6 minute read
AGENDA
The Agenda FEBRUARY'S HOTTEST EVENTS
EVENT
Eythrope Parkland Tours
15-17 FEBRUARY, WADDESDON MANOR
Here’s a chance to wander around the private parkland and woodland garden at Eythrope. Laid out as informal pleasure grounds in the mid-18th century, today the lake, ornamental rockwork, snowdrops and winter fl owering shrubs create a truly inspiring winter walk. After visiting the gardens, enjoy lunch at the Five Arrows and have the chance to explore Waddesdon’s gardens.
KIRA FREIJI, AUTUMN DUSK
ART Trickster Figures
4 February-7 May MK GALLERY Trickster Figures: Sculpture and the Body, curated by Jes Fernie, will bring together a selection of work by 11 contemporary artists. Encompassing sculpture in its widest sense, the exhibition includes play, touch and sound. Works made from crab shells, tree roots, shopping bags, and hosiery sit alongside a dance fl oor and a water fountain. Visitors will be able to discover elements that change and grow. mkgallery.org
ATELIER IMAGINARIUM
EVENT Desire Fair
10-12 March CHELSEA OLD TOWN HALL One to get in the diary for March, the 2023 London Desire Fair will be held at Chelsea Old Town Hall. This stunning mixed media jewellery and silversmithing event o ers visitors the chance to purchase direct from contemporary designer makers selected from the best in the UK. Desire o ers visitors a choice of individual jewellers and contemporary silversmiths who have been selected for their innovative craftsmanship. desirefair.com
FILM ANT-MAN AND THE WASP
17 FEBRUARY ODEON BRACKNELL
Superhero partners Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) return to continue their adventures as Ant-Man and the Wasp. Together, with Hope’s parents Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfei er), and Scott’s daughter Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), the family fi nd themselves exploring the Quantum Realm, interacting with strange new creatures... odeon.co.uk
THEATRE Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
PHOTO: JOHAN PERSSON 9 February-5 March MILTON KEYNES THEATRE The West End and Broadway smash hit Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - The Musical heads to Milton Keynes Theatre this month following a Christmas season at Leeds Playhouse. Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – The Musical tells the devilishly delicious tale of young golden ticket winner Charlie Bucket and the mysterious confectionary wizard Willy Wonka, played here by Gareth Snook. atgtickets.com/miltonkeynes
This Month’s Must See
MATILDA
11-18 FEBRUARY, ROALD DAHL MUSEUM
Head to the Roald Dahl Museum in Great Missenden to celebrate all things Matilda this February half-term. Enjoy clay and junk modelling workshops with a
Trunchbull twist, listen to Matilda storytelling or go on a Matilda trail around the galleries. Enjoy
Crunchem Hall playground games in the courtyard or simply stu your face with pizza from pop-up experts Pizzafi cio. roalddahlmuseum.org
Art
TO WATCH
A fresh perspective on New York and postcard perfection take centre stage
CARNICELLI NY NURSE'S GEAR 1966
Streets of New York at the David Hill Gallery is an exhibition of Big Apple life, as captured by fi ve masters of their craft. The show includes work from the late 1940s through to the early 1970s, the period generally considered the golden age of street photography. Featuring exceptional photography from Werner Bischof, Mario Carnicelli, Harold Feinstein, Larry Fink, Marc Riboud. Until 3 March. davidhillgallery.net
BETHANY CZARNECKI UNTITLED, 2023
Take home an original mini masterpiece in support of the Hepatitis C Trust from 23 February via Art on a Postcard, who is hosting its fourth International Women’s Day auction. This year they have invited seven female curators to each curate a show featuring 25 female artists. The curators include Beth Greenacre, whose clients have included David Bowie and more recently the allfemale members club Allbright, Liminal Gallery’s Louise Fitzjohn and Mollie Barnes of She Curates plus Carrie Scott, Lee Sharrock, Bakul Patki and Sandra De Giorgi. This is an opportunity to acquire a highly collectible, original artwork by a series of leading international female artists at a very reasonable price, with bidding starting at just £50. artonapostcard.com
This LITTLE GIRL
Absolutely goes behind the scenes at Matilda The Musical
RAKESH BOURY AS MR WORMWOOD
Even as an adult, I’m excited to meet the cast of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Matilda The Musical. The show has been playing in the West End since 2011 and its unforgettable songs are played on repeat in countless households. There’s hardly been an empty seat in the house since it opened, and now a new film is attracting even more fans – because it’s a timeless show that people of all ages return to again and again for its anarchic spirit and unique style.
Clearly, the show has a special energy behind the scenes as well. A new cast change brings Rakesh Boury and Amy
Ellen Richardson to the roles of Mr and
Mrs Wormwood, and they were both fans before they’d been cast. “I saw the orginal at
Stratford and I remember thinking, there’s nothing else like this. I laughed, I cried,” says Richardson. We’re in the theatre’s
Circle Bar in the afternoon, where tables are already set up for the children’s supper later. For them it’s a tight schedule – they spend the day at school, then rush to the theatre for the evening performance. “It’s a well-oiled machine,” says Boury.
There are currently three teams of children who perform in turns, and Boury and Richardson are blown away by their talent. “They’re so unbelievably good,” says Boury, who has four-year-old twin daughters who are deep into their Matilda fan phase. Richardson has been acting since she was 10, so seeing the children on stage reflects her own life. “What an experience it is for them,” she says. “And they’re so good that they make you up your game.”
For a long-running show, it’s unusual to have so many of the original team still involved, but Matilda The Musical is very much a passion project for pretty much
everybody. Writer Dennis Kelly, composer and lyricist Tim Minchin, director Matthew Warchus, musical director Laurie Perkins and choreographer Peter Darling have all been hands-on since the beginning, and the show adapts to each new wave of actors. “We were encouraged to bring our own interpretations to the roles,” says Richardson. “We do feel that they’re our roles, which is great when you’re taking on an existing role,” says Boury. “The team genuinely wanted us to find our own versions, which is great – I’ve done shows where they insist on you doing everything a certain way. But every Wormwood there’s ever been has been their own.”
Plainly, they both love the show and feel lucky to be part of it. “We’ve done 140 shows but we still feel like the new cast,” says Boury. And the energy comes from the audience too. “When I finish work, 1200 people applaud me. That feeling can keep you going. Just this week there was a 40-year-old man in a Matilda The Musical t-shirt standing up at the end, bawling his eyes out. It’s the power of the arts, isn’t it.” He’s right – this show stays with everyone it touches. Long may it continue.
AMY ELLEN RICHARDSON AS MRS WORMWOOD
