Artsbeat April 2016

Celebrating the arts in Derbyshire and the Peak District

April 2016

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FESTIVALS Comedy Literature Folk Music

WIN Tickets to the opera

Animal Magic Music, theatre, gallery, film and workshop listings

Amanda Penman editor Whatever takes your fancy in the next few weeks I am pretty certain that Derbyshire will have a festival for it.

If it is books you love then Wirksworth is staging its first mini festival and Derby is launching the line-up for its second at Derby Reads.

For those who like a laugh then there’s the gag-packed Comedy Festival in the city which you can read about on page 24.

Folk music from a stellar line-up of performers will be taking centre stage in Buxton for the weekend-long Big Session hosted by the Oysterband.

And the good news is there is even going to be a beer festival to complement the musical marathon.

If you like to experience a bit of everything then you should look no further than the now annual Belper Arts Festival which is overflowing with drama, art, photography, literature, film and music.

First up for the festival is the Belper Arts Trail which has attracted 105 artists from all over the region. You can read about one of them, feltmaker Anne Alldread, on page 20.

I challenge anyone to complain that there’s nothing going on in this county!

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email: editor@arts-beat.co.uk Telephone: 07872 066719 artsbeat2 @artsbeat

website: artsbeatblog.com

Putting Derbyshire first: artsbeat is published by Penman Publishing, 19 Nottingham Road, Belper and is printed by Buxton Press

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contents

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performance

35 WinterWalker’s Three Keepers are on stage with their silent comedy 51 Corrie star takes on the role of Brian Clough in The Damned United 53 Lucy Ward in first-class line-up at Buxton’s Big Session folk festival

artists & exhibitions

20 Felt maker Anne Alldread joins creatives for Belper’s festival trail 36 COVER STORY: Wildlife painter Kevin Shepherd is drawn to hares 44 Historical society creates artistic depiction of Pentrich Revolution

film & photography

9 Photographer Kate Bellis is on a mission to document community life 68 A round-up of community cinema screenings in the what’s on listings

literature

29 Bakewell author Roly Smith chooses his favourite landscapes 42 Derby Reads event launches city’s second book festival 49 Take a peek into the past with county’s extensive library archive

have a go

45-48 Learn a new skill through our Have a Go workshops guide

regulars

26-27 Pick of the shows in gallery 53-58 Music listings and band news 63-68 What’s on listings in agenda 7

contemporary fine art and creative hub

Original paintings, drawings, prints, ceramics, photographs, textiles, mixed-media, jewellery and other locally made unique gifts for sale.

A varied programme of exhibitions, workshops, art events and live music.

Large workshop space for hire. open every day 10.30am - 5.30pm except Thursday

Hardwick Hall, Hardwick Square South, Buxton SK17 6PY 01298 937375 07977 956707 thegreenmangallery.com hello@thegreenmangallery.com

Colour captured in black and white

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hotographer Kate Bellis, pictured, has been recording intimate life stories from the heart of Derbyshire for getting on for 20 years.

She has been busy chronicling a rural way of life under threat, before it disappears altogether, and has captured many heartstirring images along the way.

The 46-year-old who grew up on a small farm in Devon, moved to Nottingham at the age of 17 to study photography at Nottingham Trent University and then after winning the Fuji Award of the Observer Young Photojournalist of the

Picture: Sarah Williams

Year competition embarked on several years travelling the world from China and Tibet to India, Uganda and Kurdistan while filing pictures and features to many national newspapers and magazines. “I was almost always working

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in a harsh environment where people and cultures were in some way under threat and they always had a strong relationship with the land around them. “I love story telling and I have always been interested in people. I look for the very human stories wherever I am working,� she explained.

Towards the end of the 1990s she and her partner the zoologist Professor Karim Vahed, who now works at the University of Derby, decided to settle down in Derbyshire.

They first lived at Abney near Hathersage and for the last 16 years they have made their home in a stone cottage hidden

spirit of sculpture a diverse and exciting collection of work by sculptors: ian palmer, Thomas ndhlebe, tricia harrison, david sprakes, dennis westwood and mark Smith

50 St John Street, Ashbourne, DE6 1GH 01335 347425 Monday to Saturday 9.30am-5pm enquiries@stjohngalleryandcafé.co.uk www.stjohngalleryandcafé.co.uk

y paintings y prints y glass y sculpture y ceramics Sponsors of the Ashbourne Festival Art Prizes and twice winner of the ‘Café of the Year’ Award

Clockwise from above: Phil and Clyde, Hug, Children Playing on Fire Engine, Wedding Morning, Peter With His Cats Previous page: Jim Oaks n For more information about Kate’s past work go to her website katebellis.com

away at of the bottom of a steep footpath on the side of a hill on the edge of Bolehill.

The couple and their young son Gabriel are surrounded by nature and their own menagerie of pets and livestock but it is her neighbours and the other people in the community who interest Kate the most.

“This is the perfect place for a photographer and zoologist to live,” said the beaming Kate as she put the kettle on the stove. “We are surrounded by everything we love and are not far from Wirksworth which is an amazing community where families who go back generations are living side by side with a new generation of artists and artisans who have moved to the area.

“I soon realised I didn’t have to travel the world to find those intimate human stories.

They were here right on my doorstep.

“When I was travelling I spent great deal of time actually living in communities and building up trust with people, so that eventually my camera was hardly noticed and I was able to capture them naturally.

‘All life is here – it

is vital that it is recorded before it changes forever’ “It is the same here. Over the years I have formed many relationships with the people living in the heart of this community and they trust me and my camera. Trust like that is not given easily and I want to respect it with my work.”

In the past Kate has concentrated a lot of her work on the resilience of hill farmers struggling from one generation to the next to make

a living out of their challenging surroundings.

But when she become a mother to Gabriel her own life, and what she was free to do, changed so she began to focus on other aspects of the community.

Imprints, a visual story of the people she has met, was an exhibition launched at the Wirksworth Festival last year and accompanied by a book Imprints: Photographs of Wirksworth and These Hills.

“Now I am a mother I can’t just disappear off for days or weeks and so my work has become more personal.

“I like to capture life around me as it happens and sometimes that has meant pictures have been taken on my iPhone. It is always with me, even when I am not officially working, and that has enabled me to get some really great images,” she explained.

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In her latest portfolio of black and white images there are processions, weddinwgs, children playing at the school fair, audiences at landmark events and even people with their dogs and cats.

“All life is here – it is vital that it is recorded before it changes forever. If I can do that I will have achieved what I set out to do,” she said.

An exhibition of Kate’s work can be seen at the Peak District Photography Gallery, upstairs at the Bakewell Visitor Centre, from May 17-June 28.

She is also working on a major exhibition for the Buxton Museum and Art Gallery in 2018 which will be entitled Pulse: Stories from the Heart of Derbyshire which will include not only her pictures but also poetry by Lucy Peacock, film

by Gavin Repton and sculpture

by Sally Matthews, who Kate collaborated with on a previous project called Gathering.

OPERA • MUSIC • BOOKS 8–24 JULY 2016 buxtonfestival.co.uk

LEONORE

BEETHOVEN 8, 12, 15, 19, 22 July

I CAPULETI E I MONTECCHI BELLINI 9, 13, 16, 20, 23 July

TAMERLANO HANDEL 10, 14, 17, 21 July

Theatre company aims to challenge casting stereotypes

Red-headlining

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edhead actor Collene Webb has formed her own theatre company with the sole aim of raising the profile of fellow red-haired people on stage and screen.

The Staffordshire-based performer is concerned about restrictive casting in her industry and decided to do something about it herself.

Her first production with Redhead Reach is Anne of Green Gables, and it will be performed at two venues in Derbyshire in April.

“As a professional scriptwriter and actor I have witnessed stereotyping, standardised characters and gender inequality. I guess I am not just trying to raise awareness about redheads – I want to provoke debate about this sort of problem in general.

“Quite often casting directors will ask for a blonde or a brunette and it is almost as if they have never even consider that redhead people exist,” she said.

Collene stars as Anne in her new play which she has adapted from LM Montgomery’s best-selling 1908 novel.

She hopes it will be the most authentic adaptation anyone is likely to see, as she has travelled to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia in Canada where the Anne novels are set.

The play, being produced in asssociation with Found Theatre, aims to capture the magic of those places and also features traditional Canadian music and original folk songs composed by Collene and set to Montgomery’s poems.

The classic coming of age novel tells the story of redheaded orphan, Anne Shirley, who is sent to Green Gables by mistake.

Marilla and her brother

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Matthew Cuthbert had intended to adopt a boy to help on the farm, so when a spirited girl arrives they don’t know what to think.

But soon the Cuthberts and the village community of Avonlea, Prince Edward Island grow fond of Anne despite her constant chatter, mishaps and fiery temper. Life will never be the same again.

The production is directed by Simon Corble who is from Monyash with a cast of five professional actors performing 13 characters. One of the actors, Sarah Gordon, is from Buxton and the show’s costume supervisor Katherine Newbury is from Darley Abbey.

Anne of Green Gables can be seen at the Guildhall Theatre, Derby, from April 3-6 and Bakewell Town Hall from April 7-10.

Selected performances offer a free post-show talk, Carrots! on the theme of red hair and identity (open to everyone) or free post-show creative writing workshop, Story Club (for ages seven-11, maximum of 20 children per workshop). Visit the venue websites derbylive. co.uk and bakewelltownhall. co.uk for more details.

For more information about Redhead Reach go to redheadreach. moonfruit.com n To see a trailer of the show scan the QR code here.

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Look no further for news of two big-hit musicals, comedy, dance, drama and a call-out for your old home movies International

photography on show at QUAD A MAJOR photography exhibition currently on at QUAD in Derby brings together 50 artists of 25 different nationalities, representing some 40 international art institutions.

The exhibition reGeneration3 is part of the FORMAT International Photography Festival year off programme.

To stage it 350 art schools and centres for artistic training around the world were contacted to send the work of their five most promising students.

It was curated by Anne Lacoste of the Musée de l’Elysée in Switzerland and is divided into three sections: documentary, new expressions and the

question of memory and the dematerialisation of the image.

The work pictured is by Marek Kucharski and Diana Lelonek (top), Emile Barret (below left) and Laurence Rasti (below right).

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The participating artists come from a wide range of backgrounds in: India, Poland, Czech Republic, Cambodia, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United States and the UK. It is on until June 12. More details at derbyquad.co.uk

arena Call for artists THE organisers of the Ashbourne Festival 2016 Summer Art Exhibition are on the look out for artists from the area to submit work for this year’s event.

The exhibition will be a mix of invited artists from Derbyshire and the region, plus local artists submitting their work.

The exhibition will take place in Ashbourne Town Hall, from June 18-25.The closing date for entries is June 4.

Entries in all types of media including painting, drawing, photography, print, ceramics and sculpture are welcomed.

A prize of £200 is being donated by St John Street Gallery, to be awarded to the artist of the work which is judged to be the best by a panel of experts.

A further prize of £50 will be awarded to the work judged best by popular ballot.

For entry details go to ashbournefestival.org or y telephone 01335 348707.

Past Lives project DO you have cine film of Belper? Home movies of family and the local area?

Belper residents Anthony Hatton and Dave Sturt from Freefall Arts, in conjunction with Fleet Arts, are looking for home movie footage to create a cine film trail of Belper.

If you would like to share your films get in touch and help to tell the story of Belper’s past through moving images.

They are also interested in speaking to people who would like to volunteer to help them find the film, catalogue, make notes and speak with film depositors.

Contact - info@ pastlivesproject.com if you are interested.

WIRKSWORTH Community Theatre will be staging an ambitious new production in St Mary’s Church, Wirksworth from April 14-16.

Heaven, Hell and Everything Else, derives from the first part of the Lichfield Mystery Cycle.

Well known Bible stories will be retold with a combination of reverence, drama and slapstick.

Directors Helen and Mike Knott have promised a number of theatrical surprises.

Lichfield Mysteries stage an impressive festival of their complete Mystery Cycle every three years.

This new theatre project

Byrne looks in

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Mystery play will draw on talent from Wirksworth actors and musicians, school students, dancers, choir members and beyond.

The Community Theatre is now able to widen the scope of its programme thanks to an award of almost £4,000 from the Central England Co-operative’s Making a Difference Community Dividend.

Tickets are on sale at Traid Links, Wirksworth, 01629 824393.

Pictured: WCT committee members receive their cheque from the Co-op.

THE star of television’s Mock The Week, Have I Got News For You, Live At The Apollo, Comic Relief Bake Off and Dara and Ed’s Great Big Adventure will be heading to the Buxton Opera House on April 14.

Back with a brand new show – Outside Looking In – the Irish comedian will share more of his anecdotes and inimitable observational humour.

Byrne is known for his precise, pin-sharp delivery.

For ticket details go to buxtonoperahouse.org.uk

arena A taste of Persia THE Iranian Feast is a contemporary play with food from the heart of Persia set in modern day Tehran.

Persian tea and finger food is shared with the audience as they sit in the living room of the characters.

They experience a family in crisis desperately trying to cling onto what is so dear to them. As they prepare the food, the story unfolds – part thriller, part cookery lesson.

You can see it at Crich Glebe Field Centre on April 17, at 7.30pm. Tickets available from 01773 853 260.

Home comforts DAVID Booth is known for his transformative use of materials and for site specific sculptural installations – most memorably using 45,000 balloons for an exhibition at Wirksworth Festival and 100,000 beer mats at another.

The Derby artist has now been invited by Vitor Azedevo to exhibit at the Artsmith Live gallery in Monk Street, in the

Born to be wild RAY Mears is a happy man, he says, but a very busy one.

In April, his six-part series on Wild Australia will begin on ITV1. In the summer Wild France will be broadcast and he’s currently writing a book, about travelling in the Arctic Circle.

Now he’s embarking on a 24-gig UK tour with his show Tales of Endurance.

If we were still obliged to choose one word on our passport to describe our occupation, Ray, 52,

would probably plump for woodsman. He says: “I absolutely love trees and forests.”

Anyone going to his new show will hear plenty of tales as well as learning how to be safe in the wild, while taking a gap year. He has a particular word of advice to those people: don’t stuff your backpacks with fancy gizmos. “My mantra is simple, ‘Knowledge weighs nothing at all,” he said.

Ray Mears is at Buxton Opera House, Friday 1 April at 7.30pm. More details online.

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city and David has used the opportunity to develop his focus on new work informed by looking at the origin of his creativity.

This was always encouraged by his mum and in reference to home being so important to how his creativity evolved.

David decided to focus on domestic size sculpture, and paintings that include connections to this for the exhibition.There is a preview on April 2 from 7pm-10.30pm.

gallerytop

Tonal Edit

30 April – 29 May 2016

A multi-media exhibition focusing on subtle tones, hues, surface texture and mark- making Featuring a showcase of work by

Gizella Warburton The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday 10.00 until 5.00 and Sunday 11.00 until 4.00

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arena Marathon dance DANCE artist Jorge Crecis is working with University of Derby students at Déda to create an innovative choreography which brings together sport, dance, music and augmented reality technology.

Through & Out², premiering in October, will involve performers enduring the physical, mental and emotional states of a marathon runner during the piece which is a cross between dance and rope-skipping.

Jodie is back WEST End star Jodie Prenger is back at Buxton Opera House this month for a production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black’s classic musical Tell Me On a Sunday.

The musical charts the romantic misadventures of a young English girl in New York in the heady days of the 1980s. Brimming with

Grease is the word LONG Eaton Operatic Society are staging the hit musical Grease!

The score contains many well-known songs, including Grease, Summer Nights, Greased Lightning, We Go Together, There Are Worse Things I Could Do and the smash You’re the One That I Want.

The show is on at May Hall, Trent College, from April 5-9, at 7.30pm with a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm.

Tickets on 01332 874352 or online at longeatonoperatic. com

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optimism, she seeks success and love.

This musical features the chart-topping Take That Look Off Your Face and the title track Tell Me on A Sunday.

Jodie is probably best known for winning the role of Nancy in Cameron Mackintosh’s West End production of Oliver! through the BBC television series I’d Do Anything.

Tell Me On a Sunday is in Buxton April 3 at 7.30pm

MAY 28TH/ 29TH/30TH

U E M SI

Anne Alldread tells artsbeat’s Amanda Penman about how she found her ideal textile

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he creative journey Anne Alldread has been on has been long and varied but she reckons that at last she has reached her destiny – and the craft that has finally captured her heart is felt making.

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Material that just felt right

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We are excited to be hosting our 2nd ‘Arts in the Village Festival’ with over 20 artists exhibiting as part of Derbyshire Open Arts 2016.

With live music, entertainment, children’s activities, street food and much, much more!

AINM

THE OLD STATION GALLERY

Peak Shopping Village, Chatsworth Rd, Rowsley DE4 2JE www.theoldstationgallery. wordpress.com or follow us:

n For a full list of all the Belper Arts Festival Trail artists, including Anne, go to belperarts.org

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Anne started her working life in catering and then in the 1990s she decided to give up her job to study visual arts and printmaking.

After graduating with a 1st class degree in 1994 she set to work as a sculptor and spent a few years carving stone.

But it wasn’t what she wanted, and drawn to textiles she

studied for an A level in textiles and fabric weaving and in 2012 a post-graduate diploma in Tapestry and Textiles at West Dean College in Sussex.

She thought weaving was for her, and even spent time in Peru learning their version of the art, but when she returned home she still wasn’t convinced.

“Felt making had been a mandatory part of the course at West Dean and even though I had gone there with the intention of learning to weave it was that process which caught my interest,” explained Anne.

“It is a magical but not complicated process which sees the wool turned into

fabric and I soon realised its possibilities.

“The material is so manipulative and it can be either delicate and floaty or really robust. I love the fact that it can be used to make 3D work and part of installation works.

“Thank goodness I got there in the end and found something I wanted to do and it meant that my time at college had not been wasted,” she said with a grin.

“I started off making straightforward scarves and bags but progressed to combining the felt making with other materials such as silks, cottons and metallic threads, wires and fabrics.

“I am constantly experimenting with new ideas and now my work is evolving further to include 3D vessels, wall hangings and art works as well as home interior and fashion accessories.”

Anne lives and works in Belper and her studio is in the Derwentside Mill in Derwent

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Street. She will be one of the artists taking part in the Belper Festival Arts Trail on May 1 and 2. This year the trail has more of everything – artists, venues, music, food and street entertainment.

There will be an installation in the Memorial Gardens called People Watching; children’s fun with Captain Dan; willow weaving with Emma Parkin and book magic from Babalula Arts.

Elsewhere there will be a Ceramic Nail installation by Marion Stuart which celebrates the town’s nail making history.

Other artists, crafters and makers among the 105 exhibiting include giftware designer Elizabeth Adcock, printmakers Duncan Pass and Steve Wragg, painters Andy Mayers, Jayne Nemeth, John Rattigan, Steve McLoughlin, Peter Wigley, Mark Langley and Kelly Nixon, jewellery designers Judith Brown and Zoe Adamson and photographers Sharon Repton and Anthony Fisher.

fl Open for entries from 1st April Exhibition 1st July to 14th August

The return of the art competition and exhibition celebrating the town’s culture, natural beauty and heritage.

An opportunity for all artists to work ‘en plein air’ throughout the beautiful Peak District spa town of Buxton.

1st Prize £5000 Please visit BuxtonSpaPrize.co.uk

Prize Sponsors

Trevor Osborne Charitable Trust

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Win tickets to festival opera

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wo lucky artsbeat readers have the chance to win a pair of tickets to the much-anticipated opera performances at this year’s Buxton Festival.

The three productions in the 2016 series are Beethoven’s Leonore, Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi and Handel’s Tamerlano. All you have to do to win a pair of tickets to the opera of your choice is answer the question below, right.

Leonore, which tells of the triumph of married love, has three acts and is sung in German with English sidetitles. It is a Buxton Festival production with the Buxton Festival Chorus and Northern Chamber Orchestra.

With her husband Florestan held as a political prisoner, Leonore goes to work in the prison, disguised as a young gaoler, Fidelio, in an attempt to protect him from harm.

The governor of the prison, Don Pizarro, decides to kill Florestan before the arrival of Don Fernando, a government minister, forcing her into ever more desperate action.

This is Beethoven’s first version of the opera that would become Fidelio.

The same production team will be staging I Capuleti e i

Montecchi, Bellini’s variation on the Romeo and Juliet love story, chosen to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. Set against the background of a feud between two warring clans, the Montecchi (led by Romeo) and the Capuleti (led by Capellio).

Romeo falls in love with Capellio’s daughter, Giulietta, but the enmity between their tribes leads them both to tragedy. This will be sung in Italian with English side-titles.

Handel’s Tamerlano is a Buxton Festival production with The English Concert.

It tells the story of the Tartar emperor Tamerlano who spares the life of his prisoner, the Turkish sultan Bajazet, thanks to the intervention of Bajazet’s daughter, Asteria. Obsessed

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with Asteria, Tamerlano sets about trying to win her for himself, by palming off his betrothed, Irene, to the Greek Prince Andronico (who is himself also in love with Asteria).

It is a drama of power, passion and betrayal and will be sung in Italian with English sidetitles.

The festival’s impressive opera programme also includes a concert performance of Vivaldi’s La Senna Festeggiante and a UK Premiere by Music Theatre Wales of The Golden Dragon

by Peter Eotvos.

Buxton Festival will take place from July 8-24 and there will be more details about the music and literary events in future editions of artsbeat.

Go to buxtonfestival.co.uk for full details of the programme.

To win one of the two pairs of opera tickets we are offering as a prize this month simply tell us the answer to this question: Which soprano is playing Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi?

Email you answer together with your name, address and daytime telephone contact number to editor@arts-beat. co.uk or post those details to 19 Nottingham Road, Belper, DE56 1JG. The closing date is April 30.

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Stand up

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his year’s Derby Comedy Festival is the biggest yet, with more than 60 events taking place over ten days in April and May, bringing together more businesses and venues than ever before.

Ewan Mathers - Photographer Services for 2D and 3D Artists Giclee Prints, Profile Portraits, Workspace Photography, Copying

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Derwent Gallery Misty Monsal

Fine Art and Picture Framing

Pictured, from left: Shazia Mirza, Kate Smurthwaite, Paul Tonkinson and Mike McClean

Peak District Views by David Stowe until April 30th Open Thursday-Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday and Bank Holidays 11am-4pm

Main Road, Grindleford, S32 2JN www.derwentgallery.com

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The programme will be diverse, including stand-up, variety, outdoor and indoor events with well-known national artists and a host of up and coming artists ready to fill Derby with laughter.

Highlights of the third festival which is on from April 29-May 8 include local favourite Mike McClean, Paul Tonkinson, direct from supporting Michael McIntyre, Edinburgh Newcomer nominee Imran Yusuf, Derby-based Verbal Discharge, Vincent Saxby and Chris Brooker, the brilliantly funny Patrick Monohan, Kate Smurthwaite with her new leftwing, highbrow, stand-up

for city comedy solo show and the outrageous Shazia Mirza.

Organisers hope that this year, festival-goers might also like to try something different – possibly get to a variety of gigs, take a risk on a show without the bloke from the TV in it, or even get involved themselves with the improv’ evenings, or go along to the Super Hero Blast Off prelaunch and wear their pants over their trousers.

As well as household names, this festival supports emerging talent, particularly from Derbyshire, and it is hoped audiences will too.

Cllr Martin Rawson of Derby

City Council said: “Now into its third year, the festival is developing a reputation for comedy excellence. I’m sure this year will be the best festival yet. With over 60 events, at more than a dozen venues there will be something for everyone.”

The festival will be hosting a free public pre-launch event, Blast Off!, on April 16, from 11am to 3pm, in the Cathedral Quarter.

It will be a super-humorous, super-hero themed family event featuring a parade of comic book heroes and villains, interactive workshops, challenges and performances set alongside CQ Saturdays Knickerbocker Glorious.

There will also be four hours of music and variety entertainment. Comedy lovers are encouraged to dress up as their favourite caped crusader or create their own, and keep an eye out for the deviously destructive ‘league of evil’.

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The festival has been brought to the city by Derby LIVE, Funhouse Comedy, Furthest From The Sea, Lost Boys and NCF Comedy, supported by several local organisations including the Cathedral Quarter Derby, Discover Derby, St Peters Quarter Derby and Trent Barton.

The full list of venues includes Amber Café, Bean Caffé, The Blessington Carriage, Café Lavanta, the Cathedral Quarter, David Lloyd, Déda, Guildhall Theatre Mainhouse and Clubrooms, Market Place, The Maypole Café Bar and Theatre, The Old Bell Hotel and St Peters Cross.

For more information on the festival or to book tickets, visit derbycomedyfestival. co.uk or pick up a brochure.

You can keep up to date with the latest news on Twitter @DerbyComedyfest and facebook n Go to agenda to find details of other comedy shows

gallery

artsbeat previews this month’s don’t-miss exhibitions – turn to agenda for further details and other galleries Salon 8, The Old Lock-up, Cromford

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alon 8 a contemporary art exhibition at The Old Lock Up Studio in Cromford will be showing the work of ten contemporary artists from across the UK and a New York artist - Paul Behnke.

The Salon shows, which were started by Cromford artist Rachael Pinks as one-nightonly affairs, have become a cultural highlight in the area’s calendar where you can both admire and buy work by some exceptional fine artists.

The studio is hidden away up stone steps off a tiny alley called Swift’s Hollow.

“The Salon exhibitions are very professionally curated

with a range of great art work.

Enough to recommend it by itself, but the fab location really turns them into something special,” said one visitor at the last event.

The exhibition opens on April 22 from 6-9pm and continues during the weekend on April 23 and 24 from 11-4pm.

You will also be able to

see work by Geoff Diego Litherland, who was featured in last month’s artsbeat, Rebecca Appleby, Jackie Berridge, Claudia Boese, Rachel Pinks, Mandy Payne, Terry Greene, Lisa Denyer and Clay Smith Pictured above are Son of the Morning by Paul Behnke (left) and Reach by Lisa Denyer.

Cromford Studio and Gallery, Market Place, Cromford Watercolour artist Sheila Gill, who is the artist of the month at this gallery exploits the medium in its many forms.

She is fascinated by its possibilities and is highly expert in her craft.

The Chesterfield artist’s watercolour paintings have earned her a number of highly commended awards.

As someone who is inspired by nature she

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has always loved painting flowers but now also paints landscapes and animals “Flower painting was a natural extension to my passion for gardening, she said. “but the beauty of the Derbyshire landscape, particularly the White Peak, begs to be painted.”

This month’s maker’s exhibition is jewellery by the Derby lace designer Louise West.

Ferrers Gallery, Ferrers Centre, Staunton Harold The cats- and dogs-inspired Four Paws exhibition at Ferrers Gallery, in which the middle floor will be brimming with handcrafted work paying homage to our favourite four legged friends, runs until May 8.

From wet felting to anodised aluminium jewellery, ceramics to collograph prints; canines and felines alike are immortalised by some of Britain’s most talented designer/makers, including ceramic dogs by Virginia Dowe-Edwards

(pictured) and work by Garry Jones, Duncan Thurlby, Louise Brown, Tom McDowell, Katie Stone, Catherine Kleeli and Lucy Gell.

There will also be a number of demonstrations including Jo Harratt of Elf Designs demonstrating wet felt dogs on April 16 and Lucy Gell demonstrating cat and dog mono prints, on April 23.

Ferrers Gallery, at Staunton Harold, is open Tuesday Sunday 11am - 5pm.

Banks Mill, Bridge Street, Derby This exhibition by glass artist Stevie Davies is of wall art, sculptures, sketches and photos that explore the overlooked details, textures and patterns found on the walls of Banks Mill in Bridge Street, Derby.

The exhibition has been developed from a series of photos which have been translated into mixed media artworks, primarily made using fused glass techniques and metals.

Banks Mill Studios, was formerly a rope and tarpaulin factory, owned by the Banks family.

The exhibition will run from April 1-29 and will be open 10am-3pm. Telephone 01332 594170 to book.

Stevie will be holding a launch evening on Saturday, April 2 from 4-7pm – no booking required, just pop in. She will also be on hand on Sunday, April 24 from 2-5pm with a Meet the Maker event.

The Old Station Gallery, Rowsley The Rowsley gallery’s April curated Spring Show is a diverse exhibition of paintings, printmaking and ceramics which shows the work of seven fine artists and two ceramicists.

Artists exhibiting in the show are Tim Ball, Anne Bates, Rob Chapman, Tony Hall, Maggie Robinson, Steven Tandy (work pictured), Alison Tyldesley, Hanne Westergaard, and Cheryl Wilbraham.

You can meet the artists in the show at the opening on April 9 from 3-5pm. The exhibition continues until May 11.

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Saturdays Towers, Tunnels & Tales Tour 1st Saturday of the month. Meet outside Derby Cathedral. Tours last approx. 2 hrs 2.45pm, February – December Tickets £15, available in advance from Tourist Information, Derby Cathedral Coffee Shop and The Mecca, Market Hall.

Live music, comedy and performing arts

3rd Saturday of the month at the Waterfall, Market Place 11am – 3pm, March – December

Street circus and theatre acts

2nd Saturday of the month at the Waterfall, Market Place 11am – 3pm, May – September

Walkaround street theatre with an Edwardian twist

EDWARDIAN THEMED

4th Saturday of the month in locations around the Cathedral Quarter 11am – 3pm, May – August

CATHEDRAL QUARTER

LUNCHTIME WALKS

Walking tour with renowned historian Richard Felix Every Thursday at 12 noon 14 July to 15 September

£6 – available on the day. Meet outside Derby Cathedral.

www.derbycathedralquarter.co.uk Telephone: 01332 419053

@DerbyCQ

/cathedralquarterderby

authors

Roly picks favourite landscapes

R

oly Smith must be one of, if not the, most prolific authors in Derbyshire.

He has more than 80 books to his name all based on walking and the countryside.

When he was talking about the latest to be published, This Land, he almost forgot that he has another one out at the end of April featuring the national parks of America.

At this rate it won’t be long before he arrives at the landmark total of 100 books.

He puts the speed with which he is able to write down to his 20 years as a journalist working to demanding deadlines on daily newspapers.

Roly, 72, has lived in the Peak District for 30 years and is president of the Outdoor Writers’ and Photographers’ Guild as well as being a member of the Ramblers’ Association.

He lives in Bakewell and was head of information services for the Peak District National Park Authority for 13 years

Roly Smith until 1997 when he retired so he could concentrate on his freelance writing.

As well as writing his own books he is also is currently a commissioning editor for Frances Lincoln publishing and a media consultant.

This Land is an exploration of 50 of the most amazing landscapes in Britain and it has taken him two years to pull together in collaboration with photographer Joe Cornish.

The landscapes range from the ancient quartzite rocks of the Scottish Highlands to the gritstones and limestones of the English Pennines and

29

the rolling chalk downs of Southern England. There are sections on Mountains, Islands, Forests and Coasts.

“This is the book I have always wanted to edit and I wanted Joe to take the pictures as I firmly believe he is the best landscape photographer in Britain.

“I emailed him and asked if he would be interested in doing it and he said ‘yes’. The result is that the pictures really are outstanding and it is a beautiful book,” said Roly proudly.

“It is a combination of our favourite places. It was quite hard to choose. I had to leave some of mine out and so did Joe. We had to compromise,” he said with a laugh.

Obviously Roly had to include the Peak District in his top 25. Although he says he did manage to wheedle it down to just three places.

He didn’t really want to choose his all time favourite but when he was forced he confessed it would have to be Lud’s Church in the White Peak. n The book is available from all good bookshops for £30.

Cromford Studio and Gallery

LEABROOKS GALLERY

Featured artist in April

Sheila Gill watercolour painter inspired by nature

Featured maker in April

Jewellery by lace designer Louise West

Open: 10am-5pm Wednesday to Sunday Market Place, Cromford, DE4 3QE 01629 826434

no set up fees no minimum run

April 2nd-15th

artist led

Sally Ann Brackett

we use Hahnemuhle only visit us or email/we post out

Mixed media with pen and ink

open Thurs-Sat 10 - 5

Open: Monday to Saturday 10am-5pm Wednesday by appointment Sunday 11am-4.30pm

at Studio 61 Gallery

Holloway Nr Matlock DE4 5AT

Leabrooks House, Leabrooks Road, Somercotes 01773 602961

t: 01629 534532

e: karinagoodman@btinternet.com

www.leabrooksgallery.co.uk

www.studio61printing.co.uk

Prints

Originals

John Connolly Art Commissions, workshops and one-to-one tuition

07974 138 347

Ormscliffe Gallery and Studio

open by appointment 16 Langwith Road, Bolsover S44 6HQ 07967-316622 email: john@connollyart.com

www.connollyart.com 30

Framing

A different level

H

idden away behind a bend on the A6 at Rowsley is an arts centre that is the home to groundbreaking work with people with learning disabilities.

Few people would notice the building as they drive past and even those that do wouldn’t be aware it was an arts centre.

But that is all about to change thanks to the director of Level Andy Williams, an artistic director, composer, and multi-media artist, pictured above with students from Lady Manners School in Bakewell.

“Many people have no idea what we do and it is true that in the past as an organisation we preferred to keep a low profile but I am hoping it becomes much more open. I want us to promote ourselves a lot more, get out an awful lot more and stage more public events.

“There is brilliant work going

on here and such a unique facility deserves to be better known,” said Andy, who was previously the centre’s artistin-residence.

He specialises in creating digital projection environments as well as having an international reputation running participatory projects.

He says he is drawn to working with people who are different – seeing, hearing, and interpreting things in an alternative fashion.

As a result he has spent much time working with people with learning difficulties and his philosophy and strong belief is that difference should be celebrated.

Level works with people with learning difficulties both in Derbyshire and across the country, as well as internationally – thanks to high-tech conferencing links.

It is also a centre for artists working in the field who wish

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to develop their practice, undertake research projects or display new work. Each week there are workshops in photography and film, sensory arts, performance and multi media installations.

The next major installation will be Furniture Music a research project and solo sound installation by Toby Heys, of the Manchester Institute of Research and Innovation in Art and Design.

Furniture music was a phrase coined in the last century referring to background music in public spaces.

The installation plays with this idea by using frequencies which are at the edge of human perception played through an array of speakers built into specially made furniture. n The Furniture Music opening event is on Friday April 29 from 7.30-9pm and then Monday-Thursday from May 3-June 23.

Open seven days a week 34 Union Road, New Mills, SK22 3ES Go to thepulsecafe.co.uk for more information

Award-winning traditional Peak District pub serving breakfast, lunch and dinner

Culture Czar seeks city’s collaboration Arts guru David Chabeaux chats to Amanda Penman over lunch at the BookCafé

Telephone 01298 83288 Mobile 07866778847

see www.peakpub.co.uk for details

Scarthin Books A homely refuge and social hub

New, secondhand and antiquarian bookshop with almost 100,000 titles We buy books and music by appointment

Vegetarian & Vegan Cafe with cosy outdoor seating area

Bookshop 9-6pm Monday-Saturday, 10-6pm Sunday Cafe 10-5.15pm Monday - Saturday, 10-6pm Sunday

David Chabeaux works with celebrated performers, artists and pioneering figures around the world, using the power of the arts to spark and influence positive community change

Listed by the Guardian online as one of the ten ‘best bookshops in the world’ The Promenade, Scarthin, Cromford, DE4 3QF Tel: 01629 823272 email: nickscarthin@gmail.com

www.scarthinbooks.com

Follow us on

and watch our film on

32

D

erby-born composer, actor and singersongwriter David Chabeaux wants the world to sit up and take notice of the talent in his beloved home city.

And his first step towards achieving that will be to inspire young people to become more interested in artistic

table talk creativity with the help of arts organisations, local businesses and schools and colleges.

He will be doing that as producer of the Derby City Cultural Campus project which is a new educational programme for young people in the city.

The aim of the project, which is a collaboration between Derby Theatre, Déda, QUAD and The Mighty Creatives, is to make Derby a city where arts, culture and learning converge to inspire and engage young people.

David’s job, as he puts it, will be to ‘knock some heads together’ so there is some true collaboration between all the necessary parties.

When he met me for lunch at the BookCafé in Derby’s St Peters Quarter he had only been officially in the role for a few weeks, but already he was full of plans and ideas and was talking of a public performance by young people taking part in the project during the Festé weekend.

He is not one for resting on his laurels and it sounds like he is preparing to ruffle some feathers in his quest to see various arts organisations working for the common good of the city.

Fortunately he is no stranger

to dealing with community leaders and organisations as he is a former director and coach at the global consulting firm of the American leadership guru Dr Stephen R Covey – which means he has a wealth of experience in the fields of business and education. He has worked alongside some of the most inspirational and innovative leaders, education institutes and organisations on the planet.

He regularly collaborates with celebrated performers, artists and pioneering figures around the world using the power of the arts to inspire and influence positive community change.

He said: “My aim is always to use art to ignite a spark in people.

“This new role gives me the

opportunity to offer my skills and experience in the arts, in business and in education toward that cause.

“My job is to find a way to make all the different groups involved work better together in the best interests of the future of the city and its young people.

“I am sure there will be some fierce conversations to be had and I am not going to shy away from them. I am here to get a job done and I will get it done.

“I’m passionate about my home city of Derby. There is a huge wealth of artistic creativity here.

“We have so much talent and innovation to be proud of – particularly artistically – and it is time that we made the world sit up and take notice.”

David chose the Egyptian-inspired falafels infused with North African spices and served with a wrap, side salad, mint yoghurt and garlic mayo dip, left, which was £7.95 and I opted for the Greek chicken gyros (above), which had been marinated in lemon, garlic and yoghurt and was served with a side salad khobez flatbread, tzatziki and chunky chips at £8.95

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British Contemporary Craftsmanship

Four Paws Cats and Dogs inspired exhibition

British BritishContemporary ContemporaryCraftsmanship Craftsmanship

until Sunday May 8th

Four Four Paws Paws Cats Catsand andDogs Dogs

Art and craft demonstrations12-4pm

inspired inspiredexhibition exhibition A fabulous, newly-opened boutique galleryuntil in the heart until Sunday Sunday May May8th 8th of Castle Donington

Open Monday-Friday 9am-5.30pm Saturday 9.30am - 4.30pm Email: info@thetwobirdsgallery Telephone: 01332 987350

Ferrers Gallery, Staunton Harold, Ashby de la Zouch. LE65 1RW Open Tuesday – Sunday 11-5pm

like us on facebook

thetwobirdsgallery TwoBirdsGallery 19 Borough Street, Castle Donington, Derby, DE74 2LA

www.ferrersgallery.co.uk

The Art of Kevin Shepherd Ferrers FerrersGallery, Gallery, Staunton StauntonHarold, Harold,Ashby AshbydedelalaZouch.

Zouch.LE65 LE651RW 1RW OpenTuesday Tuesday––Sunday Sunday11-5pm 11-5pm at Open the

like likeususononfacebook facebook

www.ferrersgallery.co.uk www.ferrersgallery.co.uk

Loughborough Town Hall, LE11 3EB, until May 7

Giving wildlife a contemporary twist And always at The Studio, Ferrers Centre, Staunton Harold, LE65 1RW 07999 978887 kevinshepp11@btinternet.com

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Keepers’ capers A scene from Three Keepers, at Déda, Derby and the Brewhouse, Burton-upon-Trent

A

cclaimed Derbyshirebased physical theatre company WinterWalker returns this spring with the second tour of their popular family show, Three Keepers.

Set around Flounder Rock Lighthouse, Three Keepers is a silent comedy for the whole family which blends physical theatre, original music, inventive dance and slapstick comedy to tell the tale of Old Tom, Dick and Young ’Arry.

It’s Young ’Arry’s first day – he’s dreamt of a life of adventure, so long as he can bring his teddy. Wise Old Tom and uptight Dick are there to teach ’Arry the ropes, but he’s pretty hopeless. When the storm of the century threatens Flounder Rock, will the lamp shine true? Will disaster strike?

Will they run out of biscuits?

WinterWalker, led by director and choreographer Kitty Winter and composer Wayne Walker-Allen, are based in Belper and are renowned for telling stories using movement, dance and music with a sprinkling of text, clowning and puppetry. Their ethos is that good theatre works for everybody – young and old.

Kitty said: “We’re delighted that there has been such demand for Three Keepers and that we are returning with a second tour. We have been overwhelmed by our previous audiences’ reactions to the show.”

Wayne added: “We have always felt that there isn’t enough good theatre out there for the whole family. It was a really important part of the devising process that we created a show that could be equally enjoyed by children, parents and grandparents.

Three Keepers is a silly,

35

nostalgic and fun coming of age story that charms adults and children alike, but, saying that, you don’t have to be a child, or even bring a child, to enjoy the show!”

The production and tour have been made possible with support from Arts Council England’s National Lotteryfunded Grants for the Arts programme.

Peter Knott, of Arts Council England, said: “We’re delighted to be investing in the national tour of Three Keepers following its success in 2015.”

For more information about WinterWalker visit winterwalker.org.uk You can see the show on Monday April 4 at the Brewhouse, Burton-upon-Trent and Déda, Derby on April 23.

Both shows are at 2.30pm. n Go to brewhouse.co.uk and deda.uk.com for more details about the performances.

Career change is Visitors are

drawn to wildlife artist’s studio at

Ferrers Centre

T

here is something about hares that people can’t resist – and that is especially obvious if you spend any time in the studio of artist Kevin Shepherd.

It nestles alongside the workspaces of other creatives at the Ferrers Centre in the picturesque setting adjacent to Staunton Harold Hall.

Visitors wandering by are drawn first to his window and then inside to take a closer peek at his work. Actually it is a wonder he gets any work done as he chats to the admirers of his wildlife paintings.

It is definitely the hares that are the most popular and while I was interviewing Kevin one woman vowed to return to buy three of his prints.

“Is it always like this? I ask after the third interruption in less than half an hour.

“I couldn’t claim that,” he said, “but if the centre is busy then my paintings do get a lot of interest and that’s one of the reasons I decided to concentrate on this work.

“I moved to this studio three years ago after leaving my job as a illustrator in the greetings

Kevin Shepherd in his studio, below, and some of his enchanting artwork

card industry. I wanted to do something that was completely different to what I had been doing and as I had always loved wildlife it seemed the obvious choice.”

36

Kevin explained that he had planned to carry on as a freelance illustrator while he established himself as an artist but now, thanks to the popularity of his hares, hedgehogs, owls and stags he spends pretty much all his time transforming his ideas from sketches and photographs out in the field into full-sized canvases.

“I have been painting since I was 16 and spent all my time in the art room at school. Any free period and I was there.

“I left school and straight away got a job illustrating children’s

really wild!

books and later moved on to creating greetings cards. Even then I looked for inspiration in the beautiful countryside around me. But now I am able to concentrate on capturing the local wildlife in its natural habitat. “My subject matter is quite traditional I suppose, but my paintings give the animals a contemporary feel and I think

that is what my customers love about them.�

Kevin stretches all his own canvases in the studio at the Ferrers Centre and prides himself on the fact that the visitors he so readily welcomes can see the whole process from start to finish if they wish.

As well as the original paintings he has limited edition prints and also smaller

37

prints and of course plenty of greetings cards. n Kevin is exhibiting at the Sock Gallery at Loughborough Town Hall until May 7 and plans to be at the Melbourne Festival in September, the Ashby Show on July 10 and the Dame Catherine Arts exhibition at Ticknall in August. To find out more go to kevinshepherdartist.co.uk

3 – 11 June 2016

Bringing books to life Credit: BonBon Photography

Over 70 events celebrating the joy of books and reading for all ages and interests Great writers, poets, historians, politicians, illustrators, storytellers and musicians on subjects from cricket to cycling, railways to real ale and birding to board games… there’s something for all ages and interests!

The full Festival programme will be available from 5 April, when tickets go on sale for all events.

Book online at www.derbybookfestival.co.uk or visit the Festival Box Office at QUAD. Get all the latest on our social media.

Derby Book Festival is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales Number 1159763

www.derbybookfestival.co.uk

DerbyBookFestival

@DerbyBookFest

Get orchestrated!

O

ne of Europe’s leading chamber orchestras – renowned for its dynamic performances and its pioneering work in the community will be performing in our region thanks to an innovative arts initiative.

The Manchester Camerata aims to redefine what orchestras can do and create inspiring experiences through music.

Helping them meet their goal of taking their music to people who might normally miss out are First Art a collective of four organisations working in the former coalmining areas of North East Derbyshire, Bolsover, Ashfield and Mansfield and Orchestras Live.

“Gary Huddless, the communications officer for First Art said: “We want to inspire these communities to get involved in the arts

because evidence shows that those with culture, creativity and imagination are stronger and more resilient than those without.

“Throughout March and April young people are taking part in creative workshops with professional musicians, composers and theatre artists to create four musical and theatrical performance pieces inspired by the people and places where they live.

“Each piece, created entirely by the young people with the support of professional composers Laura Bowler and Richard Taylor, will be incorporated into one of four special concerts performed by the orchestra and accompanied by the young people at Eckington School, Create Theatre Mansfield, Shirebrook Academy and

39

Sutton Community Academy,” he explained.

The concerts will be an opportunity for people to see the orchestra playing a wonderful programme of music including Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty Waltz and Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro.

The concerts will last about 75 minutes. There will be an opportunity for audience members to meet the orchestra after each performance.

Performances will be on April 25, at Eckington School; April 26, at Shirebrook Academy; April 27, at Sutton Community Academy and April 28, at Mansfield Create Theatre. All start at 7.30pm. The conductor will be Mark Heron Subsidised tickets, priced just £3 (plus a small online booking fee) can be booked on the First Art website firstart.org.uk Tickets will available on the night for all four concerts on a first-come-first-served basis, but booking is advised.

The Old Lock Up Studio Swifts Hollow – 19 The Hill Cromford DE4 3RF Contact Rachael Pinks 07927 128989 or rachaelpinksart@hotmail.co.uk

Nine new

T

he High Peak Artists who showcase their work at The Gallery in the Gardens in Buxton are celebrating spring by welcoming nine diverse new members to their ranks.

SCRIVENER’s SECONDHAND & ANTIQUARIAN BOOKS & BOOKBINDING 42 HIGH ST, BUXTON, SK17 6HB Tel: 01298 73100 Monday–Saturday 9.30am to 5pm Sundays 12pm to 4pm scrivbooks@hotmail.co.uk www.scrivenersbooks.co.uk

One of The Guardian’s 10 Best Bookshops

Clockwise from above: Buxton Baths by Steve Kerr, stained glass by Sarah Brelsford, silver birch glass by Claude André, ceramics by Karin Findell, Alchemy by Emma Sidwell, jewellery

by Leonie Williams, silver holly leaf by Jenny Conway, glass neclace

by Helen André and Liquorice Returns by Kate Pheasey

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There are three jewellers, a mosaic artist, a glass designer, a stained glass artist, a painter, a potter and a print maker who specialises in architectural drawings.

Leek-based husband and wife team Helen and Claude André both work with glass. Helen creates beautiful jewellery incorporating silver, while Claude designs landscapes using bullseye glass.

Another artist using glass, but in this case to create stained glass designs inspired by nature, is Sarah Brelsford Kate Pheasey, from Bakewell, works in the traditional

artists at gallery Jewellery-makers

glass designers and ceramicist join High Peak Artists medium of mosaic but has developed a style producing imagery with a contemporary twist by using a variety of ‘non-traditional’ materials.

Potter Karin Findell makes handcrafted colourful ceramics in practical stoneware and earthenware.

Leaves and floral patterns frequently feature in the work of jewellery designer Jenny Conway who works from her home studio in Buxton.

Another of the jewellers is Leonie Williams from Marple Bridge.

Emma Sidwell, who already exhibits her jewellery with the group will be adding

her paintings to the mix this month.

Steve Kerr, who works out of the same studio as his printmaker wife Jill in the Chinley Hills will be exhibiting his architectual drawings and woodcuts.

The High Peak Artists have reached the seventh anniversary of The Gallery In The Gardens, having moved there from the Pump Room in 2009.

Their aim is, and always has been, to offer the public the chance to buy high-quality, locally-made art and crafts at affordable prices.

They are a self-help co-operative and non-profit making, with the 50 or so members sharing the cost of the rent on the basis of how much space they use. They also share all the manning duties, which usually means they spend one day a month in the gallery dealing with customers.

41

They have often a waiting list from which they select new members and the catchment area has always been the High Peak, Macclesfield and Leek.

Over the years many artists have joined and have grown to be award winners, including Rob Wilson who won last year’s Buxton Spa Prize.

Long-term member Pauline Townsend who paints on silk said: “We have just had a very good year, beating last year’s sales and we are moving forward into our new year with great optimism.”

They have a huge range of work, including paintings in pastel, acrylic, oil, watercolour, mixed media and on silk, ceramics, photography, calligraphy, textiles, contemporary jewellery, lino cuts, prints, etchings, embroidery, turned wood and fused glass. n For more details go to galleryinthegardens.co.uk

New chapter in festival’s story

T

he second Derby Book Festival programme, being launched on April 5, includes many amazing writers, poets, historians, politicians, illustrators, storytellers and musicians and they will be talking about subjects as wide ranging as cricket, cycling, railways, real ale, birding and even board games.

More will be revealed about the programme at the launch event, Derby Reads, being staged at QUAD in the city centre from 6-8pm.

It has already been announced that the headline event of the nine-day festival which starts on June 3 will be a talk by Carol Ann Duffy, the Poet Laureate, in Derby Cathedral.

Other events so far announced include Tracy Chevalier and Claire Harman discussing the remarkable life of Charlotte Bronte; Ashbourne debut author Joanna Cannon, whose novel The Trouble with Goats and Sheep is currently riding high in the best seller lists; and Helen Mort, the former Derbyshire Poet Laureate, whose second poetry collection will be launched during the Festival.

Derby-born author Sunjeev Sahota, whose second novel The Year of the Runaways

was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2015, will be appearing at QUAD on June 6 and there will be an event to celebrate Derby’s Real Ale tradition with the Campaign for Real Ale’s Roger Protz, Editor of the Good Beer Guide.

Second edition of

city’s celebration of books promises to be page turner The festival will also celebrate Derby’s railway history with author Simon Bradley in the historic Roundhouse on June 7.

Simon’s book, The Railways: Nation, Network and People, was chosen by The Sunday Times as its History Book of the Year in 2015.

The Cathedral’s peregrines will also feature as part of an event with author, broadcaster and naturalist David Lindo. The ‘Urban Birder’, who will visit Derby Cathedral on June 8 to talk about his book Tales from Concrete Jungles.

An exciting evening of books and music will take place on June 8 with best-selling author Louis de Bernières and The

42

Bookshop Band, who write songs inspired by books. The band recently collaborated with Louis to write a song inspired by his new book.

One of the highlights of the festival will be Sir Peter Bazalgette, chair of Arts Council England in conversation with James Naughtie, BBC News’ books editor and host of the BBC Radio 4 Bookclub, at Derby Cathedral.

He said: “Celebrating the variety books offer us is at the heart of the festival’s programme and I look forward to joining James in Derby for what I hope will be a lively and literary evening.”

There is also a children’s programme which includes Bringing Books to Life, a full day of events and activities in the Market Place, the Guildhall and in QUAD on June 4.

Award-winning children’s authors Lauren Child and Andy Mulligan will meet children from Derby City infant and primary schools at events at Derby Theatre and QUAD. Lauren Child, who is a writer and illustrator, is best known for the Charlie and Lola series and the Clarice Bean series of books. Andy is the winner of the 2011 Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize for Return to Ribblestrop and was also shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal 2012 for Trash.

Town is stage for new literary event James Naughtie

Joan Bakewell

Peter Bazalgette

Louis de Bernières

(Philippa Gedge)

(Sukey Parnell)

(Ivon Bartholomew)

Secondary schools are being offered author visits from eight authors: Cathy Cassidy, Sufiya Ahmed, Emma Pass, Martin Griffin, Dan Smith, Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Sophia Bennett and MG Leonard, all of whom write for the teenage and young adult audience.

The winners of the Flash Fiction Writing Competition, which attracted more than 300 entries, will be announced at the Derby Reads event on April 5, which is ticketed but free, and the winning stories will be printed on bookmarks, illustrated by University of Derby students.

A taster event will be held at St John Street Gallery in Ashbourne on April 15 at 6pm.

Free, but please book with the gallery. n Tickets for Festival events will be available online at derbybookfestival.co.uk or from the festival box office at QUAD from April 5.

As a first for this year, Wirksworth is hosting a small book festival over the weekend of April 8-10.

It will open at the Red Lion on the Friday at 6.30pm with an event to celebrate and talk about books with a number of local celebrities.

The festival will also feature a number of author sessions, activities in the library, a Book Walk and end with a Book Quiz on the Sunday evening.

The weekend is run in partnership with Wirksworth Festival and the Derby Book Festival and it is hoped that this small beginning might lead to a regular book festival in the town.

The event is also supported by Wirksworth Framing Company and the Curiosity Cafe.

Poet, Judy Brown, who lives in Wirksworth, will be reading from her second book of poems, Crowd Sensations – which is just out from Seren Books, and is a Poetry Book Society recommendation – at Richard’s Bookshop on April 9.

On the same day the festival will be presenting two very different, but fascinating, performers at an event at the Red Lion from 7.30-9.30pm.

Wirksworth’s Chris Thompson, a raconteur, writer, TV and radio scriptwriter and lecturer, is known for writing the sex-in-the-shower scene in The Archers many years ago, as well as writing scripts for Emmerdale, and Heartbeat and a number of plays.

Seni Seniveratne is a poet and performer.

She was born in Leeds, of Sri Lanka heritage.

She has toured widely here and abroad, and published two collections of poetry, the latest of which, The Heart of It, was selected by New Writing North. One of her poems, Operation Cast Lead was shortlisted in the Arvon International Poetry Competition.

Wirksworth Book Festival Book Walk on April 10 will leave from the Market Place at 2pm. The idea is that you go along with a favourite novel in mind which will be revealed before the walk starts and then, during the two-hour session walkers will talk about their selections.

The walk will be led by Wirksworth writer and avid reader, Andy Miller. If you would like to go along, please email Andy in advance so he can check everyone has arrived before setting off.

Email Andy on andychristophermiller@gmail.com To find out more go to wirksworthfestival.co.uk

A revolutionary approach to art

A

Derbyshire history group is finalising a project to mark the 200th anniversary of England’s Last Revolution.

The Pentrich and South Wingfield Revolution Group is planning to commemorate the band of men, who, in June 1817, marched towards Nottingham to complain about their quality of life to Parliament, with plans to overthrow the government and abolish the monarchy.

These men stood no chance of accomplishing their goal; the uprising was quashed soon after it began and 85 men were thrown in Nottingham and Derby jails. The result was 45 men being tried for high treason, three men hanged and beheaded, as well as 14 being transported to Australia, others were imprisoned or released.

Sylvia Mason, one of the group members, said: “We officially started organising this anniversary event last year although work on this project has been ongoing for some ten years or so.

“We are putting together a collection of pictures for an exhibition, these pictures will tell the story of the revolution in a similar way to the Bayeaux Tapestry.

“We are asking artists to create a picture using whichever media they prefer from a

Jeremiah Brandreth

by Margaret Rose

list of subjects linked to the revolution.

“We are hoping to receive lottery funding to frame the pictures and they will have a small brass plaque fitted to the frame stating that they have been created for this project.

“The paintings will go on display around Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire during next year. Several of them have already been completed and we have been putting them up on our facebook page but we need a few more, so we would love to hear from artists who might be interested in taking part.”

Artist Margaret Rose, who was one of the first to get involved has painted a portrait of Jeremiah Brandreth who was known as the Nottingham Captain, and actually led the

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rebellion. Brandreth was an unemployed framework knitter from Sutton-in-Ashfield and was one of the three men hanged, drawn and quartered.

Margaret said: “In order to make this painting I have used the black and white pencil sketch drawn in court on the day of the trial.

“I wanted to portray him as concerned and worried about his fate, but not bowed down.

I am very happy to have my paintings included in this tremendous historical research project and to celebrate the 200th anniversary.”

Other artists taking part include Martin Davis, Mandy-Jane Ahlfors, Peter Wigley, Jane Thynne, Barry Renshaw, Ronald Fox, Roger Morton and Sandy Hillyer.

It is hoped events will take place throughout 2017 but the focus will be on June, when the march took place, and November, when the government ‘made an example’ of the men.

Some of the plans include books, commemorative coins and stamps, walks, school visits and a weekend of celebrations and entertainment to mark the march. n If you want to get involved contact Sylvia by email at sylviamason@uwclub.net or telephone 01773 748299 You can see some of the paintings at facebook.com/ pentrichrevolution

have a go

Why not learn a new artistic skill or technique by trying your hand at something completely different this spring?

Anne Alldread Textiles n Regular felt making workshops in Belper covering a variety of felting techniques, from the basics to creating a beautiful scarf, cushion or wall hanging.

Or you can join in at the weekly Wednesday Textile group to try tapestry, weaving, collage, mixed media, printing, design and much more. A small friendly group with an emphasis on enjoyment while creating. For further information contact: Anne Alldread on 07817745705, or email annealldread@yahoo.co.uk or visit annealldread.com See feature on page 20 Arum-Lilie Designs, Via Gellia Mill, Bonsall n Embroidery workshop where you’ll be able to have a go at making one of Lizzie Adcock’s delightful kits.

Materials are provided in the price.

Workshop 10am to 2pm with light refreshments provided. n Block printing workshop where you’ll be able to print on fabric using her collection of wooden blocks.

Materials included in the price,10am2pm with light refreshments.

Go to arumliliedesigns.co.uk for more details.

Richard Bett’s Jewellery Studio in Belper, Derbyshire n Jewellery making course over six sessions. Dates to be agreed at the beginning of each module. Sessions run from 10am-5pm. Numbers limited to four to ensure high level of tutor support.

The cost is £300 per module of six sessions plus materials.

Email richard@richardbett.com or telephone 07871240179.

Join ceramicist

to make clay garden flowers In conjunction with Glossop Arts Project ceramicist Deiniol Williams will be running a course making a small selection of ceramic flowers.

The flowers are designed to fit on to bamboo cane or can be permanently fixed on to metal rods so that they can be placed out in the garden.

Participants will get to work with slab clay, along with some clay modelling and work with underglaze colour decoration.

All the finished work will be taken back to my studio to be glazed and fired to stoneware which will render the flowers frost-proof.

The course is spread over three consecutive Friday afternoons Bakewell Piano Studio n Tuition (first lesson free),rehearsal, accompaniment, recording, hourly practice room hire. 5 Kings Court,Bakewell, telephone 07811410406 email lessonsbakewellpianostudio.co.uk Cromford Studio and Gallery, Market Place, Cromford n Watercolour tuition is available for small groups or on a one-to-one basis, all abilities welcome. Contact the gallery on 10629 826434 for more details.

Cromford Mill, Cromford n Arkwright Spinsters demonstrating

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at the Glossop Adult Community Education Centre. There will be space for up to eight participants at a cost of £60 each.

All materials will be provided, along with a variety of refreshments.

To book you place you will need to contact GAP either via the website or contact Sonja at GAP directly on 07855 320179.

April 15, 22 and 29, 12:30pm 2:30pm spinning and other crafts, third Sunday of every month, 11-4pm. n Knit and Natter, second Wednesday of every month, 10amnoon. Arkwright's Cafe.

More details at cromfordmills.org.uk Crafts Cornucopia, King Street, Belper and St John’s Street, Wirksworth n Various courses including sewing with a machine, crochet, patchwork, and following knitting patterns. Go to craftscornucopia.co.uk.

David Griffin, Stained Glass Artist n Dave Griffin runs two courses a year in April and September and there are five places on each.

BAKEWELL BOOK FAIR

Anne Alldread

Saturday April 16th 10am-4pm, entry £1

textile artist and felt maker

25-plus professional book dealers offering a wide range of collectable books, maps and ephemera n Felt making workshops n Weekly textile group

n Handmade accessories n Textile artwork

Agricultural Business Centre, Haddon Road, Bakewell, DE45 1AH

n To book contact annealldread@yahoo.co.uk n For more information go to www.annealldread.com

Fair manager Peter Allen 07526 606908

Derbyshire Craft Courses

professional tuition  beautiful location  quality materials  good food

Arty and crafty workshops for children aged 3 and over

EASTER HOLIDAY ACTIVTIES FOR KIDS

www.straightcurves.co.uk

www.zantium.co.uk 01629 824377

104 Saltergate, Chesterfield, S40 1NE 01246 807575

Maryartist Smith and tutor

Gorgeous giftware inspired by history and handmade in the heart of Derbyshire

Mixed media workshop May 14th in Melbourne

Weekly art classes

in Derby go to mary-smith.co.uk for details or telephone 07531300676

Arum Lilie Designs

In The Flow

Interior & giftware

Unit 204 Via Gellia Mills, Bonsall, DE4 2AJ Telephone: 07926067423

n stationery n arts n crafts n creativity centre 5 Crown Square, Matlock, DE4 3AT Telephone: 01629 55095

www.arumliliedesigns.co.uk 46

have a go It is a three-day introductory course focusing on the practical aspects of design, glass cutting and soldering.

The long weekend is designed for people with little or no previous experience of the craft. The dates for this year are April 15– 17 and September 23 – 25.

The workshops are held at the Friends Meeting House, in Bakewell.

For more details please contact Dave on 07742 481930 or visit dave-griffin.co.uk Derbyshire County Council’s Library Service n MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) Libraries are promoting free learning that’s available from the Open University’s FutureLearn programme.

Accessible to everyone via free to use computers and wifi in all Derbyshire libraries. Library staff will be at Buxton Library 10am-2pm on April 15 to tell you more.

Creative Arts and Media category includes course such as creative writing, storytelling, journalism, screenwriting, filmmaking, art crime, music studio production, why music makes you move, song writing, photography, animation, fashion, behind the scenes at the museum. www.futurelearn.com Esther Tyson, Screen Print at Via Gellia Mill, Bonsall n Regular screenprint workshops using hand-cut stencils, water-based inks, producing a limited edition print.

Small groups in a working studio environment.

Contact Esther at esther.tyson@ network.rca.ac.uk for more details.

Etienne Gallery art classes, In The Flow, Matlock n Etienne Gallery offers year-round studio art classes and workshops taught by experienced artist and teacher, Jason Etienne. Go to jasonetienne.com for details Glass @ The Barn, Carr Hall Farm Business Centre, Hulland Ward n Taster Workshops: £25 – ideal for anyone who would like to have a go

at working with ‘warm glass’. They last for two and a half hours. n Day Workshops: £75 – ideal for an individual who would like to experiment a bit more with glass, creating larger items, or experimenting with different procedures. Use of equipment such as grinders, drills and rings saw available after brief demonstration.

Go to glass-at-the-barn.co.uk for more details.

Green Man Gallery, Hardwick Hall, Buxton n Every day 6x4: Inspired by Landscape. Drop-in at any time and join this record-breaking attempt and fundraiser. Entries can also be sent by post. Cost: £1 per entry. n Life Drawing, Tuesdays, a weekly session for artists at any stage with a professional life model. Session 7pm to 9pm. Cost £8 per session.

Booking essential as space is limited. Contact Curtis Bollington 07880 535615. Over 16s only. n Saturdays: Mess Allowed! – Art and craft club for children aged 6+, 11am to 12.30pm. Cost £5.

Accompanying adults must remain on the premises. n April 2,Get Creative Day – Creative taster workshops for adults to celebrate the BBC National Get Creative Day. 11am to 3.30pm. For further information and booking for other courses contact hello@ thegreenmangallery.com or 01298 937375 unless otherwise stated.

Love Hector’s Emporium, Market Place, Crich n. Check out the website for full details and booking information lovehector.co.uk Mary Smith, artist and tutor mixed media workshops n Senior Citizens Centre in Church Street, Melbourne May 14, from 10am-3.30pm, £25 plus £2 for products to be used during the workshop.

Mary will be demonstrating a range of techniques for making Artists’ Journals. The process involves using

47

layers of mixed media and adding some form of text, a line of poetry or some memorabilia and incorporating it into the art work. You will be applying these to the front cover of a hard back A4 /A5 sketch book.

There are also weekly classes in Derby.

For more details go to mary-smith. co.uk Matlock Artists Society - All Saints Church Hall, Smedley Street n The club’s Portrait Group meets the first Wednesday of every month from 9.30am-12noon and all are welcome, £5 with refreshments.

Please contact Doreen Andrews 01629 824640 or Colin Daffern 01629 733261.

Made @ No 18, Church Street, Alfreton n Book Club, first Monday of the month, 5pm-6pm. n Writing workshops, Mondays 6.30-8pm – develop you writing skills in poetry, short stories, plays and film scripts n Tuesdays, 5pm-7pm Studio 18.

Sessions for all ages exploring acting, dance, drama and music. n Alternate Wednesdays, Knit and Stitch, 7-9pm. There is also now a daytime session check the website for details. n Wednesdays, Theatre Workshop, 5.30-7.30pm. n Wednesdays Film and Photography, 7-9pm. n Thursdays, 7-9pm Life Drawing.

Peer-mentoring sessions starting 7pm. Bring your own materials.

All welcome from beginners to experienced artists. n Fridays, 6.30pm onwards Music Group. A place to meet other musicians, play and write music and develop regular music nights. n Sundays, Arts Talks 3-4pm. Email madeatno18@gmail.com for more details or call 01773 279112.

Pauline Townsend Silk Painter n Workshops for beginners and improvers in Buxton. Full 2016 schedule now available on the

have a go website: www.silkpainter.co.uk Purple and Grey – courses for emerging artists n Get Print Ready, an introduction to Giclee printing, April 16, 10.3012 noon, Leabrooks Gallery, Somercotes. n Approaching Galleries Seminar with Antonia Disney owner of Focus Gallery, May 3, 10.30am-12 noon. at Leabrooks Gallery Somercotes. For details go to purpleandgrey.co.uk QUAD, Derby n FORMAT Photoforum: Richard Billingham, April, 14, 6:30pm8:30pm, £5/£4 members and concessions. A session with acclaimed photographer and artist Richard Billingham, author of the celebrated body of work Ray’s A Laugh, an intimate portrayal of his parents and the poverty in which he grew up. Details at derbyquad.co.uk StraightCurves, 104 Saltergate, Chesterfield n Sew Socials - Various daytimes and evenings Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. A two and a half hour session for those who can already use a sewing machine. n Woolly Wednesdays – every Wednesday, 10am-12.30pm and 6.30pm-9pm. All arts and crafts are welcome at this session - it doesn’t have to be woolly. n Little Creatives – every Friday 9.45am-11.15am, and from April 11, every Monday 9.45am-1.15am.

Little Creatives is a workshop designed especially for pre-school children and their parents. n Finish Off Fridays – every Friday, 12 noon-3pm. Finish Off Fridays are the perfect opportunity for you to come along and conquer your UFOs (that’s Un-Finished Objects).

Go to straightcurves.co.uk for more details.

St John Street, Gallery, Ashbourne The gallery’s popular art workshops this month are: n April 12, Wendy Darker: Paint a Perky Pig

n April 21, Ingrid Karlsson-Kemp: Stitching in Mixed Media – Making a Mark n April 28,Sue Lewis-Blake: Drawing using Colour n Derbyshire artist John Connolly will be at the Gallery on April 23 for a Meet the Artist day from 11am- 3pm, demonstrating his energetic style, creating fabulous landscapes.

To book, phone 01335 347425 or email enquiries@ stjohngalleryandcafe.co.uk. More details at stjohngalleryandcafe.co.uk Studio 61, Holloway , near Matlock n Peaceful Painting Days – bring your paints, meet other artists, have lunch and enjoy a bit of peace and quiet. Non-painters welcome to make, read and relax in a working art studio on a day closed to the public (Wednesday/ Sunday). More information and dates tbc via newsletter. sign up at studio61gallery.co.uk n April 13 – Dabble Day – Water Soluble Oils All materials and lunch.

The Studios, Union Road, New Mills n Drink and Draw – Non-tutored alternative life drawing soirées with Andrea Joseph. First Friday of every month, 7pm - 9.15pm, £10 per person. All drawing materials supplied excluding paper. n Historical Fiction Writing with Beth Underdown, April 23, 10am-4pm. n Peak Scribbling Writers’ Group first and third Tuesdays of the month.

For prices, more details and how to book go to thestudios.co Viveka Bowry Land Artist n Make your own ​pieces of temporary sculpture from natural objects around you. Workshops begin at Derbyshire Eco Centre, or in the artist’s Matlock studio. April 2 and 10, Eco Centre; April, 16, Matlock; April 30, Eco Centre; May 7 Matlock; May 27, Eco Centre; May 28, Matlock; July 10 and 16, Matlock.

Cost: £45. To book and get more details go to vivekabowry.co.uk

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West Studios, Sheffield Road, Chesterfield n Illustration Group – This fortnightly group allows for a welcoming environment to share ideas and develop personal projects, while learning and developing new skills within this creative discipline run by established artist Edie OwczarekPalfreyman. n Drink and Draw with Andrea Joseph The first Thursday of the month, 6pm-9:15pm. £15. BYO. All skill levels welcome. n Social Media Forum, last Friday of the month, free opportunity to keep up to speed with social media.

Contact hello@weststudios.co.uk to book your place. To keep up with topics covered within the sessions visit West Studios’ Facebook Page for updates or give them a call on 01246 500799.

Writing School East Midlands, Derby– Making Crime Pay: Writing Crime Fiction n Award-winning crime writer Stephen Booth leads this course, which will explore the routes to writing successful crime fiction and examine its most vital elements – creating characters, building a plot, making use of location – as well as how to improve the chances of publication. Saturdays 10.30am– 12.30pm, April 9-May 14, Mackworth Library, Derby. Cost: £96, £84 conc.

Zantium Studios, Godfrey Hole House, Hopton n April 14 and 15 – Stained Glass Introduction n April 16 and 17 – Stained Glass Intermediate n April 21 and 22 – Willow Animal Sculpture n April 23 and 24 – Willow Garden Structures n May 7 and 8 – Precious Metal Clay Jewellery n May 12 and 13, 14 and 15 – Mosaic n May 19 and 20 – Creative Paper Cutting.

To book go to zantium.co.uk

library life

Derbyshire’s libraries play a vital role – not only as a source of information – but also as cultural hubs for the community Peep into the past

with the help of the Records Office

M

ore and more people are becoming inspired to research their family history and find out more about their ancestry.

Television series on the subject have encouraged people to try it for themselves and there are now abundant sites online where you can pay a subscription to dig out details of the past.

But did you realise that Derbyshire Libraries are a valuable source of free information?

They provide free access to the two most popular family history websites ancestry.com and Findmypast.co.uk.

On these websites you can search a huge number of records, including census records, parish registers, old telephone directories and First World War military records.

You don’t have to be researching your own family history to find something of interest on one of these websites. They open a window into intriguing personal stories from the past and provide inspiration for writers, poets, visual artists and more.

A recent addition to findmypast.co.uk has been the Derbyshire school admission registers and head teachers’ log books.

The originals are held at Derbyshire Record Office in Matlock, but even though you can go online and don’t have to visit Matlock to look at them you might want to as it holds masses more material you can access in the archives and local studies collections.

For a dip into some of the beautiful and fascinating items take a look at this online blog at recordoffice.wordpress.com which has been put together by the library’s staff.

You can visit the Records Office for free and it doesn’t matter if you’re not sure where to start – the friendly staff are always pleased to help you.

Sarah Chubb, archive and local studies manager said: “There has been a real interest in

49

researching family history ever since the TV programme Who Do You Think You Are? more than ten years ago now.”

She said the interest really dates back to the 1970s, but had really taken off as the result of other programmes such as Find My Past and Ancestry.

She said a lot of people were able to start researching at home, but eventually found they needed more detailed information.

“We know how to get people started. A lot of people go online, but there’s only so far you can go, and then people come to us.

“We have Parish records of Births, Marriages and Burials back to 1538.” n For more details on how to find the Records Office and opening hours go to derbyshire. gov.uk and look under leisure and culture for the link.

stately art

Details of new-season events at two of Derbyshire’s most historic country houses with magnificent art collections Haddon Hall Flowers and Fire

F

loral representations are displayed throughout the rooms at Haddon on walls, glass, fabrics and art.

They are part of the architectural fabric of the hall, from early medieval floral frescos on the walls of the ancient Chapel to the millefleurs stitched into the internationally-important tapestry displayed in the banqueting hall.

This year Lady Edward Manners has chosen to explore the symbolism of flowers throughout Haddon as part of a new exhibition called Flowers and Fire.

She said: “What became clear as I studied each and every beautiful flower depicted throughout the rooms of the house is that these stunning designs enabled me to read the house and its past in different ways.

“I felt like Haddon was telling me stories I’d not yet discovered about this incredible place.”

The importance of fire at the hall takes visitors on another journey as part of the same exhibition.

From the centuries-old candle scorch marks on the

walls of the great kitchens to the principal positioning of fireplaces giving life to every room throughout the hall, the burning flame has been fundamental to over 900 years of occupancy at Haddon.

Significantly, the often treacherous role of fire in history is also presented

Chatsworth House Two extremely rare and important 17th century English tapestries have gone back on display at Chatsworth House following an intensive two year conservation programme.

Dating from the 1630s the Mortlake Tapestries represent the birth of the English tapestry industry and are based on Renaissance painter Raphael’s cartoons of Acts of the Apostles.

As well as the panel depicting

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to Haddon’s visitors by the displays of fragments of medieval tapestries – burnt, but still beautiful - during the hall’s restoration in the early 20th century.

Flowers and Fire can be seen until October. Visit haddonhall.co.uk for more information.

Healing of the Lame Man, another section was found folded back behind the seam of the tapestry when the lining was removed.

The work saw the Sacrifice at Lystra reunited with Healing of the Lame Man – covering more than 50 square metres of the back wall in the State Drawing Room.

The further missing section of Healing of the Lame Man has also been brought out of storage.

This had been conserved previously and hasn’t been seen for a number of years.

Players line up for ‘old big ’ead’

D

own the stairs, along the corridor, round the corner, into the dressing room, HIS dressing room.

Hateful, hateful place.

Spiteful, spiteful place.

Dirty, dirty Leeds.

It is 1974. Brian Clough, the enfant terrible of British football and a man who has hero status in Derby, is trying to redeem his managerial career and reputation by winning the European Cup with his new team Leeds United – the team he has openly despised for years, the team he hates and which hates him. Don Revie’s Leeds.

This West Yorkshire Playhouse and Red Ladder Theatre Company co-production, adapted by Anders Lustgarten

Tale of Clough’s

44-day reign at Leeds – The

Damned United from David Peace’s ingenious novel, The Damned United, takes you inside the tortured mind of a genius slamming up against his limits, and brings to life the beauty and brutality of football, the working man’s ballet.

You may have read the book or seen the film but this is the first theatrical production of The Damned United – the tale of Brian Clough’s doomed 44 days as Leeds United manager – and it is is coming to Derby Theatre this month.

Starring former Coronation

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Street actor Andrew Lancel as Clough, it is said to be much darker than the film version of the story in the way it puts more focus on Clough’s demons and his relationships with his mother and sidekick Peter Taylor.

Even though the production team has met former United players Eddie Gray, Norman Hunter and Duncan McKenzie to get their take on Clough’s ill-fated reign, The Damned United is not just about football, it’s a story about power and prejudice, the individual against the collective and weakness and strength. The drama and passion of the plan will appeal not only to football fans but to all theatregoers. n Catch the action at Derby Theatre from April 7-16. For tickets go to derbytheatre.co.uk

Quality framing service including sports memorabilia, medals, posters, prints and photographs Needlework and canvas stretching

Original art l prints l art materials l gifts

www.outframed.co.uk

n Tel: 01773 747251 n Market Place, Ripley, DE5 3FJ

Gallery in the Gardens

9 NEW

artists & makers joining from 1st April

Featuring original work by 40+ High Peak artists & makers

8th March – 8th May

Paintings, textiles, contemporary jewellery, ceramics, photography, etchings, linocuts, glass & wood Open daily 9.30am – 5.00pm. Tel: 07849 673058 Pavilion Gardens, Buxton, High Peak, Derbyshire SK17 6BE www.galleryinthegardens.co.uk

High Peak Artists

In our Art Café gallery -

‘Painting Towns & Country’ Exhibition by Kathy MacMillan & Carl Longmate

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music

artsbeat’s guide to the best live music concerts, as well as news of recent releases and profiles of performers

Big in Buxton!

F

ollowing last year’s sold-out success the Big Session is back in Buxton, and this year it will run for two days and three nights from April 29 to May 1.

The folk festival features concerts by the hosts

Oysterband, pictured above, with June Tabor and Sam Carter and Seth Lakeman (below) supported by Derbyshire’s own Lucy Ward, Edward II, Will Pound and Eddy Jay, and the Emily Portman Trio.

There’ll also be a huge beer hall hosting a festival of more than 100 real ales and providing the setting for the Big Session Ceilidh with the Oysterband and guests, and music sessions led by Big Session concert artists throughout the weekend.

Fringe activities include a Saturday morning birding trip to the beautiful Goyt Valley to look for pied flycatchers, and the 11.49 train from

53

Manchester Piccadilly to Buxton the same day will be a dedicated Folk Train with music all the way, arriving in time for the afternoon session.

On Sunday morning Oysterband’s John Jones will lead the festival ramble in the hills around the town.

Musicians are welcome to join the open sessions and an instrument ‘cloakroom service’ will be provided.

For more information or to buy tickets call Buxton Opera House box office on 01298 72190 or visit buxtonoperahouse.org.uk You can follow the festival on Twitter @BigSessionFest or like the Big Session Festival page on facebook.

music Teenager on

Radio 2 Folk Awards shortlist THREE years ago Benammi Swift’s mum Anita dusted off his late father’s instruments and handed them to him.

“She said she thought it was time for me to take them out and play them,” explained the 16-year-old from Somercotes.

And play them he certainly did. The teenager is such a gifted musician that he has just been shortlisted for the prestigious BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards.

Benammi’s dad Tufty Swift was a stalwart of the Derbyshire folk community

for years, who sadly died when his son was just a few months old.

However the Swanwick Hall School pupil has been inspired by his dad’s friends from an early age and says he has always loved folk music. He started out playing the guitar and then

54

when his dad’s instruments were revealed he started playing the melodeon and now an accordion.

“I entered the awards as soon as I was old enough to be eligible and I couldn’t believe it when I got on the shortlist of ten.

“We then had to spend a week on a course where we performed in front of judges and experts and I made it to the final four.”

On April 27 Benammi will be playing live on Simon Mayo’s BBC radio programme and then going on to the Royal Albert Hall for the awards ceremony.

“It will be amazing. I am very excited and even if I don’t win anything I am really pleased to have done what I have done so far.”

music Rock and Pop

Buxton Opera House, Buxton n The Three Degrees, April 10, 7.30pm. Valerie Holiday and Helen Scott have been in the line-up for decades while Freddie Pool joined after Cynthia Garrison retired in 2010. n Let’s Hang On, the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, April 15, 7.30pm. n Renaissance plus special guests Curved Air, April 17, 7.30pm. More details at buxtonoperahouse.org.uk Bookcafe, Derby Acoustic Nights Fridays and Saturdays from 7pm.

The Old Poets’ Corner, Ashover n Every Tuesday open acoustic night. n First and third Sundays Shaun Byrne and guests.

More details at oldpoets.co.uk Designate@TheGate, Smedley Street, Matlock Young Musicians open mic night – an opportunity for seven to 17-yearolds to showcase their talent, last Friday of every month, 7-8.30pm followed by Adult Open Mic night – 9pm-late. Phone 01629 760033 for enquiries or bookings.

The Defiance Sessions Glossop Labour Club, Chapel Street, Glossop Go to defiancesessions.co.uk for details.

The Fishpond, Matlock Bath n Riannon Mair, April 1, 9pm. n The Marv White Band, April 2, 9pm. n Launching their new album at the Fishpond are Dallahan, April 12, 9pm. n Dogboy, April 15, 9pm. n Big Mog and the Alley Cats, April 23, 9pm. n Matlock Bath Soul Bash, April 30, 7.30pm.

More details at thefishpondmatlockbath.co.uk

The Flowerpot, Derby n Following the release of their debut album Unfolding, British duo Balsamo Deighton are touring with Colin Blunstone (of seminal 60s rock ’n’ rollers The Zombies), and will be in Derby on April 15. n Acoustic sessions every Wednesday.

Details of gigs and acoustic nights are at rawpromo.co.uk Furthest from the Sea, Derby n April 2, St Peters Quarter Live,St Peters Cross 11.30am, free.

Featuring’ performances by seven piece, swing, jive, rhythm and blues band Cranberry Flick, vintage vocalist group The Three Wrens, the mesmerisingly majestic Arjana Dance and the stunning street dancers of The Adele Francesca Performance Academy. n Join Furthest From The Sea on April 8 at The Venue for the launch night of Derby Un-Scene 2016 an album of original music from nine of the best Derbyshire artists, including Karl and The Marx Brothers, The Herron Brothers, David Chabeaux, Scribble Victory, The Barnstormers, Lucille and more.

Compered by Radio Derby’s Andy Potter.

Tickets are £10 including gig entry and CD copy of the album. More details from furthestfromthesea.co.uk The George and Dragon, Bridge Street, Belper Friday Night Music Nights offer some of the best festival acts from all over the UK. All the gigs are free and will run most Friday nights 9-11pm.

The Green Man Gallery, Buxton April 8, Bowie Fest – A varied line-up of musicians celebrate the music of David Bowie in a charity fundraising concert. Doors 7pm for 7.30pm start.

Advance booking recommended.

Contact the gallery for further details.

The Maypole Café Bar and Theatre, Derby n April 2, The Weasel Kickers, 8pm.

Tickets £3 on the door

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Derby band The Weasel Kickers (TWK) have been playing their own style of rock, blues, ska, and pop since 2004 with their own brand of humour woven into the fabric of the ‘mock music’. Immerse yourself in the hilarity and have a sing-song and a shout at the lunatic politics and social commentary in the world of TWK. With support from Feritt and spoken word by Dan Webber. n April 15, Joseph Knight, 8pm.

Tickets £4.50 in advance from derbylive.co.uk / £5.50 on the door with support from Sunflower Thieves and Jess Kenton.

Details at themaypoletheatre.co.uk Melbourne Assembly Rooms, Melbourne n Noasis, April 1, 7.30pm n Tribute night to The Carpenters, April 7, 7.30pm.

More details from Melbourneassemblyrooms.co.uk The Old Clubhouse, Buxton Live band every Friday. Go to oldclub-house.co.uk for more details.

Real Time Live, Marsden Street, Chesterfield British blues artist Laurence Jones with his band plus supports, The Black Circles and Ben Miles, April 7, doors open 7.30pm. More details and tickets at realtimelive.co.uk Victoria Inn, Derby n Dave Mcpherson, Sunflower Thieves and The Red Monroes, April 2. n Ellekay, The Retrospectives and The Half Eight, April 9. n Clash Money Battle, April 15.

Dead on Arrival and The River Scene, April 22. n Starwheel, The Anteloids and The Goa Express, April 30.

More details from the victoriainnderby.co.uk The Waterside Centre, Waterside Road, Ashbourne Chris Houlihan, April 8, 7:30pm, Accomplished singer and guitarist singing covers of various music

music styles. All profits going to Ashbourne Elim Church Missions. Tickets from Wigleys Shoes in Ashbourne or contact andrewkilderry@gmail.com for more details.

Folk and Jazz

Alstonefield Village Hall, Alstonefield Pete Morton – A songwriter and performer from Nottingham, with a wealth of great songs and stage presence, April 30, 7.30pm.

Tickets from 01335 310322 or alstonefield.org Belper Folk Club, The Old King’s Head, Days Lane, Belper Every Tuesday at 8.30pm. For more details check out their facebook page or go to belperfolkclub.co.uk Buxton Opera House, Buxton n Martin Taylor and Martin Simpson

– an evening of exceptional guitar music, April 4, 7.30pm Pavilion Arts Centre (PAC) n Jazz at the Arts Centre, April 10, 1pm, Terry James, piano, Sheena McInnes, vocals and Sharon James, percussion. n Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham, April 10, 7.30pm. PAC. n You’ve Got a Friend, the music of Carole King and James Taylor.

A show that tells the story of their friendship intertwined with all their greatest hits. n Russell Watson, Songs from the Heart, April 16, 7.30pm. n Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman, April 21, 7.30pm.

More details at buxtonoperahouse. org.uk Chesterfield Jazz Club, Club Chesterfield, Chester Street n Fred T Baker – guitar and bass April 21.

n The Jazz Dawgs – Jazz Brunch, April 24, 11.45am. More details at wendykirkland.com Derby Jazz n The New Bag, featuring four of the finest jazz musicians in the East Midlands Hugh Pascall, trumpet, Matthew Ratcliffe, piano, Martyn Spencer, double bass and Andrew Wood drums, April 1, 8pm, The Cube Deda. n Jean Toussaint, Roots and Herbs – The Blakey Project, with Byron Wallen trumpet, Dennis Rollins trombone, Jason Robellow piano, Daniel Casimir bass and Shane Forbes drums. April 15, 8pm, The Robert Ludlam Theatre, Derby. More details at derby-jazz.co.uk Derby Cathedral.

Jazz at the Cathedral, April 2, doors open at 7pm. An evening of jazz of the highest order, featuring the

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music Ben Holder Quartet and the Karen Lake Trio.

Guildhall Theatre, Derby n Greg Russsell, Ciaran Algar and Luke Jackson, three of the hottest young roots and acoustic artists around, April 8, 8pm. n Dominic Kirwan and his son Barry, with the Here for a Good Time Tour, April 17, 7.30pm.

More details at derbylive.co.uk The Green Man Gallery, Buxton n A Night of Music #14, a regular showcase gig for young musicians.

Acoustic sets including covers and original material by talented performers aged 14 to 21, 7.30pm.

Doors open at 7pm. Tickets £3/£2 under-16s. Booking essential. n The Sunday BuskStop, an informal lunchtime gig by local musicians. Drop in any time, between 12pm and 2pm. Free event but please throw a few coins in the musicians’ hat. Soup, coffee and cake £3.50. No booking required.

The Globe, High Street West, Glossop Marry Waterson with David A Jaycock, April 9. Tickets from The Globe or wegottickets.com.

Live and Local n A Brief History of Music, Blast From The Past, Chapel-en-le-Frith Town Hall, April 2, 8pm. Tickets 0333 6663366 n Aire Flamenco, Synergy, The Verney Institute, Pleasley, April 23, 8pm. Tickets 01623 810035. n Mumbo-Jumbo: Troubadours and Raconteurs, Rolleston Club, Rolleston-on-Dove, April 10, 7.30pm.

Tickets 01283 813833 and Bakewell Town Hall, April 22, 7.30pm. Tickets 01629 810152. n The Remi Harris Project in Concert, Kirk Langley Village Hall, April 21, 7.30pm. Tickets 01332 824403.Go to liveandlocal.org.uk for more information.

Medway Centre Bakewell April 17, Oxfam Jazz Breakfast

British blues artist Laurence Jones will be playing in Real Time Live, Chesterfield on April 7 with the Steve Salfield Quartet from 10.30am-12.30pm. Start your Sunday with some cool mellow jazz, while enjoying a continental style breakfast, good coffee and the Sunday papers.

Tickets £10, students £7 and under fives free. Ring Jude 01629 815469 or Daryl 01629 813209 or buy from the Bakewell Book Shop.

MARs Folk Nights, Melbourne Assembly Rooms, Melbourne Marrakesh Express, West Coast Acoustic including Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, along with The Byrds and more. On stage 8.15pm and 9.45pm. More details from melbourneassemblyrooms.co.uk New Mills Town Hall Blackbeard’s Tea Party are bringing their brand of gutsy folk rock to New Mills for the first time when they perform on May 6 at 7.30pm, to help raise funds for New Mills Community Festival.

Tickets are available from Priscillas Market Street or newmillsfestival. co.uk Out Front! Derby A concert by two major forces in improvised music – saxophonist Trevor Watts and pianist Veryan

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Weston, April 27, 6.30pm, The Voicebox, Foreman Street, Derby. Follow them on twitter @ outfrontderby for more details.

The Old Hall Hotel, Hope n Folk Blues and Beyond events Singers and Musicians in the bar, 8pm, every second and fourth Wednesday of the month. n April 24, Sarah McQuaid. n April 27, Dogwood Rose.

Go to folkandblues.club for more details or call 07913331078.

PR Promotions gigs various locations Coope, Boyes and Simpson, Robert Ludlam Theatre, Derby, April 9. Box Office 01332 255800, derbylive.co.uk and PR Ticket Hotline 01773 853428.

The Peak Concerts, Whitworth Centre, Darley Dale n John McCusker 25th Anniversary Tour, April 23. 8pm. n Hat Fitz and Cara, April 30.

Doors open at 7.15pm. 8pm.

Ticketline 01246 860022 or online at peakconcerts.co.uk Queen’s Head, Chesterfield Road Belper n April 2, We Shall Overcome Benefit, featuring Joe Solo, Chris

music Butler and Matt McGuinness. £7, doors at 8pm. n April 16, Brooks Williams, £8. For more details go to queensheadbelper.weebly.com St John’s Church, Long Eaton As co-founder of Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span and the Albion Band, Ashley Hutchings is deservedly regarded as the Guv’nor of British folk rock. He is also an acclaimed poet and wordsmith.

In celebration of his 70th year, Hutchings will bring a special spoken word and music show to St John’s Church, Long Eaton on May 6 at 7.30pm.

Special guest Ruth Angell (Rainbow Chasers) will lend her pure vocals and fiddle, creating an atmospheric musical back drop.

Tickets are available from Anderson’s Fine Foods in Long Eaton and Breaston and the box office on 0115 973 1495.

Youlgrave Village Hall Multi-talented acoustic instrumentalist and folk singer Phil Beer will be playing and entertaining at Youlgreave Village Hall, Youlgrave, near Bakewell on April 1.

Doors open 7.30pm for 8pm start.

Tickets £14. contact 01629 630 282 or jlac784@hotmail.com

Classical Music

Abbotsholme Arts Society, Abbotsholme School Chapel Brook Street Band, Rachel Harris and Farran Scott, violins; Tatty Theo, cello; and Carolyn Gibley harpsichord. Signor Corelli’s Violin, a musical grand tour of some of the great chamber works of the 18th century. More details at abbotsholmeartssociety.co.uk Belper Singers European Sacred Music – a Journey through 400 years. A varied programme of unaccompanied choral pieces.

Belper Unitarian Chapel, Field

Ashley Hutchings is playing at St John’s Church, Long Eaton on May 6

Row, off Green Lane Belper, April 9, 7.30pm.Tickets £6 on the door or contact belpersingers@gmail.com Buxton Opera House, Buxton n Coffee Concert, NCO Soloists: Trio Magic, April 28, 1pm Pavilion Arts Centre. n English Touring Opera April 22, 7.30pm, Iphigenie en Tauride, by Gluck. n April 23, 7.30pm, Don Giovanni,

by Mozart. n April 24, 3pm, Pia de’ Tolomei, by Donizetti.

Derby Chamber Music, Multi-faith Centre, University of Derby Rosanna Ter-Berg, flute, and Leo Nicholson, piano, April 1. For more information go to derbychambermusic.org Music at Duffield, Ecclesbourne School, Duffield Kosmos, a variety of world music and classical influences from this ensemble, April 23. For more details go to musicatduffield.com Derby Choral Union, The Roundhouse, Derby 150th Anniversary Concert, April 30, 7.30pm. Elgar’s Music Makers with mezzo soprano Janet Shell, together with the premiere of a new composition – Thy Flight be Fleet: Trainsongs! by Kerry Andrews, which was commissioned to celebrate this very significant anniversary.

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For this work the choir is being joined by the Children’s Chorus of the William Gilbert Endowed School from Duffield and the Bardi Symphony Orchestra.

The programme also includes Parry’s I Was Glad, Vaughan Williams’ – Te Deum in G and Britten’s – Psalm 150.

More details at dcu.org.uk.

Tickets are available online or by ringing 01332 702162 or on door.

Derby Cathedral Derbyshire Constabulary Male Voice Choir, April 16 at 7pm,with special guests Derwent Brass. Compered

by BBC Radio Derby’s Andy Potter, with the Alfreton, Pye Hill and District and Chesterfield Male Voices Choir.

Tickets £12 on the door, £10 in advance, available from Foulds Music Store and dcmvchoir.com The Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton Melbourne Operatic Society: Princess Ida, April 13-16. More details at duchess-theatre.com Haddon Hall, Haddon, near Bakewell Lady Edward Manners has worked with regional music director, Philip King, to present a unique programme of musical recitals at Haddon Hall for a second season this year. The concerts will involve instrumental ensembles from three of the county’s area music centres.

In addition there will be adult guitar ensembles and choirs.

There will then be music events taking place until mid-September. n April 23, Flute and clarinet ensemble n May 1, Music Work Vocal Ensemble n May 7, Doncaster Waites n May 14, Chamber Orchestra n June 5, Cantabile n June 19, Belper Singers Matlock Music Society Highfields School, Lumsdale Trio Classico (soprano, guitar, piano), April 22.

More details at matlockmusic.org.uk

attitude

Comment and opinion from reviewers and readers on the topics being talked about in Derbyshire’s arts community Curtain-raiser for classic was

sensational

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t was like having your dessert (or should I say pudding) ahead of your Sunday roast.

By the time I had finished savouring every last morsel of the sensational new play Jinny at Derby Theatre I wasn’t sure I needed anything else.

But being a bit of a glutton I got stuck in to the main course, Look Back in Anger, and at once found I had a bigger appetite than I thought – although I confess I was struggling towards the end.

On reflection I think I would have preferred to have watched the John Osborne classic, first and then been treated to Jane

Poignant theme for Twelfth Night With a play as familiar as Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night it is rare to leave the theatre feeling as if you have seen something new – but that was the case with the latest version on stage at Derby’s Guildhall.

To mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme Derby Shakespeare Theatre

Wainwright’s feisty female version of Jimmy Porter, who unlike the 1950s character, emerges ready to fight – giving us all hope that in another 60 years things might actually have changed.

Jinny is a sharp, sassy and intuitive play well-crafted by a woman born in Chesterfield and who researched the character by talking to the young women of Derby.

Joanna Simpkins was perfectly cast to play the challenging Company has dedicated its new production of the Bard’s greatest comedy to the soldiers who lost their lives that year.

This production was a brilliant team effort from a talented cast who handled the play’s manic energy with expertise.

Timing is key to keeping the pace of the quick-fire scenes flowing and the funnies from flagging, and they couldn’t be faulted.

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part and produced a remarkable tour de force on stage.

The creative team, headed

by Neil Irish, did a fantastic job in designing one set for two plays and produced a realistic-looking tatty, cluttered flat which needed minimal changes to take it from one century to another. The now iconic ironing board even took a leading role in Jinny.

AP A full version of this review is on artsbeatblog.com Laura Smith, who played a bewitching Viola/Cesario, had the audience enthralled by the deception we shared with her and was perfectly cast for the part.

She would certainly have stolen the show if it hadn’t been for the wonderfully prim and starched, but nonetheless vulnerable, Malvolio played

by E Montgomery Ashford.

AP A full version of this review is on artsbeatblog.com

attitude An impressive and youthful

string ensemble Derby Chamber Music: Zelkova String Quartet, Derby University The Zelkova String Quartet, formed six years ago at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, is undoubtedly one of the most impressive young ensembles to come Derby Chamber Music’s way for some time.

The players combine technical flair – their cohesion is extraordinary – with a mature insight into what makes the music tick.

Their lean, sinewy approach to Haydn’s G minor Quartet Op 20 No 3, highlighted the, at times, sheer oddity of the first movement, and projected the quirkiness, verging on the startling, that animates the finale’s turbulence. Haydn the subversive? You’d better believe it.

They had the measure of the expressively dislocated world of Ligeti’s String Quartet No 1 in all its robustness, fragility, anger, dance-rooted vitality and idiosyncratic humour.

Brahms too can change mood in an instant, though less abruptly.

The Zelkovas performance of his A minor Quartet Op 51 No 2 made some of the music’s gestures sound, in their way, as astonishing as Ligeti – or indeed Haydn.

Sinfonia Viva, Derby Cathedral Sinfonia Viva percussionist Graham Hall (above) is also a

skilful arranger, as evidenced by the two works in the orchestra’s latest concert in Derby Cathedral.

I tend to be sceptical about re-scoring chamber works for orchestral forces, but if it is to be done, I can’t imagine the Ravel String Quartet getting more sympathetic treatment than this, with Hall’s knack for illuminating details.

I’m sure I wasn’t alone in wondering how well Mahler’s First Symphony would pack down into a version for chamber orchestra. Surprisingly well, as it happens. Balance was occasionally problematic, with one or two places where a few additional strings would have been beneficial, but not as many as you might think.

And with Duncan Ward’s fresh and engaging conducting the work’s emotional impact was never blunted.

Before the interval Graham Hall was presented with the Royal Philharmonic Society/Association of British Orchestras Salomon Prize, for players who have been nominated by colleagues for contributions to their orchestra’s work – an obviously well-deserved award.

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Derby Concert Orchestra, Derby Cathedral Derby Concert Orchestra and conductor Jonathan Trout began the evening by having fun with Stravinsky’s Circus Polka, bouncing along with the strutting rhythms.

After her impressive performance of the Brahms Concerto with the orchestra this time last year it was good to welcome back violinist Sophie Rosa for the Sibelius.

It took a little while for the first movement’s forward movement to be fully established, but the second movement was powerfully eloquent, and the finale combined panache and rugged affirmation.

In an interpretatively compelling account of Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony the contrapuntal lines in the early stages of the first movement had a fine tensile strength, with an acute sense of gritted-teeth bravado in the scherzo. There was powerful tragic intensity in the third movement, and that ambiguous rallying-cry of a finale was, for the most part, both inexorable and exhilarating.

By Mike Wheeler

attitude Grotesquely glorious baby

steals the show Gargantua’s designer Tayler Skinner wanted the audience to leave thinking “What the hell was that?” – and she certainly achieved her goal.

When the giant baby she had created was finally revealed on stage in all its grotesque glory there was a spontaneous round of applause and the wacky puppet character was the only subject people wanted to talk about as they left Buxton’s Pavilion Arts Centre.

The play, by Carl Grose, was being staged by the Buxton Opera House Young Company as their entry into the National Theatre Connections Festival.

After a two-year gestation Mrs. Mungus gives birth to a gigantic baby she names Hugh. The mutant baby attracts the unwanted attention of corrupt officials intending

New playwright given chance to

see work on stage Without theatre companies like Marde Hen Productions many new playwrights may never get the chance to see their work on the stage.

The enthusiastic team have set themselves up with the sole aim of producing new plays and promoting new writing.

The Belper-based group staged Fish & Chips, by Stephen

There was a pop-art theme running through the rest of the costumes and props which included the Dummy Suckers a rock band of Avenue Q-style puppets.

The musical soundtrack, which had a vital role in this version of the play, was put together by musical director James Atherton and created to clone the child and build a mood and pace to suit the an army of deadly giants, but they hadn’t banked on protests director’s style.

The whole company did well from his loving parents and to overcome the technical the public.

Director Craig Sanders wanted challenges and they all performed with commendable the play to have a Marvel comic-book-cum-film concept enthusiasm and it was great to have the chance to see with the “biggest and boldest set Buxton has ever seen” and potential stars of the future on stage. that is where the obviously The play has a bewildering talented Tayler came in.

She is a student at Nottingham range of characters and at times the pace was so fast that Trent University and the design for the play is her final the dialogue was lost on the audience. year project. Craig’s brief clearly didn’t faze her and she To be honest the end of the play took us somewhat created colourful comic strip style portals to frame the stage by surprise it was only the and make it look as if the story bowing of the cast which confirmed the action was over. was being told within a giant

AP book.

Lee Rees – a comedy with a dramatic dark twist.

It tells the story of Jean and Norman who own a run-down fish and chip shop. Norman, dreams of expansion and a chip van, but meanwhile Jean has just about given up on the shop and craves passion and adventure.

This was a play which had great characters, with some hilarious one-liners and a plot which is both funny and moving.

If the script was tightened up and some of the more risque gags censored it would be even better.

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Norman, played by Mik Horvath and Jean played by Jane Wilton were both very convincing behind the counter of the chip shop.

However it was the two chip shop regulars Sally played

by Vanessa McAuley and the creepy loner Kenneth (Pip Price) who have the best lines.

Vanessa is proving herself to be quite a versatile actor and was brilliant as the horrifying but somehow lovable Vicky Pollard-esque character.

AP A full version of this review is on artsbeatblog.com

attitude What a year that was – taking a

look back at 1966 There’s an increasing number of books focusing on particular years and their significance in cultural and musical terms.

Coming soon is 1971: Rock’s Golden Year. Last year saw 1965: The Most Revolutionary Year in Music and now we have 1966 by Jon Savage, author of a number of wellregarded books, especially his book on Punk Rock.

He certainly does a great deal of research and has here produced a mammoth 653 page book arranged chronologically in chapters, each dealing with one month. Although each month features chronological events and music, the focus is more thematic in that each There is much to admire in Miss Nightingale – a wholly original musical – which concluded its fourth and final tour at Buxton Opera House.

The story is a simple one. Set in London during World War Two a young singer gets a break – partly as a result of her talent, partly because her songwriter has had a liaison with a wealthy producer. As her career develops so do her relationships with the three men in her life.

Maggie Brown (Clara Darcy) is given the more exciting stage name Miss Nightingale.

Her songwriter is a Polish homosexual – George (Conor O’Kane). Maggie is having an affair with her unscrupulous manager Tom

Reviewed by Guy Cooper, new books manager, Scarthin Books, Cromford

deals with a particular aspect of political and historical relevance to the music of the time. Thus we have chapters dealing with The Vietnam War, Anti-nuclear protest, LSD, racism and black music and so on.

The author is particularly good

at digging up events and music of the time that, while not the obvious ones, nonetheless had significance.

The most interesting chapter for me was the one on September and its look at so-called garage bands, fuelled by LSD, protest and the raw influence of British R&B groups. It also deals with the way in which the music began to be taken more seriously as an art form.

The magazine Crawdaddy was founded in 1966 and became the forerunner of a new, more serious, analysis of music.

In December 1966 the Beatles were putting the finishing touches to one of their greatest singles Strawberry Fields Forever.

A fascinating and informative book.

1966:The Year the Decade Exploded, by Jon Savage Faber & Faber. Hb. £20

are also oddly disturbing.

It is the love stories, though, are really at the heart of heart of musical that the show and the songs here are well-crafted and arranged, making good use of the small (Christopher Hogben). Sir on-stage band. The cast of Frank Worthington-Blythe six plays all the music in an (Nicholas Coutu-Langmead) is unobtrusive and sympathetic a theatrical producer who falls way. in love with George.

This is a good production; it is There is plenty of material a small touring show and the here to make a story that holds set is necessarily simple but the attention. Depending it does the job. The direction on your personal history (Karen Simpson) is focussed hearing Tom scream ‘Jew and brings out the tensions and boy’ at George may be more shocking then the tender kisses drama clearly. It may be that the large stage at the Opera between George and Frank.

The saucy/lewd songs given to House worked against this chamber-scaled piece.

Miss Nightingale (one about Keith Savage trapping your pussy in the A full version of this review door, another about getting your sausage when you can) is on artsbeatblog.com

Love stories at

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agenda

Catch the best of the action across Derbyshire and the Peak District with artsbeat’s unbeatable what’s on listings Exhibitions and galleries

Art Cafe, Pavilion Gardens Painting Towns and Country – original oil paintings, pastels and watercolours by Carl Longmate and Kathy MacMillan, until May 8.

Artist-in-residence: Carl Longmate – April 1, 12-2pm. The gallery is up the spiral staircase in the cafe and is open daily from 9.30am-4.30pm. Call 01298 23114 for details.

Artsmith Live, Monk Street, Derby n Sold by David Booth, April 6-8 with a preview night on April 2, 7-10.30pm. See more on page 17. n Ways of Seeing is an exhibition resulting from an open call for photographers with a unique expressive vision, beyond the stereotypes of photography. April 9-22 announcement of winners at 7pm on last day. Opening night at 7pm on April 9. n Limbus a collection of macabre and dreamlike illustrations by Triona Doyle. Opening night April 30.

Baslow Pottery, Ivy House, Nether End, Baslow The gallery displays original work from more than 20 local artists.

Wednesday to Saturday, 10.30am5.30pm and 11am-5pm on Sundays and bank holidays. More details at baslowpottery.co.uk.

Buxton Museum and Art Gallery n Quarried by Colin Shaw until April 10. n Derbyshire Woods, photographs

by Jeff Mander, from April 9 to June 19. Preview April 9 2-4pm and Meet the Artist, April 28 and May 27, 2-4pm. n Home, paintings by Lou Moore April 16-June 8. Preview April 16

Buxton artist Carl Longmate is the artist-in-residence at the Art Cafe in the Pavilion Gardens on April 1

from 3-5pm and Meet the Artist, April 24, 2-4pm.

Banks Mill Studios, Bridge Street, Derby Surface Details an exhibition by glass artist Stevie Davies, April 1-29.

More details on page 27.

Chatsworth House n Never A Bore, a collection of rarely seen and intimate photographs of the late Dowager Duchess, Deborah Devonshire by Cecil Beaton, until January 2017. n The Grand Tour exhibitions are open until the end of the summer.

See more information on page 50.

Cromford Gallery and Studio, Market Place, Cromford The featured artist this month is Sheila Gill and the featured maker is lace and jewellery designer Louise West. More details on page 26.

The gallery is open Wednesday

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to Sunday 10am-5pm. Go to cromfordstudioandgallery.weebly. com for details.

Cromford Mill, Cromford Ev-ol-ve Textile Group Spring Exhibition.There will be colour drawing using the sewing machine

by Sue Lancaster, wool landscapes and dance- sinspired pieces by Helen Moyes, felted architectural themed art by Jenny Robson, and ‘mapstraction’ textile art based on maps by Helen Ward. Karen Herrick will be exhibiting all 12 of her Journey Series, which were reflective monthly pieces created during 2015. April 30-May 4,11am4pm.

To find out more about ev-ol-ve textile group go to ev-ol-ve.uk The Old Lock Up Studio, Cromford Salon 8 – a contemporary art exhibition – will be showing the work

agenda of ten artists from across the UK and a New York artist – Paul Behnke.

More details on page 26.

Chesterfield Art Club Exhibition by members of the art club, May 1, 11am-4pm and May 2, 10am-4.30pm, Ashover Parish Hall, Milken Lane, Ashover.

Cupola Contemporary Art Gallery, Hillsborough, Sheffield Mandy Payne – Betwixt and Between, April 9. For more details go to cupola gallery.com The Derwent Gallery, Main Road, Grindleford Peak District Views by David Stowe, until April 30.

Drawing on his love and intimate knowledge of the Derbyshire countryside. With an emphasis on draughtsmanship and traditional methods David creates paintings in oil, acrylic and pastel that allow us to share in well-trodden paths and to linger at the distant views across wide valleys. The gallery is open Thursday to Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays 11am-4pm. Go to derwentgallery.com for more details.

Déda, Chapel Street, Derby n The Print Project Group – an exhibition by a group of independent photographers dedicated to creating and printing monochrome images. n Wanda Brookes draws on memories from her childhood, when she played and enjoyed the freedom of the wide open spaces in Derbyshire.

Both exhibitions are on until April 30.

For more details go to deda.uk.com Derby Museum and Art Gallery The Grand Tour. Simon Starling and Joseph Wright and the Lure of Italy until June 12. More details at derbymuseums.org Derby University, Markeaton Street campus Exhibition of photography by a group of second year photography students called the F32 Collective. It will be on

show from April 18-May 1. Check out the group on facebook, twitter and instagram for updates.

Etienne Gallery at In The Flow, Crown Square, Matlock For the latest exhibitions go to jasonetienne.com Ferrers Gallery, Staunton Harold Estate, Ashby de la Zouch n Four Paws – an exhibition inspired by cats and dogs is on until May 8. More details on page 27. n Landscape photographer Terry Davies’ latest photographic collection is at the gallery until May 8.

This exhibition is a record of Terry’s recent travels around Britain and represents an eclectic mix of landscapes, both natural and manmade with glimpses of the smaller features within the landscape.

For more details go to ferrersgallery. co.uk Foxlowe Arts Centre, Foxlowe, Leek A new exhibition from the Outline Art Group until April 2.

Joy in Colour and Craftsmanship opens on April 9 and runs until May 14 and features works by abstract painter Geoff Machin, textile designer Sarah Golding and craftsman Neil Clarke.

The gallery is upstairs at the Foxlowe Arts Centre, open Wednesday to Saturday 10am-4pm.

More details at foxloweartscentre. co.uk Gallery in the Gardens, Pavilion Gardens, Buxton The gallery showcases the work of more than 40 artists and craftspeople from the High Peak Artists group. Read a feature about their new members on page 40.

Open daily, 9.30am-5.pm.

Details at galleryinthegardens.co.uk Gallery 23, The Colonnade, Buxton The gallery features work by various artists including Steve Capper, Peter Stanaway, Clare Allan, Richard

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Clare, Caroline Appleyard, Peter Aitchison and Christine Ormsby.

More details at gallery23.co.uk Gallerytop, Chatsworth Road, Rowsley Tonal Edit – a multi-media exhibition focusing on subtle tones, hues, surface texture and mark making.

It features a showcase of work by Gizella Warburton. April 30-May 29.The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 11am-4pm. More details at gallerytop.co.uk The Gallery, High Street, New Mills The gallery is run collectively by 30 artists and showcases a variety of work including paintings, jewellery, silk scarves, ceramics and feltwork.

Open 10-4pm. Closed Wednesday and Sunday.

The Green Man Gallery, Buxton n Sweet Spring – A collection of photographs by Green Man Gallery member Caroline Small capturing the freshness of spring in her own garden and in local woodlands. n The Four Seasons in Buxton – A Pieced Art Quilt by Val Muir, made with hand printed and dyed cotton pieces then free motion machine quilted. n There is also an ever-changing exhibition of original work by gallery members and guest designer makers from across Derbyshire. For details see the gallery’s facebook page, greenmangallery.com or contact hello@thegreenmangallery. com or 07977 956707.

Hall of Frames, King Street, Belper Original and limited edition artwork from a variety of artists. More details at hallofframes.co.uk Hastings Road Art Group (Sheffield) Annual Art Exhibition and sale of work.The Village Hall. Baslow, 10am - 5pm, April 30 and May 1.Free admission Ingleby Gallery, Ingleby The gallery is open Wednesday,

agenda Thursday and Friday, 10am-5pm and weekends from noon-5pm.

There is no exhibition in April. Go to ingleby-gallery.co.uk for more information.

Jarva Gallery, Market Street, Whaley Bridge The gallery is a stockist for Emma Bridgewater ceramics. Open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 9.30am5pm and on Saturdays from 9.30am4pm. More details at jarvagallery. com.

Kunst Gallery, on the A517 at Hulland Ward Exhibiting contemporary work and 1970s screenprinted posters. The gallery is open 10am-4pm Friday to Sunday.

Leabrooks Gallery, Somercotes n Sally Ann Brackett is a mixed media artist. She has invented her own unique collage method working with pen and ink on tissue paper and has called it ‘Tissage’. Sally Ann likes to use recycled materials such as old maps. Her work can be seen from April 2-15. n Susannah Thompson’s oil paintings can be seen from April 16-29.

The Gallery is open from Monday to Saturday, 10am-5pm and 11am4.30pm on Sundays. Wednesdays by appointment only. More details at leabrooksgallery.co.uk Little London Gallery, Church Street, Holloway Gallery open from 10am-5pm Wednesday to Saturday. For more information go to littlelondongallery. co.uk Made @ No 18, Church Street, Alfreton Photography exhibition and competition. Photographers are being invited to take part in this exhibition which will run from April 18-May 8.

Deliver your artwork to the Made @ No 18 Cafe from March 14 until April 18. The pictures will be judged by customers in the café.

David Stowe is exhibiting at the Derwent Gallery in Grindleford

The theme is spring and you enter one, maximum A3 size, framed print. telephone 01773279112 for more details.

The Mustard Seed Cafe, Market Street, Chapel-en-le-Frith A new gallery displaying art and craftwork from seven local professional artists.

There will be a range of original paintings and prints, hand-made glassware and textiles, organic cosmetics and cards, all at affordable prices and much of it unique. Open mornings, Monday to Saturday.

North End Gallery, North End Institute Building, Wirksworth Gatherings, an exhibition of sculptural forms by Rosalind Pounder, until May 12.

Contemporary arts and crafts by new and emerging artists plus vintage treasures, posters, paintings, postcards. Email northendnostalgia@yahoo.co.uk for future events.

The Old Station Gallery, Peak Shopping Village, Rowsley The April curated Spring Show is a diverse exhibition of paintings,

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printmaking and ceramics which shows the work of seven fine artists and two ceramicists April 9- May 11.

More details on page 27. The gallery is open Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday from 11am4pm. Check for any updates at theoldstationgallery.wordpress.com Peak District Photographers Gallery, Bakewell Visitor Centre, Old Market Hall, Bakewell Streamscapes by Longnor landscape photographer Michela Griffith, until May 3.

More details from peakgallery.co.uk Opus Gallery, St John Street, Ashbourne The featured work in April will be the ceramic and textile landscapes of Zoe Marsh. Go to opusgalleryashbourne.com for opening times.

QUAD Derby reGeneration3 – an exhibition of international photography. More details on page 15. Go to derbyquad. co.uk for further information.

The Richard Whittlestone Wildlife Gallery, Pilsley, near Chatsworth Richard Whittlestone Wildlife Gallery

agenda is home to the artist’s stunningly detailed paintings of popular native wildlife and exotic big game. Open 10am-5pm Tuesday to Saturday.

More details at richardwhittlestone. co.uk Royal Derby Hospital, Air Arts, Level 5 Acute Building Impressions, the Air Arts’ spring exhibition featuring work by local artists is on until the summer. It is quite simply about people and the stories they have to tell. For more details go to airarts.net Smoothie Art Gallery, Ilkeston More than 20 local artists displaying a wide selection of original paintings, prints and photographs for sale at reasonable prices in an open exhibition.

The group are staging an arts festival at the Catholic Church Hall Regent Street Ilkeston on May 1 and 2. For more details go to uchoosesmoothie.co.uk Art Sheffield 2016, various venues in the city Art Sheffield 2016: Up, Down, Top, Bottom, Strange and Charm, April 16-May 8. Curated by Martin Clark.

Preview: April 15, 2-8 pm St John Street Gallery, St John Street, Ashbourne The focus in April will be on a diverse and exciting collection of work by sculptors at the gallery – from the quirky Don Quixote characters by Ian Palmer, the African springstone creations by Thomas Ndhlebe, the intricate Ashraf hanna clay figures by Tricia Harrison, David Sprakes’ and Dennis Westwood’s modern bronzes and Mark Smith’s collection of ceramic boats, fish and seagulls. The gallery is open 9.30am-5pm, Monday to Saturday. For more information go to stjohngalleryandcafe.co.uk Sir Richard Morris Lounge, Cathedral Centre, Derby Looking at Thorpe Cloud is Tony Deeming’s latest artistic enterprise

to Sunday 10am-5pm. More information at tarpeygallery.com Two Birds Gallery, Borough Street, Castle Donington A new gallery opened by Melonie Anderson, formerly of the Buzz Gallery and HWR Designs. Open Monday to Saturday, 9.30am-5pm.

West Studios, Sheffield Road, Chesterfield Adventures in a New Landscape, abstract, textural, 2D and 3D, by Fiona Jubb, until April 29. For more details go to the studios’ facebook page WestS41.

David Sprakes’ sculptures are part of an exhibition at St John Street Gallery in Ashbourne

which can be seen throughout April and May. He enjoys picking a subject and working on various ways of representing it. He says this exhibition is largely inspired

by Cezanne’s depiction of Mont Sainte-Victoire. Monday to Saturday 9am-5pm, closed Sundays and Bank Holidays.

Studio 61 – Karina Goodman Gallery, Leashaw, Holloway During April the exhibition is entitled Enchanted and the chosen charity is Children and the Arts.

Artists exhibiting are Karina Goodman, Mary Smith, Martin Davis, Michelle Pearson, Alexandra Koufali, Pauline Allen, Janice Allen and three Connected 2015 Photographers The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday 10-5 and on Wednesdays by appointment only.

For more information about the gallery go to karinagoodman.com Tarpey Gallery, High Street, Castle Donington n Opening The Gates – Geoff Diego Litherland, until May 1. To read a feature which appeared in last month’s artsbeat go to artsbeatblog. com. The gallery is open Thursday

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Whynot Gallery, Lichfield Street, Burton upon Trent Check out all the latest events, workshops and exhibitions on the gallery’s facebook page whynotgalleryuk

Comedy

Buxton Opera House n Ed Byrne Outside Looking In, April 14, 8pm. More details on page 16. n Ruby Wax, Frazzled! A Guide to Mindfulness, April 18, 7.30pm. n Julian Clary, April 28, 7.30pm.

See a Q&A interview with him at artsbeatblog.com More information from buxtonoperahouse.org.uk Escape Comedy Club, Escape Yoga Studios, Matlock April 16 – Alfie Moore, Ben Van der Velde and Gary Meikle. Check out escapecomedyclub on Facebook or go to escapeyoga.co.uk for more details.

Funhouse Comedy Club n David Lloyd Derby Riverside Road, Pride Park, April 30, Derby Comedy Festival Special Gordon Southern, Barry Dodds and El Baldinho. Compere Spiky Mike.

Doors 7pm, show 8.30pm. n Burton Brewhouse Arts Centre Union Street, Burton-upon-Trent, April 28, Vince Atta, Ben Schofield,

agenda Patrick Draper, Scott Walker.

Compere Dave Bryon. Doors 7.30pm, show 8.15pm More details funhousecomedy.co.uk Guildhall Theatre, Derby n Alun Cochrane, A Show with a Man in It, April 7, 8pm. n Derby Comedy Festival from April 29-May 8. Mike McClean, Just Plain Funny, April 29, 8pm. See more details on page 24.

More details from derbylive.co.uk

Theatre

Derby Theatre n The Damned United, the story of Brian Clough’s days with Leeds United, April 7-16. More details on page 51. n Flare Path by Terence Rattigan, April 19-23. Epic wartime romance.

More details at derbytheatre.co.uk Derby Theatre Studio n Lakin McCarthy presents Tony Jameson in Football Manager Ruined My Life, April 8, 8pm. n A Girl and A Gun, written and performed by Louise Orwin and produced by Fergus Evans, April 15, 8pm. n Learning How to Die, written and performed by Luca Rutherford, April 22, 8pm. n Women’s Hour from Sh!t Theatre, April 23, 8pm.

More details at derbytheatre.co.uk Guildhall Theatre, Derby n Anne of Green Gables, from Redhead Reach, April 3-6. See more about this on page 13. n Good Companions Stage Society, Top of Our Pops, a show packed with song, dance and comedy, April 12-16. n Debt Collectors by John Godber, from the Reform Theatre Company.

More information from derbylive. co.uk Live and Local – Drama at various locations across the county n The Origin of Species, Tangram

Theatre Company, The Village Hall at Heage, April 15, 7.30pm, tickets 01773 853 358. n The Iranian Feast, Farnham Maltings Theatre Company, Crich Glebe Field Centre, April 17, 7.30pm.

More details on page 17. n A Midsummer Night’s Dream, from Box Tale Soup, April 21, 7pm, Friesland Performing Arts Centre, Sandiacre, tickets 01159 397326 ext 168.

Buxton Opera House, Buxton n Becoming Hattie, from Proteus Theatre, April 2, 7.30pm. n Heartbeat, the first tour of one of ITV’s most successful programmes, April 5-9, 7.30pm with a matinee on Thursday and Saturday at 2.30pm.

Déda Dance Theatre, Derby Three Keepers, presented by WinterWalker, April 23, 2.30pm, More details on page 35 and from deda.uk.com Chellaston Players Absurd Person Singular, by Alan Ayckbourn, St. Peter’s Church Hall, Chellaston, Derby. May 11-14, at 7:30pm. Tickets. on 07553088197 or chellastonbooking@hotmail.co.uk.

Cathedral Quarter, Derby Street Theatre, produced by Ashrow Theatre will also return every fourth Saturday from May until August. Go to derbycathedralquarter.co.uk for more details.

Dance

Déda Derby n A New Generation of Dance Artists, presented by EDge, April 21, 7.30pm. n Joint Honours and CET Degree Show, April 16, 7.30pm. n BA Dance Degree Show, April 17, 7.30pm.

Cathedral Quarter Derby n From May onwards, the second Saturday will see the CQ Saturdays Street Circus and Déda Producing, perform live acts at the Waterfall

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stage in the Market Place.

Run Of The Mill Folk Dance Club Spring Dance with Geoff Cubitt and Deo Volente. Saturday May 14, 7-30pm, St Benedict’s School Derby.

Tickets from Valerie and Brian £9 01773 747850. More details from runmilldance.org.uk

Spoken word

The Barley Mow, Bonsall A new evening of spoken work has been launched here this year.

Muse – an evening of lyrical delights is being hosted on the third Thursday of the month by poet and performer, Mark Gwynne Jones who says it promises to be an exciting mix of comedy, tragedy and iridescent ideas from voices past and present.

For more details go to markgwynnejones.com Chatsworth Players At Home with the Chatsworth Players – an informal evening with a light supper. Take your own wine.

A member of the group will be read Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads: The Hand of God, April 22, 7.30pm, at Biddy’s Tearooms, Market Place, Cromford. Tickets from Mel on 0791 902 8603.

Derby Poetry Society Members’ Poetry Competition adjudicated by River Wolton, Derbyshire Poet Laureate 2007.

April 8, Room 3, Friends’ Meeting House, Derby, 7.30pm. Meeting fee £2. Members £1.

Live and Local n The Forbidden Door Devil’s Violin Company, Hollingwood Hub, Chesterfield, April 13, 7.30 pm.

Tickets 01246 477569. n Spring Bank Arts Centre, New Mills, April 15, 7.30pm. Tickets 01663 308202. Evocative and enchanting musical storytelling.

Matlock Storytelling Cafe This month the Cafe brings back Dominic Kelly with his highly

agenda acclaimed show The Trickster perfect fare for April 1.

It is July 15, 1910. A red haired boy walks out of school for the last time.

His classmates, teachers, and the local doctor have already fallen foul of his trickery. Ahead of him are fun, fortune and a hundred more serious ruses to try. Little does he know he’ll soon be hunted as the most wanted man in the country.

Matlock Storytelling Cafe takes place on the first Friday of each month at the Imperial Rooms in Matlock.

Doors open at 6.30pm with stories at 7.30pm. More details on 01629 580023.

Scrivener’s Secondhand Books, Buxton Storytelling Sundays: The free meetings will be held on the second Sunday of the month 2pm to 3.30pm,

at Scrivener’s Books, 42 High Street, Buxton.Telephone 0129871622.

Derby’s Cathedral Quarter n Towers, Tunnels and Tales Tours led by historian Richard Felix, will be held on the first Saturday of every month.

The Tea Chest, George Street, Buxton Spoken Words – original poetry and short stories, open mic 7.45pm10pm, first Tuesday of every month.

Contact Julian Cohen 07713246391.

Cinema

Bakewell and Ashfield Film Society Suffragette, April 10, Medway Centre, Bakewell, 7.30pm. More details at bashfilms.org.uk

contact us If you would like your event to be included on our agenda pages simply email details to: events@arts-beat.co.uk by the 10th of the month prior to the month of publication. The listings only cover the month(s) on the dateline. The July/ August and December/January Celebrating the arts in Derbyshir editions are combined. e and the Peak District FRE E If you would like to be certain of getting a copy of artsbeat magazine April 2016 each month you can subscribe and we will send it to you for just the cost of post and packaging.

FESTIVALS To subscribe for ten issues send Comedy WIN Literature your name and the address where Tickets Folk Music to the you want artsbeat delivered, to: The opera Editor, artsbeat, 19 Nottingham Road, Belper, Derbyshire, DE56 1JG, with a cheque for £14 made payable to Animal A Penman.

Magic artsbeatblog.com

Do you want to get your message about your business to Music, theatre, gallery, film and worksh op listings our 21,000-plus readers? Email advertising@arts-beat.co.uk for details of our advertising rates or phone 07872 066719 to discuss your ideas.

More details about the publication can be found at artsbeatblog.com

Belper Ritz Cinema Go to ritz-belper.co.uk for details.

Buxton Film, Pavilion Arts Centre All screenings start at 7.30pm unless stated and advanced booking is recommended. Further information from buxtonfilm.org.uk Calver Film, The Village Hall, Calver A Little Chaos, April 14. Every second Thursday of the month at 7.30pm from September until May. Membership needed, details from 01433 630760.

Matlock Bath Pavilion Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour, April 1.

The Northern Light Cinema, Wirksworth Go to thenorthernlightcinema.co.uk.

Peak Film Society, Partington Players Theatre Glossop n Enemy, April 2. n The Third Man, April 23.

More details peakfilmsociety.org QUAD, Derby Go to derbyquad.co.uk for more details.

Cinema@Spring Bank Arts, New Mills n Manuscripts Don’t Burn, an Iranian thriller, April 14. n Malena, an Italian drama, April 28. Go to springbankarts.org.uk for details.

Tansley Film Community Cinema, Tansley Village Hall Mr Holmes, starring Ian McKellen, April 5. Seat reservations essential at book@tansleyfilm.org.uk. More information at tansleyfilm.co.uk Tideswell Cinema, The George Inn, Tideswell Touch of Evil, April 28, 7.30pm. Live theatre, opera, ballet broadcasts and films. Membership necessary.

More details tideswellcinema.com

While every effort is made to ensure agenda listings are accurate and up-to-date readers are advised to check with the venue before travelling, as no responsibility can be accepted for changes to programmes, errors or omissions

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bookshelf tradition of artists, including Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol and Joseph Cornell, who collected found objects in order to make art.

the direction of Prince Albert to Prince Charles’s rendition of Prince Hal alongside professional actors, this engaging study celebrates the British royal family’s connection to and appreciation of Britain’s best-loved dramatist.

n Strand

By Stuart Haygarth (Art Books £28)

The artist Stuart Haygarth walked along the entire coast of southern England, with the goal of collecting every manmade item that he came across.

He picked up the thousands of synthetic items left washed up on the shore.

Combs, lighters and baby dolls, plastic balls, toys, containers and shoes were just some of the many objects he found on the 500-mile trip. Back in the studio, he categorized each one by type and colour before arranging them into precise compositions and photographing them.

Displaying the formal rigour of the designer and the aesthetic eye of the artist, the resulting images seduce with their beauty and visual immediacy.

The objects form an archive of sorts, a fragmented narrative of unknown people’s lives, as well as a material document of Haygarth’s journey.

In this book of his pictures award-winning academic and nature writer Robert Macfarlane considers the photographs of Strand as evidence of our pollution of the planet with ever-growing mountains of plastic waste, while Deyan Sudjic, director of the Design Museum, discusses Haygarth’s work as part of the

n Royal Shakespeare

By Alycia Smith Howard (Royal Collection Trust £29.95 out April 21)

To be published on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, Royal Shakespeare is an innovative addition to Shakespeare studies. This book, enriched with more than two hundred colour illustrations, approaches its subject from a new and fascinating perspective; the centuries-long role Shakespeare has played in royal life as a source of inspiration, entertainment, and creative expression.

Drawing on the Royal Collection’s outstanding collection, Royal Shakespeare offers readers a front-row seat for the most enthralling stories about the associations between the monarchy and Shakespeare.

From Elizabeth I’s famously heated and controversial identification with Shakespeare’s poetic king, Richard II, to Charles II and Nell Gwynne’s use of The Tempest as a secret romantic code; from stagings under

n Strange Meetings Texts by Michael Bracewell, Rebecca Daniels, Jennifer Higgie and Simon Martin (Art Books £29.99)

Clare Woods is internationally regarded as one of the most significant painters working today. Her highly colouristic paintings hover somewhere between abstraction and representation, expressing both a poetic romanticism and an unnerving psychic charge.

Published to coincide with the show The Sleepers at Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, and ahead of a series of important exhibitions and commissions, this beautifully designed and illustrated volume is the first monograph on Woods’ art. It presents all the major works from her career to date, from small-scale intimate paintings in oil and enamel to ambitious high-profile public commissions and architectural projects.

Bookshelf is sponsored by Scarthin Books, of Cromford 69

Stages 4

Photograph Paula Wilson

First Art and Orchestras Live present

Manchester Camerata Four special evenings of well-loved classical music with a local twist Eckington

School,

S41

4GN

-

Monday

25th

April,

7:30pm

Shirebrook Academy, NG20 8QF - Tuesday 26th April, 7:30pm Sutton Community Academy, NG17 1EE - Wednesday 27th April, 7:30pm Mansfield Create Theatre, NG18 5BH - Thursday 28th April, 7:30pm

Tickets are subsidised and cost just ÂŁ3 (+ online booking fee) Visit firstart.org.uk to book online, or call 01909 720378 for more information. Limited tickets will be available on the night, but will be on a first come first served basis.

A Red Ladder Theatre Company & West Yorkshire Playhouse Production

The Damned United Brian Clough’s journey from his beloved Derby County to the team he hated the most.

Thursday 7 – Saturday 16 April 2016 Box Office 01332 593939 Book Online derbytheatre.co.uk

Derby Theatre is part of