WOW March 2012

WOW 1

Transmanche Enterprise Network (TEN) is delighted to be working with WOW to support local businesses

Beautifully handcrafted bespoke celebration cakes, cupcakes and cookies for those special occasions when quality matters. info@thebutterflybakery.co.uk www.thebutterflybakery.co.uk www.facebook.com/thebutterflybakery

Our main aim is to keep the wonderful Cockney tradition alive through music/entertainment.

Live Performances Merchandise Performance cds 8 Cecil road Rochester ME12HT www.cockneyheritage.co.uk

TEN encourages young entrepreneurs to explore new business opportunities and to develop their business into Europe. The project provides language training, tri-lingual website development and workshops on core business skills. It also offers exhibition space at trade fairs and access to business events in Kent, Nord-Pas de Calais and Western Flanders. Contact: estelle.timothy@medway.gov.uk

CONTRIBUTORS Nigel Adams is a visual artist, writer and Taiji teacher.

He sometimes stands up to do comedy as C.O. Jones.

He lives in Rochester with his wife, three dogs and all his idiosyncrasies. nigeladams1966@gmail.com Robert Flood is a life-long Medway resident. He runs a Rochester based events company called Feet on the Ground that provides technical support for live events.

He is a passionate music fan with a love of the Medway scene and a local history buff who is a member of the City of Rochester Society.

Sam Froudist is a writer, blogger, and Bunting Enthusiast. Hailing from the Colonies (Australia), she’s a fresh Medway resident and has recently co-launched bunted!, a small bespoke bunting business in Rochester. Sam loves watching great theatre, getting overly passionate about things, and feeling so bourgeois that she has to throw red wine all over herself. goodbyesamantha@gmail.com Cover photograph of Mor Karbasi by Daniel Kaminski Photograph of the Editor by Peter Still

Sam Hall is a former journalist and editor, who runs Wordsmithery, a freelance literary consultancy. She set up ME4 Writers and 17Percent, an organisation for female playwrights for which she also programmes She Writes, a showcase night. me4writers.wordpress. com & 17percent.wordpress.com Nick Walker is an events director, film critic and filmmaker. His flagship Medway project, The Other Cinema, is a weekly event held every Thursday at the Chatham Odeon. Nick also set up the Screen Classics programme at the Central Theatre, Chatham. He writes, directs and produces short films and is the editor of Film Essay, for cinéastes wanting to write about film culture. Nick has worked for The Guardian and the London Film Festival. Currently he is Events Director at Film Education and Director of National Schools Film Week.

Photographs by Rebecca Crosbie, founder member of new Maidstone collective, Stepping Stones Studio (see p5) www.rebeccacrosbie.com

WELCOME! There are two great reader offers this month: free local delivery on Mother’s Day flowers by the gorgeous Sweetpea & Olive, and £1 off every full price ticket booked to see European Arts Company’s Harold Pinter Double-bill at Hazlitt Theatre. Enjoy!

Elsewhere, we feature Equator’s WOW – Women of the World Festival; Sam Hall assesses the great female playwright Aphra Behn and Sam Says vintage is definitely ‘in’.

The new-look website (wowkent. co.uk) goes from strength to strength, and under its imprint Greenheart Press, WOW is absurdly proud to be publishing its first book (see p21).

Hoorah!

Emma Dewhurst, Editor Please mention WOW if you use our advertisers’ services or attend an event found in our listings www.wowkent.co.uk Find us on Facebook facebook.com/WOWMedway

@EmmaDewhurst7

NEWS Readers who enjoyed Philip Kane’s article about Medway’s literary heritage in last month’s WOW might like to know that another local writer, Michael O’Connor, has written a book on the subject entitled ‘From Chaucer to Childish: Writers and Artists in the Medway Towns’. It is available from the Medway Delta Press website (medwaydeltapress.co.uk) for £8.99 plus postage.

CALL FOR ENTRIES! MEDWAY OPEN STUDIOS AND ARTS FESTIVAL Medway Open Studios and Arts Festival is a new festival in Medway to celebrate and promote the plethora of artists and creative communities based in the area. It is managed as a non-profit arts organisation and hopes to promote a positive opinion of Medway as an artistic hub.

Entry is open to all artists and creative crafts people who live or work in Medway, as a chance to open their studios or homes to the public.

Entry can be made as an Individual, Group, Community Group or School/College.

Email medwayopenstudios@mail.com or download from medwayopenstudios.co.uk.

Deadline for entry: 30 March 2012

MARCH AT EASTGATE HOUSE Wed 14–Wed 28 March, 10.30am-4pm Eastgate House open. Free Exhibition MEDWAY PREFAB HOUSING Thu 22 March 7.30 pm RATIONED FASHION Talk by Lee Ault about the Make Do and Mend days £5 on the door or free to Friends of Eastgate House. To become a Friend email: eastgate.house@medway.gov.uk

HEROES & VILLAINS POETRY WORKSHOP FOR WORLD POETRY DAY LED BY MARIA MCCARTHY Sat 24 March, 10am-12.30pm at Strood Library Free, booking essential on 01634 335890

A new collective of Maidstonebased creatives are hoping to provide a base for artists to connect, create and get involved with a range of activities.

Having secured a prime location in the heart of Maidstone’s town centre, Stepping Stone Studios are looking for a range of creative practitioners to be involved with the project. The studio will be run as a community and everyone will have their own responsibility and role within the community to keep the project running.

The studios will have a whole spectrum of facilities on offer, including a cafe serving homemade food and drinks. There will be open studios and gallery space available to hire with the option of a small monthly fee giving the artist premium membership, which includes discounted rates on events; priority tickets to shows; portfolio critiquing and publicity.

For non-members there will be an array of classes, including life drawing, guest lectures, photography, craft based workshops and a weekly film club which will screen mainstream and art-house films alongside artists’ video work.

If you would like to know more or get involved email steppingstonestudios.maidstone@ gmail.com or find them on Facebook. steppingstonestudios.co.uk

Saturday 24th March

Vintage & retro clothing & accessories Vintage Style Tea Room & live entertainment

Old Town Hall High Street, Gravesend DA11 0AZ

11am - 4pm Admission a snip at only £2.00 includes prize draw entry www.monicasvintagefair.com facebook.com Monica’s Vintage Fair twitter @Monicas_Vintage Sailing Charter· Static Venue· Winter Tea Room       

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www.edithmay.com Tel: 01634 365343

SAM SAYS

“GET YOUR VINTAGE ON” IT’S NOT WITHOUT SOME (BY WHICH I MEAN EXTRAVAGANT AMOUNTS OF) CELEBRATION ON MY PART THAT THE VINTAGE MOVEMENT IS NOT ONLY ALIVE AND KICKING, BUT THAT IT HAS FOUND A DELIGHTFULLY WELL DRESSED HOME IN KENT. IF YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD ESCAPE IT – YOU THOUGHT WRONG. HERE ARE SOME RETRO TREATS TO TRY ON FOR SIZE:

The Rochester Vintage Society and The Demelza Boutique present: soiree in their High Street store.

If your idea of a good night out includes vintage fashion at bargain prices, come on down on Saturday 25 March from 8:00pm to learn how to perfect your pin curls, twirl your moustache and how to strut your stuff in an oh-so-ladylike fashion. Entry is £5 on the door and RSVP requested at rochestervintagesociety@gmail.com. I’m totally going to be there chaps, so do pop in!

Sam Froudist

More tea, Vicar? Rochester High Street’s latest addition is The Little Coffee Pot, a tearoom serving delicious treats on vintage china. Located at 12 High Street (bridge end), if the promise of sweety bits doesn’t draw you in, then you are a lost cause and nothing can be done for you. The rest of us will take comfort in cream teas and the gorgeous china for sale! Open Monday to Saturday. Tel: 01634 400617

For the Hollywood star that lurks within: Take a look at Vintage Curves, a vintage and reproduction clothing retailer based in Maidstone.

I can personally vouch for the utter deliciousness of these clothes, having been coerced into parading some at a recent Vintage Society salon (forced, forced I was!). Sashay over to vintagecurveskent.co.uk and introduce yourself to the ever-delightful Sandra and her spectacular frocks.

If you could use some more swing in your life:1940’s style dance classes every Thursday from 7:30– 9:30pm at Borstal Village Hall. No partner required so let’s assume there are plenty of light-footed, eligible gals and gents to go ‘round. £4 for adults and £1 for accompanied under 18s. More information at medwaylindyhoppers.co.uk

ARTISTS & MAKERS

PET PORTRAITS www.emmabaker.me.uk

BUNTED! Rochester-based bespoke bunting by the metre.

Your fabric or ours Email Sam or Sarah: buntedlifestyle@yahoo.com Tel: 07401 362621 bunted.wordpress.com

If you love your Mum Sweetpea and Olive have the answer!

Time to Spoil your Mum with Luxury!

Send one of our fabulous spring bouquets and why not add a delicious cup cake or a hand- painted sentiment sign We have lots of unique gift ideas to suit all budgets!

Free local delivery - just quote WOW when placing your order Pop into our lovely shop, give us a call or order on line

118 Maidstone Road, Rochester 01634 843024 www.sweetpeaandolive.co.uk

DELECTABLE FLORIST SWEETPEA & OLIVE DESCRIBE THEIR MOTHER’S DAY TREATS Mother’s Day (Sunday 18 March) is our most enjoyable trading part of the year. People take time to choose something their Mum would really treasure or would see as a treat: something they would not necessarily buy for themselves. Flowers are a great luxury, so fit into this category well.

We have a range of beautiful large bouquets, sweet-smelling spring hand-ties, planted containers or baskets. This year we are also offering wooden hand- painted sentiment signs and delicious single cupcakes in a presentation box. We expect our best seller to be ceramic jugs filled with English spring flowers: Mum can keep the jug and use throughout the year. Pop in and see us! We have lots of other flower and gift ideas (including a children’s choice bouquet), all starting at £3.50 and we can make something bespoke for your Mum.

Sweetpea & Olive, 118 Maidstone Road, Rochester ME1 3DT. Tel: 01634 843024

FREE local delivery to readers – mention WOW when ordering www.sweetpeaandolive.co.uk

Independent cinema brings two cinematic treats to Chatham this month Nick Walker introduces them

THE OTHER CINEMA

THE WELL-DIGGER’S DAUGHTER

Daniel Auteuil was propelled into international stardom with his portrayal of Ugolin in Claude Berri’s French classic films ‘Jean de Florette’ and ‘Manon des Sources’, adapted from the novels of Marcel Pagnol. Both films are set in rural Provence, where two local farmers scheme to trick a newcomer out of his newly inherited property. The films starred three of France’s most prominent actors – Gérard Depardieu, Daniel Auteuil, who won a BAFTA for his performance, and Yves Montand in one of his last roles before his death.

Auteuil has since become one of the most popular actors in France, through his appearances in films including the swashbuckler ‘Le Bossu’ (1997), ‘La Reine Margot’ (1994), ‘Girl on the Bridge’ (1999) and thriller ‘Cache’ (2005). However his experience of the Pagnol adaptations has clearly stayed with him as he has chosen to make his directorial debut another adaptation of Marcel Pagnol’s bestselling book, La Fille du Puisatier (‘The Well-Digger’s Daughter’).

It is a sweet, defiantly old-fashioned, faithful, well-crafted and immaculately performed chronicle of Pagnol’s story about an outspoken and opinionated well-digger, widower and patriarch of a family of six daughters (also played by Auteuil) in pre-WWII France.

He is torn between his sense of honour and his deep love for his saintly daughter (the Franco-Spanish actress Astrid Bergès-Frisbey) when she gets in trouble with the wealthy son of a shopkeeper.

The script is excellent, with elaborate, yet precise dialogue that centres around the propriety involved in doing the right thing for all concerned – the confrontations between Auteuil and Jean-Pierre Darroussin play out like duels of impossibly polite eloquence. The film is also beautifully shot, with Auteuil drenching the countryside setting in gorgeous sunlight. The film exerts a strong emotional grip thanks to a superb script, likeable characters and superb performances.

The Well-Digger’s Daughter screens at The Other Cinema, Odeon Chatham on Thursday 22 March at 7.45pm. There is a post-film discussion led by Nick Walker over a free glass of wine

SCREEN CLASSICS

THE PHILADELPHIA STORY Is a 1940 American romantic comedy film directed by George Cukor. It was nominated for six Academy Awards, winning two: Stewart for Best Actor and Donald Ogden Stewart for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film opened to enormous critical acclaim and broke box-office records around the country. It was later famously remade in 1956 as the musical High Society, starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong.

Based on the Broadway play of the same name by Philip Barry, the film is about a socialite (Hepburn) whose wedding plans are complicated by the simultaneous arrival of her ex-husband (Grant) and a tabloid magazine journalist (Stewart); there ensues much mayhem and she begins to learn the truth about herself.

It is generally considered one of the best examples of a comedy of remarriage, a popular genre of the time, in which a couple divorce, flirt with outsiders and then remarry – a useful story-telling ploy at a time when the depiction of extramarital affairs was blocked by the Production Code.

The all-star cast of Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart play off oneanother effortlessly. In Hepburn’s case it was a vehicle she helped to create with Howard Hughes (Hepburn knew him intimately at the time). Hughes helped her to acquire the rights to the play, in which she also starred, in order to control it as a vehicle for her movie comeback, as she had had several flops in a row. She gladly agreed to forego a salary in return for a percentage of the play’s profits and selected director George Cukor, in whose movies ‘A Bill of Divorcement’ (1932) and ‘Little Women’ (1933) she had acted. Hepburn

wanted Clark Gable for the Dexter Haven role and Spencer Tracy as Macauley Connor, but both had other commitments.

Grant also eventually gave his entire fee of $150,000 to the British War effort!

Cukor mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations in his career and always had an impeccable skill for timing. Working with some true Hollywood greats, he also always managed to get superb performances from his actors, such as: Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, William Powell and Myrna Loy.

‘The Philadelphia Story’ was the last of four films starring Grant and Hepburn (mostly screwball comedies, including ‘Bringing Up Baby ‘ of 1938) and they just ‘click’, with Grant being especially debonair and suave and yet also scheming as the past and future groom…

More sparring than two heavyweights and just the right amount of theatricals make this a treat. It has just about everything that a bluechip comedy should have – a witty, romantic script derived by Donald Ogden Stewart from Philip Barry’s successful play; the flavour of high-society elegance, in which the patrons invariably luxuriate, and a splendid cast of performers.

This movie is, simply, one of the great comedies. The humour is sophisticated, witty and bracingly anti-romantic. The dialogue is electric, immensely funny, penetrating and moving - not a single word is wasted.

The Philadelphia Story screens as part of The Screen Classics season at The Central Theatre Chatham on Monday 5 March at 7.30pm

WOW 9

FILM MAIDSTONE FILM SOCIETY Hazlitt Theatre, Earl Street, Maidstone ME14 1PL 01622 753922

A diverse range of world cinema from classics to contemporary greats. Licensed bar. Special fixed rate parking in Fremlin Walk Shopping Centre after 7pm.

Subscription rates for year: Adult £24; Couples Membership £42; Senior/Student £19; Guest per film £3.50. Concs available maidstone-film-society.org.uk

L’ILLUSIONNISTE (PG) 2010 Mon 19 Mar, 8pm Dir: Sylvain Chomet Scottish-French comedy drama after an original screenplay by French legend Jacques Tati.

Oscar-nominated for Best Animated Feature. 80 mins THE OTHER CINEMA Chatham Odeon Cinema, Maritime ME4 4LL 0871 22 44 007

A weekly showcase of quality films from around the world, with a post-show discussion led by Nick Walker over a free glass of wine. £8.25/£6.25. theothercinema.info SHAME (15) 2011 Thu 1 Mar, 7.45pm Dir: Steve McQueen Cast: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan The life of a young man addicted to sex is interrupted when his sister comes to stay. 99 mins ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS (Cert tbc) 2010 Thu 8 Mar, 7.45pm Dir: Jean-Pierre Améris Cast: Benôit Poelvoorde and Isabelle Carré Two emotionally-challenged

people fall in love in this gentle French romantic comedy.

80 mins THE ARTIST (PG) 2011 Thu 15 Mar, 7.45pm Dir: Michel Hazanavicius Cast: Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, John Goodman Set in 1920s Hollywood, this loving homage to the silent movie era is sweeping the board at this year’s award ceremonies.

A must-see. 100 mins THE WELL-DIGGER’S DAUGHTER (12A) 2011 Thu 22 Mar, 7.45pm Dir: Daniel Auteuil Cast: Daniel Auteuil, Kad Merad, Sabine Azema The director also stars in this adaptation of a novel by Marcel Pagnol. See Nick Walker’s article. 107 mins THE IRON LADY (12A) 2011 Thu 29 Mar, 7.45pm Dir: Phyllida Lloyd Cast: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Olivia Colman Worth seeing for an astonishing tour de force from Streep.

A portrait of the person not the politics. 105 mins SCREEN CLASSICS The Central Theatre, 170 High Street, Chatham ME4 4AS 01634 338 301

A big-screen celebration of cinema classics introduced by programmer Nick Walker. £6/£5 (booked online). Students £3.50.

See four Screen Classics and get a fifth free. medwayticketslive.co.uk THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (U) 1940 Mon 5 Mar, 7.30pm Dir: George Cukor Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, James Stewart Fizzes with wit. See Nick Walker’s article. 112 mins

BEST OF MARCH RELEASES: WANDERLUST (15) Comedy drama with Jennifer Anniston and Paul Rudd.

Rel 2 Mar BEL AMI (15) Christina Ricci and Robert Pattinson lead a stellar cast in this adaptation of Guy de Maupassant’s novel set in Paris in the 1890s. Rel 9 Mar WE BOUGHT A ZOO (PG) Based on a true story of a man who moves with his family to the countryside to rescue a struggling zoo. Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson star.

Rel 16 Mar GONE (Cert tbc) Suspense thriller with Amanda Seyfried. Rel 30 Mar

Showing at the following: ODEON CHATHAM, Dickens World, Leviathan Way, Chatham Maritime, Chatham ME4 4LL. 0871 22 44 007. odeon.co.uk ODEON MAIDSTONE, Lockmeadow, Barker Road, Maidstone, ME16 8RG. 0871 22 44 007. odeon.co.uk ROCHESTER CINEWORLD MULTIPLEX Medway Valley Leisure Park, Chariot Way, Strood,ME2 2SS. 0871 200 2000. cineworld.co.uk THE ROYAL CINEMA, Faversham, Kent, ME13 7AG. 24hr info line: 01795 591211, Box Office: 01795 591211. From £4.50-£5. royalcinema.co.uk SHOWCASE BLUEWATER, Water Circus, Bluewater, Greenhithe, Kent, DA9 9SG. 0871 220 1000. showcasecinemas.co.uk/ bluewater

WORLD-CLASS TALENT

on our WOW ON WOW: EMMA DEWHURST PREVIEWS EQUATOR’S WOMEN OF THE WORLD FESTIVAL

DOORSTEP For theatre-goers, art-lovers and music-afficionados, one of the happiest benefits of living in this part of the Kentish world is our easy access to world-class venues and events. Equator’s WOW–Women of the World Festival, which brings some seriously classy music acts to Whitstable and Ashford this March, is a case in point.

Equator is the promotional arm of ShivaNova, an internationallyrenowned world music company which brings together an ensemble of musicians from around the world, blending urban, folk, classical and jazz sounds with influences from Indian, African, Caribbean and Western Music. The ensemble is led by Kent-based musician, composer, music producer and promoter Priti Paintal, a highly respected pioneer in the field of crosscultural sound.

Since its inception in 1998, ShivaNova has built a formidable reputation for celebrating cultural diversity through music as well as through other art forms, including storytelling, visual art, dance and theatre. In addition to its many musical collaborations and performances, ShivaNova leads the way in engaging Kent’s young people, especially girls and young women, in Asian classical and folk music and dance via its impressive educational programme.

Equator was set up in 2007 and in its first five years has produced world music concerts, tours and competitions in Kent, London and the Midlands. Its WOW Festival is a broad umbrella which encompasses cross-discipline events in three principal locations: Kent, London and Birmingham, with the aim to celebrate and promote women performers from around the world and highlight the diversity of the communities in this country.

www.wow-womenoftheworld.com

Says Artistic Director Paintal: “As a musician and composer myself, I am acutely aware that the equation between men and women in the arts is not yet equal and hope this annual festival will help somewhat towards re-dressing the balance.”

The Festival’s Kent edition runs across three different venues in Ashford and Whitstable and features a rare mix of talent: Mor Karbasi (who graces this month’s cover) opens the Festival on Friday 16th March at St Mary’s Church in Ashford. She also plays the Horsebridge Arts Centre a week later on 23th March.

Jerusalem-born Karbasi is a rising young star on the world music stage. Singing songs from her second album, ‘Daughter of the Spring’, Karbasi has a hauntingly pure, melodic voice with an incredible range. Born in Jerusalem to parents of Moroccan and Persian heritage, Karbasi sings in Spanish, Hebrew and Ladino, an ancient language from the Sephardic tradition of Spain’s exiled Jews. Her repertoire also includes many contemporary compositions rooted in her experiences as a woman, many of which she co-wrote with her partner, guitarist Joe Taylor, who accompanies her on stage.

If it’s dancing in the aisles you’re after, Coco Xpress continue the Festival on Saturday 17th March, with what promises to be an uplifting night of modern salsa, merengue and Cha-Cha-Cha at The Horsebridge Centre, Whitstable. Formed by alto saxophonist and singer Nina Jaffa in 1998, the band represent all the popular Latino rhythms and countries,

“from Cuba to Colombia via Santo Domingo.”

They have played all over the world, their style is upbeat and entertaining and the music is often accompanied by some great salsa moves.

The following weekend all-women band Electric Landladies (Acoustic and Unplugged) play The Horsebridge Centre on Saturday 24th March, rocking the house with their re-imagined versions of pop, rock and soul classics.

On Saturday 31st March Cape Verdean jazz singer Carmen Souza (think Billie Holliday sings Creole) appears at the Ashford Youth Theatre. Souza mixes traditional African and Cape Verde rhythms with contemporary jazz, creating a happy hybrid which David Sylvian calls “world soul music for the 21st century”.

The Festival is also hosting one non-music based event at Whitstable’s Horsebridge Centre from 2-4pm on Saturday 17th March: Draw with Charlotte Firmin. Children’s book illustrator Firmin brings along a big empty book which she fills with story ideas and illustrations suggested by the children present.

If you would like to know more about the London events under the WOW Festival banner, go to www.richmix.org.uk/whats-on/ festival/wow-women-of-the-world-festival To hear a sneak preview of Mor Karbasi and Carmen Souza, go to the WOW Kent website: wowkent.co.uk

WOW FESTIVAL KENT EVENTS MOR KARBASI Fri 16 Mar 7.30pm St Mary’s Church, The Churchyard, Ashford Town Centre TN23 1QG £10, £8 concs, £3 child under 12 DRAW WITH CHARLOTTE FIRMIN Sat 17 Mar 2pm Horsebridge Arts Centre, 11 Horsebridge Road, Whitstable, CT5 1AF £6 per child COCO XPRESS Sat 17 Mar 7.30pm Horsebridge Arts Centre, 11 Horsebridge Road, Whitstable, CT5 1AF £12, £10 concs, £4 child under 12 MOR KARBASI Fri 23 Mar 7.30pm Horsebridge Arts Centre, Whitstable £12, £10 concs, £4 child under 12 ELECTRIC LANDLADIES Sat 24 Mar 7.30pm Horsebridge Arts Centre, Whitstable £12 CARMEN SOUZA Sat 31 Mar 7.30pm Ashford Youth Theatre, 1 Dover Place, opp the station, TN23 1HU £10, £8 concs, £3 child under 12 For booking details visit www.equatorfestival.com Tickets are also available from Ashford Visitor Information Centre 01233 330316 or email: tourism@ashford.gov.uk

“As a musician and composer myself, I am acutely aware that the equation between men and women in the arts is not yet equal and hope this annual festival will help somewhat towards redressing the balance.”

EQUATOR CHOIR COMPETITION 2012 FOR KENT AND MEDWAY Amateur, school and community choirs based in Kent and Medway are invited to take part in the Equator 2012 Choir Competition. This event is part of the Equator Festival Music Series 2012, in partnership with Kent Music.

Amateur choirs of all ages are invited to apply, including youth, school and adult choirs. The choir must have a minimum of twelve singers and be available to perform at the finalist’s concert on Friday 6th July 2012 at Norton Knatchbull School, Ashford.

Applicants need to submit an application form with a list of 3 songs, one of which must be from another country or culture.

Duration of performance for each choir will be not longer than 15 minutes.

There will be a judging panel that will include highly experienced musicians from round the country, and include Paul Patterson - composer of many choral works, Kent Music, and Priti Paintal composer and Artistic director of Equator/ ShivaNova. Choirs will be judged on the following: presentation, quality, and choice of material. Choirs of all ages are encouraged to apply.

The application deadline is Saturday June 2nd 2012. Include your application letter with the following details: name of choir or school, address and contact name, telephone and mobile number, email address, size and age-range of choir and list of 3 songs.

Send your entry to: Equator Choir Competition, c/o ShivaNova, Peregrine, Grange Road, St Michaels, Tenterden, Kent TN30 6TJ. Email entries must be sent to: admin@shivanova.co.uk WOW 13

MUSIC TROY FAID Sat 31 Mar Entry to gigs is free. Doors open 7pm, music starts c. 8.30pm www.thebargepub.co.uk THE BROOK THEATRE VIRGIN SOLDIERS TO SUPPORT MCFLY Kent and Sussex based band Virgin Soldiers have been picked from over a thousand bands to support McFly at the Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone on 14 March. During a three month online competition the band received votes from all over the country, and have been rewarded with an opening slot on McFly’s ‘Keep Calm and Play Louder’ tour.

With male and female vocals the six-piece band mixes contemporary with classical instruments. Their sets range from high energy songs to harmonious ballads, creating a unique sound that Virgin Soldiers labels ‘Strock’. The band are releasing their debut single, Moon Song, later this year. www.virginsoldiers.com

Old Town Hall, Chatham ME4 4SE 01634 338338

Mill Street, Maidstone ME15 6YE

MAIDSTONE CHORAL UNION: A MOZART CELEBRATION 31 Mar 7.30pm Includes his Requiem Mass. £10 Unreserved. Call 01622 726193 THE BARGE 63 Layfield Road, Gillingham, ME7 2QY 01634 850485

BEN JONES Sat 3 Mar BARDS @ THE BARGE OPEN MIC 7 Mar APACHE JOHN BAND Sat 10 Mar KING SIZE SLIM Wed 14 Mar HARVEY, HOOPER, WALKER & CRISPE 17 Mar GREEN DIESEL Sat 24 Mar SAM SALLON Wed 28 Mar

124 High Street Rochester, ME1 1JT 01634 409040.

Live Music From rock ‘n’ roll to indie, soul and more: KIT CURTIS and the B3s Thu 1 Mar BILLY WEARS DRESSES Thu 8 Mar JUICY LUCY Thu 15 Mar MAKER Thu 22 Mar ANDY WHITE BAND Thu 29 Mar No entry fee www.theeagletavern.org.uk HAZLITT THEATRE

JAZZ AT THE BROOK: PAUL MALSOM TRIO Tue 6 Mar 8pm Guitarist with Latin American roots £10 FOLK AT THE BROOK: TOM McCONVILLE AND DAVID NEWEY 7 Mar 8pm With support from Skinners Rats. £8

Earl Street, Maidstone ME14 1PL 01622 758611

JUDE TZUKE – One Tree Less tour Tue 20 Mar 7.30pm With songs from her new album. £22.50 www.hazlittartscentre.co.uk

THE BOTTLENECK BLUES CLUB The Roffen Club, 41 New Road, Rochester ME1 1HS

JERIMIAH MARQUES AND THE BLUE ACES Tue 27 Mar See Preview www.bottleneckblues.com THE CENTRAL THEATRE

ALL SAINTS CHURCH,

THE EAGLE

170 High Street, Chatham, ME4 4AS 01634 338338

CITY OF ROCHESTER SINFONIA ORCHESTRA Sat 3 Mar 7.30pm.

English works by Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Tippet & Delius. £15, £12 Concs available BLAKE Thu 8 Mar 7.30pm Brit Award winners. £21, £19.50 AN EVENING OF BLUES Sat 17 Mar 7.30pm £14, £12 FASCINATING AIDA: The ‘Cheap Flights’ Tour Wed 21 Mar 7.30pm Arguably Britain’s best comedy cabaret trio. £19.50, £18 THE HOLLIES Wed 28 Mar 7.30pm £25.50, £23.50 New bookings website: www.medwayticketslive.co.uk

NAGS HEAD 292 High Street, Rochester , ME1 1HS

STUART TURNER AND THE FLAT EARTH SOCIETY Fri 2 Mar See Preview SINGAPORA LOUNGE 51 High Street, Rochester, ME1 1LN

MOUSTACHE OF INSANITY Fri 16 Mar 8pm. Last ever gig from London indiepop funsters. £4 advance, £5 door. www.teaconcerts.co.uk

FOLK, BLUES & WORLD MUSIC MARCH AT THE MAN OF KENT ALE-HOUSE Thurs 1st Tener Duende Tues 6th Ukulele Jam Night Wed 7th Band of Two (featuring Gary Blakeley of Feast of Fiddles) Thurs 8th Pass the Cat Wed 14th We Ghosts Thurs 15th Nightshift Wed 21st Ron Truman-Border & The Strangers Thurs 22nd Phil Woollett Wed 28th Moveable Feast Thurs 29th Full Circle Swing Jam Nights every Sunday this month

6-8 John Street, ROCHESTER, ME1 1YN 07772 214315 www.themanofkent.com

FINE ART, PHOTOGRAPHY, 3D, FASHION AND TEXTILES, GRAPHIC DESIGN, FILM AND MEDIA, THEATRE STUDIES

visual and performing arts STUDY AT GCSE AND A LEVEL

www.rochester-college.org STAR HILL ROCHESTER ME1 1XF 01634 828115

YEAR 7 TO SIXTH FORM ISC ACCREDITED

APHRA BEHN: A LIFE DEDICATED TO PLEASURE AND POETRY To celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March, 17Percent founder Sam Hall introduces the Kent-born Restoration writer Only tantalising glimpses and rumours about Aphra Behn’s life can be gleaned from her surviving works, and biographies give exciting conjecture but not a lot of proven facts. Hers is a story with so many fantastical twists, it wouldn’t be out of place in one of her plays.

She was probably born near Canterbury in 1640. Her mother was a nurse to a wealthy local family, which made it likely that Aphra was educated alongside the children. At a time when most people from her background couldn’t read or write, she was clearly well-educated; she translated French, and alluded to the Classics in her plays.

Little is known of her early life, she probably spent time in Venezuela, but by 1664, Aphra was back in England, possibly married to a merchant named Behn. There is little evidence of their marriage, and he’s gone a year later; perhaps, as some believe, she just made him up. It was easier for a widow to lead an independent life.

She fitted right in at the libertine court of Charles II, whose mistress, Nell Gwyn, acted in The Rover, Aphra’s best known play. She also spied for Charles against the Dutch, though he never paid her, which actually did her a favour, as it forced her to “write for bread”.

During The Restoration women appeared for the first time as actresses, and as playwrights. Restoration plays are bawdy and blatantly sexual; but even working within the constraints of this male-

dominated, hedonistic society, Aphra managed to create strong, independent female characters and wrote just as many strong male roles.

At a time when women were expected to be seen and not heard, she got into trouble for writing about sex openly. Her own lifestyle mirrored her writing; she believed in sexual equality and freedom. She once stated that she had led a “life dedicated to pleasure and poetry.” This offended the more moralistic age which came after Charles II, and her plays quickly fell out of fashion.

Aphra Behn died in 1689, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

She left behind her at least eighteen intelligent, articulate plays which were as popular at the time as any written by her male contemporaries, and ‘Oroonoko’, a novel vital to the English novel’s development. But her legacy to women writers is greater than that – at a time when writing was not considered a suitable career for a woman, she was a pioneer.

As Virginia Woolf wrote: “All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the grave of Aphra Behn... for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds.”

Sam Hall is giving a talk on female playwrights, from Aphra Behn to the new wave of angry young women playwrights, at Rochester Community Hub on 8 March at 7.30pm. Free, book on 01634 337411

march blues

Nicholas Blake

ROB FLOOD PREVIEWS TWO UPCOMING GIGS

It’s not that the recent cold weather is getting us down but this month’s gig previews have something of the blues about them.

First up, Friday 2 March sees the welcome return of Stuart Turner and the Flat Earth Society for their first band gig of the year at the Nags Head in Rochester. With a stripped down version of the FES, Turner is joined by trumpeter John Whitaker, new drummer James Kerr and Jez Sanderson on bass. Expect plenty of material from the soon to be released new album ‘On the Brink of Misadventure’ featuring Turner’s trade mark guttural blues growl and a big widescreen wall of sound and passion.

As a preview, you can hear a recent live session featuring some great new material including a 1920’s pop song ‘Call Me Dave’ (inspired by something David Cameron said a few years ago whilst disingenuously electioneering) and a liberal interpretation of a 19th century rowing song from the Outer Hebrides (www.soundcloud.com/stfes).

Second gig recommendation of the month is on Tuesday 27 March, when Jerimiah Marques and the Blue Aces bring their fantastic blues/ roots reggae fusion to the consistently superb Bottleneck Blues Club based at the Roffen Club in Rochester. Guyana-born Marques became a blues convert after hearing Muddy Waters rehearsing at the Marquee Club one afternoon in 1968. In his live shows, he effortlessly switches between ‘50’s Chicago blues and Toots Hibert inspired roots reggae. Marques is a master of both styles and his electrifying performances are definitely worth catching. Tickets available from Richard through bottleneckblues.com.

The Nags Head, 292 High Street, Rochester ME1 1HS The Roffen Club, 41 New Road, Rochester ME1 1DX WOW 17

T H E AT R E THE BRITANNIA THEATRE

Dickens World, Leviathan Way, Chatham Maritime ME4 4LL 01634 890421

Hugh Leonard’s GREAT EXPECTATIONS Fri 16 March 7.30pm Adaptation of Dickens’ novel in consultation with Gerald Dickens. £15, concs £13, child £10. www.dickensworld.co.uk THE BROOK THEATRE

Old Town Hall, Chatham ME4 4SE 01634 338338

MEDWAY COMEDY CLUB: LEE HURST – Man v Woman Mon 5 Mar 8pm First tour in 10 years.

Over 18s only. £13.50 CABARET OF CURIOSITIES Fri 16 Mar 8pm Ever-popular night of cabaret and burlesque.

Over 16s only. £11 GREAT EXPECTATIONS adapted

by Adrian Preater. New adaptation by Hotbuckle. Sat 17 Mar 7.30pm £10, Concs £8 KIDS CABARET OF CURIOSITIES Sun 18 Mar (Mother’s Day) 1pm & 3pm Just as much for the grown-ups. £6, four for £20 ROALD DAHL’S THE WITCHES adapted by David Wood Thu 22Sat 23 Mar 7.30pm Children’s classic presented by The Brook Youth Theatre. £5, concs £3.50 THE CENTRAL THEATRE

170 High Street, Chatham, ME4 4AS 01634 338338

STARS OF STRICTLY COME DANCING Sun 1 Apr Live routines and a Q & A with Pasha Kovalev and Katya Virshilas. £22, £20, Children £12 New bookings website: www.medwayticketslive.co.uk HAZLITT ARTS CENTRE Earl Street, Maidstone ME14 1PL 01622 758611

THE DUMB WAITER & THE LOVER by Harold Pinter Fri 9 & Sat 10 Mar 7.30pm The European Arts Company presents these two short black

comedies. See Profile p23. £12, concs £10 READER OFFER: £1 off per ticket – quote WOW when you book SENSE AND SENSIBILITY adapted by Laura Turner. Sun 25 Mar 7.30pm Chapterhouse Theatre Company’s version of the Regency classic. £12, £8 Family ticket £35 MARK STEEL’S IN TOWN Fri 30 Mar 7.30pm Writer and stand-up comedian works Maidstone into the show. £14, concs £12 www.hazlittartscentre.co.uk HORSEBRIDGE ARTS & COMMUNITY CENTRE CAFÉ

11 Horsebridge Road, Whitstable, CT5 1AF 01227 281174

17Percent presents SHE WRITES Wed 21 Mar 7.30pm (doors 7.15pm) Nine surprising short plays by women writers are showcased in a rehearsed reading. £5, £4 concs www.horsebridge-centre.org.uk

THE MARLOWE THEATRE

The Friars, Canterbury CT1 2AS 01227 787787

RAMBERT DANCE COMPANY Wed 21-Fri 23 Mar 7.30pm Featuring a new work by Mark Baldwin and Siobhan Davies’ The Art of Touch danced to Scarlatti. £9.50-£21.50, concs available THE WINTER’S TALE/ HENRY V All-male Propeller theatre company in their inimitable style. Tue 27-Sat 31 Mar 7.30pm, Sat Mat 2.30pm Tue-Thu £11-£21, Sat £9-£15.50 THE MARLOWE STUDIO: TRESPASS StopGAP Dance Company A company of five dancers with and without disabilities. Thu 8 at 8pm & Fri 9 Mar at 1pm. £12, concs available www.marlowetheatre.com

MEDWAY LITTLE THEATRE

256 High Street Rochester ME1 1HY 01634 400322

BREAKFAST WITH JONNY WILKINSON by Chris England 8-17 March 7.30pm Set during the 1993 World Cup victory.

Contains strong language and semi-nudity. £8, Monday all seats £5, concs available www.mlt.org.uk

THE ORCHARD

Home Gardens, Dartford DA1 1ED 01322 220000

JUAN MARTIN FLAMENCO ENSEMBLE Mon 5 Mar 7.30pm Instrumental solos, songs and dances. £16.50, concs £15.50 www.orchardtheatre.co.uk MORE IN MARCH SCRIPTWRITERS WORKSHOP Thu 1 Mar 3pm Strood Library, 32 Bryant Road, Strood, ME2 3EP 01634 335890 Led by scriptwriter and author Danny Miller WIGMORE LECTURE: THE WOMEN’S LAND ARMY Wed 21 Mar 8pm Wigmore Library, 208 Fairview Avenue,Gillingham ME8 0PX 01634 235576 A talk by Dr Ann Knief £3.75

Drama Highlights Book Today!

ROCHESTER HAS A NEW COMEDY NIGHT

Friday 9 & Saturday 10 March 7.30pm Exchange Studio £12 Concs £10

JOKING WITH INTENT 20 years ago Janet Street-Porter famously said “Comedy is the New Rock n Roll”. These days stand up comedy is everywhere, with star acts filling huge stadiums and appearing on our TV screens every night.

Nowadays, it seems, everybody dreams of being a comedian. The UK’s open-mic comedy scene is where up-and-coming comedians and wannabes try their hand and develop their acts on the precarious road to possible fame and fortune.

Sunday 25 March 7.30pm Hazlitt Theatre £12 Concs £8 Family £35 Sense and Sensibility

On the first Thursday of each month, starting 1 March 2012, Rochester gets its very own open-mic comedy night, “Joking with Intent”.

Featuring seven brilliant acts, this first gig will have one ‘open spot’ available for an audience member to have a go… Our second night is 5 April, again seven acts and a tryout spot. If it all flies we’ll be back on the first Thursday of each month. So support your local comedy night! It’ll be a laugh.

Nigel Adams Joking With Intent is at the Good Intent, 3 John Street, Rochester ME1 1YL. It all starts at 8pm and costs a tiny £2.00 on the door. www.facebook.com/jokingwithintent

Saturday 21 April 7.30pm Exchange Studio £12 Concs £10

Box Office: 01622 758611 www.hazlittartscentre.co.uk

VISUAL ART ASHFORD ART MARKET Situated in County Square Shopping Centre, Ashford Art Market is a new monthly market for Ashford in Kent starting on Saturday 24 March.

The market will is organised by local artist Liz Garnett.

Showcasing the work of artists from Ashford and further afield she hopes it will give visitors the opportunity to find out more about buying art and talk to the artists about their work. There will be a variety of artistic styles on display.

The next market will run from 9 am to 5.30 pm on Saturday 24 March, 21 April and 19 May. The market will be situated on the lower ground floor of County Square by the entrance to Debenhams department store. Find them on Facebook or to join the mailing list visit http://eepurl.com/jbRaz THE DEAF CAT COFFEE BAR & GALLERY 83 High Street, Rochester ME1 1LX

Open all week 9.30am-5pm FIONA SPIRALS: Love Where You Live 12-25 Mar. www.fionaspirals.co.uk Free thedeafcat.com HORSEBRIDGE ARTS CENTRE 11 Horsebridge Road, Whitstable CT5 1AF 01227 281174

WOW Festival event: Draw with Charlotte Firmin Sat 17 Mar 2-4pm Children’s illustrator Firmin brings a big empty book to the session and fills it with the stories and images of the children attending. £6 per child.

NUCLEUS ARTS 272 High Street, Chatham ME4 4BP 01634 812108 Gallery opening

hours 9-5pm, closed Sunday Free

SUSAN AMOS: Interpretations 3-15 Mar Preview/Meet the Artist 2 Mar 6-8pm

TURNER CONTEMPORARY

JACK AND DANIEL MCDONAGH: An Offering of Strange Fire 17-29 Mar Beautiful, ethereal paintings, prints and drawings.

TURNER AND THE ELEMENTS To 13 May. Free The gallery’s first major show of the artist’s work, featuring 95 landscapes and watercolours.

NUCLEUS ARTS, ROCHESTER 75 High Street, Rochester ME1 1LX 01634 780932

Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 11am-5pm Artworks, card and jewellery by local artists at affordable prices.

NUCLEUS ARTS, MAIDSTONE 2-4 Granada House, Gabriel’s Hill, Maidstone ME15 6JR 01622 690337

New gallery shop. Times as Rochester. nucleus-arts.com

Rendezvous, Margate CT9 1HG 01843 233000

HAMISH FULTON: WALK WALK To 7 May Kent-based artist Fulton has made walking the basis of his practice: “no walk, no work”, he has stated.

This new show features work made as a result of walks taken in the run up to TC’s opening.

Tues-Sun 10am-6pm plus Late Night Live to 10pm one Friday every month. Closed Mon (except Bank Holidays) Also, Rodin’s iconic sculpture THE KISS (to Sept 2012). Free turnercontemporary.org UCA POP-UP GALLERY

ROCHESTER ART GALLERY & CRAFT CASE Medway Visitor Information Centre, 95 High Street, Rochester ME1 1LX 01634 338319 Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, closed Sun to April

PASSING REFLECTIONS To 3 Apr Figurative thread drawings and screenprints by textile artist Rosie James. Ceramics and glass by Andrea Walsh and textiles and glass by Alison Lowry in the Craft Case. Free FREE FAMILY WORKSHOP: Sat 24 Mar 12.30-3.30pm.

Explore thread drawing with textiles artist Rosie James to create your own works of art, inspired by the exhibition. Under 16s must be accompanied.

Booking essential: arts@medway.gov.uk ROSE YARD WINDOW GALLERY Earl Street, Maidstone ME14 1PL

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS March: MVAN artists Dawn Curwood & Elizabeth Fouyia

Unit 67, Upstairs at Pentagon Centre, Chatham, ME4 4HW 07551 037695 or email: uca.popupgallery@gmail.com

Open Mon, Wed, Sat 10am-6pm.

SURVIVAL To 21 Mar Exhibition, lectures and performances addressing man’s reconnection with Nature. This eclectic exhibition on the first floor of the Pentagon Centre is worth a look, for the long canoe alone… see it and wonder how it arrived.

THE EVOLUTION OF CONSCIOUSNESS Launches with open private view, evening of 30 Mar. Runs to 12 May. Through artwork, lectures, workshops, performances and projections the gallery will promote the understanding of human consciousnesses: vital, crucial, essential, necessary, and urgent obligation to evolve and develop to a new level if we want to continue living on this planet.

Free. Find them on Facebook to follow posts about events.

WITCHED IN THE HOUSE OF LADDERS, a collection of new poems by Medway Poet Bill Lewis, is published at the end of March

by Greenheart Press, an imprint of WOW magazine. Price £10. Please email the Editor to reserve your copy or to attend the book’s launch in Rochester (details tbc please check wowkent.co.uk).

There are apples in her voice, A road atlas in her heart That charts the dreadful Strength within the land.

She picks flint arrow heads From ploughed fields and Feeds them to scarecrows.

She knows the sorrow of Magpies and their secrets.

She knows the lost name of The white horse that gallops On our scarlet Kentish flag.

The tractor has turned over In the top field and John, Its driver, thinks of her black hair Wrapped around his heart And a Massey Ferguson on His right leg. He’ll have a Limp from now on. Metal Pins in that, for sure. Should Have kept his furrow straight, Says one of the men levering The red metal monster Off him, winking to the others with a know what I mean As they Heave Ho him free.

WOW 21

THE ARTIST’S S P A C E ORCCHA BOY BY ROBERT BACK Robert Back is a Medway based photographer specialising in Landscape & Travel Photography. Orchha Boy has recently beaten off stiff international competition to be awarded runner up, People category, in the Wanderlust Travel Photograph of the Year competition. This tops an amazing year which saw Robert win the ‘We Love Kent’ exhibition at the 2011 Kent County Show, followed by winning the Landscape category in BBC’s Countryfile Photographic Competition, securing a page in their bestselling 2012 calendar. www.robertmbackphotography.com

Contact us EDITORIAL: editor@wowkent.co.uk FREE LISTINGS: listings@wowkent.co.uk ADVERTISING: advertising@wowkent.co.uk 0845 388 2243 (local rate from BT landlines) DESIGN: A Stone’s Throw astonesthrowdesign.co.uk PRINTING: PB Group Sittingbourne, 01795 413880, www.pbgroup.co.uk PUBLISHER: Emma Dewhurst

Distributed locally to Medway households and public pick-up points throughout the Medway towns and Maidstone. Current print circulation: 4000 copies.

Excellent discounts for series bookings available to all advertisers. All ads also appear in the e-edition of the magazine at www.wowkent.co.uk Copy/listings deadline for April issue is 20 March 2012 ©WOW Kent magazine.

All rights reserved. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that details in this publication are accurate, we cannot accept responsibility for such. Readers are advised to check listings information to avoid disappointment.

Views expressed by contributors and advertisers do not necessarily reflect those of the editor and publisher. www.wowkent.co.uk

Please mention WOW Medway if you use our advertisers’ services or attend an event you found in our listings

Find us on Facebook facebook.com/WOWMedway @EmmaDewhurst7 WOW Medway is printed on 100% recycled paper

PROFILE JOHN O’CONNOR TELLS EMMA DEWHURST WHY HE’S FINDING PINTER FUNNY “People tend to think of Pinter as impenetrable and intellectual, whereas he started off writing comedy sketches for Peter Cook and Kenneth Williams!”

John O’Connor is the founder and Artistic Director of European Arts Company, an international touring theatre company based in Maidstone. He is recovering from a recent, hair-raising rescue mission to Italy, when he was required to go on as Lady Bracknell in his own production of ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’, after the actor playing her came down with gastric ‘flu.

Says O’Connor: “They called while I was making Sunday lunch. I flew out that evening, learnt the part on the plane and was onstage next morning in front of a crowd of one thousand Italian teenagers!”

With small-scale touring theatre companies these things are bound to happen. Indeed, the company’s pared-down approach, where every piece of set, every prop, even every actor is made use of in myriad ways, is not only what keeps costs down but is a positive part of the company’s ethos.

European Arts Company was born ten years ago, when with funding from The British Council the company toured their original productions of Harold Pinter’s ‘The Dumb Waiter’ and ‘The Lover’ to Greek university theatres. With the help of director Jonathan Kemp, a selection of productions of the more ‘quirky classics’followed.

At first O’Connor chose to run the company and stay out of the spotlight. To date the company has employed more than 40 professional actors, many of them, like Rebecca Robson who stars in the current production, fresh out of drama school. More recently O’Connor has returned to acting in the shows: his turbo-charged performance in last year’s ‘Chekhov Shorts’ was unforgettable.

The Pinter double-bill is being revived this Spring to celebrate the company’s tenth anniversary.

O’Connor is hoping that the revival of the Pinter shorts will encourage audiences to cast a fresh eye over the great man’s work. “I never realised Chekhov was so funny, and it’s pretty much the same with these two Pinter plays. He’s one of the funniest and most original playwrights of the 20th Century.”

‘The Dumb Waiter’ is a scene-setter for just about every conversational scene between two hit-men since, from ‘Reservoir Dogs’ to ‘Pulp Fiction’ and ‘The Lover’ was originally a television play screened in 1963, when its controversial look at a bourgeois relationship caused quite a stir.

Coming in at 50 minutes each, the plays are a fantastic, potted introduction to Pinter’s work.

HAZLITT THEATRE READER OFFER £1 off each ticket! (normally £11) Quote ‘WOW’ on booking 9 & 10 March, Hazlitt Theatre, Maidstone 01622 758611 Further Kent tour dates: 14 May Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury 01227 769075 17-19 May Ellen Terry Barn Theatre, Smallhythe, Tenterden 01424 440484 25 May Quarterhouse Arts Centre, Folkestone 01303 858500 www.europeanarts.co.uk

Opening Times: Please visit www.dickensworld.co.uk Dickens World, our exciting indoor visitor complex based around the life, books and times of Charles Dickens. We take you on a fascinating journey to Dickens’ World as you step back into authentically themed Dickensian England.

Annual Passes now available from just £10

DICKENS WORLD Visit Dickens World and save £2 off standard admission prices.

Valid until 31st March 2012.

Not to be used in conjunction with any other voucher or offer.

This voucher is valid for up to 6 people.

Please cut out this voucher and present at admissions for discounted entry.

BRITANNIA THEATRE EVENTS Friday 16th March 2012 @ 7:30pm • Adapted from the novel by Charles Dickens • Directed by Adam Morley • Consultant Gerald Dickens Tickets: Adult £15, Concession £13, Child £10 Britannia Theatre, Dickens World, Chatham, ME4 4LL Box Office: 01634 890421 • www.dickensworld.co.uk

Time for Tea A new ‘Good Old Days’ live show Afternoon cream tea, scones, lashings of laughs and songs of yesteryear to sing along to.

Show only is included in the Dickens World standard admission price. *£5 extra for cream tea, scones & w cucumber sandwiches o h xt S

Ne

Wednesday 21st March 2012

For more information visit www.dickensworld.co.uk or call 01634 890421

JONGLEURS COMEDY NIGHTS Friday 2nd March 2012 Friday 30th March 2012 Friday 27th April 2012

Tickets 0 from £10.8

Visit Dickens World or call 01634 890421

Tom O’Connor & The Vintage Corporation

A night of Top Class Comedy and Music from the 60s & 70s

Saturday 2nd June 2012 - Britannia Theatre Tickets: Only £14.75

To book call 01634 890421