Out & About July 2017

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The summer season is upon us and it’s worth travelling the extra mile to see something special, in addition to
the first-class entertainment on our own doorstep. Arts Editor TRISH LEE’s pick of events in July.
For reviews and arts news see N2 in the Newbury Weekly News each week
July dates for your diary
Riverside Razzmatazz
Henley Festival
River & Rowing Museum, Mill Meadows, Henley-on-Thames
July 5-9
Box office: 01491 843404 /
Dust off the posh frock or DJ (dress code strictly black tie) and
head for Henley Festival’s Moet Champagne Lawn for a glass of
fizz, grab some street food and prepare to party at the five-day,
quintessentially British festivities on the Thames riverbank. The
razzmatazz includes music that ranges from pop, World Music,
jazz and blues to classical, with a good helping of art
installations, comedy shows and gastronomy areas.
Headlining the spectacular floating stage this year
is R&B pop princess Jess Glynne, 80s electronic
duo Pet Shop Boys, ex-Rufus vocalist Chaka Khan,
Goldie and the Heritage Orchestra and girl band
All Saints. The floating stage concerts can be seen
from the Lawn or the undercover Grandstand and
tickets are priced depending on
the sightlines; general admission
tickets don’t afford such a view. If
it rains, the show goes on as there
are many covered areas within the
enclosure. If you are on the Lawn
or have a general admission ticket,
make sure you take protective
outerwear for the main stage
concert, in exceptional weather,
wellington boots are welcomed
and the more colourful the better.
There’s lots to see and do, so turn
up early to make the most of it.
THE wonderfully-inventive Creation
Theatre’s outdoor summer shows
are always eagerly anticipated –
over 20 years, 58 shows and half-
a-million audience members aged
between five and 95 speaks for
itself – and this year, with the Lewis
Carroll Oxford connection in mind,
they are building a Wonderland
in which to unleash their White
Rabbit, Mad Hatter and Queen of Hearts in a
non-traditional Alice at the beautiful University
Parks, Oxford. The whole family can fall down
the rabbit hole and enjoy plenty of magic, music, puppetry and
acrobatics as they join Alice on her journey towards adulthood…
great fun. Expect the unexpected; an eccentric, fun, lively, quirky
and fast daydream adventure that’s definitely not like any version
you’ve seen before. It’s a weatherproof show so don’t worry about
rain, take a picnic and enjoy a summer afternoon in the park
before the adventure unfolds in the Big Top – it’s always dry in
Wonderland.
Broadway comes to Bagnor
A Little Night Music
The Watermill, Bagnor
July 27 – September 16
Bagnor will be soon be buzzing to the
sound of Send in the Clowns and A
Weekend in the Country… Sondheim
fans will be in seventh heaven at the
end of the month when his award-
winning romantic musical A Little Night
Music (book by Hugh Wheeler) will
be performed by actor musicians for
the first time on the Watermill stage.
Sophisticated and witty, the show is
based on Ingmar Bergman’s Smiles
on a Summer Night, a passionate story of intertwined love affairs,
regret and longing, centred on elegant actress Desirée Armfeldt,
and her family and flirtations. When Desirée performs in the town
of her former lover, old passions rekindle and during a weekend
in the country, the entangled romances of four couples are laid
bare – with the magic of music on a summer’s night, love’s joys
and complications play out in three-quarter time. Past Watermill
productions of Sondheim have gone down a storm, including the
Tony award-winning Sweeney Todd, which transferred to the West
End and Broadway, so book early.
Unexpected Alice
Creation Theatre: Alice
University Parks, Oxford
July 15 - August 19
Box office (01865) 766266
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Tea-guzzling tiger
The Tiger who Came to Tea
Corn Exchange, Newbury / Monday 24 (1.30pm)
Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26 (11am & 2pm)
Box office: (01635) 46044 /
The doorbell rings just as Sophie and her
mummy are sitting down to tea. Who could
it possibly be? What they certainly don’t
expect to see at the door is a big, stripy
tiger! We all have fond memories of
reading Judith Kerr’s The Tiger
Who Came to Tea to our little
ones – such was my son’s love
for the story of the tea-guzzling
tiger, I can still recite it word
for word. Now the UK’s leading
writer of plays and musicals for
children, Olivier Award-winning
David Wood, has adapted it for the
stage and following a smash-hit
in the West End, brings this
delightful tale of teatime mayhem
to Newbury. This grrrrrrrrrrreat
family show for ages three
and over runs for about 55
minutes, without an interval
and is packed with music,
magic, singalong songs
and clumsy chaos.