What’s On in West Berks: our pick of the week’s arts&entertainment
Creative Commons and Festival of Arts & Crafts
Get ready for a weekend of free outdoor performances and workshops for all ages, from stunning aerial circus workshops and performances by Gossamer Thread Circus, to live music by Louise Jordan and captivating South Asian dance with Nandita Shankardass – plus all-day events celebrating local wildlife and engaging interactive art installations – there’s lots to enjoy. On Saturday and Sunday between 11am and 6pm, the Corn Exchange’s 101 Outdoor Arts Programme presents Creative Commons, free outdoor arts to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Greenham Common’s return to public ownership. Over the two days, Greenham Common will be transformed into an open-air stage with animated performances and installations specially commissioned to honour the site’s rich and complex history. To find out more about the full list of events, visit https://tinyurl.com/2uy3hard
Plus the fifth Festival of Arts and Crafts returns to The Base’, the biggest yet with more than 50 stalls, workshops and activities. Over the two weeks from Saturday, to Saturday, September 27, the festival showcases the arts, crafts and artisan food and drink from local makers and creators. The festival opens with a lively craft fair over this first weekend. Surrounding The Base building, visitors will find a bustling market filled with handmade arts and crafts with foot-tapping live music from a number of talented local musicians to complete the festival atmosphere. Complementing the creative experiences is an array of delicious artisan food and drink, with local producers showcasing their finest offerings alongside the popular on site café run by Honesty.
Visit thebasegreenham.co.uk/ basefest for more information or to book a taster workshop or to visit the Festival of Arts and Crafts Exhibition
There will be a shuttle bus operating between Creative Commons and the Festival of Arts and Crafts.
Alan Bennett’s The Old Country
NEW Era explores exile and belonging in Alan Bennett’s play The Old Country, opening at the Wash Common theatre tonight (Thursday) and running to Saturday and next week from Tuesday to Saturday. Emerged during a time rich with speculation about spies and defectors, a period marked by the notorious Cambridge Five, the play is set in the remote countryside of the Soviet Union, in a bungalow that is both sanctuary and prison for Henry, a former British intelligence officer, and his wife Hilary, a metaphor for the inner landscape of the exiles; uncertain, isolated and haunted by the echoes of a life left behind. ticketsource.co.uk/new-era-players https://neweraplayers.org/
Newbury24 exhibition
NEWBURY in 24 hours, A photographic temporal journey across Newbury, is showing in the bar at Ace Space. It brings together 12 photographers from very different styles and disciplines. On Saturday, July 19, Newbury was documented in a single 24-hour day. The result is an exhibition of 24 images that takes the viewer from the quiet early hours of the morning, through a busy Saturday in and around the town, into the early evening and then to the late night revellers in the town centre. View at Ace Space, St Nicholas Road until December 1 at any events or email art@acespace.org.uk
Jesus Christ Superstar
TIM Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s extraordinary rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar continues at The Watermill until September 21. Set against the backdrop of an extraordinary and universally-known series of events, but seen through the eyes of Judas Iscariot, the story, told entirely through song, explores the personal relationships and struggles between Jesus, Judas, Mary Magdalene, his disciples, his followers and the Roman Empire. www.watermill.org.uk/ events/superstar
Shaw House sculpture park
THE Orangery Lawn at Shaw House has been transformed into a free to enter open air sculpture exhibition. Dogs on leads welcome. Continues to Sunday, September 28, open every day 11am-4pm, no need to book, just drop-in. Take a look at www.newburytoday.co.uk
