Category: entertainment and leisure news

COMMUNITY CHOIR TASTER SESSION ? ALL WELCOME – JUNE 12, 2009 – Towersey village hall.

?Village Voices? is for anyone who wants to sing for fun ? people who already do sing, people who used to but think their voice is a bit rusty, people who would like to have a go at singing but think they can?t, high and low voices, male and female voices. You don?t need to have any previous experience, or be able to read music. We aren?t about performing, there are no auditions, and no-one is going to judge you. Community choirs are about having fun singing music from around the world for the pure joy of it, in a friendly and informal way.

We are holding a taster session (cost

RATATAT THEATRE COMPANY, in association with the Players Theatre, Thame, will be presenting “APRIL IN PARIS’ by John Godber, at THE PLAYERS THEATRE, THAME, on Sunday, June 14. 2009, at 7.45pm.

IT is a pleasure to welcome Dominic Goodwin back to The Players Theatre in Thame for another John Godber comedy. Dominic?s Ratatat Theatre Company has already performed ‘September in the Rain’ and ‘Happy Jack’ and now they bring ‘April in Paris’ on Sunday, 14th June at 7.45pm.

Dominic again pairs up with Stephanie Preacher to bring us Al and Bet, who lead a quiet humdrum life in their small Yorkshire home until Bet wins a ?Romantic Breaks? competition in a local magazine. The prize, a holiday in Paris, represents their first experience abroad and has profound effects on the way they look at the world around them when they return home.

They sort out French cuisine, wrestle with their phrase book and fend of muggers on the Metro in this hilarious depiction of the English abroad.

Tickets are available at

A BARN Dance on May 30, 2009, will be hosted by the Rotary ClubS of Thame and Haddenham & District, to raise funds for Thame Girl Guides, the Phoenix studio at Lord Williams’s school, and other local charities.

Where: Haddenham Village Hall
When: Saturday 30 May from 6:30 pm.Carriages at11pm.
Band: Tumbledown Dick
Price:

THERE are lots of events for all ages in and around Thame and other parts of the county, for National Family Week, May 25-31, 2009, organised by Oxfordshire County Council.

National Family Week, which coincides with the school spring holiday, is a new initiative with the aim of bringing families together through learning, playing, competition and eating. More than 1,300 events have been planned up and down the country.

On Saturday, May 30, children can make their own Familty Tree at Thame museum. Materials will be provided but donations would be welcomed. The session will run from 10am till 4pm.

On Sunday, May 31, there will be Family History Talks at the museum, the first at 12pm, explaining the value of Parish Records in searching for family history. The second talk will be given by David Bretherton at 2pm, and will deal with the use of the Census.

On both days there will be an introduction to the
resources available for family research.

Admission is FREE for all these events.

There’s to be a Family Fun Camping Day at Thomley Activity Centre in Worminghall where families can enjoy nature walks, clay modelling, giant bubble making, storytelling, a barbeque and obstacle course. The day, in partnership with the county council-funded Parent Partnership Oxfordshire, runs from 10am to 4pm. Call Activity Centre Manager, Milly Truen, on 01844 338380 for more information.

A storytime at Thame Library is planned from 11am to midday, on Tuesday, May 26, for children aged four to eight. Call the library on 01844 212288 for free tickets.

A full list of National Family Week events in Oxfordshire can be found at: nationalfamilyweek.co.uk

THE ANNIVERSARY by Bill MacIlwraith, will be performed at The Players Theatre, Nelson Street, Thame, at 7.45pm on Friday, May 22, 2009.

Bournemouth based professional theatre company, Creative Cow, return to perform Bill MacIlwraith?s best known play, The Anniversary, at the theatre on Friday 22nd May at 7.45pm. Their visit is one of the last performances of their 29 performance tour which has taken them from Exmouth to Nottingham in eight weeks.

Many will remember their last very successful visit 18 months ago when they performed Peter Shaffer?s two, one act plays, The Private Ear, the Public Eye.

The Anniversary tells the story of a mother who keeps a tight hold on all three of her sons with gifts, threats and ruthless exploitation of their weaknesses. But as the family is unwillingly brought together to celebrate ?Mum?s? wedding anniversary (regardless of deceased Dad), revolt is in the air. One son gathers the courage to tell Mum he is moving to Canada and another breaks the news of an impending marriage. Mum finds her long ascendancy is broken at last.

The play is best remembered for the film version which starred Bette Davis and Sheila Hancock. Playwright Bill MacIlwraith said of the play: “… dear old Mum is a woman whose possessiveness is a killer, yet like the devil, she has an undeniable charm. She would never have been drowned as a witch, she would have been crowned Queen.”

Tickets are available at

WORLD famous composer, and former Lord Williams’s pupil, Howard Goodall, won the Composer of the Year award at the Classical Brit Awards this week.

Howard, whose father is a former Headmaster of the school, received his award at the televised award ceremony this week, on Tuesday, May 19, 2009.

His winning choral work, Eternal Light – a Requiem, was Commissioned by Mark Stephenson on behalf of London Musici to celebrate the orchestra?s 20th anniversary.

Howard says of the piece: “?For me, a modern Requiem is one that acknowledges the terrible, unbearable loss and emptiness that accompanies the death of loved ones, a loss that is not easily ameliorated with platitudes about the joy awaiting us in the afterlife.

“Musical expression can, I hope, provide some outlet, some reflection, some transportation, even some comfort. This was to be a Requiem for the living, a Requiem focussing on interrupted lives.”

Nothing if not flexible, Howard Goodall has also written, among other things, the themes for many popular TV shows like Blackadder, Mr Bean, Red Dwarf, The Catherine Tate Show, Q.I. or The Vicar of Dibley.

Photo: Courtesy of www.jamd.com

THIS year’s Tetsworth annual fun day will be held on Saturday, July 11, 2009.

Tetsworth Memorial Hall – From 2pm – All village organisations are invited to take part.

Can you help to man a stall? Tel 01844 281645
httop://www.tetsworthnews.co.uk

THAME PLAYERS – And now for something completely different – a benefit night to raise funds for Lord Williams’s school’s new Phoenix studio.

BACK for one year only, it is 10 years since Edward II last played out and we are really chuffed to have them on our guest list this year at Towersey. And you might wonder why the boys have thrown on the decorator overalls for this historic return?

There are rumours of alien abduction! Have they been beamed back to us to give us one last blast of their unique sound? Simon Care of the band tells us that this otherworldly photo shoot got some funny looks as the band stood in front of four cars with full beam headlights on to create this effect.

Splicing dance tunes of old England with the sunny sexy grooves of reggae and lovers? rock, Edward II transcended superficial notions of ‘crossover’ to forge a truly original synthesis from their far-flung musical roots.

So get ready for a very “Close Encounter” when Edward II beam into Towersey on Sunday, August 30.

Book tickets HERE

Date of Event: 19 April 2009 – Red Kites Scooter Club of Thame will be holding a charity ride out in aid of the Stoke Mandeville Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (formerly known as SCBU).
With your help, instead of Easter Eggs, they would like to be able to deliver clothes to the tiny and very sick babies.

Meet at the Swan, High Street, Thame, at 10.45am for Ride Out to the Bell Pub in Stoke Mandeville, where staff from NICU will be for the hand over.

www.redkites-sc.co.uk. www.myspace.com/redkitesscooterclub