STREAMED READING OF

THE INVISIBLE HAND

By Ayad Akhtar

18 December at 7pm

Cast: Tony Jayawardena (Imam Saleem), Scott Karim (Bashir), Daniel Lapaine (Nick Bright),

Maanuv Thiara (Dar)

Director Indhu Rubasingham; Assistant Director Tom Wright;

Lighting Operator Lucía Sánchez Roldán; Production Sound Engineer Jon Sealey

Vision Mixer and Camera Director Chris Lincé; Broadcast Engineer Tom Lee 

American banker Nick Bright knows that his freedom comes at a price. Confined to a cell within the depths of rural Pakistan, every second counts. Who will decide his fate? His captors, or the whims of the market?

Ayad Akhtar tense, thrilling and ‘fiendishly clever’ (Financial Times) The Invisible Hand, lays bare the raw, unfettered power of global finance, and will be seen here in a specially revised version for the reading. Kiln Theatre’s Artistic Director Indhu Rubasingham’s ‘brilliantly executed’ (Daily Mail), ‘palpitating production’ (WhatsOnStage) went on to play to sold out houses in 2016, and was the final production in the theatre before it closed for refurbishment.

Ayad Akhtar was born in New York City and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is the author of American Dervish, published in 25 languages worldwide and a 2012 Best Book of the Year at Kirkus Reviews, Toronto’s Globe and Mail, Shelf-Awareness, and O (Oprah) Magazine. His most recent novel, the critically acclaimed Homeland Elegies, was published in September. As a screenwriter, he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay for The War Within. He has received commissions from Lincoln Center and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He is a graduate of Brown and Columbia Universities with degrees in Theater and Film Directing. The Invisible Hand premièred at the Repertory Theater of St Louis before a run at Kiln Theatre. Other theatre credits include Disgraced (American Theater Company in Chicago; Lincoln Center, New York and Bush Theatre – Pulitzer Prize for Drama) and The Who & The What (La Jolla Playhouse).

Tony Jayawardena returns to the theatre to play Imam Saleem – he previously appeared in White Teeth and The Invisible Hand. His theatre credits include Christmas at the Snow Globe (Shakespeare’s Globe), Hobson’s Choice (Royal Exchange Theatre), Young Marx (Bridge Theatre), Lions and Tigers, Twelfth Night (Shakespeare’s Globe), Bend It Like Beckham (Phoenix Theatre), The Roaring Girl, The Arden of Faversham, The White Devil, The Empress, Twelfth Night (RSC), Dick Whittington, Love and Stuff (Theatre Royal Stratford East), The Wind In The Willows (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Wah! Wah! Girls (Sadler’s Wells/ Kneehigh), Great Expectations (English Touring Theatre), The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (Royal and Derngate, Northampton), London Assurance, All’s Well That Ends Well, England People Very Nice (National Theatre). For television his recent work includes The Duchess, The Crown, Ackley Bridge, The Tunnel, The Windsors, Strike Back, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby; and for film, his work includes Towerblock, Trance and A Cat Named Bob.

Scott Karim plays Bashir. His theatre work includes The Arrival, The Invisible (Bush Theatre), Oklahoma!, The Country Wife (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Village (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Young Marx (Bridge Theatre), Food (Finborough Theatre), Imogen (Shakespeare’s Globe), King Lear and Brave New World (Royal & Derngate). For television, his work includes Halo, The Dumping Ground, Dracula, Crazy Diamond and Britannia.

Daniel Lapaine returns to the theatre to play Nick – he previously appeared in Holy Sh*t and The Invisible Hand. His theatre credits include The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare’s Globe), Other Desert Cities, Hedda Gabler (The Old Vic), The Winter’s Tale (Sheffield Crucible), The Dance of Death (Donmar Trafalgar), All My Sons (Apollo Theatre), Scenes from the Back of Beyond, F***ing Games (Royal Court), Les Parents Terribles, King Lear (Sydney Theatre Company), Island (Belvoir Street Theatre), Romeo and Juliet, Richard III, Hamlet (Bell Shakespeare Company). For television his work includes Upright, Van der Valk, My Husband’s Double Life, Black Mirror, The Durrells, Versailles, Catastrophe, Critical, Vexed, Lewis, Vera, Black Mirror, Identity, Moonshot, Hotel Babylon; Sex, the City and Me; Jane Hall, Good Housekeeping Guide, Golden Hour, Jericho, Death on the Nile, Redcap, Helen of Troy, I Saw You and Tenth Kingdom. Film credits include Dead in Tombstone, Zero Dark Thirty, Gozo, Jack the Giant Killer, Shanghai, Last Chance Harvey, Collusion, Abduction Club, Ritual, Journeyman, Double Jeopardy, Elephant Juice, Brokedown Palace, 54, Say You’ll Be Mine, 1999, Dangerous Beauty, Polish Wedding and Muriel’s Wedding.

Maanuv Thiara returns to the Kiln Theatre to play Dar – he previously appeared in Approaching Empty. His theatre credits include The Funeral Director (Southwark Playhouse), King Lear (Bristol Old Vic), Hamlet (Almeida Theatre), A Passage to India (Park Theatre), Hamlet (Harold Pinter Theatre), Twelfth Night (Orange Tree Theatre), King Lear and The Trojan Women (Bristol Old Vic); and for television, Brassic, Line of Duty, Hamlet and The Boy with the Topknot.

Indhu Rubasingham is Artistic Director of Kiln Theatre. Her work for the company includes Pass Over, When the Crows Visit, Wife, White Teeth, Holy Sh!t, Red Velvet (which transferred to New York and later to the Garrick Theatre as part of the Kenneth Branagh Season) and Handbagged (winner of Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre – also West End, UK tour, Washington DC and New York). Other productions for Kiln Theatre include The Invisible Hand, A Wolf in Snakeskin Shoes, Multitudes, The House That Will Not Stand, Paper Dolls, Women, Power and Politics, Stones in His Pockets, Detaining Justice, The Great Game: Afghanistan, Fabulation and Starstruck. Other theatre credits include The Great Wave, Ugly Lies the Bone, The Motherf**cker with the Hat (Evening Standard Award for Best Play), The Waiting Room (all National Theatre), The Ramayana (National Theatre/ Birmingham Rep), Belong, Disconnect, Free Outgoing, Lift Off, Clubland, The Crutch and Sugar Mummies (Royal Court Theatre), Ruined (Almeida Theatre), Yellowman and Anna in the Tropics (Hampstead Theatre), Secret Rapture and The Misanthrope (Minerva, Chichester Festival Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (Chichester Festival Theatre), Pure Gold (Soho Theatre), The No Boys Cricket Club and Party Girls (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Wuthering Heights (Birmingham REP), Heartbreak House (Watford Palace Theatre), Sugar Dollies and Shakuntala (Gate Theatre), A River Sutra (Three Mill Island Studios), Rhinoceros (UC Davis, California) and A Doll’s House (Young Vic).

Sasha Regan’s award-winning all-male take on Gilbert & Sullivan’s 

THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE 

Recorded Live at the Palace Theatre and set to stream online

28th December 2020 – 3rd January 2021

★★★★★
‘one of the most delightful, innovative, funny and musically rich interpretations of Gilbert and Sullivan.’
JONATHAN EVANS, THE SPY IN THE STALLS

★★★★
‘An energetic and joyous revival – a tonic in tough times’
GEORGE HALL, THE STAGE

Due to popular demand, Sasha Regan’s award-winning all-male take on Gilbert & Sullivan’s THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE is making its way to your screens from 28^th December 2020 – 3^rd January 2021 on www.stream.theatre . Recorded live last Sunday at the recent critically acclaimed run at the Palace Theatre, expect a much-needed dose of musical comedy over the festive season. The perfect tonic to raise spirits at this difficult time and a show the whole family will enjoy. 

THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE sees one of Gilbert & Sullivan’s best-known, much loved classic operettas run in a theatre founded by Richard D’Oyly Carte in the 1800s as the Royal English Opera House.  Carte who was already producing comic operas at his Savoy Theatre, decided to commission the Opera House as a home for grand operas. The Royal English Opera House opened 10 years after the Savoy Theatre which championed Gilbert & Sullivan’s well-known “Savoy operas”. Although their operettas never ran at the Royal English Opera House, it opened in January 1891 with Sir Arthur Sullivan’s ‘Ivanhoe’. Sadly, D’Oyly Carte’s cherished opera house came under financial pressure leaving him with no alternative but to lease it and eventually sell it within one year of opening.

Throughout his life, D’Oyly Carte managed Gilbert & Sullivan and nurtured their careers including setting up the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company. Together these talented men introduced a new way of presenting light opera to families, touring these works to bring them out to the wider community.

Sasha Regan’s production was first staged at her original 50-seater Union Theatre in Southwark over a decade ago. From day one it became a critically acclaimed overnight hit, winning Best Off-West End production in the 2009 WhatsOnStage Awards. Following several sell-out runs in the UK, the merry band of pirates toured Australia including a three-week run at the Sydney Theatre thanks to Cate Blanchett the then co-artistic director. It enjoyed another sell-out run at Wilton’s Music Hall last year.

Expect plenty of hilarity from the swashbuckling crew!

The performance will be streamed on Stream Theatre www.stream.theatre

Performance times:

Monday 28th December: 19:30

Tuesday 29th December: 19:30

Wednesday 30th December: 14:30 & 19:30

Thursday 31st December: 19:30

Friday 2nd January: 19:30 

Saturday 2nd January: 14:30 & 19:30

Sunday 3rd January: 14:30 & 19:30

Tickets:  All tickets £15.00

★★★★★
‘a celebration of glorious silliness and sublime singing’

CLAIRE RODERICK, FAIRY POWERED

★★★★
‘A raucous, farcical, almost-pantomime to be enjoyed by the whole family’
BELLA BEVAN, BROADWAYWORLD
★★★★
‘To be marvelled at and applauded’
KATE COPSTICK, BROADWAYBABY

CAST: Oliver Savile; Alan Richardson; David McKechnie; Michael Burgen; Leon Craig; Lee Greenaway; Benjamin Vivian-Jones; Daniel Miles; Jamie Chidzey; Joel Elferink; Tom Duern; Matthew Facchino; Dominic Harbison; Tom Senior; Richard Russell Edwards; Sam Kipling; Marc Akinfolarin.

CREATIVES
Director and Co-Producer – Sasha Regan
Choreographer – Lizzi Gee
Designer – Robyn Wilson-Owen
Musical Director – Richard Baker
Associate Choreographer – Lee Greenaway
Lighting Design – Ben Bull
Casting – Adam Braham Casting
Marketing and Public Relations – Fiona Lockley
Co-produced by Ben De Wynter

SOCIAL MEDIA: Twitter @allmalepirates
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/allmalepirates

Revival of original Christmas play to mark 25 years of the Space 

Now in its 25th year, the Space is starting a series of events to celebrate their anniversary by reviving The Saving of Santa by Lobelia Golightly. First produced in 2009, the play has been adapted as an online, interactive Christmas adventure and will be performed on zoom. 

Artistic Director, Adam Hemming says, “The play sees fairies, elves and a giant seal come to Santa’s aid. The characters are magical, larger-than-life, almost cartoon-like so we’re having lots of fun working with zoom backgrounds and filters. We’ve worked in some interactive moments, where audience members will be able to join us on screen and do their bit to rescue St Nick.” 

The play was inspired by bedtime stories that Golightly would tell her daughter at Christmas and by the desire to raise concerns around climate change. On the decision to bring this particular show back, Hemming reveals, “We thought about the different Christmas shows in our history and this one is definitely the most joyous. After such a challenging year, we wanted our final flourish of 2020 to be a positive one. It’s a fun show for all the family and we’re delighted to be sharing it with our online audience.”  

The cast includes many faces who will be familiar to Space regulars and viewers of the weekly ‘Live @ 5’ Monday Facebook broadcast. Hemming continues, “As my regular co-host had been furloughed, my daughter Phoebe (aged 8) was helping me out. She began doodling during broadcasts and that’s now a regular feature on our show, in fact, her doodles raised over £500 for our crowdfunding campaign in September. Phoebe’s built a bit of a fanbase and now she’s performing in the Saving of Santa, which is a nice callback to the original production, when I performed in the show!” 

 
The performance details are:- 

The Saving of Santa 

20^th-23^rd December (all online via zoom, performance on 20^th BSL interpreted) 

Oh no! There’s something wrong with Santa. It’s up to chief elf ‘n’ safety officer Nordstrom, Aurora, the cleverest fairy and YOU, to save Christmas. 

Following the Government’s announcement that London will be placed in Tier 3 measures from midnight on Tuesday 15 December, taking into consideration the safety of all staff and cast, the producers of THE GREAT GATSBY will be cancelling performances at IMMERSIVE LDN from Wednesday 16 December. This will be reviewed as government advice develops. Tickets are currently on sale until 7 March 2021.

Ticket holders for cancelled performances will be contacted within 48 hours by Arts Tickets to confirm next steps.

Producers Louis Hartshorn and Brian Hook said, “This is a hammer blow to an industry which has been fighting valiantly to bring culture and community to people’s lives this Christmas. 

The Government has created a situation where millions of pounds have been spent on re-launching productions and shut them down just as revenue is about to be generated, leaving even more organisations in extreme financial difficulty and putting jobs for permanent staff and freelancers alike at even greater risk. 

Further financial support is essential to avoid yet more high profile casualties in the Theatre industry. 

Our productions of The Great Gatsby and Doctor Who: Time Fracture will continue as planned when the new restrictions lift, as we stand by our principles of protecting employment and providing enriching cultural experiences designed to be fit for these difficult times.”

THE GREAT GATSBY reopened in the West End on 1 October and has been welcoming audiences back with socially distanced performances at IMMERSIVE LDN, a Covid-Secure venue, with full adherence to government health and safety regulations. The show closed on 31 October, following the announcement of the national lockdown, and reopened on 9 December.

STATEMENT FROM SONIA FRIEDMAN, PRODUCER OF THE COMEBACK

“Following the devastating announcement that London will be entering Tier 3 on Wednesday 16th Dec, THE COMEBACK performances from Wednesday 16th Dec onwards have been postponed.

Having installed extensive safety measures at the theatre, for the last week of previews we have been welcoming delighted audiences to the Noel Coward Theatre to enjoy this brilliant, funny and heart-warming show. They have left the theatre uplifted, energized and reminded about the power of theatre and the vital role it can play in the mental well-being of the community.

To have that so abruptly, cruelly and illogically ripped away is heart-breaking. Not just for those audiences but also for the entire company of performers, creatives, stage crew and other freelancers who for so long have been without work. They all now face yet more uncertainty and pain.

But let me be clear –The Comeback WILL be back. It is our intention to resume THE COMEBACK performances as soon as government restrictions allow. Once the new dates have been finalised, the box office will automatically transfer ticket holders’ booking and ticket(s) across to the closest equivalent performance within the limited run; and will contact patrons with all the new details. If ticket holders are unable to attend the new date, they are advised to contact their point of purchase who will provide further assistance.

The new dates will be confirmed in the coming weeks. For now, I would like to recognise our entire team for their ongoing support. And, of course, especially our audiences, for your continued commitment to both our production and to our great British theatre.

London going into Tier Three is yet another blow for British theatre – one it simply cannot afford after a brutal year, and one that both could and should have been avoided.

All the effort and energy, not to even mention the expense, of re-opening shows safely has once again been undercut by a decision that will devastate our industry and its freelance workforce – many of whom have still not received any government support and now face a further loss of employment. All this despite not a single case of infection being linked to a theatre anywhere in the country.

Theatres and producers, who have collectively lost over £1 billion in revenue since March, now face millions of pounds of additional losses and continued uncertainty for the coming months, destroying confidence in the sector that we have worked so hard to rebuild. Commercial producers – the sector’s biggest employers and largest economic contributors – have received just 0.8% of the £1.57 billion Cultural Recovery Fund.

This latest closure under Tier 3 underlines – unequivocally – the urgent need for a government-backed insurance scheme, as already provided to film and television, for meaningful compensation to mitigate impending losses incurred by productions forced to close, and for targeted support for freelance workers unable to take advantage of the furlough scheme.

This feels like a final straw: proof that this government does not understand theatre and the existential crisis it is facing. Its short-sightedness is starting to look like serial mismanagement.”

Pitlochry Festival Theatre – online

Reviewed by Andrew Harrison

4****

A Christmas adventure has not stopped for the Pitlochry Festival Theatre in partnership with the Macrobert Arts Centre as 30 minutes of family fun as they help save Christmas.

Written by Russell Beard and Elizabeth Newman we meet Two elves, Barbara Hockaday as Lari and Ali Watt as Hari who have lost the North Star, after using it for a game of football with Prancer, Dancer and Vixen. As they search for the missing star, through 12 doors, cue song! They are helped by the wonderful Clare Grogan as Mrs Claus with an ancient spell. After entering another magical door, they meet up with Santa as Colin McCredie, where they use the ancient spell and saves Christmas.

With bright colours, over-the-top performing, songs with actions and themes including truth it does remind me of watching children’s television, but as an almost 50 year old I was drawn into this wondrous land and children will love it.

Festive fun for all the family.

Following the announcement that London will be moving into Tier 3, Theatres Trust director Jon Morgan responds:

It is a disaster for London’s theatres that the capital and parts of Essex and Hertfordshire will move into Tier 3. Theatres have worked incredibly hard to create safe environments for audiences and through no fault of their own will now face enormous financial losses. They have done so at great risk as it is currently impossible to secure production insurance. The tiers system means more uncertainty and risk for months to come unless there is a government backed insurance scheme for theatre production like there is currently for film and television. 2020 has been a catastrophic year for theatre and today’s announcement has compounded that.

Please find below a statement from Julian Bird, Chief Executive of Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre, following the Government announcement that London will enter Tier 3 of Covid restrictions from Wednesday 16 December:

‘Today’s Government announcement placing London in Tier 3 from Wednesday is devastating news for the city’s world-leading theatre industry. The past few days have seen venues beginning to reopen with high levels of Covid security, welcoming back enthusiastic, socially distanced audiences. Theatres across London will now be forced to postpone or cancel planned performances, causing catastrophic financial difficulties for venues, producers and thousands of industry workers – especially the freelancers who make up 70% of the theatre workforce.  We urge Government to recognise the huge strain this has placed on the sector and look at rapid compensation to protect theatres and their staff over Christmas in all areas of the country under Tier 3 restrictions.’

Creative Crawley presents

Right Here Festival 

A celebration of the creativity and vibrancy of Crawley in a free festival of spoken word, dance, photography, film, DJing and a live talk with Grace Saif from13 Reasons Why 

29^th & 30^th January 2021 

Online and locations around Crawley 

@CreativeCrawley | #RightHere | www.creativecrawley.com 

Taking place in a shop in County Mall, the Museum, online and on the streets of Crawley, this two-day festival will showcase the talent and creativity of the town in more than 20 events.  

From DJing on doorsteps to audio tours, to storytelling for toddlers and sing-a-long for people with dementia, from writing to photography to a light sculpture installation, the festival represents and caters to the diverse talents and tastes of the community, as well as curious audiences from elsewhere in the online programme. 

Curated by Crawley born-and-raised Louise Blackwell and West Sussex artist Sinead Emery, the festival is split into four sections: 

Happenings: events happening all over town, including 12 new light sculptures, a stunning visual art window display entirely made of donated objects, an audio tour with recorded stories about local people’s favourite walks, a history of the music of Crawley and live streamed poetry and music. 

Workshops: interactive sessions for people of all ages, from storytelling for toddlers, creative writing for mums of young children and sing-a-longs for people with dementia 

Talks & Film: young people including Crawley Community Youth Services and Manor Green College have created films to be shown online, and creatives of Crawley including actress Grace Saif (Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why) and drag queen Seb Livingstone will talk about what inspires them and how they got into a career in the arts. 

In Your Home: live music streamed direct to your home from Songbirds Virtual Choir and Dormans Youth Arts Centre, and DJing taking place across at least ten different streets in the town. There will also be a recipe of the day to follow along with, and the Crawley Camera Club share their 2020 images. 

Speaking about the festival, participating artist Sarah Maple said “Crawley has especially taken a hit during 2020 so I am really excited to have this festival as something to lift our spirits and get our creativity flowing. We have a lot of community spirit and talent here and I can’t wait to see it shine!”

Katie Gledhill, Principal Librarian –  “We know that Crawley has been really hard hit by the pandemic and so the positive investment in the town, that Creative Crawley and the Right Here Festival represent, feels urgent, hopeful and very welcome.” 

Vicki Illingworth, Principal, Crawley College and Creative Crawley advisory group member “The Right Here Festival is an exciting and innovative showcase of arts and culture across Crawley.  There are so many creative, skilled and talented groups and individuals in our community, Creative Crawley is passionate about showcasing breadth and depth of artistry and opening imaginative opportunities to engage more people.  The programme is vibrant and dynamic – we’re looking forward to January!” 

Creative Crawley is a grouping of local stakeholders who aim to place creativity at the heart of Crawley.  The town has faced significant challenges in 2020, in part because of its links to the fortunes of the airline industry; the festival will celebrate the spirit and resilience of its people, connecting local organisations such as libraries, youth groups and shops to benefit the wider community. 

Listings information 

29 – 30 Jan – all day  

FREE 

Online and various venues 

www.creativecrawley.com

Fully Booked: Recommended book of the day by Crawley Library                                  29 & 30 Jan, all day 

TALK | Online 

Tune in to hear a book recommendation from Crawley library. 

People’s Pathways by LPK Learning, Sinéad Emery & Gaz Tomlinson                           29& 30Jan, all day 

HAPPENING | Audio trail, different locations in Crawley 

Local people have recorded stories about their favourite walks in Crawley since March 2020. Download the stories and listen to them on your own walk, at your leisure.  

Lockdown Looking Glass by LPK Learning, Crawley Museum & Rachel Cowell  

29& 30Jan 10am – 7pm 

HAPPENING | Art exhibition, County Mall shop  

Local people have donated objects and visual artist Rachel Cowell has made them into a stunning visual art exhibition in a shop window to remember the things that remind us of lockdown. 

Awakening by Same Sky                                                                                  29& 30Jan 10am – 7pm 

HAPPENING | Light sculpture exhibition, County Mall shop  

Crawley favourites Same Sky commissioned artists to produce12 new light sculptures that represent their lives since March 2020 and they will be on display in a shop window.  

Capturing Lockdown by LPK Learning, Woodard Photography, Crawley Museum and Sinead Emery                                                                                                                              29& 30Jan, 3pm – 8pm 

HAPPENING | Photography projections on buildings in Crawley  

Photos taken by local people since March 2020 will appear on different buildings in Crawley – can you find them?  

Cultural Kitchen: Recipe of the Day by Diverse Crawley                                               29& 30Jan, all day

IN YOUR HOME | Online (recorded) 

Join local residents as they share their cultural recipes with you online including recipes from Poland, Nigeria, Portugal and England. 

2020 Photography by Crawley Camera Club                                                                 29& 30Jan, all day 

IN YOUR HOME | Online (recorded) 

An online exhibition of images taken and individually selected by members of Crawley Camera Club in 2020.  

Songbirds Virtual Choir                                                                                               29& 30Jan, all day

IN YOUR HOME | Online (recorded) 

Songbirds all female choir haven’t been able to meet in person for a while, but since March they have worked together online. Tune in to listen to their songs.  

Music in Crawley & Crawley Writers’ Circle                                                    29& 30Jan, 10.30am – 4pm 

HAPPENING | Exhibition, Crawley Museum 

An exhibition celebrating the history of music in Crawleyplus a 24 page booklet of prose and poetry written by members of Crawley Writer’s Circle in 2020. 

29^th January 

Creative Café by Culture Shift & Crawley College                                                           29Jan, 9.30am 

WORKSHOP | Online (live) 

A workshop for Crawley College students about how to enter the creative industries featuring local successful creative professionals.  

Baby Rhyme Time by Crawley Library                                                                           29Jan, 10.30am 

WORKSHOP | Online (recorded) 

Sing a long workshop for babies, toddlers and their parents from Crawley library.  

Story Magic: What Am I? by Crawley Library                                                                 29Jan, 11am 

WORKSHOP | Online (recorded) 

Aimed at children with additional needs, this is a sensory Storytime from Crawley library.  

We Are Manor Green College by Manor Green College and Carousel                            29Jan, 1.45pm 

FILM | Online (recorded and live)  

 A short film showcasing life in a special school during an extraordinary year celebrating the talent and abilities of the students.  

Crawley Creatives talk by Annie Bowden from The Posh Club                                       29Jan, 4pm 

TALK | Online (live)  

Annie is co-founder of The Posh Club which was invented in Crawley for her Mum who was in her 80s and feeling a bit lonely 

Crawley Creatives talk by Sebastian Livingstone                                                           29Jan, 4.30pm 

TALK | Online (live)  

Sebastian, or as he’s known around Crawley – Sebrina is a twenty three year old drag queen who has resided in Crawley for twenty two years. He’s been dressing and performing as a drag queen for three years. Crawley has a small, but rich and vibrant queer scene which he hopes to draw more attention to. It’s an important part of his art, and of his character… and who doesn’t love a sickening pair of heels? 

Crawley Creatives talk by Grace Saif                                                                           29 Jan, 5pm 

TALK / online (live) 

Grace Saif is an actress, best known for her role as Ani Achola in Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why, She was born and raised in Crawley. Trained at RADA she’s tipped as a rising star. 

No Need to Hug to Share the Love  by CCYS                                                                 29Jan, 6pm 

FILM | Online 

A film sharing the creativity of young people who work with Crawley Community Youth Services.  

Doorstep DJs, by Tons of Sound & local DJs                                                                 29Jan, 7pm 

IN YOUR HOME | Music, ten streets in Crawley  

A 20 minute DJ set on your doorstep in ten streets around Crawley.  

30th January  

Melody for the Mind by Crawley Library                                                                        30Jan, 11am 

WORKSHOP | Online (recorded) 

Sing-a-long with Crawley library for those living with dementia.  

Writing around the kids by Anna Jefferson and New Writing South                                30Jan, 11am 

WORKSHOP | Online (live)  

A creative writing workshop for mothers with young children.  

Dance Hub TV Watch Party, local dance schools and Dance Hub TV                             30Jan, 4pm 

FILM | Online (recorded and live)  

Tune in to witness short films made by local dance schools since March 2020.  

Lockdown Made Me…by Woodzy and Sinead Emery                                        30Jan, throughout the day 

HAPPENING | Performance, venue TBC 

Teenagers have written spoken word poetry about their experience of lockdown with professional spoken word poet Woodzy which will be performed in a location in Crawley passersby.  

Festival Finale: Live Bands from Dormans Youth Arts Centre                                        30Jan, 7.30pm 

IN YOUR HOME | Music, online (live) 

A live streamed gig showcasing local pop and rock bands. Spoken word poetry and world music from young people and adults from Crawley.  

Funded by Arts Council England, Crawley Festival, Sussex Community Foundation, Crawley Town Centre BID, Crawley Borough Council 

BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS ANNOUNCED FOR CHRISTMAS 2021 AT LEEDS GRAND THEATRE

WORLD PREMIERE TOUR DIRECTED BY AWARD-WINNING THEATRE-MAKERS CANDICE EDMUNDS AND JAMIE HARRISON

The world premiere tour of Disney’s exciting new stage musical, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, will be ‘bobbing along’ to Leeds Grand Theatre in 2021 for a five-week Christmas run from Wednesday 8 December to Sunday 9 January 2022.

With songs by the legendary Sherman Brothers (Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, The Aristocats), including Portobello Road, The Age Of Not Believing, The Beautiful Briny, and a new book, music and lyrics by Neil Bartram and Brian Hill; Bedknobs and Broomsticks will be brought to life by award-winning theatre-makers Jamie Harrison (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) and Candice Edmunds.

Based on the books The Magic Bedknob; or, How to Become a Witch in Ten Easy Lessons (1943) and Bonfires and Broomsticks (1947) by English children’s author Mary Norton, and subsequently the 1971 Academy Award-winning film starring Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson, Bedknobs and Broomsticks tells the story of three orphaned children reluctantly evacuated from London to live with the mysterious Eglantine Price, a trainee witch!

The news of the tour follows the announcement that MAMMA MIA! will also make a welcome return to The Grand in 2023, following this year’s cancelled run due Covid-19.

In a year that has seen the arts and culture sector suffer exponentially because of the pandemic, it is the first time in The Grand’s 142-year history (bar refurbishment in 2005-6) that the venue will be closed at Christmas. Ordinarily at this time of year, the theatre would be playing host to resident company, Northern Ballet, and a major West End production; welcoming 1000s of patrons through its door.

As a result of closure and inability to generate earned revenue through ticket and secondary sales, the theatre is asking patrons, if financially possible, to help support its long-term survival by donating to its ‘Keep a seat warm this Christmas’ campaign, purchasing tickets to future shows or buying memberships, gift vouchers and merchandise.

Chris Blythe, CEO, said: “I know it is a huge ask, especially at Christmas, but I also know how much The Grand means to the people of Leeds and wider region. The support and generosity of our patrons this year has been overwhelming – both financially and emotionally. It is abundantly clear that arts and culture are needed now more than ever to help boost people’s mental health and build community through shared experience as we all try to find some escapism from our day-to-day and ongoing concerns for our futures.”

Disney’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks is at Leeds Grand Theatre from Wednesday 8 December 2021 to Sunday 9 January 2022

MAMMA MIA! is at Leeds Grand Theatre from Tuesday 4 April to Saturday 15 April 2023

Book online at leedsheritagetheatres.com or call Box Office on 0113 243 0808

To support Leeds Heritage Theatres this Christmas, go to leedsheritagetheatres.com.