What's On?

Bridgwater Arts Centre present Mikron theatre Company in 'Striking the Balance',
at ReCreation, Rhode Lane, Bridgwater.

Set against the turbulent background of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, three working women take on the might of a discriminatory establishment.

Fast-paced, inventive and a whole lot of fun, this new Mikron show, complete with original music, takes you on a moving journey with a host of colourful characters. Inspired by the heroic stories of machinists from Dagenham, cleaners from Belfast, dinner ladies from Yorkshire and cooks from Liverpool, Striking the Balance chronicles the continuing struggle for equal pay.

This performance is supported by South West TUC.

£8; £6 conc, TUC and BAC members

               
Alexei Sayle performs excerpts from his new book Stalin Ate My Homework, an hilarious memoir of his confusing life as the son of Communist parents, his childhood in Eastern Europe and his years as a teenage Maoist.
Stalin Ate My Homework is a funny and perceptive portrait of a family, a city, a country and a continent going through enormous changes. Naturally Alexei will also answer questions from the audience about anything from his dazzling show business career to easy stubborn stain removal.

“A national treasure…a comic delight…if you saw off screen Alexei on your travels you’d cross the road – not to avoid him but to cuddle him” Evening Standard

£15

Written and performed by Sinéad Gillespie

“brave and highly personal… as educational as it is touching, ‘From Within’ left the whole audience stunned” Three Weeks in Brighton

From Within is a one woman show by Bridgwater Arts Centre’s writer in residence Sinéad Gillespie. Essentially a love story: one woman’s journey of coming to terms with her son’s autism; one boy’s journey of coming to terms with his world.
After shows at Brighton Fringe and Conferences nationally, Sinead brings this piece to her new home in the West Country.

£8; £7 members & conc

Workshops + Leon Rosselson: 2-6pm. FREE
Skabro + Dave Chapple’s Red Shadow Sound System: 8pm. Adv:£3. Door: £4

Bridgwater Peace Group, supported by Bridgwater Trades Union Council, invites you to a day celebrating the things that unite us: dance, song, creativity & co-operation. Come and join us!

The afternoon will include workshops, speakers and discussions, including a singing workshop, training in non-violent conflict resolution, and migrant workers talking about their experiences in Bridgwater. Plus "Folk music's most accomplished mischief maker" Leon Rosselson will be in attendance, to perform some of his best known songs and talk about his life as a peace activist.

In the evening, 7-piece West Somerset band Skabro play authentic old-skool ska, with support from Dave Chapple’s Red Shadow Sound System playing the best of vintage reggae ska on original vinyl.

Certificate 12A. Tickets: £5

Colin Firth is mesmerising in fashion designer Tom Ford's superb debut film, based on the 1964 novella by Christopher Isherwood. The action follows a day in the life – possibly the last day - of George, an openly gay, 58-year-old British exile and professor of literature, whose lover of 15 years has recently died in a car accident. Colin Firth gives the performance of his career to date and won a BAFTA for his role, as well as a deserved Oscar nomination.

www.asingleman-movie.com

£11; £10 conc; £9 members

The tragic, non stop merry-go-round that was Edith Piaf’s life was punctuated by the most glorious music. Christine Bovill brings you the songs that tingle down your spine, sung with passion, respect and true artistry.

“…she has a sweeter voice than Piaf. It manages to be sweet and husky at the same time.” The Sunday Times

www.christinebovill.com

Free, bring lunch to share

A day of presentations and taster sessions looking at making music outdoors and the role of music in outdoor performance and celebration, led by Tim Hill with other workshop leaders.
We will look at street bands, landscape music, new approaches to drumming and percussion groups, voice and choirs, and building instruments.

The day is for anyone interested in outdoor music making, including music teachers, educators, theatre and youth workers, musicians. We will be making music but anyone can join in. For more info contact Tim at timhill@thrivesomerset.org

£12; £10 members & conc

“Chloe Hall is a woman at the top of her singer/songwriter profession … file alongside Joni Mitchell, Nanci Griffith and Paul Simon.” The Saturday Evening Post Magazine, USA

Touring in her native Australia since her teens, Chloe Hall’s never-ending world tour finally hits the UK with the release of her groundbreaking new album, Outside. Chloe is an engaging, intriguing and charismatic performer, but it’s the simple, undeniable quality of her songs that leave the listener with such an overwhelming emotion. Making up the Chloe Hall Trio tonight are two of Australia’s finest musicians, bassist Chris Mildren and percussionist Teal Bain-Roben. Real songwriting...real performance...real music!

www.chloehall.com.au

Adv £12. Door £14.

In a 20-year career, 4 Bill$ and A Ben have performed for, amongst others, The Sultan of Brunei, Vinny Jones, Sir Richard Attenborough and with Dame Shirley Bassey! This 6-piece Soul band includes musicians who have worked with Ringo Starr, Queen, Peter Gabriel, Tina Turner, Annie Lennox, Mike Oldfield, Marillion and George Michael. From Monaco to the Groucho Club, their passion and commitment to make every gig their finest is what sets them apart from the rest. Front man Johnny Warman (also of The Mods) and his band promise an unforgettable night of Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Etta James, James Brown, Blues Brothers, KC and the Sunshine Band, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and more.

Click to visit Website

Certificate 12A. £5

Can it be true that African-American men prefer to have sex with white women because they're allowed to touch their hair? This is one of the many questions asked by comic Chris Rock in this funny, incisive, eye-opener of a documentary about the complex and ideologically fraught state of black women's hair in today's US. Rock has come up with bold new insights into globalisation, race, sex and class. His film resembles, in many ways, the new wave of docu-polemics that sprang up in imitation of Michael Moore – and yet Rock is not angry, just amused, bemused and very entertaining.

£12; £10 members & conc

Few Scottish folk bands have made such an impact in recent years as Malinky. Born out of the Edinburgh session scene of the late '90s, the band soon emerged as the leading young group focusing on Scots song. With their stunning fourth album Flower & Iron, Malinky celebrate their tenth anniversary and introduce a newly revamped line-up, meanwhile underscoring their reputation as one of Scotland’s most distinctive and accomplished folk bands. While retaining their hallmark song-based repertoire, performed by three superb lead vocalists and arrayed with tastefully inventive instrumentation, Malinky today unite seasoned maturity with sparkling freshness, casting their musical net wider than ever. 

www.malinky.com

£10; £8 members & conc; £6 groups of 20+

"Solo Works" is a diverse and extraordinary quadruple bill of dance works created specifically for David Hughes by some of the world's most well-known and gifted choreographers. Cesc Gelabert's ‘The Measurer' leads the bill which also features Siobhan Davies’ 'L’Apres Midi d’un Faune' and Javier De Frutos' lushly sensual work, ‘El Uno y Medio’. The evening is completed with Christopher Bruce's extraordinary 'Hurricane'. This is an intimate evening with the veteran Hughes, a chance for him to share with you his rich physical heritage and unrivalled dance experience.

“A national treasure…how differently he performs from any other male dancer of his generation.” The Guardian

www.davidhughesdance.co.uk

Tonight’s performance is supported by Take Art Dance.

£12; £10 members & conc

Dragonsfly is a vibrant union of acoustic musicians influenced by medieval and contemporary world folk music. This well established and widely respected band weave together new and old songs, instrumentals and dance pieces from many world traditions, from France and Brittany to Eastern Europe and beyond. The result is a musical landscape of groove driven music that is passionate, high energy, tender and entrancing played on instruments such as bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy and bouzouki, fronted by stunning vocals.

www.dragonsfly.org

Certificate 15. £5

Britain’s newest National treasure, street artist, situationist and public-space japester Banksy is famed for his snogging coppers, simpering apes and for debunking Israel's new West Bank barrier with graffiti. This teasing faux-documentary about Banksy and his fellow street artists is priceless – and hilarious. You're under no compunction to take the film seriously: but it does offer an insight, of a teasingly incomplete and semi-fictionalised sort, into Banksy's working life.

www.banksyfilm.com

£12; £10 members & conc

There is no other guitar concert on tour anywhere in the world quite like Richard Durrant’s Guitar Whisperer. The 2010 show begins with a virtuosic trip to Latin America and a stunning arrangement of Debussy’s Arabesque. The adventure continues with Richard’s unique solo take on Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells played to footage of the Apollo Moon Landings, JS Bach on the humble Ukulele and Falla’s La Vide Breve with Miranda Vincent’s Goya inspired film. A musical voyage with Son et Lumiere. Spellbinding.

“Extraordinary virtuosity… A simply unmissable treat.”Classic FM Magazine 2009

www.richard-durrant.com

£6

IIFTM and Bridgwater Arts Centre present a special Fancy Dress Halloween Show! This will feature some of the most exciting cutting edge music, with support on the night coming from locally based bands. Previous gigs include appearances by the Subways, You Love Her Coz She's Dead, Art Brut, Million Dead, Skindred and 65 Days Of Static to name but a few. Not to be missed! Over 14s only.

At East Bridgwater Community School, Parkway, Bridgwater TA6 4QY. Tel: 01278 422841.
£5; £3 conc

Written by Helen Davis, Dorset Corset Theatre Company bring their own unique style of theatrical magic, live music and drama to this fantastic tale! In May 1816 Mary and Percy Shelley travelled to Lake Geneva to stay with the infamous Lord Byron. Prompted by her imagination, Byron forms a challenge… for Mary to create a supernatural story entirely of her own. A fantastically chilling tale told by three actors that will leave your hair standing on end! Let the experiment begin...

www.dorsetcorset.co.uk

£16.50

From pirate radio to Buckingham Palace and an MBE, Johnnie Walker tells the amazing story of how he came to be one of the best known and most loved broadcasters in Britain, with a voice recognised by millions. Frank, honest and often very funny, this is a fascinating and captivating insight into an amazing life that will both inspire and entertain.

Please note: This show is not an Arts Centre promotion.

£17

Two of the country's finest exponents of traditional song, mother and daughter Norma and Eliza have effortlessly engaged new audiences and admirers across two generations. Between them, they have 3 Mercury Prize nominations and have both been presented with BBC Folk Singer of the Year awards, as well as innumerable other accolades.

Although they have recorded together on many occasions over the years, newly released album The Gift is Norma and Eliza's first, much anticipated, duo release. They are touring as a six piece band, including Martin Carthy, performing traditional classics as well as some unexpected gems.

Two of the country's finest exponents of traditional song, mother and daughter Norma and Eliza have effortlessly engaged new audiences and admirers across two generations. Between them, they have 3 Mercury Prize nominations and have both been presented with BBC Folk Singer of the Year awards, as well as innumerable other accolades.

Although they have recorded together on many occasions over the years, newly released album The Gift is Norma and Eliza's first, much anticipated, duo release. They are touring as a six piece band, including Martin Carthy, performing traditional classics as well as some unexpected gems.

Blake Gardens. Free

Creative Media Diploma students from East Bridgwater School and Bridgwater College present an outdoor performance in Blake Gardens to celebrate the coming of winter and the festive season. A joyous occasion for all the family with music, dance, puppets and lanterns sculpted from local withies and tissue paper. Remember to wrap-up warm, and you may like to bring a torch.