LORD Williams’s Festival Chorus, who are based in Thame, will be performing the internationally acclaimed piece, The Armed Man, by Karl Jenkins, on Saturday, November 8, over Remembrance weekend.
Starting at 7.30 pm at Thame Leisure Centre, the choir, which is made up of past pupils, teachers and members of the Thame community, will be performing this extraordinary piece in recognition of the centenary of the outbreak of WW1.
The Armed Man, a Mass for Peace, was composed in dedication to the victims of Kosovo and recorded hours before the tragedy of 9.11. It reflects on war as an almost inevitable part of man’s existence while also dreaming of the hope of peace.
“Anyone coming to watch the performance will not fail to be moved and to still feel its pertinence in the 21st Century,” commented John Gibbons, Musical Director. “we performed the piece back in 2008 and some members also joined an international event in 2009 at the Carnegie Hall in New York when Karl also attended, so it is already well-loved by many of our members. Somehow, performing it again at such a poignant time and in 2014, seemed fitting in recognition of the sacrifices of our forefathers.”
The choir will be accompanied by the Ealing Symphony Orchestra and conducted by John Gibbons.
Tickets are available for £13, £10 (concessions) & £1 (Under 18’s ) online at lordwilliamsfestivalchorus.org.uk; from Cargo, 18 Cornmarket Thame; by calling Rosemary (01844 344083) or on the door.
ALTHOUGH Thame Carnival 2015 may be several months away, the committee organising the event, under the Co-ordination of Sue Martin Downhill, is already thinking ahead of ways of making it bigger and better in 2015, and is running a competition to find a great theme for next year’s carnival – with great prizes!
The committee has already contacted many local schools about the competition to find the best suggestion for Carnival 2015. So, every school is being asked to put a Carnival box in a prominent position, may be in the school’s Reception area, or may be on each teacher’s desk, for the children to put their suggestions into. The Carnival committee will supply the boxes and the forms for the children to fill out with their name, age, class and suggested theme title.
A prize will be awarded to the child whose theme is chosen, and presented to them on the stage at the Big Christmas Lights Switch On event in Thame, on December 5th, 2014, by the celebrity guest.
The Suggestion boxes will be collected after the cut-off date for the competition, on November 30th. A suggestion form can be downloaded here: 2015 Theme Competition form (1)
Sue Martin Downhill, who is co-ordinating the carnival once again, said: “We know that schools are very busy places but we hope that they would like to be involved in this great, fun event which helps brings the community of Thame and the surrounding area together, and raises much-needed funds for local charities.”
More information about the Carnival, and how schools – or anyone who would like to help – can get involved, is available from Sue Martin Downhill via: suedownhill@gmail.com.
A member of the Carnival committee is available to visit schools and talk to the children in assembly for instance, about the event and the competition.
THREE local venues are launching a Rural Comedy Circuit this autumn, presenting three shows. The first will be in Chinnor on November 1, followed by Chilton on November 20, and the annual, Xmas Xtravaganza in Ludgershall on December 18th. See https://www.facebook.com/newvariety.lives for more details and the information about the line ups for the three events.
The Rural Comedy Circuit when the landlady of Ludgershall’s Bull and Butcher pub, Pat Crisp, persuaded the resettled Hackney Empire director and producer, Roland and Claire Muldoon, both recognised for their pioneering role in the development of modern comedy, ‘..to stop talking about their experiences and put some shows on.’
Claire Muldoon herself explained: “For the last seven years the shows have sold out four times a year and the club has become a local legend, adding new status to this small village. We have won a reputation for presenting ‘Bills’ from the national comedy circuit and udiences from across Bucks and Oxon book early and regularly, to see such artists as Jo Brand, Barry Cryer & Ronnie Golden, Jenny Éclair, Mark Little, Rudi Lickwood, John Moloney, Felix Dexter and the fabulous Otiz Cannelloni, an audience favourite.”
Such has the demand been that they have now set up the fledgling Rural Comedy circuit in three Bucks and Oxon towns and villages; and possibly more.
The shows are set out in a cabaret format with a strong pa, atmospheric lighting, full technical support, a friendly bar, four professional, experienced comedy acts and compere, and the occasional special guest.
Claire concluded: “A fully professional evening, promising a great night out for those over 18.”
THAME Charities pre-Christmas Fair will be held this year on Saturday November, 8, 2014, at Thame Town Hall from 10am until 1.30pm.
Thame’s MP, John Howell, visiting the Thame Charities Fair in 2013
There will be sixteen stalls with offerings as diverse as gifts, cards, preserves, bottle stalls, Christmas decorations, books, cakes and other refreshments.
Organisations participating will include Inner Wheel, Thame Activity Group, BBOWT, Operation Christmas Child (shoe boxes), Thame Museum, League of Friends, Day Centre, Thame Amnesty Group, Thame Players, John Hampden Society, British Legion,Thame Guides and Scouts, WI and Dovecote.
New this year is a locally based charity raising funds for nurses for Africa.
If you would like to support these organisations or are interested in what they may have to offer, and do some Christmas shopping, then call in at the town hall on November, 8.
THAME Players Theatre Company has been providing the town with first class, amateur dramatics, pantomime, one-man (and one-woman) shows and hosting visiting professional touring companies, for 70 years.
Thame Players Theatre patron, Nicholas Parsons, hosting ‘Just a Minute’
On Friday, October 3, two of Thame Players’ celebrity patrons, Nicholas Parsons, famed host of BBC Radio 4’s Just A Minute, and Bruce Alexander, the actor best known for his role as Inspector Mullett in A Touch of Frost, joined close to 100 members, friends and supporters at The Spread Eagle in Thame, to celebrate.
The distinguished company also included the Mayor of Thame, Jeanette Matelot Green, and the Chairman of South Oxfordshire District Council, Ann Midwinter.
The Mayor Consort, James Green (lower left) and other guests enjoying the repartee of Nicholas Parsons, during the 70th Anniversary birthday party of Thame Players
After a welcoming glass of bubbly to get the party underway, all took their places at tables named after Thame Players’ productions through the decades, including April Fools (1949), Gaslight (1950), Billy Liar (1966), Camelot (1983), Oliver (2001) and, more recently, Arcadia (2012) and Quartet (2014).
Music was provided by Rob Grimwood on keyboards and Nicki Rochford of Towersey Festival’s Songs of the Urban Past, themed to reflect the passing decades from 1944 until the present, with wartime numbers such as Swinging on a Star and classic pieces from musicals such as My Fair Lady, Les Miserables, and Wicked.
Taking pride of place was a display with posters and reviews of past productions, representing the history of Thame Players since 1944, and another collection of images showing refurbishment projects undertaken since Thame Players acquired the freehold of the theatre building in 1997 – a former church hall which was 100 years old last year. The most notable projects were undertaken in 2002 and this summer 2014, with £200,000 raised from public and private sources, including SODC and Thame Town Council.
A highlight of the evening was the auction, which was led by Nicholas Parsons with skill and humour in equal measure. The tempting lots on offer included a week in Tuscany, best-in-house tickets to see The Lion King (donated by Sir Tim Rice), and a case of fine wines donated by The Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc.
Bruce Alexander, besides running the raffle, entertained the assembled company by reciting The Wild Things of Thame, a poem he had written specially for the occasion, celebrating Thame Players as the wild things of Thame, providing a window on the world through the medium of theatre.
Sadly, the evening had to come to a close, but everyone took happy memories away with them of helping Thame Players celebrate their first 70 years and look forward to the next 70. There was icing on the cake too: the auction and raffle had raised the princely sum of £3,500 towards the theatre development fund – there is still renovation work planned for 2015.
This Birthday Bash was a fitting 70th tribute and to see the guests go home with delighted smiles on their faces was indeed an inspiration for the future of theatre in Thame.
SOURCE: Contributed by Helen Johns
NB Thame Players is a registered charity run entirely by volunteers offering a varied range of productions all year round, from serious theatre to comedy and pantomime, including their own productions, visiting shows, and film screenings by Thame Cinema for All. The theatre is also used as a venue during Thame Food Festival and the Thame Arts & Literature Festival.
Thame Players’ next production will be Sleeping Beauty, the annual pantomime, from 5th to 7th and 10th to 14th December, matinees 2 pm and 5.30 pm, evenings 7.45 pm. Tickets cost £9 and £8 (concessions) from Tickets Anywhere Greyhound Walk Thame, Tel 01844 217228 or online from www.thameplayers.co.uk (booking fee applies). Party discounts are available – details on request from thameplayers@gmail.com or 07938 857291.
For more information about Thame Players visit www.thameplayers.co.uk Thame Players are still fundraising: to donate any amount, large or small, to the Building A Better Theatre project, please contact Helen Johns, fundraising committee, on 0771 743 4983
THIS year’s Long Crendon School fireworks event, which regularly attracts over 1,000 spectators, promises to be a real spectacle.
This year the theme is Guy Fawkes and gun powder and a procession, led by a real Guy Fawkes, will start at the Long Crendon recreation ground and take the children up to the display, singing songs, waving glowsticks and lighting up Long Crendon along the way.
One lucky child will have the chance to be Guy Fawkes’ accomplice, leading the procession and setting off the gunpowder that will start the fireworks.
As well as the fireworks there will be a feast of BBQ food, a bar selling mulled wine and locally-brewed XT beer, and stalls for the children to enjoy.
The event will take place on Saturday, November 8, on the Long Crendon School field. Doors open at 5pm. Tickets can be bought in advance from Fischer German, who are sponsoring the event, Long Crendon School, the Flower Pot Long Crendon, and on the night itself.
All proceeds will go to the school. The artwork for the poster has been designed by the cartoonist Robert Duncan, who is a parent at the school.
ON the day that the UK Independence Party has won its first seat in the UK House of Commons, Thame Players Theatre has today revealed that the party’s leader, Nigel Farage, will be coming to the town to present his own story, in An Audience with Nigel Farage at the Players Theatre in Nelson Street, Thame, on Sunday, November 2.
Nigel Farage
The show has been described as “sometimes hilarious and often terrifying encounters with a stellar supporting cast, including Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Robert Kilroy-Silk, told with Farage’s customary wit.”
Tickets are £18 each, and are going fast – including apparently a block of 20 already sold to a, so far unnamed, Thame Town Councillor.
In Secret, an adaptation of the Emile Zola classic Thérèse Raquin, directed by Charlie Stratton, will be shown on Saturday, October 18, at 8pm; A Night at the Cinema in 1914, – a new archival compilation of film from the British Film Institute, on Sunday, October 19, at 10.30am and The Grand Budapest Hotel will be shown on Sunday, October 19, at 7pm.
MORE and more teams from organisations, clubs and groups are signing up for the third Thame Rotary Swimathon at Thame Leisure Centre, but there’s still time for more swimmers to get involved and help raise funds for their own causes and for other charities.
Thame Swimathon volunteers from Rotary Club of Thame and Inner Wheel – Photo: Nick White
The Thame Swimathon is organised by the Rotary Club of Thame which this year takes place on Sunday, October 12, between 10am and 2pm, and is being made possible by the support of local companies: Better (Thame Leisure Centre), Park Street Dental Clinic, Abbotts Office Solutions, Vale Life Magazine, Booker Tate, Haddenham Beer Festival, Silent View Windows and , Ignite Sport. The Rotary Club of Thame’s charity beneficiaries this year will be Thame SAFARI, TCC2 (Thame Children’s Choir) and the Thame Skatepark Project.
Thame Rotary’s spokesman, Marius Ciortan, explained how the Swimathon will be organised: “Teams of six swim for 55 minutes. The numbers of lengths are counted by Rotarians, Inner Wheel – and their families’ volunteers. The number of lengths swum by the teams are then written in the certificates. But everyone has fun and raises funds for charity. Teams can now raise 50% for their preferred charity, the other half being allocated to local charities supported by the Rotary Club of Thame. In the past two years, this annual Thame event has raised almost £4,500 for local charities.”
He added: “We are expecting 100 people over the age 8, to swim and have fun. Teams from Thame Town Council, Booker Tate, TCC2, Thame Swimming Club, Barley Hill School, Thame Players, Thame New Babies and other groups will participate. Each participant will receive a medal and certificate from Nichola Dixon, Deputy Mayor of Thame, and Linda Emery, President of the Rotary Club of Thame.”
AN award winning production of an Oscar nominated classic is being staged at The Players Theatre in Thame on Friday, October 31, at 7.45pm.
Photo courtesy of Joe Brown
The one night only performance is part of a national tour by White Cobra Productions, after it scooped no less than eight awards earlier this year in two arts festivals.
Days of Wine & Roses by Owen McCafferty is a modern reworking of the classic film by JP Miller, which starred Hollywood legends, Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick. The play is set in the 1960s and tells the story of couple moving from Belfast to London in search of a better life.
One drink is all it takes to change the lives of Donal and Mona, and the play examines the way each of them deals with a relationship that becomes almost too powerful to bear.
The play was a huge hit when first produced at the Donmar Warehouse in London and now White Cobra founders, Kate Billingham and Richard Jordan, play the central couple.
Both have won best actor awards and the production has twice been voted best play in arts festivals.
The play will run for one night only at The Players Theatre, Nelson Street, Thame. Curtain up is at 7.45pm and tickets cost £10 and £9 with £1 off for concessions, available from Tickets Anywhere, Greyhound Walk, Thame, Telephone 01844 217228 or online at www.thameplayers.co.uk.
Starting at 7.30 pm at Thame Leisure Centre, the choir, which is made up of past pupils, teachers and members of the Thame community, will be performing this extraordinary piece in recognition of the centenary of the outbreak of WW1.
