Reviews

If you have a show in Wales and the Borders, we can send a reviewer – and your show can appear on these pages too! Email editorial@ shiremagazine.co.uk. We look forward to hearing from you!

Discover what the Shire team thought of the concerts, live events and theatre shows they’ve seen over the past couple of months at local venues

BeWILDerwood

BeWILDerwood Cheshire is a new adventure park based on the books by Tom Blofeld, featuring slides, mazes, zip wires, puppet shows and so much more.

On entering some Twiggles explain how best to enjoy your visit. Children of walking age can play on the slides and swings at Toddlewood on the Hill or Tiptoe Valley, but my two-yearold loved the Twiggle Whizzers – small aerial swings for Teeny Twiggles (under 105cm).

Brave Boggles (over 105cm) can whizz down the Wobbly Wires, get lost in the Mish Mash Maze or seek their thrills on the Slippery Slopes. I relived my childhood by braving the highest slide – I’m still recovering!

Every hour you can see a show on the Storytelling stage, lasting approximately 10 minutes. Seating is limited, though, so make sure you get there early.

Hot food, drinks, snacks and ice cream is available from the two outdoor cafés, but picnics are welcomed and there are plenty of benches and seats around the park. There’s also a lovely gift shop with an array of toys, books and gifts with consideration for all budgets.

In the days after our trip all we talked about was Swampy the Boggle, Mildred the Crocklebog and when we could next visit the magical world of BeWILDerwood! CD 

CarFest North

CarFest is massive. In the 10 years since the event was created by DJ Chris Evans, more than 1.2 million people have attended either CarFest North or South. It has featured 1,834 cars in the paddock, including 153 Formula One cars and 462 supercars.

You can camp for the weekend or go in as a day visitor. There are hundreds of food stalls, fairground, beverage stands – but I go to see the musical acts on the two main stages. At year’s event, which took place in July at Bolesworth Estate, Cheshire, the music really flowed – while one band was on stage, another was getting ready on the other stage. There wasn’t an inch of space once the music started Chris came out many times between the two stages, chatting to the public and his many invited friends – there were celebrities everywhere!

The music had something for everyone. Howard Donald (Take That) and Gok Wan did DJ sets, while All Saints looked and sounded as good now as ever. I also saw Marc Almond, Ray Mears, Giovanna Fletcher, Rag’n’Bone Man and many more. Chris brings his family on stage every year, which the crowd love, and it was 10pm that I made my happy way home.

CarFest has raised over £20m for children’s charities. Why would you not want to go every year? DL 

Abel Selaocoe

Abel Selaocoe likes to begin his recitals with improvisation “because it’s a new moment, unlike any other”. This tradition from community music-making in his native South Africa was never more apt than for his concert in Market Drayton – the first live performance at the Festival Centre in over 16 months.

From an incredible range of sounds created by voice and cello, Selaocoe’s improvisation segued into one of the Capricci For Solo Cello by 18th-century Italian composer Dall’Abaco. “Time for the tribal elders to speak.”

This wasn’t genre-bending so much as a merging of different musical traditions to reveal strengths and joys in common. Deep-throated grunts, clicking sounds from other languages, and lyrical sweeps of the voice combined with his virtuosic playing of the cello. It seemed that he was creating a whole new community of sounds. The “straight” movements from Bach’s cello suites, when they came, sounded more luminously modern and universal than ever, while Selaocoe’s own compositions were steeped in classical gravitas.

The programme ended with Giovanni Sollima’s Lamentatio, given harrowing power and poignancy by Selaocoe’s intense interpretation. The entire concert gave the sensation of a new moment, unlike any other. JH 

Foodies Festival

As with everything recently, July’s Foodies Festival at Tatton Park, Cheshire, was a case of will it or won’t it happen? It was a day of torrential rain in the morning and hot sun in the afternoon. The place was packed!

Walking around, I bumped into MasterChef 2021 champion Tom Rhodes and his family. Tom tells me he is originally from Rochdale and is loving being at this event. I tell him his family are obviously very proud of him, and he smiles.

There’s no time to waste: Great British Bake Off winner Candice Brown is on stage in the Chefs Theatre and again straight afterwards in the Cake & Bake Theatre. Candice starts her cooking demonstration and talks about being diagnosed with ADHD and mental health problems. She says she is nervous because it has been so long since she faced the public. She had just bought a pub with her brother when lockdown happened – she also got divorced after two years of marriage – so it has been really difficult for her, but she comes across really well and seems very happy.

The Foodies Festival always sells out in advance because it manages to cater for everyone’s tastes. There are six different demonstrations in each of the four seated theatres, as well as food stands, shopping and a children’s play area.

The day ends with a sparkling performance by Sophie Ellis Bextor on the music stage, and during her set many small children run to the front of the stage – proving what a great family day it has proved to be. DL 