Take a look at what's coming up this October in our three arts centres across Hampshire and the events at The Arc Winchester.
The Arc (Winchester)
Coming up this October at The Arc in Winchester is a whole range of comedy, music and activities for adults, children and young people alike. We also have more courses in the Digital Lab and two free, brand new art exhibitions in The Gallery and City Space. Below are some of the top picks from the exciting new autumn programme at The Arc, home of Winchester Library.
Comedy
Winchester Comedy Festival: My Mate Bought a Toaster – Live podcast (1 October)
Tom Price brings his smash hit podcast My Mate Bought a Toaster to the stage.
Imagine a top celebrity opening up their Amazon account live on stage and letting a whole live audience have a root through and see what they can find. Time for a nose, time for some shopping shaming, time for the most unique way to tell someone’s life story - through the items they bought on Amazon. We’ll go right back to their first ever purchases and take a deep dive into someone’s shopping history. All in the name of entertainment.
Previous guests on My Mate Bought a Toaster include Jason Manford, Maisie Adam, Yvette Fielding, Andi Peters, Mark Watson, Julian Clary, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Anneka Rice and loads more!
Tickets: £15
Harriet Kemsley: Honeysuckle Island (27 October)
Fed up with being told how to look and behave since she was a teenager, Harriet is taking a long hard squint at the beauty industry through her two remaining false eyelashes.
As seen on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Hypothetical, E4's Pants on Fire, Guessable, Bobby & Harriet Get Married, Comedy Central at The Comedy Store, Stand Up Sketch Show and Roast Battle.
“Packs in high-calibre jokes” ★★★★ – The Guardian
“A masterful hour” – The Skinny
★★★★ – The Scotsman
★★★★ – The List
★★★★ – Fest Magazine
Tickets: £14 / £12 concession
Music
Acoustic Café: Emily Mae Winters + Marnie Mags + Jim Chorley (8 October)
Join us for a relaxing evening in Café at The Arc, showcasing acoustic music from multiple local up and coming artists, including:
- Emily Mae Winters: A fast-rising star on the UK contemporary folk/Americana scene
- Marnie Mags: A deeply soulful, country-pop singer-songwriter from the south coast of England
- Jim Chorley: Music filled with both heart and soul, and a passion that bleeds into every note.
Tickets: £7 in advance / £10 on the door
Exhibitions
Infinite Beauty (until 16 November)
Infinite Beauty is a free and unique exhibition in The Gallery at The Arc that investigates the enduring appeal of nature as a subject for leading British contemporary artists. The exhibition explores the way in which artists interact with natural forms: plants, animals, habitats and the wider landscape and, in some cases, how their work comments on the ways human activity impacts the ecologies around us. It will feature an eclectic mixture of media, style and approaches with photography, printmaking, ceramics and sculpture – helping us to look at our relationship with nature afresh.
Works by leading artists will take us from familiar everyday experiences to the ends of the earth among the ice and snow of Antarctica. These works have been generously loaned from private collections, and some of them publicly exhibited for the first time at The Gallery.
Tickets: FREE, donations welcome.
A new exhibition at the City Space gallery and an exciting new site-specific commission for The Arc's atrium, created by artist Suna Imre, HEARTH is an ambitious installation, which speaks of our complex relationship with the Earth.
Suna has created multiple smoke-fired boulders. Completely hollow and made of clay, their marks show images we see of the universe and of our planet; the mystery and beauty of our home in the context of a much larger whole. The boulders are arranged as if breaking away from a nucleus. This fragmentation and potential collision references our precarious relationship to the earth and is an invitation to question our place within the natural world and how we can contribute to its healing.
The exhibition is an opportunity to look more closely at the fragility and beauty imbued in the details of the installation and witness the colours, textures and landscapes of these smoke-fired forms. The Atrium Commission has been funded by Arts Council England.
Tickets: FREE, donations welcome.
Digital Lab
Masterclass: small business digital marketing (2 October)
Are you looking to improve engagement and professional presentation on your business's social media accounts? This is the session for you.
Over the course of the day, you'll work with a digital marketing professional, Georgia de Buriatte, to study aspects such as developing a detailed digital marketing document, learning how to set goals, identifying your audience and analysing the success of the content you are creating. You'll have your learnings outlined in a workbook which you also get to take home.
Tickets: £35 / £28 concession
Intro to Adobe Illustrator (29 October)
This class is designed to help you understand the basics of how Adobe Illustrator works, and some key foundations which will allow you to develop your skills further. We will begin with an overview of the software, how it works, and what it's used for. We will deal with practical issues, the logistics of vector creation, and apply the techniques we discuss to a creative exercise, with a chance to review and ask any questions at the end.
Tickets: £18 / £14.50 concession
For adults
The art of the land with Kim Wilkie (6 October)
Each place has its own special character and identity – a continuous conversation between the physical form and the lives lived and shaped within it. Join visionary landscape architect and author Kim Wilkie to talk about the intimate connection between English art, poetry, music and landscape as a celebration of The Arc’s exhibition Infinite Beauty.
Kim will illustrate how cultural themes – from Bronze Age earth sculpting to Andy Goldsworthy – are rooted in the land and how we live, die and worship on it.
Tickets: £12 / £9.50 concession
Curator’s Tours with Steve Marshall (26 October)
The Infinite Beauty exhibition represents a rare opportunity to see the work of prominent artists owned by private collectors.
Join curator Steve Marshall for an absorbing tour of the highlights of the exhibition, along with insights into how the exhibition (which has been two years in the making) was brought together.
Steve Marshall is a freelance curator specialising in 20th-century British art. He has worked with Tim Craven on exhibitions including Capture the Castle and The Artists Rifles for Southampton City Art Gallery and has recently developed exhibitions on the seasons and eerie landscapes for St Barbe Museum.
Tickets: £5 / £4 concession
For children and young people
Come and explore an ecosystem of balloons: universes in miniature.
In Rise and Fall, you’ll meet all manner of balloons – from small floating moons to vast bouncing orbs. Forever expanding and contracting, balloons are free to float, fly and sway. Hold your breath and go sailing away.
Rise and Fall is a poetic and intriguing performance for young audiences about holding on and letting go.
“A fun and fascinating production” ★★★★ – London Theatre 1
“A unique, poetic, physical theatre experience” – Children’s Theatre Reviews
“A perfect invitation to let your imagination weave its own story” – The Young Londoner
Tickets £9 / £32 for a family of four
Suitable for children aged 2 and above
Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish (16 October)
One man’s passionate dream to find his paradise beyond the stars leaves the world in ruins. Can the dinosaurs who sleep deep underground wake up in time to sort out the mess and save Planet Earth?
Roustabout Theatre’s Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish is a wildly imaginative retelling of Michael Foreman’s environmental tale, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the ever-popular picture book. Aswell as an important message of ecological awareness, you can expect dancing dinosaurs, space travel and catchy songs fuelled by rock’n’roll.
This riotous hour, packed with signature Roustabout silliness, will have you tapping your toes from start to finish!
“A really fun and engaging family show. I would highly recommend it!” ★★★★★– Edinburgh Fringe for Kids
“Will put a big smile on your children’s faces” ★★★★ – Theatre Weekly
Tickets £9 / £28 family of four
Suitable for children aged 3-12 and their families
Messy Monster’s Ball (24 – 28 October)
The messy monsters have come out to play for Halloween! Help our enormous cardboard monsters get ready for the ball by decorating their party outfits and helping them strike a pose. Make your own mini monster to take home too.
Tickets £3
Suitable for children aged 4 and above
More information about The Arc Winchester and the programme of events and activities is available at arcwinchester.org.uk.
Ashcroft Arts Centre (Fareham)
Comedy
South Coast Comedian of the Year 2022 – October heat (13 October)
South Coast Comedian of the Year is a competition now in its eighth year, run by comedian and promoter James Alderson, for those who come from – or live in – the south coast counties.
We aren’t trying to rewrite the history books here, as we know there are some awesome competitions for comedians in the UK (and some awful ones!), but what we do know is that the south coast has a rapidly growing number of comedians who deserve recognition and this competition will give winning comedians a chance to make the UK comedy scene aware that they are making waves.
Come and judge some of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Sussex and Kent's finest rising-star comedians! Who will be your winner?
October's line-up* includes: Matt Roseblade; Chris Young; Shannon Sumfing; Emma Ashley; Sam Mullen; Patrick Carmody; and Christie Grattan.
Tickets: £10
*Line-up/event is subject to change
Paul Foot: Swan Power (16 October)
Tired of the goose? Swan Power is here.
Fresh from a critically acclaimed run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, multi-award-winning cult comedy favourite and “comic genius” (Sydney Morning Herald) Paul Foot opens his beak and explores topics including a potential solution to the problem of online trolling, the massively underwhelming sex drive of pandas and Eamonn Holmes. Plus: an unwarranted attack on the RNLI and a full re-enaction of the 1997 film Titanic (severely abridged).
For those confirmed connoisseurs of Paul's humour, the show is a must. For those who have not seen him for a few years, they would be urged to look again.
“Like a rare exotic bird, he's special” – The Daily Express
“Sublime, original, brilliant” – The Independent
Tickets: £15
Music
Ashcroft Presents: The Lucky 13s + support (7 October)
Our monthly local showcase Ashcroft Presents welcomes up-and-coming artists to our stage, alongside some special guests. In October, Ashcroft Presents… The Lucky 13s!
Formed in 2019, The Lucky 13s set out to create and perform original music that was swamped in soul and that melds vintage rhythm and blues with modern-day storytelling.
Powerful, soulful & uplifting, The Lucky 13s draw inspiration from the musical roots of decades prior while sounding undeniably relevant today, captivating audiences with brand new music to complement their vibrant and exciting live shows.
Price: £8 / £5 student in advance (£7 student on the door)
Forged in the same fires as Tolkien’s One Ring - the finest ‘take’ on the whole mix of Eastern, Balkan and Klezmer music as well as Western culture.
The Destroyers’ live show inspires awe with music of explosive vitality; virtuosic and wildly chaotic, effortlessly eclectic, often dark and sometimes downright silly.
The Destroyers have been consistently knocking the socks off of audiences for over 15 years at festivals, club nights and arts centres, accumulating a diverse fanbase and earning their place on major stages at Glastonbury, WOMAD and Boomtown Fair, as well as appearances on Sky Arts TV and plays on BBC Radio 2, Radio 3 & Radio 6 Music.
Tickets: £15 in advance / £18 on the door
Jacob & Drinkwater (9 October)
UK alt-folk duo Jacob & Drinkwater have been called “stand-out new folk” by BBC Radio 6 Music. Jacob's sweeping vocals never fail to captivate, delivering many a spine-tingling moment; the fluidity and precision of his finger-picking underpinned by Drinkwater's nimbly rhythmic double bass; at times sweetly soaring, haunting, percussive and driving, the layers of depth a perfect counterfoil.
Featured numerous times on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music and lauded by their musical peers as one of the most accomplished acts touring the circuit today.
“Really stop you in your tracks” – Fresh on the Net- Fresh On The Net
“Inventive and thrilling” – R2
“One of our best artists” – BBC Devon Introducing
Tickets: £12 advance / £14 on the door
Theatre
A story of return, reconciliation and rehearsals with mum. Step ball changing between suburb and city, I, AmDram minds the gap between the identities we assert and the worlds we leave.
In this debut piece of storytelling performance, Hannah Maxwell hops a train back to her hometown of Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, taking a whistle-stop tour of 90 years of musical theatre heritage in the process.
She still remembers every line of the Welwyn Thalians’ 2010 production of My Fair Lady, but nine years in London as a “learned urban lesbian” have left her struggling to find the key.
Tickets: £14 / £12 concession
Am I Invisible Yet? (20 October)
In this personal and irreverent one-man show Dunstan Bruce, ex-frontman with chart-topping band Chumbawamba, takes the audience on an existential voyage told through poetry, prose, music and projection.
Feeling increasingly invisible, impotent and apoplectic in today's world, wondering if we're all going to hell in a handcart, Dunstan gives us a piece of performance poetry and physical theatre that rages and ranges across angst and despair, comedy and delight, middle-aged dissolution and disillusion.
Fuelled with a whisky drink, a vodka drink, a cider drink and a lager drink, and with a love for the new generation of artists and activists, maybe, just maybe, if we do the things we're most afraid of, perhaps we can still get back up again...
“Charming, collusion-smashing performer” – Paul Levy, FringeReview
“A great way of p*ssing the night away with one of pop's most interesting 1-hit-wonders. A brilliant live debut” – Nick Coquet, The Brighton SOURCE
“Angry-funny, in-yer-face endearing; the punky performance poet and the more mellow, reflective self-mocker” – Philippa Hammond, Sussex Playwrights
“Thought-provoking as well as entertaining. Brilliant.” – Chris Nash, Spark Radio
Tickets: £14 / £12 concession
Classes and Workshops
Ashcroft Arts Centre will join hundreds of Fun Palaces nationally and internationally set to explode with free and fun activities for all: Sharing skills, connecting communities, creating tiny revolutions…
This Fun Palace was created by the Fareham community by sharing and celebrating the skills of everyone. Master new skills from your neighbours, share hobbies with friends old and new and celebrate the passions and enthusiasms of all of us.
Fun Palaces is an ongoing national and international campaign, nurturing and supporting the potential and positivity of sharing people’s enthusiasms, passions and skills with their own local community.
There are also lots of other classes and workshops to discover in October at Ashcroft Arts Centre, including a singing for wellbeing taster session (10 October), make your own paper rose (20 October), Halloween flower arrangement (25 October) and a spooky special edition of Wine, Paint, Chill (25 October). To find out more about these and other classes and workshops visit https://ashcroft.org.uk/events/.
For Children and Young People
Ashcroft Halloween spook-tacular (22 October)
Calling all monsters and creatures of the night, zombies and goblins to give you a fright, ghosts and witches who come to take flight… to Ashcroft’s spook-tacular Halloween delight!
Fancy dress is encouraged for this afternoon of spooky family fun, including:
- Wand-making
- Pumpkin carving,
- Hair-raising games
- Arts and crafts
- Learning the monster mash!
Tickets: £10
Suitable for ages 6-11
Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish (29 October)
One man’s passionate dream to find his paradise beyond the stars leaves the world in ruins. Can the dinosaurs who sleep deep underground wake up in time to sort out the mess and save Planet Earth?
Roustabout Theatre’s Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish is a wildly imaginative retelling of Michael Foreman’s environmental tale, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the ever-popular picture book. As well as an important message of ecological awareness, you can expect dancing dinosaurs, space travel and catchy songs fuelled by rock’n’roll.
This riotous hour, packed with signature Roustabout silliness, will have you tapping your toes from start to finish!
“A really fun and engaging family show. I would highly recommend it!” ★★★★★– Edinburgh Fringe for Kids
“Will put a big smile on your children’s faces” ★★★★ – Theatre Weekly
Tickets £8 / £28 family of four
Suitable for children aged 3-12 and their families
More information about Ashcroft Arts Centre and the programme of events and activities is available at https://www.ashcroft.org.uk/.
Forest Arts Centre (New Milton)
Coming up in October at Hampshire Cultural Trust’s Forest Arts Centre in New Milton is a whole range of comedy, music, theatre, children’s activities and more. Below are some of the top picks from Ashcroft’s programme this month:
Comedy
Sarah Keyworth: Lost Boy (8 October)
If comedy equals tragedy plus time, then boy, this is going to be good.
Sarah Keyworth is an award-winning stand-up comedian who performs live regularly across the UK. She has appeared on Live at the Apollo, 8 Out of 10 Cats and Mock the Week, as well as her own comedy special, Dark Horse, on Amazon Prime Video and her four-part BBC Radio 4 show Are You A Boy Or A Girl?.
“Powerful, poignant and achingly funny” ★★★★★ – The Herald
“Utterly engaging” ★★★★ – The Telegraph THE TELEGRAPH
“A comic who’s here for keeps” ★★★★ – The Times
Tickets: £13.50 / £11.50 concession
Suitable for ages 14 and above
Pete Firman: Bag of Tricks (14 October)
Pete Firman is one of the UK's most popular magicians and he's back on the road! You've seen him on television, now experience his trademark blend of laugh-out-loud comedy and jaw-dropping magic live on stage.
As seen on ITV's Tonight at the London Palladium and The Next Great Magician, BBC One's The Magicians, The John Bishop Show and The Sarah Millican Television Programme.
“The new poster-boy for British comedy magic” – The Telegraph
“The man from Middlesbrough sets the pace for comedy-meets-magic in the 21st century” – The Times
“Seamless blending of quality magic and stand-up comedy. It is a joy to watch” – Edinburgh Festivals Magazine
Tickets: £16
Suitable for ages 14 and above
Music
Green Room Live: Connor Selby (6 October)
As we head into the autumn, our Green Room Live showcases will continue to bring you the best talent from across the region every month!
Connor Selby is a rising British star in the traditions of Eric Clapton and Peter Green, who has already performed with his band at Wembley Stadium aged just 22, at the behest of The Who.
Voted the Young Artist of the Year in the 2020 and 2021 UK Blues Awards, the young bandleader-guitarist-vocalist draws on influences as diverse as Clapton, B.B. King, Ray Charles, Free and Nick Drake, creating a soulful blend of hard-hitting blues and emotional, introspective songwriting which, at times, evokes a modern take on the best of the British blues boom of the 1960s.
Tickets: Pay what you decide! (Min. £2.50)
Crow Black Chicken + Blue Nation (20 October)
Crow Black Chicken have earned a reputation as one of Ireland's top blues acts. Their sound combines elements of folk and hard rock with the blues rock of bands like Gov't Mule, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Led Zeppelin.
Support comes from Blue Nation, a 3-piece band from Birmingham playing riff-based melodic blues rock from a reservoir of influences, including The Beatles, Cream, Led Zeppelin, ‘90s Britpop and more recently Rival Sons and Vintage Trouble to create their memorable sound.
- "Maybe it's the luck of the Irish or maybe it's these boys' immense talent, but they've managed to find a sound that's all their own. In a world of cliché blues songs, these lads take what they want and leave the rest far behind." – Blues Rock Review
Tickets: £12 in advance / £14 on the door
Theatre
Am I Invisible Yet? (19 October)
In this personal and irreverent one-man show Dunstan Bruce, ex-frontman with chart-topping band Chumbawamba, takes the audience on an existential voyage told through poetry, prose, music and projection.
Feeling increasingly invisible, impotent and apoplectic in today's world, wondering if we're all going to hell in a handcart, Dunstan gives us a piece of performance poetry and physical theatre that rages and ranges across angst and despair, comedy and delight, middle-aged dissolution and disillusion.
Fuelled with a whisky drink, a vodka drink, a cider drink and a lager drink, and with a love for the new generation of artists and activists, maybe, just maybe, if we do the things we're most afraid of, perhaps we can still get back up again...
“Charming, collusion-smashing performer” – Paul Levy, FringeReview
“A great way of p*ssing the night away with one of pop's most interesting 1-hit-wonders. A brilliant live debut” – Nick Coquet, The Brighton SOURCE
“Angry-funny, in-yer-face endearing; the punky performance poet and the more mellow, reflective self-mocker” – Philippa Hammond, Sussex Playwrights
“Thought-provoking as well as entertaining. Brilliant.” – Chris Nash, Spark Radio
Tickets: £14 / £12 concession
Hundred Watt Club (22 October)
Join Hundred Watt Club with an all new line-up for a ravishing, risqué and ridiculous evening of burlesque, comedy and cabaret.
Prepare to be teased by the cream of the glittering UK burlesque scene, to roll in the aisles at riotous comedy and be awestruck by incredible circus stunts. No two shows are the same with Hundred Watt Club so expect the unexpected, but be ready for a good old-fashioned, bawdy and champagne-soaked variety show – all tied up in a feisty, tongue-in-cheek ribbon!
Tickets: £16 / £14 concession
Suitable for ages 18 and above
Classes and Workshops
Forest Arts will join hundreds of Fun Palaces nationally and internationally – set to explode with free and fun activities for all!
Fun Palaces activities (all 1 October except Sing-a-long on 30 September):
- Sing-a-long
- Photography
- Learn to knit
- Jive
- Disco Fit
- Abstract art
- Flamenco dance
- Dance fever with Zest Dance
- Introduction to mindfulness
- Performance by Scarf New Forest (Supporting children with additional needs, relatives and friends)
To find out more about other classes and workshops in October, visit www.ashcroft.org.uk/events.
For Children and Young People
After 3 long years away, Forest Arts’ Halloween Disco is back, with lots of fun Halloween-themed dances and activities!
Join us for crafting, dancing and free face-painting. Dress-up is encouraged!
Tickets £6 per child with an accompanying adult
Suitable for children aged 5-13
Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish (30 October)
One man’s passionate dream to find his paradise beyond the stars leaves the world in ruins. Can the dinosaurs who sleep deep underground wake up in time to sort out the mess and save Planet Earth?
Roustabout Theatre’s Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish is a wildly imaginative retelling of Michael Foreman’s environmental tale, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the ever-popular picture book. As well as an important message of ecological awareness, you can expect dancing dinosaurs, space travel and catchy songs fuelled by rock’n’roll.
This riotous hour, packed with signature Roustabout silliness, will have you tapping your toes from start to finish!
“A really fun and engaging family show. I would highly recommend it!” ★★★★★– Edinburgh Fringe for Kids
“Will put a big smile on your children’s faces” ★★★★ – Theatre Weekly
Tickets £8 / £28 family of four
Suitable for children aged 3-12 and their families
More information about Forest Arts Centre and the programme of events and activities is available at https://www.forest-arts.co.uk/.
West End Centre (Aldershot)
Coming up in October at Hampshire Cultural Trust’s West End Centre in Aldershot is a whole range of comedy, music, theatre, children’s activities and more. Below are some of the top picks from Ashcroft’s programme this month:
Comedy
Jessica Fostekew: Wench (6 October)
A show about sexy things (awkward), private things (oh no) and a woman trying to sit on the face of time to keep it still (hot, right?).
You’ve seen Jessica Fostekew on Live at the Apollo, QI and Harry Hill's Clubnite amongst other TV shows. She's a regular co-host of The Guilty Feminist podcast, the host and creator of The Hoovering Podcast and you hear her regularly on BBC Radio 4's News Quiz and Now Show.
Jess was nominated for the Dave Edinburgh Comedy Award – Best Show 2019 with her last show Hench, and she won Best Show and Best Breakthrough Act at the Chortle Awards 2020.
Tickets: £15 / £13 concession
Suitable for ages 16 and over
Harriet Kemsley: Honeysuckle Island (20 October)
Fed up with being told how to look and behave since she was a teenager, Harriet is taking a long hard squint at the beauty industry through her two remaining false eyelashes.
As seen on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Hypothetical, E4's Pants on Fire, Guessable, Bobby & Harriet Get Married, Comedy Central at The Comedy Store, Stand Up Sketch Show and Roast Battle.
“Packs in high-calibre jokes” ★★★★ – The Guardian
“A masterful hour” – The Skinny
★★★★ – The Scotsman
★★★★ – The List
★★★★ – Fest Magazine
Tickets: £14 / £12 concession
Music
Bluegrass band The Often Herd transcend the traditional boundaries of the genre. Although they might resemble an American string band – complete with driving energy, tight vocal harmonies and dazzling instrumental interplay – their vibrant, transatlantic sound is deeply coloured by their surroundings: the striking natural and industrial landscapes of northern England. This unique approach won them the title of Best European Bluegrass Band 2018 at the prestigious La Roche Bluegrass Festival in France.
Rupert Hughes (guitar) and Evan Davies (mandolin), writing songs steeped in personal experience whilst drawing from a wide pool of influences ranging from old time to psychedelia. American-born fiddler Niles Krieger and jazz bassist Sam Quintana add fiery instrumental skills to the mix, launching the band’s arrangements into the stratosphere. Together, their sound is both boldly contemporary and soothingly familiar, taking time honoured traditions to new places with a fresh perspective.
“A study in virtuosity from a supremely talented group of musicians” – Narc Magazine
“Traditional, inventive, tight and sharp… For those who think they don’t like bluegrass, this could be the point they change their minds.” - FolkWords
Tickets: £12
Forged in the same fires as Tolkien’s One Ring - the finest ‘take’ on the whole mix of Eastern, Balkan and Klezmer music as well as Western culture.
The Destroyers’ live show inspires awe with music of explosive vitality; virtuosic and wildly chaotic, effortlessly eclectic, often dark and sometimes downright silly.
The Destroyers have been consistently knocking the socks off of audiences for over 15 years at festivals, club nights and arts centres, accumulating a diverse fanbase and earning their place on major stages at Glastonbury, WOMAD and Boomtown Fair, as well as appearances on Sky Arts TV and plays on BBC Radio 2, Radio 3 & Radio 6 Music.
Tickets: £15 in advance / £18 on the door
Public Address: Abrasive Trees + Cities in Dust + Armstrong (15 October)
Our monthly local showcase Public Address welcomes up-and-coming artists to our stage, alongside some special guests.
October’s showcase will be headlined by Abrasive Trees, who display a willingness to experiment alongside a sound that sits loosely within the post-punk aesthetic with definite influences from post-rock, folk and psychedelia. Cities in Dust produce a rich mix of indie rock, punctuated by a wide range of genres including hip-hop, electronica, punk and psychedelia. Finally, Armstrong take influence from the likes of Foo Fighters, Bruce Springsteen, Sam Fender and Bon Iver to create anthemic indie rock infused with emotionally driven lyrics, catchy pop melodies and a driving rhythm section.
Tickets: £5 advance / £7 on the door
Theatre
Am I Invisible Yet? (22 October)
In this personal and irreverent one-man show Dunstan Bruce, ex-frontman with chart-topping band Chumbawamba, takes the audience on an existential voyage told through poetry, prose, music and projection.
Feeling increasingly invisible, impotent and apoplectic in today's world, wondering if we're all going to hell in a handcart, Dunstan gives us a piece of performance poetry and physical theatre that rages and ranges across angst and despair, comedy and delight, middle-aged dissolution and disillusion.
Fuelled with a whisky drink, a vodka drink, a cider drink and a lager drink, and with a love for the new generation of artists and activists, maybe, just maybe, if we do the things we're most afraid of, perhaps we can still get back up again...
“Charming, collusion-smashing performer” – Paul Levy, FringeReview
“A great way of p*ssing the night away with one of pop's most interesting 1-hit-wonders. A brilliant live debut” – Nick Coquet, The Brighton SOURCE
“Angry-funny, in-yer-face endearing; the punky performance poet and the more mellow, reflective self-mocker” – Philippa Hammond, Sussex Playwrights
“Thought-provoking as well as entertaining. Brilliant.” – Chris Nash, Spark Radio
Classes and Workshops
Limited tickets remain for a selection of classes and workshops throughout October at West End Centre, including paper beads jewellery (1 October), mindfulness mandala (10 October) and beginners pottery (12 October).
For Children and Young People
Children’s Festival (25 October – 28 October)
This October half term at the West End Centre sees the long-awaited return of our Children’s Festival! We’ve packed our half term full of fun activities and unmissable events for children and their families – from enchanting puppet shows to gloriously messy arts and craft workshops.
Plus, as always, we’ve included some fabulous FREE events – because we know that being a parent isn’t cheap. Join us this October half term as we celebrate all that’s great about being a child!
Children’s Festival activities include:
- Mini painters: Mini Matisse (25 October)
- Create your own story (25 October)
- Sock monsters (26 October)
- Halloween food fun (27 October)
- Amazing art afternoon (27 October)
- Dance and storytelling with Commotion Dance (28 October)
- Creative dance with Commotion Dance (28 October)
- Pottery for age 3+ (28 October)
- Pottery for age 8+ (28 October)
Woodland Tales with Granddad (26 October)
Something is happening in the woods, voices can be heard and a strange metallic smell fills the air. Machines are gathering at its edge, and a mysterious call is heard across the valley.
Laura the ladybird, Jeffrey the spider, Brett the Woodlouse and Willoughby the Woodpecker are worried. Velda the Vixen knows there’s only one person who can help them – Granddad. But is there enough time? Can they save the wood? And will the mystery stranger help?
Woodland Tales with Granddad is an incredible show with an important environmental message to share.
Tickets: £8 / £28 family of four
Suitable for children aged 3 and above and their families
More information about West End Centre and the programme of events and activities is available at https://www.westendcentre.co.uk/.
