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CONTENTS 4 WELCOME 5 5 REALLY GOOD THINGS 6 NEWS 9 RECREATE & POP 10 CLASSES & WORKSHOPS 13 FILM 14 FLOURISHING! INDEPENDENT FILM 16 VINTAGE REVOLUTION 20 ROYAL ENGINEERS: EXHIBITIONS 22 MUSIC 1 24 MUSIC 2 25 DAVY JONES LOCKER 26 THEATRE 28 VISUAL ART 30 THE ARTIST’S SPACE 31 MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL
REVOLUTION
EDITORIAL: editor@wowkent.co.uk 0845 388 2243 (local rate from BT landlines) ADVERTISING: advertising@wowkent.co.uk New advertiser & excellent series booking discounts available to all. All ads also appear in the online edition at wowkent.co.uk
WELCOME TO WOW!
FREE LISTINGS: listings@wowkent.co.uk
Your guide to the best of What’s On Where Medway, Maidstone and the accessible beyond
DESIGN: A Stones Throw astonesthrowdesign.co.uk PRINTING: Complete Print Group (CPG) 9-10 Orchard Business Centre Sanderson Way Tonbridge Kent TN9 1QG 01732 366666 cpg-net.co.uk PUBLISHER: Emma Dewhurst WEBSITE: wowkent.co.uk Current print circulation: 10,000 copies Distribution: Medway Towns, Maidstone & Gravesend Copy/listings deadline for March 2015: Wednesday 18 February 2015 ©WOW Kent magazine All rights reserved. While every effort has been made to ensure that details in this publication are correct, we cannot accept responsibility for such. Readers are advised to check information listed, to avoid disappointment. Views expressed by contributors and advertisers do not necessarily reflect those of the editor and publisher.
Cover by A Stones Throw PHOTOGRAPH OF THE EDITOR BY RIKARD ÖSTERLUND
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With a great leap of faith here at WOW (and a bit of strategic planning) we have increased the magazine’s print circulation to an astonishing 10,000 copies. If you are a commuter who has just been handed a copy of the magazine at a railway station – welcome! We are charting the Vintage Revival this month with a lovely long main feature from Amy Bellehewe. Meanwhile, Anna Morell has taken herself to the Royal Engineers to visit two of their excellent exhibitions and Luke Crook joins us as chief curator of the Music listings. Hoorah! 2015 promises to be full of creative joys and I promise to bring you the best of them. Emma Dewhurst editor@wowkent.co.uk
CONTRIBUTORS Amy Bellehewe moved to Borstal nine years ago and instantly fell in love with the artistic passion that surrounds Medway. She proclaims herself to be 1940s obsessed (“along with my poor husband and three children!”). In her spare time she indulges her passion by making vintage hair accessories and selling them at vintage events and online through her Facebook page, Tiki Rose Vintage. She loves the challenge of receiving a commission to make something ‘out of the box’. Emma Dewhurst is an actress, mother and the founder/editor of WOW. She has had a long and varied acting career, including stints at the National Theatre and in London’s West End. More recently she has worked in TV and film in order to concentrate on the important jobs of mothering and running WOW. Anna Morell is a mother, writer and tentative film-maker. Her WWI short, Every One of Them, won the For The Fallen Challenge's Best Screenplay Award. See forthefallen.eu/app Nick Walker is the director of Rochester Kino, screening contemporary world cinema and classic films at various venues around Medway and in London. Nick previously wrote for The Guardian, was director of National Schools Film Week and is a freelance writer, teacher and film cinema/ festival programmer. He currently works for London’s famous Phoenix Cinema. For more information on Rochester Kino visit: rochesterkino.co.uk
to do this month
KEEP IT LIVE! Veteran jazzman Donn Barcott has done more than most with his popular Big Band to ‘keep music live’. If you’re a lover of old-style jazz and fancy a really good night out, his monthly ‘Five 5 Live’ at the 44Two Sports and Social Club in Gillingham is just the ticket. You will be serenaded by vocalist Elaine Dyan with songs from the Great American Song Book and a magician will even come to your table. There’s a licensed bar and it’s a snip at just £6. Next gig: 12 February. See Music 1.
BANFF! If you’re longing for the end of these dark winter days, have a love of travel or want to satisfy your inner sense of adventure, the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour is for you. In a choice of two variedand-frankly-impossible-to choosebetween-programmes comprising the best entries to Canada’s Banff Mountain Film Festival, you will be taken round the world at dizzying
heights, witness feats of endurance and skill and generally wowed with the beauty of it all. The tour comes to Canterbury’s Gulbenkian on 3 March and to Tunbridge Wells the following day. banff-uk.com
children (and no doubt their more grownup counterparts) by Seven Stories, National Children’s Centre celebrating the life and writing of Enid Blyton, including a large number of artefacts, from original, handwritten typescripts, diaries and the first Noddy illustration ever. The Beaney have a great Pay What You Can policy, too.
MEDWAY EYES presents…
GO CLASSICAL
… the songs of Paul Weller in the unique atmosphere of The Barge, Gillingham on Saturday 7 February. Excellent independent grassroots collective Medway Eyes has lain fallow for a little while. This is their first foray back into the local music scene with a great line-up in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust, including Harvey, Hooper, Walker & Crispe, One Eleven Edmund, Unlucky Fried Kitten, Oliver Burgess and more. If you miss this one, keep an eye out for the next, crossing fingers there’ll be one. medwayeyes. wordpress.com
FIVE GO TO… … Canterbury’s House of Art and Knowledge, The Beaney! ‘Mystery, Magic and Midnight Feasts’ is a playful, interactive exhibition for
The City of Rochester Symphony Orchestra do a great job of making their concerts musically accessible to all, with varied, popular programmes and an open-armed approach to families and children. Their new season includes a concert on 28 February of well-known Nordic masterpieces by Grieg and Sibelius, including one of their personal favourites, Sibelius’ ecstatic 2nd Symphony. Outstanding violinist Fenella Humphreys is the soloist. Their pricing policy is also admirable, with children and students up to 18 at just £1. crso.org.uk 5
of
Yummy event one:
CAJUN FUN RECORDER EXPERIENCE DAY Friday 20 February 10am-3pm Rochester Grammar School, Maidstone Road, Rochester ME1 3BY
Sunday 22 Feb, 7pm. Only £37.50 per person
Book in advance at the shop
Yummy event TWO:
Open to keen young recorder players of all standards across Kent and Medway, the aim of this day hosted by Kent Music is to extend musical skills, knowledge and understanding through fun ensemble playing. Applications are welcome from all school age recorder players; you don’t have to be having lessons and there are no auditions. You are asked to be able to play and read at least three notes and to bring your own packed lunch and drinks for the day. Places at the fun day are £20 and application forms are available from Valerie Cordina on 01622 358402, email vcordina@kent-music.com or download from kent-music.com.
spinach Creative conversation over good coffee. All welcome. Mornings 10 February – Sun Pier House 18 February – Creek Creative
Bruno’s Bakes & Coffee, 10 High St, Rochester ME1 1PT facebook.com/brunosfrenchbakes
Do you have stories to tell? Young women between the ages of 16 and 21 are invited to join award-winning writer Sarah Hehir at Sun Pier House, Chatham for a series of writing workshops to help develop stories that matter to them. Workshop dates: Feb 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd 1.30-3pm. FREE To express interest email hehirsarah@yahoo.co.uk facebook.com/THEidPROJECTMEDWAY
Easter Sunday and Mon 5 & 6 April 2015 Event Opening Times: 10.00am – 6pm It’s ‘full steam ahead!’ to Chatham Historic Dockyard on Easter Sunday and Monday for this terrific annual event. Attractions include working and static Steam Displays and Traction Engines, Locomotives and Classic Cars throughout the ages. There will also be a traditional Steam Fair, Street Entertainment (stilt walkers, jugglers, balloon artists and bubble acts), Live Music, ‘Call The Midwife’ film location tours, a Steampunk Village, Animals, Steam Wagon Rides, Farmers Market and more. A great day out for all ages! Event admission prices apply. Discounts are available for advance purchases, THD 12month ticket holders and pre-booked groups of 15 or more. See website for details. Tel: Event Office: 01634 823816 Switchboard: 01634 823800 Email: info@chdt.org.uk Event Office Address: Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, The Sail and Colour Loft, The Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Kent ME4 4TE thedockyard.co.uk/steamandtransport The Historic Dockyard Chatham Chatham, Kent ME4 4TZ (For Sat Nav use ME4 4TY)
bigfunrun2o15 It is never too late to start your New Year resolutions and this year’s Big Fun Run series gives people of all abilities the chance to kick start a new, active 2015. Set in 18 of the UK’s most iconic parks from Glasgow to Brighton, the 5K events are aimed at all members of the family, with entry free for children under 5.
DIG DEEP for SHAPE
timed, it is all about having fun and raising funds for a charity close to your heart. Organiser GSi Events, who also host the Edinburgh Marathon and Bournemouth Marathon say: “Each run has a friendly atmosphere whilst offering an achievable challenge”.
2015 Early Bird entry prices are available until 22 February. To The only Kent based Fun Run will download a training plan and find be held at Mote Park, Maidstone on out how to enter, visit Saturday 8 August. The event is not bigfunrun.com.
Christopher Sacre
One of 2014’s most interesting contemporary art exhibitions was Christopher Sacre’s striking, minimalist show, ‘Nothingness’ in the white space of Nucleus Arts Gallery, Chatham. Now the artist is asking for readers’ help with his bid to fundraise £1450 for the leading disability arts charity, Shape Arts, which has played a vital role in his own development as a visual artist. Sacre is deaf and much of his work is informed by this fact. He plans to tackle the 300 mile London to Paris bike ride in April 2015. There are two ways to donate: 1 Online at www.justgiving.com/ sacrecycle4shape 2 Text CSSA75 £10 to 70070
The
WHETHER YOU'RE ATTACHED, SINGLE OR SOMEWHERE IN-BETWEEN… Join THE CABARET CLUB for a
LOVE REVOLUTION! VALENTINE’S NIGHT SPECIAL Saturday 14 February 2015
LV21 MAKING MORE Something wonderful has been happening aboard historic lightship LV21, Gillingham Pier. In collaboration with jeweller Joanne Haywood, a small group of local makers have developed a new approach to making contemporary jewellery with a vintage twist based on the Rural Industries Bureau’s ideas of the 1930s, when village women learnt to make quilts to be sold at the Dorchester, London. A ‘make do and mend’ attitude, social engagement and skilling-up participants to produce quality work for retail are at the project’s heart. Get involved! Sign up to a taster workshop. No previous experience required. lv21.co.uk
Lordswood Social Club, North Dane Way, Chatham, ME5 8YE Doors 7pm, Show 7.30pm. Music and dancing ‘til midnight This Valentine’s Night Special will be embracing the peace and love ideals of the late 1960’s so you are invited to dress up in your best caftan, burn your bras, dig out those go-go boots and get ready to party like it’s 1969! Tickets £16 (group booking discounts available) plus there is a 'Reserve Now, Pay by 1st Feb' option for groups of 5 or more. Over 18s only. Book via Eventbrite https://thecabaretclub140215.eventbrite.co.uk Contact The Cabaret Club: hello@thecabaretclub.co.uk facebook.com/thecabaretclubuk twitter.com/cabaretclubuk
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HERE AT WOW WE’RE EXCITED TO BE NEARING THE LAUNCH OF OUR NEW ARTS WEBSITE FOR KENT! You’ll be able to read the magazine there, of course, but the site has evolved into much more. • The Arts Calendar sits at the heart of the site. Find out what’s happening or submit your own events • Fancy learning something new? The Classes & Workshops page will help! • Read new articles about the arts county-wide • Find a Creative Partner for your next venture The site will be in beta when it launches so feedback will be welcome. WATCH THIS SPACE!
IDEAS TEST
IDEAS TEST
RECREATE: FEBRUARY 2015 AN EVENING (OR 5) WITH RECREATE Nucleus Arts Centre, Chatham ME4 4BP 5.30 –8.30pm Join local artists, designers and industry specialists for presentations and networking. Register on our website. 5 FEB Dan Thompson, Revolutionary Arts and Laura Knight and Louise Francis, Francis Knight 19 FEB Heather Burgess, Sun Pier House, Tudor Price, Kent Invicta Chamber and Wayne Saunders, Medway Council 26 FEB Wendy Daws, Artist and Barry Bridges, Typicality 5 MAR Emma Dewhurst, Wow and Dalia Halpern-Matthews, Nucleus Arts 26 MAR Jatin Patel, Kalikas Armour and Suziane Sampaio, UCA
SELF-EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMME FROM 18 FEB Our programme for individuals currently not in employment and interested in running their own business starts this month. If you would like training, 1-2-1s with a mentor and access to office space, please contact recreate@medway.gov.uk.
POP CREATIVE SPACE Forum events hosted by Revolutionary Arts 5-7pm. Open to all. 12 FEB: Collaboration - people working together for bigger impact and collaborative pitches. 12 MAR: High Street - empty shops, pop up shops, hybrid retail. How can you get involved?
EXHIBITION Under the lead of Medway artist Chris Van Beck, POP transforms into a creative laboratory, incorporating a darkroom and an exhibition space. Chris and other willing creatives will be conducting a series of experiments, bringing together different expertise, learning from each other, discussing and demonstrating the results. If you want to make connections, develop your artistic practice, investigate and experiment with the themes of photograms, collages, silhouettes and more, come and participate in this creative adventure. Outcomes will be documented and exhibited as part of the celebration event on Saturday 28 February.
GALLERY OPENING TIMES 5 FEBRUARY – 1 MARCH Thursday to Saturday, 12pm – 6pm Celebration event: SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY, 5PM – 8PM
THE INFLATABLE ARCHIVE Rochester Art Gallery until 21st March. See Visual Art page 28. www.recreateproject.eu Facebook.com/pop-creative-space Twitter: @recreateeu Email: popcreativespace@gmail.com POP, 64-66 High Street, Chatham ME4 4DS
Image: Chris Van Beck
Recreate is selected under the European Cross-border Cooperation Programme INTERREG IV A France (Channel) – England, co-funded by the ERDF
Half Term Classes and Workshops POP CREATIVE SPACE Chatham ME4 4DS
MAIDSTONE MUSEUM St Faith’s Street, Maidstone ME14 1LH
maidstone.museum.gov.uk
PRINT & STITCH AN OWL FAMILY WORKSHOP (ages 5+)
Thursday 19 February 10am-12pm or 1pm-3pm £6 per child Book at iprintedthat.com/workshopcalendar Learn how to create a stencil, screen print the design onto fabric and embroider detail to give character to your little owl which can then be turned into a cushion or hand puppet. There are 5 designs to choose from and children will leave with a new friend of their own creation. They will also be shown how to carry on screen printing at home and add to their owl collection. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Wear old clothes or bring a painting shirt.
MAKE IT! SURREALISM
Or fancy a sleepover…?
Mon 16 – Fri 20 Feb 10.30am – 12.30pm & 1.30pm-3.30pm
SLEEPOVER: DOZING DINOSAURS 7.30pm – 9pm Explore the museum at night before bedding down with the dinos! For children aged 7 and above. Max 3 children per adult. £30 per head, snack and breakfast included
Get hands on with museum objects during these drop-in sessions which accompany the Dipping into Dali exhibition in the Bentlif Gallery – highlights of one man’s Salvador Dali memorabilia.
eb Mon 16 F b Fe Tues 17 b Fe Wed 18 Feb Thurs 19 Fri 20 Feb
into Dali Dripping usions Optical Ill llage Surreal Co s Zoetrope locks C g in lt Me
Fri 13 – Sat 14 Feb
And later in the month… Saturday 28 February 10:30am-12.30pm & 1.30-3.30pm BONES AND BODIES! Perfect for 8-12 years old Archaeology with a dose of Biology. Bury a skeleton, try facial reconstruction from a skull. £8 per child
CLASSES FOR ADULTS STARTING, TOO! Medway Adult and Community Learning Service (MACLS) has a number of great courses starting this month including:
⋅⋅Indian and Pakistani Cookery ⋅⋅Mediterranean Cookery ⋅⋅Computing for Beginners ⋅⋅Portrait Drawing and Painting ⋅⋅Life and Figure Drawing and Painting ⋅⋅Creative Digital Photography ⋅⋅Pottery ⋅⋅Yoga ⋅⋅Pilates ⋅⋅Getting Started Selling your Crafts
MACLS is also running a number of informative work skills courses - many of which are FREE for learners on certain benefits. Courses starting in February include Customer Service, Food Safety, Retail Skills, Employability Skills, Emergency First Aid and Designing a Business Website. For more information visit medway. gov.uk/macls or ring 01634 338400.
Old Town Hall, Chatham ME4 4SE
MELTDOWN
A week of wintry workshops for all ages, inspired by Disney favourite Frozen from Play On Words Theatre Company.
THE ICE SISTERS
Three-day drama workshop for 8-14 year olds Monday 16 to Wednesday 18 February, 10am-4pm each day Fee: £40 Learn about the original Hans Christian Andersen story behind Disney’s ‘Frozen’. Children can then join Play On Words Theatre Company to create their own version, singing and dancing to all their favourites, and creating characters, stories, puppets and costumes inspired by The Snow Queen, Frozen, and other magical, wintry tales. The workshop finishes with a glittering performance for friends and family.
FREEZING FAMILY FUN
Half-day family workshops for younger children Thursday 19 February 10am-12 noon for Under 5s 1–3pm, for Under 8s (younger siblings welcome) Fee: £6 per child (grownups come for free) If you have little ones who are constantly encouraging you to ‘let it go’, this is the family workshop for you. Play On Words welcomes families for a day of storytelling, singing, movement, costume and puppet making and more. As well as exploring traditional tellings of The Snow Queen, there will also be activities inspired by Princesses Elsa and Anna and their magical friends. 12noon – 1pm (same day): WINTER FEAST Bring a packed lunch, a favourite winter themed toy and tuck in! (Children welcome to come in costume). Some refreshments will be available to purchase from The Brook Theatre Café. Children must be accompanied by an adult. For information tel 01634 338319 or email arts@ medway.gov.uk For booking forms tel 01634 338338 or email boxoffice@medway.gov.uk Or download from enjoymedway.co.uk
Chinese Gordon Family Activities ROYAL ENGINEERS MUSEUM Half term holiday: 17-20 February 10.30am – 3.30pm
WEDNESDAY 18 FEB
DRAGONS AT THE READY
Chinese dragons traditionally symbolise power, strength, and good luck. The Royal Engineers Museum Gordon was presented with a in Gillingham is hosting a beautiful blue silk jacket with great programme of FREE* a gold dragon embroidered family-friendly creative events on it, by the Emperor of this half term to celebrate China. Paint a ceramic dragon Chinese New Year, the year to decorate your house this of the sheep and Charles Chinese New Year. Gordon RE’s close connection with China. THURSDAY 19 FEB
CHINESE “GOOD WISHES”
TUESDAY 17 FEB
CHINESE PATTERNS AND PRINTS
Chinese characters usually have more than one meaning and some of them are particularly loved by Chinese people. Create a beautiful red and gold wall hanging using Chinese characters, thought to bring happiness and prosperity. FRIDAY 20 FEB
HOLIDAY DRAMA WORKSHOPS
On display in the Museum are a collection of beautiful Chinese silks. Using inspiration from their patterns and prints, turn a fabric pencil case into a Chinese inspired work of art.
Spotlites offer a wide range of holiday drama workshops for children aged 5-12 years during the half term break. Themes include SpongeBob Squarepants; Star Wars; Minecraft; Minions; Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Frozen. Workshop cost: £6 per child. Find details and book online at spotlites.co.uk or call the Box Office on 01634 829468.
*Normal Admission prices apply (FREE to serving personnel and their family). More information at re-museum.co.uk or call 01634 822839
SPOTLITES
338 High Street, Chatham ME4 4NR
CHINESE CHAO GUAN HAT
Create your own Chinese official’s formal winter Chao Guan hat. Sponsored by RE Museum
THE BROOK THEATRE
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The Knowle, a fine Victorian Gothic Mansion, situated in 14 acres of old English gardens
COUNTRY HOUSE RESTAURANT
Restaurant bookings offered from a romantic dinner for 2 up to 90 people for special parties Wedding venue (exclusive use with no hiring charges) & the perfect backdrop for stunning photos of your wedding day
School Lane, Higham, Rochester, Kent ME3 7HP
01474 822262 www.knowlecountryhouse.co.uk
UNRAVEL & UNWIND www.unravelandunwind.co.uk
COMMUNITY CRAFTS AND ARTIST DROP-IN & WORKSHOP CENTRE OPENING HOURS Mon: 10:00 - 16.30 Tues: CLOSED Wed: 10:00 - 15:00 Thu: 10:00 - 12:00, 13:00 - 21:00 Fri: 11.30 - 15:00 Sat:12:00 - 15:30 Sun: 13:00 - 17:00
A home from home public drop-in studio to share skills, ideas or just to have a chat with like-minded people.
£5.00 per visit Concessions £2.50
(JSA/ESA/DLA/PIP & Children)
CRAFT CAFÉS Every Tue - 1pm-3pm, Nucleus, Military Rd, Chatham Every Fri - 9:30am - 11am, All Saint's Sure Start Centre, Luton Interested? Contact us Tel: 07527 66 33 49 Twitter: @Unravel_unwind Facebook: Unravelandunwind
INTRA 337-341 High St Rochester ME1 1DA
FILM MAIDSTONE FILM SOCIETY Hazlitt Theatre, Earl Street Maidstone ME14 1PL 01622 753922 Cheap parking in Fremlin Walk after 7pm. Membership: Adult £24, Couples £42, Senior/Student £19, Guest £4 (subscription rates for all 12 films). Enquiries email info@ maidstone-film-society.org.uk. THE PAST (12) 2013 Mon 23 Feb 8pm Dir: Asghar Farhadi Cast: Bérénice Bejo, Tahar Rahim, Ali Mosaffa Iranian drama about a man who deserts his French wife and children to return to his homeland. See pp14-15. 130 mins maidstone-film-society.org.uk ROCHESTER KINO ROCHESTER KINO @ CHATHAM ODEON Chatham Maritime ME4 4LL 0871 2244 007 Every Thursday at 7.45pm £9.80, £7.20 conc, Student £3.60 (2 for 1 offer) MAPS TO THE STARS (18) 2014 Thu 5 Feb 7.45pm Dir: David Cronenberg Cast: Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, Robert Pattinson A journey into the heart of a Hollywood family chasing celebrity, one another and the relentless ghosts of their pasts. 111 mins GONE GIRL (18) 2014 Thu 12 Feb 7.45pm Dir: David Fincher Cast: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris Widely regarded drama mystery thriller adapted by the author Gillian Flynn from her own novel of the same name about a man who becomes the chief suspect when his wife disappears. See pp14-15. 149mins FIFTY SHADES OF GREY (18) 2014 Thu 19 Feb 7.45pm Dir: Sam Taylor-Johnson
Cast: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Aaron Taylor-Johnson Adaptation of notorious novel by E L James about young student Anastasia Steele’s relationship with billionaire Christian Grey. 117 mins EFFIE GRAY (12A) 2014 Thu 26 Feb 7.45pm Dir: Richard Laxton Cast: Emma Thompson (also writer), Dakota Fanning, Claudia Cardinale. A look at the mysterious relationship between Victorian art critic John Ruskin and his teenage bride Effie Gray. 108 mins DELTA CINEMA @ CHATHAM DOCKYARD New collaboration between Rochester Kino and the University of Kent at the Chatham Dockyard’s old galvanizing shop. THE CABINET OF DR CALIGARI + LIVE PIANO Tue 3 Feb 7.30pm Dir: Robert Wiene Cast: Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt. Extraordinary 1920s silent classic. See pp14-15. ‘CINE SUPPER’ @ LE PETIT CINEMA Another new initiative pairing Rochester Kino and Bruno’s Bakes and Coffee with a monthly pop up cinema screening French classics and homemade food. Bruno’s, 10 High Street, Rochester. Film + Food £10 LA REGLE DU JEU (PG) 1939 Tue Feb 10 Food 7pm, Film 8pm. Dir: Jean Renoir Cast: Marcel Dalio, Nora Gregor, Paulette Dubost For description see pp 14-15. 110 mins Also at BRUNO’S: ‘INTRODUCTIONS TO FILM CULTURE’ @ LE PETIT CINEMA Saturdays 10am-1pm Introduction to great cinema directors/actors followed by a screening of one of their films. Feb 7: David Lean + A BRIEF ENCOUNTER (1945) Feb 14Federico Fellini +
I VITELLONI (1953) Feb 21 – Humphrey Bogart + KEY LARGO (1948) Feb 28 – Jean Gabin + LE JOUR SE LEVE (1939) see pp 14-15. DICKENS ON FILM @ ROCHESTER GUILDHALL New, monthly screening of a classic film adaptation from Charles Dickens, with introductions to the film, the adaptation and the museum. GREAT EXPECTATIONS (PG) 1946 Mon 23 Feb 7.30pm Dir: David Lean Cast: John Mills, Alec Guinness, Valerie Hobson, Jean Simmons Quintessential, Oscar-winning adaptation of Dickens’ classic tale. See pp14-15. 118 mins rochesterkino.co.uk ROCHESTER FILM SOCIETY @ ROCHESTER PICTURE PALACE Every Tuesday at 7.30pm, includes a short film Princes Hall, Corn Exchange High Street, Rochester ME1 1LX. £5.00, £3.00 students Bar/refreshments available IDA (12A) 2013
Tue 10 Feb 7.30pm Dir: Pawel Pawlikowski Cast: Agata Kulesza, Agata Trzebuchowska, Dawid Ogrodnik. A young novitiate nun in 1960s Poland, is on the verge of taking her vows when she discovers a dark family secret dating back to the years of the Nazi occupation. 82 mins BOYHOOD (15) 105 mins Tue Feb 24 7.30pm Dir: Richard Linklater Cast: Ellar Coltrane, Ethan Hawke. Filmed over 12 years with the same cast, a groundbreaking story of growing up
as seen through the eyes of a child. See pp14-15. 105 mins RFS @ THE CINE LOUNGE Sun Pier House, Medway Street Chatham ME4 4HF (No disabled access) 01634 812805 Cult Film night, first Sunday of the month. Doors and themed music 6.30pm, film 7.30pm. £3.00. Bar/refreshments available THE WARRIORS (18) 1979 Sun 7 Dec doors 6.30pm, film 7.30pm. Dir: Walter Hill Cast: Michael Beck, James Remar. Set against a turf war raging between every street gang in New York City from Coney Island to the Bronx. See pp14-15. 92 mins rochesterfilmsociety.co.uk PAUL GREENGRASS CINEMA at THE WOODVILLE Woodville Place Gravesend DA12 1DD Box Office: 08422 439480 boxoffice@gravesham.gov.uk Admission: Ages 2-12 £3.50 (£2.50 on day at Brasserie); Concs 12-18 and 65+ £5.50 (or £4.50 on day); Adults £6.50 (£5.50 on day). Carers go free. Tickets for ‘Live’ screenings: £15. This has become Gravesend’s main cinema screen, based in the main auditorium of the Woodville building. A wide variety of films from all over the world, great British classics plus recent favourites which you might have missed on general release. Screenings of live ballet and theatre, next screenings as follows: Wed 11 Feb 7pm: RSC LIVE: LOVE’S LABOURS LOST Set just before WW1 Sun 8 Feb 7pm: BOLSHOI BALLET LIVE: THE NUTCRACKER Live from Moscow Wed 18 Feb 11am NT LIVE: TREASURE ISLAND. Reportedly superb production from the Olivier, the largest of the NT stages.Suitable for 10+ woodville.co.uk 13
Flourishing FILM Independent film screenings continue not only to flourish but also to expand in 2015, with four new initiatives across three new venues from Rochester Kino, which has added special events with cuisine and live re-scores to its programme, aiming to make local cinema-going even more immersive and enjoyable. Rochester Film Society continues its excellent bi-weekly screenings at Rochester Picture Palace and popular Cult nights at The Cine Lounge, while Maidstone Film Society’s 66th season is as varied as ever. Nick Walker
The Past Iranian director Asghar Farhadi (‘A Separation’) has created an intense familial story of an Iranian man who deserts his French wife and her two children to return to his homeland. Terrific performances from Bérénice Bejo (‘The Artist’) and Tahar Rahim (‘A Prophet’) make this Golden Globe nominated film about how secrets can prevent us from communicating with the ones we love a joyful, mature piece of filmmaking. Maidstone Film Society, Hazlitt Theatre MONDAY 23 FEB 8PM
LE PETIT CINEMA
NEW!
A brand new pop up cinema upstairs at Bruno’s Bakes and Coffee at 10 High Street, Rochester. Once a month audiences will be able to sample some of Bruno’s exquisite food alongside a well-known French classic film in a ‘Cine Supper’ experience. LA REGLE DU JEU Jean Renoir’s ‘The Rules of the Game’ (1939) is often in film critics’ top ten films of all time. It was a very controversial film on its initial release in France due to its depiction of bourgeois life in France at the onset of World War II, as the rich and their poor servants meet up at a French chateau. It's a magical and beautiful slice of poetic realism from a master filmmaker. ‘Cine Supper’ @ Le Petit Cinema TUESDAY 10 FEB FOOD 7PM/FILM 8PM INTRODUCTIONS TO FILM CULTURE These popular sessions now also take place at Bruno’s every Saturday morning (10am-1pm), with a newly revised format of an introductory talk to the work of a famous filmmaker or actor followed by a related film screening. Suitable for all interests and levels. LE JOUR SE LÈVE
The Warriors Walter Hill’s 1979 cult and gritty action classic is set in New York as rival gangs gather to see a charismatic leader who is killed, with The Warriors being falsely blamed. Now desperately needing to get home, the film focuses on the urban gang, The Warriors’ arduous journey back to Coney Island and the weird, wonderful and violent gangs they encounter along the way. RFS @ The Cine Lounge (Sun Pier House, Chatham) THURSDAY 1 FEB, MUSIC 6.30PM / FILM 7.30PM
Marcel Carne’s ‘Daybreak’ (1939) is a simple story of a criminal holed up in his apartment after committing a murder as he recollects the events leading up to the killing. This poetic realism classic, scripted by screenwriter Jacques Prévert, was groundbreaking with its use of dissolves to introduce the flashbacks structure. Always-superb actor Jean Gabin gives a wonderful performance as the troubled yet romantic murderer. Le Petit Cinema @Bruno’s Café SATURDAY 28 FEB 10AM-1PM, TALK (JEAN GABIN) + FILM
THE DELTA CINEMA
NEW! DICKENS ON FILM
This is an exciting new collaboration between Rochester Kino and the University of Kent at the Chatham Dockyard’s old galvanizing shop. Monthly screenings of classic and cult films are free and include live re-scores and guest curatorial slots.
Rochester Guildhall presents this monthly screening of a classic film adaptation from Charles Dickens, with introductions to the film, the adaptation and the museum.
THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI + LIVE PIANO
The quintessential adaptation of Dickens’ classic tale of a humble orphan who unexpectedly becomes a gentleman with the help of an unknown benefactor. Director David Lean gives the film a heightened sense of realism with the black and white cinematography and brooding atmosphere, aided by terrific performances by John Mills as Pip, Alec Guinness as Herbert Pocket and Jean Simmons as the young Estella.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
Director Robert Wiene’s silent classic (1920) is being given a new soundtrack with a live piano accompaniment re-score. With sets made out of paper, shadows painted on the walls, acute camera angles and theatrical acting this epitome of the German Expressionistic genre is a bizarre and fantastic watch. The story about Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss) and his somnambulist (Conrad Veidt) is all sharp corners and radical distortions – a wonderfully unsettling experience. Delta Cinema @ Chatham Dockyard TUESDAY 3 FEB 7.30PM
‘Dickens on Film’ @ Rochester Guildhall MONDAY 23 FEB 7.30PM
Boyhood Richard Linklater documents the life of a young man from the ages of 5 to 18. This amazing journey is even more incredible due to the fact this was filmed in real time and using the same actors – Ellar Coltrane, who plays the boy of the title was seven years old when the movie started filming and 18 when it finished – an impressive commitment to this fascinating and rewarding cinematic project. Rochester Picture Palace, Corn Exchange TUE 24 FEB 7.30PM
Gone Girl Director David Fincher has turned to Gillian Flynn's best-selling novel as the inspiration for his latest film. Salacious and twisted, with clever jabs at celebrity culture, it's also a mystery full of dark corners in the human psyche ready to be explored. Ben Affleck plays Nick Dunne, a bar owner stuck in a terrible marriage with Amy (Rosamund Pike) who goes missing… A wonderfully nightmarish film full of surprises. Kino @ Chatham Odeon THURSDAY 12 FEB 7.45PM 15
REVOLUTION AMY BELLEHEWE, self-confessed vintage fanatic and a teacher with the Medway Lindy Hoppers, gives her personal take on the revival of interest in all things vintage.
Tea dresses, 50's swing dresses and victory rolls, men with waistcoats and moustaches, home baking and people growing their own veg. These are all things I am seeing and hearing about on a daily basis and proof that vintage life is slowly creeping back into our modern lives without us even realising it.
An air raid siren sounding in the distance, gentlemen dressed in beautifully cut suits with trilbies perched on their heads, glamorous ladies at their side in flattering dresses with seamed stockings and ruby red lips; music playing in the background and people dancing in the streets. You would be forgiven for thinking you had stepped into a scene from ‘Call the Midwife’ but you would be mistaken, as this is a description of just a normal 1940s event. What I'm talking about has been described as the Vintage Revival, but I like to think of it as the Vintage Revolution!
You can embrace the vintage life as much or as little as you want, from just turning up to an event and soaking up the atmosphere to rolling your hair and learning to dance. I am the extreme case. I dress in 40s and 50s fashion and my house is full of vintage treasures and slowly becoming my own little museum. In my spare time, I teach for the Medway Lindy Hoppers and design vintage hair accessories, so I really am living the vintage dream! I dress vintage at all times (even when picking my poor children up from school…) It doesn't have to cost a fortune either, as you can pick up amazing dresses and suits from charity shops and fairs. (You may need to remove the shoulder pads and some extraneous puff sleeves, as the 40s also had a fashion revival in the 80s). Once you start looking into the vintage scene, you will be amazed at how many vintage and retro-inspired events there are, from the bigger festivals like The Historic Dockyard’s ‘Salute to the 40's’, to lindy hop dances and vintage fairs. Vintage fairs are where I fuel my obsession: they have evolved into something very special, with singers and dancers to entertain you while you browse the stalls; hairdressers who will pin up your hair in seconds; and vintage tearooms where you can sip tea from a china teacup and eat cake from vintage plates. I feel so lucky to be living where I live, close to so many fabulous events. Why don't you pop along to one this year and embrace your inner vintage? I have listed some of the best local vintage/retro events but keep your eyes peeled, as the list is growing all the time.
Fleas, fairs and dances Amy Bellehewe picks four of her favourites ROCHESTER FLEA MARKET The Rochester Flea is held on the last Saturday of each month at the Gordon House Hotel on Rochester High Street (11am-4pm). With over 25 stalls, you’ll find a great selection of vintage, secondhand and antiques, plus a sprinkling of art and handmade items for good measure. Treasure hunters can be found rummaging for wardrobe updates, furniture, jewellery, vintage cameras and all manner of unique, quirky items, and if you run out of energy, there are usually some delicious baked goods on offer, from the likes of Fikabröd, The Norse Baker and Bruno’s Cakes and Bakes. More information at therochesterflea.com.
MEDWAY LINDY HOPPERS The Medway Lindy Hoppers offer a warm welcome to all newcomers. The classes are held weekly and are always filled with fun and laughter. Don't worry if you are completely new and have no experience as our classes cater for everyone from the complete beginner to the more experienced. I started classes three years ago and it is one of the best decisions I've ever made: not only does it keep me fit but I also have never laughed so much in two hours! To add to the charm, the classes have a great sense of community about them, of which I am very proud to be a part. The classes are held on Mondays at Aylesford community centre from 8-10pm and on Tuesdays at Vinters Park Maidstone from 8-10pm . The cost is £4.00 per class and include tea and cake - what more could you want? More information at medwaylindyhoppers.co.uk
17
REVOLUTION
MONICA’S VINTAGE FAIR This is one of my favourite fairs as it offers everything you could want from an event – I think of it more as a fun day out. I always make sure I am there to sell, buy and, of course, dance! The Fair features an eclectic mix of thirty+ stalls selling pure vintage, retro & reproduction items. You’ll find live music at every fair & dancing from the Medway Lindy Hoppers, a vintage style tearoom from The Kent Cake Company and a pop up beauty parlour and photo booth. Admission is just £2.50 including prize draw entry. The next Monica’s Vintage Fair is on Saturday 14 March between 11am and 3.30pm at the Fair’s new venue, Mayfield Girls Grammar School, Gravesend, DA11 OJE, just a short walk from Gravesend station. Further dates coming in June and November. Miss it, miss out! More information at monicasvintagefair.com
TIMELESS RETRO Timeless Retro are planning Vintage and Retro Fairs in May, July and October this year, as well as a number of afternoon tea dances and evening themed dances – keep an eye on WOW magazine for the dates! These are lovely events and are a fabulous way to spend a day/evening. Expect tea and cake, a fabulous atmosphere and plenty of room for live bands and of course lots of dancing! The event organisers are a husband and wife team who grew up in Rainham, so when looking for venues chose one that was close to their hearts, Rainham Girls School, as both went to the two schools on the campus in the mid 70s, and wanted to bring the local community together to enjoy the vintage and retro vibe. More information at timelessretro.co.uk
ViNTAGE
CALENDAR (see feature) 11am-4pm
A great evening of live music and dancing (lessons available). The sight of the museum at night is something to behold. re-museum.co.uk
MARCH
JULY
FEBRUARY SAT 28 FEBRUARY
THE ROCHESTER FLEA
SAT 14 MARCH
MONICA'S VINTAGE FAIR (see feature) 11am-3.30pm THU 26 MARCH
MAIDSTONE MUSEUM LATE 5.30-7pm A late night opening showing footage of Maidstone in the 1930s. There will also be a behind the scenes visit/talk about the museum’s photo and film collections. Free admission. More information at maidstone. museum.gov.uk SAT 28 MAR
THE ROCHESTER FLEA 11am-4pm
APRIL
SAT 5 AND SUN 6 APRIL
(Easter Weekend)
19 JULY, 10AM-6PM
CLASSIC AND VINTAGE VEHICLE SHOW Kent Life, Maidstone. Car enthusiasts’ must-go. kentlife.org.uk
AUGUST
SAT 15 & SUN 16 AUGUST
HEADCORN AERODROME COMBINED OPS SHOW Kent’s only military vehicle and air show. A family day out. combinedops.co.uk SAT 29, SUN 30 AND MON 31 AUGUST
MILITARY ODYSSEY Kent Showground, Detling. A multi-period re-enactment event with over 5000 re-enactors. military-odyssey.com
MEDWAY FESTIVAL OF STEAM AND TRANSPORT
SEPTEMBER
The Historic Dockyard, Chatham. See News pages.
SALUTE TO THE 40S
MAY
SATURDAY 9 MAY
TIMELESS RETRO VINTAGE FAIR Rainham Girls School, 10am-3pm. timelessretro.co.uk SATURDAY 16 MAY (evening)
SWING BACK IN TIME Royal Engineers Museum, Gillingham
SAT 19 & SUN 20 SEPTEMBER
The Historic Dockyard Chatham One of ‘Britain’s Best Vintage Festivals’ (Telegraph). With music and dancing all day by some of the best 1940s entertainers, reflecting life on the Home Front with civilian and military re-enactors, street scenes and displays. A truly nostalgic vintage festival, they really have managed to capture the atmosphere with this one. Event office: 01634 823816. thedockyard.co.uk/salutetothe40s
SAT 26 & SUN 27 SEPTEMBER
FORT IN THE FORTIES An amazing event! This will be its 3rd year and it just keeps getting better and better, with wartime entertainment, vintage beauty parlour, a fashion show, re-enactors, vintage vehicles and (of course) tea and cake. A must-go of the vintage year held at Fort Gardens, Milton Place, Gravesend. Email: fortintheforties@gmail.com. Find them on Facebook: facebook. com/fortintheforties
NOVEMBER
SAT 28 & SUN 29 NOVEMBER
CHRISTMAS ON THE HOME FRONT WW2 experience at Kent Life (10am-3pm) Find out what it was like at Christmas during WW2. Among the attractions will be ‘make do and mend lessons’, drill displays by the Home Guard, a 1940s school lesson and a rehabilitation centre for injured RAF pilots. kentlife.org.uk
DECEMBER
SAT 12 & SUN 13 DECEMBER
MAKE DO AND MEND Royal Engineers Museum, Gillingham A lovely event with a great atmosphere. Vintage market, music, dancing and NAAFI wagon, plus you get to look around a great museum. Terrific family day out. re-museum.co.uk Lastly, take a look at
www.40s-events.co.uk – it’s a really useful website to keep track of all the 1940s events and dances. 19
THE RED FOREST THE ROYAL ENGINEERS MUSEUM, GILLINGHAM is hosting two temporary art exhibitions alongside its splendid permanent military collections ANNA MORELL pays a visit In April 1986, Chernobyl's number four nuclear reactor exploded. It was, and still is, the worst nuclear disaster ever seen. The scale and horror of the impact on those who lived there was unfathomable. On a scale with that found in the theatre of war. The cost of a simple combination of human error and bad design. ‘The Red Forest’ is a series of infrared photographs taken by Ed Thompson, documenting the growth of the pine forests which have sprung up in the quiet wreckage of this most infamous town. At the time of the disaster, the trees did actually turn red, a consequence of absorbing such high levels of radiation. Those trees were razed, and buried. Here, now, the trees have adapted, mutated, and are – relatively – healthy. The necessary
evacuation of the area led to the creation of not just a ghost town, but a ghost region, frozen in one horrific, pedestrian moment in time. Here, humdrum signage. There, a ferris wheel, never to be used, surrounded by the disquiet pastoral of a forest never intended. Once used by foresters as a means of determining tree health, infrared photography is now a rare medium. Ed Thompson’s arboreal images glow like blood, the boughs clustering like budded veins against bright, cobalt sky. They are incredibly beautiful and gently disturbing. These photographs document what is there, but more, what is missing. Buildings unscathed. Nature, thriving. The radiation, invisible. The people, gone. All recast in red – a colour Russia steeps itself in throughout history – a signifier of fear, power, pride, bloodshed, beauty, loss.
The Cabinet of Curiosities'
THE ART OF MAPPING
This year marks the bicentennial of the Battle of Waterloo. The Royal Engineer's Museum actually hosts, as part of its permanent collections, the map upon which the Duke of Wellington marked the lines where he wanted his troops – a small graphite streak which determined the outcome of the battle which became an indelible part of British history. The map is the springboard for Medway native, Edmond Salter and Caroline Collinge's psychogeographic sculptures which make up ‘The Art of Mapping’, an installation made entirely of paper artefacts. In an age of sat nav, it's easy to forget the significance of maps. How they shaped our knowledge and command of our domains, from neighbourhoods to whole continents. To the Waterloo map in particular are attached a plethora of stories. Some of these are evident in the exhibition’s prints and sculptures, along with nods to the Duke of Wellington's reputation as a man with a serious interest in fashion. A playful relationship between fashion and paper is also formed in a collection of previously displayed works, including some Parisian map gloves alluding to Phyllis Pearsall, who created the London A-Z and spent her formative years in Paris working in a glove shop; and some exquisite paper shoes made in homage to the Northampton shoe industry. The two showstoppers at either end of the gallery are a Wellington Arch, and a giant Miura-ori fold – an origami ninja move consisting of a tessellation of parallelograms – here represented as a giant suspended sculpture – which can be used to collapse and expand a piece of paper, as empires did to nations from those very folded maps. It's kickass whimsy. War and pieces of paper. Crinkles, ink and power, all bound up in maps remade as the most curious of cartographical curiosities. Advance, troops. It's worth it. THE RED FOREST runs until 1 March THE ART OF MAPPING runs until 26 April Royal Engineers Museum, Prince Arthur Road, Gillingham (Sat Nav ME7 1UR) Normal admission charges apply Opening times: Tue-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat-Sun (and Bank Hols) 11.30am-5pm Tel: 01634 822839 re-museum.co.uk
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MUSIC 1 BROOK THEATRE Old Town Hall, The Brook, Chatham ME4 4SE 01634 338338
THE BARGE 63 Layfield Road, Gillingham ME7 2QY 01634 850485 Music starts 9pm, free entry Wed 4 Feb: BARDS @ THE BARGE OPEN MIC Sat 7 Feb 8.30pm: MEDWAY EYES PRESENTS… THE SONGS OF PAUL WELLER All proceeds to the Teenage Cancer Trust. See 5 Really Good Things page. Sat 21 Feb: KRIS DOLLIMORE Fri 27 Feb: FUNKE & THE TWO TONE BABY Sat 28 Feb: WAX COLLECTOR + Support thebargepub.co.uk BEACON COURT TAVERN 128 Canterbury Street, Gillingham ME7 4RY 01634 853186 Sat 7 Feb: JUST FLOYD Tribute to Pink Floyd £5 Sat 28 Feb: Wholelotta ACDC £8 door/£7 Adv beaconcourttavern.co.uk
Thurs 26 Feb 7.30pm: SWINGING AT THE COTTON CLUB Action-packed show celebrating the music, dance and songs of Harlem’s 1920s nightclub. £20 medwayticketslive.co.uk CENTRAL THEATRE 170 High Street, Chatham ME4 4AS 01634 338338 Fri 20 Feb 7.30pm: THE ILLEGAL EAGLES £22.50, £24.50
Sat 28 Feb 7.30pm: CITY OF ROCHESTER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Popular Scandinavian themes with Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite No 1, the Sibelius Violin Concerto and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2. The soloist is Fenella Humphreys. £16, £12, £10, concs available. See crso.org.uk for more information. medwayticketslive.co.uk
THE BOWERHOUSE 20 Warwick Place, Maidstone ME16 8SG 01622 763448 Doors 7pm, 7.30pm show Sat 8 Feb: ROB HERON AND THE TEA PAD ORCHESTRA £7 Fri 20 Feb: PHIL AND CATH TYLER £10 thebowerhouse.info BRITANNIA THEATRE Dickens World Leviathan Way, Chatham Maritime ME4 4LL Sat 21 Feb 7pm: ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT £20 Fri 27 Feb 7pm: THE BLOCKHEADS £20 door/£17.50 + fee in advance 0844 858 6656 thebritanniakent.com
EAGLE TAVERN 124 High Street Rochester ME1 1JT 01634 409040 Doors 7pm. Free entry. Thurs 5 Feb: THE THROWBACKS Thurs 12Feb: GLAMBTABULOUS Thurs 19 Feb: BOOGALOO JONES Thurs 26 Feb: GLAM WEASELS theeagletavern.org.uk EARLS 30 Earl Street Maidstone ME14 1PS 01622 751286 Doors 9pm unless stated. Free entry Thurs 5 Feb: MAKE SOME NOISE: LIBERATION OF MAN + HOLY ROLLER NOVOCAINES, GIMME SOME SUGAR Thurs 26 Feb: MAKE SOME NOISE: THE SANS PAREIL + HER CITY + THE AUTUMN RAVINE earlsmaidstone.co.uk 44TWO SPORTS & SOCIAL CLUB Featherby Road, Gillingham ME8 6AN The Jazz Line: 01634 405037 Thu 12 Feb 8.30-11pm: DONN BARCOTT BAND with ELAINE DYAN singing songs from the Great American Songbook. Plus Andrew Hawkes, a magician at your table, quality raffle and licensed bar. Admission £6. Every second Thursday of the month throughout 2015. For more information phone the Jazz Line, as above.
Tue 3 Feb: OPEN MIC/ ACOUSTIC JAM Sat 7 Feb: FUNKE & THE TWO TONE BABY + DAVID JAMES RUMSEY BAND Make Some Noise Acoustic gig Tue 10 Feb: OPEN MIC/ ELECTRO ACOUSTIC JAM Tue 17 Feb: OPEN MIC/ ELECTRO ACOUSTIC JAM Tue 24 Feb: OPEN MIC/ ELECTRO ACOUSTIC JAM flowerpotpub.moonfruit.com FREDERIC CAFÉ Corn Exchange, 25A Market Buildings Maidstone ME14 1HP 01622 297414 Market Buildings, Maidstone Wed 11 Feb: FRED CLARKE Acoustic gig HASTINGS ARMS FUNCTION ROOM Lower Rainham Road (leading to Danes Hill), Gillingham ME7 2YD Free parking. Thu 26 Feb 8.30pm: ROCHESTER SWING PRESERVATION SOCIETY with guest, New York Jazz and Blues vocalist LESLEY ALEXANDER. Admission £7. Raffle and free nibbles. For further details or to reserve a table tel: 01634 712217 or check website. sukotto5.wix.com/rsps HAZLITT THEATRE Earl Street, Maidstone ME14 1PL 01622 758611 Fri 27 Feb 7.30pm: THE BLUES BROTHERS EXPERIENCE Stage show/concert experience with live ten-piece band. £18.50 inc £1 booking fee parkwoodtheatres.co.uk MAN OF KENT ALEHOUSE 6-8 John Street, Rochester ME1 07772 214315 For full gig listings see opposite.
COOPERS ARMS 10 St Margaret’s Street, Rochester ME1 1TL 01634 404298 Music starts at 7pm Sun 1 Feb: CLEA ROSE Sun 8 Feb: JOHNNY JUKE BOX Sun 15 Feb: THE TRIPODS Sun 22 Feb: ANDY WHITE thecoopersarms.co.uk
THE FLOWERPOT 96 Sandling Road, Maidstone ME14 2RJ 01622 757705 Free entry.
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9-10 Orchard Business Centre Sanderson Way Tonbridge Kent TN9 1QG e: enquiries@cpg-net.co.uk t: 01732 366666 www.cpg-net.co.uk
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FEBRUARY 2015 Sun 1st JAM NIGHT Tue 3rd UKULELE JAM Wed 4th CRISIS 3 Thu 5th JOHN DOE BLUES Sun 8th JAM NIGHT Wed 11th HUDSON & CUTLER Sun 15th JAM NIGHT Wed 18th MIKE DEAVIN & BRIAN LANGSDEN Thu 19th HOBO JONES & THE JUNKYARD DOGS Sun 22nd JAM NIGHT Tue 24th QUIZ NIGHT Wed 25th CELTIC CAPERS Thu 26th KINGSIZE SLIM Fri 27th TED FEST See Facebook
EVERY SUNDAY IS JAM NIGHT!
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MUSIC 2 MARLOWE THEATRE The Friars, Canterbury CT1 2AS 01227 787787 Sun 1 Feb 7.30pm: THE LEVELLERS £24.50, £20
Thu 5 Feb 7.30pm: SETH LAKEMAN supported by Philip Henry & Hannah Martin who were voted ‘Best duo’ at the BBC Folk Awards 2014. £21.50 Fri 6 Feb 7.30pm: PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA with soloist trumpet player Tine Thing Helseth. £11-£34, concs available Sat 7 Feb 7.30pm: 10CC Legendary band on tour. £32.50, £29.50
MARLOWE STUDIO: Thu 12 Feb 8pm: BARB JUNGR: Hard Rain. Cabaret legend sings the songs of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. £12
THE PAPER MOON CLUB: SOUL, BLUES & JAZZ Sun Pier House, Medway Street, Chatham ME4 4HF Fri 13 Feb 7.30-11pm: TABITHA WEBB & BAND + Support: Resident host and sublime vocalist Webb returns with her own take on the Swing classics of yesteryear. Entry £10, £7 NUS Fri 13 Feb 11pm ‘til late: THE PAPER JAM: Stay on after The Paper Moon for ‘The Paper Jam’ - giving local musicians the chance to perform together in a great venue. FREE ENTRY from 10.45pm. Fri 27 Feb 7.30-11pm: A TRIBUTE TO THE MOTOWN ERA A fantastic evening of live music giving credit to the Greats of Motown & Soul; including songs from Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, The Jacksons, Al Green, Aretha Franklin, The Temptations & more. DJ Til 1am. Entry £10, £7 NUS, FREE after 10.45pm. PIZZA EXPRESS MUSIC ROOM 32-34 Earl Street, Maidstone ME14 1PF 01622 683548 Doors 7pm, show 8.30pm unless stated. Fri 6 Feb: STEVE WATERMAN WITH THE THIRD STREAM Jazz Trio £12
Sun 22 Feb 8pm: HIS WAY Robert Habermann charts Sinatra’s life story via some of his best songs. £10, concs £8
Sat 14 Feb 8pm: RICHARD NAVARRO Singer-songwriter. £15 Sun 15 Feb 8pm: JOHN SMITH Acoustic guitarist. £13 marlowetheatre.com. Booking fees apply. NAGS HEAD 292 High Street, Rochester ME1 1HS Fri 20 Feb: AUNT NELLY Free entry
Sat 7 Feb: NATALIE WILLIAMS Jazz and soul £20 Fri 13 Feb: LESLEY ALEXANDER with ‘Manhattan Magic’ £15 Sat 14 Feb: GABRIELLE DUCOMBLE ‘From Paris with Love’ Valentine’s Day Special of French chansons. £18 Thurs 19 Feb: PAUL DUNTON PRESENTS An evening of some of the best upcoming musicians in Kent. £7 Fri 20 Feb:
FLORENCE JOELLE £15 Sat 21 Feb: BOB DOROUGH & FRIENDS Jazz legend £18 Thurs 26 Feb: HANNAH WILDES, AUTUMN SHARIF & GUESTS £9.50 Fri 27 Feb: MADS MATHIAS: ‘100 Years of Sinatra’ £15 Sat 28 Feb: HARRY ALLEN QUARTET featuring ANDREA POZZA £16 pizzaexpresslive.co.uk POCO LOCO 58-60 High Street, Chatham ME4 4DS 01634 844 198 Fri 6 (from 5pm) & Sun 8 Feb (from 2pm): WINTER KIMBOFEST in aid of Alzheimer’s Society. 30+ bands play over the weekend, including UPCDOWNC, UNKNOWN REPORT, BROKEN BANJO, FRAU POUCH and JUICY LUCY. £5 three day wristband includes Prince of Wales (see below). pocolive.com PRINCE OF WALES 1-3 Railway Street, Chatham, ME4 4HU 01634 829190 Sat 7 Feb (from 3pm): WINTER KIMBOFEST in aid of Alzheimer’s Society. £5 three day wristband includes Poco Loco. SUN PIER HOUSE Medway Street, Chatham ME4 4HF 01634 812805 Thu 5 Feb: SUN PIER HOUSE OPEN MIC/SHOWCASE A new music night at this adaptable venue. With licensed bar. See also PAPER MOON CLUB, above. sunpierhouse.co.uk THE WOODVILLE Woodville Place Gravesend DA12 1DD Box Office: 08422 439480 boxoffice@gravesham.gov.uk Sat 28 Feb 7.30pm: CLASSIC LEGENDS OF FOLK & POP: CARL PALMER AND HIS BAND perform the ELP LEGACY Tickets: £26, £24.50, £21 & £19 (includes booking fee of £1 per ticket) woodville.co.uk
DO YOU HAVE A MUSIC LISTING? Following Rob Flood’s excellent job in 2014 (thanks, Rob) the Music listings have a new curator: Luke Crook is a Rochester based musician and the founder of BANJAXXED Education, a music education organisation working to make being musical accessible for all. When he's not teaching riffs to a new student, you'll find him handling bass duties for local blues/rock band Broken Banjo. For more info, or to send in a listing, sling him an email on: luke@banjaxxed.co.uk. CANTERBURY CHRIST CHURCH UNIVERSITY SPRING SHORT COURSE MONTEVERDI: 1610 VESPERS Sat 28 February 10am-4pm Part of the University’s excellent series of short courses for adults, and coming hot on the heels of The Sixteen’s visit to Rochester Cathedral last month singing Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers. During the day school participants will explore this influential choral masterpiece by the early Baroque composer, first published in 1610. Beginning with a short introduction to his life and times, the day will move to place the 1610 Vespers within the stylistic development in Western art music and an exploration of the overall structure of the work. No knowledge of the technical aspects of music are required, just an ‘openness to new ideas and a receptive ear!’ Tutor: Michael Chandler, Canterbury Campus, North Holmes Road, CT1 1QU. Cost: £29.50. Book online at Canterbury.ac.uk/cae
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Davy Jones’ Locker Pioneered by music curator, mezzo and composer Tania Holland Williams, the Davy Jones’ Locker series of concerts were created with the aim to challenge perceptions about contemporary classical music and take people on a journey of musical discovery.
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Going by the simple dictat that, in the words of one participant, “You listen differently when the restrictions of a ‘formal’ venue are removed,” Holland Williams invites residents across Swale and Medway to open up their living rooms and host a classical concert right there in their homes. A celebratory performance on Saturday 7 February brings together the musicians with previous living room audiences at the Galleries of The Beaney, Canterbury between 2-4.30pm. The promenade concert is open to all and there is no need to pre-book: just arrive and immerse yourself in the power of live music. The Locker will also be presenting ‘Meet a Composer’ on the same afternoon. 15 minute slots may be booked via Eventbrite.co.uk to discuss music with musicians and composers in The Beaney’s Study. To find out more about Davy Jones’ Locker or to express interest in hosting a concert in your own home, follow it on facebook or email Tania Holland Williams at taniahollandwilliams@ gmail.com. Twitter: @operaactivist
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THEATRE THE ACCESSIBLE BEYOND… ASSEMBLY HALL THEATRE Crescent Road, Tunbridge Wells TN1 2LU Box Office: 01892 530613 Sat 7 (5pm & 7.45pm) and Sun 8 Feb (3pm & 7.30pm): CIRQUE DE BERSERK high-energy thrill show in contemporary circus style. £28, £24, concs £3 off. assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk BROOK THEATRE Old Town Hall, Chatham ME4 4SE 01634 338338. E: boxoffice@medway.gov.uk Fri 30 Jan 8pm: CABARET OF CURIOSITIES: BURLESQUE SPECIAL Dress to impress. Adult content: over 16s only. £12.50 (or book 3 C of C 2015 shows for £33) Fri 13 & Sat 14 Feb 7.30pm: Play On Words present TOM CREAN – ANTARTIC EXPLORER An extraordinarily good, multi-award winning one man show starring Aidan Dooley. Recommended. £10, concs available. Thu 19-Sat 21 Feb 2pm and 7pm: GDS presents SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS Fun family production during half term. £9, family of four £30, concs available. medwayticketslive.co.uk CENTRAL THEATRE 170 High Street, Chatham ME4 4AS 01634 338338 Thu 26 Feb 7.30pm: Reduced Shakespeare Company in THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF COMEDY (Abridged) Comedy through the ages in a (more than) whistlestop tour. £16, £14 concs available medwayticketslive.co.uk EXCHANGE STUDIO at HAZLITT THEATRE Earl Street, Maidstone ME14 1PL 01622 758611 Sat 7 Feb 7.30pm: I NEED A DOCTOR: THE WHOSICAL Award-winning musical comedy hit all about Doctor Who. £12, concs £9 Sun 8 Feb 4.30pm & 7pm:
WOYZECK Splendid Productions bring their unique style of ‘indoor street theatre’ to the Exchange Studio with this stripped-back, highly theatrical telling of Büchner’s famous unfinished play. Expect a fast-paced mix of comedy, tragedy, puppetry, and song. £11, concs £9 Fri 27 Feb 7.30pm: JEKYLL AND HYDE Sell A Door’s reinterpretation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s cult classic. £13, concs £11 parkwoodtheatres.co.uk MARLOWE THEATRE The Friars, Canterbury CT1 2AS 01227 787787 MAIN HOUSE: Wed 11 Feb-Sun 1 Mar (Tue 17 Feb 7pm; Wed-Sat eve 7pm; Thu & Sat mat 2.30pm; Sun 1pm & 5pm) SHREK THE MUSICAL Hit West End musical. £24-£46.50, concs available.
MARLOWE STUDIO: Wed 11 Feb 8pm: ELIZABETH 1: VIRGIN ON THE RIDICULOUS The two ludicrous men (Howard Coggins and Stuart McLoughlin) behind ‘The Six Wives Of Henry VIII’ return, taking us back to 1558 England. Recommended for ages 14+. £12, concs available Mon 16 & Tue 17 Feb 11am & 3pm: Let’s All Dance present THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG Magical ballet for children, 3-9 years, with the theme of friendship at its core. Adults £9, Children £8, Family ticket of four £32
Wed 18 & Thu 19 Feb 11am & 3pm: Big Wooden Horse
present DON’T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS Recommended for 3+ years. Expect lots of original music and audience participation. £8.50 Thu 26 & Fri 27 Feb 8pm: Fourth Monkey Theatre Company present ELEPHANT MAN The true story of the fabled Joseph Merrick. Nominated for an Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2012. £12, concs available marlowetheatre.com (booking fees apply)
ORCHARD THEATRE Home Gardens, Dartford DA1 1ED 01322 220000 Mon 2 – Sat 7 Feb (Mon-Thu 7.30pm, Fri 6pm & 9pm, Sat 2.30pm & 7.30pm): RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET 25th Anniversary Tour Featuring classic Rock ‘n’ Roll songs ‘Great Balls of Fire’, ‘Gloria,’ and ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’. £15-£30, concs available Sun 8 Feb 1pm & 3.30pm: MILKSHAKE! PARTY PARTY LIVE Brand new music spectacular for children. £13.50, concs £11.50, Family of four £46 Tue 3-Sat 7 Mar (7.30pm, Wed Mat 1pm, Thu & Sat mat 2pm): TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD Adapted from Harper Lee’s classic novel. Highly regarded production from London’s Regent’s Park Theatre. £15-£28, concs available. Over 60s Mid Week Mat Special £22 orchardtheatre.co.uk (booking fee applies) THE WOODVILLE Woodville Place Gravesend DA12 1DD Box Office: 08422 439480 boxoffice@gravesham.gov.uk
STUDIO: Mon 16 Feb 1pm: THE MAGIC PORRIDGE POT & OTHER TASTY TALES For ages 3+. Adult £10.50, conc £9, group of four £36 woodville.co.uk
COMEDY HAZLITT THEATRE Earl Street, Maidstone ME14 1PL 01622 758611 Wed 25 Feb 8pm: RICH HALL 3:10 TO HUMOUR £16 + £1 booking fee Thu 26 Feb 8pm: ANDY PARSONS: LIVE AND UNLEASHED: BUT NATURALLY CAUTIOUS £16 inc £1 booking fee parkwoodtheatres.co.uk MARLOWE THEATRE The Friars, Canterbury CT1 2AS 01227 787787 MAIN HOUSE: Wed 4 Feb 7.30pm: ROSS NOBLE: TANGENTLEMAN King of improvisational comedy. For ages 15+. Adult themes. £25 MARLOWE STUDIO: Sat 7 Feb 8pm: JOSIE LONG: CARA JOSEPHINE ‘Raucously funny and profoundly moving’ (Edinburgh Evening News). Billed as the best reviewed comedy show of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2014. £15, concs £14 Sat 28 Feb 8pm: THE MARLOWE COMEDY CABARET: PHIL WANG headlining with LARRY DEAN + GABRIEL EBULUE + MARK SMITH Adult themes. £13 marlowetheatre.com (booking fees apply) THE WOODVILLE Woodville Place Gravesend DA12 1DD Box Office: 08422 439480 ‘CURRY ON LAUGHING’ in THE STUDIO: Thu 26 Feb 7.30pm: ROB BECKETT + ANDREW RYAN + TOM WRIGGLESWORTH £10 (£14.50 with curry). woodville.co.uk
Contact: EMMA BAKER adminwowkent@icloud.com Work and s shops cou hort avail rses able
Stephen Harries Stained Glass design and restoration E: stephenharries.glass@gmail.com T: 0770 608 0338 Facebook: Stephen Harries Stained Glass Rochester and at Whitstable Harbour Village
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IAN HARRISON GUITAR LESSONS • 15 years teaching / playing experience throughout the UK, Europe and US • Emphasis on enjoyment, lessons individually tailored to help you become the guitarist you want to be! • All ages and abilities welcome • First lesson at introductory rate, discounts available for block bookings • Fully CRB/DBS checked • Member of Registry of Guitar Tutors
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Gem Yoga Workshops Sat 7 Feb – Heart opening back bends Sat 7 Mar – Arm balances and Inversions Sat 4 Apr – Spring Energizer Sat 2 May – The Four Bodies Sat 6 June – Summer Fire
Gillingham Sunlight Centre All workshops 10am – 12pm Cost £20 gemyogalife@gmail.com www.gemyoga.co.uk
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VISUAL ART ARTIZEN @ Equal Earth 15 High Street, Gravesend DA11 OBQ 01474 247973 New arts venue with Meeting Room, Pilates classes and Art Gallery facebook.com/ artiZenn THE BEANEY HOUSE OF ART AND KNOWLEDGE 18 High Street, Canterbury CT1 2RA 01227 862162 Mon to Wed 9am to 5pm, Thu 9am to 7pm, Fri and Sat 9am to 5pm, Sun 10am to 5pm Sat 31 Jan to Sun 19 April: MYSTERY, MAGIC AND MIDNIGHT FEASTS: THE MANY ADVENTURES OF ENID BLYTON (Special Exhibitions Room) Playful, interactive, immersive exhibition for young audiences to enjoy. Pay What You Can. To Sun 8 Feb: THE BEANEY BROADSHEET The Front Room is transformed into a newsroom! Free entry 14 Feb to 8 Mar: THE ESSENCE OF MEMORY: A DISTILLATION OF THOUGHT Culmination of work by the 2014 Beaney Armchair Artists in Residence, Holder and Lamoon. Free entry. To Sun 29 Mar: IN REMEMBRANCE (The Drawing Room) Images, objects and words commemorating the centenary of WW1. Free entry thebeaney.co.uk BELOW 65 GALLERY Gilbert & Clark Frame and Print 65 High Street, Maidstone ME14 1SR 01622 685146 Free entry Open 9.30am4.30pm Mon-Sat Next exhibition: March. gilbertandclark.com DEAF CAT COFFEE BAR & GALLERY 83 High Street, Rochester ME1 1LX 01634 830789 Open all week, 9.30am-5pm ROLLING EXHIBITION Mural and contemporary works by local artists. See website for submission guidelines. thedeafcat.com
FRANCIS ILES GALLERIES 103 High Street, Rochester ME1 1LX 01634 843222 Opens Mon-Sat 9.30am5.30pm. Free entry Spring Exhibition featuring Jeremy Sanders, Brian Bennett, Jack Frame and Belinda Sillars opens 27 March. francis-iles.com GUILDHALL MUSEUM High Street, Rochester ME1 1PY 01634 332680 Open Tue-Sun 10am-5pm. Free entry. From 31 Jan to 21 June: SPENCELAYH See opposite for full list of related half term holiday workshops. See also The Artist’s Space. guildhallmuseumrochester. co.uk MAIDSTONE MUSEUM & BENTLIF ART GALLERY St Faith’s St, Maidstone ME14 1LH 01622 602838 Opens Mon-Sat 10am5pm, closed Sun & Bank Holidays, 24-28 Dec and 31 Dec & 1 Jan 2015. To 28 Feb: RALPH STEADMAN: A RETROSPECTIVE Stunning collection of works spanning the artist’s career. Admission: £3, concs £2 and MMF members. Feb 1 – 31 Mar: DIPPING INTO DALI (Bentlif 1 Gallery) Highlights from one man’s Salvador Dali memorabilia collection. Free admission. Feb 23 – 3 Apr: COLLECTIVELY COLLABORATING CABINETS (Withdrawing Room) The Foundation Degree Fine Arts students from West Kent College present work in collaboration with Maidstone Museum. Free admission museum.maidstone.gov.uk NUCLEUS ARTS 272 High Street, Chatham ME4 4BP 01634 812108 Gallery: Mon- 10am-4pm (café to 5.30pm) Closed Sun. Free entry. All welcome to the show previews. 31 Jan – 1pm on 5 Feb: IGNORANT ART: Upcoming young artists. Preview: Fri 30 Jan 6-8pm 7 Feb – 1pm on 19 Feb: HeART of EQUALITY Kent & Medway
LGBT Community Action Group present an exhibition of mixed media work by various artists. The exhibition explores sexuality, gender, identity, love and equality as part of LGBT History Month 2015. Preview: Fri 6 Feb 6-8pm with live music. 21 Feb – 1pm on 5 Mar: LANDSCAPE: DEBORAH SAUNDERS Paintings inspired by the forms, colours and textures found in landscapes in England and abroad. Preview: Fri 20 Feb 6-8pm nucleusarts.com NUCLEUS ARTS ROCHESTER 75 High Street, Rochester ME1 1LX 01634 812108 Open 8am-5pm Mon-Fri; Sat 10am-5pm; Sun 11-4pm Local artworks for sale, internet café and lovely garden. NUCLEUS ARTS MAIDSTONE Gabriel’s Hill, Maidstone ME15 6JR 01622 690337 Open 8am-5pm Mon-Fri; Sat 9am-5pm. Closed Sunday. Popular café, arts hub and gallery. POP CREATIVE SPACE 64-66 High Street, Chatham ME4 4DS 5 Feb – 1 Mar, Thursday to Saturday, 12 noon to 6pm: Medway artist CHRIS VAN BECK leads on transforming POP into a creative laboratory. Celebration Event: Saturday 28 Feb, 5-8pm. See p9. facebook.com/popcreative-space WORKSHOP: THE SECRET MUSEUM Sat 28 February 2015 10.30am-12.30pm or 1.30 – 3.30pm in the Gallery Create your own narratives, songs and artefacts. Free but places must be pre-booked. Suitable for all, families, adults and accompanied children aged 7+. To book tel: 01634 338319 or email arts@medway.gov.uk ROYAL ENGINEERS MUSEUM Prince Arthur Road, Gillingham ME7 1UR
Tel: 01634 822839 Open Tue-Fri 9am-5pm; Sat, Sun & Bank Hol: 11.30am-5pm To 1 Mar: THE RED FOREST To 26 April: THE ART OF MAPPING from The Cabinet of Curiosities. See article page 20. Normal admission charges apply. re-museum.co.uk ROCHESTER ART GALLERY Visitor Information Centre, 95 High Street, Rochester ME1 1LX 01634 338319 Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 10am-5.00pm Free entry To Sat 21 Mar: THE INFLATABLE ARCHIVE: New works by Claire Orme and Drew York, recipients of the first Recreate Bursary in celebration of the University of Kent’s 50th Anniversary. “What does the sound of the Dockyards feel like, and what connects Medway to Ancient Egypt?” The artists create an alternative journey through the local area, transporting the visitor to an imagined reality. Prepare to expect the unexpected with a gold inflatable submarine, 3D printed sounds and many more curious artefacts within the gallery. SUN PIER HOUSE Medway Street, Chatham ME4 4HF 01634 401549 Open Tue-Sun 10am - 4pm Closed Mon. Currently no disabled access. Beautiful café/ gallery space curated by Matt Bray. sunpierhouse.co.uk STEPHEN OLIVER STUDIO & GALLERY Orchards Shopping Centre, High Street Dartford DA1 1DN 01322 278674 Affordable contemporary art based on natural forms. stephen-oliver-art.co.uk ST ANDREWS ARTS CENTRE Royal Pier Rd Gravesend DA12 2BD. Free entry. Sat 7 and Sun 8 Feb 11am4.30pm: GRAVESEND ART CONSORTIUM
The Guildhall Museum
SPENCELAYH a Rochester artist. 31 January - 21 June
Visit our new free exhibition and join in our exploration of Charles Spencelayh’s amazing work. 16-20 February for children aged 5-12 and their families All activities run from 10.30-3.30 No need to book: pay on the door for chargeable workshops ● Monday, 16 February. Making miniatures. Free. ● Tuesday, 17 February. Workshop with local artist Wendy Daws. £2 per child. ● Wednesday, 18 February. Workshop with local artist Marissa Mardon. £2 per child. ● Thursday, 19 February. Workshop with local artist Wendy Daws. £2 per child. ● Friday, 20 February. Making miniatures. Free.
Check our website for more details. High Street, Rochester, Kent ME1 1PY Phone: 01634 332680
www.guildhallmuseumrochester.co.uk Francis Galleries 10th Year at the GetIles Arty for 2015
Thursday 5th to Sunday 8th February at the Science Museum, London SW7 Visit our website www.francis-iles.com to download a free e-ticket to the fair Our Spring Exhibition featuring Jeremy Sanders, Brian Bennett, Jack Frame and Belinda Sillars opens 27th March at the Gallery
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THE ARTIST’S SPACE
SPENCELAYH ‘SUNSET’, OIL PAINTING, CIRCA 1890. AN EARLY CHARACTER STUDY of an old couple, using the artist’s parents as models
A special exhibition of paintings, engravings and sketches by Rochester born artist Charles Spencelayh (1865-1958). Spencelayh was an English genre painter who exhibited at the Royal Academy and was a founder member of the Royal Society of Miniature Painters. His distinctive style, wry humour and his discriminating eye for social observation, are all underpinned by his extraordinary skill. ‘Spencelayh’ runs at the Guildhall Museum, High Street, Rochester ME1 1PY until 21 June 2015. Open Tue-Sun 9am-5pm. Admission free. guildhallmuseumrochester.co.uk
BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL WORLD TOUR UK & IRELAND INSPIRATIONAL, EXHILARATING ADVENTURES ON FILM The Banff Mountain Film Festival is one of the largest and most prestigious mountain festivals in the world. The ‘mothership’ festival has been held each year since 1975 in Banff, Canada and showcases a collection of the best and latest work from the global mountain sports community. Hot on the heels of the festival each year, the best films head off on the Banff Mountain Festival World Tour around 40 countries across the globe. The films are coming to two venues in Kent: Canterbury’s Gulbenkian on 3 March and the Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells on 4 March. Each screening consists of between 5 and 8 short films, with audiences being taken on a journey around the world, getting to know the remarkable characters behind the hair-raising action sports, from climbing to skking, mountain biking, adventure travel, kayaking and more. To catch a taste of action, have a look at trailer at Festival’s home page at banff-uk.com. But prepare to be hooked.
WOW READERS COMPETITION WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS TO THE CANTERBURY SCREENING! We have one pair of tickets to attend the Banff Mountain Film Festival’s World Tour Canterbury screening at the Gulbenkian on Tuesday 3 March at 7pm. To enter the draw, simply email the editor at competitions@wowkent.co.uk with your name, telephone number and email address no later than Mon Feb 23 2015. Good luck!