Category: entertainment and leisure news

DUE to unforeseen circumstances Alfie Brown is now no longer able to perform this coming Friday, June 7, at the Players Theatre in Thame. But an excellent replacement has been found in the form of Rob Oldham.

Rob Oldham will be previewing his latest show ‘Worm’s Resolve’. Rob is truly an original and exciting young comic – his 2018 show was one of The Guardian’s Top Shows of the Edinburgh Fringe. Rob’s show explores being right, being wrong and getting angry. Answers will be sought, jokes will be told and an impending sense of doom will be momentarily lifted!

Winner 2017 ‘Breakthrough Comic’ at The Amused Moose Comedy Awards. As seen on BBC Three, as heard on BBC Radio 4.

So to confirm the full bill is, Tiff Stevenson and Rob Oldham. There are still a few tickets available on www.thameplayers.co.uk.

WHEN? Friday June 7, at 7.45pm
STARRING: Alfie Brown: Lunatic
From a complete sell out run at the Edinburgh Festival, Alfie Brown is coming to Thame on his first UK Tour.

His latest show, Lunatic, is about identity politics and trying to be a good father in a horrible world. He provides no answers, only questions. Society’s new-found fondness for moral certainty is the subject of a search and destroy mission by Brown. They were wrong all along, it turns out if you believe in something, you’ll fall for anything.

Praise for Lunatic:
‘It is tricky to write 350 sensible words when you come out of a show simply thinking ‘Wow! Wow!’

★★★★★ – The Scotsman

Appearing with Alfie, will be actor and comedian, Tiff Stevenson. She has appeared in Days That Shook the World, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Drunk History, The Apprentice: You’re Fired!, Mock the Week, Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled and People Just Do Nothing.

BOOK TICKETS HERE

THE doors to the 2019, Thame Arts and Literature Festival (TAL) burst open early this year to meet the expected deluge of demand as it celebrates its 10th Anniversary.

The online box office lifted its shutters on June 1, 2019 – two months earlier than in previous years – and sold 700 tickets on the first day – offering a fantastic line-up of top authors, artists and performers drawn to the Oxfordshire market town by the success of what has become one of the county’s premier cultural events. This follows a record-breaking 800 online bookings taken on the first day in 2018. The Town Hall box office will open on September 1, 2019 with its own allocation of tickets for the events.

The 10th Anniversary festivities offer a huge range of events catering for all tastes. These include history, literary fiction, poetry and memoir to music, cinema, art, theatre, workshops and children’s activities for the expected 3,500 Festival goers to enjoy between October 17 – 20, 2019. Yvonne Maxwell, Festival Director, who recently received a TOSCA (Thame award for Outstanding Services to the Creative Arts) said: “It hardly seems like yesterday that we set out on this adventure and we can’t believe that this will be our 10th Festival. Each Festival is a unique experience and we love watching it come together. The support of the people in Thame is heart-warming and we love being part of the life of the town.”

Here are just some of the Festival highlights with more events to be announced shortly:

BBC Arts Editor Will Gompertz is the guest speaker at a gala 10th Birthday Celebration Night featuring music, live film and surprise guests; charismatic art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon shares his passion for the Dutch master Vermeer; doctor-turned-comedian Adam Kay recounts his hilarious but at times harrowing life as a junior medic in This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor which has sold over a million copies in the UK; Britain’s leading forensic scientist, Angela Gallop, Then The Dogs Don’t Bark, reveals how she helped solve the high profile murder cases of Damilola Taylor, Stephen Lawrence and Roberto Calvi.

Acclaimed historian Alison Weir discusses the much-maligned fourth wife of Henry VIII in Six Tudor Queens: Anne of Klev, Queen of Secrets; poets Michael Rosen and BBC Radio 4’s ‘Poetry Please’ presenter Roger McGough make a welcome return, and multi-award winning novelist Penelope Lively shares her love of gardening and its influence in literature from Life in the Garden.

Steph Booth talks openly about caring for her husband, actor Tony Booth on his dementia journey in Married to Alzheimer’s; journalist and historian Simon Heffer delves into the letters, diaries, and official documents behind Staring at God: Britain in the Great War, while bestselling author Victoria Hislop takes us back to her beloved Greece in her latest novel, Those Who are Loved.

The broadcaster, writer and comedienne, Perrier Award winner Natalie Haynes will be regaling the audience with her take on the classics in Troy Story.
Returning after last year’s triumph, Opera Anywhere hit the high notes with their sublime arias in Glyndebarn II; Nick Barber performs his one-man play ‘A Day in the Life of David Garrick’; Bart Van Es, winner of the 2018 Costa Book of the Year accolade, shares his grandparents’ real-life story of the sheltering of Jewish children in Nazi-occupied Holland, and on the 75th Anniversary of D-Day author and historian Steve Darlow, D-Day Bombers: The Veterans’ Story talks to the Bomber Crew that took part in the campaign.

A fun Panel comprising of the ‘slummy mummy’ blogger, Jo Middleton, with Helen Whitaker, and Clover Stroud chaired by Kerry Potter, will offer two hours of amusing yet poignant insights into parenting. Author and illustrator Yuval Zommer, The Big Book of Birds, has fun with the younger TAL audience; Thame Chamber Choir bring their divine harmonies to St. Mary’s Church, and Festival goers can enjoy the ever-popular Rumsey’s Tea Concert with an afternoon of tea, delicious cake and chamber music. In the week leading up to the Festival people are invited to experience the Art Crawl exhibitions and workshops in venues across the town.

For more information about TAL visit www.talfestival.org.

WHEN? Saturday, June 1, 2019 – WHAT TIME? 8 pm – WHERE? Thame Players Theatre, Nelson Street, Thame. Film details: USA 2018, 119 minutes, 15 certificate. Directed by Barry Jenkins, Starring KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Regina King, Colman Domingo, Teyonah Parris, Michael Beach.

Barry Jenkins follows his Oscar winner, Moonlight, with this sensual and tender love story, an adaptation of a novel of the same name by James Baldwin. Tish and Vonny have always known each other, but as they have grown up they fall in love. It is 1970s Harlem. Tish has just found out that she is pregnant. The two dream about making a life for themselves, with Vonny an aspiring sculptor.

They struggle to find a place to rent in a city where landlords are reluctant to take on African-American tenants. But just as life seems to be taking shape, Vonny is arrested for a crime that he didn’t commit, on the basis of unreliable testimony from a questionable – but equally marginalised – victim, set up by a racist police officer with a grudge against Vonny. Tish and the extended family of their local community must muster an appeal to get Vonny out of prison in time for the baby’s arrival. But this is a system that makes it easy to put black men in prison but very difficult to get them out, taking them off the streets and then tying them up in the interminable bureaucracies of a judicial system that has no interest in justice.

Baldwin’s novel is an examination of the enduring legacies of history in the experience of contemporary black Americans, and institutional collusion in perpetuating enslavement. But Jenkins’ film is, above all, about love. It is a tender, swooning, and intimate portrait of young love, its redemptive potential and its hopeful resilience. Layne and James are utterly captivating in the lead roles, with Oscar-winning support from a cast including Regina King as Tish’s mother, Sharon, and Teyonnah Parris as her feisty older sister, Ernestine. Gorgeous and heart-breaking. View the TRAILER HERE.

THE June edition of The First Thursday Music Club is almost here – the evening of Thursday, June 6, at The Stables behind The James Figg pub in Thame.

In the build-up to the Thame Town Music Festival on July 12th/13th, FTMC has a very strong line-up that features three bands including Elemental Joe, 2am Blue and the fabulous Deadbeat Apostles.

Elemental Joe will be putting their stamp on the evening with some down and dirty blues whilst 2am Blue will be offering a more laid back, lyrical approach with sweet guitars and vocal harmonies. The Deadbeat Apostles are a six-piece outfit that takes classic country rock traditions and lovingly update them for the modern age. Helen Cuthbertson, India Yates, Simon Davies and Two Cs and One D are also pre-booked to play.

The First Thursday Music Club still offers the opportunity for artists to play live in front of a warm and appreciative audience, the club maintains the ‘Open Mic’ section of the evening where slots will always be available in the first hour on a first come-first served basis with player sign-up by 7.30. The club has a full, house PA system with keyboard, bass amp, guitar amp and jazz drum kit (bring breakables!) all set up on stage and ready to go.

Another eclectic evening is guaranteed and, don’t forget, it’s FREE entry!

SOURCE: Contributed

WHEN? Saturday, June 1 – 12.30pm to 4pm – WHAT? A fun family day out including live entertainment, children’s games, dog show, vintage cars, BBQ, tea room and stalls.

WHERE? Sydenham village – The annual event, co-ordinated and run entirely by villagers, raises funds for local groups and causes, supporting schools, community organisations and facilities in the surrounding area. Last year it raised over £5,000 for local causes.

The Fayre centres around the picturesque village green and this year’s programme is packed with exciting shows and activities: Live entertainment will be taking place all day, including performances from ‘The Ted Roper Band’, Morris Men and local school children. Stokenchurch Judo Club has also agreed to put on a demonstration for spectators.

There will be plenty for kids to do, including the Fayre’s own ‘Kids’ Corner’ featuring hourly shows from the magical Mr Marvel and a variety of games for all ages. Stalls will be selling toys and kids will also be able to enjoy the inflatable assault course.

There will be food and drink galore, including the delicious BBQ hosted by Sydenham’s own Cricket Team, ice creams and popcorn, as well as the ‘Pimm’s Tent’ and a ‘Gin Tent’. The much-loved Tea Room, next to the church, will be serving sumptuous cakes and pastries, along with a selection of hot drinks throughout the day.

The Crown Inn will be hosting a pop-up bar on the village green with a fine selection of local beers, cider and prosecco. For the first time during the Fayre, it will be introducing an “Aunt Sally Challenge”, giving experts players and novices the chance to have a go at this quintessential Oxfordshire pub game.

The ‘Sydenham Car Show’ will be adding some new gems to its collection of vintage and envy-inducing automobiles.

Back by popular demand is the much-anticipated Sydenham Dog Show with a variety of classes to suit most canine competitors. Be sure to bring along your pampered pooches to compete for the coveted titles of ‘Best Fancy Dress’ and ‘Sydenham Supreme’. Dog Show classes commence from 1pm – registration starts at 12.30pm.

The roads will be lined with stalls selling quality gifts and goodies from local producers, plus there’ll be the ever-popular Bottle Tombola, Coconut Shy, Plate Smash, Plant Sale, Bric-A-Brac and Second Hand Book Stall.

Traditionally the event is rounded off by the hotly contested Tug-Of-War competition with teams from The Crown pub and The Inn at Emmington battling it out for the historic trophy at 3.30pm. The raffle will also be drawn, with a first prize of £100 for the winning ticket and the chance to win a dinner for two at either of the village’s excellent pubs.

Whilst the road through the village will be closed for the day, extensive free parking is available on the edge of the village, which can be accessed from the B4445 (coming from Chinnor, turn left at The Inn at Emmington). Disabled parking will be available.

As a community event, the success of the day relies so much on the enthusiasm of visitors from the neighbouring town and villages…so bring the family and help make Sydenham Fayre a highlight in the village’s calendar…we’re looking forward to welcoming everyone along for a fabulous day!

IF you’re looking for something fun and local to do on Tuesday of half term, look no further than Thame’S Tuesday Charter Market for a fun market treasure hunt to help raise funds for the Red Kite Family Centre, as part of Love Your Local Market.

Love your Local Market is a campaign that encourages markets and their customers to celebrate the heart of their local communities through events, promotions, new business initiatives and local participation. The treasure hunt will encourage children to search for different items that match the description on their entry sheets (costing £1), and then hand them in for a small prize, part of which has been kindly donated by Chris Hurdman who runs the weekly sweet stall at the market.

All profits raised will go to The Red Kite Family Centre, which provides both parents and their children with resources and activities to enhance physical, mental and social development.

So get on down to the market, pick up your entry form from the Red Kite Family Centre Stall on the day and get hunting!

THAME Carnival organisers have announced today that X-Factor contestants, United Vibe will be taking part in the Carnival Parade and performing live on stage afterwards at the Southern Road Fete, on Saturday, June 15, 2019!

One of the band’s members is Towersey raised, Eliott Horne. The band came to the pubic’s attention when they took part in the popular TV talent programme, X-Factor, coming under the wing of Simon Cowell.

Just back from a very successful tour of the Philippines, United Vibe have built a faithful following in this country too and visitors to Thame Carnival will no doubt take the boys to their hearts.

Visit the Thame Carnival Website for full details of timings and information about what’s on offer for all the family on June 15, where the theme will be ‘Save The Planet’.

THE year is 1708, and Anne, the last of the Stuart monarchs, sits reluctantly on the throne, plagued with gout, depressed and listless, manipulated and infantilised by the power brokers that surround her.

The country is prosecuting a contentious war with France, and Anne is under pressure from opposing sides: those that favour raising land taxes to pursue the conflict; and those arguing for a peace treaty. The former view is in the ascendant. Anne’s close confidant and lover, Lady Sarah Churchill, is married to the Duke of Marlborough who is doing very nicely thanks to the war – to acknowledge his successes at Blenheim, the Queen has offered to build them a nice little palace near Oxford.

Sarah undermines Anne’s trust in her own judgement, ensuring that the decree of the monarch favours Marlborough’s own political objectives. Meanwhile, Sarah’s impoverished cousin Abigail lands at court in search of gainful employment. Initially installed in the scullery, bullied and forced to sleep among a pile of women in a cell, Abigail observes Sarah’s power play – and discovers the erotic hold that Sarah has over the Queen. Abigail decides to use her own knowledge of herbal medicines to sooth Anne’s gout ridden legs, gradually gaining Anne’s trust and affection.

Lanthimos’s acclaimed film has been described as an comedic romp, and there is certainly much farce, hilarity and plenty of downright zany vignettes of bizarre behind the scenes life at court. But The Favourite is perhaps better described as a tragi-comic depiction of the ruthless tooth-and-nail pursuit of power and what it costs: the wider context of early 18th century English politics; and the three-way struggle between two women and Queen herself. And Colman’s performance is transcendent. Anne is needy and vulnerable, pitiable and petulant, but also tragic, with the occasional glimpse of something more steely, a residual awareness of her own potency. Believe the hype about this one – there is so much to relish. View trailer HERE.

The Favourite – This coming Saturday, May 18, 8pm – UK 2018, 119 minutes, 15 certificate – Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, Starring Olivia Coleman, Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone

THAME Art Crawl is an event that aims to ‘celebrate the local art scene in our little corner of Oxfordshire’, showcasing the wealth of talent the area holds.

The Art Crawl will host pop-up art exhibitions in town centre locations and this year there are two main events to inspire, Stuart Feurtado, Patricia Lenko, Diana Noel and Diana Noel at Stoneworld Kitchens, 43A Upper High Street, and Thame Town Hall, in the High Street where eight artists introduce individual works: printmaking, painting, artists books, textiles & mixed media.

Barbara Shaw is exhibiting at Fisher German, 17 High Street, Thame. fitch & fellows, Brenda Hurley, Graham Lester and Kate Wilkinson will be exhibiting at fitch & fellows in Buttermarket, Thame. Janine Philips will be exhibiting at 24 Queens Road, Thame

Oxfordshire Art Weeks right now is happening in the town and you can see all the artists and venues taking part in and near Thame HERE. Oxford Art Weeks draw over 100,000 people each year, and allows visitors the chance to meet artists, and in some cases visit their studios.

A Thame Art Crawl is also part of Thame Arts and Literature Festival, first launched in 2017. The following year’s Art Crawl was even better with more artists and more venues getting on board for the pop-up art exhibition. And now, 2019 is going to be even bigger and without a doubt offer an exciting and vibrant display of local talent in partnership with Thame Arts & Literature Festival which is celebrating its 10th year.

Keep checking back to find out more, as the Thame Art Crawl website develops over the next month.