things to do in March 5

Discover

Find out all about the sensational silky wave moth at Wild Place’s wildlife talk on 29 March. This nationally rare and beautiful moth is a resident of the Avon Gorge that you’ve probably never even heard of. First recorded in the Avon Gorge in 1851, this unique geological site is now the only place in England where the silky wave moth can still be found. Jen Nightingale (a national rarity herself as the UK Conservation Manager at Bristol Zoological Society) tells us about its amazing life cycle and why the Avon Gorge is so essential to its survival. Monitoring the moth’s population forms part of the Zoological Society’s native species conservation programme.

Immerse yourself

The 41st Hotwells Pantomime returns to the Tobacco Factory Theatres from 15 –18 March for the first time since that evil villain Covid appeared. With a cast of 50+, as well as teenagers and children and a superb eight-piece band, this is the Bristol community panto. Written by members of the cast and packed with invention, colour, laughs and songs, this show is the perfect way to wipe away the winter blues.

Will wicked stepmother Corona, along with her ugly daughters Flatula and Vapora, triumph, or will Cinderella get to the ball? There is only one way to find out.

• Book your tickets at: tobaccofactorytheatres.com

• Book your tickets at: wildplace.org.uk

Learn

Some 40 years ago, John Palmer laundered £26 million worth of gold bullion, diamonds, and cash from the Brink’s-Mat Robbery, which occurred at the Heathrow International Trading Estate in London, through his North Street bullion company and his East Street Bank. It was Britain’s biggest robbery and the crime of the century.

Now, Show of Strength Theatre Company has created a ‘Blood and Butchery in Bedminster’ walking tour, which takes participants to Palmer’s business premises, the bank where millions were handed over, and the pub Palmer bought and converted to celebrate his success. Bedminster will never seem the same again. What’s more, the story of John Palmer is explored in the recent BBC One series, The Gold, and in the new GANGSTER podcast, available on BBC Sounds. Presenter Livvy Haydock came to Bedminster to record the tour, which features in the six part series.

• Tours occur weekly from £12; book now at stagestubs.com; showofstrength.org.uk. Image credit: BBC/Tannadice Pictures/Sally Mais

Watch

UK politics is in crisis and the country is in economic peril. Fights break out in the Houses of Parliament and the government whips can barely contain the chaos. Sound familiar? Well this time, it’s 1974 and in this not so distant past, Westminster is at war with itself again.

A hung parliament and the tiniest of margins mean that those in power will do everything to just keep going. Even if that means wheeling in someone on their last legs or direct from the maternity ward. In a time where every vote counts, James Graham’s explosive and biting political comedy-thriller This House – which premiered at the National Theatre in 2012 and is now running at Tobacco Factory Theatres from 10 –18 March – introduces us to the farcical and fanatical world of 1970s Westminster. Just how far will these parties go for political survival?

• Old Vic Theatre School, oldvic.ac.uk

Enjoy

Bristol Bach Choir will be performing at St Alban’s Church for the first time on Saturday 18 March at 7.30pm. The choir will start with Mozart’s Solemn Vespers, full of joyful music and including the well known Laudate Dominum with its lovely soprano solo. After Byrd’s popular Ave verum corpus, the concert will finish the first half with 5 Spirituals from A Child of our Time by Sir Michael Tippett. They include DeepRiver, Nobodyknows and other familiar spirituals, with thrilling contributions from the soloists. The second half contains charming, if less familiar, anthems by Stanford and W.H.Harris before finishing with Herbert Howells’ sublime setting of the TeDeum, composed for the choir of King’s College, Cambridge. The concert is conducted by the choir’s accompanist, Nigel Nash, with Andrew Kirk at the organ.

• bristolbach.org.uk