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Date

 Time

 Festival Week Events

 Where?

 Friday April 17th.

All seats sold.

"An Audience with John Sergeant"
John Sergeant, former political editor and International reporter entertains with stories of life in the Media and his recent fame in "Strictly"

Presented in association with
Clive Conway Celebrity Productions Ltd.

Photo © Clive Conway

John Sergeant enjoyed a 30 year journalistic career with the BBC covering stories across the world before specialising in politics. He spent 12 years as Chief Political Correspondent for the BBC becoming one of the most familiar faces on our screens before moving to ITV for a 3 year period as Political Editor of ITN.

Now a freelance broadcaster and writer he has returned to his first love, light entertainment, having performed with Alan Bennett in his 1966 BBC TV comedy series On the Margin. He now appears regularly on a wide variety of TV and radio programmes and chairs the comedy show Argumental on Dave TV. Last year he became enormously popular in quite a new dimension as the somewhat unlikely audience hero on BBC TV's "Strictly Come Dancing".

As an author he has written Maggie: Her Fatal Legacy about Margaret Thatcher and his own best-selling memoirs Give Me Ten Seconds, whilst also covering travel subjects for the Daily Mail.

He will be recounting memorable events from his long career and is happy to answer questions on any subject including the inside story on Strictly!

"An Audience with John Sergeant" has now sold out.

Date

 Time

 Festival Week Events

 Where?

 Saturday April 18th.
Tickets £5

10.30 am

 "The Science of Doctor Who"
Paul Parsons
Science author and Self-confessed Doctor Who fanatic reveals the science behind the fantasy.

Armstrong Hall

Have you ever wondered if a sonic screwdriver could really work? How Cybermen make little Cybermen? Or where the toilets are in the Tardis?

Doctor Who arrived on our TV screens in 1963. Since then, across light years and through millennia, the journeys of the Time Lord have shown us alien worlds, strange life forms, futuristic technology and mind-bending cosmic phenomena.

Join Paul Parsons, popular science author and lifelong worshipper of Doctor Who on the Saturday morning and hear the low-down on this monumentally successful science fiction series, explaining the science behind the fantasy and showing video clips to illustrate his explanations.

Suitable for children of any age!

Date

 Time

 Festival Week Events

Where?

Saturday April 18th.
Tickets £12
(Concessions £10)

"The Galliard Ensemble in Concert"

The celebrated international wind quintet

This wind quintet was founded in the early 90s when its members were all students at the Royal Academy of Music. From this prestigious beginning, The Galliard Ensemble is now firmly established as one of the UK's leading chamber ensembles. The musicians bring their uniquely warm, energetic and passionate style to this Thornbury venue.
Join them for an evening listening to an inspired choice of programme:

'Top calibre performers shining the beam of their musicality' LONDON EVENING STANDARD

Date

 Time

 Festival Week Events

 Where?

"Bits & Pieces with 3MC"
Three Mens Company
A selection of songs, prose, piano and good humour.

Three Mens Company, David Higson, John Marsh and Jeremy Watkins present a delightful light-hearted selection of favourite songs, verse, prose and piano music featuring purely English writers and composers, including Auden, Betjeman, Bennett, Coward, Finzi, Flanders and Swann and many more.

David, John and Jeremy first performed together in 1988 at the Lord Mayor's Chapel in Bristol, where John was Director of Music. By 2002 they had decided to present their entertainments more regularly with the objective of fund raising for charity. Over the last 6 year they have raised the astonishing £45,000. for good causes.

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Date

 Time

 Festival Week Events

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Monday April 20th
Tickets £7
(Concessions £5)

I am not one to grumble, but…

In this entertaining and thought provoking talk based on his recent book Complaints: From Minor Moans to Principled Protests, Dr Julian Baggini, author, freelance philosopher, broadcaster and co-founder and editor of The Philosophers' Magazine argues that complaining is a human universal that if used correctly can have practical benefits.

With the rise in popularity of programmes such as Grumpy Old Men, the habit of complaining has become something of a leisure pursuit for the resigned and the nostalgic. However, Dr Baggini will argue that we should turn our sense that "everything conspires against me" into practical constructive criticism, and that such stances in the past have instigated major social advances.

Date

 Time

 Festival Week Events

 Where?

Tuesday April 21st.
All seating £5

Is my custard powder dry enough?
Martyn Harries
Dubbing mixer at the BBC gives a lesson

This is a lesson in how to cook up a soundtrack!

Martyn Harries, Dubbing Mixer at the BBC, gives a fascinating insight into the inner workings of programmes such as Casualty and the natural history documentaries.

Date

 Time

 Festival Week Events

 Where?

"My Darling Clemmie" by Hugh Whitemore
Rohan McCullough
A one-woman show on Winston Churchill's clever and beautiful wife

"My most brilliant achievement was my ability to be able to persuade my wife to marry me" WINSTON CHURCHILL

This one-woman show is the remarkable, moving and highly entertaining story of the woman who married Churchill. It is performed by one of our most talented and versatile actresses Rohan McCullough, who returns to Thornbury, having appeared in 2006 in Mortimer's Miscellany with the late Sir John Mortimer.

Hugh Whitemore is one of our foremost dramatists. His TV film The Gathering Storm, about the Churchills in the 1930s, won the American Emmy award for the best TV drama of 2002.

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"Somerset Lavender"
Judith Green
An illustrated talk, all you need to know to grow and sell lavender products.

Judith Green gives an illustrated talk on how she and her husband changed their traditional dairy farm near Bath into a lavender producing enterprise growing over 20 varieties of lavender as well as many other healing herbs.

Judith explains how the lavender is planted, nurtured and harvested to extract its essential oil, and brings a selection of products in order to illustrate its many uses.

Date

 Time

 Festival Week Events

 Where?

"A Celebration of Youth - A Concert"
Thornbury's young musicians from past and present Eisteddfods and Castle School's musicians showcase their talents.

Sponsored by Mrs Joan Hawkins

A welcome opportunity for Thornbury Arts Festival to showcase the notable musical talents and first-rate performance ability of many young people from our area.

The concert will feature talented performers from Eisteddfods past and present, and include performances by groups of young people from Thornbury's Castle School known for delivering stunning musical treats.

Date

 Time

 Festival Week Events

 Where?

 Thursday April 23th.
All seating £5

Terry Merrett Smith, broadcaster and former studio manager for hospital radio, has had a lifelong interest in music resulting in a huge collection of gramophone records.

His talk is illustrated with recordings from the war years to the 1950s and covers events and the radio and film stars of that time.

This should be an hour of pure nostalgia!

Date

 Time

 Festival Week Events

 Where?

"The Severn Barrage – Not So Much a Bore!"
Prof Colin Taylor
Prof.Taylor evaluates the environmental impact of the Severn Tidal Power project.

Professor Colin Taylor is head of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Bristol and Professor of Earthquake Engineering, he has a particular interest in the impacts on the design and performance management of large infrastructures such as dams, bridges and utilities. He has worked in the field for over 30 years and has been a consultant on major projects throughout the world. He also represents four universities on the Steering Board of the Severn Tidal Power Strategic Environmental Assessment study.

At a time of intense interest on the possibility that a scheme for harnessing power from the River Severn would affect our area, come and hear Professor Taylor give his expert view.

Is this an idea whose time has come or will it be an environmental disaster for the Severn estuary?

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Date

 Time

 Festival Week Events

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 Thursday April 23th.
All seating sold

"Raising Standards - Jazz Café"
The Festival's Jazz Café with Four in a Bar
Sarah Musgrove (vocals), Gareth Williams (flute), Andrew Dick (guitar) and Will Harris (double bass).
Jazz classics, blues and ballads.

Raising Standards - Jazz Café

An evening in Thornbury Arts Festival's Jazz Café with Four in a Bar - Sarah Musgrove (vocals), Gareth Williams (flute), Andrew Dick (guitar) and Will Harris (double bass).

This versatile Bristol-based quartet plays original arrangements of a wide range of jazz classics, blues and ballads - from Gershwin and Ellington, through Jobim and the other masters of Latin jazz, to Roberta Flack and Eva Cassidy.
.
Great music to appeal to all palates, to be savoured with friends over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine.

Raising standards - Jazz Café has now sold out.

The band are all staff or students at Bristol Medical School, they have recently produced a CD, the proceeds of which will go towards the Kenya Orphan Project, one of the charities supported by the Medical School. The CD will be available, hot off the press, after the show.

Date

 Time

 Festival Week Events

 Where?

 Friday April 24th
All seating £5

Bristol teacher Kath Kelly's modest means were stretched to the limit by her hedonistic lifestyle in malls, wine bars and coffee shops. But when she wanted to buy the perfect present for her brother's wedding just a year away, she made the rash decision to live on just £1 a day for twelve months.

This entertaining talk recounts the incredible but true story of Kath's mission to cut her spending for that year and how much fun she had without breaking the bank.

Let Kath, now a veteran of many TV and radio appearances, answer your questions and inspire you with her sound advice in these troubled times.

Could you get by on £1 a day? Come along and find out for yourself!

Date

 Time

 Festival Week Events

 Where?

"Feel the Vibe"
Local young people showcase their talent

Local young people choose, organise and enjoy their own event.

Date

 Time

 Festival Week Events

 Where?

Saturday April 25th.
All seating £5

10.30 am

 Armstrong Hall

Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard to fetch her poor dog a bone, but when she got there the cupboard was bare…Or was it?…

Iklooshar Malara and Mark Pitman, Garlic Theatre company, delight children and adults alike with a spicy blend of slapstick and folk humour in this fresh and funny adaptation of a much-loved nursery rhyme, with charismatic story-telling, great puppets, clowning and a feast of live musical treats.

An ideal introduction to the joys of theatre for anyone over 3 years of age.

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 Time

 Festival Week Events

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 Saturday April 25th.

All seats sold

"Rick Wakeman with The Piano Show"

Legendary keyboard virtuoso and more recently a TV "grumpy old man" entertains from the piano.

Armstrong Hall

 Tickets: All seats sold

Rock legend Rick Wakeman had his own band at age 18, then came 2 years with the Strawbs in the early 70s, followed by 30 years on and off with YES.

Early smash hit LPs include Close to the Edge, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, the live album YESSONGS and the recent hit YES Acoustic.

Classically trained, he had a worldwide hit with Journey to the Centre of the Earth with the London Symphony Orchestra. Rick has recorded with The English Rock Ensemble, The English Chamber Orchestra and has written and arranged the music for Ken Russell's film Lisztomania as well as making thousands of touring appearances with constantly changing material.

Now much loved as a raconteur, TV personality and 'grumpy old man', Rick will demonstrate his virtuoso piano skills in addition to letting loose his irrepressible wit by recounting hilarious and almost unbelievable episodes and experiences from his extraordinary life.

Rick Wakeman's Piano Show has now sold out

Date

 Time

 Festival Week Events

 Where?

 Sunday April 26th.

All Tickets sold

"Out on the Toot"
Walk Guides Jane Bradshaw and Meg Adnams
A walk around Oldbury on Severn including Tea/Coffee and a cake.

Meet at 1.45pm at The Ship Inn, Oldbury-on-Severn

Jane Bradshaw and Meg Adnams will take us on a guided walk to visit the historical sites of the village of Oldbury including the Pill Head, where coal ships such as the Matilda docked and the Toot itself, an ancient hill fort.

We will be walking up the hill to visit the beautiful church of St Arilda to learn of the legend of St Arild. The walk will finish back at The Ship with tea/coffee and homemade cake.

Please wear stout shoes!

Parking is limited, if you can offer a lift or would be prepared to car share, please email secretary@thornburyartsfestival .com

"Out on the Toot" is now full and no further walkers can be acommodated.

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 Feb. 2009

 Time

 Winter Programme Events

 Where?

Tuesday 3rd February.

2.00 pm

"A Midsummer Night's Dream"
 Bristol Old Vic Theatre School

 Armstrong Hall

This production is aimed at parties of primary school children.

The BOV Theatre school continue the tradition of performing Shakespeare's plays in productions which make no compromise with the language or the age of the audience but with imagination and intimacy holds them spellbound as the story unfolds.

An ideal introduction to the magic of live theatre for those who have seen drama only on TV or film.

 Date

 Time

 Spring Programme Events

 Where?

"Wall•E"
A film for Primary and Infant Schools
Organised by Thornbury Picture House.

Wall•E, a robot left behind to deal with all the rubbish which has destroyed the Earth has been clearing-up for 700 years.

He comes across some hilarious friends before falling in love with a lost robot, He pursues her across space and comes upon the survivors who have been in space ever since the Earth became toxic, their lifestyle is a warning against excess consumption and idleness.

Filled with surprises, action, humour and heart.

Directed by Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo) and made at Pixmar Animation Studios.

 Date

 Time

 Spring Programme Events

 Where?

Hip Hop Opera
Richard Link and Peter Wilcock

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A free Art workshop under cover in St Mary Centre for children from 7 - 11 years

Loads of materials provided to make Doctor Who's terrifying enemies, friendly aliens and time travelling ships.

 Date

 Time

 Spring Programme Events

 Where?

Friday April 24th.

"Feel the Vibes"
Local young people showcase their talent

Local young people choose, organise and enjoy their own event.

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Booking

Late News

 March 2009

 Time

 Spring Programme Events  

 Where?

Contact 01454 413057 for Music.
          or 01454 413887 for Speech and Drama
Judging of the various Eisteddfod Music classes will take place over a 8 day period and the Speech and Drama Classes over 2 days.

 March 2009

 Time

Eisteddfod class competitions

 Where?

 Friday 6th March

4.00 -  6.00 pm

Eisteddfod Speech and Drama
Class Judging

The Speech and Drama Eisteddfod is sponsored by the Lions Club of Thornbury

Whitsun Hall,
Hatch Community (at junction of Castle St/ Kington Lane).
Thornbury

 Saturday 7th March

9.30am - 3.00 pm

Eisteddfod Speech and Drama
Class Judging

The Speech and Drama Eisteddfod is sponsored by the Lions Club of Thornbury

Whitsun Hall,
Hatch Community (at junction of Castle St/ Kington Lane).
Thornbury

10.00 - 5.00 pm

Vocal Classes Judging

The Music Eisteddfod is sponsored by the Lions Club of Thornbury

4.00 - 9.30 pm

Brass / Woodwind/ Strings Class Judging

The Music Eisteddfod is sponsored by the Lions Club of Thornbury

9.00am - 4.30 pm

Choirs and Orchestras Class Judging

The Music Eisteddfod is sponsored by the Lions Club of Thornbury

10.00 - 2.15pm

Vocal Classes Judging

The Music Eisteddfod is sponsored by the Lions Club of Thornbury

10.00 - 2.30pm

Piano and Keyboard Class Judging

The Music Eisteddfod is sponsored by the Lions Club of Thornbury

2002 Best overall vocal
Thornbury Cymrodorian Cup Presentation
    

The judging for the various Eisteddfod classes will take place over an 8day period in two venues.

For details of of Music classes etc.,
call Daphne Ashton on 01454 413057            

For details of times of Speech and Drama classes etc.,
please ring 01454 413887.

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