Veteran musicians and more at Warwick Arts Centre this autumn - The Stratford Observer

Veteran musicians and more at Warwick Arts Centre this autumn

Stratford Editorial 24th Aug, 2018   0

SOME musical veterans can be heard at Warwick Arts Centre this autumn.

The Butterworth Hall stage will echo to the sound of jazz, blues, classical, rock and more.

Veteran South African jazz pianist Abdullah Ibrahim arrives for a rare appearance on these shores on October 18.

His intimate unamplified solo show will offer a chance to hear just why Ibrahim has established a reputation as one of the most distinctive composers and innovative performers in jazz during the past six decades, after leaving his apartheid divided homeland for Europe in the early 1960s.




Not quite such veterans, but veterans all the same, Echo & The Bunnymen rock in on October 21 to showcase new album The Stars, The Oceans & The Moon, which see McCulloch and co return to their extensive back catalogue to reinterpret 13 songs with ‘strings and things’.

The veterans keep coming with The Robert Cray Band plugging into the blues on October 24. Cray’s considerable guitar and songwriting skills have made him a dominant force in blues for over 40 years. His recent album Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm


was nominated for the Blues Music Awards and won widespread critical acclaim.

And Afro Celt Sound System will celebrate their 20th anniversary on November 24 with their trademark combination of folk traditions of different cultures.

The classical music season opens with Russian State Symphony Orchestra (October 5) and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra follows (November 28), both with an array of pieces highlighting their world-class soloists.

Award-winning Montenegrin guitarist Miloš Karadaglic (November 7) will be joined by Ensemble 7 with an eclectic programme encompassing everything from Bach to The Beatles.

Comedy-wise, the Butterworth Hall will welcome more than the odd big name – including Jason Manford (October 4), Dylan Moran (October 6), Sara Pascoe (October 7), Sarah Millican (October 11 to 14 Oct, Seann Walsh (October 12), Ross Noble (Thu October 25 to 27) and Joe Lycett (November 15).

Up-and-coming comedians looking to raise a laugh include Jen Brister (November 4), Ahir Shah (November 25), and Tamysn Kelly and Sukh Ojla (December 7).

Kneehigh will be re-opening the newly-refurbished theatre auditorium with Fup: A Modern Fable (October 2 to 6) – a story of an ass-kicking duck, featuring live music and puppetry,

The theatre season also includes Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story (October 9 and 10) a dark music-theatre hybrid inspired by the true stories of two Jewish Romanian refugees; Rifco’s new play, Dishoom! (October 16 to 20) set in summer 1978, with the National Front on the streets, and friends Simon and Baljit out to change the world forever; and English Touring Theatre and Richard Twyman’s contemporary production of Othello (November 6 to 10) focused on the racial and religious tensions underlying Shakespeare’s play.

Christmas brings two family shows based on the works of Oscar Wilde to the stage.

Tall Stories, the Olivier-nominated producers of The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom, present their take on the fairy tales of the great Victorian wit in Wilde Creatures (November 28 to December 30), while The Canterville Ghost (December 18 to 30), arrives following a successful debut at the Edinburgh Fringe.

There will also be chat with author and blogger Dolly Alderton (October 11) discussing her best-selling book Everything I Know About Love; Ab Fab actress, comedian and author Joanna Lumley (November 1) recounting some of her adventures and never-before-heard stories; Michael Portillo (November 26) and Owen Jones (November 4) delivering politically-minded talks; and, and Dennis Taylor and Jon Virgo offering An Evening with Snooker Greats (November 3).

Family shows include BalletLorent’s interpretation of Rumpelstiltskin (October 26 and 27); and Dinosaur World Live (October 30 and 31) offering children the chance to discover a pre-historic world.

For the very young, there’s Leaf (October 13), a playful experience inspired by the changing seasons, and Little Angel Theatre’s Sleepyhead (November 9 and 10) featuring magic, a pinch of circus and a large dollop of silliness.

Visit www.warwickartscentre.co.uk for full autumn festival programme details.

Subscribe

Receive a weekly update to your inbox by signing up to our weekly newsletter.

Buy Photos

Buy photos online from the Stratford Observer newspaper.

Public Notices

View and download all of the public notices in the Stratford Observer.

Advertising

Advertise with the Stratford Observer to reach your audience