Tewkesbury Spring Festival 2008

25 May 2008 – Gloucestershire residents and visitors will be flocking to Tewkesbury this May, when the Tewkesbury Spring Festival 2008 and Awaken Your Senses 3 come to town.

This year sees the third Tewkesbury Spring Festival and Awaken Your Senses event come to Gloucestershire, with four jam-packed days including art, music, theatre and workshops – with plenty of opportunity for festival-goers to get involved with the action.

Highlights include the breathtaking interactive Colourscape, live music from Cate Cody & The Salty Dogs through to The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, classical concerts performed in Tewkesbury Abbey and shows suitable for the whole family.

The full schedule for this year’s festival is as follows:

Thursday 22 May 2008 at Tewkesbury Spring Festival

Local band Drop in the Ocean will kick off this year’s festival, with a concert at the Roses Theatre at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £10.50 and money raised will go towards Tewkesbury Flood Relief.

A salsa night will take place at Gupshill Manor from 8pm, with Salsa Squad’s instructors in attendance to teach visitors a trick or two. Tickets cost £12.50 and includes a one-hour workshop, one-hour of dancing and a buffet.

Friday 23 May 2008 at Tewkesbury Spring Festival

Harpsichord musician Warwick Cole will playing an intimate coffee concert at Aubergine from 11am. Audiences are promised a light, inspiring classical programme which is sure to brighten your day. Tickets cost £6.50 which includes a coffee or tea.

Colourscape at The Vineyards behind Tewkesbury Abbey kicks off on the Friday, running from 11am to 3.30pm and giving visitors an insight into a wonderland of shades in the form of a huge inflatable sculpture made up of 60 translucent chambers in primary colours. Festival-goers will be invited to kick off their shoes, slip on a colour cape and step inside an incredible world of magenta, orange, green, red and other spectacular colours spanning the spectrum. Colourspace is suitable for all ages, and also is wheelchair friendly. Tickets cost £3.50.

The Thamyse String Quartet will be performing at Deerhurst Church from 7.30pm, playing works by Elgar, Beethoven and Haydn in this beautiful 9th century church. The quartet are all former members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and promise a relaxing evening of popular classics. Tickets cost £10.

Romeo and Juliet will be performed at the Roses Theatre from 7.30pm, when the Independent Ballet Wales present their own interpretation of the greatest love story ever told. The full-length ballet is set to include intense confrontation and passionate duets, complete with exquisite costumes and extraordinary sets to retell this classic work by Shakespeare. Tickets cost £14, £13 for concessions and £8.50 for students and children under 16.

The TG Collective will be playing a set at the George Watson Hall at 8pm, with the Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2008 headliners providing live music fans with a curious mix of influences taking in flamenco, gypsy, hotclub, classic and, of course, jazz. The band’s five talented musicians will also be joined by one of the UK’s best flamenco dancers, Ana Garcia. Tickets cost £14.50.

Cate Cody & The Salty Dogs will be playing at Gupshill Manor at 7.30pm, recreating the glamour of the 1930s with sultry tones of a revered jazz era in a set dedicated to the Great American Songbook. Visitors will also be invited to take to the dancefloor in what is set to be a romantic night of authentic live music. Tickets cost £17.

Saturday 24 May 2008 at Tewkesbury Spring Festival

Colourscape at The Vineyards behind Tewkesbury Abbey will continue today, running from 12pm to 6pm. Tickets cost £3.50.

Celia Smith will be in attendance at The Parish Hall today, demonstrating wire sculpture and inviting festival-goers to try their hand at the art form. This event is free.

The Sword in the Stone will be performed at Roses Theatre from 2pm, telling the legendary tale of young Arthur, destined to be King, and Merlin, the wise wizard, embarking on an adventure complete with beautiful costumes, enchanted sets and marvellous puppetry. Before the show visitors will also be invited to take part in a workshop learning the art of stage combat, kicking off at 12pm and taught by tutors from The British Academy of Dramatic Combat. Tickets cost £6 for the show or £11 for the show and workshop.

Raymond Burley will be performing a classical guitar concert at Abbott’s Parlour from 11am, with works from the likes of Johann Sebastian Back and Alexandre Tansman performed by this musical master. Tickets cost £7 including a glass of bucks fizz.

A series of Tudor Treachery, Treasure & Tomfoolery shows will be performed at The Old Baptist Chapel from 10.30am to 4.30pm, each lasting 30 minutes with a cast including a pedlar, cutpurses, great seafarers, wealthy merchants, cobblers and ploughmen. Tickets cost £3.50.

A concert of Duruflé Requiem by Maurice Duruflé will be performed at Tewkesbury Abbey at 1pm, including the Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum in a choral work of timeless spirituality. Audiences can expect glorious soaring voices performing a beautiful work in the stunning surrounds of this historic building. Tickets cost £8.

The Kathryn Tickell Band will be performing in Tewkesbury Abbey from 7.30pm, including virtuoso Northumbrian piper and fiddler Kathryn Tickell in a concert of traditional folk tuned and individual compositions. Tickets cost £15.50.

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain will be playing the Roses Theatre at 7.30pm, in what is set to be an entertaining, melodious and upbeat fusion of rock ‘n’ roll, punk, jazz, classic and toe-tapping oldies. Complete with everything from Tchaikovsky and Nirvana to Otis Reading, this performance is not to be missed. Tickets cost £17, £16 for concessions and £10 for students and children under 16. See The Ukulele Orchestra in Tewkesbury for more information.

Sunday 25 May 2008 at Tewkesbury Spring Festival

Colourscape at The Vineyards behind Tewkesbury Abbey will continue today, running from 12pm to 6pm. Tickets cost £3.50.

Raymond Burley will make a reappearance on the Sunday, providing 15 festival-goers with a master class at George Watson Hall from 10am to 5pm. Budding students will be given the chance to learn from the master and improve their skills, including some one-to-one tuition and orchestral performance. Tickets cost just £3.

Hans Haverkamp will be demonstrating the art of flower arranging at Gupshill Manor from 11.30. The award-winning florist will be sharing secrets with visitors, followed by a buffet lunch where Hans will create 10 arrangements and answer audience questions. Tickets cost £22 and include lunch.

BBC family historian Nick Barratt will be giving a talk at Out of the Hat at 4pm, talking about the fascinating history of houses and discovering family histories. Tickets cost £5.

Event: Tewkesbury Spring Festival 2008
Venue: At locations across Tewkesbury, see above for more information
Date: Thursday 22 to Sunday 25 May 2008
Times: Vary per specific event, see above for more details
Tickets: Prices vary per specific event, see above for more details, and available from Roses Theatre box office on (01684) 295074.

SoGlos.com
7 April 2008