What's On
 |
Saturday 30 January 8pmBohemia UkuleleThis 5 piece Ukulele Band play hits from the forties to the noughties mixing feverish strumming and scintillating harmonies, to create an effervescent celebration of all things four-strung. Suitable for the whole family, Bohemia Ukulele proved an enormous hit on their first national tour earlier this year so be sure to catch them now, before they hit the vast European concert halls like the other Uke bands that have gone before them.
“These guys are fabulous” Shaun Keaveny (6Music)
Tickets £10 (£8 discounts) BUY ONLINE
www.bohemiaukuleleband.co.uk
|
|
|
Friday 5 February 8pmThe Carolina Chocolate DropsRhiannon Giddens, Justin Robinson and Dom Flemons have come to together to play the rich tradition of fiddle and banjo music of Carolina's Piedmont. Under the tutelage of Joe Thompson, said to be the last black traditional string band player of Mebane (NC), they strive to carry on the long standing traditional music of performers like Odell and Nate Thompson, Dink Roberts, John Snipes, Libba Cotten, Emp White and countless others who have passed beyond memory and recognition.
“You start seeing things in sepia tones and even though the music’s being played right in front of you, you expect to hear crackles and hisses as if the sounds were being torn from a salvaged 78.” The Independent
Tickets: £13 advance (£15 door) BUY ONLINE
www.carolinachocolatedrops.com
|
 |
Thur 11 February 7.30pmCharles Harris: Cassandre Style
Charles Harris continues to chart his history of the poster – by turn looking at the origins of marketing and therefore the roots of our modern consumer culture. Here he dedicates a full lecture to the influence of Alphonse Mouron Cassandre, the Ukrainian-French painter, commercial poster artist and typeface designer. His most famous works include posters for Trans-Atlantic Ferries and Dubonnet and his influence both came from and fed into the Art-Deco movement.
Tickets: £7 BUY ONLINE
Price includes free glass of wine on arrival
|
 |
Saturday 20 February 8pmCaruso and the QuakeThe famous tenor Caruso was trapped in the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. In order to return home to the family he loved, he had to escape his collapsing hotel room, cross a city swept by fire and fight his way past the military on to the only ferry out of town. Beautiful storytelling and live opera singing combine to reveal the heart behind a legend featuring live music from Puccini, Rossini, Leoncavallo, Tosti and the immortal song that Caruso introduced to the World: “O Sole mio”
“Opera singing that has a pure fresh quality” The Scotsman
Tickets: £10 (£8 discounts) BUY ONLINE
www.prodigal theatre.co.uk
|
 |
Monday 15 February – Saturday 17 AprilOpen Mon-Fri 10am-4.30pm (plus Saturdays – call to check opening times)Limited Edition
The expression those that can, do and those that cannot teach is commonly used – but we hope that this exhibition will help to dispel that myth. All teachers work to inspire and develop a wide appreciation of their subject; but it is less well known that many Art teachers are also practicing artists in their own right. Here we celebrate the work of teacher/makers from across the Thames Valley region in an open exhibition, incorporating a range of styles and media.
Free Entry
|
 |
Thursday 25 February 8pmTalkin’ about the BluesAn evening of music and conversation with Paul Oliver (MBE) and Michael Roach (EBA)Join one of the UK’s most eminent blues historians and his close friend and Director of the European Blues Association for an evening that traces the inheritance of the early music from the Carolina Piedmont Region. Paul Oliver is a leading authority on the blues. His work, which began in the 1950s, includes interviews, field work and research in recording and printed sources tracing the origin and development of African American music. Michael Roach, from Washington DC, sings and plays guitar in the East Coast style following the tradition of performers like Blind Boy Fuller, John Jackson, Rev Gary Davis, Buddy Moss and Brownie McGhee. Between them, they present an evening that will be entertaining and enlightening, interesting and inspirational.
Tickets: £9 (£7 discounts) BUY ONLINE
www.euroblues.org
|
 |
Friday 26 February 8pmAlex Horne: WordwatchingChortle Award Winner and Perrier nominee Alex Horne charts his hilarious quest to get an invented word into the dictionary. After making considerable progress his verbal inventions have appeared on several grown up TV shows, in almost all of the national newspapers and page 2 of Eurofruit, the leading trade magazine for fresh produce buyers in Europe. This re-working of his 2008 show of the same name coincides with the launch of the accompanying book. Alex co-created, writes and co-hosts the comedy quiz We Need Answers on BBC4 and is widelyrenowned as a thoughtful and original stand-up, writer and solo performer.
“Rather like a rare bird … he is a fragile delight, covering any subject with a daft, surreal charm.” The Sunday Times
Tickets: £10 (£8 discounts) BUY ONLINE
www.alexhorne.com
|
|
|
Thursday 4 & Friday 5 March 7.30pmSaturday 6 March 3.30pm & 7.30pmNewbury Youngstars present Annie JrSet in depression era New York, Annie Junior tells of a orphan determined to find her parents, who abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of a New York City Orphanage run by the evil Miss Hannigan. In a series of adventures, Annie foils Miss Hannigan's devious plans, befriends President Franklin Roosevelt and manages finds a new family in billionaire Oliver Warbucks, his personal secretary Grace Farrell and a lovable dog named Sandy. The bright, tuneful score filled with the familiar numbers "Hard Knock Life, "Easy Street", "Maybe", "Little Girls" and of course the heart-rending "Tomorrow".
Newbury YoungStars isthe youth section of Newbury Operatic Society for children aged 9-15.
Tickets: £10 (£8 discounts, £30 family)
|
 |
Thursday 11 March 8pmMapdance 2009Now in its fourth year, mapdance has established itself as an exciting postgraduate company of young, dynamic dancers recruited nationally and internationally, performing a diverse repertoire by renowned and upcoming contemporary choreographers. Ranging in style and emotion, mapdance’s 2009 programme offers a diverse and refreshing evening of short works by Shobana Jeyasingh, Matthias Sperling, Gregory Maqoma, Colin Poole and Keira Martin. A programme that offers a mixture of dance theatre, punchy choreography, and intriguing humour.
“Inches from its audience, the troupe radiated energy. A sharp and pithy showcase…rare to find and thrilling to watch” Total Theatre
Tickets: £10 (£8 discounts, £6.50 schools) BUY ONLINE
|
 |
Friday 12 March 8pmThe HamstersThe guitar, bass and drums trio The Hamsters have long been established as one of our premier live attractions, having performed over 4,000 concerts in 23 years. Although primarily playing their own brand of rootsy Rock, Blues and Americana, they're also widely regarded as the UK's leading interpreters of the music of Jimi Hendrix & ZZ Top, and will no doubt be featuring plenty tonight. The band's guitarist/singer Slim recently had a new interview in Guitarist Magazine, and the lads have just released a new 3-hour double live DVD, titled 'Curse Of The Killer Hamsters!'
"The Hamsters are fabulous: one of Britain's very best live bands" Bob Harris (Radio 2)
"Nobody does the music of Jimi Hendrix and ZZ Top better (apart from the real ZZ Top)” The Times
|
 |
Tuesday 16 - Thursday 18 March 7.30pmThe FrogsPresented by St Gabriels SchoolMarc Ives' new musical adaption of Aristophanes' Classical commedy. The great theatrical impressario Andrea Lourdes-Webster has despaired the lack of talent on earth, and is to go down to Tartarus to find someone with a bit of substance. She is set to ecounter the Lord of the Underworld and his wife, the chorus of frogs and variety of other characters, before being presented with the choice of taking either Shakespeare of Elvis back to the Upper World.
Tickets: £8 (£6 discounts)
|
 |
Friday 19 March 8pmIn The Flesh: The Pink Floyd Show
With stunning renditions of Pink Floyd tracks from the albums The Piper at the Gates of Dawn through to A Saucerful of Secrets, Atom Heart Mother, Meddle, The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall, In The Flesh are an accomplished seven-piece band who return to Arlington Arts following great critical acclaim. This is an authentic excursion into Pink Floyd's most creative period from the mid sixties to early eighties, complimented by saxophones, backing vocalists and full scale laser/light show. We at Arlington Arts are quite wary of most tribute bands but this is an amazing show for all Floyd fans.
“A remarkable Pink Floyd experience” Brain Damage
Tickets £16 (£14 discounts) BUY ONLINE
|
 |
Saturday 20 march 8pmThe Tiger LilliesThe Songs of Shockheaded Peter & Other Gory VersesThe Tiger Lillies are the Godfathers of alternative cabaret and the World’s foremost Death Oompah band. Direct from a sell-out London West-End run and the Edinburgh Festival, they take their show celebrating 20 years of dark and deviant theatrics on tour. For the first time in years, they will perform songs from the Olivier Award-Winning smash Shockheaded Peter, their Grammy nominated album The Gorey End and other deranged favourites.
‘Fleshily engorged with the pustule throb of the garishly gaudy and gloriously obscene’ Time Out
Tickets £15 BUY ONLINE
Suitable for ages 16+
|
 |
Friday 26 March 8pmSir Bald Diddley Presents:The Bands That Time Forgot!!
A Night of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Rockabilly, Ska and Rhythm & Blues with Hipbone Slim & the Kneetremblers and The Nine Ton Peanut Smugglers. Sir Bald a.k.a. Hipbone Slim presents two of his many bands, both of whom sound like they’ve been transplanted by time machine directly from the late 50’s or early 60’s. Hipbone Slim & the Kneetremblers play their very own blend of rockabilly, blues and rock n roll, with slappin’ bass and wild guitar well to the fore! The Nine Ton Peanut Smugglers mix jumping rhythm & blues with swinging ska shuffles, with plenty of brass! Both bands are firm favourites of Mark Lamarr amongst many, many others! Put on your dancin’ shoes!
Tickets £7 advance (£9 door) BUY ONLINE
|
 |
Saturday 27 March 8pmTom Wrigglesworth'sOpen Return Letter To Richard BransonDirect from a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Festival, where he was nominated for the biggest award in Comedy in the UK – the Edinburgh Comedy Award – Tom Wrigglesworth takes his show out on the road. Having witnessed a Virgin Train Manager abusing his position, (to the extent that Hitler would've watched admiringly and taken notes), Tom writes to Richard Branson about one random act of kindness which caused good to triumph over evil. A cross between Sideshow Bob and Mark Thomas, Join Tom as he recounts his hilarious and heartwarming true story involving the world’s biggest jobsworth, his fellow passengers, and a brown paper bag from the onboard canteen.
“Magical storytelling...engaging, inspiring and exquisitely performed. This is an hysterical and accomplished piece of work which will stay with you for days.”*****Time Out
Tickets £10 (£8 discounts) BUY ONLINE
|
