Ten of the best
Things to see and do in our local area
Theatre. Following a successful 2018 season, the Musical Theatre Performance Company at the University of Chichester is now offering Jekyll And Hyde. The show will be at The Alexandra Theatre, Bognor Regis on April
25, 26 and 27 at 7.30pm, plus 2.30pm on April 27. Producer/director Andrew Wright and musical director Kelvin Towse are reunited and joined by choreographer Sam Spencer-lane. Adam Stickler (right) will play Henry Jekyll and Johnjake Harding (left) will play Edward Hyde.
Theatre. West Sussex theatre company This Is My Theatre are on the road with Macbeth, adapted and directed by company founder and artistic director Sarah Slator. They will be performing at Shoreham Wordfest on April 26 at 7.30pm at St Mary de Haura, Shoreham. They then play The Guildhall, Chichester on Sunday, May 5 from 4pm5.30pm. Fair. More than 25 specialist nurseries with a spectacular variety of plants, bulbs and shrubs in tow will gather at the foot of Arundel Castle for the return of the Spring Plant Fair on April 28.
Fringe. The Polly Clamorous Collective bring new cabaret to the Brighton Fringe, with performances at The Warren: The Nest from May 2-4 from 6.10-7.10pm. A spokeswoman said: “With a bit of song, a bit of dance and a bit of (adult) puppetry, Herstory presents a series of musical portraits telling the tales of some of history’s most enigmatic women, from the Garden of Eden to the deadly Australian outback.”
Birds. Flights of Fancy: A Celebration of Birds offers an entertainment probably unique for Chichester – possibly the first time our feathered friends have been given a words and music evening
of their own, complete with Richard Williamson – at 7.30pm Friday, May 3 at Christ Church, Old Market Avenue, off South Street, with a retiring collection for Save the Children and church refurbishment. This will be one of various local events marking Save the Children’s centenary. Contact linda. savage@5miles.net or 01243 266494.
Art. The annual Emsworth Arts Trail is set to scale new creative heights this year with a record-breaking number of artists and groups taking part. The Emsworth Art Trail runs on the two weekends of April 27, 28 and May 4, 5, 6.
7 Theatre. Hugh Bonneville and Liz White star in Shadowlands by William Nicholson at Chichester Festival Theatre (April 26May 25). Celebrated writer C S Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia, splits his time between an ordered domestic routine at home with his brother, Warnie, and the academic rigour of his dispassionate, all-male Oxford college. And then he meets New York poet Joy Gresham. Tickets are available from Chichester Festival Theatre’s box office on www.cft. org.uk (left).
8 Art . Art Chichester Open Studios Art Trail 2019 will once again offer a vast range of artworks to enjoy, all with the pleasure of meeting the artists in their own studios - 160 artists exhibiting a wide range of work across 127 venues in and around the city of Chichester during the first two weekends in May (Saturday, Sunday, Monday, May 4, 5, 6; Saturday, Sunday, May 11, 12, 10.30am -5.30pm). Kicking it all off will be the preview exhibition at the Oxmarket, running from Tuesday, April 23-Sunday, April 28.
Art. Partridge Green-based artist Grahame Morgan-watson is exhibiting at Chichester’s Oxmarket Gallery for the fifth time in five years, this time from April 23-May 5 (lower circle).
10 Theatre. James Nesbitt, Sheila Hancock, Clare Burt and Rachel Lumberg star in This Is My Family, a musical by Tim Firth in Chichester’s Minerva Theatre from April 20-June 15. Imagine you’re a spirited 13-year-old and you’ve won – actually won – a magazine competition to describe your family. The prize is a dream holiday for the lot of you, anywhere in the world. Tickets available from the Chichester Festival Theatre box office.